Ive only just arrived at Mount Koya and I already feel like Ive cheated on my pilgrimage.

Backpack-laden foreigners are mingling with Japanese pilgrims sporting walking sticks and conical hats in the towns snowy train station parking area. But my stalwart travel companion, Felicity, and I slowly roll by them in our comfortably heated car, having driven 90 minutes from Ikoma to Mount Koya, Wakayama Prefecture.

Im not entirely sad to be arriving in style. The temperature outside is barely topping the freezing mark and the previous nights snow still lies thick on the temple roofs and sidewalks. While Ive long wanted to make this trip and even imagined the beauty of seeing Mount Koya in winter my fingers are already losing circulation just at the chilly sight.

These days, you dont have to be a believer to make the journey to this temple complex, which sits on the apex of a wooded mountain. Although pilgrims have been coming to this center of Shingon Buddhism since its foundation by famed monk Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai) in 816, the 1,200th anniversary of the monastic settlement this year promises an increase in the number of curious tourists who have heard of Mount Koyas serenity and want to see it for themselves.

Felicity and I begin our explorations at the large entrance gate that signals to pilgrims coming up the 24-km Choishi-Michi trail that their destination and possible salvation is in reach. A little way down, we meet Rie Sakai, a henro (pilgrim) hiking up the narrow lane with her sturdy stick and wagesa (a pilgrims silk stole). We stop to chat and I query her on what could have motivated her visit to Mount Koya in such a season.

Well, I dont have to work at the moment, so the timing was good, she says, though admits were lucky to have such a clear winter day. When pressed a bit more, Rie rifles through her pack and reveals a beautiful stamp book from the 88 Temple Pilgrimage on Shikoku Island.

Ive come to Mount Koya to give thanks for a successful journey around Shikoku, she adds. With our adventure merely a weekend, its easy to forget that, for some, Mount Koya is the culmination of something much bigger.

A few meters further on, we pick our way carefully up the icy steps to Danjo Garan the towering vermilion pagoda that has become a symbol of Mount Koya to the outside world and the first place in the area where we discover other foreign travelers. Despite those gathered in the grounds around the pagoda, the surrounding sub-temples attract few visitors. Even at neighboring Kongobuji Temple, only a few other heavily bundled visitors are swishing along the polished corridors and admiring the sumptuously painted screens.

A heavenly cup of chai warms our frozen fingers at Bon On Shya, an atmospheric cafe in the middle of Mount Koyas temple precinct.

Its very quiet here in the winter, says the owner, a transplant from Yokohama who wandered down here years ago and just stayed. In fact, theyre closing up as soon as we finish, but we make a note of the hours for the following day so we can return and examine the local pottery displayed in the cafes gallery.

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Journey of eat, pray, bathe awaits pilgrims to Mount Koya

New customers who take one of Zen Internets superfast fibre broadband (FTTC) packages (e.g. Fibre 1, Unlimited Fibre 1, Unlimited Fibre 2 or Unlimited Fibre Office) can now also take a Self-Install (PlugnPlay) option, which means that an Openreach engineer doesnt need to enter your home in order to complete the setup.

The other good news is that Zen, unlike some ISPs, will also continue to give customers the option of having a Managed Install (includes an engineer visit) if they so wish. Otherwise Zens Home Fibre packages all come with a 12 month contract, a free wireless router (details at the bottom), Static IP addresses and no Traffic Management.

Prices for the entry-level Fibre 1 (38Mbps) package with 50GB of usage costs 19.50 per month, plus 30 activation (one-off) and phone line rental must also be taken from 16.99 per month. The next package adds unlimited usage via a price of 27 per month, while going to a faster speed of up to 76Mbps pushes this to 30 per month (note: activation on this deal is free).

David Barber, Zens Senior Product Manager, said:

At our Annual Partner Event in November, partners talked about wanting more flexibility and choice around how their services are delivered. Since then weve been working on a number of ideas to make life easier for them, one of which is Self-Install.

Opting for Self-Install removes all reliance on third parties to successfully get a next-generation broadband customer connected. Thats welcome news for many, who often feel the pain of engineer visits and missed appointments.

Subscribers to the service will also gain access to a free wireless router (Technicolor TG589vn v3), which tends to retail for around 50 and includes an integrated ADSL2 + VDSL2 (FTTC) modem, a single USB 2.0 port, 802.11n WiFi at 2.4GHz, four 100Mbps Ethernet LAN ports and an integrated SPI firewall (note theres a 6.95 delivery charge). Sadly theres no Gigabit LAN or 5GHz WiFi, but at least its IPv6 ready.

See the article here:
UK ISP Zen Internet Start to Offer Self-Install FTTC Fibre Broadband

LOS ANGELES -- When former Marine Joe Bonfiglio starts thrashing in his sleep, his pit bull service dog jumps on the bed, climbs on top of him and wakes him up to end the flashback.

The dog named Zen has allowed Bonfiglio, 24, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from a five-month tour in Afghanistan, to get back to everyday activities. He can now do things such as shop at malls in Poughkeepsie, New York, because Zen helps calm Bonfiglio when crowds trigger a panic attack.

"I used to go to bars with my friends. And war movies. I am not going to see 'American Sniper,' " he said. "It would bring me back to a place I don't want to be."

Pit bulls aren't the typical choice for a service dog. They are feared, banned in hundreds of cities and blamed for sometimes deadly attacks. The Animal Farm Foundation in Dutchess County, N.Y., wants to change that stigma through a program that trains and donates rescued pit bulls to push wheelchairs or help people regain their mobility and avoid falls.

The effort faces opposition from those who believe the breed is dangerous.

The Assistance Dog Training Program is believed to be the only U.S. training school exclusively for service dogs that uses pit bulls from shelters, said Apryl Lea, the foundation's certified trainer. It's placed five dogs that require two years to socialize, train and acquaint with handlers.

A smaller group, Pits for Patriots, trains rescued pit bulls as comfort, therapy and support dogs for veterans, police officers and firefighters but has yet to place any service dogs. Comfort dogs are pets that get a few weeks of training, while therapy animals receive at least six months of training to help calm people who haven't received a diagnosis as severe as PTSD.

"Veterans and first responders can identify with pit bulls because they either have seen a lot of trauma or been through a lot of trauma," said Kelly Yearwood, co-founder Pits for Patriots in Chicago, whose group started the same year as the Animal Farm Foundation's program, in 2011.

The handful of major training schools and a few smaller ones all typically breed German shepherds, Labradors and golden retrievers for the lengthy, costly process to become a service dog.

Shelters nationwide watch for canine candidates for the foundation's program, which trains dogs based on Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, Lea said. With pit bull breeds making up a huge percentage of dogs in shelters, she has to carefully decide which dogs are accepted. They must have the right build, aptitude and focus to help a person get through life with disabilities or injuries.

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Rescued pit bulls fight stigma as guide dogs