Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 39
January 26, 2019
An Innocent Comment
I got an innocent comment on my blog the other day. It would NOT have sounded like positive encouragement had it come from another source.
We all have friends who give us encouragement. They are the ones who say things like:
“Nice job.”
“Way to go.”
“You hit that one out of the park.”
They are the ones who give you pats on the back. They might even stroke your ego. It is nice to have friends like that.
We also have friends who say those same things, but when they say them with the right to...
January 19, 2019
The Evolution of Evolution
Evolution has taken on a new meaning. Apparently, now it means redesign or recreate or reinvent. Or maybe even just modify. It is an interesting evolution, I mean reinvention, of a word.
Evolution used to mean the changing of a species through natural selection and survival of the fittest. It was what was used to show how plants and animals morphed into what is around us in the natural world. Genes underwent some mutation (usually beneficial) and voilà, something different appeared. Hopeful...
January 12, 2019
Blog Jam [1]
It seems that I am in a bit of a blog jam. I am not exactly sure what a blog jam is, but it seems I am in one. I have blog posts ready to post and yet I am not sure I have anything to write. Not that I have been writing about much from day one, but today it seems even worse than ever. I have writing material, but no substance. Again, not a new situation, but still…
I have been writing my blog since 2007. And I have been writing consistently for even longer than that. The year 2007 is just t...
Blog Jam
It seems that I am in a bit of a blog jam. I am not exactly sure what a blog jam is, but it seems I am in one. I have blog posts ready to post and yet I am not sure I have anything to write. Not that I have been writing about much from day one, but today it seems even worse than ever. I have writing material, but no substance. Again, not a new situation, but still…
I have been writing my blog since 2007. And I have been writing consistently for even longer than that. The year 2007 is just t...
January 5, 2019
My Prime Exaggeration Number
Seventeen times. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you seventeen times.
Seventeen is my favorite exaggeration number. Not a thousand or a million or even a quadrillion. Just seventeen. I am not sure why either. It is odd, but 17 is my prime exaggeration number. (Puns intended, but maybe not so well received. After all, not everybody likes math jokes.)
I am not sure how it all started, but I have been using seventeen (or other fairly small numbers) as my exaggeration number. Maybe it is the w...
December 29, 2018
Ode to a Year
An ode to a year that has just gone before
As we kneel down to pray that God grant us one more
Let us count all our blessings, at least three-sixty-five
The days of the year that we have been alive
But life is much more than living day after day
More than fending off sickness, than keeping errors at bay
More than food that we eat, more than words that we say
More than shows that we watch, more than games that we play
Praying Hands
by Albrecht Dürer
This work is in
the public domain.
Yes life...
December 22, 2018
Getting Excited for Christmas [1]
Christmas is just around the corner, and I am excited.
I recently had the following conversation (or something like it) with a student:
Student: “Are you excited for the non-specific winter holiday coming up, which I assume is Christmas?”
(My pat answer.) “I try not to get excited about things until they actually happen.”
Student (exasperated): “But that’s the whole point!”
The short...
Getting Excited for Christmas
Christmas is just around the corner, and I am excited.
I recently had the following conversation (or something like it) with a student:
Student: “Are you excited for the non-specific winter holiday coming up, which I assume is Christmas?”
(My pat answer.) “I try not to get excited about things until they actually happen.”
Student (exasperated): “But that’s the whole point!”
The short...
December 15, 2018
My Joke (Revised) [2]
Abbott and Costello
This work is in the public domain.
I did some research on dog breeds and decided that the joke I wrote before needed some revision. Not that it is necessarily a bad joke. (I know it is not a great joke, but I cannot get it out of my head.) I just thought that it needed a little something. Like maybe a couple cards to deliver it. Or maybe even a couple headliners who could take the show on the road as part of their vaudeville (or radio) repertoire. But since I do not know...
My Joke (Revised) [1]
Abbott and Costello
This work is in the public domain.
I did some research on dog breeds and decided that the joke I wrote before needed some revision. Not that it is necessarily a bad joke. (I know it is not a great joke, but I cannot get it out of my head.) I just thought that it needed a little something. Like maybe a couple cards to deliver it. Or maybe even a couple headliners who could take the show on the road as part of their vaudeville (or radio) repertoire. But since I do not know...
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