│CondeHouse

August 8, 2022
August 9, 2022

The Reason Why Dyson Vacuum Cleaners Are Unique

The only vacuum cleaner in the world. This sales copy made me pay for the highest-grade Dyson vacuum cleaner, though I’m not interested at all in home electronics and so much in cleaning itself. Sales copies seem to control our behaviors like this. Anyway, how do I like it? I’m completely satisfied with the product and take off my hat to their innovations. Mind you; it’s not about technical innovations. To be honest, I don’t think it’s very useful or more sophisticated than other vacuum cleaners, but it’s just fun to use. I believe this is the core achievement of their innovations. In other words, Dyson has re-defined vacuum cleaners. As most of you may know that, Dyson vacuum cleaners don’t have a dust bag. The founder, James Dyson himself seems to brag about it in his books as the biggest advantage of his innovations, but I tell you, it’s […]

Hokkaido sightseeing

July 21, 2022
August 2, 2022

The Economics of Superstar: Billionaire Architects Will Emerge

Do you like video games? Me? I have no interest at all. When I was a kid, almost all the classmates had Nintendo Entertainment System, but I didn’t. No matter how hard I wished for it, my parents didn’t give the nod. Alternatively, I sometimes went to my friends’ houses to play video games, but it was not so fun because the friends were much better. When I was a college student, Biohazard was released. I bought PlayStation myself to play it. The time came when my dream came true, but probably it was too late. I didn’t get into it. Due to the background like this, I had no idea why e-sports are so trendy and how they can make sense as a business, until I learned the popularity of gameplay videos. It was unbelievable for me that there are many people who enjoy watching other people play video […]

_philosophy_

July 13, 2022
August 2, 2022

Won “Best of the Best” of the Red Dot Design Award!

Japan has more than 6000 high schools, about 4000 of which have a baseball team. Every summer, there’s a championship to decide the best team in Japan. Many people get excited, and fortunes are moved. On the other hand, people called a man with good sense raise voices against the trend, like “Don’t prey on the innocent effort of high school kids.” To be honest, I doubt if high school kids are such innocent, though. Another common criticism is “Too much emphasis is attached to high school baseball.” I think it’s valid. All the championship games are broadcast on TV for more than two weeks, which never happens in other high school sports. Of course, it’s not because most of the media tycoons are baseball fans but because high school baseball is much more popular than other high school sports. It’s the simple consequence of the free market in Japan. […]

Hokkaido sightseeing

July 4, 2022
August 2, 2022

What If You Were the Last Person on Earth?

I like sci-fi stories (and movies). They are excellent thought experiments to create a completely different world, which always stimulate my interest. “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell is the story of what if the world is completely ruled by totalitarianism. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” (the movie was titled “Blade Runner,” and I really like it) elaborates an imaginary world where androids evolve their intelligence to become more human than humans. The starter of this article is “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith. It’s the movie portraying the last man on earth. If you watched the movie, I believe you’ve imagined “What would I do if I were Will Smith?” In fact, I did many times and was shocked every time to find the simple fact that I can’t live long by myself. Mind you. I literally mean it and am not talking about a mental or philosophical issue. […]

_philosophy_

June 28, 2022
August 2, 2022

When Did We Forget How to Connect with Each Other?

Last week, I went to Tokyo for business and found all the people in the subway train (in my view) just looked at their smartphones silently. I saw such a scene every day when I lived there, but I realized it was a weird and creepy view where people perfectly make the same posture with no expression on their faces. I don’t mean to loudly criticize it. On the contrary, it can be said to be the symbolic situation to show Japanese politeness. We just sit tight so as not to bother each other, but sometimes I can’t help thinking that this may be a big opportunity loss. The stranger sitting next to us by chance could be a good friend. Do you remember kids are the master of communicating with new people, and we all once were kids? I clearly remember 12-year-younger sister happily explained the monsters of Pokémon […]

_philosophy_

June 20, 2022
August 2, 2022

Hokkaido Rock House, a Utopia Designed by Sou Fujimoto

According to my source (my biased personal opinion), many movie freaks are likely to look down on animated movies. I was one of them until I went to a special exhibition in Sapporo. The title is “The Science behind PIXAR” that is about the movie production of PIXAR. The exhibition started from the US, went to some cities in Canada, and finally came to Japan. You may still believe it is only dramas played by real actors that move you, but CG animation is also very dramatic. If you know human struggling behind the scene, you will be moved by animated movies. In the exhibition, we can see many short videos where PIXAR engineers talk about what they’re doing. All of them are saying the same thing: CG animation is the fusion of art and science. After looking around the exhibition, I was all convinced by the words. Let me […]

_philosophy_

June 14, 2022
August 2, 2022

Beautiful and Diverse despite Many Constraints

Maverick is back! Who can wait for the movie to start? I have yet to watch it, though. “Top Gun” was released in 1986. It was when I was only eight years old, and so, I think I watched it on video. Even so, it was impressive enough to affect my life. I know the movie has no substance at all but just made F14 Tomcat appear appealing. That is one of the reasons why I started my career from Japan Air Self-defense Force, not as a pilot, though. I like airplanes, especially fighter airplanes above all because they are the embodiment of rationality. If designs are wrong, they can’t fly. Interestingly, from this point of view, the design variety of airplanes is likely to become less, but it is not actually. Indeed, they may look similar to people with little interest, but some airplanes win kudos for their designs, […]

Japanese culture

June 7, 2022
August 5, 2022

Are You Sure of Your Choice of Flowers?

I rarely buy flowers. It’s only on Mother’s Day, though I forget even that sometimes. Probably that’s because I don’t really know what flowers I should buy. On Mother’s Day, it’s easy because flower shops offer a wide variety of Mother’s Day bouquet options. In addition, there’s a mental wall in us, I guess. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone who is waiting for his/her date with a flower bouquet, and so I believe it only happens in the movies. In other words, that may be because of Richard Gere in “Pretty Woman” or “Shall We Dance?” Flower gifting becomes a mission impossible for us ordinary people, based on my fully biased opinion.[...]

_philosophy_

May 31, 2022
August 5, 2022

What Do You Think Art Is?

The harsh realities I learned from “A Dog of Flanders” Have you ever read “A Dog of Flanders?” I don’t know why that is, but it’s very popular in Japan. It was even made into an animated TV show. Probably, more than 90% of Japanese kids knew the story at least in my childhood. Is the situation the same in your country? Is it popular in the UK (the writer’s country) and Belgium (the place of the story), too? I know the book is regarded as a masterpiece of children’s literature, but I don’t think it’s suitable for children much. Although I was a child when reading it, the first lesson I learned was “It’s impossibly hard to survive in this world.” I thought it was too early for children to know how cruel the world is. Hunger is above art As I was writing “the first lesson,” there was […]

Hokkaido sightseeing

May 24, 2022
August 5, 2022

What Is Good about Travel by Train?

Trains are still the king of transportation for tourism Which transportation do you think is best for your trip? By air, sea, or road? According to a report by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the share of travel by train is highest in the domestic market in Japan. The number-based share of travel by train was about 70% in 2020, and has been increasing year by year, along with a trend that young people turn away from driving. It’s not only about the Japanese people. Almost the same thing can be said about tourists from overseas. The share of rail transportation for such tourists to move around Japan is about 55%. For your information, the second is public bus service with a share of about 30%. The advantages of train transportation over other means I don’t know if it’s the same in your countries, but there are […]

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