Are there times when life gets you down and in an attempt to cheer you up someone says, “you look better when you smile…”? Ever want to punch that person in the face? Think about if upon beginning your work day, you are subjected to a “smile scan”. Staff at the Keihin Electric Express Railway are now required to submit to these daily face scans which aims to boost daily commuter service.

After analyzing lip curves, wrinkles, and eye movements, the smilebot subsequently rates your mug and offers suggestions like, “lift up your mouth corners” or “you still look too serious” in the attempt fulfill the greatest potential of your smile. Employees receive a handy printout rating their smile on a scale of 0 – 100 to take and inspire them throughout the day.

I ask, why not just tack on pieces of flair to their uniforms?

[Foreign Policy]

And I, for one, welcome our PVC based overlords! Good Smile, One of the most popular Japanese figurine and hobby products have recently announced a beta version of their brand new English homepage! Right now it is just a RSS feed and list of figure releases, but expect more features such as a product search, a mobile version, and shipping date calendar soon. The recent interest in the English speaking part of the world is part of their new initiative to make their products more available across the globe. I don’t know about you, but that is excellent news for those of us who would rather not pay high deputy fees to import some of their fine products. So, why not head over to their new site and check it out?

[English Good Smile Company homepage]