Building Stuff - Mini Strandbeest
I acquired a Gakken 大人の科学 (Science for Adults) kit - this is a sort-of magazine/science construction kit for adults. They have lots of really cool kits, which are normally $50-100...
Pneumatic Tubes
As a child, I didn't particularly like having to ride along with my mom whenever she would drive to the bank, but one thing I did like were the tubes...
Building Stuff - Studium Lentum (Adabox017)
As I mentioned a couple of months ago, I subscribed to Adafruit's Adabox subscription service and I received my first box last week! The packaging is very beautiful. The theme...
Kanji of the Year 2020
Every year members of the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation (日本漢字能力検定協会), the group that administers both the Kanji Kentei (Kanken) and the Business Japanese Proficiency Test, submit their votes for...
Building Stuff - Cardboard Proud Parent Robot
I really love Simone Giertz's YouTube channel. And I particularly love her Proud Parent Machine: I was at MicroCenter recently, and I saw that they had the "Adafruit Industries Dial...
New Clear Explanation Japanese Dictionary (2020)
General Details Title: 新迷解国語辞典 第八版 (New Clear Explanation Japanese Dictionary 8th Edition) Volumes: 1 Language: Japanese Publisher: 三省堂 (Sanseido) Year: 2020 Pages: 1,741 The eighth edition of the Shin Meikai (Clear...
This Year's New Words 2020 (今年の新語２０２０)
Calling all 国語辞典マニア (kokugojiten mania, Japanese dictionary enthusiasts) - a special event was held November 30th in Tokyo called "This Year's New Words 2020 meets Japanese Dictionary Night" (今年の新語２０２０ meets 国語辞典ナイト)....
Building Stuff - RGB Matrix Wall Display
I'm not sure where I first saw the RGB Matrices that Adadfruit sells. Probably Twitter. I know I saw a few people post about their last subscription box, which contained...
Photo Tour of Downtown St Louis (Rare Pandemic Alone Time)
I took the day off from my 8-5 today. The kiddo, still having (virtual) school today, stayed home with my spouse while I took a rare non-grocery-store excursion this morning....
Round 2 - Games + Poetry: Stephen Crane
Here's another round of Mutant Mudds Deluxe. The gimmick, as I explained in my last post, is that I read a poem by Stephen Crane every time my character Max...
Game + Poetry: Stephen Crane
I play a lot of video games, particularly the Playstation Vita / Playstation TV. I've started streaming on Twitch, but, being a new channel, wanted something to help it not...
Police
I am currently in the United States, where over the past few months there have been numerous protests against police brutality (that have then been met with even more police...
The Fly
My daughter has this thing about bugs. The sound of a nearby fly can send her into a panic; the sight of one causes a full-blown meltdown. Summer approaches rapidly,...
Knitting
I just upgraded my knitting needles. I have been using KnitPro / Knitter's Pride / KnitPicks (they're all the same!) interchangeable needles since February 2012, when I purchased the KnitPro...
Church Disagreements Around the Calculation of Easter
My last post, The Calculation of Easter, featured an encyclopedia article showing the commonly accepted Western calculation for the holiday. This has not, however, always been the method employed, and...
The Calculation of Easter
I find it very amusing that the entirety of the very lengthy article on "Easter" found in Johnson's Universal Cyclopædia (1887) is devoted to calculating when the holiday actually takes...
Bufton's Universal Cyclopædia
Update 12/7/2020 - Sold my copy of this encyclopedia set. General Details Title: Bufton's Universal Cyclopædia Volumes: 4 Language: English Publisher: Mutual Publishing Company Year: 1924 Pages: Not numbered. Bufton's...
The Spanish Flu of 1918
As much of my city is currently shut down and the majority of us are attempting some form of social distancing to help flatten the curve of infection, I thought...
The Rainbow Japanese-English Dictionary
General Details Title: 小学生のためのレインボー和英辞典 (The Rainbow Japanese-English Dictionary) Volumes: 1 Language: Japanese Publisher: Gakken Year: 1990 Pages: 272 The 小学生のためのレインボー和英辞典 (literally: The Rainbow Japanese English Dictionary for Elementary School Students) is...
Chicago
We are visiting Chicago this weekend as I attempt (again) the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. In honor of our trip, I looked up the Windy City in volume 6 of...
Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia of Modern Knowledge (1959)
General Details Title: Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia of Modern Knowledge Volumes: 1 Language: English Publisher: Funk & Wagnalls Year: 1959 Pages: 3956 This is the largest single-volume book I...
Kids Japonica (2013)
General Details Title: きっずジャポニカ (Kids Japonica) Volumes: 1 Language: Japanese Publisher: Shōgakukan Year: 2013 Pages: 991 The きっずジャポニカ 小学百科大事典 (Kids' Japonica Elementary School Encyclopedia) is a one-volume hardcover encyclopedia published by Shōgakukan,...
Challenge Elementary School Dictionary and Kanji Dictionary (2015)
General Details Title: チャレンジ小学国語辞典 第六版(Challenge Elementary School Dictionary 6th Edition)Volumes: 1Language: JapanesePublisher: BenesseYear: 2015Pages: 1,439 Title: チャレンジ小学漢字辞典 第六版(Challenge Elementary School Kanji Dictionary 6th Edtion)Volumes: 1Language: JapanesePublisher: BenesseYear: 2015Pages: 1,151 (+...
Vampire
Halloween approaches, so let's take a peek at a classic creature of the night: the vampire! Definition and Etymology The oldest English-language dictionary I own with a "vampire" entry is...
Encyclopædia Heibonsha (1984)
General Details Title: 平凡社 大百科辞典 (Great Encylopædia Heibonsha)Volumes: 16Language: JapanesePublisher: 平凡社 (Heibonsha)Year: 1984Pages: 21,164 The 大百科辞典 (dai hyakka jiten), or Great Encyclopedia, was released in 1984 in 16 volumes. Unlike the...