Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
It’s been nearly a year since we moved into our first house. Most house hunters will have saved enough to put down a hefty deposit on a new house in Japan, but in our case, we had to find a mortgage to cover the whole cost of the house. Mortgages in Japan usually run for 35 years, which is actually longer than the lifespan of a Japanese house. Typically, after 15 years you’ll need […]
I’ve already taken a look at some of Second Life’s Japanese sightseeing spots, so for this post I thought I’d look at the business side of things and see what the Japanese cell phone providers are doing in this virtual world. First up was NTT DoCoMo, who have a very prominent tower in the center of their 3D island, and around it is an “Advanced Technology” room, a museum, a shop and […]
I’m sure most of you have googled your own name on the internet, and I’m no different. It’s no surprise to find someone else with the same name as you considering the billions of people on the planet, but in my case, the other Nick Ramsay is also British, and the same age as me! I take pride in my computer skills, so it’s a bit disappointing not to see my […]
I was aware of it during my childhood, but as I got older less people mentioned it. Generally, in the U.K, people don’t run around pointing out how big your nose is. “Crikey! Your nose is huge!” is something I hadn’t heard since I was a kid. That was until I came to Japan, a country full of small nosed people who apparently think a big nose makes one more distinguished. Maybe […]
Over a year ago, in my post Computer Translation, I wrote about how some of my students use translation software when writing letters or reports. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the results, and urged my students not to trust such software. So, one year on, I was playing with Google Translate and tried a little experiment. First, I copied some text from a Japan Today article, and used the site to translate […]
Our son Rikuto, at nearly three months old, is amazing at staring contests. I’m not sure he realizes he has eyelids yet, or perhaps he’s just fascinated by the funny-looking people he says each day, i.e. his mum and I. Either way, this is a great picture of him staring down the barrel of his bottle. I’ve added a caption below, but would love to hear one of your own! “What’s […]
I must have done something worthy of attention because Mike from BlogsOnJapan.com pulled me aside for an interview. Mike is putting together a collection of interviews with bloggers in Japan, and LongCountdown.com made the list. Find out what my favorite place in Japan is, who my favorite celebrity is, and what I think of Japanese food by reading the Interview with Long Countdown. On top of that, I was surprised to find myself the subject of […]
I’ve been teaching English in Japan for over ten years, but I haven’t ventured into online English teaching. However, the internet is now part of our everyday lives, and email is no longer the only common means of communication. People everywhere, young and old, are using webcams, headsets, and software such as Skype to communicate with friends and family. The demand for English teachers is as strong as ever, but students are looking […]