"I take a picture of the vending machine every day (or so). I'm very sorry." 5 Oct 2007

Hats off to Michael Keferl. He's just found the greatest blog ever! It's name is: "I take a picture of the vending machine every day (or so). I'm very sorry." Its thought-provoking subtitle: "If you don't have any bread, isn't it good to drink cola?"

The blog's author - Ryuuichi Ikeda of Sapporo, Hokkaido - has been taking a picture of the same Coca-Cola vending machine nearly every day for the last two years, documenting the changes to products and promotions. But it's so much more than the web equivalent of a flicker book. Because not only does Ikeda take these photos, he also compares them to previous years and provides in-depth analysis via hand-drawn Andy Gray-style diagrams (that's John Madden-style diagrams, for our US readers) and statistical commentary:

"Every product is listed in its precise position (A4, B12, etc), along with its size and weight, and he even manages to keep up with the label changes from the beverage makers themselves. It's incredible dedication and, for me, actually quite useful and insightful.

"Thanks to Ikeda-san, we can now gauge the general time when the vending machines add the 'hot' function for wintertime beverages (after the second week of October). His blog notes also reveal a bit of nostalgia for 2005 when he laments that it now 'has too many stickers'."

Genius!