Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 10

Power Flickers

It is interesting when the power flickers on and off. The appliances act like they are waking up. Like they are getting ready for a takeover.

I am not sure if it happens everywhere, but we have power outages every now and then. Usually at least once a winter. Often more. There are times when the power goes out for a few hours. Or even a few days. Thankfully, we have not had a days-long outage for a while. (Which does not mean that I caused one if it comes after I said that.) And often,...

#ThursdayThoughts Preview

I am not sure how many people look at the dates of my blog posts, but enough have commented on it that I need to explain. I post my blog on Saturdays, but I give my Twitter and Facebook audiences a preview. That’s it. (But of course, there is more to the story.)

A couple of my friends have commented in the past that the dates on my blog posts were different than the dates they read said posts. (If you have not read said comments, it is because they have commented in person.) First of all, ...

Sometimes, I Really Hate Microsoft

There are times when I really hate Microsoft. Like right now. (Or at least at the time of this writing.)

I am not ashamed to say that I use Microsoft products. My word processor and spreadsheet applications are part of the Microsoft Office suite. My operating system is made by Microsoft. And they are good products. For the most part. But there are those times when there seem to be no real reason why I cannot do a simple thing like browse a website or create a Word document. Those are th...

Happy New Year 2024

Happy New Year! Welcome to the year 2024! (In a day or two, if you are reading this post on or before the day it is released.)

Whether or not you are a reveler and spend New Year’s Eve reveling, it is a nice time to reflect on the past year and to think about getting ready for the next year. Of course, if you do too much reveling, you might want to hold off on the reflecting until your head is screwed on straight. (Well done, if that is not the kind of reveling you do.) Then again, regardl...

Merry Christmas 2023

Christmas time is a time to be with family and friends. It is a time to gather round the Christmas tree. It is a time to be thankful. It is a time to remember the first Christmas.

It has been over 2000 years since the first Christmas. Nobody thought of it as Christmas then. And besides a specific child’s parents, only a handful of shepherds recognized the day as special. But the shepherds were told by an angel and a heavenly host that something wonderful had happened. And so they left th...

Rock Star Teachers

I never knew I was a rock star. (Apologies to those who really are rock stars.)

Okay. I am not a rock start. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But I found out that apparently some students think that some of their teachers are rock stars. It was a humbling experience. (Especially, since none of the students I talked to thought I was a rock star.)

(I must apologize to actual rock stars. Especially those on that commercial where they say they are tired of people using the term “rock s...

An Updated Thought about Editing

I have come to like the editing process. Really.

I know have said that edit is a four-letter word. In the bad sense of four-letter words. But I have changed my mind. Oh, it is still a four-letter word. Literally. (“Literally” is quite the word play in and of itself, I might add. Although it was not intentional. Wait. This is a written piece of work, and I do not need to admit that. Ah well. Wait. This is a written piece that I can still edit.) But I have come to the realization tha...

Plugging Myself

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If I was a real writer, I would be plugging my books at every opportunity I could. But that can get nauseating. For my readers and for me.

If you were to search the internet, you would find there is much advice to writers to plug yourself whenever and wherever you can. When you meet a person on the street, let him or her know that you wrote a book. Let your friends know that you just completed a book. Or that your book has been out for quite some time and that said friend ought...

Still Thankful

No matter where I find myself in life, I am still thankful.

Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday. It is thought by some to be a celebration of colonialism. It is thought of by others as a meal with food that nobody eats any other day. And it is thought of by still others as a day to give thanks to the One who gives us all our blessings in the first place.

I know that we are not all in the same place, physically, emotionally, spiritually, or in any other sense-ally. But regardless of where...

I Have No Idea

I have no idea. Which is different than having no ideas.

I had no ideas when I sat down this morning to write my blog post. I thought that I should get something done though. After all, blog posts do not just write themselves. So I figured I would just write something down. “I have no idea.” That was it. Not a brilliant flash or anything. I just did not have any idea of what to write about. After all, I have written about many things, but I was just not really ready to write a blog pos...