Meet Ronald Duwell! Inside the Herd

You might have noticed me as one of TechnoBuffalo’s video game interns over the last year or so, but now I will be taking over what I like to refer to as the “Night Watch Writer.” My location on the other side of the Earth gives me the ability to keep an eye on mobile, science, video game, and Japan news after the rest of the Herd goes to sleep.

Best Thing About Being In The Herd

Good and welcoming support when being brought aboard, especially with the patience involved when dealing with time zones. Writing and pushing my opinions have always been a hobby of mine, and it’s great to finally get the opportunity to have an audience and work with people I can learn a lot from.

Location

Where I Live and Work: Kobe, Japan (Yes, we have that awesome beef you’ve heard so much about!) I have lived all over America, but I mostly regard myself as being from Groton, Connecticut or Wilmington, Delaware.

When I’m Not Working

I live in Japan. I would love to do that full time, but it doesn’t exactly pay the bills. Living in Japan entails excellent summer festivals, awesome snowboarding, exciting electronics stores, gorgeous beaches and hot-spring resorts, cheap beer, delicious food, convenient public transportation, night clubs, sumo tournaments, temples, shrines, castles, mountains, rivers, wild boar, and lots of excellent culture and history… all within half an hour of my house. Seriously, I live in the nicest city on Earth.

The building in the picture above is Ikuta Shrine, one of the oldest establishments in Japan and only a five minute walk from my house.

Obviously, gaming is a huge part of my life. Playing the latest games is always fun, but I am much more into exploring retro titles and rediscovering childhood favorites. I tend to gravitate towards Capcom, Square Enix, Atlus, Nintendo, and BioWare games the most.

I am also a die hard New England Patriots fan. Trust me. People who know me…know that, especially around this time of year.

Tech Arsenal

Computer of Choice: 17.3 inch ASUS laptop which can move freely around my apartment. This beast of a computer is far too big to carry on the go, so I do my portable writing from a smaller 9 inch ASUS laptop.

Mobile Phone of Choice

Well, it’s not necessarily by choice anymore, but I have a SHARP AQUOS phone. I stuck with a Japanese brand to do my part with the stagnate economy, and it was the biggest mistake ever. I have about five months left on my contract to pay the thing off. I can’t wait to try something new. The 3D Camera is a sweet gimmick for the first two our three times you use it, at least.

I’ll probably be sticking with Android, but being in Japan keeps me locked out of many apps only available in The States. Lame…

Gaming System of Choice: You name it, I’ve probably got it. Packed into my apartment, I have my PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii all connected to my TV. The PlayStation 3 sees the most action these days.

I just bought a Nintendo 3DS, but I’ve never ventured too far from Nintendo handhelds. Been a proud supporter ever since the booger-green Game Boy.

Other Favorite Gadgets: 炬燵 (read kotatsu) Basically, it’s a heated coffee table designed to keep your legs warm in the winter time. I got one as a Hanukkah present this year, and I haven’t been able to get out from underneath it since.

I often wonder why America hasn’t caught on to the heated coffee table industry yet. I was talking about it with a student today, and it finally dawned on me that Americans don’t own these because they never sit on the floor.

Random Tech Top 5: (Five Favorite Import Only Games I’ve bought in Japan)

E.X. Troopers, Marvelous: Another Treasure Island, Gunners Heaven, Mother 3,
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!

Gadgets I’m Lusting After: I would love a blade-less Dyson Fan. Air conditioning in Japan is not only horrible, but it’s also very expensive. Blade-less fans are an expensive investment, but the amount you save using them through a hot Osaka summer will pay it off in no time.

Surfing the InterWebs

Favorite Web Sites: Facebook, 1up’s Retronauts, Rotten Tomatoes, Red Letter Media, Jorudan, Wikipedia, Touch Arcade, Destructoid, Joystiq, South Park Studios

Web Sites I Don’t Understand: FailBlog (when did FailBlog become so full of Fail?)

History

What I Did Before TechnoBuffalo: Wouldn’t exactly say “before” TechnoBuffalo as I will be continuing both of these positions part time, but I am an English as a Second Language Instructor at ECC Foreign Language Academy and an Outsourced English Instructor to Kindergartens with ECC Junior.

Worst Job Ever: Worked as a janitor at a Vanity Fair Factory Outlet Store throughout Senior Year of high school. I never want to experience the occasional horrors of being a janitor again. They now have my respect.

Best Job Ever (besides this one): ECC Junior. Seriously, it takes a certain level of charisma and showmanship I never thought I had before teaching English to a group of 20-40 Japanese children. It’s more like being an entertainer than a teacher, and being the crazy foreign disruptor of these kids’ everyday lives is something I don’t think I’ll ever give up.

Mystery

• My biggest fear in the world are alligators, thanks to a infant trauma I learned about when I was 20 years old.
• I took a week long summer workshop offered at Toei’s Kyoto Studio Park last year. Check out my final project.