Makiko Itoh : Not a nameless cat.

Tech support, especially by phone, needs to seriously screen the callers beforehand for their level of knowledge. This would save a lot of time for both sides.

How many times have we called up tech support and had to endure going through the steps of inanity?

Yes, I know how to reboot the computer or modem.

Yes, I have already checked for loose plugs/cables.

Yes, I know the difference between Windows and Mac.

As the owner of a couple of mildly popular blogs (not this one,obviously) I, like many others, get my daily dose of PR email. I usually skim and dump them. Most of them are barely worth that amount of attention. (I don’t even count the lame ones sent to the address where the domains are registered, asking for a ‘cooperation’ (translation: link exchange) with a “top rated web site with a Google PR of 0”. Huh?)

Recently, a few PR pitches came in that really illustrated examples of good, bad, and really, really bad PR things. They are presented here in case they may be of help to the universe. Actually, I just wanted to bitch.

I am far from being a horse kind of person. Horses generally scare me when I meet them in, uh, person. But I do think they are the most beautiful creatures on this earth, especially when in full stride.

the filly Eight Belles having to be put down after the Kentucky Derby, a tragic event indeed. By a rather eerie coincidence, the trainer of the most famous filly racer ever, Ruffian, died on Friday.

The fun thing about house hunting in Europe is that you run into all kinds of fascinating old places. You don’t really get that in the U.S., or in Japan either, where people tend to knock down houses and rebuild (the land is the important thing).

This place for instance, is a 12th century stone built manor house that used to be owned by the Knights Templar. It is near a village called Villedieu (literally, Godtown).

I am house hunting.

Fairly sure I wouldn’t want to live here though.

I truly wonder what was going on through this person’s mind when they uploaded not one, but three slanty-pics like this.