ETC Card

Ever wondered how you could use those ETC express lanes coming on/off the toll highways here on Okinawa, or all of Japan for that matter?? Well there is company that is catering to SOFA/Expats living here in Japan by allowing you to get your very own ETC card through them! Normally, non-Japanese nationals cannot get a ETC card, as you need a Japanese credit card/bank account to have one. Well this company just acts a an middle man and takes on all the "risks" of offering you a ETC. You can sign up in your name and with your credit card, and then breeze through those special ETC gates like all the locals, and your credit card gets charged the toll automatically! No more stopping and  rolling down my window  to pay, that is so what the "foreigners" do! Well no more! Well sort of, you still need to get the hardware for the ETC system (can be found everywhere) and have it installed in your car. If you are lucky, you might already have one installed in your car. I do and mine talks to me in Japanese when I start the car, and then when I get near a ETC gate, it starts talking automatically in a cautious voice; probably since I don't have a ETC card in the reader and it is warning me I don't have in there, so don't drive through the ETC gate dummy! Well, this company seems legit and I think it is relatively new, however I stopped short of signing up for one reason. After you get through the numerous signup pages (all online), you get to the kicker, and it is about the "risk" I mentioned earlier. They want a $400 dollar-ish deposit up front, in addition to what ever plan you go with. That is a little steep for me to get going on something I wouldn't use that often to be honest. If I was a frequent user of the toll highways or was on mainland Japan, I would do it, plus as a added bonus you can take advantage of those special ETC campaigns they have every once in awhile. Plus, some of their plans have contracts and I don't like contacts with stuff like this, as even having a contract for my cell phones bothers me. I wish they had just a straight up prepaid ETC option. Like, I will pay any setup fee, buy the actually ETC card, but just let me charge it up when I need to use it. I think on the Japanese side of the house they have something like that, but it is not offered through these guys. Either way, if your needs are different than mine, go ahead and check these guys out, just be sure to read the fine print.

 

http://www.japanetccard.com/

 

 

Heavy MACH: Defense New Game Fix!

Heavy Mach Defense iOS

***Updated 04-Feb-16***

Here is my random post of the day!

Long story short, I love this basic iOS game called "Heavy MACH: Defense", however it hasn't been updated in a couple years. Needless to say, there has been two iOS updates since then and there is one glaring bug in the game now...you can't start a new game because the keyboard will not come up when it is time to enter text! This really only affects new downloads/users, as they can't even start a new game, but existing users should not have this issue (unless they try to start a new game again). Anywho, I put my mind to it and I found a way to get going again and it is rather simple (sort of)...

1. Go to this website...

http://www.igamehack.com/2013/08/hack-heavy-mach-defense-v103.html

There you will find the link to a saved game file for the this game, with instructions on where to put the file. You can do this with or without a jail broken device. You will have to use programs called DiskAid, iFunBox, etc., for non-jailbroken devices, or you can use the iFile app for jailbroken devices.

Here is the direct link to the saved game file for those advance users that know what to do with it already...I also have the file and I will keep it, just in case this link goes dead in the future too...

http://directdl.info/dlindex.php?code=JwmfE3GI

2.  You will need to unzip the file with WinZIP or something similar AND then you will have to unRAR it too! I have no idea why they did that, but I suggest you get WinRAR or something to do that, which is free. Just Google "RARsoft". This software can open zip files too. 

2a.  I also just have the save file here, here is the direct link. So you don't have to unzip anything...

MEGA - Mach Defense Saved Game

3.  Once you have the saved file, follow the instructions in step 1., specifically where to put it.  You will need the software mentioned on that site to make that move though. Additionally, the directory names for your iOS apps are just a bunch of random letters/numbers at some point, so it is not as straightforward to find the game folder as I thought. But I just opened each folder, until I found a directory with a folder named "MachDefense.app", but depending on how many apps you have on your iOS device; it may take awhile to find it. You then you just put the saved game in the "Documents" folder, and you are good to go. 

On my devices the location to place the saved file is here....

/var/mobile/containers/data/application/(random characters)/documents

This location for this save works on  iOS 8 and iOS 9 devices.

Finally, I want to note I didn't delete the game/reinstall anything like it mentions to do on that site. I just copied it over and the game loaded the save file just fine.

Well after doing all that, I have a functioning game now! Plus, you will have a crap load of money to spend on upgrades in the game too! Also, I am sure this process with work with "Heavy MACH: Battle", you just have to find a saved game for it somewhere... which I have tried to find, but I can't find one anywhere! So I would like anyone reading this with a saved game for Battle, to please share it with me and everyone else out there, so we can play the game again. Ideally, if you can make a new save/game (iOS 6), please share that, so it will be a fresh start for everyone else using it.

Finally, I apologize to the non-iOS power users reading this, as I just glossed over the finer details on making this happen. However, if enough people want a more detail write-up, I will give it a shot at a later date.

Mysterious Okinawa Bioluminescent Bug!

OK, tonight I just saw a blue glowing bug about 2 feet from my patio in the grass! It looked like a small blue LED light glowing in and out, and moving slowly through the grass. After a beer in and enjoying a cig outside, I definitely thought I was seeing things, but it really was some kind of bug. Well I rush back in the house to grab my iPhone and my camera and by the time I cam back out I lost it. But I lightly brushed my foot across the grass where I saw it last, and low and behold it started glowing again! Of course it is dark out and both devices took crappy pics/vids, but I managed to get it blurry pic and video of it glowing. Then I had the bright idea to try and catch it and ran back inside to grab something to pick it up with...so I grab a key. So yea, so I turned on the flashlight on the iPhone so I could find (blind) it, and I manage to get it to craw on to the key after losing on and off in the grass blades, it was tiny, like a 1/4 inch long, but eventually it crawled on the key. So right when I thought I had it, it flew away! I had no idea it could fly, else I would of put my hand around it, but I really didn't want to crush/hurt the guy. So all I am left from this experience is blurry pics/vids and probably a story no one is going to believe. I did a Google search and I found nothing about a small blue glowing bug on Okinawa, just glowing mushrooms, sea life, and even glowing habu eyes! I sat outside for a few minutes to see if it landed somewhere close, but I didn't see it again. If it is a new species, I got dibs! Maybe the recent typhoon blew him from somewhere or maybe there is radiation in my grass...Well I will definitely keep an eye out for it again though, and maybe someone reading this can tell me, "Yea those are everywhere, common, nothing special!" or not...

 

Here are the pic/vid and it looked like it had a small white head and a black body, and of course wings! It really was small, like a 1/4 inch in length and 1/8 inch wide. and even though it is green in the pic/vid, it definitely glowed blue.

 



Okinawa Bioluminescent Bug