and the beat goes on..

..la dee da dee dahh ..la dee da dee dahh

In Minecraft... the server I play on..
moved a few boxes around today. put some saddles downstairs....
got a few more litchens.... forgot where i put them...
put iron blocks into a box downstairs...

checked out the news.. still boring...still going on....

went to genshin impact... after having to reload again. finally remembered my hotkeys..
moved over my dailies into a new area. then relized it was better where i had it.. forgot how i moved it. *slap forehead*

went to mabi... thankfully remembered to permi my new wings before the event ended.
going back into hiatis with them... at least until they get an interesting prize for an interesting event.

might try to catch up (hahahaha!) in duolingo... ohh that was funny *wipes tears of laughter*

considering a few semi fav games, like timberborn or a return to rimworld.
dunno

still poofta over sims 4. have to be online to play it.. and have to be the only one up in the house to keep from lagging everyone. its not that fun.

my time on seems limited.. and dragged out. still not entirely sure if thats a good thing or not. feeling restless and .. sad really, over the whole thing.

Out for the moment but still in for the battle

Surviving the dog-dayz of summer once again. Flippin cactus flat heat waves are too much for a lowly kitty o' the mountains to handle.. Whew!! I miss the higher altitudes!!

Been a few changes in living of late,  and the heat even makes the tolleratable adulting rl stuff a serious strain... And other than the occational hissing of my complaints,  the place is filled with the constant sawing of zz's.... Its still better than it was in the not so distant past.. And its cooler as well.

I watched a fun movie.. brace of movies? That have given me a new favorite.  Reminiscent of a big ol giant king of monsters with a horrid case of atomic halitosis.. Enough to make me squeal with fan-girl excitement,  is Pacific rim. (1&2) The kaiju are on the rampage and it's up to the intrepid humans with their giant yeagers to stem the tide. Check it.  Great movie.  :)

Been playing minecraft modded 1.12 of late. Yeah,  i know 1.13 is (finally) out now.. But i wanted a chance to see some of the newer(well,  new to me anyway) mods for 1.12.. especially as I'm not sure when/if some of these mods are gunna update for 1.13... Considering ala changes. Hoping they do.  Not that i have anything against the straight 'vanilla' update..  The additions of the drowned and the phantom are fairly exciting..
But since i have been woefully slow on learning the the different aspects.. (Very slow).  Just getting started on enchanting and slowly getting brave enough to step tippytoe into the nether.) I figure i'll just take my time getting into the new update. Yeah... That's it... Just take my time.. Yeah.  Loving the building aspect though.  My only frown would be.. No changes to the window panes?? You like all those pixely gray streaks? I mean OK.. The 'preview' had a cruddy change to the cobble texture..  (And really,..  Still no stairs for the dorite?? Really?? Aww comeon, Mojang!! You put the purty white stuff in the game with the dorky-lookin patterned cobble... and andisite and..the pink granite! (That plainly goes with n a d a!). The least you could do is give it/them stairs, walls/fences and slabs like the cobble has! ) ... The changes suggested in the preview was a good one for the window glass. You could actually see through it! And here we are in1.13 and it's that grey pixelated glass texture again.  Ok,  fine..  So make that 'preview' resource pack work for the update then..  Ill live with the patterned cobble for a chance to actually see through the windows!
I reciently learned of the value for the mending and looting enchantments.. However did i live without them?!!  What a wonderful addition to my fishing rod and sword!! Now.. Will mending work on my sword?.. Will looting.. Or is it fortune.. work on my axes? So exciting!!

How goes my japanese self-study,  do i hear you ask?  Well...  Interresting you should ask... Kinda.   A little discouraged,  i think.  Feeling once again that I'm not -really- getting anywhere. Can't seem to remember stuff i feel i should have, by now. So backing away a bit... Again.  I have gone through this before,  and managed to recover my motivation,  so long as i don't go totally hands-off. (I got halted into reflection by a double negative sentence, which goes against the grain of -a lot of- growing up grammar learning.)

That is about it for now.. Think i need a cat nap... It's so ooo quiet here...

Foibles in language learning

Of late, i have been enjoying a new Japanese learning program on mobile. Strangely it looks and acts a whole lot like another site's program.. And i wonder if the idea for it was.. Shared?
This new site is pretty nice, all told.. And other then little issues that are bound to come from a mobile-only app.. I havent had anything to complain about.... Until now.
The same issue i had on a group/answer site has shown up on this one, it seems. Suddenly finding yourself banned or blocked from posting for no apparent reason.
Nothing i can recall saying or doing thats against the tos...and no way to speak with the person who did the blocking to find out.
How flustering!!
So.. Here i sit wondering what happened and feeling quite the fool/patsy... Spinning over and over what i might have done or said in my mind... And knowing of no way to get it rectified.

So.. Of all the things that might have done it was.. One time there was a sentence.. Something like was your baby born.. Or such... I replied i would never say it like that.. To indicate the translation begged people to give sarcastic replies.. And this was proven by several others posting.. It wasnt born, it was hatched...or i decided not to have it after all.. Or... Well.. You get the point. Now, my email gets regularly spammed due to.. Any discussion you look at.. You automaticly follow.. But at one point i did see someones reply to it.. They got huffy.. Saying something about my not liking how japanese works.. Or somesuch.. I wanted to go back and apologize saying.. I wasnt being critical of that in the slightest.. But rather why i would not use the translations words.. Didnt want to lead new english learners astray.. Only to get hit with all the sarcastic or cheeky replies and not understand why.
Unfortunatly.. I couldnt find the spot where that descussion was going on... So couldnt reply.. (Couldnt edit/delete/or reply to the post via my mailbox and couldnt find the spot via the web because it isnt on the web. Mobile only.) I even tried going back over the area i thought it had been posted in. (Worked one time before).
So.. Whoever it was that got so horribly offended.. Didnt get the feather soothing i was hoping for at all.. And i didnt get to clarify. So...
What now? Am i forever blocked from posting alltogether now? Was that what got me blocked? Is there a way i can get myself heard from at all? Either to apologize or clairify ? Or to at least figure out if that was what it was?

Why are people so quick to jump into offence?

And Is this all just me? Anyone else have this issue?

To the moderators or.. To those that create forums with blocking ability..
Can you give a little warning?
Can you give benefit of doubt in those grey areas?
We arnt talking about swearing or stalking or threatening here.. Just a bit of miscommunication.
Can you at least consider the blockee a moment? A way for them to redeem themselves? Does it always have to be so black and white?

The other time i had issues with being blocked in a forum.. I got no warning.. No way to ask or explain. It was a solid unyeilding wall. A ban. And even when they eventually said there was a way to get the ban reviewed.. The moment they found out i had been. I was completely ignored. To this very day i have -no- idea as to what they thought i did wrong.. If they thought it at all.

This is a bit like being beat. And then when asked why.. They reply. "You know what you did!" .. But you dont.

Summer blast! ...too hot too hot!!!

Finally got the cooler back online, so to speak. Just in time too... So it feels... Getting hothot now.. The 'thing' about living in the south i never did like .. The 100+ degree summer weather. Id rather freeze than i would die in the heat.. At least with the cold.. You can always pile on the sweaters n jackets. With the horrendous heat you can only take off so much before you become indecent and well broiled too.

I admit that as troubling as translation can get. Im rather enjoying the new addition to duolingo.. I hope they get japanese for the web soon, as well... Since its only for phones atm.

Also I'm enjoying final fantasy online (whichever number its at now) free version... Whenever i get the chance at library time, that is.
Its a biig mmo so make sure your graphics is up to the task if you care to give it a look-see.

Summer heat... Ongoing

-.-.....  Yep, i'm bored. Got power.. Go got lights and fan in use..(and not much else) Defying some of the horrendous heat that marks the south's summer time. And as much as i might feel like to do some stuff.. Getting too far from the fan causes overwhelming heat flashes and my brain quickly goes on vacation without me. So.. Yeahh... .. For reasons. I dont like the south summers.

What else...  Um. Movies, of course!!  Well.. Lessee.. I have been through my whole collection at least twice by now.. Having watched my favorites several times more even!
Got to see guardians of the galaxy2 in the theatre.. Fav character died... Why does this always seem to happen to me?!!  Ah well... Still a good movie. Have been watching a fair amount of Detective Conan as well.. And the series of iron fist. Plus korean drama W. Ive also gone over various episodes of leverage.. Even though they have ended a bit ago now.. Its still one of my favs.
Someday, the movers and groovers of neilson ratings neeed to get an -actual- plulse of the viewing public and not just the view of a select few (if that).  Seriously.

Thankfully there's always the option for portal distraction.. (Even if it lacks online updates)

I have been hanging in Minecraft a lot of late. I have been treating it a bit like a basic sims game.. Going from village to village, mapping, naming, improving and securing... Keeping only to what i can readilly find on or near to the surface.. Since im not very much into deep cave exploring, and taking on the risk of losing life and equipment down there. So.. Iron, cobblestone, and its like is my limit.

It's been fun roofing houses, adding counters, beds etc, and putting up fences. I have named a few buildings, such as the town library and smithy.. Chafed at not being able to name villagers.. Especially the one's i have worked with before. One farmer out of a doz in town and i have to look at what each one is selling to find the one with experience and thereby offering more inventory options.. Is -really annoying!!-
On the otherhand... Colorizing sheep is great fun!! And those ninny little always-under-foot chickens are still the cutest evah critters!! (Havent seen a llama in minecraft as yet.. I have heard of thier existance tho.)
So.. Its fun.. Yepyep.

Speaking of libraries.. When i get the chance to go... I usually listen to randoms on youtube... I'm on something of a forced break from linguti a great language learning site... Waiting in hope for a new japanese unit i can go through... Maybe some help with kanji? Or/and more practice with grammar. Need another site like it to play on while i'm waiting... And before you think it.. Yeass.. Im aware of that other website (duolingo) everyone seems to be going on about. It doesnt, as yet, offer Asiatic languages on the site tho.. So, until it does.. Im not interrested. (Getting closer though... Console ios and maybe phones soon.)

こんばんは!!

OK, It's time I finally said something.. again? about my meandering and shuffling course through language learning... self study. (cheers and clapping placed here)
Yeas, for the last... uhhh.. has it been a year + already? year or so, I have been attempting to teach myself Japanese. Talk about determination and tenacity!!? whew! I have learned a whole lot of little things, mostly online, along with a number of books for help.
learning the words/symbols/meanings, i have found, is one thing... learning what they sound like is a whole different ball of wax.

Thus far I have grouched through most of the grammar lessons I have found, (which hasn't been a whole lot really) and totally skipped over sounds in kanji... its a temporary thing though. I am learning to recognize and get the meaning of kanji first.. then back it up for the sounds they make so I can better pair them up with the words I have learned.

Along the way, I have found the occasional website or such, that I think has helped me learn and stay motivated. oh.. as for 'why' I am teaching myself Japanese? No super special reason.. I want to prove to myself I can do it. I want to be able to look at a manga.. or watch an anime, and have some idea as to whats going on. I want to be able to carry on, even a rough convo in Japanese.. and be able to be understood. To me, that's more than good enough.
I like how, of all the asian lingo's, Japanese sounds quite a bit like singing to me. speedy singing. :D

ok... so I've got this small list I'd like to share of places and games etc, that I have found helpful, what I liked and what I didn't like.

Top o the list...

-online- websites
Linguti
A bit like duolingo.. only for Asian languages
What I liked: what a terrific set of learning quizzes! with varying ways to work each question as well. writing, listening, multi choice and back and forth translation.It also tallys up your points and has a little 'store' to buy goodies with your hard won stars.
What I didnt like: the goodies were waaay too few in number. It only got me to level 9. *gasp* It's not complete! wheres your friends list? where to get more lessons, where is the explanations/textbook info? I really want there to be more to it!

Wanikani
It's not totally free.. but even the part that is, is well worth the look-see.
what I liked: very engaging quizzes. the memorizing by mnemonics is funny.
What I didn't like: after level 2 or 3.. the freebies are done and you have to pay to learn more. Even as I understand this... I'm a perennially poor kitty. This is also the case with its partner site, textfugu.


-games- for PC
Slime adventures.
For learning the meanings of kanji, this game is top of the mark with me.
What I liked: A simple game where even the free version will keep one occupied for hours at a time.
what I didn't like: Still thinking on this one.... perhaps the kanji list hasn't been updated in some time.. still has old obsolete symbols not used anymore, in it.

Jrpg
fun simple game that very quickly throws you head-first into deep waters.
What I liked: its a Japanese learning game. with sentences.
what I didn't like: I dont care much for jumping head-first into muddy deep waters. it gets too deep for me, very quickly and I run away from the game.

Worth a mention...
Koe
An up and coming Japanese learning game via Kickstarter, being painstakingly created for a hopeful first release this year. Looks like its going to be a blast!


-games- for the DS
Kageyama method
What I like: A great place for 'storing' what kanji you have learned to write/understand the meaning of.
What I dont like: Its all in Kana with kanji so you have to stumble about a little bit to find the right spot for kanji practice.

Kanji Sonomama
what I like: its a dictionary! with a tablet area for writing out kanji you want to know the meaning of.
What I dont like: a good percentage is in complicated Japanese as well.

Anpanman
(in special: Anpanman to asobo Aiueo kyoushitsu DX)
What I like: Its Anpanman!!! super bread with friends! easy to understand games. About perfect for beginners.
What I don't like: Whats not to like?


-books-
Japanese for busy people.
what I like: basic symbol study.. overview of numbers, time, etc..
what I don't like: its a text book.. doesn't keep my interest for very long. but still, its kept my interest for longer then most.

Beginning Japanese by Tuttle
what I like: applied Japanese in the form of study and comics concerning a girl new to the country and getting to meet her host family.
What I don't like: same as above. Its a textbook. difficult to keep my interest for very long. But has kept it longer than most.

Essential Kanji for everyday use.
what I like: good for figuring where to pick up random-ish kanji to study.
What I don't like: its a text book blah blah..

Kanji & Kana By Tuttle
what I like: great for that random kanji look-up stuff. think "dictionary" and youl have an idea.
what I don't like: getting used to how things are listed.

Websters new world compact Japanese/English dictionary
what I like: It's a stuffed dictionary in mini size.
What I don't like: um.. well, it doesn't have everything.