Ross

I Read My First Mandarin Book Without Translation! I've been reading mandarin Chinese books for many years now, so it definitely felt like hitting a milestone when I finally completed one without needing to use any translation at all. Milestones become harder and harder to reach as you get better and better, so this was certainly an achievement I'm happy to celebrate! The book I completed was "A Midsummer's Equation" by my favourite author 东野圭吾 Keigo Higashino.

I Read My First Mandarin Book Without Translation!

I've been reading mandarin Chinese books for many years now, so it definitely felt like hitting a milestone when I finally completed one without needing to use any translation at all. Milestones become harder and harder to reach as you get better…

Top 10 Favourite Monsters From MH4U Oh yeah! Now that I've beat every monster in this game solo I want to rank my top ten favourites from the game! This isn't necessarily about who is strongest, just who I like the most, so we may jump around in terms of difficulty dramatically throughout this list! I'm only including one variant of each monster, all of this is just my opinion, and of course my main weapons (switch axe and insect glaive) will also play a major role, as well as the fact that I'm soloing.

Top 10 Favourite Monsters From MH4U

Oh yeah! Now that I've beat every monster in this game solo I want to rank my top ten favourites from the game! This isn't necessarily about who is strongest, just who I like the most, so we may jump around in terms of difficulty dramatically throughout this…

Why English Can Be Easier to Learn Most people think English is easier for completely the wrong reasons. While it does have a simple alphabet compared to other foreign languages, it doesn't at all translate to being easy to pronounce as it's not phonetic at all, and spellings often don't make any sense. English also has the highest vocabulary of any language so on paper it's the most work to learn too.

Why English Can Be Easier to Learn

Most people think English is easier for completely the wrong reasons. While it does have a simple alphabet compared to other foreign languages, it doesn't at all translate to being easy to pronounce as it's not phonetic at all, and spellings often don't make any…

My Recommendations on Reading Books in General I see a lot of reading advice recommending a one book a week target, but as someone who does read fairly often, it seems kind of crazy, and not at all the approach I would take. While it might sound great on paper, books can vary in length dramatically to a point where long books could be the same size as ten small books.

My Recommendations on Reading Books in General

I see a lot of reading advice recommending a one book a week target, but as someone who does read fairly often, it seems kind of crazy, and not at all the approach I would take. While it might sound great on paper, books can vary in length…

Ultimate Chinese Book Haul! We had been waiting for this delivery for a very long time, but it was still a surprise to see so many books stacked so high! I knew there would be a lot, 48 in fact, but seeing them like this still felt a little insane. While I was excited, a large part of me also worried about the fact that I had way too much to read!

Ultimate Chinese Book Haul!

We had been waiting for this delivery for a very long time, but it was still a surprise to see so many books stacked so high! I knew there would be a lot, 48 in fact, but seeing them like this still felt a little insane. While I was excited, a large part of me also…

MH4U Solo Bonus #36 – Apex Deviljho in Multiplayer! I actually quit the game for a long time, believing that I was completely finished, so I will just briefly explain what happened. I thought I would try the super Ukanlos scroll quest and entered the fight with a maxed out ice res build and things went absolutely terribly. I had to abandon lots and lots of times in quick succession because even his regular attacks one shot me.

MH4U Solo Bonus #36 – Apex Deviljho in Multiplayer!

I actually quit the game for a long time, believing that I was completely finished, so I will just briefly explain what happened. I thought I would try the super Ukanlos scroll quest and entered the fight with a maxed out ice res build and things…

I Love Playing Fifa I picked up a massive bargain when looking around charity shops last weekend. It was FC24 on the PS5 for only £4, and it only took less than a week for me to get thoroughly involved in yet another manager career season. To me there doesn't seem to be much difference between each game except for the teams, so I pick games based on the teams that they have.

I Love Playing Fifa

I picked up a massive bargain when looking around charity shops last weekend. It was FC24 on the PS5 for only £4, and it only took less than a week for me to get thoroughly involved in yet another manager career season. To me there doesn't seem to be much difference between…

Rewriting Zombies I've only been able to keep up with my current blog post schedule recently because lots of things were already scheduled in advance. When I think about what's been stopping me from writing, the answer is simple: zombies. Yes, I have been writing a zombie apocalypse comedy drama for YouTube featuring me and my friends about life in the zombie apocalypse and how we might go about solving the situation.

Rewriting Zombies

I've only been able to keep up with my current blog post schedule recently because lots of things were already scheduled in advance. When I think about what's been stopping me from writing, the answer is simple: zombies. Yes, I have been writing a zombie apocalypse comedy drama…

My New Approach to Buying Games It seems that lots of people are still buying video games, but fewer and fewer people are actually playing the games that they buy. I've struggled with this problem a lot, and I think I've finally discovered why it happens, and what we can do about it. First of all, this kind of problem mainly impacts adults with jobs the most.

My New Approach to Buying Games

It seems that lots of people are still buying video games, but fewer and fewer people are actually playing the games that they buy. I've struggled with this problem a lot, and I think I've finally discovered why it happens, and what we can do about it. First of all,…

Why Monster Hunter Generations Disappointed Me I enjoyed Monster Hunter Generations when I played it for the first time on 3DS, playing for 150 hours or so. The game had so much promise, but I did not find it nearly as enjoyable as the previous game I played, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. It feels as if 4U was the last game to just have you vs the monster without any real gimmicks, sure you had wystones, but compared to what we got later, it's incredibly tame, as by the time you truly need the wystones you've already unlocked two of them, so you can always have one on permanently.

Why Monster Hunter Generations Disappointed Me

I enjoyed Monster Hunter Generations when I played it for the first time on 3DS, playing for 150 hours or so. The game had so much promise, but I did not find it nearly as enjoyable as the previous game I played, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. It feels as…

Even Weirder Spam Activity My prediction that 2025 would turn out to be the last year where I could trust my stats has already become true. Bot activity on my site has gone absolutely crazy. This is what I'm looking at for February... Yeah these spikes have been absolutely stupid. I'm used to around 100 views per day, so it's not nice to watch my stats lose all meaning as I get 2-3k bot views every day.

Even Weirder Spam Activity

My prediction that 2025 would turn out to be the last year where I could trust my stats has already become true. Bot activity on my site has gone absolutely crazy. This is what I'm looking at for February... Yeah these spikes have been absolutely stupid. I'm used to…

Business Time Mandarin Translation – Flight of the Conchords – 弦乐航班 Happy Valentine's day! 情人节快乐！ I wanted to translate another song from English to Chinese because when I show them to people they seem to enjoy it, even if it sounds strange at times. It's always tough to preserve the true meaning, keep it funny, and also make it sound natural all at once, but this time I don't need to rhyme anything, so hopefully it's a bit better than the previous!

Business Time Mandarin Translation – Flight of the Conchords – 弦乐航班

Happy Valentine's day! 情人节快乐！ I wanted to translate another song from English to Chinese because when I show them to people they seem to enjoy it, even if it sounds strange at times. It's always tough to preserve the true meaning,…

Comedy Music Needs More Respect I want to tell you a short story that happened recently. I was feeling pretty hopeless, things were happening in my life that nobody ever wants to go through, I was crying, and generally miserable. Then I put this song on, hurt feelings by the Flight of the Conchords. It made me laugh, and everything started to feel better as I listened to it over and over again.

Comedy Music Needs More Respect

I want to tell you a short story that happened recently. I was feeling pretty hopeless, things were happening in my life that nobody ever wants to go through, I was crying, and generally miserable. Then I put this song on, hurt feelings by the Flight of the…

Top 5 Short Chinese Dramas from January I am only writing this in mid-January, but I’ve already seen 5 more Chinese short dramas since last time, and I would like to share them here as they have been really interesting to me! For those who don’t know, short dramas are watched in portrait mode on mobile, and have episodes only lasting a few minutes. While to some that may sound terrible, they are a really amazing learning resource for language learners as you can just dip in and out as you need to, and each episode works really hard to grab your attention, making it quite interesting.

Top 5 Short Chinese Dramas from January

I am only writing this in mid-January, but I’ve already seen 5 more Chinese short dramas since last time, and I would like to share them here as they have been really interesting to me! For those who don’t know, short dramas are watched in portrait mode on…

Tips for Soloing MH4U Now that I have finished soloing every monster in G Rank, I thought I would give some tips for anyone who wants to give it a try for themselves. I have an entire Monster Hunter Diary series with part one here if you want to see how I did it in painful detail, but this is just general advice that I picked up as I went, please feel free to skip anything you don't need.

Tips for Soloing MH4U

Now that I have finished soloing every monster in G Rank, I thought I would give some tips for anyone who wants to give it a try for themselves. I have an entire Monster Hunter Diary series with part one here if you want to see how I did it in painful detail, but this is just…

A Reminder to Look After Yourself The dark winter nights as well as personal circumstances recently made me want to write a reminder for everyone to look after themselves. It's normal to feel sad when facing difficult and stressful circumstances, but it's incredibly crippling if you feel that way all the time. It’s also really difficult to overcome those negative emotions or even find the desire to try and improve your situation, but it's never too late to stop trying.

A Reminder to Look After Yourself

The dark winter nights as well as personal circumstances recently made me want to write a reminder for everyone to look after themselves. It's normal to feel sad when facing difficult and stressful circumstances, but it's incredibly crippling if you feel that way…

Missing you 好想好想你 English Lyrics – G.E.M邓紫棋 I found this song really cute and sweet to listen to, so definitely wanted to translate it and give explanations of some of the lyrics. The gentle and calming tone means that it's something I've heard quite often while playing in the background of shops when visiting China. Music Video The line that G.E.M shouts on the bridge is "谁要认识你啊" which means literally "Who wants to know you?" but of course a more natural translation is "Nobody cares about you" which is the translation used in the music video itself.

Missing you 好想好想你 English Lyrics – G.E.M邓紫棋

I found this song really cute and sweet to listen to, so definitely wanted to translate it and give explanations of some of the lyrics. The gentle and calming tone means that it's something I've heard quite often while playing in the background of shops…

Why You Need a Great Park Nearby Ever since I discovered this park several months ago, I have visited on almost every day possible, it’s just that good. After going around it quite often and exploring thoroughly, I have discovered something: its design is genius. While I can’t deny that there isn’t room for improvement, they have done an amazing job with what they have access to.

Why You Need a Great Park Nearby

Ever since I discovered this park several months ago, I have visited on almost every day possible, it’s just that good. After going around it quite often and exploring thoroughly, I have discovered something: its design is genius. While I can’t deny that there…

MH4U Solo Bonus #35 – Apex Gravios and Apex Diablos After completing high rank, it was time to take on the remaining G3 quests I still hadn't done. Thankfully I already unlocked the quests for Apex Gravios and Apex Diablos without grinding, so I thought I'd get all the apexes I could out the way as they are the most annoying fights in the game. Unfortunately for me, I didn't really like Gravios very much in the first place.

MH4U Solo Bonus #35 – Apex Gravios and Apex Diablos

After completing high rank, it was time to take on the remaining G3 quests I still hadn't done. Thankfully I already unlocked the quests for Apex Gravios and Apex Diablos without grinding, so I thought I'd get all the apexes I could out the way…

Why I post on Saturday Mornings at 11am This is a really odd time to post I think, and definitely isn't optimal, but I do it anyway. It's mainly just because of how I spent my weekends as a kid. The sun would shine through the window brilliantly, and I would either go to visit my grandma, doing nothing but play with her dog, or watch early morning television or play a nice game like animal crossing.

Why I post on Saturday Mornings at 11am

This is a really odd time to post I think, and definitely isn't optimal, but I do it anyway. It's mainly just because of how I spent my weekends as a kid. The sun would shine through the window brilliantly, and I would either go to visit my grandma, doing…

Night life. Take us to the light English Lyrics Accuse Five 告五人带我去找夜生活英文歌词 My accuse five song translations/language explanations tend to perform quite well, and I think it's because the lyrics are just really difficult and poetic, as well as overly pretentious. Someone needs to explain and translate their songs in a more understandable way, and I am very happy to take up that task! Despite criticising their lyrics here (and even more in the translation notes) I do still very much like the sound of their music.

Night life. Take us to the light English Lyrics Accuse Five 告五人带我去找夜生活英文歌词

My accuse five song translations/language explanations tend to perform quite well, and I think it's because the lyrics are just really difficult and poetic, as well as overly pretentious. Someone needs to explain and…

Found this in my 2012 Pokemon annual

2025 Blog Stats Report! Did I reverse the trend? I enjoy looking at stats way too much. Regardless of the fact that I know they don't really matter, I can't resist analysing them, so now that 2025 is over I want to come back again to check what happened on the blog over the course of the year. All data for all time views was collected on 01/01/2026 so includes an extra day, but of course figures directly from 2025 do not include figures from other years.

2025 Blog Stats Report! Did I reverse the trend?

I enjoy looking at stats way too much. Regardless of the fact that I know they don't really matter, I can't resist analysing them, so now that 2025 is over I want to come back again to check what happened on the blog over the course of the year. All…

MH4U Solo Bonus #34 – Completing HR7! Since beating every single monster in the game I've decided to come back and do a little bit more, seeing how far I can get. It's been crazy, but in order to gradually increase the challenge I decided to take out everything that was still remaining in HR7 that I had never bothered to complete until now. This meant going through some of the achievements, and one in particular that stood out to me was mounting every monster in Caravan 1-6 and HR1-7.

MH4U Solo Bonus #34 – Completing HR7!

Since beating every single monster in the game I've decided to come back and do a little bit more, seeing how far I can get. It's been crazy, but in order to gradually increase the challenge I decided to take out everything that was still remaining in HR7 that…

来自天堂的魔鬼 Away English Lyrics G.E.M邓紫棋 It feels like it's been way too long since I translated a G.E.M邓紫棋 song, and there are so many great ones out there. I definitely remember listening to this a lot when I first learning Chinese as being able to understand the English lyrics definitely helped a lot. I don't think I could understand the rest of the song though.

来自天堂的魔鬼 Away English Lyrics G.E.M邓紫棋

It feels like it's been way too long since I translated a G.E.M邓紫棋 song, and there are so many great ones out there. I definitely remember listening to this a lot when I first learning Chinese as being able to understand the English lyrics definitely helped a…

Getting into Jogging I've started jogging semi-regularly recently and I just wanted to talk about how it's going so far. Why I Started I think it was a combination of several things. The biggest motivator was probably stress relief. When things are getting really bad you can go on a quick run, and by the time you get back and you're in the shower everything starts to feel better.

Getting into Jogging

I've started jogging semi-regularly recently and I just wanted to talk about how it's going so far. Why I Started I think it was a combination of several things. The biggest motivator was probably stress relief. When things are getting really bad you can go on a quick run, and…

Realising I’m Extroverted It can sometimes take an incredible amount of time to discover something about yourself that anyone else would be able to spot almost straight away. Realising that I wasn't actually an introvert at all has kind of changed my approach to life for the better recently, so I thought I would share how this realisation came about, possibly to also help those who don't realise they're going through the same thing.

Realising I’m Extroverted

It can sometimes take an incredible amount of time to discover something about yourself that anyone else would be able to spot almost straight away. Realising that I wasn't actually an introvert at all has kind of changed my approach to life for the better recently, so I…

MH4U Solo #33 – The Last Monster – White Fatalis! When I left off last time I had just beaten Apex Rajang, the last monster in the base game leaving me with nothing else to fight but the White Fatalis from the dlc. Excited to face the last monster, I of course charged straight into the episodic quest to unlock him! This was a little weird at first. The Jumbo village chief wanted me to slay how many remobras?

MH4U Solo #33 – The Last Monster – White Fatalis!

When I left off last time I had just beaten Apex Rajang, the last monster in the base game leaving me with nothing else to fight but the White Fatalis from the dlc. Excited to face the last monster, I of course charged straight into the episodic…

Looking after your eyes It feels as if some people have a natural talent for being able to look at a screen all day without getting tired eyes or a headache. I used to be like that, now not so much. I don't really understand what changed or how it happened either. It feels pretty unfair to be honest, I want to be like that too!

Looking after your eyes

It feels as if some people have a natural talent for being able to look at a screen all day without getting tired eyes or a headache. I used to be like that, now not so much. I don't really understand what changed or how it happened either. It feels pretty unfair to be…

The King’s Avatar – Thoughts After Reading the First Book It's hard to believe but I have already reached the end of the first King's Avatar book! Since last time I updated my thoughts a lot of things have happened, so we're definitely due for an update! My current chapter count is 94, which may not be the length of the first book in English, but it does mark the point where the novel stops being free online in mandarin and splits off into a new series, so it's a good time for discussion either way.

The King’s Avatar – Thoughts After Reading the First Book

It's hard to believe but I have already reached the end of the first King's Avatar book! Since last time I updated my thoughts a lot of things have happened, so we're definitely due for an update! My current chapter count is 94, which may…