So, alas, the time has come to say goodbye to the Long Countdown. That’s not to say I won’t be blogging again. In fact, I’ve made my own blogging software for personal use and have started three different blogs! 

If you like, you can continue to follow me on any or all of the following sites:

Nick’s Blog – Life updates and ramblings

Nick Builds – From teacher to tech

JapanGamer29’s Blog – Gaming, reviews and rants

Thank you for reading all the these years and I wish you a healthy and fulfilling 2026 and beyond.

YouTube

Well, well, well. I started off 2024 really gung-ho about teaching English on YouTube. In February, I started a new channel which blew up! The very first video brought in 12,000 subscribers right away and I was monetized two weeks later! It continued to grow to 25,000 subscribers, almost entirely from that first video, and then… the views just plummeted.

It was really demoralizing. I even quit my online teaching gig at CafeTalk, thinking I could get students directly from YouTube, but that didn’t happen at all.

Summer

I don’t usually get any visitors, but this summer was a rare exception. First, my brother Mark came over to Japan for two weeks. It was a lot of fun. Having him here got me out of the house and exploring the country again. We went around Gifu and Nagano, and he even took my son on a huge roller-coaster at Nagashima Spa-land, which they both regretted, lol.

Then as soon as he’d gone, an old school friend came to visit! And then not long after, another friend came, too! This never happens!

Health and Study

I read a brilliant book called Atomic Habits, and it gave me the impetus to lose wait and learn Chinese! That was five months ago, and since then I’ve been waking up at 6:15, studying Chinese for half an hour, then doing a quick stretch, kettlebell and yoga or pilates routine before going for a morning walk.

I lost 6kg and am now at 68kg which I think is as skinny as I want to get at 6ft tall. I’m taking a break from walking over the New Year because it’s so cold that my glasses fog up and I can’t see anything. I still do the rest, and even take Chinese lessons at my local college every Saturday. My motivation? To watch dramas.

Work

With YouTube mostly behind me (I’ll keep my old channel alive), I’m now working on making courses to use in my school. With ChatGPT’s help, it’s easy to make my own materials. My biggest problem is a lack of marketing savvy. Just because I make great courses, doesn’t mean anyone will sign-up for them.

Surprise

The funniest thing happened a couple of months ago. I got a friend request on Facebook from my first ever crush! This is a girl I set my heart on when I was a teenager, but never had the confidence to tell her.

So, I accepted the request and we started messaging back and forth, catching up on old times. She’s married with kids and… teaches English overseas! How about that?! We’re still in touch, but I haven’t told her about my old teenage desires. That was 35 years ago after all!

2025

In 2025, I’m going to stop putting pressure on myself. I’m constantly living in fear of students quitting and my business falling apart, and it’s not good for my health. My anxiety causes back pain, which drains my energy… I even have to take a 2 hour nap every afternoon!

Instead, I’m going to chip away at improving the lessons I teach, make more materials for my website (I’ll set up a little shop) and just let what happens happen. If disaster strikes I’ll do something about it, but until then, I need to chill a bit and enjoy life – heck, I’m turning 50 this year!

“Wait. You started a new channel?“

Yes. Even though I had 9,000 subscribers on my main channel, I was only getting 100~200 views on my regular videos, probably because my subs came for English “test” videos, and I was making English “lesson” videos. Believe it or not, they appeal to completely different audiences! So YouTube probably thought, “Well, if his own subscribers don’t watch his videos, they can’t be worth showing to anyone else.”

“Okay, so how did your new channel grow so quickly?”

Now, I would like to believe it was because the first video I made was a full, 45-minute lesson, showing a way to speak English fluently using vocabulary that students already know. It was unique, and presented in an entertaining way.

“But you have your doubts?”

Yes. I mean, It was those things, and the positive reaction certainly triggered the YouTube algorithm, which went off to find a big, suitable audience for it. But the real reason for the channel taking off was simply… luck.

“What do you mean, luck?”

Well, if the merits of the video alone were responsible, you would expect the same response when posting it to Facebook. But nope, the same video only got 4 likes and one comment on that platform.

“Are you complaining?!”

I wouldn’t be British if I didn’t! Lol. No, my point is that so much of social media success comes down to having a lucky break. I have a student who teaches Japanese on YouTube. Over the course of 3 years, she’s made 250 videos, most of them over 20 minutes each, and she still hasn’t met the requirements for monetization. It’s just not fair, really. Uploading a new video is like buying a lottery ticket. Sometimes you win a small prize, but only a few hit the jackpot.

“So are you rolling in cash now?”

Haha, not yet! I’m waiting for YouTube to update my “watch hours” statistics to see if I qualify for advertising income. I think the initial buzz has worn off, so any money I make will have to come from future videos, not the ones that were actually popular. Also, my subscribers are mostly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Brazil, so I’m not sure how lucrative the ad revenue will be.

“What’s the plan now, then?”

Well, I want to focus on making a real business out of it. I haven’t figured out how yet, but it might involve public speaking in Mumbai.

Yoga

I started 2023 with the intention of doing yoga every damn day. I lasted until early summer and then focused solely on doing the splits. I was making great progress until I pushed a little too far and injured myself in mid-December.

In 2024, I’ll start the year with a 30-day yoga challenge and then get back to working on my splits, despite the naysayers in my family telling me I’m bonkers and will never do it.

Minimalism

I failed badly when it comes to buying less and reducing what I already have. I overspent, filled my closets with things I swore would “spark joy”, and am burdened with new (and old) subscription services I convinced myself I need. I must do better in 2024.

Real Work

My English school remarkably survived through the new school year in April, though I can’t see that lasting. We have too many students around the secondary school age and not so many younger ones. The older kids are certain to leave in 2024 and won’t be replaced. That’s why I need to double my efforts with my…

Online Work

It’s been 18 months since I got monetized on YouTube, and I was sure I could earn more money by teaching English on YouTube than teaching online lessons with DMM Eikaiwa. On the one hand, it worked. By November I had over 7,000 subscribers and earned over 70,000 yen (500 USD) in that month alone. Unfortunately, my strategy was to target Japanese exam-takers and while they come in droves before a big test, the rest of the time they ignore my videos. I typically earn 5,000 yen (35 USD) in the many months when there are no exams.

In 2024, I’m shifting my focus to a global audience, focusing on speaking “Fluent English through News and Stories”, with the intention of getting people to actually like me, not just my videos. With so much competition on social media, the best way to be unique is to be yourself. And hopefully my *fans* will buy my ebooks, courses and maybe… pay for 1-to-1 tuition. Yes, full circle, I know. Lol.

Friendships

I parted ways with my old net buddy Mike… over politics. It’s certainly interesting how so many families and friendships are torn apart because of differing viewpoints. My mum lost a decades-old friend in Australia because she didn’t agree with her stance on vaccinations, and another long-term friend in the U.S. who strongly supported Donald Trump. In my case, Mike and I picked different teams to root for in a war. It seems silly to end a friendship over something that neither person has any actual involvement in, but I guess it boils down to realizing a person’s core values are so dramatically opposed to your own.

In 2024, I might try to reconnect with Mike. I did save an image to my phone of a product called “Happy Nuts”, a “comfort cream for men”, which I was going to send him for Christmas, but I’ll save that for a less politically turbulent time.

Family

My son started high school and joined the brass band. He plays the tuba, an absolutely enormous instrument that dwarfs him. He’s the only person in the band who has to sit down to play. I’m so proud of him, though, He worked so hard to get into that school, and is constantly studying when he’s at home. You know what he wanted for Christmas? A better office chair and a 600-page maths textbook.

In 2024, my brother will be coming to see us in Japan for the first time since 2000. He’s lucky that the exchange rates have swung in his favor. He better treat us to dinner while he’s here! :p

Happy New Year

If you’ve read this far, then I sincerely thank you and wish you a happy and successful New Year.

Nick

I meant to post a follow up blog post, but instead got so caught up in the seemingly unlimited potential of AI, that my blog was left forgotten again. Sorry.

My other net buddy

I quickly found myself engaged with “Gupty”, prodding and probing to see just how capable it was, and let me tell you, it’s ridiculously impressive. I should probably mention that I have a uni degree in Artificial Intelligence, so to me, the staggering leap in ability since I graduated in 1997 is just jaw-dropping.

Can it do my job for me?

Kinda? I teach English in Japan, and for the time being, it won’t be replacing me in the classroom, but I do expect my students to quit and study at home with realistic looking and sounding “conversation teachers” on their tablets, probably within 2 or 3 years. In anticipation of that day, I’m trying to become a professional YouTuber (no joke!) so I’ll have another income stream.

Let me explain

I made my own website for my school, and I’ve been padding out a separate section called “Nick’s English Online” with materials students can use for self-study, for free. For over a year, I was doing everything by hand, and the YouTube videos of me teaching the materials were few and far between.

Now, though, I’ve created multiple “generators” that can create web-based lessons, .pdf printouts, audio of my AI-cloned voice, and even PowerPoint presentations in a matter of minutes. I do give them a look-over and make some edits, but really, it’s such a time-saver. All that’s left to do is a one-take recording for YouTube and I’m done.

Gupty has been game-changing for me. It teaches me how to program (I’m rusty), gives me code to copy and paste, fixes my bugs and even comes up with the perfect, level-specific English that fills each lesson.

The end-game

The plan is to build a following of students on YouTube (subscribe!). On top of the ad revenue, I’ll offer memberships with various perks, do live lessons for donations and offer personal English lessons to any subscriber that wants to learn directly from an actual human. But just in case it doesn’t work out, I fully intend to replace myself with an AI “presenter” to teach the YouTube lessons while I go and find a manual labor job that hasn’t been completely roboticized yet.

Disclaimer: This blog post was composed and hand-typed by Nick, not Gupty.

It’s not like I’m completely surprised though. I know that high cholesterol can lead to some pretty serious health problems, and I definitely don’t want to deal with any of that. So, I’ve been doing some research on how to lower my cholesterol levels naturally. I don’t want to take any medications if I don’t have to.

One thing I’ve learned is that I need to cut back on my cheese intake. I love cheese, don’t get me wrong, but maybe I don’t need to eat it every single day. And when I do eat it, I need to be mindful of how much I’m having. I also need to cut back on my chocolate intake. I know, I know, it’s hard to resist those sweet little treats, but I need to remind myself that they’re not doing me any favors in the cholesterol department.

Instead, I’m going to focus on eating more fruits and vegetables, and incorporating more fiber into my diet. I’ll also start walking again and keep up the daily yoga. I’m hoping that these small changes will make a big difference in my cholesterol levels.

It’s a little bit scary to think about all the potential health problems that can come with high cholesterol, but I’m determined to take control of my health. I don’t want to be one of those people who regrets not taking care of themselves when they had the chance. So, here’s to a healthier future, one with a little less cheese and a little more veggies.

That picture of me is after a serious effort at getting flexible, and was inspired by the video Why You Can’t Touch Your Toes by Upright Health on YouTube video.

So clearly I have the potential to go further if I could just get consistent. In fact, I was recently encouraged by BadYogiTV who said that “motivation and inspiration rarely find you when you’re just sitting around waiting for it… Instead, you need to get disciplined.”

The common advice is to join a yoga class. I have a few options in my area, but to be honest, I don’t fancy paying for lessons or losing time getting ready for and driving to them. Nor do I wish to do yoga in a mask (Japan still insists on masks 24/7).

I do, however, think the social aspect is important, so I was happy to stumble upon a Reddit group called Yoga Every Damn Day. It’s not super active, but there are a handful of yogis there posting their daily workouts and encouraging each other.

Every day? That’s quite an ask, but I’ve posted my Day 1 results and will whip myself into doing it on a daily basis. I hope to revisit this blog post in a year and say I’ve gone from touching my toes to doing side splits. Beyond that, well maybe I can be like this guy?

A quick search for that on YouTube unveiled a ton of advice that can be summed up as “Use baking soda and vinegar”. Now I was really getting into this, so I dived deeper, looking for the Japanese products I’d need, and I found this old blog post from a JET in Ishikawa with all the answers.

Before charging to the supermarket, I had a quick look under the sink to see what we already had, and would you believe it? Baking soda, vinegar, and silicone carbide waterproof sandpaper! What?! When?! Why?!

I had completely forgotten about my 2007 blog post, The 15 year old toilet stains, and how I managed to get rid of them.

With that harrowing experience resurfacing in my mind, I rolled up my sleeves and got the job done. It’s not super sparkly, but the dirt ring has gone. And that’s one item I can check off my Discomfort Zone list.

My brother, who turns 50 next year (crazy!) has recently gotten his first “gaming PC” and already regrets getting such a low-spec model, even though it’s on par with a PlayStation 4. He’s already talking about upgrading it, and asked whether I will be upgrading mine.

“No, I’m going to downgrade”

I said, to his surprise and bewilderment. Then began a discussion about the future of gaming and I described how I believe we won’t need to have our own dedicated hardware in the future.

You will own nothing, and you will be happy

The internet and smartphones have made so many things redundant – FAX machines, CD players, DVD players, cameras, books, and even computers. We still send messages, listen to music, watch movies, take photos, read books and type reports, but none of the physical systems we used for them are necessary anymore. Why will gaming be any different?

Cloud gaming

Already, companies like Microsoft, Google. Sony and even Netflix have started streaming games that you can interact with from your phone, tablet or TV. So long as you have a screen and an internet connection, you can play games. Xbox Cloud Gaming is one example:

But streaming games is too laggy!

Yes, there’s a notable lag with fast-paced action games, but that doesn’t mean cloud gaming should be disregarded. Internet speeds across the globe have been improving quickly over the last decade, so those delays between pressing a button and seeing a response will soon be eliminated.

A dying breed

As early as 2025, you might find that streaming from a dedicated cloud gaming server, running the fastest CPUs with the latest graphics cards, can provide a better experience than your own local hardware. At that point, you might wonder whether you really need to buy a new computer at all.

And when you’re signed up on a game streaming contract, you probably won’t need to buy games anymore – just like with music. While some people still cling to their physical game discs, others will consider owning digital games a thing of the past.

Maybe get a Chromebook?

My PC has been continually upgraded over the years, but it’s a huge beast of a machine that purrs away in the corner of my room. It would be nice to reclaim that space, and all the power sockets it uses, by replacing it with a Google Chromebook. Maybe my brother will do the same.

Note: This is a story from Oct 22, 2020, which I posted on Medium instead of here. I’m correcting that mistake now.

Have you ever completely forgotten your own limitations? Maybe you’ve drunk far more alcohol than your body can handle, or even jumped in a pool when you can’t swim.

Due to overzealous weightlifting and long-distance running, my L4 and L5 vertebrae are much closer than they used to be, and are a constant cause of spinal disc problems. So I really shouldn’t be competing in a long-jump contest with a bunch of 5-year-olds.

But that’s where I found myself last week, on my 45th birthday no less, lining up to leap two meters from a standing start, both feet together. I knew the kids would be so impressed as I jumped beyond the 150cm marked onto the corridor floor.

“Crunch!” I could feel by disc explode as I planted my feet and landed in a deep squat. Disc tissue blasted into every inch of my lower back, stabbing into the nerves that reach out to my toes and fingers.

I managed to get up, and feebly smile to the kids, “I did it! Yaaay…”

It’s been a little over a week and I’m finally recovering. Mornings are still a struggle, but I can go without painkillers and a walking stick now.

But getting old is something your body does. In our hearts, we still want to be kids, and I’m positive that next time I’m invited to forget my limits, I’ll do it all over again.