A Lead from the Bottom

"In baseball and in business, there are three types of people.  Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened."

-- Tommy Lasorda

Japan's better farming through precision drone strikes

"So, thank you Agridrone, for being a flying killbot that we all can look forward to seeing more of."

17 JUNE 2016       ROCKETNEWS24       MASTER BLASTER

SAGA UNIVERSITY, SAGA -- Agridrone was created in a joint project of Saga University, Saga Prefecture, and IT firm OPTiM. Their goal was to find a way to reduce the use of pesticides through the rapidly growing market of drones.

Now they have announced that successful test runs of Agridrone have been carried out over soy and sweet potatoes crops in Saga. Agridrone was successful in seeking out and destroying about 50 different types of pests including moths, midges, and whitebacked planthoppers. 

As the video shows, Agridrone works by patrolling the fields at night when many natural predators are asleep and insects venture out from their hiding places. It also flies automatically allowing farm workers their much-needed rest. 

When Agridrone spots a threat to the farm’s interests, it swoops in and delivers a tactical strike of pesticide. This can greatly reduce the use of chemicals by not having to douse the entire field in them. 

However, if you totally want to eliminate pesticides from you arsenal, Agridrone has you covered too. By attaching a bug zapper to the bottom of it, these farm drones can take care of insects with hand to hand combat…or whatever the equivalent to that is with drones and bugs. Read More

Japanese restaurant serves up noodles in stunning ice cube bowls

Sometimes there are restaurants you want to keep a secret all to yourself, and this is definitely one of them.

18 JUNE 2016       ROCKETNEWS24        OONA MCGEE

KYOTO, JAPAN -- Located by the river in the famous Arashiyama region of Kyoto is Tempura Matsu, a beautiful, traditional building where some of the finest dishes in Japan are served. One of the most stunning items on the menu are the noodle dishes, which vary from season to season, and diners are so impressed with their meals they’ve been sharing photos of their amazing dishes online.

Made from a huge block of ice, the tiny scooped out bowl at the top helps to impart the noodle broth with a small amount of icy water as it slowly melts. 

... With a stunning view of the river alongside you as you dine on the sumptuous Japanese dishes, this is one of the best places to dine out in Kyoto. Read More

Over 20% of train delays in or near Tokyo due to dropped smartphones: JR East

18 JUNE 2016       JAPAN TIMES       

TOKYO, JAPAN (Kyodo, Bloomberg) -- ... With JR East continuing to receive a number of complaints about people using smartphones in stations, it plans to step up its campaign Monday to urge passengers not to use the devices when getting on or off of trains.

Of 229 train delays caused by objects falling onto tracks in Tokyo and six prefectures in eastern Japan in April and May, 54, or 23 percent, were caused by passengers dropping their smartphones. 

Other falling objects that led to delays included umbrellas, hats and shoes, the company said. 

People often drop their smartphones when boarding or getting off trains or while walking on train platforms. Although station staff members retrieve any fallen objects with a hand-held grab, the company has to halt services if the next train is approaching the station, JR East officials said. Read More