A new Facebook badge

I have been MIA off and on here on this blog. Writing sometimes gets to be too tedious. One thing that I do check on frequently is my Facebook. And now that it's finally in no danger of being deleted or disabled,  I thought I would put up a link to it on my sidebar.  I don't blog or write anything on it. But I do have more pictures up on it than here. Facebook really is a handy tool to keep in touch with all your friends and acquaintances if you use it correctly. So if you are interested in at least looking at the photos, check me out over there.

Also of note is that I've deleted my Now Playing section. it was always kind of... meh. So it go bye-bye too.

There's no sense in hiding anymore.

In the beginning I planned on having a semi-anonymous blog. My name would be out there, but at least my photo wouldn't. But what's the sense? I think everyone already knows what I look like anyway, so I figured I'd go all the way. Just put up a picture gallery. 

This first set is thanks to Alistair. He lugged his giant SLR and alot of his equipment to the beach only to have it all almost taken out by a rogue wave that wiped out our spot on the beach. A fun crazy time with a bunch of crazy friends.

So look to the left navigation bar. See the new "picture galleries" link? Go click it. Go! I know you want to. Don't be scared and hold back. Just go and click on it! You can do it!

 ...

OK. You lazy bum. Then just click HERE instead.

After over two years of blogging, I started to wonder about who actually reads the crap I write about. According to my stats, this blog receives on average, a little over 1500 unique hits a month. Yet in Poll #1, only 41 people actually took part and submitted a vote. Another interesting fact is that only about 10 of these people actually take the time to comment on my posts. So in an effort to learn more about my audience, Time for Poll #2! The assumption is that if you actually participate in the poll, you at least have a pulse and are not a bot of some kind.

 

 

 

質問：
あなたはどんな Megaijin blog reader（閲覧者？）ですか。

Link Previews

Hover over any of the blogs that I link to, and see a little nifty preview of their page courtesy of Snap. Just another little value-added  service for all the blogs that I frequent. You're welcome. Ha! If you think my page is loading too slow, please let me know.

Pimp out your friends with Agloco!

I have never made a single cent with this web site. In fact, I pay well over a $100 a year to run it! Sad isn't it? In this day of Google Adsense and Amazon associates, you'd figure that I would've jumped on the money making ad-bandwagon long ago. 

It's time to jump. Roy turned me on to this idea.  Agloco. Imagine if Google and Amway had babies.  Basically Agloco is a small tool bar that is downloaded and installed onto your browser. This tool bar displays tiny ads. You could even just ignore the tool bar and never click on it. In fact, we get nothing per click. They pay per hour a person surfs the net per month. The money making part comes from the pyramid you build. If you refer someone to Agloco, then you make a little from your referrals and the people that they refer too. Simple. Ahh... remember the days when your friends would trick you into going to Amway parties haha! This post brings back memories eh?

Anyways, I'm usually not a fan of this kind of stuff. But I already surf the web a few hours everyday, AND I ignore ads all day long too. So what the hell, at least by joining this and adding a little tool bar, I could get some money for it! This Agloco idea is still new, the Agloco toolbar is in still beta and isn't even available for download yet. But once its ready( in a few weeks), it'd be great to start off with a few referrals! Apparently the whole thing will start in February, and as with all these pyramid things, the earlier you join, the higher up on the pyramid you are.

So please click on this link and join! No joke!!

>>My Agloco Referral

It only takes a couple of minutes. Then pimp out your friends too! (^_^) 

There sure is a lot of crap out there.

It's the middle of my summer vacation and rainy weather today has ruined my plans of heading to the beach again for some fun in the sun. So after I woke up today at 8AM in the morning (what in the world is wrong with me?) I decided to do some web surfing. After the first 30 minutes. I had actually run out of things to read.  How is that possible? It's the internet for God sakes. So I started random blog surfing.

I started with Blogspot blogs and it's handy little "next blog" button always in the same spot, top right, easy to click on blog after blog. After about 2 hours I only found a couple of blogs interesting enough for me to comment on. Then I thought, "maybe blogspot isn't the place to find good blogs" I mean, no disrespect to people using blogspot. I just noticed that maybe 40% of the blogs that I found were new. So for the next hour and a half I clicked through various webrings. Nadas. There sure is a lot of crap out there. I mean really really bad blogs. Sure, it's all relative. People find different things interesting. But blogs that show a little part of you as a person, blogs that reveal a little part of your life, is what makes a blog more readable right? Religious be saved or go to hell blogs, impeach bush and list all the funny lines that he's said blogs, random pictures of exotic cars that you didn't even take yourself. Do people really think that stuff will be read by someone? I guess I'm not one to talk though. Lord knows i write a lot of crap sometimes. I wonder if people click through my blog and think, "Man, this is a really crap page!"

Ever thought about your link list?

Why it is that you link to people? To help them out with a start-up blog to get more readers? Just because you like reading them? How many of the blogs on your link list do you actually visit? Believe it or not, I visit single one of mine at least 2-3 times a week. I don't have an RSS reader notifying me of new posts or anything so I actually click on the links to visit those pages. How stone age huh? Anyways, I thought I might be interesting to write a little bit about all of those people who made it onto my link list and why I added them.

amm::2dd - Kuba found my page while looking up moped info. I followed his link back to his page and found that he's a really funny dude from Hawaii. I liked the way he write from a "local Hawaiian" perspective and the fact that he speaks pidgin in some of his posts. I can relate so well, he makes "crack laughing" .

Cool Hand Makiko - Found her looking for Japanese people's blogs in English. I don't think there are very many out there. Not posting too much these days probably because of her new BF but a nice read about a nice Japanese girls life.

Kissui - I'm sure everyone that has lived in Japan and owns a blog knows about Yuki and her site. She's linked everywhere. Know that Technorati Blog Worth thing? Her's was like worth over $60,000. Mine, a measly $6,000. So I'm definitely not linking to her just to help her promote her blog. I like the fact that she has a little bit of attitude in her posts and learning about funky Waseda culture is neato mosquito too.

meのつもり - Nat found my website one day and I followed her link back to her's. Her Japanese is awesome and I think we've been in Japan about the same amount of time. So jealous! I try my hardest to read her page but I'd say about 40% of it slips through. Must study harder!

photobento - Greg is the guy I went to Inawashiro with. An awesome snowboarder, it's impossible to keep up with the guy in the deep pow off piste. We work at the same company and he turns out to be a pretty good photographer too.

Q-Taro - Seriously, I read this everyday and then some. Roy is the man. He's been here for like 20 years or something so he knows everything a gaijin needs to know about Japan. He's got a good job that supports his habit of gadgets and cars. He's got a girlfriend yet he gets away with otaku stuff. All that and he's a really nice guy too with seemingly time for everyone. Got some time? Read his blog, it's good stuff. Gotta be the most updated blog I know.

Rei hime's Live Journal ¤玲姫¤ - Rei's cute. Dare I say it, so is her little sister. Ever her cats are cute. You can see it in the tons of purikura she posts. Just so cute with a touch of sexy too.

Yongfook.com - Another huge blog, worth like $89,000. No need for promotion here from me no sir-ree. But I can see why it's so popular. This guy is hilarious. Too bad he doesn't update more often.

みらくる☆みき - Miki's hot. How hot? I hit on her 2 years ago at a club in Yokohama. Then I met her again a year after that while she was bartending at Cape COD where I was a regular at and we've become good friends ever since. She's the one that turned me on to a book translating job.

Aoi-o-rama - If you've ever clicked on Aoi's page you might have noticed that it's entirely in Italian. Yes I noticed that too. But I still check out her page weekly. I can't read any of it but she's one of the few people that actually leaves comments on my page. I'm always SO happy because of it. So naturally I'm interested in what she's blogging about too even if it's just for the funny pictures.

A Peek into Wyntir - Wyn's a girl. Good. She lives in Manhattan. Good. She's into computers just like me. Good. She comments on my blog. Goooooood!

eatmarvin.com - Marvin's page is a new discovery. Very rarely does someone leave one comment on my page and I instantly add them to my blog list. An obsessive-compulsive chef in Australia, he writes about what goes on in the bistro he runs. So down-to-earth. I like this guy!

inside the mind of keiki.lee - I worked with Keiki a few years back. She's, how can I say, "interesting". She can be so nice sometimes and then she'll just open her mouth and the obscenities just come flying right at you. She's hilarious. Gotta be on your toes with this one.

MARZ 格子 - Food lover. Lots of food. Lot's of places I want to go to. Too bad they're all in Toronto! But if you know me and my convenience store diet, you'll understand why looking at her page makes me nuts.

Midori - Is she Japanese? Why does she know so much about Hawaii? I have no idea. I just like the way this girl from Cali seems to write off the top of her head and puts up lots of pictures of her and her friends. Seems like someone I could hang out with.

phenoMiNA - One of the first blogs I've ever linked to, Mina and I have lots in common. I guess that's why I relate to a lot of the stuff she writes about. I actually worry about her even though I've never met her. How strange is that? Recently in a funk, the posts have been a little slow on her page. But hey, me and her, we're like the same, but totally different. Ha. Witty and funny stuff.

Blogs. It's interesting how you can feel you know people even though you've never met them. Even nicer when people from everywhere come and comment on your posts. This may sound dorky but, Blog on! 

What other people think of Megaijin.

Ok it's not really a blog review. It's actually just an excerpt off of someone's links page. Once in a while I look at people's pages that actually link to mine. Narcissistic? Maybe. Me, I call it just being curious. But rather than the usual blog roll add, I found someone who actually wrote a little something about each blog he linked to. Kewl! Here's what "Direction Okazaki, Japan" wrote about mine:  

Guy from Hawaii lives in Japan: Check.

Teacher of English at his high school: Check.

Strange post about relationships: Ok, I can see that. Check. 

A bit materialist: REALLY??!

Interesting how a blog can make you come across. I woulda never thought that I seemed materialistic from the blog topics that I write about.  Roy so takes the cake on that one (^_^). But oh well, if that's what people see then maybe I am materialistic. Actually I think I am a little too, but in Japan with all these crazy prices, I can't afford to go nuts like Roy does (勝手に言うな!! ;) ). Who woulda thought that materialism would be in my blog description? Neato mosquito.

My blog is worth $6,209.94.
How much is your blog worth?

On another note I've been finding this thing on a bunch of other blogs out there. Over 6 G's! I could almost buy a decent used car! Anyone wanna buy a slightly used blog? Ha. (*'-'*)v  

The old look The new look

So what do you think? I thought I might go with a look that has a little bit more of my favorite color, brown. Red was a nice change for a little while. But I like this color scheme a little more. Matches the color scheme in my apartment and my wardrobe as well. Ha.

Is this page Dr. Jeckyl?

Been thinking about this blog lately. How it's cool that I made something and at least in my point of view it's been fairly successful at what I wanted to accomplish. How I love how people comment on my dumb escapades or stupid thoughts. But then I thought about the existence of my "secret" blog. My blog that's totally anonymous, the one with even dumber escapades or stupider thoughts. Wasn't the reason that I made this blog to write about life and times of me in Japan? I guess anonymity has its perks and it's drawbacks. On that website I can write about anything that I want. Be as blunt as I want. Name names if I want. It's all out open season on that web page, but yet that page has almost no readers.

I think one of the important things to building a good blog is to tell your friends about it. Sometimes I wonder if this blog serves It's purpose if it's being "watered down" as it is. There are so many things left off this blog. But they get watered down because everyone I know knows about this page and if I went all out, things would eventually bite me in the ass one day. Sometimes I wonder if it's a reflection of my personality. This blog being the somewhat "normal" side that I like everyone to see, but then I have the secret blog which is the drunken crazy side of me that I like to enjoy but don't really own up to. Maybe that's why my love life is so screwed. I haven't found someone that can handle both sides of me. I guess that's another problem on it's own. Secret blogs. I have one. I wonder if most people do.