His and Hers New Techie Toys

Mel just got a new Blackberry. He didn`t get it from his company, like everyone else, but got it because he just simply wants it, and it was time for a new phone. Might as well get one with all the bells and whistles (he DOES use it for work related purposes - apparently).

Well, Mel got his new tech toy, I got myself a new tech toy, too. Behold! I FINALLY got myself a denshi jisho (electronic dictionary).

But why a denshi jisho? Aren`t good ol` paper dictionaries just enough?

Nope, no way, not anymore. Even the Japanese use these suckers EVERYWHERE - and that`s why they are so expensive in the States, because they are imported from Japan and only sold in special stores. You won`t find these at your local Best Buy; I have to get one here.

The Japanese developed these for the Japanese and the Japanese-learners use them as well. They have English/Chinese/French/German/Dutch/Italian/ Korean-Japanese versions. I have a regular paper dictionary, a paper kanji dictioanry and a paper grammar dictionary. That amounts to ALOT of weight. Pity they haven`t digitized the grammar dictionary yet.

And the SHEER number of dictionaries you can put in these things!!! There are more dictionaries under the Japanese sun for sure. For me, they are mostly useless. I needed a jisho with a specific combination to start with and some other basics that I forgot: the Kojien Kokugo Jisho + Oxford Dictionary of English. What the Oxford Dictionary is to English, the Kojien Kokugo Jisho is to Japanese - the king of the dictionaries for Japanese-Japanese.

However, I ran into a slight problem. All the new models for English-Japanese sure have the Oxford dictionary, but they don`t have Kojien. Instead they have Daijisen, sorta like Webster`s Dictionary, a second tier version. I was told by someone that for people in the Japanese humanities, there is no alternative: Kojien or bust.

Well, the bust would surely be in my wallet. Hang on to your jishos - the basic price is about $400-$500 for a new model, general/junior high/high school version. There is even a new feature: instead of looking kanji up by the radical (old-school way, many buttons involved), there is now a small touch pad where you write the kanji in question with a stylus, like the bottom screen of a Nintento DS Lite.

I did some research and it seemed that the models after 2005 switched from Kojien to Daijisen. EXCEPT for the medical focused dictionaries. You see, within the major categories of denshi jishos there are ones tailored for specific uses. There is general (the one with every basic jisho under the sun), business oriented, junior high and high school versions, special college versions with TOEFL practice and ones with expensive medical dictionaries for those that are doctors. Now, those are the ONLY ones that have the Kojien + Oxford combo. The cost? 79,000yen for a 2007 model, with that touch pad feature by Casio. Yes, Casio makes more than cheap digi watches, and they are the best sorts of jishos, because you can add on more to the jisho`s internal memory.

No way in HELL was I going to fork over that much money. First, that is alot. Second, I need to buy about 5 more dictionaries to add into it for my needs (Classical Japanese, Japanese/World History Encyclopedia, the queen of Japanese-English dictionaries from Kenkyusha, etc.) and thats another 20,000yen. I would end up spending almost $1000.

So imagine my surprise when I ended up at the co-op shop at Kyodai yesterday. There is was, last year`s medical dictionary with Kojien and Oxford, sans touch-pad feature, all the other basics I need...for 23,800yen. Original price was 79,000yen. I go home after lunch do some research on the net, go back to the co-op ask some questions...

...and I just bought it a few hours ago. The ONLY difference is that I have to look up kanji old-school style, but if I am stumped, I have my old Nintento jisho for that. I really needed a denshi jisho - the cartridge for my DS is dying on me (it won`t read the data sometimes), I am tired of being tethered to the internet dictionaries for my classical Japanese homework and I just downright need one. It`s not a matter of me getting a new toy, this is a matter of one of the `pieces of equipment` that I use, so to speak. Plus, since it was so cheap, I don`t feel bad about getting a jisho with dictionaries I know I`ll never use (the medical ones) and I can definitely afford the specific dictionaries that I will use.

I even got a pretty case for it since I really need to take care of this, as I probably won`t get a new one till I return to Japan for my dissertation research in 4-odd years. It`s a nice, soothing melon green.

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties

And I like to think myself as tech savvy!!

Guess I'm not, (^_~).

I think the problem with the video is fixed; I thought I could still link to it and have privacy settings on, but I guess not, so I switched it to Public and logged out of YouTube to check. It plays on my comp and Mel says it works on his, so I think the videos are ok now.

Sorry guys! :::kneels on floor, bows, forehead to floor:::

Severe form of Japanese apology, in case you didn't know - (^_~) - the lower the bow the more the apology. There is a great video on YouTube out there displaying the different forms of Japanese apology, called Dogeza:



This is I think from the same comedy duo that does the Japanese version of the Apple commercials in Japan - and they crack me up more than the American ones because of all the nuances. Next time, I'll get the videos with the subtitles in the bottom, now that I know how to embed video in blog!

Domo, Makku Desu. Konnichiwa, Pasokon Desu. Bye-bye, iPoddo Desu.

I have just about had it.

My iPod is totally shot from here to kindgom come. I can`t put it on hold anymore because the hold button will freeze my iPod (harks back to the time when I did not use my case and just tossed it into the depths of my bag) and the battery is so gone that I have to carry my charger with me now so that I don`t have a dead iPod for my 2 minute bike ride home.

Just goes to show how dependent on my iPod I am. I am using it again at night to help me fall asleep since I haven`t been sleeping well lately.

This re-emergence of the loathing that I have for my dear iPod was triggered once again by an email I got from Apple, announcing that their nifty clip-on iPod shuffles now come in color a la iPod Nano. About time. They are also very affordable to - $79 or 9800yen. Before everyone goes aghast at the difference in price, I did the math: when you configure the NYC taxes (as the 9800yen list price includes the tax) and convert 9800yen into USD, its actually $80 - 5 dollars less than the $79 iPod shuffle after taxes (which comes to about $85). And besides, my income is in yen - best get things on this side of the world. I WOULD get an iPod video, but I want to wait for the latest generation (or the iPhone!). Furthermore, the iPod shuffle is good for the gym, which I plan to join in March.

On another note, when I was on the Japanese site, I came across the Japanese versions of the Mac vs. PC commercials. Not only did I understand them but they were HILARIOUS. There is this one where the Pasokon (PC - as represented by a salaryman) is decked out in all protective gear with the katakana for `Pa` (as in `pa-so-ko-n`) emblazoned on the front. He tells the Mac (hipster) that it`s for protection against viruses, and they are all the spyware and firewalls. Mac doesn`t wear anything (obviously!) but here is the kicker: unlike the American commercials, where Mac and PC keep chatting till the end, Japan Mac tells Pasokon that there is a virus (off screen) and then Pasokon slowly meanders behind Mac. Mac just looks at Pasokon, who has this look of fear on his face.

For some strange reason, the Japanese Mac ads are much more hilarious than the American ones. I noticed that Mac uses informal language, while PC uses formal language. That surely drives the point home, ne?

You Know You`re a Mac User When...

...you are on AIM on a PC and you forgot all your friend`s screenames and get them mixed up, because on iChat you have it configured so that it shows the real name and not the screen name.

Also, when you are on a PC you unconsciously move the mouse to the upper right hand corner and get mad when nothing happens, because you have too many windows open and you just want to get to that particular one that you need in a flash.

Keitai Konfusion

I got a bank account today. Pretty simple. I like how the cash card (ATM card) comes in 32 different colors and I get to choose one. I chose Dreamy Purple. Very pretty. Should come in 10 days so I will be able to pay my next month`s rent in time. I can bank online too in English. Woot!

But there is no woot! for the keitai denwa. My cell phone.

Japanese cell phones kick the asses of American cell phones anyday. Even my fancy pink Motorola Razr`s bum gets beaten by the OLD-SCHOOL vodafone model that I have.

2 megapixel camera and the capability to play music. I have a 32mb memory card already built in.

But it`s the contract and the usage of the phone that get`s me - seriously, I do not know how to use this damn thing. It took me 20 minutes to figure out how to change my ring tone. Doesn`t help that the manual is not in english. And I didn`t sign up for this email thing so I don`t have a phone email? Not very helpful, because in order to text (or send a `Long Mail` or a `Sky Mail`) to someone outside the Softbank Network, you can`t use a number, you have to use the email?

Pah! This is so complicated. Right now, I sorta have buyers remorse - I sorta wished I had just plunked down the money for the cheapest and simplest cell phone and done pre-paid. Oh well. I signed a contract for 26 months and they don`t have one year so I have to pay a cancellation fee, which is the equivalent of how much my phone would have cost anyways. I think once I get the ball rolling on this keitai thing, I won`t regret getting a contract. Either way, I would have to pay for a cell so I might as well get the contract along with it to get all the goodies without having to go crazy paying so much. Then again, pre-paid would limit me but oh well. Thing is, pre-paid in London was simple because it was just texting, here it is a TOTALLY different story. They have cell phones that turn into miniature tv`s.

You win some, you lose some. Whatever. Not like I am really paying for it.

So as I was waiting for my cell phone to get activated, I wandered into this store called Inobun. Heaven - it is like a combination of Anthropologie and Kate`s Paperie.

I attached my cell phone charms - the one that Maki gave me and the one with a little bell and a dog from Fushimi Inari Taisha - to my cell phone on the bus back to school. I now jingle.