Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

I am back in Okinawa but I am assured that due to a new state of emergency I should spend 2 weeks in isolation. This means don’t leave the apartment unless absolutely necessary. Necessary is a car and after a … Continue reading →

Semmit is Scots for vest or undershirt as some people say. In one of these the Clootie Dumpling was traditionally cooked. When I was a boy, my Auntie Janet would cook dumpling and we all loved it. It was not … Continue reading →

As some of you may remember, Jesus was crucified, dead and buried, but on the third day he rose again. The same thing happened to my MAC Classic a few years ago. https://thequietripple.com/2011/10/09/on-the-third-day-he-rose-again/ I recently put my iPhone through a … Continue reading →

As I spend my days locked down in Tokyo, I am only allowed two outdoor activities. The first is shopping, which means I eat and drink too much. The second is recreational walks, which means I spend a couple of … Continue reading →

I have been in bed all day not feeling well at all. I have a stomach upset brought about by too many clams maybe. I have to stay very close to a toilet. At about 4:30 I decide to pop … Continue reading →

Tokyo is a big place. The population of greater Tokyo is about 40 million. The population of Scotland is 5 million. San Francisco is less than a million. I am here spending 14 days of self isolation in a tiny … Continue reading →

I leave California, Tokyo bound. I think I have all the necessary attestations asked for by Japan but the situation is fluid with rumors of Tokyo introducing a state of emergency. Will they let me in when I get there? … Continue reading →

I have not been to downtown San Francisco before today. It was a shock. Out here by the Panhandle, life has certainly changed because of COVID-19 but you know not super extravagantly. Out there, where the Snow Goose roams, life … Continue reading →

Slough is a city in the South of England that no-one seems to like much. “Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!It isn’t fit for humans now,” John Betjeman It is pronounced like the sound you make when you cut … Continue reading →

I came over to San Francisco because the landlord is selling the building that our apartment finds itself in. This is an opportunity for the new owner to kick us out. I really do not want to be kicked out. … Continue reading →