Something I Belong

I've never heard in the Philippines the U.S. sells products which are not good for selling in the U.S. because the Japanese media doesn't tell such news to avoid to be a disadvantage to U.S. On the other hand there are many news that could be a great disadvantage to China reported by the media. It seems to me that the difference of Japan or the U.S. and China is if they know how to behave well and show a good face toward the world.

I've known about crab mentality in the Philippines. It is a big problem If this kind of thoughts are immersed into the culture. I propose an idea that the education beginning from age of two or three at day care centers should be changed and teach children how constructive the cooperation is. I bet the Philippine education can do as they have got an advantage of English education compared to other Asian nations.

It has been a year since I started to take Online English lessons at Skytalk. By the way I am not trying to recommend Japanese students to register this school.

There are roughly two segments when classifying the Online English school market. One is cheap schools without maintaining teacher's quality. Another is expensive schools with high quality teachers. However the school I introduced at the beginning would be classified in the former segment. What I want to say is there is the teacher who is suited to me and that is why I am still there. Keeping up studying at one place depends on not a school but a teacher. I am sure that meeting such a teacher is a secret for all students who study the second language to improve and proceed.

I was asked to make a car using blocks. One of the requirements was to ride three stuffed toys. Two of them were bigger than I though so I had to consider preparing a enough space for them. Reproduction of the car seemed not to be feasible as you are looking at the elaborate bottom of it.

What is written below is the conversation between an American English teacher and me, when Naoto Kan took office as the Japanese Prime Minister.
"Is Japan governed by China?"
"Sorry?"
"The name of new prime minister looks like Chinese name. Is Kan Chinese?"
"No! Not at all!"

Yes, he might become Chinese recently. The prosecutor's office seized records about the computer which was used to upload collision incident's videos on Youtube. I have never seen such a quick response at the Japanese government. The way of seizing videos form Google seems the way China usually dose. You know the policy toward Okinawa the Democratic Party in Japan has seems to let Okinawa be separated from Japan in the future as if it will become part of neighbor countries.

I just imitate Adobe which had a campaign with the title 'We Love Apple'. Someone I suspect who might be a troop of the Self-Defence Forces exposed the video about the collision incident around the Senkaku islands between Japan and China on Youtube. We can easily find and watch videos by searching with a keyword 'senkaku'. I think that it can be said what he or she did is a kind of a coup rather than a whistle-blowing. I can't understand why the Democratic Party in Japan wanted to conceal this video from nation's eyes. It is ridiculous for DPJ to regard a person who uploaded the video as a criminal because what DPJ have done is really criminal. DPJ would sink at the next congressional vote in 2013 or public opinion would push the time earlier.

No!! Dragons was checked!! They became not to be able to lose any more absolutely. I have been a fan of Dragons as I have been in Nagoya or suburbs of Nagoya since I was born. But those who are living outside of both Nagoya and Chiba might make no mention of the Japanese Series. It appears in fact that terrestrial broadcasts were abandoned three times. However It is enough for me if I can watch games by satellite broadcasting.

I took an in-house course about MBA Strategy today. I expected this course to give me the new knowledge related to this field before taking it, but there is nothing new to be useful idea for my business in the future.

Although I couldn't acquire academically, I was interested in the case study introduced to learn why Snow Brand Milk one of the largest dairy company in Japan was failed to promote Gatorade after they got the sales privilege in Japan in 1980. Even though they wanted to establish a new business independent of milk products, they didn't notice that the big opportunity to do was coming and they entrusted promoting Gatorade to the department selling powder products. Even though there must be many targets to drink sports drink because of the new category at that time, they promoted only to the university students who played sports hard. Roughly 5 years later, other sports drinks came in existence, Gatorade in Japan went far behind them quickly. In 1995 they were fighting with non sports drink products by appointing Michael Jordan for CM, even though they had to withdraw from sports drink segment. I realized intensely if they shared the vision for a certain term and the mission for the society, such a tragedy would not happen.

There are many athletic festival held in October. Even though Health and Sports Day was on the second Monday in October, an athletic festival for my daughter was held yesterday. She participated in footrace as short as 20 meters but enough for 3-year-old children. every mother was prepared for her child's goal at the finish line. After a while 3-year-old children performed playing imitating shrimps and crabs in a circle. But my child didn't perform well. I asked her why she went out of a circle, but she didn't answer and only tried to change a topic.

I appreciated that this athletic festival was held without any worry as we quit doing any activities in the last year because of H1N1 flu.

I went see a doctor to be checked the condition of my knee ligament injured while playing futsal. Before today's diagnosis I couldn't stretch my knee joint straight. I thought bending and stretching the knee joint as much as possible is effective to improve this inconvenience. But it's not true.

"Can you bend first joints of toes downwards?" When I went back to my parent's house yesterday, I was asked by my father. He said he can do now but didn't before he saw a judo therapist who has a skill of what we would call bone-setting.

One of my interests is listening to music. I often watch music videos on Youtube and listen to music on jango. We can play almost all international music on jango. it's very useful but not secure. We can acquire URL of a mp3 file easily from a list of configuration files that your browser shows. It means you can download a mp3 file without paying for it. Of course it is music piracy, but I think jango is responsible for preventing music piracy, if they don't want to be done.

If music industry won't move with the times of digital age, some medium sized companies related to music in Japan will be bankrupt in next decade. It can be also said that those who want to make a break as famous artists in the future must come up with the new system to earn money and face directly how to deal with this trend.

I found a unique idea called Open Score Music which deal music like open source software. Do you agree with it?

At last I took off a cast on my knee, but what is on my knee has just changed to a medical supporter knee brace.

My doctor said I have to wear this medical supporter knee brace for 6 weeks and continue to walk with crutched for one more week.

At first I felt disappointed with walking with crutched, but I recognized I still need them right after I moved my leg which still like a cast!

There are three holidays in Japan from October 9 to 11.
Today is a national holiday called Health and Sports Day annually on the second Monday in October.

Even though Health and Sports Day is a day to promote sports and physical and mental health, I couldn't participate in any activities oppositely because of wearing a cast on my knee.

• Fist day's diagnostic - 7,000 yen
• Magnetic resonance imaging - 8,000 yen

I am using Sennheiser Communications Bluetooth headset MM100 to listen to music only.
But at first I really wanted to use this headset with Skype for Mac to make a handsfree environment.

Unfortunately this headset can not be used with Skype because of bad sound quality.
According to a listener It seems that echo is generated badly.
I don't know which Skype or Bluetooth is responsible, but when I use this headset by HFP/HSP mono mode, sound quality is not as good as ordinary USB headsets.
Moreover it can be said that it is worse than a built-in microphone of Mac.

I want to know how quality would be changed when using with iPhone.

I am appreciative of the book which titled American Accent Training.
I've learned quite a lot about how to pronounce American intonation pattern from this book.
Although my pronunciation was really improved, my speaking pace is not improved yet.
Speaking English quickly is my current big goal.
I want to achieve this goal within one year.

Today I took a paid leave and went to a hospital to get what we call magnetic resonance imaging on my knee's ligament which was injured when I was playing futsal.

The popularity of futsal has been increasing among young and old people recently in Japan.
I think amateur players cause troubles in every sport without knowing how it will be happened.

Positively thinking, I learned how to say the injured part and a equipment's name in English.
But it is very crying I have been worn a cast from the thigh to near the ankle. :'-(