I’ve constantly been searching for technology that can facilitate learning and recently stumbled upon one of the best free tools for learning Japanese. iKnow.co.jp is a web site where English speakers can learn Japanese vocabulary and Kanji (there’s also a ton of Japanese users on there that are learning English). You start by creating a log in or use an existing Google or Yahoo account and then enroll in some classes. Beginners are quizzed on Hiragana and Katakana characters while intermediate learners can start out with the first 2000 words, which is split up into 10 lessons. For those that already speak Japanese at home but want to learn Kanji, there is an option to do the lessons with a Kanji focus. For the upper intermediate to advanced folks, there’s the 6000 class, which adds 4000 on top of the basic 2000, where you’ll eventually end up reading Japanese newspapers without batting an eye. In addition to the default 6000 words, there are hundreds of user generated lists like Japanese RPG vocabulary, vocab words from Hiragana Times articles, and even vocab lists from the Minna no Nihongo text book I used in Japan.
A calendar tracks your progress, ala Brain Age or Wii Fit, and suggests that you study at least 30 items a day. It isn’t hard at all to find some time during a commercial break or lunch break since each 10 word quiz can take as little as 5 minutes.
Following the trend of Google apps of storing everything in the data cloud, iKnow! keeps your progress stored with your profile so you can continue where you left off from any computer instead of having to install a program like Rosetta Stone on one computer.
iKnow! offers many Web 2.0 features such as blogging your progress in journal entries, a friends list, and broadcasting your progress like the Facebook newsfeed, which can keep you motivated or even competitive like Trophies on the PSN or Achievements on Xbox Live.
I’ve been using the site for about a week so far and can’t get enough of it. It makes learning Japanese so fun that it feels like it should be illegal for being so addictive. It also feels good to be using the time otherwise wasted on Facebook or online games and putting it into something similar but useful.
Merry Christmas everyone! It’s not too late to buy me a Christmas present yet! Casio has revamped their Databank DBC32 series watches. I’m partial to the yellow and blue one. These will set you back $59 for the colored ones and $69 for the black model. Order them here.
So I was cooking juicy steaks today and enjoying my day off by remembering what Independence Day is all about: to commemorate the day that Will Smith saved the world from aliens back in ‘96. Remember when he punched one in the head? That was outstanding. He even saved us again from zombie/vampire things in December last year, which I think is probably the reason why people celebrate Christmas.
Well I offer a 4th of Julyish tip that may improve your life as it has exponentially changed mine forever and even made me want to post about it.
My tip is how to get those coals on fire in your grill without lighter fluid. If you are a manly man, you know that the only way to start a fire is by polishing the bottom of a Coke can with a chocolate bar to reflect the sun into highly focused beam of light to ignite your coals (this method is actually doable as shown in episode 45 of the Mythbusters). But I’m really lazy and want to light things as fast as possible. Usually I just pile the coals into a pyramid and then give them a healthy Homer Simpson dousing of lighter fluid and toss a match at it and hope my eyebrows don’t get burned off. This usually takes a couple tries to get it going, doesn’t light all the coals evenly, and makes my food taste sorta funny. So the secret tip of the day is to use a Charcoal Chimney instead.
I picked one up at Target for about 7 bucks today and filled the bottom of it with about 4 sheets of wrinkled newspaper. Then I filled the rest of it to the top with charcoal, lit the newspaper from the bottom, walked away and played some Katamari Damacy (which was on sale last week on Amazon for $9.99). When I came back 15 minutes later, the coals were bright red and I was just amazed how quick and simple it was. I owe this tip to my bro-in-law after seeing him miraculously make a fire in mere minutes using a charcoal chimney to start a fire to cook delicious Korean galbi.
I apologize if I might be the last person on Earth to know about using charcoal chimneys so bear with me if you already know this and pretend you just read something new and interesting and act surprised.
As a personal note, I know I haven’t updated this site in over 2 months. So I think I owe all of you an explanation. I’m sorry but it’s sorta a long story but my life recently got flipped upside down. So if you have a minute, just sit right there and I’ll tell you how I became the Prince of Bel Air. In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days. Chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’, all cool. And all shootin’ some b-ball outside of the school. When a couple of guys, who were up to no good. Started makin’ trouble in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight and my mom got scared. And said, “You’re movin’ with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.”
These designs and more are available at the Meat Bun website now!
If you like these shirts, I also recommend taking a look at The King of Games store. They have some fucking amazing Nintendo shirt designs but are a bit pricey since they’re all imported from Japan.
Damn, why didn’t I think of this? Hmm… perhaps we’ll see some Gorgonzola Cheese t-shirts in the future?
