Sat Apr 1 10:34:07 EDT 2017 Slept from eleven-thirty to nine-thirty without waking. Fifty-three and sunny today. Goals: - Clean apartment Dusted, vacuumed, watered plants, cleaned the shower (a lot of work!), wiped down the kitchen and bathroom, took out trash, etc. - Grocery Done. - Golang No. Called Yvonne, and caught up. Indefinite plans for dinner. Called mom, and spoke for a long time. Renny's in bed with the flu. Mom invited me for Easter dinner. http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling-japan-trains > Train conductors, drivers and station staff play an important role in the safe and efficient operation of the lines; a key aspect of which is the variety of physical gestures and vocal calls that they perform while undertaking their duties. While these might strike visitors as silly, the movements and shouts are a Japanese-innovated industrial safety method known as pointing-and-calling; a system that reduces workplace errors by up to 85 percent. > Known in Japanese as _shisa kanko_, pointing-and-calling works on the principle of associating one’s tasks with physical movements and vocalizations to prevent errors by “raising the consciousness levels of workers” [...] when train drivers wish to perform a required speed check, they do not simply glance at a display. Rather, the speedometer will be physically pointed at, with a call of “speed check, 80”—confirming the action taking place, and audibly confirming the correct speed. For station staff who ensure the platform-side tracks are free of debris or fallen passengers, a visual scan alone is not sufficient. Instead, the attendant will point down the track and sweep their arm along the length of the platform—eyes following the hand—before declaring all clear. Sounds like we might have a pretty good crowd for D&D tomorrow: Ed, Scott, Steven, Karina, Lori, and possibly Magdalena. Twenty minute walk in the evening. Blue sky, waxing crescent moon. The forsythias are starting to bloom. Breakfast: carrots, coffee Lunch: macaroni, coffee Dinner: pizza