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PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   4490 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 16, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Face tattoos signify a rather fundamental disengagement with the norms of greater society such that I can't imagine becoming great buddies with anyone who has one. This is true to a lesser degree of full sleeves, etc. This is true in or out of Japan.

Sensible shoes or sneakers worn with business attire on commutes suggests a comfort in the wearer with his/her social standing. (Dress shoes on the same commute could suggest the opposite but context is relevant).

Anyone 24 or younger on my early morning commute is going home, not to school or work (unless of course they are in athletic gear in which case it's off to sports practice before school). Exceptions include regulars, or people with large roller bags (small roller bags could still be going home.)

Within Japan, expatriate women from North America (US and Canada) or Europe are either: 1) Divorced 2) married to or the consort of a Japanese man. 1) Will be politically progressive 2) will be neutral, disinterested, or conservative

Women with crewcuts are lesbian.

Guys with little hair but big bushy, Zeus-like beards will eventually annoy the shit out of me.

The likelihood that females with long, really done-up fingernails working at afternoon retail fashion outlets in Umeda are also moonlighting as call girls is non trivial.

The bigger and more expansive the menu the more likely the food is mediocre but probably not terrible. (Depending on your definition of terrible.)

The allure of the smell of ramen shops is inversely related to the hour of day-- meaning in early morning the smell is revolting. Late night, enticing.

The degree to which an American male tends to adhere to modern fashion trends is a reasonable predictor of how politically left he leans.

If I close my eyes before being introduced to your American female cousin visiting Japan, I will predict that she: 1) looks older than her age 2) is overweight by 20 or more pounds 3) leans politically left 4) eats more than I at lunch and dinner.

People who keep their calendars updated and full are higher achievers than those who don't. Not always true of artist types.

Creative, artistic people are creatively artistic in multiple ways.

Guys with houses that are like pig pens do not get laid. Unless they are extremely rich.

The chance that the Rolex watch on the dude riding the train is fake is at least 50%. The Omega is probably real.

New acquaintances who are overly friendly want something from me.

Women who are obsessed with and routinely post on social media about the plight of animals do not themselves have children.

Criticizing a woman directly about anything is a mistake that will not produce favorable results.

Face tattoos signify a rather fundamental disengagement with the norms of greater society such that I can't imagine becoming great buddies with anyone who has one. This is true to a lesser degree of full sleeves, etc. This is true in or out of Japan.

I know two perfectly respectable doctors with full sleeve tats, one working in the ER and the other as a surgeon. I'd say maybe 30% of the doctors I know (+- 5 years older or younger than me) have some tattoos on them (at least visible to me) including yours truly, though mine isn't really on display until the shirt comes off.

Then again, I'm lacking the inclination to ink up all of my skin, and as an eventual psychiatrist, I'm expected to be the model of sobriety and decorum, though no doubt going for a more outré aesthetic probably appeals greatly to some of the regulars.

Interesting. I hate tats but it's a personal thing and I hesitate to make grand generalizations. Or, I don't hesitate, I make them, but I realize that's what they are.

Let me guess: Caduceus?

Gross stereotyping and oversimplification time:

Historically in the U.S. each specialty has had somewhat of a character (less so now with the way social justice has infected and homogenized the pipeline. Surgeons are conservative and would never get a tattoo. Lots of psychiatrists have them but only in places where they could be covered in hidden from patients. Pediatrics would have typical girl tattoos. Orthos are bros, and therefore never have tattoos, but ED docs are a very different kind of bro (outdoorsy, Colorado types) and often have tattoos up to and including full sleeves.

If you're interested in making generalizations then you might actually be reassured by an ED doc with visible tats because it means they are conforming to the stereotypes and norms of their speciality and therefore have a higher chance of being a good doctor lol.

Interesting! Thanks for the insight.

Nope. Though I suppose that is a justified stereotype, given that I was/am seriously considering getting a tat that has one in it. Though I've ended up leaning a different way again, I'm not one to get a tattoo done unless it speaks to me, and I'm confident I want it for life (being dark skinned makes laser tattoo removal a no-go).

For what it's worth, I don't know any doctors with Caduceus tats, though to be fair we ought to be using the Staff of Asclepius instead. Then again, that war for the public consciousness was lost a while back.

Gonna leave it a mystery are we? I can keep guessing....

I've already irrevocably sprinkled hundreds of tidbits of personally identifiable information on the internet, forgive me for not putting something that could literally be used for picking me out of a crowd there too haha.

But if you can get it in 3 guesses without cheating by being exceedingly vague, I'll reward your efforts by DMing you the answer ;)

Within Japan, expatriate women from North America (US and Canada) or Europe are either: 1) Divorced 2) married to or the consort of a Japanese man. 1) Will be politically progressive 2) will be neutral, disinterested, or conservative

I have honestly been puzzled by every white woman I've met in Japan. They all seem a bit resentful; my cynical and uncharitable opinion is that they're experiencing for the first time what it's like to not be constantly pursued and indulged. The ones married to Japanese dudes also seemed a bit odd and not very satisfied, although I admit my sample size there is <5 so that might not be a fair generalization.

Guys with little hair but big bushy, Zeus-like beards will eventually annoy the shit out of me.

Overweight dudes with those bushy beards just ooze insecurity and usually act like they've got something to prove. Beards in general mark people as tryhard. Not all beards are bad though, I met a dude in his 50s who was small in stature but very lean. He had a medium length salt and pepper beard that made him look like some sort of frontiersman chad. I guess it works if you'd be equally confident clean shaven and don't seem like you're hiding behind the beard.

The allure of the smell of ramen shops is inversely related to the hour of day-- meaning in early morning the smell is revolting. Late night, enticing.

This goes for any restaurant that does agemono, too. Nightlife districts are putrid during the day. Reminds me of morning on Bourbon street, yuck.

I guess it works if you'd be equally confident clean shaven and don't seem like you're hiding behind the beard.

"Confidence is key" and all that ... but there's so much truth to cultivating a style that works with whatever your natural strengths are. I'm not referring here to natural cosmetic / physical attributes. Let me explain.

I've got a buddy who, from the neck up, is Brad Pitt with a beard but, unfortunately, spider wrinkles and smile lines all over his face. Too much sun for too long. He's mid 40s but, unfortunately, looks noticeably older than that. But He also rocks a full sleeve of tattoos and wears flatbrim ballcaps and hoodies with associated "loud" sneakers. You'd think he's some sort of Cali skater bro ... because he fucking is. He's actually "that guy" who had to grow up and get a corporate job (M&A lawyer) but never actually left his authentic teens-20s self behind. He collects boards and knows all of the esoteric band lore of 80s and 90s punk / ska coming out of SoCal.

He has to fend off the ladies (often 15 years + his junior) like they're swarming the Beatles.

Another friend is mid 30s and bald (not by choice). He leans into it and shaves his head now, but wears a very neatly trimmed red beard. You wouldn't call it bushy at all, and it some how highlights his excellent jawline rather than hiding it. I'm not entirely show how that works. He dresses more formal than is called for for every occasion, but doesn't over do it. (We got lunch over the weekend and I rolled in to the BBQ joint wearing jeans and tee shirt, he had pressed khakis, a tucked oxford shirt, leather loafers). He likes to dress nice, it's kind of his thing. A hobby, a sincere passion. He is aloof and was probably going on 30 since he was 12. He collects and trades rare books. He'll actually read minutes from Fed meetings. The result? He gives off Professor-X Daddy Vibes and does even better than my Skater Boi.

The stereotypical heavyset dude with a homeless man beard often also apes cartoonish relevance to masculinity. "I oil my beard with the blood of dragons" Or something equally cringeworthy. He might get into long winded discussions about the history of specific weapons in LOTR or star wars. They might have an ostentatious pocket knife or .... wallet chain. The point is that they're trying to lean into something that is inauthentic and they're doing it way too hard. This isn't good. Better to reflect your genuine personality - I had another buddy who was exactly this but was just a jolly "I really like drinking beer" dude. Knew a ton about IPAs. Didn't beat you over the head with it but would talk about it appropriately if it came up in the conversation. Now, I can't say he was doing quite as well as my other two buddies (so many buddies!) but he landed a long term girlfriend that was, frankly, out of his league. And I was very happy to see that.

A lot of guys fail in developing style because they try to "dress correctly." There's no right or wrong with style independent of the person who is styling it. I think this even applies to celebrities. Johnny Depp can ransack the nearest homeless encampment and stumble down the red carpet to applause, but George Clooney has been suit 'n loafers for like 20 years now.

Similarly, there's no way to fake a personality. You can rapid fire references to memes all you want, but if you have nothing authentic to say, you're going to lose to the dude who can somehow make The Beige Book interesting. Because he thinks it's actually interesting.

Men's style is still far, far easier than women's because that's a whole other level of complexity (make up, accessories, jewelry, fucking shoes on shoes on shoes) plus the meta-game of following trends or purposefully not following trends as a meta-trend in itself. That shit is literally Martian Hieroglyphics to me.

Criticizing a woman directly about anything is a mistake that will not produce favorable results.

This is so true it hurts. Depends on the woman of course - my wife can take some criticism, but my mom can take none whatsoever. Still, even with my wife I hold back because I need to consider whether I really need to use my limited quota of criticism on this topic.

I have been truly shocked by how sensitive some women are. I made one cry once by suggesting (I thought very politely) an alternative to a plan she was forcing on everyone without consulting them.

I got "You criticize me so little it makes me think you don't care." I'm still going to keep it as near 0 as possible. Similar to, "It's really annoying how you and your friends talk about things and just assume others understand." Yeah... not going the other way on that one either.

Within Japan, expatriate women from North America (US and Canada) or Europe are either: 1) Divorced 2) married to or the consort of a Japanese man. 1) Will be politically progressive 2) will be neutral, disinterested, or conservative

In my experience, the vast majority of North American expatriate men in Japan are also progressive, especially the ALT crowd. Which is hardly surprising since they are almost uniformly liberal arts college grads fresh out of school.

I would agree that that is also my experience. It's hard to tell though. There's no secret handshake as far as I know that says "I am not a progressive" but I do know people will withhold.

There's no secret handshake as far as I know that says "I am not a progressive"

  • Drink mountain dew in public. Loudly.
  • Camo. Camo is the ancient pattern of my people
  • Be named "Kyle"

The allure of the smell of ramen shops is inversely related to the hour of day-- meaning in early morning the smell is revolting. Late night, enticing.

Is this an observation of your internal state or how the smells change during the cycle? (They boil bones for the broth for around half of the day, don't they?)

I think @George_E_Hale is right that they've cleaned or dumped stuff because in the morning they sometimes smell more like a dumpster than a ramen shop.

I’ve noticed this effect with coffee. I love the smell of coffee in the morning, but I hate it in the evening. It could be because I associate the smell of coffee in the evening with some hellish all nighters I’ve pulled.

Coffee smells lovely all the time. It's its taste that is comparable to the worst kinds of medicine. Which is weird, because the cooking nerds convinced me that most of the food flavor comes from the smell.

I felt this way around 20 years old and younger. Coffee smelled great, but tasted unbearably bad.

Now I think coffee tastes great also. Black only please. It is sickly sweet and gross if a bit of sugar is added.

Keep trying coffee and I think your taste will change until it is the best flavor you'll have all day.

I don't take long to acquire tastes, I took to wine and whisky immediately, there's no chance I'm going to ever like coffee without drowning it in additives to an unrecognizable point. Especially cold brew, vile stuff. But so damn effective, I'm literally shaking after a can.

Some of us like the taste of coffee.

Yeah I have no idea what that's about. Similarly, I bought some tea recently which smells divine. It's one of the best things I've ever smelled. Unfortunately, it tastes just as bad as every other tea I've ever had.

Sure it's not an issue with brewing? I used to hate the bitter taste of green tea until realizing I'd been steeping it 30 degrees too hot my whole life. Literally just screwed up every cup I ever drank.

I can't say no categorically, but I don't think so. The tea said to steep at 200 degrees, and my water can't have been that much above 200 (I'm at 5000 ft elevation so it's not like it gets to 212 to begin with). Maybe it was 205 instead of 200, but I have a hard time imagining the margin of error is that tight.

Hard to say. I'm certainly typically more sober earlier in the day. Also there must be some rancid oil or something in the early morning that maybe is taken out or otherwise disposed of in the evening. I don't think I'm alone in thinking the smell can be quite strong, but it may be that the smell is also quite different at these differing times.

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