You'll probably need to view the image in a new window to see it properly. Will do my next one in a verticle line.

Right click, View image for full screen glory.

The iPad came out last Friday and after a bit of...persuation (ie. standing uncomfortably close to the guy in front of me and sniffing his hair) managed to get to the front of the demo table at the Apple store (he smelt of papiya, by the way).

I only managed to get a 2 min try of it but I feel it was more than enough.

The first thing I did was try out a puzzle game. I wound a lot of string around this wooden statue and tied the end around a nail. Puzzle solved. Not sure why I was doing it, but I'm not one to question. Next I went on a piano app where I couldn't hear anything, even with the sound on full, because of the hussle and bussle around me. I'm pretty sure I was doing an epic rendition of The Final Countdown, though. Finally, I read Winnie the Pooh and looked up "rabbit" in the dictionary (pictured).

Let me break down what I did in those two mins:

• Naff puzzle game = Prof Layton + DS - £150
• Naff piano app = 54 key keyboard - £44
• 1 Winnie the Pooh eBook = Winnie the Pooh complete collection - £18

Which brings my half arsed Amazon search total to £212. Compared to the iPads starting price of £429, I feel I'm saving quite a bundle here.

In all honesty, if you're hell bent on getting something Apple, spend an extra £90 and get a Mac Mini. It will literally do an infinite more than the iPad ever can, plus porn.

Tis a glorious sunny day in England, so I decided to go for a bit of a walk in my local park.

You can see my train station from the bridge heading towards the entrance. I'll do my next one on public transport, I think, since it's a nice little hot topic for me.

Parks in England vary quite a lot depending on where you go. The one nearest me has a lot of natural beauty as a lot of it is unused farmland. In the next town over the park is very well managed and kept like a giant garden. You can see a "panorama" pic I took with my phone here.

I do rather enjoy the wildflowers and wildlife you get in the one near me.

There are a lot of very old milestones dotted around randomly. You sometimes still see them along main roads. I think some of them are actually things for gas pipes...not sure what the "LYR" writing's for.

The roads in Britain are very mismatched. You often get road surfaces changing a lot in a very short distance. This is because the electric, gas and water companies refuse to co-operate and so you can have the same bit of road dug up 3 times with different asphalt put back down when they're done. It gives our roads a kind of patch-work feel to them. ^_^;

After the really cold winter we had, our town had a ton of potholes in the road. The council told us that there was no money to fix them and a new rule stated they won't be repaired until they're 4cm deep. But by the next election, guess who suddenly had money to fix the roads? :P

Litter is a major pain in my arse in this country. It's everywhere and nobody does anything about it. I mean, it's not like someone accidentally took their kitchen bin out into the countryside and then accidentally smashed it open. Who takes half a chair? Why is there a sponge all the way out here? :?

Graffiti is also something that never gets cleaned. Rob apparently "tagged" this (if my young persons' slang is anything to go by) two years ago, and our residental Korean hoodlum "Dong" has been there as long as I can remember. What's graffiti like where you live?

Dog poop and Batman go in here.

The River Blakewater. It runs the stretch of the town and joins the biggest river in the next town over before heading out to sea.

Hmm, I think I'll start using larger photos next time. What are the parks like near where you live?

So, I haven't updated in a while. Sorry. ^_^;

I've been volunteering at a local primary school for the past 7 months and about a month ago I got a phone call from the headmistress offering me full time work to cover maternity leave. Score! :D

What else have I been up to?

Becoming the world's first Air Guitar Mini Golf champ.

Playing various instruments I can't afford.

Visiting the cinemas a lot.

Going to museums to look at awesome dinosaur bones.

And eating my weight in Oreo ice cream. Anyone else been to TGI Fridays? Those guys are obsessed with Oreos.

I'll try and keep updating my blog. I'm toying with the idea of a Life In Britian photo blog. Anyone interested in that?

For those that don't know, I've applied for the JET programme which would allow me to teach English as a foreign language to Japanese kids. I applied for this back in September, got an interview in February and today I received my result.

Alternate/reserve shortlist.

What this is is an enormous "maybe". The letter tells me that, essentially, I can be contacted any time between now and the second week of December and asked to go to Japan on short notice. I'm not complaining, I'm relieved it's not a rejection, but at the same time it's just added a massive waiting time with absolutely no definite timeline. I thought I was annoyed when they said "April" for the results, "up to 8 months" (by which point I have to have reapplied) is just mad.

Oh well, fingers crossed for the coming months.

I've been learning Japanese on and off for about 4 years, but only properly got into it this past year. I know there's a lot of people who'd like to learn for whatever reason, and with a completely different alphabetical system it does seem a bit daunting, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on learning a new language.

Getting Started

Firstthings first, you need to know why you're getting into this and how much time you're willing to commit. If "for poops and giggles" is on top of the list, you probably don't need as an intensive course as say someone who's emigrating within a few months. If you want to read manga, it's best to stick to learning kanji, whereas someone who'd like to just chat in Japanese would need to put some time into learning slang and idioms.

Right, essentials:

1. Learn hiragana and katakana

Even if you're focusing on speaking and listening, learning the basic Japanese alphabets can prove invaluable, especially as you advance. I learnt by using KanaTest, a free program on Ubuntu, and using Kana Flashcards.

2. Find your ideal method of learning

Some of the more lucky amongst us have the ability to look at a book once and remember it forever. Most others it takes more time, and different ways of inputting data show different results. Pretty pictures, sound bytes or even word play can make us learn better or worse. I personally prefer giving meaning and pictures when learning.

3. Get some material

With the internet and television as good as it is nowadays there's little reason to not start learning. Everything from Google to YouTube can give you some fantastic results. If you prefer having physical copies, there are plenty of books out too and a dictionary, even if it's a small one, is an essential.

I personally mostly use Smart.fm which is fantastic and you can easily sign up just using your Facebook or Twitter account. When you get more advanced, or if you just fancy trying your hand at it, using Anki and Remembering the Kanji is a great way of drilling kanji into your head.

Benkyoushimasu

Starting out can be difficult. In order to get the best learning experience it is best to learn hiragana (used for Japanese words) and katakana (used for foreign words) which will take time in itself. Sort of like an uphill climb, once you read a certain point in your reading the rest picks up momentum and you run with it.

There really is no fixed stage in which you shouldbe at after a certain amount of time. My own mother speaks fluent French and German, and enough Spanish to have a basic conversation, and she learnt to do so in a very short space of time. On the other hand, there are families in my area who only speak Punjabi/Polish/Hindi with little to no English and have been living here for 12-15 years. Don't force yourself to be ultra fluent in a month or you'll tire yourself out. Instead do what's fun and go at your own pace.

Try to aim for at least 10-30 mins a day, casually. If you're really into it, go for an hour.

A friend of mine, who ended up living in Japan for a year, did what's called immersion. Everything he did, he did it in Japanese. He watched Japanese shows, read Japanese news and listened to Japanese music. He immersed himself in the language and has come out almost fluent. I found a similar experience with French. Sat in a stuffy cIassroom repeating words the teacher said got me a D grade in French GCSE. I didn't enjoy it as a lesson and I didn't enjoy it as a language. However on holiday in France I found myself speaking it fairly well

Personally I've just changed little things - switched my PS3 and Windows 7 to Japanese language, put Smart.fm as my homepage, and count in Japanese (always fun to confuse cashiers with).

Hints and Tips

As I've said, make it fun. If you enjoy anime, watch anime and try to listen out for random words or sayings you know. Reading? Go onto Google News and change it to Japanese. I'm currently translating (very, very slowly) the first volume of Yotsuba& (known as Yotsubato). On Anki one of the first kanji it asks you to learn is for "fish guts"...which I barely use in English so why it's prioritised over "to look" I don't know. Learn what you need and more importantly what you want.

Don't get too caught up in learning pages and pages of words. Grammar is just as important.

Try to look at how you know your own language and apply the same logic to learning Japanese. You don't need to learn what an "indirect passive noun" is to know how to use it.

Quotes

"The best time to do something worthwhile is between yesterday and tomorrow."

"An ALT (assistant language tutor) in Osaka used to think he could get beef jerky from his local combini...until he learnt the kanji for 'horse meat'..."

"It's not the language. It's not you. It's your habitual behavior."

Well, my first suspension is over. Can't say I'm bothered by it, but then again this place hasn't been the same in a long time.

Anyone else been suspended before?

5. Headshot

Yahtzee explains this better than I can but basically a lot of FPSs do the classic "zoom into the back of characters heads" trick to show you who your character is and that now you are controlling them. Left 4 Dead is a more recent offender and zooms into whichever character you or the computer randomly decides you're playing. It's not so much a bad game-breaking thing as a little tedious. It's been the same camera trick since Goldeneye 64 so maybe some new trick is due?

4. A change in scenery

FPSs aren't exactly known for their creativity. Simply have one team of undeniably evil doers and have you play as someone on the undeniably good team and you pretty much have a license to kill right there. The set-pieces are in direneed of changing, though. I've lost count how many different ways a single American soldier won World War II, how many times Afghanistan (or equivalent) has been liberated and how many invading aliens need to be told GTFO. Call of Duty went...well, modern with Modern Warfare and the new Medal of Honour looks damn near identical. Could we please have a different location before Halo: Modern Combat Evolved is released?

3. Balancing act

The only games company I know who even make an attempt at balancing out weaponry is Valve. With the introductions of new weapons for all the classes in Team Fortress 2, each one is meticulouslytweaked until it fits snugly in with the other weapons. Most others, however, are contempt to just have everything they've coded to remain the same until the death of the game. Noob tubes are still instant kill with splash damage, stabbing someone in the foot is more powerful than a shotgun to the torso and pistols may as well be firing tic-tacs. I'm not saying the guns should be highly realistic and everything does one-hit kills, but in order to keep the combat fresh and exciting you need to keep fine tuning the multiplayer.

2. Make it a one man army

On that note, far too many games are relying on online multiplayer to make their FPSs "good". I say "good" because, as with any multiplayer, the game is only as good as the community involved. Modern Warfare 2 has now become the rubbish pub everyone goes to. The drinks are overpriced, the bar staff couldn't care less about you, the seats are broken and a strange sweaty man who insists your name is Frank is trying to feel you up...but you keep going there because that's where all your friends go. For the price of the game, Modern Warfare 2's single player is criminally short. If you know what you're doing I'm sure it could be finished within a day or two. More attention needs to be placed on making the single player long and exciting (giggidy) for you to keep coming back to it. TimeSplitters 2 was the perfect single player FPS, shortly followed by Half Life 2.

1. Iron out the ironsights

I'm not sure why this is the case, but the introduction of the ironsights has been a royal pain in my backside of recent years. The ironsights seem to have a magical charm placed upon it that makes ever single shot as accurate as a sniper rifle. A pistol in ironsights can easily hit someone on the other side of a map. Yes, it does increase the aim, but not by that much.

Anyone have any suggestions to improve FPSs?

Me: Hi, I had a blood test last week and was told to ring up today to see the results.

Receptionist: Okay, everything looks normal but your allergy test has come back as "mildly elevated".

Me: Right.

Receptionist: ...

Me: ...so what happens now?

Receptionist: What?

Me: Well...do I come in or...?

Receptionist: Did you doctor tell you to come in?

Me: He told me to ring up and you'll tell me.

Receptionist: ...

Me: ...

Receptionist: Well, it says on the sheet "review in 2 weeks" which usually means you book an appointment.

Me: :|