Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 59

Mood Lights

We got mood lights. For the kitchen.

My wife, The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi, wanted to brighten up the kitchen with under-the-counter lights. We looked at the hardware stores and online, but never really found that perfect fit. There were puck lights and fluorescent lights and LED strips and a myriad of choices. They came in white light, not so white light, and colored choices. And of course, there were battery-powered, plug-in, and call-the-electrician-we-need-to-rewire-the-house choices. I...

Listen

Antique Japanese Arebo wood club
(original size 600 450 pixels)
by Samuraiantiqueworld licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

I am sure we have all had the thought, “Somebody must be trying to tell me something.”

It seems this experience is universal. It goes something like this. We hear a preacher (or a friend or relative or maybe even somebody we do not know) telling us about something that is relevant in our lives at the precise moment we need to hear it. And then, we hear it again from somebody el...

The Secret Trick to Self-Promotion

I found the secret trick to self-promotion. At least I think I did. But whether I did or not, I find it hard to do.

The trick to self-promotion is not really a trick at all. Nor is it really a secret. The thing is to get other people to do the promotion for you. That way it is not self-promotion. It is others promoting you. Or your product, or whatever. It is the old concept of word of mouth. And on the internet, word of mouth is king. It is just not called word of mouth.

The concept of word...

Not a Triplet

Brothers and Dad

I am not a triplet. But I have been part of some stories where that would be a logical explanation. One of those stories gets better with each telling.

I have two younger brothers and while there are certainly family resemblances, we do not look alike. However, I do remember one time when we were younger and walked into a store and a young lady asked if we were triplets. We are all the same height, and back then, we might have been about the same weight as each other as well...

Just Slogging Along

A couple friends of mine and I were talking about running and they both said that sometimes, you just have to slog along. You just need to put in the miles whether there is any excitement or not. Whether the running seems more like work than fun. In fact, according to my friends, running is slogging out the miles more often than not. While I am finding that to be somewhat true with running, I find that there are days when I just need to slog along with my writing too.

Some people wonder what...

Settin’ and Visitin’

Country store on dirt road.
Photograph by Dorothea Lange 1939 July

Poor English aside, I think settin’ and visitin’ is a lost art.

People are way too busy just to set a spell and visit. Now, I know that “set” is not really the correct word. People really ought to “sit and talk” rather than “set and visit,” but nobody seems to do that anymore. People do not just drop in or come by for a visit. It really is a shame.

I remember being a kid and being at any of our relatives’ farms. It seems peop...

Divebombed

The Birds movie poster
This work is in the public domain.

Divebombing may seem like an outdated form of aggression, but it seems birds still use it.

I was running the other day and got divebombed by a couple robins. These birds were screaming and doing strafing runs. If they had had ammunition, I would have been seriously pelted. They did not get close enough to peck my eyes out or anything like the Hitchcock movie, The Birds, (besides, they were robins not crows or gulls) but they kept comi...

I Need a Nap

I need a nap.

I always wondered why it takes me a while to recover from a finished school year. After twenty years, I have finally figured it out.

First of all, I find it amazing that I have been teaching twenty years. We just had a few of the old guard retire the last few years, who had all been at it for nearly forty years. That is a lot of years in the classroom or office. And that is a lot of students who have been affected by these people.

All those people are what got me to thinking.

N...

Writing about Celebrities

Austin Jenckes

I feel like a sleazy journalist. One without any morals or compunction. But if that is what it takes to get a few more visitors to my website, so be it.

Actually, I do not really feel sleazy. After all, when I write about people, I usually send them an advanced copy to get their feedback. I want people to know that I have written about them. Still, it is amazing when I think about all the readers I get when I actually write about celebrities. Even local ones.

Linda

Recently,...

Graduation and a Concert [2]

Austin Jenckes

It is amazing what happens when you do nice things for others. Then again, as you sow, so shall you reap.

The Cedarcrest High School graduating class of 2015 should understand this sowing and reaping concept as it was granted a rare treat at the graduation ceremony because of it. Not only did the graduates get to hear some great speeches, including the keynote address by our own Zach Pittis, they got a concert as well. Sure the concert was by a hometown celebrity who likes to...