2007 dawned brilliant in the Kanto. I joined several thousand other people to watch the sun rise above a hill on the beach at Kamakura on the 1st.
All gazed, cameras poised, in anticipation of the ascension, and it arrived to a cacophony of oohs and aahs and whoops and wails from a spectating crowd in a netherworld of sake intoxication and sleep deprivation...

The Gist: Toshiba is getting ready to release the first HD DVD recorder that fits inside of your PC: the "SD-H903A." It's unlikely that you'll actually see the drive actually marketed towards consumers by Toshiba, because you'll probably see it packaged as a product by Buffalo, I/O Data, or another OEM customer.

Over the past few years, I've often been asked if file sharing - especially music file sharing - is as widespread in Japan as in the US and Europe. My answer has generally been something along the lines of 'it certainly exists here, but...

Yet, at the same time, I couldn't let another week go by without commenting on the year end holidays of Christmas and Japanese New Year's - a bank buster if I ever saw one. What with presents, cards, shipping expenses, holiday meals, decorations, parties, and events, it can be an expensive time of year. Especially now that there are only a few weeks left!
So, below please enjoy my Top Three Frugal Holiday Tips - guaranteed to save you a few minutes (or yen) this season...