I recently bought a Feiyu Tech MG gimbal camera stabilizer, and I nearly returned it as I endured the tortuous balancing process--a process that could have gone smoother had the cryptic manual been better.  Even after watching a couple YouTube videos, I still couldn't get it to work properly.  The motors made an nasty grinding noise shortly after turning it on.  I thought it was broken.

Long story short, it wasn't.  The camera must be near-perfectly balanced so as not to strain the motors, and there are 4 locations to adjust.  These 4 locations are indeed covered in the manual; however, with its non-native English translation and tiny graphics, that manual haunted my restless slumber over a 3-day bout.  The YouTube videos helped a bit, but they didn't cover all 4 locations--a tragic flaw.  So here are the 4 places you must adjust the balance.

Read more: How to Balance the Feiyu Tech MG Gimbal Camera Stabilizer

If IT geek-dom were a crime, I'd be on death row by now.  Fortunately, it is not; so I continue my dorky IT pursuits--the latest of which is finding a VPS cloud server provider that offers a Japan datacenter location.  Let's see what we come up with...

Read more: The Hunt for the Ultimate VPS Cloud Servers in Japan

Life abroad as a parent can be tough, and there are moments when you just want someone to take the pain away...now.  It can be especially difficult when those moments sneak up on you, and you don’t have nearby friends or family who can keep an eye on the youngsters.  While you take care of business or recover from an illness or recent childbirth, wouldn't it be nice to have a helping hand?  Sure, there are daycare programs and preschools; but those options aren't always convenient or suitable, often requiring advance registration procedures.  Luckily with some relatively recent developments, parents in Japan can choose from a number of babysitter options to help alleviate the stress of finding someone trustworthy to take care of the kiddies in those busy times.

Read more: Babysitting Services in Japan

Several years ago I enrolled in Sumida Hospital's clinical trials program, participating in one of their paid clinical trials.  Despite the commitment, I found it a rewarding experience both in monetary value and blog-worthiness.  I described the experience in detail here: The Clinical Trial

Since I'm on their mailing list, I receive occasional invitations and information regarding their other clinical trials.  They currently seek Caucasian and Hispanic participants on an on-going basis for a number of well-compensated clinical trials.  The requirements vary based on the specific trial.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
FYI ONLY - These are general requirements that seem to reverberate through most all the clinical trials.
- healthy person of Caucasian or Hispanic background (both parents must be Caucasian or Hispanic)
- age between 20 and 45
- weight between 40 kg and 90 kg
- able to refrain from smoking during the clinic stay
* Please note that these are just the major general requirements. There may be other requirements or conditions not listed here that could cause ineligibility for a particular trial.

Please contact Sumida Hospital through their website if interested.  Please let them know that David Pavlina referred you, as this simple act helps to support my blogging efforts.

Here's the link to Sumida Hospital's site.  Here you'll find a list of the current clinical trials open for application.
http://www.clinicaltrialstokyo.com