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Experiments and Life of Josef Wigren

Jan
31

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Korean Hangul in 20 minutes

Category: General Tags: , , , , , Leave a Comment

If you have never tried to learn another script, anything that you see in a different script looks mysterious, strange and difficult to understand. There are many different kinds of scripts in the world, but few as simple as the Korean Hangul.

Creating Hangul

If you’ve seen the writing systems that look like strange scribbles from the far eastern countries, you probably also come across the Korean writing system known as Hangul. Hangul is actually a proper alphabet that was created rather than developed over time. The story goes that a Korean king named Sejong the Great wanted to promote literacy in Korea, especially among his own soldiers, and thought that the Chinese writing system (called hanzi in Chinese, hanja in Korean) was too complicated and didn’t properly correlate to the way Korean was spoken. He set up a competition for linguists to create a writing system specially designed for Korean, which was to be as simple as possible so that anyone could learn it. There were many scripts that were developed in this competition, and the Hangul we see now was elected the winner of the competition.

Well, if the idea was to make a simple writing system, why does it look so complicated, you may ask. Well it really isn’t complicated at all. You just haven’t tried to learn it yet, and as you know, anything you haven’t tried to learn could either be extremely complicated or very easy to learn. In this case, you just don’t know how easy it is just yet.

Hangul is Easy

I believe that anyone can learn to read and write Hangul in less than an hour, no matter what excuses you may come up with, that you just don’t have a mind for languages, that you are too old, or anything else. I also firmly believe that most people can learn it in 20 minutes or less. How cool wouldn’t it be if you could learn a completely new writing system in as much time as it takes to watch an episode of The Simpsons?

Let’s learn Hangul!

Glossika – Korean Alphabet in 10 minutes.

This video is 10 minutes long and gives you a head start in learning to read and write hangul. It’s among the best videos that I’ve seen so far, despite the poor video quality. Check it out!

Once you have checked out the video, read through the comic below. It’s good for quizzing yourself and solidifying what you learned in the video. I have concluded this article by including a simple chart with all the consonants and vowels and a chart of the entire hangul alphabet.

funny-how-to-speak-Korean

Finally we also have the chart of all the consonants and vowels in Hangul:

Hangeul_New_Version

If you’re interested in seeing the letter combinations that you can make in hangul, here is a simple chart for that. It doesn’t include letters in the final place however. You can print it and put it up on your wall, but I would recommend you to print the shorter version above instead.

full-hangul

I hope you have had fun learning to read hangul!
If you have any questions, please let me know!

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Jan
22

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How to Tie a Tie – Exotic Style

Category: General Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

In my previous post about classic tie knots I showed you how to tie the four classical tie knots. In this post we will go well beyond the basics and focus on a few really cool looking tie knots that can best be described as exotic and definitely will draw attention.

The exotic tie knots draw attention

Never heard of a tie knot drawing attention before? Well, tough. Now you’re going to learn several that do. I have found these knots in various places on the internet and just like with the classic knots, I haven’t invented them myself, but they are nevertheless very cool.

Eldredge Knot

We start off with my new favourite knot; The Eldredge knot. It looks pretty amazing, don’t you think?

eldredge-knot

How to tie the Eldredge Knot:
  1. Make sure the wide end of the tie ends at the mid point of your belt because you will tie this entire knot with the little end.
  2. While holding the big end in place–create a dimple–swing the little end over the front of the big end and go around the back.
  3. Bring the little end up and over the front of the loop.
  4. Bring the little end through the loop and towards the right side (make sure the knot is tight).
  5. Now bring that little end over the center (of the knot) to the other side and bring it towards the back again.
  6. Bring the little end up over the top of the knot (make sure the knot is tight).
  7. Now, this is when it gets a little tricky. Keep this part loose. Create a loose knot by bringing the little end behind and through the loop.
  8. Pull the little end through and tighten till you get a tight knot.
  9. Bring the little end behind the loop.
  10. Swing it up in front again.
  11. And over the top towards the back and to the opposite end.
  12. Go through the loop (keep it loose) in a similar fashion to step #7.
  13. Pull through and tighten the knot.
  14. Hide the remaining little end of the tie behind your loop.
Some pointers:
- Remember to start with the length of the big end to the belt line or just above the belt line as you don’t have much space to adjust this knot. This entire knot is tied with the little end.
- Striped ties won’t work as well since the ridges will make the knot look busy and out of balance. Instead, stick to solid colour ties or ties with subtle/consistent patterns.
- Save the diagram by BlackLapel.com and print it.

eldredge-knot-diagram

A variant of the Eldredge Knot is the Ellie Knot. It has the added benefit of not using up the entire narrow end and gives you a tail to your tie, if that’s something you fancy.

Ellie Knot

Trinity Knot

The Trinity Knot is another unique tie knot I’ve come across. It looks great, even though it’s not symmetrical and it works great with both skinny ties and a bit thicker ones.

trinity-knot

How to tie the Trinity Knot:
  1. Set the tie around your neck, leaving the big end at the point you want at your belt loop. The Trinity knot is tied with the little end (like the Eldredge).
  2. Bring the little end over and under the big end through the loop.
  3. Bring it over the top of the loop and put it through on the same side.
  4. Go around the back of the hanging end to the other side.
  5. Bring the end over the left side of the loop.
  6. Bring it behind to the right side of the loop.
  7. Bring the end horizontally over the knot (keep it loose).
  8. Bring the little end through the loop, over the knot and down through the horizontal loop that was created in step 7.
  9. Bring the end around the back to your left side (keep it loose).
  10. Bring the little end through the top loop.
  11. Hide the remaining little end of the tie behind your loop.

- Save the diagram by BlackLapel.com and print it.

trinity-knot-diagram

Bow Tie

And what would a tie post be without at least mentioning the bow tie. It is not used that often any more and not that many people know how to tie it, for lack of practice. I have never worn a proper bow tie, but if given a chance, I will take it, now that I know how to tie one.

bowtie_diagram_final

How to tie the Bow Tie:
  1. Keep the left side (your right) 2-3 inches longer than the right.  The tip of the shorter side should be parallel with the narrow “center” of the bow on the lower side.
  2. Swing the longer side over the shorter side.
  3. Loop the longer side through the opening and pull snug. This is how snug your finished bow tie will be so keep it this snug during steps 4-9.
  4. Take the side that is in the rear and form half a bow.
  5. Bring the other side to the front over that half bow.
  6. Pinch the half bow together and gently tug away from your body so that a little loop opens up behind the pinched center.
  7. Take the dangling piece in the middle and bring it up to the left rear. Gently push it bow first through the little loop in the back forming your second bow.
  8. Grab both bows (not tips) and give them a tug to pull the knot tight. Leave enough length for the tips so you do not pull them out as you tighten the knot (like typing your shoe laces).
  9. Hold the knot in the middle tight and adjust the lengths of the bows and tips to the desired length and shape. If this resulted in a successful bow tie, then smile, you’re awesome. If like us, your first attempt was not suitable for public display, then go back to step 1 and give it another go.

More Tie Knots?

There are loads more tie knots out there if you’re really interested in learning more knots. To be honest, I doubt that you would need more knots than I have listed here on my blog so far, including my previous post with the classics, but here are a couple of websites that focus on how to tie a tie.

If you have any questions regarding ties or anything else on this site, please leave a comment below.

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Jan
18

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How to Tie a Tie – The Classics

Category: General Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

Over the years I’ve had occasion to wear a tie several times, and since I started paying attention to how I dressed, I’ve worn one even more often. My only problem has been that I have only known one tie knot – the Four in Hand knot, and it doesn’t look that amazing. At best it can be described as alright, but it has been working for me till now.

As I have been upgrading my wardrobe, I decided that I would teach myself a few more tie knots in an attempt to further improve the way I look and dress, and stumbled across a few that I thought were worth sharing.

In this post I will be listing the classic knots that I believe that everybody should know and I have another post lined up with a few more exotic knots that look extremely cool.

Another reason why I’m writing this post and not only keeping the information to myself is that I know quite a few people who at an adult age don’t know how to tie a tie. Sure, they might not wear one very often, but neither did I. It’s just one of those things that you are supposed to know. So, give it a few minutes and you will learn how to tie a tie, perhaps in more ways than one.

So let’s get started with the classics.

There are four tie knots that can be classified as the classics, namely the Four in Hand, Half Windsor, Full Windsor and the Shell Knot. Here is a diagram over how they are tied. I will describe how to tie them individually in this post as well, but feel free to copy it to your computer, print it and put it up on your wall or memorize it if you like.

Classics

Four in Hand

The easiest one of the classics is the Four in Hand knot, doesn’t take much time at all to learn. It looks alright and is a handy one to know. The negative thing about the Four in Hand knot is that it is asymmetrical, which gives you a slanting line at the top.

four-in-hand

Here is how you tie the Four in Hand:

  1. Begin by crossing the wide end over the narrow end.
  2. Fold the wide end underneath the narrow end.
  3. Pass the wide end horizontally over the narrow end again.
  4. Take the wide end up and through the loop around your neck.
  5. Take the wide end through the knot in front. Proceed to tighten the knot and pull it up to your collar.

Half Windsor

The second one of the classics that everybody should know is the Half Windsor. It looks fantastic, it’s symmetrical and it suits almost all occasions. This is your go-to knot most of the time. The Half Windsor works very well for ties made of thick fabric.

half-windsor

Here is how you tie the Half Windsor:

  1. Begin by crossing the wide end over the narrow end.
  2. Fold the wide end underneath the narrow end.
  3. Pull the wide end up.
  4. Take the wide end back down through the loop.
  5. Move the wide end horizontally over the narrow end.
  6. Take the wide end up through the loop.
  7. Pull the wide end through the knot in front. Proceed to tighten the knot and pull it up to your collar.

Full Windsor

The third classic knot is the Full Windsor. It looks great, it’s symmetrical and it suits almost all occasions and looks more business style than the Half Windsor knot. This is the one to use when you go to the office or if you have a thin fabric tie.

full-windsor

Here is how you tie the Full Windsor:

  1. Begin by crossing the wide end over the narrow end.
  2. Take the wide end back through the loop around your neck.
  3. Take the wide end over the narrow end in the same direction you crossed it at step 1.
  4. Fold the wide end underneath the narrow end.
  5. Take the wide end up…
  6. And back through the loop in the same direction as step 4.
  7. Fold the wide end horizontally over the narrow end.
  8. Bring the wide end up through the loop once more, like you did in step 2.
  9. Pull the wide end through the knot.

Shell Knot

The last of the classics is the Shell Knot, also known as the Shellby Knot and Pratt Knot. It’s easy to make, it’s symmetrical and doesn’t feel as imposing as the Windsor knots. This knot can be used almost at any time. In size it’s roughly between the Four in Hand and Half Windsor knots.

shell-knot

Here is how you tie the Shell Knot:

  1. Begin by crossing the wide end under the narrow end, while the tie hangs inside out around your neck.
  2. Pull the wide end up over the narrow end.
  3. Take the wide end down through the loop and tighten the knot.
  4. Move the wide end horizontally over the narrow end.
  5. Pull the wide end back up through the  loop.
  6. Pull the wide end through the knot in front. Proceed to tighten the knot and pull it up to your collar.

These are the classic tie knots that everybody should know. There are several ways of tying the Half and Full Windsor knots, so if you’re interested, feel free to roam the web in search of more.

Stay tuned for my next post with a few more exotic tie knots, and as always if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

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Oct
15

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Learn to Relax

Category: Musings Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

Learning to relax is something very important. Almost as important as drinking enough water. Many of us don’t take time to relax enough, and when we set out to relax, we often just sit in a sofa in front of the TV or in a chair in front of the computer. I know that I do. This doesn’t allow the body to fully relax, so it’s good to sometimes just take a break and really relax for real. This problem also ties into being able to fall asleep. Because we don’t allow our minds and bodies to be relaxed before we sleep, we often make it harder for ourselves when the time comes to go to bed.

How to fall asleep is quite an interesting topic to discuss. For some people it’s quite difficult to manage to fall asleep, for some people it’s quite easy and for some people who are suffering from different forms of sleeping disorders, it’s near impossible.

At times in my life I have had huge problems with falling asleep. My brain just keeps churning things over, making it impossible to shut out the chatter from inside my own head. It was during the time that I had the most problems with these things that I read quite a lot about relaxation techniques, ways of making yourself falling asleep etc, and eventually I developed two techniques that work really well for me. One to relax my body completely, or at least as completely as it’s possible to relax oneself, and the other to blank out my mind and relax my mind. And from that relaxed state of mind, I found that it was much easier to fall asleep.

My body relaxation technique might look like some other techniques that you’ve seen somewhere else and since as far as I know it hasn’t been patented, you can feel free to claim it as your own as well. If you’ve seen or used a technique similar to this, write a comment and tell me your experience with it, that would be really cool.

 Relaxed Body

For the first technique, you can either sit in a comfortable chair or lay down on a bench, bed, or on the floor. Keep your arms by the side of your body, be comfortable, and make sure you’re not going to get too cold or too warm for the next half an hour or so.

Close your eyes, and breathe through your nose. Take deep long breaths and just get used to breathing this way for about ten seconds or so. Once you have gotten used to the rhythm, breathe in, and as you breathe out, give a huge sigh and just relax your muscles as much as possible, just let everything go. Try to sink into the floor or mattress as much as possible. Become a puddle of goo.

This is where it becomes a bit more difficult and the real relaxation will start. The idea of the relaxation technique is to relax body-part by body-part one by one, starting from the head. I like to start from the face, but you might as well do it from your feet and go upwards. I like to start from the top, because you have loads of muscles in your face, and to me, the head, neck and shoulders are the most important to relax, to be able to continue relaxing the rest of the body.

Start by allowing your face muscles relax. Let them sink back, your eyebrows relax and your cheeks get loose. Open your lips ever so slightly and relax your tongue. It might feel like it’s going to block your throat, but you are breathing through your nose, so don’t worry. Continue focusing on relaxing one muscle group at the time in your face, then your neck, shoulders and arms, etc. Really focus on relaxing and letting go of any tension you have.

Keep it to one muscle per breath or slower if you can. The more times that you use this technique, the more muscles you will find to relax. If you want, have a look at a drawing of the human physiology and imagine going through all those muscles when you’re relaxing. Just keep going through the whole of your body until you’ve reached your legs and feet. Once you have, just go through your body one more time and make sure that you’re completely relaxed.

The first time you try this technique, you might not get further than a couple of muscles in your face before you lose focus. Don’t worry about it, but just keep trying. You’ll get it eventually.

Mind Relaxation

For the mind-relaxation technique, I needed to add a couple of triggers to make it work properly for myself. My mind is very active, and thus will always want to think of two or three other things at the same time, even if I try to tone it down. This can be quite disturbing when trying to focus on this technique, because the purpose of it is to empty out your mind, slow yourself down into a relaxed state of mind and ultimately either just relax or get a chance to peacefully fall asleep.

Visualize a huge clock in front of you. The clock only has one arm, the seconds arm. The other arms of the clock are irrelevant, so you leave them out or visualize them as you like. Just firmly burn the image of the clock into your mind and let the seconds tick away. Make the image clearer, the white of the clock face whiter, bigger and brighter. Shut everything else out but the face of the clock.

Once you have a firm image of the clock face and the seconds arm in your mind, match the speed of the arm’s ticking to your own heartbeat and just watch it tick on as you feel your heart beating. Keep letting it tick, and make the image stick in your mind.

As you get used to the rhythm, you start to will the arm to tick slower, as you observe it, obstruct it in your mind, and at the same time you keep matching it to the pace of your heartbeat. Keep willing it to move slower and slower, feeling your heart beat slower and slower as you will the clock to tick slower. Keep going and keep focusing on the clock, the ticking of the arm and your own heartbeat.

At first you will find that a lot of distractions will try to obstruct you from fully visualizing the clock, from matching the ticking of the arm to the beating of your heart and from willing it to slow down. As the distractions keep coming in, acknowledge them and let them go. It’s much more difficult to getting rid of an image or thought if you don’t acknowledge that it’s there, but as soon as you have, focus even harder on the clock. Make it brighter, bigger and more tangible in your mind. Keep it going and you’ll soon be able to summon that clock at any given time.

Energy Booster

I also have another technique, to boost my energy, that I had almost forgotten about. I just remembered it when I was discussing this article with a friend of mine, so I thought it could be cool to add it in here as well. As I said, I had almost forgotten about it because I haven’t been using it for years. I don’t know why or when I really stopped using it, but it’s well worth a mention.

Basically what I do is that when I’m in a relaxed state, I focus my energy on the inside of my eyelids or just above my eyes, and breathe through my nose. I inhale carefully, but exhale with a bit of force. Not so much as if I was blowing my nose, but almost as if I was blowing up a very light balloon. I keep the focus and try to visualize energy and adrenaline pumping through my body. With every breath I keep this going and visualize that I have a torrent of energy that goes from the top of my head, down my back and up through my chest. I keep feeding this torrent with more and more energy, starting to move my body ever so slightly, rolling my shoulders, and let the energy flow through me.

Then I open my eyes and go about my business, feeling much more energized than before.

 Combination

You can also combine all three of these techniques, once you have gotten used to them. First, relax your body, then your mind and as you decide to come to, or if you’ve set an alarm for a certain period of time, use the energy-boost technique just to get a little extra kick.

If you decide to try any of these techniques out, please tell me how your experience with them was, comment if there is anything that you’re wondering about and share it if it has been beneficial to you.

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Aug
7

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The Art of Drinking Water

Category: General Tags: , , 1 Comment

Drinking is something that everybody does, what most of us don’t do is drink enough, or drink the right things.

As you might already know, our bodies consist of about 55-70% water. To further break it down, your brain consists of almost 78% water, your lungs are about 90% water, blood around 83%, and lean muscle contains about 75% water by weight. Body fat contains around 10% water and bone 22%. As you can see, this adds up to quite a lot of water. If you weigh 80 kg, that would equate to between 44 and 56 liters of water. One of the biggest factors of how big a percentage of water you are made up of is your body fat percentage. Body fat contains much less water than lean muscle does.

So, what does all of this mean?

Why is all of this important? Well, part of knowing gives you context to knowing why drinking is so important. Maybe you’ve heard from parents, partner or friends that it’s important to drink a lot of water. This is why. You consist of so much of water that if you don’t properly rehydrate, your body simply can’t function as effectively as it otherwise would.

 Water also lubricates your joints and cartilages and allows them to move more fluidly. When dehydrated, the body rations water away from the joints. Less lubrication equals greater friction and that can cause joint, knee and back pain potentially leading to injuries and arthritis. Even your eyeballs need plenty of lubrication to work well and remain healthy.

The scary thing is that as little as a 2% drop in hydration could lead to showing signs of dehydration.

Signs of Dehydration

  • Dry, sticky mouth
  • Dry eyes
  • Sleepiness or tiredness
  • Thirst
  • Fuzzy short-term memory
  • Decreased urine output
  • Few or no tears while crying
  • Trouble focusing on small print (such as a computer screen)
  • Trouble with basic math
  • Headache, dizziness, or lightheadedness
  • Constipation

Chronic Dehydration

If you keep going dehydrated even after seeing signs of dehydration, you could even become chronically dehydrated. Over time when the body is not properly hydrated chronic dehydration occurs which can lead to high/low blood pressure, stomach ulcers, repertory problems, and many other severe problems. But even still, many will walk around dehydrated, most of the time unknowingly, because thirst is a poor indicator of dehydration. By the time you get thirsty, it is too late!

In addition to avoiding a lot of negative things by drinking, you introduce a lot of benefits by drinking.

Benefits of drinking a lot of water

  • It helps your body get rid of waste, it helps your body transport nutrients to your cells.
  • Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.
  • Water leads to increased energy levels.
  • Drinking adequate amounts can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%, bladder cancer by 50%, and breast cancer.
  • Drinking water can significantly reduce joint and/or back pain.
  • Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.
  • Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.
  • Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.
  • Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.
  • Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation.
  • Water helps regulate your body temperature as water has a high heat capacity.

So how much should I drink?

Every day you have replace around 2.4 liters of water that you lose through breathing, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. Around 20% of this volume will be provided through food, but the rest is needed to be ingested through fluids.

That doesn’t mean that you can go around drinking just anything and count it to the total amount of daily intake. Drinks such as alcohol, sodas and drinks with caffeine (such as coffee) may feel nice going down, but they are not meant to hydrate you, in fact they promote urination and makes you lose water, which means that for every cup of coffee you drink, you have to drink at least one glass of water to make up for it.

Also the amount of water you need depends on your physical activity, the climate you live in and a lot of other factors, but drinking at least 2 liters of water every day is a good goal to aim for, after all.

Is it possible to drink too much?

In one word; yes. But it is very difficult to drink too much, as it is not how much you drink that matters as much as how fast you drink. Of course I’m not saying that you should start drinking more slowly, it’s when you drink enormous amounts at one time that it becomes dangerous. Your body can process as much as 15 liters of water per day, so there is no extreme danger that you’d drink too much unless you start chugging instead of spreading fluid intake out over the day.

Then what is dangerous drinking?

When you drink a lot in a short timespan, that is dangerous because essentially you dilute your cells and can lead to a condition called Water Intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water acts like a solvent and breaks down minerals to transport to your cells, and when the water to mineral concentration becomes too small, your cells start behaving the same way they would if you were drowning in fresh water. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.

Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days.

What to drink and not to drink (more about this in a later blog post)

During long bouts of intense exercise, it’s best to use a sports drink that contains sodium, as this will help replace sodium lost in sweat and reduce the chances of developing hyponatremia (loss of Sodium), which can be life-threatening. Also it’s very important to continue to replace fluids after you are finished exercising.

There are three important rules when it comes to drinking water:

  1. Drink twice as much as it takes to quench your thirst.
  2. Drink frequently throughout the day to prevent dehydration.
  3. Drink at least eight glasses daily (around 2-3 liters).

 

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Jun
28

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How Language Exchange is like Tug of War

Category: General Leave a Comment

Tug of War

How language exchange is like tug of war

When you learn a language you will eventually come to the stage where you want to practice what you have learned and start using it in real situations. When you come to this stage, you might start looking for a native speaker of your target language, who is in turn learning your native language. When you do find someone who is willing to practice with you, it can lead to a mutually beneficial language exchange and even good friendship. More about this in a little bit.

When should I start with language exchanges?

Some people will tell you that you should start speaking right away, using what you know and push yourself to gain better understanding through putting yourself out there, while others will tell you that you should first internalize the language, the rhythm, the sounds and gain a lot of vocabulary  before you speak. Some even go so far as to say that you shouldn’t speak at all  until you have a better understanding of the language you’re learning. Whatever way you choose to go, there will at some point come a time where you need to start speaking, if you want to be able to use the language.

You probably will benefit the most from language exchanges once you reach an intermediate level in your languages (due to being able to express yourself better and being able to understand explanations and replies given in the language), but in my experience, it is good to get speaking practice even from when you are in the early stages of your learning, just to get used to producing the sounds of the language. If you keep putting it off for later, when you know the language better, you might get caught in the trap of understanding a language, but not being able to speak it at all. It’s good to progress your level evenly over the different areas of learning a language, so make sure that you don’t only build up a passive vocabulary. This is where you need practice speaking the language.

Finding a language exchange partner

Finding someone to practice with can be quite difficult, if you are learning a rare or exotic language, but the most difficult thing is to find someone who you enjoy talking with and who can help you with your language learning. There are many websites for getting in contact with people who want to practice languages such as sharedtalk, busuu, and livemocha. There are a lot of them, so you only have to search on Google for language exchange and you will find more sites than you’ll ever be able to go through.

Once you have found a language exchange partner, the initial session is in my opinion the far most important one. That’s where you decide what languages are going to be practiced, and you get to know each other.

Tug of war

When you start talking to each other, it’s usually the one who has the biggest vocabulary or has the most confidence in speaking their target language that sets the common communication language (or the language that you use to talk, most of the time). Of course, you will want to practice your target language and your language exchange partner will want to practice his/her target language. This can lead to a conflict of interests, like a tug of war. Usually the language that you use to communicate between yourselves will be set in the first few sessions, after which it will be a bit more difficult to change the dynamics of your exchange, unless you address the issue directly and talk about it.

So, let’s say that you are learning Hindi, and you meet someone online and start talking. After a while you will have used up much of your vocabulary in the language you are practising and you might fall back on your native language, so that the conversation will have a better flow. Do this, and you will be doing yourself a disservice in the end. Once you start getting more comfortable and get back to your native language, you are on a slippery slope and it will take more energy to get back to the language you want to practice again. It is better to struggle a bit, and taste the sweet taste of victory when you find that you can express yourself in your target language. If you don’t try, you might get stuck talking in your native language with this person for as long as you know him/her.

Solution

There are many ways to deal with this issue, but the best thing you can do is to be prepared for a language exchange and have a clear idea of how it can be the most beneficial for you and what things you need specific help with. Make sure that you know for yourself what it is that you need from the language exchange. Maybe you need to practice some grammar points or want to make sure with a native speaker that you’re using the grammar correctly; this could be a much more fun way to go through grammar exercises. Or maybe you need to practice reading out loud and want to make sure that you are pronouncing things correctly and have the correct speed and intonation for the language. If you really want to work on your pronunciation I would recommend that you record yourself as well when you read out loud, that way you would also be able to tell from listening to yourself where you need to improve. Communicate your needs and expectations to your language exchange partner in the beginning of getting to know each other, and he/she will be able to help you out a lot more as well.

A language exchange can be a great thing and it should be both fun and beneficial for the both of you. Take turns talking in your native language and the language you want to learn, and use a timer, if you want. Make sure that you speak equally much in both languages and make sure that you know what your language exchange partner expects from you as well. That way the exchange will be beneficial for both of you, and you wouldn’t need to feel like it’s unnatural to switch between languages, talk about grammar exercises or just read texts out loud to each other. Just set the guidelines when you get started and you will benefit a lot more from language exchanges. Also, make sure that you update your goals regularly, so that you don’t start feeling too comfortable talking about only one thing, but push your limits as well. You will become more productive and will help your language exchange partner a lot more too!

I would also like to add that if you are feeling adventurous or feel very confident, the best kind of language exchange partner is not a language exchange partner at all, but a friend who doesn’t share any common language with you, except for the language you are learning. That way, you force yourself to stay with the language and you will most definitely get the best kind of practice there is. It is more challenging and especially in the beginning it can be quite tiresome, but it will leave you feeling amazing. (I still remember the first time I talked with a guy from Vietnam who didn’t know any English at all. We were talking about shopping and buying shoes or something like that, something that I’m not interested in at all, but it still made me feel really good about myself, being able to express myself in Vietnamese for the first time.) Just do what you feel you are capable of, and have fun!

Summary

To sum it all up

  • Look for a language partner you feel comfortable talking to. There are many websites available to look for people to talk to.
  • Make sure you know what it is that you need to improve on in the language.
  • Agree on how you will divide your time between your languages and stick to it.
  • Stick to the language you are learning even though it’s difficult at times and slows the conversation down, you will thank yourself later for doing it.
  • Use a timer to divide your time if it makes you more comfortable.
  • Change to more difficult topics when you start getting comfortable at the level you are right now, to push yourself to learn.
  • The best language exchange partner is someone who isn’t interested in learning from you, but talking to you naturally (in his/her own language).
  • Have fun and enjoy your progress! Savour the moments of breakthrough!

I had originally written this article as a guest blogpost for my friend Luca on his blog www.thepolyglotdream.com

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Jun
19

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The biggest secret of learning a new language

Category: General Tags: , , 2 Comments

The most difficult step in learning a new language is getting started. I have heard countless people say that they wish they knew how to speak another language, but that they don’t have the time, don’t have talent for languages or a million other excuses.

Have you have ever dreamt about being able to speak Spanish fluently, being able to follow Anime completely without subtitles, or understanding the songs in your favourite Bollywood movies? I am here to tell you that you CAN! You don’t have to be a genius, move to a different country or set aside hours every day to learn. My point is, if you want to learn another language, you can!

The only thing holding you back from being able to is that you haven’t started yet.

The problem is not that you can’t find the perfect material, find the perfect teacher or having the right circumstances to learn. If you want to learn, the only thing you have to do is start. Start right now.

Take a moment right now and think of what language you want to learn. This article can wait, just write it down somewhere. Write “I am learning” followed by the language you have decided on.

Now that you know what it is that you want to learn, you can start acting on it. Don’t give excuses for why you can’t, or why you should wait with it. You have been carrying it around for quite some time already, so why would you want to push it further into the future? Today is the day you start! Go on, tell a friend about it, write it on your Facebook wall, tweet it out, make it public!

Congratulations! You are now enrolled and you owe it to yourself to take the next step in learning, to find material. I promise you, it’s not that difficult. Google is a great place to start. Just start by typing “Learning [language]” and see what you get. You can even get a lot of material on YouTube nowadays, so you might want to check that out too. :-)

Now suddenly you are not stuck in the limbo of wanting to learn. You can with confidence say that you have taken the first step. From now on, you just need to continue doing what you have started.

The next biggest secret to learning a language is to continue doing something every day. As long as you show up, you win. The day you stop, you lose. Don’t lose your language.

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Apr
20

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5 Ways Martial Arts Improves Your Life

Category: General Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

There are many ways that you can benefit from different forms of exercise, and for me Martial Arts of any kind really sums up a good workout. I have been doing different Martial Arts for many years, off and on, and I have been helped greatly in many areas. Martial Arts was the first “sport” that actually stood out to me, and that I enjoyed doing so much that I was looking forward to going back again and again. Below I have listed a few of the things that I have noticed that Martial Arts have helped me the most with.

For me, what really stands out about Martial Arts is how many aspects there are to it. I have always focused on the physical side of the workout, the expression of the human body. I have since I got into Martial Arts, kind of wandered between different schools, such as Karate, Bujinkan, Iaido, Jiu-Jutsu and Tae Kwon Do, and all of them are great in their own ways and all bring their own specific benefits. But there are a few things that most Martial Arts incorporate, which make them very beneficial, no matter who you are.

1. Coordination

In any kind of Martial Art, you have to be able to control your body, to be able to avoid attacks, whether you are doing the Martial Art for self-defence purposes, as a sport or as a workout. There are many techniques that you will learn that will push you to recognize how you can move in a better way, how to position yourself and coordinate your movements with your opponent. You will learn to use both sides of your body, how to coordinate strikes, kicks and other movements, and retain your balance at the same time.

2. Strength and Endurance

If you have never been doing Martial Arts before, you might not think that you need to be strong to start with Martial Arts. This is completely wrong. Actually, once you get past a certain point, the more muscle mass you have, the slower and more sluggish you get. So in Martial Arts, having lean strength is more valued than huge muscles. Another thing that you will improve is your endurance. You will be asked to do the same things over and over and over and over ad nauseum, until you are so tired you want to curl up into a ball and cry, but you will be doing it, and that in turn will build up your endurance and skill. Repetition is key to anything you want to become good at or improve.

3. Improved Reflexes

When faced with new situations, we adapt. When faced with punches and kicks and locks that hurt, you adapt by learning how to counter them, or how to avoid them, but most importantly, you learn to react quickly, assess the situation and act accordingly. You basically teach your reflexes to become faster, by putting yourself in the line of fire. This improvement of reflexes and reaction doesn’t only apply to Martial Arts, but also computer games, when driving, cycling and any other kind of situation where you need to react quickly.

4. Relaxation

Paradoxically you can become a more peaceful person by practicing Martial Arts. It is a great source of stress relief for many people to be able to kick, scream and get their frustrations out through Martial Arts practice, and in turn that leaves you more relaxed and focused than when you started your workout. And the more peaceful you get inside, the easier it is to cope with stress

5. Self-confidence

Through learning self-defence and being able to be confident in yourself even in pressured situations you gain enormous self-confidence. Being able to trust yourself that you will be able to handle any situation that you will come to face is another thing that Martial Arts can bring. Knowing how to defend yourself is an enormously comforting feeling to have, even if you never end up needing to use your skills. Your goal should never be to get into a fight, but to be able to get out of one, and feel secure with yourself no matter what situation you are in. That is the goal with Martial Arts.

Now that I have listed a few of the things that I find the most beneficial with Martial Arts, it is your turn! Tell me what you think about Martial Arts in general, what you benefit from the most and anything else you want to discuss in the comments. Looking forward to hearing from you!

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Mar
9

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Aurora Borealis Watch

Category: General Tags: 1 Comment

A colourful display of Aurora Borealis in Finland

Aurora Borealis is a very beautiful phenomenon, but a lot of people have never seen it and don’t know when or where to look out for it, so I created this page so that it will be much easier to know when to keep an eye on the skies.

There are a few weather websites that show data on solar activity and a couple of websites that show aurora borealis predictions, so I want to collect the best of those sites and try to make the content available here, collected in an easy manner, so that it will be easier to overview and know when to look up to the sky to be able to see something some people only dream of seeing.

Aurora can be seen throughout the whole year, not only when it is cold, as some people believe. The only thing that is required is that the skies are clear because Aurora Borealis is not a weather phenomenon, it occurs high above the clouds, and dark skies. Sunlight and even bright moonlight can make the Aurora difficult to see though, so keep a good lookout!

The red “View Line” 1000 km equatorward of the aurora shows from where it is possible to see the aurora during good viewing conditions. The chart is updated roughly every 10 minutes or so. View a larger version of this image.

To see the current Aurora Forecast, you can either refer to the image above or go to the Geophysical Institute Aurora Forecast which also includes a description of what is to be expected during the current conditions. Click here to visit their webpage.

The activity or intensity of Aurora Borealis is measured on a scaled called the “Kp Index” which goes from 0-9. This scale also relates to how far equatorward it is possible to see the Aurora. To see examples of how the activity looks during the different points of the scale, click the picture gallery below.

 

11-Year Solar Cycle

Aurora Borealis has it’s peak roughly every 11 years, and have been measured for more than 400 years, since the time of Galileo! To see this graph go all the way back to the 1620′s, check this link out. It’s calculated that we will have the top activity of Aurora Borealis in 2013-2014, but we are already seeing a lot more activity than just a couple of years ago.

How to predict Aurora Borealis

There are many metrics that are used for predicting Aurora Borealis. For example, you can measure the solar activity and the solar storms and get a kind of prediction from that, which is much like weather prediction here on earth, not completely correct, but at least a guideline. This kind of solar-weather prediction is done with measuring the x-ray radiation that comes off from the sun. You can view a graph that gets updated every 5 minutes of the current Solar X-ray Flux here.

This chart is updated every 5 minutes

In the lowest section of this picture you can see the estimated current Kp level.

Here is another chart that shows the current aurora activity. It is not as clear, but it is still kind of interesting:

Be sure to check back to this page often, as I will update it with more information and data later. Happy Aurora hunting!

For more reading, check out these webpages:

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Mar
1

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I have stopped doing martial arts!

Category: General Tags: , , , Leave a Comment

I have stopped, only to improve

Yes, I really have stopped doing martial arts! I actually started doing Tae Kwon Do in January and went for a few classes, but I quickly noticed that my strength, flexibility and stamina is not where I want them, not even close, and instead of focusing on learning techniques and slowly building up my strength while doing martial arts, I have decided that I will take a break from doing martial arts, for now. Instead I will be going to the gym three times a week, mostly doing body weight exercises, to build up a good core strength. I have actually noticed already that my leg strength has increased significantly.

I love martial arts. I think that it’s good exercise and it’s a lot of fun to practice as well. It doesn’t really matter what martial art it is, the basic principles are the same. There are only a few things that all martial arts are built up around, and they are; Striking, Kicking, Throwing (things, opponents), Grips, Avoiding / Moving and Groundwork / Wrestling. All techniques fall within one of these groups. And if you don’t have a good understanding of the basics of these groups, then even if you try to learn a technique within one of the groups, it will still not be proficient. And if you’re not flexible or strong enough to execute a technique correctly, it doesn’t matter how well you know the technique.

So I have decided to focus on building core strength by working out at the gym, stretching every day and building up a better stamina than I have ever had before. This will also help me achieve what I’ve been struggling with for a long time, and that is to gain weight. I haven’t quit martial arts for good. I am just taking a break from them so that when I get back, I can go in with more strength than ever before, being more flexible and having a much greater stamina. I’m looking forward to seeing the results, once I get started again after the summer.

Anyway, that’s all for now!

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Jan
11

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Goals for 2012

Category: General Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Hello everybody! I hope that you have had a great 2012 so far!

I have read many blog posts, newspaper articles, how-to’s and other things related to New Year resolutions or vows over several years now, and the general theme in them is that it’s difficult to achieve your goals, and that you probably didn’t achieve them last year. Whether it’s losing weight, getting stronger/more fit, saving up money or spending less, these are things that are difficult to do, and require dedication and a proper plan to succeed with.

I tried making New Year vows last year for the first time, but forgot all about it almost right away. The thing is that making a resolution for what you are going to do for the rest of the year is quite difficult, especially if there are multiple items on that list. And you really need to get started right away with the things that you want to achieve, unless you want to forget about it and just have a few things as “dreams”.  If you don’t get started right away, and at least do something, anything at all, chances are that you won’t get started at all. So if you want to start becoming more flexible (something I want) then start stretching every day. Don’t go to bed unless you have done it.

This year I am not going to make any resolutions at all! But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have any goals for 2012, on a personal level. There are loads of things that I want to do, and loads of things that I have already planned for this year, but that’s what they are. Plans and goals. Things that I need to get started with right away! So I’m not going to call them resolutions or anything like that, but instead push myself to achieve as much as possible this year instead.

So this year, I am going to set up a few new goals to work towards;

    • Get married.
    • Finally take my drivers license
    • Get more familiar with Russian
    • Practice the other languages I know more often, especially Hindi, Vietnamese and Japanese
    • Get to a B2 level (or higher) in my Hindi, both speaking and understanding
    • Become flexible and start with martial arts again.
    • Reach my goal weight of 65 kg. (Through working out and subsequently eating more.)
    • Get my own company up and running. (The first stages are already in place.)
    • Take my story writing and filming to a new level. If possible, create a short film by the end of the year based on a self written story. (I have started a rough layout for a story/film idea.)

So, these are a few of my goals this year. I will keep you updated on how I progress, throughout the year. 2012 is going to be an interesting year for sure. There are going to be so many new things and experiences. I really look forward to seeing how everything turns out.

What are your goals for 2012 going to be? Have you already gotten started with something? Let me know!

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Dec
28

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Moving the site

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Hello everybody! I have recently changed server hosts, from having had loopia for 2 years to now hosting my webpages on binero. The reasons for the move are quite many, but the main points are that binero are cheaper and provide much more storage space.

The reason I mention this is because due to the change of web hotel, all the pictures from my webpage have been temporarily removed from the site. I didn’t back them up properly for simple importing, but that’s alright. I have almost all of them somewhere else, so I can upload them again when I get time to.

I’m really looking forward to the new year! A lot of exciting things are going to happen for sure.

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Nov
8

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New Year Vows Update

Category: General Tags: , , , , , , , ,

In January this year, I made a few New Year vows. This post is to account for what I have been able to keep and what I haven’t. And for you who are too lazy to read the whole blog post, at the end I have listed all the goals in categories; success, partial success and failure.

New Year Vows for 2011:

  • Renew Wardrobe – Buy Suits
  • Learn to speak Hindi as well as I understand it
  • Learn the basics of Russian
  • Start with, and succeed with my projects
  • Get >1000 sek revenue from my webpage projects
  • Buff up and get more flexible
  • Get an apartment of my own
  • Buy a new cell phone and build a new desktop computer
  • Simplify my life and remove useless clutter

Now I will do a rundown of each of these vows to see what I have been able to do and what I have failed to do this year.

Renew Wardrobe – Buy Suits

This summer when I went to India together with Mehek, I did buy a lot of clothes. I actually thought that I had packed too much, but we actually didn’t cross the weight limit. I also bought three tailor made suits that I am extremely happy about. I still have a lot of clothes in my wardrobe that I don’t use any more, so I should go through it and remove what I don’t need any more. But I consider this a success.

Learn to speak Hindi as well as I understand it

I can’t say that I am able to speak Hindi as well as I understand it, but then again, I might speak Hindi almost as well as I understood it by last year. I have learned a lot and I do understand much more now than I did before. Passive understanding of a language is always bigger than active knowledge of a language. I consider this a partial success.

 Learn the basics of Russian

It was not until about a month ago that I actually started learning Russian seriously, and since then I have been skipping days and missing out a lot, but I have gotten started. I am very proud that I have taken the first steps, even though I don’t know what I would consider being the basics of Russian quite yet, so I will consider this a partial success.

Start with and succeed with my projects

I have started way too many projects, so a lot of them have been terminated and a few others put on hold. But I guess that I’ve been able to do what matters. Success.

Get >1000 sek revenue from my webpage projects

I haven’t started any projects that would generate any revenue yet. Failure.

Buff up and get more flexible

In the beginning of the year, I went to the gym almost 3 times per week, every week. I am very proud of this. But then the summer came, I got lazy and never really got back into the habit of going to the gym. I guess that going to the gym for about 6 months at least counts for something, so I’ll give this a partial success.

Get an apartment of my own

After much searching during the spring, Mehek and I finally found an apartment that we are renting. Success.

Buy a new cell phone and build a new desktop computer

In May this year I bought the Samsung Galaxy SII, which I really really love. It’s the best phone that I have tried and I’m super happy with it. I didn’t build a desktop computer however, but instead I bought a new really amazing laptop. I would call this a success.

Simplify my life and remove useless clutter

Now this is a big one. I have way too much stuff and I like a lot of it way too much. I know that I shouldn’t keep a lot of it, but it has sentimental value or something of the sort, so I haven’t been able to throw everything out yet. I have however gotten rid of a lot of things, and a lot of new things have taken their place. I guess this is a partial success.

So let’s break it down.

Success:

  • Renew Wardrobe – Buy Suits
  • Start with, and succeed with my projects
  • Get an apartment of my own
  • Buy a new cell phone and build a new desktop computer

Partial success:

  • Learn to speak Hindi as well as I understand it
  • Learn the basics of Russian
  • Buff up and get more flexible
  • Simplify my life and remove useless clutter

Failure:

  • Get >1000 sek revenue from my webpage projects

So it would seem that I have been able to do at least most of the things that I set out to do this year. Some things partially, some things fully and I only failed to do one thing that I set out to do. I guess I should be proud of myself.

How have you fared with your own New Year vows? Let me know in the comments below, or on Facebook.

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Oct
28

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New Banner!

Category: General Tags: ,

I made a banner a couple of weeks ago, containing snapshots of a few things that I am interested in. I thought it was a fun project, and if you have any feedback to give regarding the design, the colours and/or if you think I should add or remove something, please do give your opinion! I treasure it!

One thing that I have been told is that I should make the images clickable, so that you come to a section that talks more about the subject of the image clicked, so I will try to make something like that in the coming weeks! I really haven’t been doing much writing lately, so I’m just taking these things as excuses to actually type a little right now.

On another note, I just bought a new laptop! It’s awesome!

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Jul
18

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First days in India

Category: General

Finally we have reached India! The flight was really great and it was only on the connecting flight to Vienna that we had the problem with screaming children. On the way to India it was really quiet and peaceful. And even though the food was not good at all, overall it was a really pleasant flight. And now we have reached India.

It is really awesome here. The food and the people have really been super great. I have settled in at the hotel and Mehek is finally with her parents again. I have also met Mehek’s family. They are really awesome people and we have gotten along really really well. I am really happy for that. So far we haven’t been doing much, but I have bought a pair of dress-shoes and gotten a haircut, which was really necessary. I will post pictures of this soon.

There is no internet connection in the hotel room, so I am currently borrowing a computer at Mehek’s place. I guess it’s for the best, otherwise I would sit up at night to update the blog and upload pictures. I will have to bring the cord with me so that I can transfer a few pictures and videos to upload some time though. So you can expect more regular updates from now on. It has taken a few days to get settled in, but I’m finally starting to get my bearings straight.

I have been filming a bit, not as much as I had thought I would, but I am sure that you will all love what you see. I haven’t taken many pictures though, during these first few days, but instead I have been filming. Only time will tell which is the better way of keeping record, but I will try to do both. Still images are easier to browse though, I guess.

If you want to send me a private message or something like that, instead of commenting on the blog, send me an email instead, unless it has something to do with what I have been writing on the blog. I still get the messages, but for the sake of order I want to keep only comments that are relevant to the blogpost. For all you who don’t know, you can email me at jw [at] lifelearner (dot) se

I will write again soon, so keep checking in! Have an awesome day! See you next time.

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