via Joe

If I made an invention
to work and play
and stand at attention
and do what I say
it would be a robot
named Rumble Ray.

The first one failed
and so did number two,
but three was perfect
and could play kazoo!
It did all the things
I wanted it to do!

It even cleaned my room
this fast —
ZOOM!

penrod family acrobats on Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

Via StSanders

Vauban, Germany, is an affluent new suburban community that differs from traditional suburbs in many respects. The most important difference is that cars are forbidden on most of Vauban’s streets, and houses cannot have driveways or garages. Though not quite car-free, Vauban, a district of Freiburg, near the Swiss border, is a highly “car-reduced” suburb.

via Nearly Car-Free – The New York Times > Science > Slide Show > Slide 1 of 9.

But [Burakumin] still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived. Moving is little help, because employers or parents of potential spouses can hire agencies to check for buraku ancestry through Japan’s elaborate family records, which can span back over 100 years.

An employee at a large, well-known Japanese company, who works in personnel and has direct knowledge of its hiring practices, said the company actively screens out burakumin-linked job seekers.

“If we suspect that an applicant is a burakumin, we always do a background check to find out,” she said. She agreed to discuss the practice only on condition that neither she nor her company be identified.

via Google crosses line with controversial old Tokyo maps | The Japan Times Online.