Instant Bullets Blog Sep 12, 2026

*People should sleep well tonight because tomorrow somebody is doing something stupid. It's not going to be you.

*A restaurant posted the sign for the customers.

*austerity: a set of political and economic policies implemented by a government to reduce its budget deficit.

*Three Years Of Therapy In 60 Seconds. Click Instagram video devin.the.one. Your parents did their best. Also, your parents screwed up.

*1 Corinthians 13:13. And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

*Three Historic Bubbles Burst. A brief explanation of the 1637. The Tulip Bubble or Tulip Mania occurred in Holland in Winter 1636-1637. The price of the rare tulip bulbs collapsed in Feb 1637. A futures market emerged where buyers and sellers signed contracts to purchase bulbs while growing in the ground. The contracts traded multiple times a day without the physical flowers ever changing hands. The panic began when buyers didn't show up at a Haarlem auction in Feb 1637 because buyers refused to honor the high priced future contracts.

*The 2026-2027 NBA regular season schedule was delayed because free agent LeBron James delayed signing a contract with a new team. The new team James plays influenced the schedule from the opening week to Christmas Day. James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

James got the league by the balls. No pun intended. Money was the talking point. Also, life is unfair. Some teams get a schedule with fewer national broadcasts and marquee games.

*How To Draw A Wolf. Step 1: Draw a circle. Step 2: Add some details. The pic depicts how boot camp classes are taught; for example, programming, medical, and financial investments.

*A slow day is a good day. The life wisdom applies to many instances.

*If you're over age 35 moving to a new residence, then hire movers. You're friends are too old. Nobody wants a back injury for pizza and beer. Further, movers are professional. They know the techniques to carry boxes and furniture.

*Another restaurant posted the sign for the customers.

*The Cover-Up Is Worse Than The Crime. Hide a mistake or lying destroys trust. There can be additional penalties. Don't conceal. Don't suppress. Don't whitewash to make crimes or scandals look acceptable. Don't disguise the true nature of something. Watergate is a top example. The San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York is a recent example. York pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools for soliciting $160 in a prostitution sting operation in Youngstown, OH. The tool was his phone used to solicit a prostitute.

*Collateral fault is indirect fault. Second party fault. Somebody must pay the price. The cost or the punishment must be administered even though the first party is not present anymore.

*MOR Music TV. I watched music videos on late night in 1994. Viewers could buy the album by calling the toll-free phone number like buying on the Home Shopping Network.

I remember these musical artists: Enya, Sophie B. Hawkins, Bonnie Raitt, ABBA, Yanni, Kitaro, John Tesh, Blues Traveler, Roy Orbison, and Enigma.

*Riddle. An apartment tenant lives on the eighth floor. He takes the elevator from the eighth floor to the first floor to exit. Hours pass. The tenant enters the apartment on the first floor. He takes the elevator from the first floor to the sixth floor. He walks the stairs from the sixth floor to the eighth floor. Why does he take the stairs from the sixth floor to the eighth floor?

The answer is the tenant is too short to press the eighth floor button in the elevator. He's tall enough to press the sixth floor button.

*I'm the stronger person. I'm strong now. I forgave you before you apologized. It's too late to apologize because I already forgave you.

*Need a problem solved? Go to the person in charge such as a manger, director, vice-president, commander, or CEO. Ask the person for a decision. The decision is no. Problem solved.

*Dessert Charcuterie Board Suggestion. Graham cookies, Oreo cookies, chocolate, peanut butter cups, mint candies, marshmallows, strawberries, and nuts.

*A Conversation Starter. Ask the following question: What rule do you want to change?

*Do we have a gentlemen's agreement? It's like we have a Godfather offer.

*capacious: big enough to contain a large quantity

*epitome: highly representative example of a type, class, or characteristic

*oxymoron: a phrase in which two words of contradictory meaning are used together for special effect. For example, wise fool and legal murder.

The 2009 San Jose Jazz Festival During The 2008 Great Recession

I attended the 2009 San Jose Jazz Festival. It was my first jazz festival. I went on Sat Aug 8 only. I stayed at the main stage most of the time. I was lucky I attended a good festival. I saw some of Black Joe Lewis, the entire Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra, and the entire Allen Toussaint. Good memories.

The other memory was the timing. 2009 was a recession year because the real estate bubble burst resulting in the stock market crash in Sep 2008. People were out of work. People watched their spending. The world slowed down. However, all attendees, performers, and festival staff forgot about the recession on the weekend of Fri Aug 7-Sun Aug 9. The three days were a break. The three days were leisure. Adjust the budgets. Find some discretionary money for fun. People socialized, danced, sang, ate new foods, drank beer, drank wine, and experienced first time moments. Life went on. Life moved forward. The economy moved forward regardless of the pace.

I also attended the 2009 Monterey Jazz Festival. The Monterey experience was the same as the San Jose experience; although, I couldn't afford the additional fee to attend the main stage. A secondary memory was a video game demonstration for which I forgot the company. I visited a friend who lived in Monterey afterwards. We ate at a Japanese restaurant for dinner.

Update On A Past Blog

Artificial Intelligence has been in the headlines. AI reminded me of two past blogs. The first blog is *Pop* All Bubbles Burst written on Jan 15, 2006. I mentioned the Mar 2000 dot-com bubble burst. The stock market doesn't always go up. The AI stock market is in a bubble.

The second blog is Give It Time The Winners Remain Standing written on Mar 10, 2021. There were too many dot-com companies from 1997 to 2000. The dot-com winner companies are in business today. The dot-com loser companies went out of business. Likewise, there are too many AI companies. The AI winner companies stay in business. The AI loser companies are out of business. Time is the ultimate judge.

Two Lessons Learned When Children Learn To Tie Their Shoes

Parents take advantage of teaching their children how to tie their shoes. The advantage is two lessons for the price of one. The first lesson is obvious. Take the laces of the shoes. Tie the laces. The children tie their shoes.

There is a rhyme for tying shoes:

Make an "X", here we go. Pull one side under, now I know!
Pull the ends tight, and make a loop. Wrap around the bottom, I've got the scoop!
Push through the hole, pull it through once more. Tighten both ends, and give a whoop!

There is the bunny ears story:

Bunny ears, bunny ears, playing by a tree.
Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me.
Bunny ears, bunny ears, jumped into the hole,
popped out the other side beautiful and bold.

There are YouTube videos. Here is a selection:

Tie Your Shoes Song | CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs
Tying Shoe Laces Song | Original Songs | By LBB Junior
Learn How to Tie a Shoe Step by Step | Tying Shoes Children's Song I Can Tie My Shoes by Miss Patty. Not animated.
Sesame Street - Tying Your Shoelace. Classic Sesame Street. David and Harry sing tying your shoelaces.
Sesame Street - Savion and Elmo "Tying Your Shoelace". Classic Sesame Street. Savion sings to Elmo how to tie shoelaces.
HOW TO TIE YOUR SHOES - Easy for Kids!. A child teaches how to tie shoelaces.

The second lesson is multiples. The children learn from their mistakes. The children learn practice. The children learn patience. The children learn memorization. These second lessons apply at school, at work, with friends, with family, and learning life lessons.

Update On A Past Blog

Curses Are Meant To Be Broken. I wrote the blog on Nov 5, 2010. Major League Baseball was my example of breaking curses. The San Francisco Giants broke the 56 year curse not winning the World Series in 2010. The Chicago Cubs broke their 108 year curse not winning the World Series in 2016 six years later.

However, there are exceptions. The Atuk Curse is a curse which killed actors interested in the leading role. The actors were John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy, and Chris Farley. Also, Michael O'Donoghue and Phil Hartman were killed by being interested in casting.

The Atuk movie was a planned comedy about an Inuk hunter moving to the city. The film adaption from the book The Incomparable Atuk by Mordecai Richler was never produced.

Remember These Lessons From These Pics

Blogger's Note: May is pic month. I'm catching up posting pics from my smart phone. Enjoy!

The boyfriends and husbands help their girlfriends and wives approximately every 28 days. A Hong Kong automatic Mahjong table can play multiple Mahjong styles. Consumers compare prices between hardware stores and general retail stores like Target and Wal-Mart; in particular, Target should sell more garden goods. Costco sale on chicken thighs a first for me. A Chinese restaurant is last restaurant standing. Taylor Swift's music prime continues. Outdoor exercise during an autumn evening is cool. Humanity needs constant reminders morals always change and laws always change. Three life biology lessons not taught in high school biology: competition, selection, and reproduction or breeding. A bonus fourth life biology lesson: Nature can restore balance with famine, pestilence, and war.

The Green Steno Notebook 10

Blogger's note: There are three consecutive Green Steno Notebook blogs. Today is the second of three.

The picture above is the notebook I acquired on the first day of my new white collar job. I wrote notes during my job training. I wrote other notes, reminders, and knowledge thereafter. I share many of them. Here is the tenth blog.

*Aug 25, 2020. Furnace and A/C unit in garage. Furnace on top. A/C condenser on bottom. The power switch is on the left of the unit. Air flows down for the air filter. Top panel removed turns off the unit for safety. The black switch out powers off. The black switch in powers on as long as top panel is inserted.

Used air compressor to air blast A/C unit. Water and some sludge flowed out. The drainage is located to the left of the garden hose in the backyard.

*Sep 8. Don't boil water from the hot water heater. The deposits form the hot water heater are unsafe to drink. The deposits include metallic parts which corrodes water.

*Sep 13. Riichi Mahjong observation. I play online. Players call on dragon tiles and wind tiles early. I might as well discard dragon tiles and wind tiles early. Why did it take me a long time to figure out the problem?

*Sep 20. The Big Short (2015) movie. Use the tabletop game Jenga as a presentation prop. Also, if you don't want to do the deal, then hang up.

*Sep 23. Shower without washing hair. Wash body first. Wash backside second. Wash face third. Shower with washing hair. Wash hair first. Wash face second. Wash body third. Wash backside fourth.

*Oct 11. Listen to 106.5 FM on Sun mornings to keep in touch with today's popular music.

*Oct 12. Rearranged my room. Bookshelves, storage bins, and desk drawers contents. Consolidated desk items. 90% cleaned.

*Oct 18. Dad noticed the ceiling fan blades wabble and shakes when the ceiling fan is on. He checked the screws. Screws are loose. He tighten them.

*Oct 18. Debris on top of my car's intake manifold.

*Oct 22. Accidentally swallowed mouthwash. I lost my concentration.

*Oct 27. Kitchen faucet leaked. Replaced the cartridge.

*Oct 31. G.I. Joe cartoon titled Arise, Serpentor, Arise Part 5 is the episode where the US President knelt in front on Serpentor. "G.I. Joe, why, right here."

*Nov 4. Set aside four white colored socks for my white color workout shirts. These four white color socks and my white color workout shirts tell me it's time to wash my whites.

*Nov 8. Use my florescent desk lamp as additional lightning when I take pictures on my cell phone.

*Nov 13. If I need a rest and there is a folded blanket, then place the folded blanket at the end of my mattress to prop up my legs.

*Nov 24. Clean gutters. Summary. Detach black drainage from downspout at left side of house. Place a ladder on the middle of the roof rafter to sturdy the ladder. If the water is resting on the gutter, then use a hose or fill gutter with water. Shoot water down to downspout. Remove leaves with hand when possible to avoid water on the roof. The roof is designed for water to flow down. Not up.

*Dec 4. For Nov 28. Replacing boot laces. Always buy the laces one size or one unit above. Buy the longer length size laces.

*Dec 14. My dad experienced vertigo. Hospital didn't know the cause. Hospital didn't admit him for an in-patient examination. Dad researched. Found possibilities. Told hospital. Hospital wanted an in-patient examination.

*Jan 12, 2021. hemorrhage: a heavy discharge of blood from the blood vessels; ruptured blood vessel. A rapid or uncontrollable loss or outflow; the loss of assets.

*Jan 16. Toothpaste tube almost out. Squeeze the toothpaste pointing down. Gravity the toothpaste remaining out of tube.

*Jan 26. Jan 2021 feels like Jan 2009; in particular, biggest rain storm of the year with weather warnings. Flood warnings. Wind warnings.

*Feb 16. Bloody nose after I jogged on a cool day. I ate Belvita Chocolate. I suspect chocolate. No chocolate before workout.

*Mar 8. Movie with the stopwatch. Movie is 2 Days In The Valley.

*Mar 11. Denatured alcohol banned in CA. Reason is bad air quality.

*Mar 30. Web articles before the pop-up ad must subscribe to read article. Quickly press Ctrl+A. Then Ctrl+C to copy and paste to Word or a text based program.

*Apr 15. Running land on feet or forefoot or mid-foot instead of heels on ground. Avoid excess stress on Achilles, knees, and calves. Keep legs moving forward. No bouncing. Moving forward longer distance. Blogger's note: Not an expert at jogging.

*Jun 14. Stairway bathroom toilet water main hose burst.

*Jul 8. Neighborhood street lights changed from amber color to LED white color.

*Aug 10. Suggested replace car battery every five years. It's seven years for me because less electronics. I replaced the car battery in 2008 and 2015.

*Aug 24. Interview question. What is culture? My answer is undefined. Culture is an intuitively defined.

*Aug 24. Pre-dream or pre-sleep dream before I went to sleep. I brushed my teeth between pre-sleep and sleep. The pre-dream was my brother and I were at a nearby retail strip mall with a Japanese supermarket. There was an outdoor video arcade with carnival games. Closes at midnight. We exited well before midnight. Mom and dad waited. The four of us drove off in a fire truck. Mom drove. I sat on the driver side rear. We drove south to an indoor shopping mall and strip mall. We shopped inside at 11:45pm. One store was Toys R Us. The Toys R Us looked like a dry cleaners.

*Sep 2. Baking tri-tip. No sizzling. Color is white. Not ready. Color is not brownish. Tri-tip must still be cold inside.

*Sep 9. First time I overwrite an old file to a new file on my new desktop. Old file on my USB drive. New file on my new desktop. I want to backup from my new desktop to my USB drive. I actually incorrectly backup from my USB drive to my desktop.

*Sep 9. The nickel arcade near my neighborhood was Hi-5 Nickel.

*Sep 23. I heard It's All Too Much by The Beatles twice while jogging.

*Oct 22. Headlight restoration. Polishing is more important than applying polish for a clear shine.

*Nov 10. Squirm (1976) is a horror movie involving worms. A childhood horror movie. The Swarm (1978) is deadly bees. Kingdom Of The Spiders (1978) is killer tarantulas.

*Nov 12. Shopping at Safeway. Did price math on my head. I didn't add correctly. Didn't get the extra discount. Don't be lazy. Use a calculator.

*Nov 18. Adam & Eve store. Low inventory. Supply chain problems.

*Dec 1. Home Depot doesn't sell flowers. A Target store may sell flowers.

*Dec 2. Christmas song Christmas In Jail.

*Dec 6. Avoid schools when children are present or when school starts and school ends. Extra driving time because of parents picking up their children and children crossing the street.

*Dec 11. I spilled the boiling water pot filled with vinegar to remove oxidation. I held the pot with my wrists instead of my hand.

*Dec 16. Read my personal bible. Link to download: Inspiration Cheer Up.

*Dec 18. A bloody sock the last two jogs. First time I wore sweatpants jogging. Full moon. Nearby school a neighborhood Christmas celebration. There was a hay ride. Minimal attendance because of COVID-19 Omicron.

Remove fresh blood off clothes. Run cold water from the faucet. Soak cold water with detergent. Repeat soaking if necessary. Soaking 10-12 hours. Hang dry. Best in sun.

*Dec 25. Watched Cowboy Bebop episodes 1-5.

*Jan 1, 2022. For Dec 31, 2021. Everyone has. Not everyone have.

*Jan 9. Wrap towel around my waist. Tuck underneath. Look down at towel wrapped. Wrap down and in.

*Jan 13. The bath scrub brushes sold at Bed Bath & Beyond are different lengths.

*Jan 27. Haircut early afternoon. Jogged after haircut. Full sun. Wore my long sleeve workout shirt and shorts. I forgot to switch my underwear from boxers to jogging briefs.

*Feb 25. Dream last night area with warehouse and industrial buildings. Finished shopping at Costco. Book fundraiser big sale. The catch was a lottery. If you won or chosen in lottery, you purchase books at wholesale prices. Otherwise, you waited. Can't purchase. Most be chosen. Changed from ten winners top of hour to five winners top of the hour and five winters bottom of the hour. Most noted book was Harry Potter first edition Scholastic hardback set volumes 1-7. Initially, I entered warehouse because I saw people buying high-end bedsheets at discount prices.

*Mar 13. Dream professional football quarterback Baker Mayfield and another quarterback fought against each other. Then fought me on a cliff at the high school where I graduated. Then I drove my Toyota Camry out of the high school to an unknown downtown Saturday night before Super Bowl Sunday. There were dancers dancing and wearing masks.

*Mar 14. Another dream people wore masks. Galaktican arcade. There was a public transit station. Bart Simpsons was on a round spinning playground toy. Time passes. Sherri and Terri were on the toy. Some patrons wore masks in the arcade.

*Mar 16. I dreamed last night I was at the west side hills in Fremont, CA. Two entries to enter another dimension black & white colors only. Checkpoints. People can enter or not enter at their will.

*Apr 6. Middlefield Road road trip on bicycles from Sunnyvale, CA to Redwood City, CA. Inspired when I helped my dad with an errand in Menlo Park, CA.

Something To Remember Album By Madonna Cover

Something To Remember by Madonna was a CD I listened regularly during my Spring Semester 1997 at San Jose State University. CD music saved the semester. It helped me complete my homework and study for exams. It was the first time listening to music helped me concentrate. I desired quietness for all my school work beforehand.

Something To Remember is a compilation album released by Maverick Records on Nov 3, 1995. The songs were her softer songs. You'll See, One More Chance, and I Want You are three new songs. My favorites songs are Take A Bow, Crazy For You, This Used To Be My Playground, and Rain.

I like the back cover. It's attractive, sexy, and intelligent. The Wikipedia Something To Remember stated the CD covers "showed Madonna looking 'deliciously cosmopolitan' as she wore a tight-fit white cocktail attire, while the back cover artwork is predominantly more playful."

Instant Bullets Blog Mar 3, 2025

*Zombo.com is a joke webpage from the George Washington University Center For Professional Development in 1999. Zombo.com consists of one page with a title and animation of seven colorful discs. There is an audio clip welcoming the visitor to "Zombo com."

*Round Up by Sam Spence. Selections from Autumn Thunder. 40 Years of NFL Films Music.

*Jazlyn "Jazzy" Guerra aka iamjazzysworldtv interviews Mike Tyson. Tyson fought social media star Jake Paul.

"Well, I don’t know. I don’t believe in the word legacy. I just think that's another word for ego. Legacy doesn't mean nothing. That's just some word everybody grabbed onto. Someone said that word, and everyone grabbed on the words, and now it's used every five seconds. It means absolutely nothing to me. I'm just passing through. I'mma die, and it's gonna be over. Who cares about legacy after that? What a big ego. So I'm gonna die. I want people to think that I'm this, I'm great. I'm, no. We're nothing. We're just dead. We're dust. We're absolutely nothing. Our legacy is nothing."

*Board Game Geek Forum topic Why I Got Rid Of It discussed board games the original poster removed from his collection.

*World's Shortest And Tallest Women In 2024. Rumeysa Gelgi from Turkey is 7 foot tall. Jyoti Amge from India is 2 foot and 3/4 inch tall.

*[I] told me kids they were allowed to hit each other once per day so they should really think it through and not waste their one hit and now they're calmly discussing when might be the best time to hit each other (but the actual hitting has stopped, I'm a genius).

*Financial markets from the textbook and financial markets from real life.

*visceral: 2 relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect; emotions over intelligence; instinctive. 1 relating to the viscera or internal organs in a body.

*leeway: the amount of freedom to move or act that is available. An allowable margin of freedom or variation; tolerance.

*Epididymal Hypertension. Aching or painful testicles. Some people may experience the pain after sexual arousal not ending in orgasm. Blue balls is a slang term. A cummy ache.

*The Emperor's New Clothes. A slang term expressing when many people believe something that is not true. To express something as untrue.

A Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale published in 1837. A vain emperor was obsessed with new clothes. Two con artists tricked the emperor they made clothes out of fabric visible to those worthy. In other words, the con artists made no new clothes or made nothing. The emperor wore fake clothes which was nothing while the subjects remained silent to avoid being thought of a fool.

*Kevin Durant's Advice To Victor Wembanyama Phoenix Suns Durant said to San Antonio Spurs Wembanyama after Wembanyama suffered from deep vein thrombosis or a blood clot on his right shoulder ending Wembanyama's 2024-2025 NBA season.

"Just be patient, and that's the most you can do. You can't get back on the court. Being upset about it is not gonna do much for you. You know, so get in tune with yourself a little bit more, and maybe go find some new Legos to put together, read a couple new books, and then when you know it's time to get back on the court to start working out and stuff, lock in. I think he'll be fine. You know, it's tough mentally not playing the game, but you know when you understand what's ahead and focus on each and every day, it'll make it a little easier."

*Old Shirts. Remove the buttons before throwing away, recycling, or using as rags.

*It's better to aim high and miss than aim low and hit. Agree or disagree?

*The US population is separated by 10% radical left, 10% radical right, 70% too busy to care, and 10% love to fight. Agree or disagree?

*A Block Of Clay. Create something your way. Make something to match your desire.

Black Friday 2024

The Black Friday 2024 shopping was another week event. I shopped offline and purchased online before and after the true Black Friday. No offline shopping on Black Friday. I made a Cyber Monday purchase. No splurges. All online purchases were picked up at their respective stores. No deliveries. Black Friday 2024 was my worst Black Friday.

Mon Nov 25

Three Coke 2-liter bottles and Nice Caramel Cashew blend trail mix at Walgreens Black Friday Week Sale. The trail mix was a $0.99 cheap must eat.

Tony's Chocolate bars and Wicklein Allerlei gingerbread cookies at World Market. 30% off entire purchase coupon.

Sat Nov 30

CEP The Run Compression Calf Sleeves 4.0 at REI. Not a Black Friday sale. The 31% off was a discontinued product.

Sun Dec 1

The Best Worst Ice Cream card game, Magnetic Foam Tanagrams, and Moose Match Mayhem card game at Target. Buy two, get one free selected board games.

Mon Dec 2

ASICS Gel-Nimbus 25 running shoes at ASICS. 25% off Cyber Monday sale.

Kanoodle Brain-Teasing Puzzles at Target. 15% off discount.

Tue Dec 3

KISS OF LIFE and Stray Kids music albums at Korean music store Kloud K-Pop. Stray Kids was a preorder not on sale.

Top Ten Good Connected The Dots It Was An Introduction

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." --Steve Jobs

I look back at my past moments. I look back at my past actions. I look back at my past choices. I connected the dots . . . it was an introduction. These top ten made me a better person today. These top ten lead to positive outcomes today. Nobody knew these top ten turned out well. I didn't know. I made the best choices which were successful. I made more than my share of bad choices. These bad choices were good choices initially. Time is the ultimate judge. Here are the top ten good connected the dots it was an introduction.

10. Home Version Mini Gym (Mar 2020). I purchased a Muscle & Fitness May 2018 magazine. One article contained weight plate workouts. California announced the state shutdown on Tue Mar 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The people of California were given a 24-hour notice. I purchased a 45 pound plate and a 25 pound plate at a specialty fitness store. All major sport chain stores their fitness equipment were sold out. I began working out at home on Mar 2020.

9. eBay (2002). eBay is a great place to find bargains. eBay is a great place to sell my junk. I have sold lots of junk to create free space. eBay is prioritized over Amazon.

8. Classic Rock Music (Sep 2005). I was introduced to the local classic rock station 98.5 KFOX. The station saved me from driving without music. I lost interest in pop music. Classic rock is one of my favorite music today. The Beatles is my favorite band.

7. Washington Canada 2005 and 2008 (Aug 27-Sep 4, 2005 and Nov 15-20, 2008). I visited my Washington friend in his home state for the first time in 2005. It was my first time in Washington. It was my first trip visiting Canada in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia. The 2005 trip helped me navigate Vancouver in Mar 2007 for a business trip.

The 2005 trip lead to a second visit in 2008. The timing was good because I needed a life distraction desperately. The vacation satisfied the distraction. One place I visited was REI for the first time in their Downtown Seattle location. I signed up for their REI lifetime membership. The membership paid off because hiking became a new hobby in Apr 2009. My first purchases were hiking clothes, shoes, and a backpack at the REI Anniversary Sale in May 2009.

6. Ballroom Dancing and De Anza College (Jan 2009-Jun 2011). My sister was an amateur ballroom dancer. She introduced me to ballroom dancing. I took dancing classes at De Anza College starting in Mar 2009. I continued attending De Anza College full time majoring in Accounting and taking dance classes. I earned my AA degree in Mar 2011. I finished in Jun 2011. Going back to school was a second chance to relive life as a true college student. My experience was satisfactory.

5. innovateinfinitely.com Is Online (May 1, 2004). I created my first webpage at geocities.com after learning HTML in 1998. Innovate Infinitely was created driving to Japantown-San Jose in Sep 2000. The words "Innovate" and "Infinitely" came to my mind waiting at a signal light. I said the words together, "Innovate Infinitely . . . Never Stop Innovating Life."

I choose to create a web site to promote Innovate Infinitely. The webpage went online on May 1, 2004.

4. I Became An Anime Fan (Summer 1996-Sep 2014). The first anime I watched was Ranma 1/2 in Dec 1993. I exclude Robotech, Transformers, and Voltron in the 1980s for the purposes of the top ten. I watched Sailor Moon in summer 1996. The first anime series I purchased was Ranma 1/2 season one on VHS in Dec 1996. I cosplayed for the first time on Sep 11, 2004. The character was Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist. I cosplayed at all anime conventions I attended from Sep 2004 to my last anime convention on May 24-27, 2013. I announced my retirement in Jul 2014 finishing the anime series Space Brothers in Sep 2014. I thank my mom for making the costumes.

3. O'Connor Hospital (Apr 2-6, 2017). I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I required two surgeries for the first time in my life. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. It was the first time I was a hospital in-patient. I lost 28 pounds afterwards. I'm currently at my best health in my life minimizing processed foods and drinking water when I'm thirsty.

Moreover, I eliminated dairy one month earlier. I lost five pounds immediately.

2. Ubuntu, Linux, and Python (Oct 2014). I was unemployed between Sep 2014 and Nov 2014. A friend encouraged me to learn Python by installing Ubuntu. I learn Python and Linux with Ubuntu. Fast forward to today. I learned FFMPEG on Linux. I run MySQL and R-Studio on Linux instead of Windows.

1. Self Job Training (Aug 2014). I failed an interview for a contract Data Analyst position because I failed the Excel tests. It was an example of use it or lose it. I started to relearn and refresh my Excel skills. I added Access, SQL, VBA, and PowerPoint. The job training inspired me to redesign my webpage using Sublime Text, relearning HTML, and learning JavaScript and CSS. I completed my self job training in analytics research technology in Apr 2024 consisting of learning and reviewing Excel, Power Pivot, Power Query, Power BI, SQL, Python, Linux, Git, and R-Studio.

Update On A Past Blog

The Wonder Years television show aired on ABC from Jan 31, 1988 to May 12, 1993. The show is about a suburban middle class family in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Season 1 episode 3 titled My Father's Office the main character 12 year old Kevin Arnold spent a work day with his father Jack Arnold at the fictional defense company Norcom. The scenes in Norcom are true today. Pay attention to the workers' desks. There are no computers. The men wore ties.

[HD] The Wonder Years: Kevin at Jack's Office The first scene Kevin and Jack in Norcom. There was no time for Jack to settle in. There was no time for Jack to tell Kevin his responsibilities. On the other hand, Kevin was impressed with Jack working his butt off. Jack tells Kevin, "Tell you want Kevin. It is time you learned about the most important part of the working day. The coffee break."

The Wonder Years (S01E03) - My Father's Office. I don't remember any scenes between the coffee break and going back to the office. Jack said, "You know, Kevin, you can't do every silly thing you want to in life. You have to make your choices. You have to try and be happy with them. I think we've done pretty well, don't you?" Voiceover older Kevin version said later, "But as we walk back to my father's office, I suddenly realized something that made a lot of things make sense. My dad was too good for this place. Sure, it was a good job, and we were all lucky he had it and all that, but my dad had something finer in him than S-14's and distribution reports. I'll never forget how I felt at that moment I felt that my father was a great man."

The episode reminded me of the blog Can I Be Overqualified? written on Jan 10, 2022. I speculate I may be overqualified because of the self job training learning new job skills. Almost no company wants to hire overqualified workers; although, all companies employ overqualified workers.

Throwback Blog: Throwback Blog: A Mixed Bag Of Everything

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Throwback Blog: A Mixed Bag Of Everything written on Jun 30, 2021. Today's throwback is the first throwback throwback, a double throwback, or "A Third Look" blog. Also, today's throwback is the first in the 2020s.

The initial throwback is true today. I continue living my life with the corrected mistakes I committed in 2006. There are two updates. The Ryu's Birthday Party Ryu disappeared in Jun 2019. He reappeared in 2023. The Still 5.25% the Federal Reserve interest rates was 5.25%. The interest rates today are 4.75%-5.00%.

I said in the first throwback, "I was mostly depressed. I was mostly unhappy. Most of the happiness was faked." is true today. There were enough good moments to declare my 2006 a good year. Any past blogs stated a good 2006 year were true. My friend Barnes is quoted, "Enjoy it or complain." The paragraph contains two reminders.

Today's throwback blog is titled A Mixed Bag Of Everything written on Aug 11, 2006. The throwback is actually a second look at Aug 2006. I learn from the mistakes I made. I remind myself lessons learned. I refresh my acquired knowledge. I rediscover wisdom. I correct errors. I write changes. I share my feelings. Pardon the bad grammar. I write what happened first. I write my second look next.

Time Just Froze
Summary: I purchased a new watch which replaced my Casio G-Shock I wore since 1996.
Feedback: I purchased another Casio watch. I realized decades later my Casio watch made me look ignorant in terms of fashion and in terms of proper appearance.

New Laptop Bag
Summary: The grip handle on my laptop bag broke. I sent the laptop bag back to the manufacturer because of their lifetime guarantee. The manufacturer sent me a new laptop bag.
Feedback: I still have the laptop bag. I carry the laptop bag using the shoulder strap like a messenger bag.

Pictures Are Memories
Summary: I took pictures from events in Jul and Aug.
Feedback: I took too many pictures. There are lines between taking enough pictures, taking too many pictures, and taking inappropriate pictures. I stop acting like a professional photographer.

Ryu's Birthday Party
Summary: There was a popular anime fan nicknamed Ryu. He hosted an open invitation birthday party. Attendance reached the thirties. Everyone was having fun.
Feedback: Fast forward to 2008. Ryu's true colors were shown in a negative way. His 2008 birthday party attendance was under ten. He came in and out from the anime community. He disappeared completely in Jun 2019.

Anime Overdose (AOD) 2006
Summary: I attended their third AOD anime convention.
Feedback: AOD changed from Anime Overdose to Animation Overdose. 2006 was the year I attended the most anime conventions at six.

Last Night's Dinner
Summary: My mom cooked leftovers last night. She cooked in a lazy way. I cooked with heart. I cooked doing my best.
Feedback: No changes. My mom continues cooking in a lazy way. I cook with heart. I cook doing my best with infinite improvements.

A Quick Filling
Summary: I got a tooth filling before work. The dentist tried to sell Invisalign. My family suspected our dentist needed money.
Feedback: I took his Invisalign hint months later getting braces on Jan 2007 from an orthodontist. The family changed dentists on Aug 2019. His prices increased. His professionalism decreased. I can't explain why we didn't change dentists earlier.

Alphabetically Ascending A-Z
Summary: I listened to 98.5 KFOX's annual tradition playing their entire classic rock library by song title from A to Z.
Feedback: I continue listening to classic rock. Thank you classic rock. Today's music is garbage.

Broken Dryer
Summary: My dad attempted to fix the dryer.
Feedback: Thank you to our former neighbors the late Shermans for giving us their old dryer.

Green Tea
Summary: I drink expensive green tea from a bag costing $17.
Feedback: I stopped drinking green tea one year later.

Work Today
Summary: Today's work day was busy. I admitted my company stinks.
Feedback: I started job searching in mid-2006. I can't explain why I stopped. I resumed job searching in Jan 2007. I found a new job in Mar 2007. I should have more strength and courage to find a job when I realized the company started going downhill earlier in 2006.

Feeling Sick
Summary: I ate a poor lunch. I was fatigued. I got a sore throat.
Feedback: I repeat the lessons I learned years later. Get enough sleep. Exercise. Minimize processed foods. Eat good meals.

Keeping It Cool
Summary: I was sick during a brief heat wave.
Feedback: I'm proactive taking care of myself and my environment on hot days.

Double Day Off
Summary: There were two people in my department. My dumbass co-worker and I. I get a day off at work when he takes a day off away from work.
Feedback: I talked to one of the veteran brokers on my last day. He disclosed my dumbass co-worker had lots of personal problems. He had a good relationship with my dumbass co-worker because they worked in the company for years.

My coworker was a dumbass. He taught me Excel the wrong way. I unlearned his lessons years later. He taught me real estate statistics incorrectly. I was warned multiple times from past managers. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize them.

A Yummy Dinner
Summary: Inflation was the business headline.
Feedback: The Federal Reserve accepts the current inflation as transitory.

Still 5.25%
Summary: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at 5.25%.
Feedback: Today's interest rates is 0.25%.

Shopping On eBay
Summary: I purchased a new watch and a new laptop battery on eBay.
Feedback: I believe my new watch stopped working around 2008. eBay is a legitimate ecommerce website.

Final thoughts. I ended the blog saying, "Who is to blame or to be faulted for a mixed bag of events the last two weeks? Nobody. I blame nobody for the last two weeks of completing something and more stuff comes to me. I'm going with the flow. . . . I feel mixed emotions." Going with the flow was accurate. Mixed emotions was accurate.

Honestly speaking, I was mostly depressed. I was mostly unhappy. Most of the happiness was faked. I should have been proactive to minimize chances of being depressed and to maximize chances of being happy. The writings were on the walls what I should have done and what I could have done such as find a new job, self-teach myself Excel correctly, and research gym workout plans. Better late than never. All mistakes in Aug 2006 are corrected.

Less Play And More Maturity

The education systems are correct when it comes to free time. There are playgrounds at elementary schools kindergarten to fifth grade. The children play before school starts, recess, and lunch hour. There are no playgrounds at junior high schools and high schools. The students socialize around the halls or complete homework assignments before school starts, break, and lunch hour. Some students play school athletics after school which is their physical activity; although, I played touch football and basketball in the mornings and lunch hours in my junior high years. I don't know if today's junior high students play any athletics during their mornings and lunch hours. An exception is students arrive at school minutes before classes start.

Students who start junior high school and students who start high school for the first time should immediately experience a maturity moment. Less play. Less goofing off. It's another step to become an adult. It's a moment to take life more seriously. There is more homework. There are more exams. There are more people to meet. There are more social activities. There are more mistakes. There are more lessons. Schoolwork and gatherings replace watching Sesame Street television. Reading books with pictures are stopped. Grown up books are read using their brains for pictures. The children toys, children music, and children games begin to collect dust. The play toys time is learning Algebra. Music is anything else such as rock, classical, and hip-hop. Chutes And Ladders and Candy Landy board games are changed to Settlers Of Catan and poker. The children are growing up.

Top Ten My Last Minute Choices Were Correct

The late Steve Jobs said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." I connected the dots for the following last minute choice moments. The choices were correct. Here are the top ten my last minute choices were correct.

10. Gilroy Gardens (Jul 23, 2022). My brother's family had two extra tickets to visit the small amusement park in Gilroy, CA. My dad and I went. I did my best to social distance. I initiated social distancing when I walked around the park. I wore my mask except eating. I felt relaxed. It was a good life break.

9. 1998 (Various Dates 1998). Honestly speaking, the opportunities appeared in front of me without effort. I was given no brainer choices.

*Emergency Dentist Filling (Jan 1998). My dentist at the time created an opening for a filling to charge my insurance as a procedure for the 1997 calendar year.
*Celine Dion (Jan). I purchased my first used CD Celine Dion-Celine Dion at a used media store.
*Fanime Con 1998 (Feb 15). I purchased three anime CDs from a dealer who wanted to sell as much inventory before leaving. I was short on cash. He accepted my amount. I didn't pay taxes.
*Cal Poly Open House (May). A friend invited me to visit him during the Cal Poly Open House weekend. The weekend vacation was my first solo vacation.
*Japantown-San Francisco (Jul or Aug). The same Cal Poly friend called me up for a last-minute trip to escape the record heat in San Jose, CA.
*Santa Barbara, CA Weekend Trip (Aug). My mom and I picked up my grandfather driving the Mercury Sable 1997 station wagon. It was the first time the car drove long distance. We listened to music on my portable CD player connected to the radio's cassette deck for the first time. We delivered a cage of birds to one of my aunts.

8. Coraline (Mar 14, 2009). I felt bad at a cosplay gathering in the Japanese garden Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, CA. I wanted to go home quickly. I contacted two friends to watch Coraline with me when I arrived home. Also, another friend organized a 3/14 pie dinner gathering. The three of us ate dinner at the pie dinner gathering. We watched the last showing of Coraline after dinner. I purchased the tickets on a friend's app because I feared the showing was sold out. The theater was dead. It was the first time and last time I purchased movie tickets outside the movie theater.

7. Anime Expo (AX) 2009 (Jul 2-5, 2009). I had no plans to attend AX due to the Great Recession. I changed my mind after Fanime Con 2009 in May 2009. I hung out with my friends. I called my friends. My friends called me. I met new people. I visited Japantown in Los Angeles for the first time afterwards.

6. Ranma 1/2 Season 1 On VHS (Dec 1996). A comic book store was going out of business. The owner sold five of the six VHS tapes in stock for $5 each. The retail price is $30 each. I was short on money at the time.

5. Fanime Con 2004 Midnight Marathon (May 30, 2004). I watched 17 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist during the Midnight Marathon. I initially planned to watch four episodes. I stayed awake during the entire marathon. I said, "I'm going to cosplay Edward Elric" after episode 8. Fullmetal Alchemist saved me from quitting anime.

4. Washington Canada 2008 (Nov 15-20, 2008). The last minute timing was perfect to visit my friend. My contract at Cisco was terminated. I was lost. I was confused. I didn't know what to do with my life. I needed a break to refocus and reset. We visited Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Hurricane Ridge; the Rock 'n Roll museum; gambled in a casino; visited Downtown Seattle; and shopped in used bookstores. We watched movies. We played board games. The trip saved me from years of therapy.

3. Shopped For Gym Equipment (Mar 16, 2020). CA Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state shut down on Mar 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. I shopped the entire afternoon buying gym equipment for my home mini gym. I purchased a 45-pound plate and a 25-pound plate at a specialty fitness store. I purchased the exercise mat at Sports Basement. I continue my strength training at home. My cardio workout is jogging around the neighborhood.

2. Zion National Park Walking Stick (Oct 3-4, 2015). I went backpacking for the first time. The party and I received information The Narrows Top Down backpacking trail is strenuous. I rented a walking stick which saved my ass walking in the river and navigating the rocks. I purchased a pair of trekking poles afterwards.

1. O'Connor Hospital Emergency Room (Apr 2-6, 2017). I thought I had the stomach flu. The pains were sharp like pins pinning my stomach. I went to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I required two surgeries for the first time. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. I was a hospital in-patient for the first time.

Update On A Past Blog

I mentioned Fanime Con 2009 and AX 2009. Fanime Con 2009 is my all-time favorite anime conventions from the blog Top Ten Favorite Anime Conventions written on Oct 25, 2012. AX 2009 should be on the list because the last minute choice to attend was a good choice. AX 2009 is ranked fifth after Fanime Con 2009, Fanime Con 2010, AX 2006, and Fanime Con 2005.

Top Ten Plus Five Equals Top Fifteen Crappy 1990s Best Moments

My biggest life regret as of today's blog is I failed to live the 1990s to the best of my ability. My downs outnumbered the ups. My ups were crappy ups. Many of the ups were unearned like a baseball team scoring an unearned run or the ups were given on a silver platter. I took the ups for granted. Life was unfair in the 1990s. Life is unfair today. Some people had more downs than ups. I was one of them.

In my opinion, the 1990s is best decade in the history of the human race. The economy was fantastic; although, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's monetary policy is another conversation. Fuel injection engines in automobiles. The internet. Email communication. Watch movies on DVDs. Listen to music on CDs. Mobile cell phones. Windows 95 and Windows 98. Nintendo. Playstation. Apple began the comeback when the late Steve Jobs came back. Opportunities were plentiful. Everyone got a piece of the pie. A piece of the pie was given just by participating.

If my courage increased 20%, then I got a bigger piece of the pie. If two people at the minimum, at any place, and at any time introduced me to something, anything positively new, then I live in freedom today. If either the same two people or two different people at the minimum, at any place, and at any time called out my faults, then I live in freedom today.

One high school moment worth mentioning was I attended summer school Geometry after my sophomore year. I made new friends. I was able to take Algebra II in my junior year and Trigonometry & Pre-Calculus in my senior year. I saw most of my friends in the math classes. Moreover, the summer school was a foreshadow because the school district closed my high school after my junior year. I graduated high school at the same school I took my summer school Geometry.

I salvaged the 1990s. I was naive. I received poor support. I didn't know how to make intelligent mistakes. It was not entirely my fault. I accepted my share of responsibility. All is forgiven today. I have been catching up what I missed since I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. Experiences experienced. Lessons learned. Wisdom acquired. The catching up continues. Here are the top fifteen crappy 1990s best moments.

15. 1993 Bike Ride (Summer 1993). I rode my bike randomly around my neighborhood exploring parts of West San Jose and Campbell, CA. The places included Westmont High School, San Tomas Aquinas Creek, and John D. Morgan park.

14. Working Out At The Gym (Sep 1998, May 1999). My first gym was at my first company's office park. My second gym was at a real gym. I continue physical workouts today.

13. My First Webpage (1998). I created my first webpage at geocities.com Tokyo Bay 9061.

12. The Year Of The Role Playing Game (RPG) (1997). 1997 was the perfect year for RPG. Everyone was in San Jose, everyone adjusted their college and work schedules, everyone participated in the action, and the plots were terrific. The memories are remembered for a long time.

11. Las Vegas Grand Canyon (Jul 1997). My family's first biggest summer vacation. We stayed at a time share during our stay in Las Vegas. We took a two-day trip to the Grand Canyon. The vacation was my first time in Las Vegas, first time I gambled, and my first time in Arizona.

10. Around The State Of California In 90 Days (May-Aug 1995). 1995 was filled with family vacations. We visited Disneyland, visited Yosemite, canoed in the Sacramento River, and visited my grandparents in Santa Barbara. Yosemite was my first time visiting a national park.

9. San Jose State University (1992-1997). I choose San Jose State number nine even though many people think graduating from college should be higher in a person's life. I'm an exception.

*Fall Semester 1993. I earned a C- taking Computer Science 46A despite failing the final. The professor gave me a break. I attended all classes. I completed all the homework. Doing the minimums saved my ass.

*Fall Semester 1994. Physics 60 final. "I studied three hours for that!", said a classmate. Most students completed the four-choice multiple-choice final in 30 minutes. The final was very easy a high school student could earn an A.

*Fall Semester 1995. I changed majors from Mathematics to Economics and changed minors from Economics to Mathematics. My dream of teaching high school math was over. The switch was a good choice looking back. I believe I stopped being a teacher in today's public education environment.

I made a big deal thinking about the change initially. I thought back. The change should have been immediate. My Economic major classes became interesting. I met more classmates. My GPA went up at the end of each semester.

*Fall Semester 1996. My perfect semester. I attended classes on Tue and Thur. I learned how to write. 3.64 was my semester GPA. I mastered the shooting arcade game Area 51. I lost weight. I began listening to music while I studied.

*Fall Semester 1997. My last semester. I attended classes three days a week. I can't explain why I didn't schedule my semesters for at least one day off. Today's college environment most classes meet two days a week instead of some classes meeting either two days a week or three days a week.

8. Music (Various Dates). Yanni, Enya, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Madonna, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan, LeAnn Rimes, Jewel, No Doubt, Alanis Morissette, Donna Lewis, Hootie And The Blowfish, Paula Cole, Sixpence None The Richer, The Cranberries, Sting, Wilson Phillips, R.E.M., and Spice Girls.

7. Self-training Job Skills (1998). I taught myself Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and HTML. Learning Access helped me get my second job. I wished I continued the self-training attitude indefinitely.

6. The Snowman And Pinky Show (1994-1995). I played stuffed animals with my younger sister. Snowman was The Snowman from the book written by Raymond Briggs. Pinky was a blue bear with a pink nose. The other animals were bears related to Pinky. There was another snowman who looked like The Snowman named cousin Snow. We were terrible naming the stuffed animals. Most of the bear names were referenced from The Simpsons and favorite family movies.

I was Snowman, cousin Snow, and the extras. My sister was Pinky and his bear family.

5. Blockbuster Video (1996-1997). My first retail job. The store manager and I attended the same high school which was the number one reason he hired me.

4. Weekend Trip To Santa Barbara, CA (Aug 1998). My mom and I picked up my grandfather in Santa Barbara, CA as a last minute trip driving the Mercury Sable 1997 station wagon. We transported our family birds to one of my aunts in Los Angeles to be picked up. We listened to music on my portable CD player connected to the radio cassette deck for the first time.

The next day we drove my grandfather back to the Bay Area. The highlight of the trip was a Ford Mustang driving next to me from Soledad to San Jose. Sometimes I was in front of the Mustang. Sometimes the Mustang was in front of me. We separated at the Junction 85-17 freeway.

3. Weekend Trip To Cal Poly (Apr 1998). A friend invited me to visit him during the annual Cal Poly Open House weekend. I helped his club raise money cooking teriyaki chicken at the food booths. The weekend vacation was the first time I went on vacation solo. I went shopping at an outlet strip mall purchasing neck ties.

2. Japanese Anime (1996). I became an anime fan. I woke up listening to the ending song from Sailor Moon when my sister watched the English anime dub. I watched a variety of anime series when I rented anime at Blockbuster Video. The first anime series I purchased was the first season of Ranma 1/2. I attended my first anime convention Fanime Con in Mar 1997.

1. My First Jobs After College (Jul 1998 And Feb 1999). The commercial real estate industry was my first two jobs. My boss who hired me at my first job also hired me at my second job. I worked in the industry for 8.5 years.

Update On A Past Blog

The C- grade in Computer Science 46A was mentioned in Top Ten Good Breaks And Good Timing written on Jul 8, 2013. Number nine was San Jose State University. I should have elaborated the "Failed final, yet passed the class" bullet point.

Top Ten Plus Six Equals Top Sixteen Moments Never On A Top Ten Before

These sixteen moments were small life values. These sixteen moments were small memories. These sixteen moments are examples of the little things in life. I share two examples. The first example is purchasing a Mickey Mouse baseball cap in Spring Semester 1996 while I attended San Jose State University. The pics are below.

The second example is reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman in 2009. I watched the movie on Mar 14, 2009. Why do I remember the exact date? The reasons are there was a cosplay gathering at a local Japanese garden, a friend organized a 3.14 pie day dinner gathering, and the three of us watched the last evening showing. I gave the book for a birthday gift to a friend out of the Bay Area.

My long-term memory is above average. My confidence is high these moments never appeared before. I provide the moment date if I remember. Here are the top ten plus six equals top sixteen moments never on a top ten before:

16. Country Time Lemonade (early 1980s). The first time I drank Country Time Lemonade I was at a zoo. I don't remember if it was a field trip for preschool or kindergarten. My mom was a chaperone. Maybe, it was a gathering with other friends. Or maybe it was a social gathering with other families.

I remember getting lost. I might have found another parent who found my mom. I also remember opening a gate separating two sections of the zoo.

15. Blue Angels Air Show (Aug 1992). My former neighbors the late The Shermans took my family to an air show to watch airplanes and the Blue Angels performed at the Moffett Field airfield and airport located in Mountain View, CA.

14. Pier 39 Arcade Video Games (1987). I used video game tokens from a mom and pop arcade Galaktican. Galaktican is number seven explaining the better deal on tokens. The Pier 39 arcade was the standard four tokens for $1 and 20 tokens for $5. The Aquarium Of The Bay replaces the arcade.

13. Mopped The Floors (Apr 2013). I cleaned the household floors using a mop for the first time. My parents never cleaned the floors using a mop. I don't know why.

12. Drive-in Movies (1986). My family and one of my cousin's family watched Top Gun and The Karate Kid II movies at a drive-in movie theater.

11. Gilroy Outlet Mall (Dec 1994). I finished a terrible Fall Semester. The shopping day was relaxing.

10. Attended Two Jazz Festivals (Aug-Sep 2009). I became interested in jazz music in Nov 2008. I attended the San Jose Jazz Festival in Aug 2009 and the Monterey Jazz Festival in Sep 2009. I was lucky the late Allen Toussaint appeared as the headliner for the San Jose Jazz Festival.

9. Touched Snow (Nov 1986). I experienced snow for the first time in South Lake Tahoe. The second time was Nov 1987. The last time was Nov 2008 in the state of Washington.

8. Mystery Mansion Board Game (Unknown Dates). My brother, cousin, and I played Mystery Mansion when my cousin stayed over during the summers. We followed most of the rules. Some games were finished the next morning.

7. Galaktican Arcade (1986-1991, 1996). My brother and I were addicted to playing video games in the arcade. Those were the times when parents allowed their children to wonder unsupervised. Players received six tokens for $1 and 36 tokens for $5. Galaktican reduced the $5 bonus because business was too good. Unfortunately, Galaktican went out of business due to the video game consoles. I remember the final years players receive bonus tokens when they exchanged $10.

My final visit was Fall 1996. I rollerbladed to and from my house. I played Area 51 with another player who memorized all the enemies. We unlocked a bonus scene in the mountain cave for the first time.

6. Quell App Games (2012, 2014). I played three of the four Quell games from Fallen Tree Games. I finished Quell in Apr 2012, Quell: Reflect in Oct 2012, and Quell: Memento in Jul 2014 all at 100% unlocked and 100% perfect. I needed help once in Quell, once in Reflect, and none in Memento.

5. Nintendo GameCube (Jul 2004). I purchased the console, four game controllers, backpack, two memory cards, and five video games all used for $217.00 on eBay. The video games included Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers.

4. Professor Blackerby (Jan-May 1995, Aug-Dec 1997). My favorite economics instructor was Professor Blackerby. He taught my Microeconomics and my Microeconomic Analysis classes. Timing was good because Blackerby taught Microeconomic Analysis on my final semester at San Jose State University.

3. Board Game Night (Various Dates). My family and I played Pictionary on Sat nights. It was the only board game we played together.

2. Japantown San Francisco (Aug 1998). I visited Japantown for the first time in decades. It was the first time I visited as an anime fan. A friend suggested we drive to San Francisco to escape a hot Sunday in San Jose.

1. Movie Night (Mar or Apr 1997). My brother and I watched movies on Laserdiscs and ate take-out Chinese food from a mom and pop Chinese restaurant on a Sat night. I rented the Laserdiscs for free because I worked at Blockbuster Video. I told my brother to screen calls in case Blockbuster called for help. My store had been short staffed on Sat nights. My brother stayed home for the semester because of an internship. One of the movies was Escape From L.A. starring Kurt Russell.

Update On A Past Blog

I remind myself to keep fun in check. The blog is Keep Fun In Check written on Feb 26, 2006. Take a deep breath. Be mature. Fun is not fun when there is any injury including physical and emotional. There's a good way to have fun. There's a bad way to have fun.

Black Friday 2023

The Black Friday 2023 shopping was a week event. I shopped offline and purchased online before the true Black Friday and on true Black Friday. I made a Cyber Monday purchase. There was a little of everything such as false advertisements, good luck, good timing, and items sold out. All purchases were gifts, practical uses, and family uses except the bag of powdered donuts. No splurges. The Fitletic running accessories were delivered. All other online purchases were picked up at their respective stores. All retail stores online and offline offered fewer Black Friday deals like Black Friday 2022.

Mon Nov 20

Three Coke 2-liter bottles and a Zyrtec 60 count tablets bottle at Walgreens Black Friday Week Sale.

Tony's Chocolates made in Belgium and Nyakers Holiday Gingersnaps a product of Sweden at World Market. The 10% member exclusive coupon food and drinks was added days before the 20% off excluded food and drinks coupon expired.

Tue Nov 21

ASICS GT 2000 Running Shoe purchased online at DSW. An additional 30% off the reduced price.

Driver side front door and back door belt moldings at Livermore Toyota. Black Friday sale, nationwide free shipping, and dealer discount. The parts were approved to be purchased for a body shop repair order.

Fri Nov 24

Hostess Powdered Donuts at Nob Hill. No Black Friday sales interested me. The sale price was a regular weekly ad price. I wanted to exit with a purchase.

Three Coke 2-liter bottles at Walgreens Black Friday Week Sale.

NewJean 2nd EP at KLOUD K-Pop Store. The Korean music package wasn't on their Black Friday sale.

Running belt, water bottle and its pouch holster, and running bib string toggles at Fitletic. 30% off Black Friday sale.

Hatsune Miku 10th Anniversary Magical Mirai book at Kinokuniya. 10% off selected items purchased at their website.

Mon Nov 27

Farberware Classic Dial Kitchen Timer at Kohl's. Cyber Monday discount codes applied.

Instant Bullets Blog Sep 23, 2023

*2 X 0 = 0. Double nothing results in nothing.

*Combat The Snitch Economy. A secret shopper doesn't rat out the employees. He or she gets paid to eat and always gives a positive review.

*Condoms are 98% effective. Condoms are 2% ineffective. Prevent the 2% failure rate. Don't ejaculate inside a woman wearing a condom. Pull out the penis before ejaculating inside the condom. It's better than unplanned pregnancies. No birth control is 100% effective.

Further, condoms are one time use. Use once. Throw away.

*Open the windows. Close the windows. Summer season. The house is cooler inside. The weather is hotter outside. Windows close. On the other hand, the house is hotter inside. The weather is cooler outside. Windows open.

Winter season. The house is warmer inside. The weather is cooler outside. Windows close. The house is cooler inside. The weather is warmer outside. Windows open. It's a judgement call.

*The Perfect Bid. Watch The Price Is Right Documentary on the Showcase Showdown perfect bid. The documentary explains the truth when Terry Kniess bided perfectly on his showcase with help from Ted Slauson in 2008. The documentary is free with ads on YouTube Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.

*virile: having strength, full of energy, and a strong sex drive. Pronounced ve-ril. For example, some women find bald men quite virile.

*Steve Jobs: Some people say, "Give the customers want they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page." The quote is from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson on page 567.

*premeditated: an action thought out or planned beforehand. Full conscious willful intent and a measure of forethought and planning. Thought of or planned before being done. Planned in advance with a purpose; no accident. Done deliberately. Planned in advanced. Planned. Calculated. Deliberate.

*Christmas One Week Later. My acceptance to the families celebrating Christmas one week later. These families are poor. These families take advantage of the after Christmas sales. No right or wrong.

*Teenage Pregnancies. Here are some YouTube videos on teen pregnancies: I Think I'm Having A Baby Abc Afterschool Special Full, Some Girls (1987 documentary on teenage pregnancy), Teenage Pregnancy in the 1950s, and When Teens Get Pregnant (1982).

*I Heart Trivia. There are four chambers in the human heart. Listen to Neil Young - Heart of Gold (Official Audio) by Neil Young. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant. Sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson are members of the band Heart.

*The Renaissance. The renaissance short definition is rebirth or revival. Michaelangelo created the statue David between 1501 and 1504. Leonardo da Vinci is considered the most diversely talented person. Venus is standing on a seashell in The Birth Of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.

Oregon Ducks Head Coach Dan Lanning's pregame speech before defeating the Colorado Buffaleos 42-6 The Cinderella story is OVER! - Dan Lanning's speech before Oregon vs. Colorado. "This game ain't gonna be played in Hollywood, it's gonna be played on the grass."

Throwback Blog: Variety Is The Spice Of Life

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Variety Is The Spice Of Life written on Mar 13, 2012. The title is misleading. The blog topic was listening to a variety of music. I listened to pop and rock music from my childhood to most of my college years. I started listening to Japanese Anime music in my senior year in college. I started listening to classical music after I graduated college. Thereafter, I listen to classic rock, classic jazz, Vocaloid, Japanese rock, big band, 1980s, and 1990s music. It's difficult listening to today's music variety.

I prefer to live my life avoiding boredom. I choose to live life open to new adventures and experiencing new experiences. I want to live life something different daily. The boring, same old, same old life is for somebody else. I live life open because I want to know there are many ways to live life happy and exciting. My best example is music.

I listened to pop and rock music when I was a child. My favorite radio station was 1170 AM KLOK. The radio station called itself, “Clock radio 1170 KLOK.” The station played late 70s and 80s pop and rock. I started recording music off the radio stations on cassette from 1986 to 1997.

I started listening to Japanese Anime soundtracks and character vocal music in 1998. I added classical music in late 1998. I considered myself a casual classical music. I hated classical music when I was a child. It sounded boring except Tchaikovsky’s 1812. It was my dad’s only classical music in his record collection. I opened myself to classical music after reading an article children listening to classical music makes them smarter.

I started listening to classic rock and a little Japanese Pop (J-Pop) in 2003. Pop music started to get crappy. I tried classic rock and liked it. From 1998-2008, I listened to pop, anime, classical, and classic rock and J-Pop. I listened to pop and rock only from 1997 and earlier.

My music interests took a huge eye opening as I more types of music in a shorter time frame. I became interested in classic jazz in late 2008. I listened to easy listening music such as Frank Sinatra in February 2009. I received my first Vocaloid CD in April 2010. Vocaloid, in short, is a computer program that plays music when given the lyrics and melody. Hatsune Miku is popularly associated with Vocaloid. The newest music I became interested was big band in January 2011.

Opening your life is important to live with variety. Everyone should try listening to different varieties of music. Each of my favorite music type brings different feelings and thoughts. Each of my favorite music type is appropriate for different moments. I switch to a different music type when I feel tired and needed something different. Variety can apply to the foods we eat, the board games we play, the different gym workout schedule, or a different work commute. People can have an interesting life and non-boring life by living a life with variety.

Bleach Anime Songs Turn Back The Clock Briefly

The following tables are openings and endings songs from the Bleach anime series episodes 1-229 for which I watched. I stopped watching at the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc beginning on episode 230. The point of the blog is I temporarily stop the present clock to turn back the clock. I reopen the life chapter I cosplayed Toshiro Hitsugaya at anime conventions, made friends, watched the anime, and read manga. I thank the chapter for the good times and bad times. I close the chapter. Start the present clock. Life changes. There are new chapters. There are different chapters. Move forward.

The first table is the opening songs. The second table is the ending songs. The third table is songs sorted by episodes and opening or closing. The Link(s) column includes the studio version and a live version if available.

Opening Songs

Song #	Eps	Artist	Title	Link(s)
1	1-25	Orange Range	*Asterisk	Studio Live
2	26-51	UVERworld	D-TecnoLife	Studio Live
3	52-74	High And Mighty Color	Ichirin No Hana (One Lone Flower)	Studio Live
4	75-97	Beat Crusaders	Tonight, Tonight, Tonight	Studio Live
5	98-120	YUI	Rolling Star	Studio Live
6	121-143	Aqua Timez	Alones	Studio Live
7	144-167	Asian Kung-Fu Generation	After Dark	Studio Live
8	168-189	Kelun	Chu-Bura	Studio
9	190-214	Aqua Timez	Velonica	Studio Live
10	215-242	Scandal	Shoujo S (S, Girl S)	Studio Live

Ending Songs

Song #	Eps	Artist	Title	Link(s)
1	1-13	Rie Fu	Life Is Like A Boat	Studio Live
2	14-25	Home Made Kazoku	Thank You!!	Studio
3	26-38	Younha	Hokiboshi (Comet)	Studio Live
4	39-51	Skoop On Somebody	Happy People	Studio Live
5	52-63	YUI	Life	Studio Live
6	64-74	SunSet Swish	My Pace	Studio Live
7	75-86	Ikimono-Gakari	Hanabi (Fireworks)	Studio Live
8	87-97	Takacha	Movin!!	Studio
9	98-109	JUNE	Baby It's You	Studio Live
10	110-120	Mai Hoshimura	Sakura Biyori (Cherry Blossom Weather)	Studio Live
11	121-131	OreSkaBand	Tsumasaki (Tiptoe)	Studio Live
12	132-143	Chatmonchy	Daidai (Bitter Orange)	Studio Live
13	144-154	Kosuke Atari	Tane Wo Maku Hibi (The Days When Seeds Are Scattered)	Studio
14	155-167	RSP	Kansha (Appreciation)	Studio Live
15	168-179	Lil'B	Orange	Studio
16	180-189	Pe'zmoku	Gallop	Studio
17	190-201	Stereopony	Hitohira No Hanabira (A Single Petal Piece)	Studio Live
18	202-214	Shion Tsuji	Sky Chord ~Otona Ni Naru Kimi E~ (Sky Chord 〜To The Adult You〜)	Studio Live
19	215-229	Sambomaster	Kimi Wo Mamotte, Kimi Wo Aishite (I Protect You, I Love You)	Studio Live

Opening And Endings Songs In Order Of Broadcast

OP Or ED	Song #	Eps	Artist	Title	Link(s)
OP	1	1-25	Orange Range	*Asterisk	Studio Live
ED	1	1-13	Rie Fu	Life Is Like A Boat	Studio Live
ED	2	14-25	Home Made Kazoku	Thank You!!	Studio
OP	2	26-51	UVERworld	D-TecnoLife	Studio Live
ED	3	26-38	Younha	Hokiboshi (Comet)	Studio Live
ED	4	39-51	Skoop On Somebody	Happy People	Studio Live
OP	3	52-74	High And Mighty Color	Ichirin No Hana (One Lone Flower)	Studio Live
ED	5	52-63	YUI	Life	Studio Live
ED	6	64-74	SunSet Swish	My Pace	Studio Live
OP	4	75-97	Beat Crusaders	Tonight, Tonight, Tonight	Studio Live
ED	7	75-86	Ikimono-Gakari	Hanabi (Fireworks)	Studio Live
ED	8	87-97	Takacha	Movin!!	Studio
OP	5	98-120	YUI	Rolling Star	Studio Live
ED	9	98-109	JUNE	Baby It's You	Studio Live
ED	10	110-120	Mai Hoshimura	Sakura Biyori (Cherry Blossom Weather)	Studio Live
OP	6	121-143	Aqua Timez	Alones	Studio Live
ED	11	121-131	OreSkaBand	Tsumasaki (Tiptoe)	Studio Live
ED	12	132-143	Chatmonchy	Daidai (Bitter Orange)	Studio Live
OP	7	144-167	Asian Kung-Fu Generation	After Dark	Studio Live
ED	13	144-154	Kosuke Atari	Tane Wo Maku Hibi (The Days When Seeds Are Scattered)	Studio
ED	14	155-167	RSP	Kansha (Appreciation)	Studio Live
OP	8	168-189	Kelun	Chu-Bura	Studio
ED	15	168-179	Lil'B	Orange	Studio
ED	16	180-189	Pe'zmoku	Gallop	Studio
OP	9	190-214	Aqua Timez	Velonica	Studio Live
ED	17	190-201	Stereopony	Hitohira No Hanabira (A Single Petal Piece)	Studio Live
ED	18	202-214	Shion Tsuji	Sky Chord ~Otona Ni Naru Kimi E~ (Sky Chord 〜To The Adult You〜)	Studio Live
OP	10	215-242	Scandal	Shoujo S (S, Girl S)	Studio Live
ED	19	215-229	Sambomaster	Kimi Wo Mamotte, Kimi Wo Aishite (I Protect You, I Love You)	Studio Live

Source credits: Bleach Wiki Fandom and YouTube.