Looks like the General is going to keep wandering in the desert for another 60 days. The Obama admin doesn’t feel they’ve put in place a proper turn-around plan.
I bet Momo feels like an idiot now. 
I am wondering what my parents are going to do about their worthless Oldsmobile – where are they going to get it serviced, and where are they going to get the parts now?
Weird. I thought the Pink Cow was a sort of informal site for foreigners to try to get a job. The last time I had a job interview through that site, I wound up at a Starbucks, explaining my history over lattes.  As a result, I wound up applying to another position with one of those “Enthusiastic” letters that I thought was what they were looking for. Instead I got this in the mail:
> We regret to inform you that your application for 'XYZ' > has not been accepted for further consideration by the > employer. After reviewing your application, the employer cited the > following reason: > > * I will not accept an application from anyone who uses words like "Heck" > to start a sentence telling me how great they are. It points to a lack of > professionalism, and a lack of understanding. >
Well I guess it’s fair, but unfortunate. I decided to point out the odd incongruity between the response and the venue for the original message.
To whom it may concern, I was somewhat confused this letter I received. I deeply appreciate the need for professionalism and formality in a workplace, having been a project manager for several years. However I was under the impression that "The Pink Cow" was an informal job opportunities forum, and as such, any employer was looking for enthusiasm (rather than formality). As much as it would be nice if I could take my previous letter back and prepare a more formal letter, I do consider the fact that you didn't bother reading my resume to indicate a serious issue with the environment in your recruitment section, if not throughout your company. If 2 University degrees, 5 years of work experience, a can-do attitude, self-motivation and enthusiasm for the position is dismissed because of a misunderstanding over a cover letter, I believe you will not find the best candidate for the position. I realize it is the middle of a recession, and that the job pays decently, but it is generally the case that the best talent is attracted to a nurturing, happy environment - not one fraught with frustration (which I sensed in your curt response). You will end up with a good programmer (there are a lot of them in Tokyo), but you will not get the best. This may not be a problem at the beginning, but when you begin to suffer issues with non-reusable code and short-term solutions, I believe you will have a greater appreciation for the difference. Enclosed is a link to the website at which I tendered my message, and the image at the top of the page. http://thepinkcow.joblet.jp/jobs/XXX/ http://thepinkcow.joblet.jp/stylesheets/partner_sites/pinkcow_images/logo.jpg Enough said? Sincerely wishing you the very best in the future, Jawaad Mahmood P.S. - I hope you don't mind if I pass this along to (XYZ - The company's owner), I am curious as to how he reads this (especially in light of his recent blog articles about cutting costs. You might be up for a promotion, come to think of it - I'm sure the Pink Cow is a lot cheaper than Careercross and Daijob!)
Sad that it ended like that. However, if the recruitment place has a stick in its rear, I probably am better off looking elsewhere. Should have done a grammar check on that damn letter though :sick:
Aeon commercial for their English school.
Â
This commercial must be the worst advertisement I’ve ever seen.
Look at the giant Japanese female with a completely fake smile. Â Then the stodgy, nerdy “professor” type pretending to teach her while both are standing up. Â She spends the entire time staring at his eyes instead of the book that he’s pointing at. Â The complete lack of any sort of graphic design, or any connection between the images to the right and the text to the left – this is clearly the result of the son of an executive getting a contract.
The worst part is one you can’t see clearly; the bottom right picture has the nerd holding the book like the bible. Â Coupled with his cheap suit, it could be an advertisement for a Christian ministry of some sort. Â I suppose AEON is much like some more Korean Churches that I heard about; you pay a lot of money and any benefit you get is not in this world.
:ungh:
Â
The gist of this commercial is that 36.8% of Japanese Salarymen have been forced to sleep on their feet on trains at some point in their life. In most countries, this would be some kind of political advertisement, making people demand an improvement in their life conditions – through higher-capacity trains perhaps, or more effective express bus service. Â In Japan, it’s a coffee commercial.
(It is hard to criticize public transit, since it is always on time and the trains really can’t run much more than they already do. Â During peak usage hours, however, it is inhumane to the elderly, most of whom are left teetering on their two feet while maji-yabai girls run to grab whatever seats they can get)
$amenities = $amenities = AmenityOutput::generate_list_output($object->get_amenities()) ? $amenities : “None available”;
Yes, that apparently is valid PHP. Â :sick:
I switched it to this:
$amenities = AmenityOutput::generate_list_output($object->get_amenities());
if (!$amenities) Â $amenities = “None available”;
Sometimes people are too clever.