Every once in a while, I like to import a few things from Japan. Let’s face it: the Japanese have much cooler stuff than we get here in the US. They live on the bleeding edge of technology and have a real knack for presenting products. Take, for example, the KitKat candy bar I purchased. Here in America, we get one flavor of KitKat and the four breakable wafers come in a plain orange wrapper. That’s it. No flash, frills, or funky flavors. Meanwhile, in Japan, there’s a constant turnover of flavors. Some hang around a while, some are limited, and others simply fizzle out.

“Royal Milk Tea” is the flavor I purchased. It arrived as part of a ten-count case. Each candy bar comes in it’s own little box. The end is perforated, with a little thumb indent. You shove your thumb into the perforation, pull up, and…

… the package reveals two pairs of individually wrapped KitKat bars. This is kind of nice, because I don’t feel pressured to polish off an entire four-wafer candy bar in one sitting. I can grab one little packet and I only feel obligated to finish two wafers.

This type of packaging reminds me of the “unboxing” trend that so many people get a kick out of these days. Consumers like to feel that they’re opening a present every time they buy something. Apple, Flip, and Aliph are all companies that abide by this concept, as they deliver their product in creative ways. Shiny boxes with concealed flaps and transparent plastic parts are fast becoming the norm, while the days of cutting open blister packaging is (hopefully) on the wane. Interestingly enough, something as simple as a candy bar seems to fall into this category in Japan. Who wants to tear open a piece of foil-coated plastic, when they could instead have their own unboxing ceremony each time they eat a snack?

All that aside, I know the burning question in your mind is, “How was the candy bar?” Well, I thought it was pretty good. It certainly tastes like milk tea, but has an underlying chocolate flavor too. In my mind, it seems like the wafer holds the tea portion of the flavor, while the outer chocolate-like substance provides the milk. I can’t get too attached to these though. From what I hear, they’re a limited edition release and will soon be removed from production.

Other currently available flavors include: Milk Coffee, Caramel, Raspberry & Passion Fruit, Strawberry, and Chili Powder (seriously).

I only have time for a quick post today, as I’m going away for the weekend. To make things easy, I’ll just keep rolling with the astronomy theme.

As I’ve been scouring through astronomy books for the last couple days, the enormity of this field of study has started to hit home. I’m not even talking about the search for life on other planets, nebulas, black holes, the expansion of the universe, or any of that stuff. I’m referring to just our solar system. In an age where technology is expanding rapidly, new discoveries are made on almost a daily basis, and we’re carrying tiny computers around in our pockets, it’s almost baffling to think about how much we don’t know about our planetary neighborhood. Looking at how quickly things progressed in the 1960’s, you’d think we’d have astronauts orbiting around Uranus by now. Yet, it’s not even remotely the case.

Yes, this is a picture of Uranus.

Starting in the late-1990’s, we finally began to seriously study Mars, while we’ve almost completely neglected our own local satellite, The Moon. Venus, our other neighbor, has been largely ignored. Mercury has gotten some attention as of late, thanks to the MESSENGER spacecraft. Jupiter and Saturn seem to be under some form of constant observation (Saturn is being perused by Cassini at the moment). But then there’s Uranus, Neptune, and (arguably) Pluto. What do we know about them? Compared to Mars, we know virtually nothing about these outer planets. There are some plans in the works to revisit Neptune, New Horizons is on its way to Pluto (arrives in 2015), but Uranus isn’t even on the table.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Limited budgets and all that. We’ll get there eventually. It’s just depressing that the best pictures we have are from 23 years ago. I was too young to even recall Voyager II, let alone remember the pictures being unveiled to the public. If it wasn’t for the impending Pluto exploration, I’d be in a rather surly mood right now. Just think… No human being has ever laid eyes on the surface of Pluto in any detail, yet we will be doing exactly that in a few short years. I have to imagine that would give even the most jaded person a few goosebumps.

Sometimes I wonder what someone was thinking when they decided to advertise a product, person, or idea in a particular way. Take, for example, the public bus I saw at the shopping mall this morning:

“Free condoms. Get some!” it touts. Seriously? We’ve resorted to advertising sex supplies on the side of our public transportation? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a prude, nor do I have anything against birth control. As far as I’m concerned, people can do whatever they want when it comes to that. Abstinence, the pill, condoms, a wool sock… I don’t care. It’s their life, so they can choose to live it however they want… As long as they don’t come to me for financial assistance when they suddenly realize that 12 children is too many to handle. But, that’s another rant for another time.

I’m not annoyed about the bus advertisement for free condoms. I guess I’m just a bit bewildered that it’s posted in grand fashion on the side of a bus. Given the subject matter, it surprises me that someone didn’t have a problem with driving it around town. I mean, if a conservative wanted to advertise: “It’s abstinence or nothing.” on the side of a bus, we’d have liberal-minded folk jumping down their throat. “How dare they impress that upon our children?” they might say. Yet, free condoms are okay with the conservatives these days? Apparently so.

Branching in another direction, who is actually taking advantage of the free condoms? I have to admit that I’d feel a bit odd if I walked into a building, sauntered up to a desk, slammed my fist on the table, and said, with a gleam in my eye, “Hi there. I saw the bus ad. Give me all the free condoms you got!” Then again, maybe other people are different. I recall watching a guy in CVS carry condoms up to the counter, lay them down, and then while the cashier was cashing him out, he proudly stated that “it’s going to be a busy weekend.” Great. A little too much information there, pal. If I recall, the female cashier was rather embarrassed. Can’t blame her on that one.