Hiroko's Hitokoto

Have you ever locked yourself out of your apartment or lost the key late at night? Well, now there's a service that you can use by just keying in your entry code on your mobile telephone. An adaptor and electronic lock on the door will open with the right call. The company running the service is called 3D, and will start selling the electronic key and 1.2V battery-powered adaptor in June. The price is JPY4,000 for both the adapter and the key. My problem is that if I stopped using regular keys and instead just relied on the adapter set, I'm sure that I'd forget the the cell phone, or run out battery power... What I really need is a microchip implant in the brain that can be scanned by my apartment locking systems and the TV!

Bridal season is coming and the latest trend is viewing designs as miniature wedding dresses in show cases. Now there is even a service which offers to duplicate school uniforms in miniature. Called "My Puchi," the service is offered by a uniform maker called Excell in Okayama. They supply miniature uniforms ranging from your from your kindergarten through to high school. To have a proper replica made, you send the original uniform to them, and about 3 months later they deliver the 1/3 size replica for JPY12,000. What you'd use a miniature copy of your school uniform for is beyond me... Talking about "memorial goods", I saw dog dolls made from geniune dog hair taken from pets after they die. The owner's order their dolls from an elderly lady in England, purportedly to remind them of their lovely pet. But you have to wonder what kind of person would shave their dead dog?!

The golden week is starting (probably already started for some of you) and those who joined us recently can take a long break. Those of you who've been working for LINC Media for a while, I'm sure the break will be more than welcome. It's a well known fact that some freshmen joining in spring to a company, tend to have negative thoughts about their job -- because they have plenty of time to think. Apparently this is an instinctive thing, where the brain tries to protect you from danger, by simulating the worst scenario you could have in your life so that your brain can prepare. It's like gaining immunity to a disease. Of course there are some people who have positive thoughts and seek to do what they really want to do. I hope you can re-charge your energy and enthusiasm for work, during the holidays, and come back to LINC Media with even more energy and spirit than before.. What I'm going to do over Golden Week? Easy! Sleep, eat, relax, feel like a human being agai