Apple Revolution

Nobody could imagine ten years ago that "Apple" would establish their highly reputation that they enjoy these days. The year 2010 was really the year of Apple; they released so many amazing devices, which they called "iDevice" including iPad and iPhone4. Apple was first established by two Steves (co-workers at an apple orchard) in April, 1976. At that time, computers were not close to people's lives; they were treated like God because many workers were needed to work with them. Steve Jobs, however, were sure that the future coming which people and computers would be the best partners.

The first revolution by Apple took place in 1978 when they released the "Apple Ⅱ"; the first computing systems which can show not only texts but also graphic arts. The benefits of Apple was 150 times as big as before releasing Apple Ⅱ,finally two Steves changed the world. If this year,2010 is the second revolution of Aple, their compilation can be a new iMac (OS X10). We are not bothered by the freeze or worried about Internet securities anymore. iMac do all the bothering things insted of us, otherwise Windows PC still freezes! Aren't you brave enough to change OS from usual Windows? Don't worry about that. You can open and edit whatever files you do on Windows PC.

Now is the time. Let us see how the world would change again!

Two for A House

1, The house I want to live in the future

The house I want to liven the future is the one filled with the things I like. Don't you think it wonderful to be surrounded by your favorite things? There are two conditions for my future home.

I went to the swimming club near my house when I was a junior high school student. Since then, I have been long dreaming of the life near the water place. The highest purpose is surely that I want to swim there, however, I also love the sound of the sound of the waves at night. Therefore, the first condition for my home is that it is built near the shore.

These days, it is said that the styles of Japanese houses dramatically change in these 30 years. Many buildings recently built don't have so many tatamis(strew mats about 6feet by 3); the Japanese heart. I love that smell, touch, and every atmosphere that is made by them. The Japanese classic type of residence may not suit with the scene of the seashore, however, the hiraya(a one-story house) with tatamis is the best design that I can imagine.

I don't think I want to live in luxury, but just simply want to spend a quiet and simple time in the future. I sometimes hate to be in the cyber-world; like someone try to make contact with me even when I sleep! Thus, the old Japanese house in a far-off country near the seashore sounds perfect for me.


2, Rental Ad of my home

What do you want for where I live? This apartment has everything you want!

Unit Type: Condo
Bedrooms: 2
Bathroom & Shower room: 1
Rent: $750 to 800
Sq. Footage: 900 to 950
Pets: Yes
Smoking: No
Availability: Now

Nobody hates convinience. This is located near the hospital, supermarket, nice restaurants, and sea whose sunset is really beautiful. Two bedrooms help you to make your guests relax and come back again! If you are really interested in this article, please contact me.
example@buythishouse.com

The future of Japan

“How is this high-yen recession going in the future?” More interests seem to center on immediate profits; the Japanese possibility of economic growth and the influence of monetary easing led by the United States. However, we must consider the relationship between today’s situation (mentioned above) and the economic trends in mid-long-term to observe the movement of exchange rate.

The exchange rate in Japan had once been maintained 360yen for a dollar. After the floating exchange rate system was introduced, the rate fell to 300, or 250yen; yen:s appreciation, at that time, people said so loud that high-yen recession would ruin industries of Japan. After that, Japan faced the crisis situation of high-yen when the yen-dollar rate fell from around 250 to around 125 yen in three years due to the Plaza Accord in 1985. Like this, Japan has been suffered from the attacks of yen-high, meanwhile, rate for 125 yen of which people made a big deal out would be yen:s depreciation from the perspective of today; we face the rate for 80 yen.

The view of market for yen's appreciation has grown time by time. It is sure that this fact has deep relationships with the economic growth of postwar Japan. The nation which has rapid growth of economy like Japan after the war, has a tendency that its currency gets strong; exchange rate moves toward yen's appreciation in technical term. The record shows that Japan's exchange rate has been moving to high-yen form postwar to 1995, with a few exceptions. Japan had a fixed rate system which made it 350yen for a dollar by 1971, while domestic prices and income relatively boosted in. As a result of this, real rate moved to high-yen. After the government changed the system to the floating exchange rate system, yen was in the strong status in the market.

Sadly, such yen's appreciation trend was over in 1995. After that, yen rate has been moving to yen's depreciation in two ways; one is which the nominal rate has been moving to depreciation of yen, the other is which price of Japanese goods relatively fell in other countries. The turning point which was taken place in 1995 implies that it was the turning point for Japanese economy. The factor of this are thought to be aging society, stagnation of economic policy, and the bursting of the bubble economy.

Now, we should think about the position of yen rate so far when we see it through the long-term economic trends. From yen-dollar rate, today's standard is lower by 30 or 40% than that of 1995 because the price of American goods gets higher by 40% in these 15 years. However, we cannot look on the bright side of the economic situation. The fact that many economists feel it very hard to struggle in this situation (low-yen by more than 30% compared to its peak in the past) leads the fact that the strength of competition of industries and power of Japanese economy gets thin in these 15 years. It can be paraphrased that the power of neighboring countries' economy gets strong in these 15 years. Before we lament over yen's appreciation, we should be sorry that national wealth of Japan is falling down.

English Education In Elementary Schools

“Will the number of junior high and high school students who can be good at using English, rapidly increase, considering the situation of English education in Japan?” A little teacher at junior high and high schools can answer affirmatively. It is the fact that they are dealing with their jobs; meanwhile, they have little expectation for the future of English education. I want to say “No” against the educational systems in Japan until now. We do not have much aim for the reformation of English teaching if some potential things are not changed. Then, what should be changed? Here, I want to show my clear points of two; 1) English teachers should be who are English-literate Japanese, 2) the teaching of English should be started form elementary schools.

The Minister of Education officially announced “the tactical design” on July in 2002, including the reformation of English-teaching. Six months later, he made “the plan for conduct” public, and all English teachers in Japan have been trained under the English training program since April in 2003. Still, there seems to be a little difficulty to import English teaching into elementary schools. I personally would like English to be curriculum, however, the condition is not ready; such as the system “in-service training” has not yet been arranged, the organization of appointment of members of society who are good at English, and the curriculum for bringing along “English teacher of elementary schools” is not widely innovated to universities. The government should repair these issues as soon as possible, and at the same time, they should declare how many periods will be applied to the English-teaching.

In junior high schools, students are required to learn grammars and vocabularies in just three periods a week. On the other hand, if elementary schools aim for “understanding English from ears”, the situation is getting better, I think. In Japan, it can be said that there are vast gaps between the high level in intellectual of the first year students and literally, the basically English. The schooling cannot be successful unless the content of education matches for the intellectual standards. The content of English textbook which weighs 30 to 40% including the expression like “This is~, or What sports (food) do you like?” can be rather fitted with elementary boys and girls. Due to this fact, the content of junior high’s textbooks gets thin, and the good point is that they can use their time for English communication in classes. This is one of the examples that the introduction of English to elementary schools can necessarily change the English teaching of junior high.

The most important thing for kids is to touch foreign languages (English). Once they are interested in words, their communication skills of their mother tongue (Japanese) naturally. In Korea, one of the government’s views of the aim for English teaching is to “develop children’s ability in their language”.

My Trip to Nagano

People usually say that memory of trip is the content of it, and it starts soon after the arrival to the place, however, the trip sometimes begins from when we start to plan for. This August, I and my wife went to NY City for my applications of my new job, and we were so exhausted because of the really busy trip in one week to NY. Nevertheless, I’m not talking about the trip to NY here, but about the trip of relaxation for our health and heart after that.

Soon after we arrived at the Kansai International Airport form NY, we felt so tired because of the hasty trip, as I mentioned, and started to talk about the plan to go somewhere there being relaxation and retreatment for us on our way back to home. While she wanted to go somewhere quiet and rich natural environmental, my demand was only there was a hot spring. After having argued about which sight was our type, we decided to go to Kami-Kouchi in Nagano Prefecture. There are several quiet woods as she demanded, and many hot springs as my anxiety. I got the information about bus tour to there on the radio next day, so we soon applied to that program.

Almost all the trip was on the bus, but on the second day, we finally got to Kami-Kouchi. There were many woods, mountains and beautiful sights that we never have seen before. Moreover, we had a good time in hot springs there. That was all we wanted. The trip was enjoyable.

The content of the trip was also as busy as the one of NY, because of that was tour, however, our impression was a little bit different. The trip to Nagano had a theme; need for relaxed and retreated place out of our daily lives. The most important point of trip is that we have a theme. Under that theme, we enjoy everything; from planning to the time there, to maximum.

Gender Equality In Japan

It is easy for us to hear in everyday lives that men and women are not equal in everything, however, then what is the main cause of this issue? One of the main problems of this issue is that we have the tendency to face the matter from the perspective of women only, which means that we should not put something into just one narrow view of points. In general, there are 3 causes, it can be said; salaries, consciousnesses and distinction itself.

It is the fact that women tend to get lower salaries compared to men. The Pay Equity Consulting Office (PECO) suggested the possibility for this issue on the radio in the beginning of 2010. They said like “the tendency of women’s lower salaries is based on the history which they have gotten no money for “work of emotion” (that is, women do care about their partners at work or home), and they have worked without pay for their family. Due to this historical background, it seems to be natural that the consciousness that men should earn more money than women obtains with the society we live.

On the contrary, another history shows the consciousness of men has gradually changed. Almost 100 years ago, Ichiyo Higuchi showed how women (under very particular situations) felt against how they were treated by men or the world. In her times, it was thought to be preposterous for women to work as novelists, learned profession, or something which they could stand on their own feet. Conversely, women can easily get jobs whatever they want, there’s a challenge that this society is still men’s, though. What to be needed today for everyone of us is to cooperate with each other without boarder, get to know each sex’s strong and weak points, and find the equal way for both of them.

More we try so hard to get rid of the boarders between the gender, something becomes clearer; that is, the distinction. Namely, men cannot force women to do some manual labors, or cannot do their work more delicately than women do, as examples. These may be some kind of wrong presupposition, however, the distinction may help the specialty and unskilled as mentioned above, to be more visible for everyone on the whole. That is to say, people in this society really start to figure out the way of mutual help to each other by getting to know what the distinction is all about.

What I want to Accomplish in My Life

There is a bit difference between something I dream of and something I accomplish. If someone is asked what his or her future goal is, he or she tends to reply with his or her dream in the future. I want to say the following statements are not my dream but what I definitely accomplish in my future.

I have been always drawing myself being somewhere in the foreign countries getting the job there since I was a kid. I think I may have been influenced by my father who spent his most of the time of the year in the foreign countries for his work. He seemed so cool to me when I saw him speaking English on the phone at home. He once said “If I wish for something strongly, that something will be mine.” when I inquired him how I could manage to make my dream come true. This is the theme of my life.

My father was a good father for me, but was not a good husband for my mother, I think. My parents were divorced when I was in an elementary school. As I mentioned, going abroad and getting good job there are what I accomplish, of course, but I think the person who does not care his family is, consequently, not the reliable person on his job. I do not want to be the guy like that.

As it can be seen, my father influences on my future goal in two ways; positive example as an international business man and negative example as a family leader. I saw him last week after an interval of 15 years, and talked about how we've been getting along each other. For me, he really seemed to care about his present family, therefore I was relieved to know that. What i think right now is that I want to be the one who can learn something from his past and get it useful for his future.