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I’ve been using this game in my classes since I first started teaching English close to three years ago. Over time, I have modded it into its present version. Typhoon is a great game to use when you want to review materials from previous lessons, but the traditional way of writing points up on the … Continue reading »

This is a pretty cool trick using a plant leaf as a photographic medium.

When I was three, I touched the barbecue even though I was told it was hot and it would hurt. This is the first incident in which I can remember thinking about linguistics, for the pain seared the memory into my young mind. Barbecue, I reasoned, is a compound word made up of “Barbie” and … Continue reading »

I finally found an easy way to get rid of auto-formatting in Word (and I would have saved myself much frustration had I taken the time to look up an answer before). I hate how Word automatically changes things automatically, like adding indentations, bullets, capitalizing letters, and makes other adjustments when I’m trying to get … Continue reading »

When I lived deep in the country side I longed to live in the big city. Now that I’m here, I can’t wait to get back out into nature. Isolation is a good thing in the right dose, as is being around people. This is not to say that I want to live in suburbia. … Continue reading »

This ridiculous diagram is part of the revisied lesson plan project that I am working on in the office. At least I’m getting pretty good at using Word and Excel as a result… Teaching Janken in elementary school makes for a good lesson, but I that the Japanese version sounds so much better than “Ro … Continue reading »

Don Quixote is my favorite chain store in Japan. Where else can you buy party sized snacks bigger than they sell in American supermarkets, Louis Vuitton bags, electrical appliances, cosplay outfits, children’s toys, whale curry, and adult goods all under the same roof? If only Wal-Mart was as cool as this… I always happen to … Continue reading »

Autumn leaves in Osaka.

Take any 3 digit number, and make it’s palindrome (by reading it backwards), and add them both together. ex. 893 + 398 Take the sum of the 3 digit number and its palindrome and repeat the process. 1291 + 1921 Take that sum and repeat the process and… it’s a palindrome number: 3212 + 2123 … Continue reading »

Yes, it’s another day in the office working on the dreaded Ashiya curriculum, which means that my brain needs to be exercised lest it die from atrophy. A co-worker brought in some slime and started to play with it, which got me thinking about colloids, gels, polymers, and the properties of substances that exhibit behavioral … Continue reading »