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.
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
Although I've lived overseas in Japan for some time now, I still maintain a "presence" of sorts in my USA homeland in the form of bank accounts, credit cards, Paypal, etc. The Internet with its access-anywhere convenience makes this reasonably easy; however, I smacked into a challenge when seeking to boost the security of my online financial accounts. My ultimate goal was to setup multi-factor authentication wherever possible--a feature supported by most major online services, especially the money-related ones.
Some sites use handy token apps like "Google Authenticator" to provide the second authentication factor, but most I found use SMS--messaging the one-time password (OTP) to your phone upon login. The problem I have is that sites like Paypal require a USA phone number to send the SMS to. But I don't have a USA phone number because I live abroad. Am I forever doomed to answer recycled personal questions when logging in?
