freetime2

I would say they are comparable in that they are both pleasure-seeking behaviors that are fine in moderation, but carry a significant risk of turning addictive and self destructive.

There are pros and cons to both. Both provide outlets for creativity and socialization. But I've lost several childhood friends to drug overdoses, and spending too much time on the phone can lead to withdrawal and depression.

I feel like you are asking me pick one or the other as the superior pastime, but I would choose neither. IMO kids are better off playing sports, playing in a band (without the drugs), drama club, etc. Those are structured activities - but given enough time and space people will start to form relationships too.

Interesting. Can you give some examples of how boomers were more hedonistic than earlier/later generations, and how that destroyed your life? I'd be particularly interested to see how you feel boomers compare to your own generation with regard to hedonism?

I'm wondering if young people are really less hedonistic now, or if the types of hedonistic activies people engage in have just changed? Would you consider doomscrolling to be a form of hedonism, for example?

Many of these kids look a lot older than high school age to me - I'd guess mid or even late twenties for some.

> Retrospective aging is the perceptual illusion where people from past decades look significantly older in old photographs and videos than people of the same age do today

Vsauce did an interesting video about this a while back[1].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjqt8T3tJIE

I’ve noticed that LLMs frequently make assumptions about why I am asking a question, and will tack on additional paragraphs at the end giving advice for things I never asked for.

Recently I asked in a Google search when YouTube encodes videos in AV1 vs VP9. And Gemini gave a very short and incomplete answer, and then moved on to assume I was asking because AV1 playback was draining my battery too quickly. And then gave me instructions to toggle some settings in YouTube that don’t actually exist.

Part of the problem I think is just the cheap and fast model they use in search results just isn’t very good.

The requirement is that your projected pension benefit, at your current income level, needs to match the average pension benefit for someone who worked for 30 years. And if you don't meet that requirement, whatever shortfall you have can be offset with an equivalent amount of savings.

It does not mean that you need to have 30 years of savings right now. Just that you are on track to get there by the time you retire.

There are a lot of people who won't qualify (and while it certainly sucks for people affected, this is by design) - but those who earn more than the Japanese average should generally qualify.

You mean like when they made daycare and preschool free in 2019? Or when they gave stronger parental-leave rights in 2021 and 2025? Or when they increased the child allowance (a monthly payment to parents per child) in 2024? Or when they made it mandatory for employers to offer things like telework or reduced working hours for parents with children under the age of 3 in 2025?

None of it has worked so far, but they are taking aggressive steps to try to fight the declining birthrate.

> requiring everyone to be richer than the average member of the population and have enough money banked to live off of for 30 years seems insane

It would be insane for a country that is already dealing with an overburdened social welfare system to grant permanent residency to someone who is, say, 60 years old and doesn't have any savings or pension income to support them in retirement.

To put that in perspective, US companies report similar rates of worker shortages in surveys [1]:

> The survey found that company size influenced hiring outcomes. Seventy-six percent of companies with 1,000 to 4,999 employees reported shortages, followed by 75% of firms with 5,000 employees or more and 74% of those with 250 to 999 employees. Among smaller firms, 69% of organizations with 50 to 249 employees, 66% with 10 to 49 employees and 61% with fewer than 10 employees reported hiring challenges.

I'm not saying that there isn't a shortage of labor in Japan - just that business owners are never satisifed with the amount of labor available at the wages they wish to pay. And it may not be an existential shortage of labor like a lot of commenters are saying. Especially with recent developments in AI and automation.

The declining birthrate in general does seem to be an existential issue if it cannot be stabilized. But it is hard to predict population trends long term (when I was growing up the big concern was overpopulation and China was running its one-child policy - now they are facing population decline).

The weak yen is also definitely an issue right now - but it's impossible to predict where it will be in the future.

So yes, Japan is facing real problems. And stricter immigration requirements likely will come at some cost to economic output. But if they feel it is necessary to protect their social welfare programs and cultural identity, then those tradeoffs are theirs to make. And all of the doom and gloom comments saying things like "it's suicide" feel like a bit of an overreaction to me when you look at the actual proposed changes.

[1] https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/69-o...

I think Japan thinks they can still attract enough foreigners to perform necessary service and manual labor jobs without the promise of permanent residency. That along with increasing automation - serving robots are a common sight at many restaurants these days, for example.

Permanent residency is reserved for those who can be a net benefit to social welfare programs - by earning and contributing more than the average Japanese household (about USD $36,000 - $42,000 according to google). There are also new language requirements to promote assimilation.

I don’t think it’s anything too radical by global standards, and I have read there are similarities to what Singapore and South Korea already do [1] (though I don’t know too much about their programs).

It’s important to note that the exact details haven’t been finalized yet. So exact income requirements could change from current proposals/rumors. There was a lot of outrage about proposed provisions to revoke permanent residency for people who commit crimes or don’t pay taxes, but when they actually came through they were pretty fair, common sense type changes.

These changes come on the heels of drastically increasing requirements for the business manager visa (which, to be fair, was heavily abused as a kind of “golden visa” in the past). They’ve also significantly increased visa application costs - I think I paid like ¥5,000 for my PR application, and it is now ¥200,000.

It does feel cruel to apply new requirements retroactively to people who have already submitted applications. And the stories of people whose lives are being completely upended by the changes are heartbreaking.

[1] https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/09/21/japan/jap...

I would say it is more likely to do with the fact that:

* BYD is new in Japan (since 2023) compared to other automakers which have built up trust over many decades.

* There are only 55 BYD dealerships in Japan vs 5,000 Toyota dealerships, 2,200 Nissan dealerships, 2,200 Honda dealerships, 1,500 Suzuki dealerships, etc.

* BYD offers a limited range of models in Japan - 6 in total. No minivan, for example, where minivans make up 6 of the 10 best selling (non-kei) car models in Japan

* Japan is very slow to adopt EVs in general. Charging infrastructure is poor

* BYD EVs and PHEVs qualify for a much smaller CEV rebate [1] than Japanese models, Teslas, etc. This eats away at much of the cost benefits

* BYD only just introduced their first kei model to Japan last month. It has been well reviewed, but even BYD isn’t expecting to sell a ton of them in their first year, let alone first month, due to the aforementioned circumstances.

Or we could just say it’s because Japanese are racist and won’t buy Chinese things - despite the fact that 22% of all Japan’s imports currently come from China. Because that feels correct, I guess?

To be clear I do recognize that are tensions between Japan and China. And there are plenty of Japanese people who would prefer to buy Japanese-made goods, or prefer to avoid Chinese-made goods (to the extent that's even possible). But there are plenty of Americans, Europeans, etc who feel similarly - and they aren't typically called racist for having the same preferences. There are valid reasons like wanting to support domestic businesses, or not relying on geopolitical rivals for manufacturing, that have nothing to do with racism. Canadians are boycotting US goods right now, for example. Is that because Canadians are especially racist?

And Japanese consumers are just as price sensitive as anyone else. As the end of the day, if they can get more car for less money buying Chinese cars (and if the cars and sales and support process can be sufficiently tailored to Japanese preferences), then Chinese automakers can be successful in Japan.

[1] https://www.cev-pc.or.jp/hojo/pdf/R7ho/R7ho_meigaragotojouge...

The complexity of PHEVs is overblown in my opinion. My Toyota PHEV uses the exact same engine and electric motors as the equivalent HEV model. The only difference is the bigger battery and charging port. And Toyota HEVs have proven to be extremely reliable.

And yeah I've got to bring it in for oil changes, but that's no big deal for me. They also take care of other things like inspecting the car, changing wiper blades, air filters, putting on/taking off winter tires, and maintaining my coating. It's usually pretty quick (and they give me a loaner when it's not going to be quick), they are friendly, and they have snacks and wifi. It's also a relatively inexpensive compared to the total cost of owning a car.

There is some complexity for the driver in terms of deciding whether you want to drive in EV or Hybrid mode if you want to get the most out of it - so not something I would recommend for everyone - but no problem at all for me.

The bigger issue I would say it cost. They cost significantly more than HEV equivalents, and it's not something most people are likely to recoup in fuel savings. But still worth it IMO for additional (and instantaneous) power and quieter ride.

PHEV was definitely the no brainer option for me (vs EV) when I looked at the MPV options available in my country, and the state of charging infrastructure. But I look forward to the day when battery tech and charging infrastructure improve the the point where I can comfortably ditch the ICE.

I think it was a joke

A lot of the way EVs look has to do with reducing drag, which extends range. Hence the “blob” shape that the parent is talking about that is common to EVs - and the Prius before that. Or retractable handles.

So not just an aesthetic choice, although carmakers do seem to “lean in” to that aesthetic and go all in on the futuristic look with EVs.

I drive a Toyota PHEV and love it. All of my daily driving is EV, and then I switch it into hybrid mode on the weekends for longer trips. Hybrids/PHEVs are great.

But I would much rather be doing all of my driving in EV mode. I just think it's going to take another generation of battery improvements before we start seeing affordable 3-row MPVs (which is what I drive) with decent range. The VW Buzz and Kia PV5 have well under 300 miles range, for example.

China does have some pretty awesome looking EV MPVs like the Zeekr 009, which supposedly gets up to 500 miles range. But that won't be available here any time soon.

Improvements in charging speed and improved charging infrastruture will also help a lot.

Cars that are designed from the ground up to be EVs tend to be much better than trying to shoehorn an EV into an ICE design.

The new Lexus ES350e, which comes in both hybrid and EV flavors, has been pretty universally panned as a mediocre EV [1]. Lexus anticipates that the vast majority of ES sales will be for the hybrid model, and I expect the same will be true of the Corolla.

The updated bZ and new bZ Woodland on the other hand, which are built as ground-up EVs on the e-TNGA platform, actually seem pretty decent. And I'm hopeful for the upcoming EV Highlander, too (although that will use a modified version of the TNGA-K platform).

I would prefer if Toyota just released a new EV model with roughly the same proportions as the Corolla, instead of going with the one-size-fits-all approach. But maybe they'll finally be able to get it right this time.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ97R1nhq4M

> I'm surprised that in no reviews of the iPhone 18 camera there is mention of the bad quality bokeh

PetaPixel reviewed the bokeh, and called it "meh" and "not very nice". [1]

A lot of the iPhone reviews are very rushed in order to have a review ready by the time the embargo is lifted. I think the PetaPixel review is quite thorough given the limited amount of time they had to actually use it.

[1] https://youtu.be/XYH9RPdRfGs?si=gypqOkTU6dOOv19d&t=1714

The price of the lowest tier Netflix subscription in Japan is ¥890, which works out to a little under $6 with the current exchange rate.

I did say there were some exceptions to the rule.

Personally I have an almost neurotic aversion to recurring monthly payments. I'll cancel a $6/mo Netflix subscription if I feel it's not being used, and start it up again later when there's something I want to watch.

I also hate junk. If anything I own doesn't get used for more than a year, I'll sell it or trash it (with a few exceptions).

So even the thought of paying a monthly fee to store junk gives me real anxiety.

The iPhone 16 was the big "Built for Apple Intelligence" release, where they added hardware to support AI. So not too surprising to me that iPhone models before the 16/15 Pro wouldn't be able to support the new AI Siri.

The surprising part to me is that it took a full 2 years after the iPhone 16 launch to release the feature - and even then it's still a beta release.

I'm definitely looking forward to trying it out, but right now I'm still in the waitlist to actually enable the feature. I'm mostly just looking for a usable hands free driving experience compared the old Siri which I found to be almost completely useless. Anything beyond that would be a bonus. I have so little faith in Siri though at this point, though, that I am not expecting miracles.

I got into Nike shoes in the 2010s because they were really innovative. A sneaker head friend suggested I try a pair of LunarGlides, and they were the most comfortable shoes I ever wore at the time due to their Lunarlon soles. And their FlyKnit uppers that came at bit later revolutionized sneakers. I also really liked their Free Run line (although not actually for running), which had an innovative flexible sole.

I've never been one for fashion, but I thought their tech was awesome. But I can't really think of anything noteworthy since the mid 2010s or so. Their Vaporfly shoes may be a big deal to competitive distance runners, but not really to your average Joe.

So that's my take - they stopped innovating, and other brands caught up and surpassed them.

I'm in the same boat. Looking around here, the older guys in the best shape that I know of are in the local triathlon club. Pushing 50s, 60s, and even 70s, and they are still very fit and can also party harder than I can.

I love cycling, and a run can be refreshing, but I don't really have any desire to swim - much less an open water swim. But triathlons seem to be a pretty effective path to longevity, so it may be something I need to force myself to take up. That and weight training.

For actually running (as opposed to just casual use), Nike was never actually my first choice. I used Brooks in the past, and recently Hoka - both of which I think are great shoes. Unfortunately both are US based.

For a non-US company, maybe give Asics (Japanese brand) a look? They never really fit me right personally, but I know they are popular amongst runners.

And just to clarify - I don't think any of the brands above sell proper "wide toe box" shoes that I mentioned above. Xero and Altra are the best known brands (both US-based) in this category I think. There are also some really inexpensive options from Chinese companies on Amazon that I think are actually worth a look - Whitin seems to be the most popular on Amazon in the US, but I see the same shoes sold under different brand names. These shoes tend to be really light weight and comfortable for casual use or working out, but they just don't have enough cushion where I would want to run long distances in them.

Oh and Skechers sells some wide toe shoes as well - not as roomy in the toe box as the brands above, but still super comfy. But again, not something I would recommend for running.

I have some Skechers slip-ins that I love. I live in Japan where you have to take off/put on shoes all the time at home, restuarants, doctors/dentists, gyms, etc, so they are incredibly convenient. Also very comfortable, and constructed about as well as a pair of Nikes costing twice as much.

I am unapologetically into Skechers. Though I do try to seek out the ones without that big ugly "S" on the side.

I had a good 15+ year run where I only ever wore Nikes. Then I wore my first wide toe-box shoes and haven’t bought Nike since.

Looking back, Nike was never very good about offering different width options on most of their shoes. And I still don’t think they offer wide toe box shoes.

Probably because fitness-conscious (i.e. attractive) people started wearing them. And they are expensive enough to show status.

Crazy thick soles have become pretty normalized recently. But I remember when I first bought my Hokas I felt a bit like I was wearing orthopedic shoes like my grandma used to wear. Now I wouldn’t think twice about wearing them out.

My first thought reading this headline was "Really? Nobody thought of this until now?" But reading further, the Dstretch plugin has been around since 2005 or so. And presumably people have been using contrast enhancement, color manipulation, multispectral imaging, etc. to uncover hidden images long before that.

So not exactly "news" at this point. But still a pretty cool success story.

It almost feels like a feature that should be built into the default camera app. For anyone wanting to conduct their own forensic analysis to determine how thoroughly their hotel room has been cleaned, for example (although personally I'd probably rather not know).

I think this is implied by your comment that the issue is framed improperly, but just to point it out explicitly: the reason that this is a problem is because it would lead to segregation, inequality, and injustice in a society where the biased selection mechanism is used.

Even if it happens to be “optimal” in this case at assigning employees to positions based purely on the information available and their likelihood to succeed, biases can present other issues.

Practical Engineering recently did an episode comparing human dams to beaver dams. Not really an apples to apples comparison because we build dams for very different purposes, but beaver dams are not only less disruptive to the environment - they are often a net positive. Although they do sometimes create a nuisance for human infrastructure.

https://practical.engineering/blog/2026/8/18/are-beavers-act...

30 seconds is the complete user flow to open the app, select a drink, approve payment with face id, and dispense the drink. Maybe a few seconds longer in the end than paying with Suica, but pretty negligible.

And a lot of coke machines in train stations, service areas, etc also accept Suica if you prefer (but then you don't get the stamps).

Typically the machines I see which only accept the Coke ON app are in more rural areas that traditionally would have only accepted cash. And I much prefer the app to cash.

Coke ON Pay uses an app that automatically pairs with the machine when you open it [1]. It’s pretty quick and takes less than 30 seconds once you set it up.

I think you might be referring to QR de Kessai [2], which was introduced in 2023 and is targeted more at inbound international tourists who don’t want to download the app and may not have an E-Money card. Basically they aim to support to support the widest possible audience - at the cost of a slow/clumsy experience. These machines should also accept payment via the faster Coke ON app method and often have E-Money tap-to-pay options too.

From that perspective it kinda sorta makes sense. But yeah I wouldn’t bother with it unless I was dying of thirst and I had no cash or other payment options available.

[1] https://szabo.jp/2021/05/16/coke-on/

[2] https://en.ccbji.co.jp/business/installation/qr-de-kessai/