Fire it up!

Ok, my first blog!

Today I am working on a scholarly paper about the benefits of city parks. Interesting stuff. The weather in Sapporo is finally starting to lean towards spring... it is a wonderful Sunday afternoon. Alas, here I am, typing away inside. At least I can hear the birds chirping and smell the spring air.

Did you know that "urban heat islands" are areas in cities where the temperature is higher than the rest of the city? True, true. And the Japanese for this, is simply ヒートアイランド. Another interesting concept I learned today is the グリーンマトリックスシステム, which translates as Green Matrix System. It is a system of walkways connecting parks, schools, pre-schools, and other areas throughout a city. Pretty cool idea. The goal is to make it easier to go to parks.

Thought for the day: A lot of times I see the word 一方 (ippou) translated as "on the other hand." How about "conversely"?

Also, 把握する (haaku suru) is often translated as "to grasp." Recently I prefer to use "to assess".... (or at least keep it on hand as a good alternative)