11 Times Tables - The Dead Easy Way

Yes 11 times tables are dead easy to start off with. Sure you're good at it and can do it up to say 12 numbers. But can you figure out 11 x 23 in just two seconds? How about 11 x 256 in just six seconds? Or how about 11 x 8762453901288321?
Well I just taught how to solve these in a quick fashion to an ordinary 10 year old kid, who was struggling in his year 4 maths, in just one day.
And guess what, I'm going to show you how.

Word of the week

Let's try a new segment on this show, word of the week!
This is where I choose a random word or phrase from the Japanese language and go through the details of what it means, how to use it and what not. Sound fun!? Hell yeah!

一網打尽　いちもうだじん　ichi-mou-dajin

一　いち　Ichi, meaning one
網　もう　 Mou, meaning net
打　だ      Da, meaning to hit or in this case get a hit (capture)
尽　じん   Jin, meaning til the end　(capture til the end, capture all in this case)

In a literal sense it means to catch all the fish or all the animals around in one net. It can also be used in situations where you do a certain number of tasks in one fell swoop.

Example sentences:

一網打尽に問題を解決する　　いちもうだじんにもんだいをかいけつする  To solve all problems in one go

君たちは一網打尽だ！　　　　　きみたちはいちもうだじんだ                       I am going to get you all in one go!


So there you go, hopefully you can go away with this and start using it everywhere.

Why did I start with this phrase? I don't know, it was the first thing that popped up to mind :p

Mid-September Blues

That's what I thought I would blame my drought of entries on.
Lazyness? Perhaps
Busy-ness? Yes

But a lot went on in those couple of weeks.
I made a personal best record of 216 mouse clicks in 10 seconds, which I guess I'm proud of.
And I had some more ideas for how to expand my blog, yay! (for me and for you)

I'm in the testing phase of stuff, but I want to make something clear.
Does the people tracker on the left sidebar creep you out? Some guy on some blog thought it was a great way to leer people in on the action, but since I'm still a startup, there isn't much action (yet).

So please tell, does that sidebar creep you out?

How to do well without studying

For those of you who wanted an easy way out of hard work, let me warn you now, this is not it. This is possibly harder than study, plus the results you get at the end of your exam period may not be better than if you studied in the first place.

Then why do it? And why write an entry about it?

Tutoring New students

So I got assigned to a new student and today was the first point of contact.

These first day things are a bit of a nervous thing, you have to lay your cards correctly. If you give a bad impression on the first day, it is likely to be one of the last days you tutor that student. You also want to be a friendly tutor, but not one that lazes about and doesn't adhere to any consistency. You have to give yourself as a professional individual, who is easy to talk to and who can be relied on at most times.

To be all that, a sensible guy such as myself, plays the scenario in their minds.

- You knock the door, most likely you will greet the parent, the unforgiving concrete wall blocking your way to the student, that judges you from the moment the door is opened. Give a "Hi, how are you. I'm blah blah" with a nice firm handshake and a warm smile. You're likely to get a "How are you" back so be prepared and say "I'm good thanks".

And the scenario is played out like so.

When I got there...

Rang the doorbell.
.
The dog barks.
.
.
There was no dog in the scenario.
.
What do I do with the dog?
.
.
.
I'm not scared of dogs, I own one!
.
The door opens.
.
"Hi, come on in"
.
"Hi, good thanks"




Wait, did I just say that?
To a "come on in" I replied, "good thanks".

Perhaps sometimes it's a good thing not to rehearse so vividly.

Akihabara

Here's the next instalment of the Tokyo blogs :)

Telemarketing Laws in Australia

I was looking through the phone book today, looking for the local council number. I needed to call them because there was some road kill that needed some attention.

Anyway, as I was looking through I found a rather interesting page.
It was titled "Telemarketing - know your rights"
Here is the section that caught my attention

Under federal law, telemarketers must:

• Make sure their calling line identification is switched on
• Restrict their calling times to specific days and hours
• Provide information, such as their name, and contact details, when requested
• Terminate a call when requested

So if I read correctly, does that mean I could have threatened to take legal action on this guy?
If that telemarketer was from Australia, he should surely know these federal laws, but there is no guarantee that he was. If he calls from outside of Australia, is he still subject to these federal laws?

May as well give it a try next time some telemarketer gives me a hard time about getting basic information from him.

Asakusa

Your friendly guide to Asakusa :)

Liverpool Lost

So Liverpool lost.
It was always going to be a tough game. Away to a side full of expensive players.
But what annoys me the most, is my fantasy league team didn't do too well. Well to be fair, 6 of my players are from Liverpool and Manchester City, so I can't expect them all to be winners... can I?

Reina, Johnson and Gerrard, I am pondering why I chose you in the first place.

Come to think of it, the only real thought that went into my "fantasy team" was the name, Vuvuzela FC. That's all I can be proud of right now...

Below is Skrtel, the way I see him. (edited by friend)

UFO Catcher (Crane Game) Tips

No this isn't a guide on how to catch aliens from the sky.
It's a guide to help you, at a game centre, get those prizes out of their prisons.
Yes, that's right, UFO catchers (or crane games).

Tokyo

So this is my update on travel tips in Japan. Enjoy :)

What not to do while driving

Below is a list of things you should avoid doing unless you want to annoy other drivers on the road.
(Note, this list was written by an Australian living in Australia, where we drive in the left lane)

• slowing down to turn off before you indicate
• going the opposite direction to which you indicated
• indicating to go follow the road
• not indicating to get off the road
• not indicating at all
• leaving a massive gap in front of you when waiting for a red light
• stopping in front of a T intersection far enough away from the intersection so as not be able to see incoming traffic
• taking up the entire road to turn right at a T intersection
• stop in the middle of a single lane road with no hazard lights on and no apparent reason
• decorating your car with 50 'L' plates
• decorating your car with green and red P plates (at the same time)
• trying to turn left into a suburban street from the right lane of a main road
• driving in two lanes
• tailing another car which is trying to find a parking spot in a parking lot
• leaving your high beam on
• talking to your friend in a car which is going the opposite direction, in the middle of an intersection
• tapping your brakes
• driving (swerving all over the road) with your knees while eating

If you have any more you'd like to add or think that some should come off please feel free to leave a comment below :)

How to Write Japanese Neatly

First off, why would it be important to write Japanese neatly?
Just to name a few random reasons; so that your teacher can read your Japanese (if you are learning it), so that you can feel more confident in your Japanese, so that writing Japanese is more fun etc.

But the main message I want to get across is that;

To be able to write Japanese neatly is in itself part of Japanese culture, and knowing how to write neatly will improve your understanding of it.

So here goes.

A new angle for telemarketers?

This rather amusing episode happened last week.

How to be more approachable

First of all, why would you want to be approachable?
To put it simply, so that you can maximize your social connectivity with people.

Occasionally, scary things happen

I was surfing the web and updating my blog, much like you guys would :)
And then I noticed a tab up in my web browser that I don't remember opening.

I take a look at the page and it says "Millionaire Test".
They ask you 8 questions and deem whether you can become a millionaire or not.
OK, may as well give it a try seeing as though I wanted a brief break.

I answer the 8 questions as honestly as possible and then the diagnosis shows up.
They reckon I can become a millionaire quite easily and that the way I should achieve this is through Forex (foreign exchange, where you trade currencies in a way as to gain a profit).

Funny.

That's exactly how I was planning to invest my money.



Occasionally, scary things can happen.

Take the test yourself.
http://millionaire-test.com/
Tell me how you went :)

What not to do in a lecture

A list of things you should avoid doing in a lecture;

• snore
• fiddle/spasm with your legs
• sit at the front
• sit at the back
• log into your bank account where everyone behind can see
• arrive early
• arrive late
• sit down, turn your laptop on, press record, go to sleep
• bring textbooks
• put your phone on vibrate
• put your phone on silent

Any more suggestions you think I should put up here?
Please add your input in the comment section below, I'm all ears.

Brief Tips for Presentations

Here are some brief tips or codes I live by to get people to think I'm a good presenter.

Japan - Travel Tips

This is my semi-informative semi-journalistic blog about travelling in Japan.
I've been to many places in Japan on numerous occasions.

So allow me to entertain you on some of my adventures and hopefully I can give you some useful tips as well.

DIY - Pay yourself to clean your own house

It's one of those weekends where your Mum decides to start cleaning the house.
Naturally she expects everyone to do the same.

Smash Brothers Brawl Screenshots - Wild night out

So it starts off everyone having a good time dancing right -

Captain twist

SUDOKU

Who here enjoys their little bit of Sudoku out there?

Whether you do it to kill time in the train, or to fuel your brain for the weekend ahead, I'm sure there are a number of reasons why people do it.

Ear Wax

Random topic I know, but I had quite a lengthy conversation about it with my girlfriend one fine afternoon.

Did you know that there are two types of ear wax? Dry and wet.

First!

So begins my bloggins adventure…