This was going to be a post where I put up my latest Japanese homework (some diary entries). However, I noticed that WordPress needed to be updated, and stupidly, I actually tried it… I think the problem is that the web server runs as a different user than my FTP user, so when I installed [...]

I’ve been keeping up with my Gradint podcast, even without having the bus journey each day, by playing Grand Theft Auto III while listening.  I usually do Ambulance missions, trying to get the mythical Level 12 (you rescue groups of patients, 1 at level 1, then 2 at level 2, and so on, up to [...]

Forgot to specify the date, one of the things we’re supposed to do. So:  Today is Tuesday, the 8th of November 2011. Kyou wa kayoubi, ni sen jyuu ichi nen jyuu ichi gatsu youka desu. きょう　は　かようび、　に　せん　じゅう　いち　ねん　じゅう　いち　がつ　ようか　です。 今日は火曜日、二千十一年十一月八日です。 Actually, it would be written more: 今日は火曜日、２０１１年１１月８日です。 I walked to the shop at 2pm. Watashi wa gogo niji ni [...]

I have been taking Japanese classes through the Learning Works programme at Glasgow Uni.  This week, the homework was to construct two diary-like sentences, to practice using verbs.   They should be done in rōmaji and Hiragana. Given that I’m actually off this week, I’m going to see if I can do this every day [...]

On my birthday, as an excuse to use my nice new graphics tablet, I started a�thread on Reddit where I declared I would draw things for the fine folks at Reddit. This album of pictures was the result. I did about seven of them on the day itself, adding the rest approximately one a day [...]

Yesterday, during my weekly WoW night, the front door bell went unexpectedly. ?Unexpectedly, because nobody calls late at night! ?This turned out to be Kenny, my ex-neighbour-but-one-floor-down. ?He told me that some kids had set a fire in one of the bin enclosures around the back! We went and had a look, but as the [...]

Guess I’m now middle aged – 42! Life, the Universe, and Everything! My birthday present from Mum arrived early, which meant I could convert it into tangible goods – a Wacom Intuos 4L Graphics tablet to replace the one that was stolen nearly two years ago. It arrived yesterday. I love it to bits already, [...]

Immersion Listen more. Watch more. Read more (or any!). There’s a lot of resources out there – free audiobooks, podcasts, comics, books, websites, YouTube videos… Really no excuse! The “Read Real Japanese” book comes in here, too. I doubt I’ll ever go the whole All Japanese All The Time “turn your computer’s language to Japanese, [...]

Vocabulary and Grammar The main thing to do is continue with Gradint. I’ve been thinking about perhaps expanding my Gradint listening to two half-hour podcasts a day, calling the second one “Gradint Nights” for my journey home. That way, instead of learning five words or phrases per day, I could learn ten. If I make [...]

What I Could Be Doing A braver person would label this section “What I will do”, but I’m not, so there! So basically this will be a place for me to put down some thoughts about what I could, should, and maybe will be doing in the future. Kanji and Kana Continue with the RTK [...]