Big in Japan: The spying robot comes to America

by Matthew Firestone on

The difference between men and boys is truly the price of their toys…

Last month, Big in Japan reported about the latest and greatest robot, namely ‘Eternal Maiden Actualization’ or EMA, a 15 inch tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command.

However, just in case you thought that robots couldn’t get any cooler, I would like to introduce you all today to the Rovio, a remote surveillance robot created by the brilliant minds at WowWee. With a retail price of US$299, and an estimated shipping date of early fall, the Rovio raises the bar for home surveillance, baby and pet monitoring, long-distance communication and straight-up coolness.

Basically, the Rovio is a mobile robotic web camera that is equipped with a state of the art micro-GPS system known as Northstar. This sweet and sophisticated tech allows the Rovio to act as a mobile sentry capable of plotting waypoints around your home, and patrolling between them with precision and accuracy.

As if this wasn’t enough of a hard sell, the Rovio is also equipped with a flexible arm and an array of onboard sensors, which are together capable of filming and recording everything that is going on inside your home, and streaming this info to the internet.

How awesome is that?

If you’re frequently traveling for either business or pleasure, you needn’t fear anymore about what’s going on inside your home while you’re out there on the road. The Rovio, a remote surveillance robot that is set to hit stores in America this fall, is designed to give you an intimate look at the inner workings of your home or work space, even if you’re thousands of miles away.

The built in web camera on the Rovio has full audio and video streaming capabilities, and relies on the standard 802.11b/g protocols for WiFi access. These data feeds can be accessed over the web from computers, cell phones and even some video game consoles.

If you’re out to dinner with your better half, check to see if the babysitter has invited some unwanted guests over, or if Spot is behaving himself. With the touch of a button, you can activate Rovio’s mic and speaker, and either scold the babysitter for making out with her boyfriend, or yell at Spot for drinking out of the toilet.

Using simple to understand software that is both Windows and Mac compatible, you can easily program the Rovio to follow set waypoints and patrol a specified path. The onboard GPS system of the Rovio is self-correcting, so there’s no need to worry if your pet gets in the way, and knocks your personal sentry off course.

Here’s the coolest part: you can remotely order the Rovio to return to its charging station with a single command. So, you never need to worry that your robotic guardian’s batteries are going to die, even if you’re away for a long trip.

Want one? Sure you do.

Hammacher Schlemmer is accepting orders, so click on the link and get yourself an early X-mas gift. Then, fire up the Rovio to spy on your family members, and see what they’re getting you for X-mas!

** Special thanks to Robert Oschler over at www.robotsrule.com for alerting robot lovers everywhere about the availability of the Rovio in America **

Big in Japan: 15 Japanese characters that you can learn today

by Matthew Firestone on

All this week, Big in Japan is bringing you trade secrets on how to unravel the linguistic enigma that is Japanese…

While most resident foreigners here in Japan can rattle off a good number of key phrases, the true test of linguistic fluency is whether or not they can read traditional Chinese characters or kanji (??? / ???????).

One of three sets of written scripts that comprises Japanese, kanji are – quite frankly – a royal pain in the ass to learn, especially since there are literally thousands and thousands of characters to learn.

Considering that most Japanese students can’t read a newspaper until they reach high school, you can imagine how long it takes Westerners to master the full character set. However, this worthy goal is in fact possible to achieve, and it really is never too late to take the plunge.

Interested in learning a bit of ???????? (nihongo, Japanese)?

Here are 15 easy Japanese kanji that that you can learn to read today:

??????(den / ta, rice field) This character is just like a bird’s-eye view of a rice patty.

????(san / yama, mountain) Do you see the shape of the mountain here?

????(sen / kawa, river) Try to picture the flow of a bending river.

The list goes on…

Japanese characters aren’t impossible to learn, especially if you memorize a few simple mnemonic devices. After all, modern kanji were at one point in time simple drawings, so try to analyze each character, and look for the original inspiration behind the picture.

日　(nichi / hi, sun) Can you see the sun rising about the horizon?

月　(gatsu / tsuki, moon) This character looks like a crescent moon in the sky.

雨　(u / ame, rain) The storm cloud is releasing drops of rain.

海　(kai / umi, ocean) A huge wave is curling and about to break.

火　(ka / hi, fire) Do you see the small campfire here?

油　(yu / abura, oil) Oil is gushing out of a huge tower.

竹　(chiku / take, bamboo) Two chutes of bamboo are blowing in the wind.

木　(moki / ki, tree) A tall tree grows upwards from the ground.

肉　(niku, meat) You’re staring right at a juicy T-bone steak.

鳥　(chou / tori, bird) A large bird is sitting at the top of its nest.

魚　(gyo / sakana, fish) A fish is swimming effortlessly through the sea.

人　(jin / hito, person) Try to picture a person taking a long stride.

Morale of the story: Japanese really isn’t impossible to learn how to read, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you start to see patterns emerging in the characters.

With that said, we here at Big in Japan still recommend that you consult with an actual Japanese person before getting any kanji tattoos that you might one day regret!

** All images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **

Big in Japan: How to crash course Japanese

by Matthew Firestone on

All this week, Big in Japan is bringing you trade secrets on how to unravel the linguistic enigma that is Japanese…

We’re not going to lie to you: Japanese is really, really hard to learn. Even if you fancy yourself to be an aspiring linguist, it takes years and years of study to wrap your noodle around the complex characters, grueling grammar patterns and formal phrases that comprise ???????? (nihongo, Japanese).

Truth be told, there really isn’t any substitute for formalized Japanese education. However, before stepping off the plane here in the Land of the Rising Sun, you can certainly give yourself a head start by crash coursing basic Japanese.

You’ll be surprised how quick and easy it is to master the basics and build a strong foundation. And, while we’re certainly biased, most people will agree that Japanese has an undeniable cool factor. (^O^)>???????????

So, if you want to take the plunge and start to figure out exactly what’s going on in all of those crazy anime you watch, keep on reading for some author-tested tips on how to crash course Japanese.

Master the essential Japanese greetings. Even if you’ve never been to Japan, chances are you already know that the word for ‘good morning’ sounds like ‘Ohio,’ and that ‘Domo Arigatou Mr. Roboto’ is more or less how you say ‘thank you.’ As you might imagine, politeness is the glue that holds together Japanese society. If you master the essential Japanese greetings, you’ll find that it’s much, much easier to strike up a conversation with anyone you might happen to meet.

Familiarize yourself with subject-object-verb grammar. Unlike the vast majority of Indo-European languages, Japanese has what is known as subject-object-verb grammar. Basically, this means that sentence elements are marked with particles that identify their grammatical functions, and that the verb always comes at the tail end of the sentence. Confused? If you want to say ‘I like sushi’ in Japanese, it would sound something like, ‘I [suject marker] sushi [object marker] like is.’ Still confused? Don’t be.

Pick up a beginner’s Japanese book, and spend a bit of time familiarizing yourself with simple sentence structures. While you can’t directly translate English into Japanese, it doesn’t take too long to start thinking in subject-object-verb structure. Once you get this down, you’ll be ready to start tackling more complicated Japanese grammar patterns.

Learn to read katakana. Katakana (片仮名 / カタカナ) is a syllabic script that is used to write foreign loan words in Japanese. Considering that much of the modern Japanese language is derived from English, novice speakers are pleasantly surprised to learn that they can build up a decent sized vocabulary fairly quickly. Indeed, just step foot into any bar or cafe in Tokyo, and you’ll quickly learn that coffee is kouhi (コーヒ), beer is biiru (ビール) and self-service is serufusaabisu (セルフサービス).

So, just how hard is to learn katakana? Comprised of around 50 unique squiggly little characters that are derived from modified Chinese, katakana does have a bit of a learning curve. However, it generally takes newbies as little as two weeks to fully decode the character set, and your time in Japan really will be greatly improved if you can master this alphabet.

Learn to read at least 25 kanji. The thorn in the side of Japanese junior high school students and foreign students of Japanese alike, kanji (漢字 / かんじ) or Chinese characters take years and years to master. However, it’s not as hard as you might imagine to learn a handful of characters, and deciphering kanji is without a doubt one of the most rewarding aspects of studying Japanese.

Still want to learn how to read 日本語? Sure you do!

Tune in on Friday for tips on how to start learning to read Japanese characters…

** All images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **

Big in Japan: So, you want to learn Japanese…

by Matthew Firestone on

The best way to learn Japanese, at least according to the old joke, is to be born in Japan, to have Japanese parents, to go to Japanese Kindergarten…

(You get the idea!)

For the rest of us however, the only way of wrapping of our minds around the linguistic enigma that is Japanese is to spend years and years slaving away over complex characters, grueling grammar patterns and formal phrases that seem to defy all manners of sensible logic.

But seriously, it really isn’t that bad, and even if you never fully master Japanese, at least you can look cool ordering sushi in front of all of your envious friends!

On that note, this week’s Big in Japan is devoted to unraveling the mysteries of ???????? (nihongo, Japanese).

While we’re certainly not promising that you’ll be able to learn Japanese in just a few clicks of the mouse, at least you’ll get a good sense of how it is that you can draw meaning from all of those crazy scribbles.

So, without further adieu, let’s start with the basics (^O^)>??????????

Here is the good news:

Unlike Mandarin or Cantonese, which have distinct tones that are often incomprehensible to Westerners, Japanese is more or less monotone, and actually has the same phonemes as Italian and Spanish. As a result, Japanese is extremely easy to pronounce, has a relatively small sound inventory, and generally has much shorter sentences than English.

Japanese vocabulary has also been heavily influenced by loan words from other languages. For over a period of 1,500 years, Japanese borrowed extensively from Chinese, though since the 19th century, English has been supplying long lists of new words. In fact, novice speakers of Japanese are pleasantly surprised to learn that they already know a fair bit of the language.

Here is the bad news:

Japanese is distinguished by a complex system of honorifics that reflects the hierarchical nature of Japanese society. This means that specific verb forms and vocabulary indicate the relative status of the speaker and the listener. Needless to say, this inherent complexity is ripe with potential pitfalls for non-native speakers, especally since you can offend your listener and call into question their social status just by mixing up a single word.

And of course, no mention of Japanese would be complete without paying tribute to its masochistic system of writing, which is comprised of no less than three different sets of scripts – four if you include the Latin alphabet, rōmaji (ローマ字). The fact that most Japanese people can’t fully comprehend a newspaper until high school is proof enough that written Japanese is, quite frankly, a bitch to learn.

The Japanese language is written with a combination of three different types of scripts: traditional Chinese characters or kanji (漢字 / かんじ),and two syllabic scripts known as hiragana (平仮名 / ひらがな) and katakana (片仮名 / カタカナ). So, if you thought learning your ABCs was difficult, consider for a moment that both hiragana and katakana have around 50 unique characters each, and there are quite literally thousands and thousands of kanji to memorize.

Still want to learn how to speak 日本語? Sure you do!

Tune in on Wednesday for tips on how to crash course Japanese…

** All images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **

Big in Japan: 5 ways to spice up your Cup Noodles

by Matthew Firestone on

I love ramen.

For some, it’s the heady aroma and subtle flavor of a finely aged cheese. For others, it’s the enticing sizzle and juicy goodness of a T-bone steak.

For me, it’s gotta be ramen, nature’s most perfect food.

Now, while there really is no substitute for handmade ramen noodles floating in zen-like harmony in a steaming bowl of rich and creamy miso broth, sometimes you have to settle for Cup Noodles.

An old standby that’s as cheap as it is nourishing, Cup Noodles can be enjoyed beyond your college years, especially if you know how to spice it up. On that note, if you’re an aspiring gourmand, or you’re just too poor to treat yourself to a proper meal, then today’s posting is for you.

Here are 5 ways to make a real meal out of Cup Noodles:

5) Seafood Bisque Here in Japan, the latest craze is to add steaming hot milk to seafood flavored Cup Noodles, which makes a hearty cream soup that is surprisingly filling. This is a great way to stretch your budget as milk fills the belly much better than mere water. And, if you close your eyes and savor the aroma, you can almost convince yourself that you’re dining on seafood bisque in an expensive restaurant somewhere by the sea.

Keep reading as the list goes on…

4) Curry Noodles While Cup Noodles around the world come in a variety of flavors, in North America it can be difficult to find one beyond your standard chicken, beef and shrimp. Fret not however as all it takes is a bit of curry powder, turmeric and some garam masala to really spice up your standard Cup Noodles. If you can handle the heat, some crushed red pepper really takes things up a notch.

3) Kimchi Stew While real ramen is something akin to fresh, handmade pasta, Cup Noodles often tastes stale and processed. However, you can get some much-needed fiber in your diet by simply adding kimchi to your noodles. This spicy Korean cabbage soaks up oils and softens in water, and gives you the feeling that you’re actually eating something healthy for a change.

2) Vietnamese Pho Processed ramen lacks the delicacy of rice noodles, though a squirt of lime, a dash of plum sauce and some fresh chili peppers can really mask the chemical flavors in Cup Noodles. To really liven this dish up, add some thin slices of beef, preferably tender cuts of sirloin or filet. And of course, top it all off with raw bean sprouts, Asian basil and perhaps some rocket or arugula.

1) Hot Chocolate Ramen I know, I know. This sounds completely gross and entirely inedible, but I can assure you that it’s delicious if made properly. Instead of adding the spice packet to your Cup Noodles, add a similar amount of hot chocolate or sweetened cocoa powder, and top it off with hot and foamy milk. The result is a steaming cup of chocolate soup that strangely satisfies the urge for both something salty and something sweet.

Have any tips for spicing up Cup Noodles? Leave a comment, and show off your culinary skills!

** All images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **