Working up the courage to talk to a woman in a skimpy outfit like one would find in the well-publicized maid cafes can be nerve-wracking for the shyest of the shy. This is perhaps what gave Mother Café boss Asahi Geino his golden egg idea; that Osaka's loneliest otaku crowd would be more comfortable talking to someone that reminded them of their mothers.

So, what do you get at a mom café? According to Geino, "We staff our cafe with women who look older than they actually are, but they're also capable of understanding worries people have and have experience in dealing with people of all ages. Our aim is to become a kind of therapeutic cafe where customers feel at ease enough to be able to open their hearts to staff."

There are 10,000 manga titles to choose from, the opportunity to be hand-fed a slice of cake by a woman that may or may not remind you of your actual mother and if you are a regular; you get some lifestyle-related nagging thrown in for good measure. [Mainichi Shimbun]

Many of you good sons and daughters out there understood the situation, relating some funny-to-geek stories and comments of your own. Here were my favorites, along with some of my mom's. (Yeah, Valentine's Day may not be the day you're thinking about your mom, but we thought we'd cramp your style).

BY CURVES:
This is so far past my mom, who can't (won't) even operate an ATM. She drives 20 miles, hands me her card and drives us to the bank. She refuses to even learn, she says "Why? Thats what you're for."

BY KAISER-MACHEAD:
"Screw Blu-Ray. What is it?" - Mom
I share her sentiment :P

BY CAMARO02:
My mother has sent me several emails like this. My favorite was actually a phone conversation, where she described that she was suffering from "Sticky-M-Key." She wanted to know if there was a good way to disassemble the keyboard to fix it. I told her she probably could, but it would be easier to buy a new keyboard. Her next comment surprised me more then a little, as she said "don't they cost like $300?!"

BY SAMIFUMI
Your mom can send an email?

BY SQEAKYTOY OF THE APOCALYPSE
"even bad men love their mommas...."

BY M4XIMUSPRIM3
[My mom will] call me to ask me for a refresher on how to email. Once, she called me freaking out because she was on my Dad's computer and "EVERYTHING JUST WENT BLANK!" Turns out she hit the power button on the monitor.
Even thinking about the wires behind a television is pretty much beyond her. She's a hell of a doctor though :)

BY MINTME
I'm jealous that your mom can send email. My mom "quit email." I'm not sure if that means she quit the internet provider, or just stopped using it.

BY SANGARTS2
Here's a story on my mom- last year I finally got the parents online. While walking her through the basics, she kept running out of room on her mouse-pad, so I said, mom, you know you can pick it up and move it back to where you need it- what does she do- she picks the mouse up and starts waving it over her head and says, "Rob, this isn't working either"- i couldn't help it, i fell off my chair laughing... after I explained it to her, she had a good laugh too- and we continue to laugh- i love being her 24-7 IT Department.

And by the way, my mom loved all the comments. Thanks.
- Mark

Subject: blu-ray
So, Mark, this would replace a dvd...so I would need a new player? I had heard about it at best buy yesterday and did not understand. Are there blue ray tvs? or is that a whole other thing? Mom

Subject: Re: blu-ray Wow, that email made me laugh. And it's not your fault - chalk it up to lousy, confusing marketing.

Blu-ray is just Sony's high definition version of DVD so all it needs is an ordinary high definition television (HDTV). There are no blue ray tvs...that's the part that made me laugh. It made me realize that there are probably thousands of people searching Best Buy every day for "blue ray tvs."

To confuse the topic further, Blu-ray had a competitor until just a few weeks ago called "HD DVD." But it looks like everyone is giving up on that format at the moment, so Blu-ray is your best bet. We'll talk about options later, but your first step would be to get an HDTV. Blu-ray makes no sense without one.

- Mark

PS. Blu-ray uses a blue laser, hence the name. But I guess you can't trademark "blue."

PSS. I'm posting your email on giz. Love you!

Oh, and needless to say anyone who laughs AT my mom instead of laughing WITH her will be banned with extreme prejudice.

Body: Unbreakable
Screen: Shatterproof
Internet Connection: Poor
Memory size: 0 GB
Sound Quality: Woolly
Ringtones: No
iPhone: No
Google Maps: No
Camera: 5 megaknitzels
Price: Cheaper than the real thing

My Mom handknit an iPhone [Daddy Types via Boing Boing]

Top 10 Home Theatre Gifts for Mom [About]