The Rickie Miyake Blog

fair taxes

2012-01-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

In his State of the Union speech the other night, President Obama called for "fair taxes." Everyone should pay their "fair share." I agree (one of the few things with which I agree with him about, finding pretty much everything he said to be a bunch of rally around the flag fluff with no substance to it, sidestepping all of the things mentioned in the republican rebuttal), but just exactly how

more shampoo

2012-01-26T02:00:00.000-08:00

Have I nothing better to do than blog about shampoo? I guess not.. last time I reported I went back to using the Kirkland shampoo because the Suave turned out to be too watery. In the meantime, I also bought a bottle of Herbal Essence shampoo since Costco had a coupon for it. The Herbal Essence smells nice. It has coconut in it and is an attractive blue. But this is one odd shampoo. Or else as

shampoo revisited

2012-01-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

A little while ago I mentioned that I found a Kirkland product that I wasn't crazy about - their latest shampoo. I said it felt too thick and didn't rinse well and it didn't get my hair squeaky clean. So I bought a bottle of Suave which I liked more because it got my hair squeaky clean. Well.. I have since switched back to the Kirkland shampoo. The Suave was just too watery. I would put it on

resolution

2012-01-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

Are you one who makes New Year resolutions? If so, are you one who keeps them? I normally don't make any resolutions. I can't remember the last time I did, and whatever it was I'm sure I didn't keep it. They're sort of like diets and other good intentions that fall by the wayside. It was nice to begin 2012 on a Sunday - to start off the day in church. It helps put everything into the right

the new year

2012-01-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

New Year's day fell on a Sunday this year, which it does every so often I suppose. That means the Rose Parade and all the football games are deferred to Monday. I remember growing up, we'd always go to my grandmother's house on New Year's and she would make many of the traditional Japanese foods, most of which I refused to eat. I was a very conventional person food-wise and was unwilling to try

smiling dog

2011-12-31T02:00:00.000-08:00

Not much to write today. I came across this Youtube which you may have already seen (over 3.5 million hits as of this writing) but just in case you haven't:

Christmas

2011-12-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

I am always surprised (and pleasantly) when I hear "Christmas" mentioned in the media in a positive way. I find it sad that there is so much pressure to eliminate that word from our vocabulary and replace it with the innocuous, oh so politically correct word "holiday." True, not everyone is a Christian and not everyone celebrates Christmas but that doesn't negate the fact that Christmas is

moving

2011-12-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but our office will be moving sometime during the 1st quarter of 2012. At least that's the plan. The plan also includes finding a location by the end of this month, something that hasn't yet happened. Today I was talking with our Executive VP who is most anxious to find new surroundings. If you read the couple of earlier posts I wrote about the dump

Chicago vs. The Band

2011-12-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

Way back in high school I had an ongoing feud disagreement with a couple of classmates as to the merits of what was then my favorite band, Chicago, versus their darling, The Band. I called their band a bunch of hicks and they summarily dismissed my band as the choice of immature popish teenyboppers. They did have the rock critics on their side - Chicago would get mixed reviews whereas the Band

Amazon is such a bully

2011-12-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

I read in the paper today that brick and mortar retailers are up in arms and complaining about Amazon's newest mobile app - it allows you to scan the barcode of a product or take a picture of it or type or say its name and it will then tell you Amazon's price. So if you are at a retail store such as Best Buy where everything is overpriced, you can use this app to see what Amazon is selling it

chocolate cookies

2011-12-09T02:00:00.000-08:00

This morning when I got to work I noticed that someone had left a box of cookies (those delicious chocolate-dipped ones Costco sells in the big tins) in the lunch room with a note inviting people to help themselves.I removed the lid and was greeted by all sorts of temptations. I was also kind of surprised that there were still so many cookies in there, since treats like this tend to disappear

creepy

2011-12-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

You know, I never watched the X-Files until just a few weeks ago. Don't ask me why I never bothered to watch it when it was out on prime time. I don't know. I just never did.But now that it is offered by Amazon as streaming video, I started watching it on the television courtesy of our Roku box. And I'm hooked on it. Normally I watch an episode a night.This is probably the scariest show I've

more filming

2011-12-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

I just learned that they are doing more filming in the neighborhood where my office is. This time it is CSI. Someone asked, why are they always using our locale for dead bodies and crimes and stuff? Well, if the shoe fits..I told one of my friends about our office being on NCIS L.A. She and her husband record their shows to watch later and finally they watched it. Her husband declared that I

Why even bother?

2011-12-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

I see that in all likelihood, Herman Cain is going to withdraw from running for a presidential nomination on Saturday. That isn't surprising, given the recent downturn in the polls following this scandal over his alleged mistress.The thing is, why do people with skeletons in their closets bother to run in the first place? Don't they know in this day and age that you can't hide anything? Of

windy?

2011-12-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a very odd past few days, what with the winds that ripped through our neighborhood and electricity that went out around 1:00 am early Thursday morning and still hasn't been restored as I write this (I am writing this during lunch at work on Friday, where the power is fine - it should be the other way around, don't you think?).Looks like we'll have to throw out all the food in the

brief vacation

2011-11-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, which now seems like the distant past, we took a brief trip up north, staying in Santa Barbara one night and Ventura the next, and drove back home on Saturday. Here are some pictures:After reading a bunch of Yelp reviews, I made reservations at the Castillo Inn. Good choice! I couldn't believe what a nice room we got, at a bargain price (Thursday night, off-season, $79 -

black friday bargains

2011-11-27T02:00:00.001-08:00

How'd y'all do on Black Friday? I wasn't crazy enough to do battle with the crowds. There was absolutely nothing being offered at any of the stores to make it worth my while. I did, however, wake up at 3:00 am to check out the online version of Black Friday at my favorite audio equipment manufacturer. This year they announced their first ever Black Friday sale (actually "Blue Friday," blue

thanksgiving

2011-11-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

I remember when stores were all closed on Thanksgiving. Heck, I remember when stores were all closed on Sundays! Anyway, happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I have much to be thankful for and many blessings to count. I hope it is the same for you.Speaking of turkeys, I find it interesting that the City of Los Angeles is now offering free office space (well, for $1.00) to the Occupy L.A. movement. Yes

black friday

2011-11-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

One thing I feel very good about is that I am not going to be one of those crazy people waking up super early (or nowadays, staying up super late) to take my life into my hands trying to get a Black Friday deal. Nope, no risking getting trampled, crushed to death, maimed or jumped or whatever. If you are one of the poor fools doing this, more power to you, haha. Not content with Black Friday,

Isn't there just plain shampoo???

2011-11-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

For the past many years I've used Kirkland (Costco) shampoo. It works well, and you get a lot more for your money. I've tried other, more expensive brands and they don't seem to be worth the money. Just a few weeks ago it was time to buy more shampoo so as usual, I went to the shampoo section at Costco to buy the usual. This time I was greeted with not only a different-looking container, but

clarification

2011-10-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Umm.. I guess I owe you folks an apology. A couple of people thought it was neat that my car was used on the recent NCIS episode and even neater that they paid me $1,000 for doing so.. I was just joking. That's why I put the "haha" in there. Also, that car really wasn't my style. I'd be more like a Yugo...Most assuredly, that was indeed the back of my office building, though! In all of it's

my wonder years

2011-10-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy that finally, episodes of the Wonder Years are available for viewing. Unfortunately not on DVD or Blu Ray so I can purchase them, but on Amazon's streaming video portion of their web site. That's nearly as good, especially since I can stream them to the television via a Roku box.So that's what I've been doing the past few nights, watching episodes of that show. I started at the

hollywood

2011-10-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Nearly a month ago I had posted that NCIS Los Angeles was going to use the back of one of our buildings for a scene in an episode.It aired last night. They showed all of about 10 seconds, and that was it - for that they paid us 400 bucks. I guess that equates to an hourly rate for an NBA star?Anyway, here is the picture. Of course they added the auto shop sign and they did place a board over

ratings

2011-09-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I was looking for prices on an appliance and ran across one of those web sites that compares prices across online stores. One store was a lot lower than the others and had very high ratings so I looked both at the store and at the reviews that contributed to the high ratings.These reviews were on ResellerRatings.com, a site that I have often used in the past when trying to find out

still awesome

2011-09-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I took the cellophane off of the Star Wars Blu Ray set and pulled out episode 4 (the original movie) and watched it. I think if you did a graph of which episode from the set was watched first, #4 would be way out in front.If you're wondering if it is worth doing the upgrade from DVD to Blu Ray, the answer is an unqualified Yes. It's an even bigger upgrade than from VHS to DVD. The

dumpy

2011-09-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

I found out today that the back of my workplace building is going to be used in an upcoming television episode. The person who told me wasn't exactly sure of the show; he thought it was CSI. Since I hardly watch television, I had no clue what the choices might be. Anyway, it's one of those crime investigation shows. They will be filming next Tuesday.The reason for using our building: they had a

telephone

2011-09-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

I was trading messages with an online buddy from an audio forum and we were reminiscing about the good old days of dial phones.Do young people these days even know what a dial phone is? I guess so.. they may have seen one in a retro store or seen one selling for hundreds of dollars as a novelty at Brookstone or something like that. Or maybe their grandparents have one.I told him something

up and coming

2011-09-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Did you preorder your set of Star Wars on Blu Ray? I did, and I'm looking forward to receiving them from Amazon on Friday, the official release date.Despite George tinkering with them when he should leave well enough alone, and despite the prequels being pretty lame overall, I still opted to get the entire set - all six movies. For sure I wanted the original trilogy - that's a no brainer - but I

foundations

2011-09-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

I am writing this on September 11 (Sunday). Of course we all know the significance of this date as it relates to the terrible events ten years prior. There were lots of memorial services and recollections by people as to what they were doing that day when they heard the news.Many comments had to do with how our nation did not give in to the terrorists; that we came together and remained strong

insult?

2011-09-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one who thinks those Metro PCS commercials with the Indian actors is stupid, or do any of you feel the same? I don't find them to be funny or even mildly amusing in the least - that has nothing to do with how they portray the Indian actors to be idiots, but it just simply is not funny. It's insulting. If they did this same thing with Asians, I would feel insulted. if they did this

Apple is more evil than Microsoft

2011-09-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Katie brought over her Mac Pro so I could upgrade the memory and hard drive. I had gotten the replacement items from my favorite computer store, Newegg, and was all set to open up the laptop case and do the replacing. I turned over the laptop and did a double take. Were those the screws??? I never saw anything so tiny. Just these really little chrome circles with and "x" carved out

nooooooooooo

2011-09-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, welcome to the long weekend. I hope to be posting some stuff over the next few days. Today is pretty short and to the point. Here is the MOST STUPID THING OF THE DAY, MAYBE THE YEAR, MAYBE EVEN LONGER: Why does George Lucas feel he has to keep ruining things by adding nonsense like what a 5 year old would do to try and be funny by dubbing a voice into a scene? I guess it

churched

2011-08-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday as I was sitting in church I wondered how different my life would have been had I been a Christian back in high school, devout and diligent enough to attend service each Sunday morning despite the staying out late habits I had back then. Instead, I was as my friend Duane characterized me, "irreverent," one who liked to poke fun at religion and those who adhered to it. I admire the

celebration

2011-08-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, the day after my colonoscopy, I "celebrated" the good news by devouring a hamburger and fries for lunch. Yes, I know, that's like those folks who go on a diet and when they reach their goal they go to Hometown Buffet or another all you can eat place and gorge themselves silly. I rarely have hamburgers or fries these days, and it's been like that since the surgery I had back in

currently reading

2011-08-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto. It is very interesting. Its overall premise is that our government has strayed far beyond the Constitution, and its framework and ideals set forth by our founding fathers. It's a collection of examples of just how screwed up our country is in the major issues facing us all. It's a depressing book because it makes so much sense.

more catching up

2011-08-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

A truck broke the driver's side rear-view mirror on my car the other day. Now that I have switched positions at work, I'm in the building on the corner and we really don't have a parking lot so I park on the street. People have told me not to park too close to the corner because there are a lot of big trucks in our ghetto industrial neighborhood that turn too sharply and sideswipe cars parked by

catching up

2011-08-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Well gee, it's been 20 days since my last post. I've been busy plus haven't felt much like writing but I'll bring you up to speed on what's going on. First, it has been about three years since my last colonoscopy so today (Friday) I had another one. Thankfully, all turned out well. I know a lot of people hesitate to get one because just the thought of it is so unpleasant but I can't emphasize

saturation

2011-08-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

I did my usual trek to Costo this morning. It wasn't very crowded (i.e., it was pleasant) and I ended up buying some clothes. I've been on a clothing kick lately; I will go for a long stretch of time not buying anything, then all of a sudden have a short burst of buying the next batch to last for the next long stretch. I said I've been wearing the same things for a long time and Julie said

salt bloat

2011-08-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

I don't understand why everything has to have so much salt in it. There's an amazing amount of salt in nearly every food item on the shelf at the store. Seemingly healthy things (such as veggie burgers) are loaded with salt - I guess to compensate for the unmeaty taste? Or to make it taste like a salty hamburger?Here's an article from Men's Health/Eat This Not That listing the 30 saltiest menu

hummingbird

2011-08-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Today's title is literal. My coworker's daughter-in-law (well, ex daughter in law but she lives with her.. go figure) found a baby hummingbird in their backyard that was unable to fly.Since there's no one at the house to take care of it, my coworker has been bringing it to work every day, in a shoe box. Below are some pictures of it - it's sitting on top of a rumpled plaid blanket or scarf and

which browser are you using?

2011-08-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's lengthy rant (which, now that I am writing from hindsight and see that surprise surprise, they averted a default - oh aren't our politicians so wonderful), here's something much shorter and it is also something to think about.What browser are you using to view this page? Take a look at the findings of a study about what your IQ may be relative to users of other brands - click

deflection

2011-08-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

I am actually writing this on the weekend since that's when I have the most time to write so as of this moment the budget crisis has still not been resolved and the August 2nd deadline (the date on which this blog post is set to run) is still approaching.All I can say is I am disgusted. I truly hope that a settlement can't be reached and we default, rather than to do the same old tired thing of

life is a box of chocolates

2011-08-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I watched Forrest Gump again. I've seen it many times but never get tired of it - it's one of my favorite movies. I just love the whole thing.The book is quite different from the movie and both are good in their own way. In the book, Forrest never says the famous line, "Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get." Nor does he say, "Stupid is as stupid

ants

2011-07-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

When I go out for my exercise, one street bordering the school has a strip of dirt alongside the sidewalk and every spring/summer there are several red ant nests spread out on that strip.I notice that frequently, someone has gone to the trouble of kicking or spreading dirt to cover up those nests, so the ants on the outside are running around with no way to get back in since the entrance has been

more SLO

2011-07-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

In San Luis Obispo we stayed at a place called the Peachtree Inn, located on the northern end of Monterey Street along the strip with a good deal of the other lodging for the city.The room was simple but clean, and it was quiet, too. I liked the charm of the place - one story, no corporate feel to it, just a pretty, friendly place.We ate our continental breakfast out on the balcony/patio outside

San Luis Obispo

2011-07-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

After checking in, we drove to the downtown SLO area, parked and walked around. It seems like every single space has a meter, and the meter has a 2-hour limit. The downtown area is a very pleasant place to walk. The weather was gorgeous, it wasn't too crowded (I guess most of the students had gone somewhere for the summer) and everything was so clean and relaxed.Here's some random pics:The

and still more

2011-07-18T02:01:00.000-07:00

Before checking into our lodging in San Luis Obispo, we took a drive southward along the coast through Shell Beach and Pismo Beach. What a beautiful area. I'm not sure exactly what city we were in, but it sure would be nice to live in one of the houses right across from the ocean.Here are some pictures:It sure would be nice to say, hey, here we are across the street from our new home!Here is

and more vacation

2011-07-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, we were so stuffed from dinner we needed to do some walking, so that's what we did - over on one of my favorite places to walk, State Street.I don't know if it is the economy or what, but I remember it being a lot more crowded in years past. Of course, this was a Monday night but if memory serves me right, the other times were during the week, too.You can see below, not

more vacation

2011-07-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

I used Yelp to find some reasonably-priced recommendations for dinner. One of the most oft-reviewed placed was Brophy Brothers, a seafood restaurant at the Santa Barbara harbor. We decided to go there.You know, for all the times I've been to Santa Barbara, and the countless times driving past, not once have I gone to the harbor. We've been to Stearns Wharf and walked along the beach/ocean but

on the road again

2011-07-15T02:01:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a short jaunt up north - one night in Santa Barbara and one in San Luis Obispo. It was nice getting away from here and just served to motivate me to figure out some way to retire soon.We started out in the traditional way, by stopping at In-N-Out for lunch. Normally on the trips up north it will be the location in Santa Maria but since we got a later start this time, we ate

another blog

2011-07-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

A while ago I mentioned I follow a couple of personal blogs of persons I never met and don't know at all, but what they have to write is interesting enough for me to be nosy and read it.One of them hardly ever writes anything and I will just check in once in a while. The other person, a 75 year old man (he was 75 at the time so now he is older) writes faithfully. More faithfully in writing than

more sleep

2011-07-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

Back when I was in kindergarten I remember having nap time. Us kids would go pull out these brown folding mats, lay them on the floor, then lie down on them to take a nap. Maybe one or two kids might have actually fallen asleep, and we laughed at them and called them babies, but the rest of us were wide awake and bored silly. I know I was.I realize now that the teacher probably just wanted

sleep is so nice

2011-07-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

Sleep is sooo nice but I don't get enough of it.One of my friends recently had surgery and is still in a recovery process. She's been getting lots of sleep (like going to sleep earlier plus taking naps) and told me, Sleep is now my friend. It is sad that sometimes it takes you 1/2 of a lifetime to figure it out. Well it didn't take me 1/2 a lifetime to figure it out but then I guess that makes

stupid is as stupid does

2011-07-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Last night one of the features on the news showed the arrest of a couple of guys who had been shining laser pointers at helicopter and airplane pilots near the airport. This had been happening pretty frequently so the police arranged a sting operation using a dummy copter whose pilot wore protective glasses. The laser came up, police located the house where it was coming from, went there and

update

2011-06-26T02:01:00.000-07:00

Gee it's been a while since the last post.. June 12. I didn't realize it had been that long. I've been super busy with stuff.Today we happened to be out in the area around lunchtime so we went to Philippe's. We got there right about noon and boy, was it crowded! It took a long time to get to the front of the line to get our dip sandwiches.The sandwiches were pretty good, same as always, but I

no wonder our kids are stupid

2011-06-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

I was reading some reviews on Yelp about Joe's Pizza in Monterey Park. I've never been there; the pizzas look good in the pictures but the place has some pretty mixed reviews.I thought I would reprint one of the reviews, a very critical (one star) one, not because of what the reviewer said about the eatery itself, but because this person is supposedly a teacher. This is exactly as it appears on

scruples

2011-06-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

I've been watching the news and all the fuss they are making about this Weenie Guy who refuses to resign after admitting to engaging in sexting. The last I heard, some of his cohorts were calling for an investigation to see if he had broken any laws.I realize none of us is perfect but it seems to me that our elected officials ought to be held to, and hold themselves to, higher standards simply

Sung-bong Choi

2011-06-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I featured a couple of silly YouTubes that I think are hilarious.My buddy Donna sent me a link to another YouTube, this one on the serious side. Hey thanks for bringing tears to my eyes!! I really love stuff like this because it makes me feel so happy for the person.Please watch the video and see for yourself. I wish him all the best and hope this helps take him away from the hardships

funny

2011-06-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days so I thought I'd check in. I'm looking forward to retirement, whenever that is possible, haha..There have been a couple of recent television commercials that make me laugh out loud every time I see them. The other day I wrote about how disappointing the Carls Jr. turkey burger was, but at least this commercial is hilarious (or at least I think it is - whoever thought up

excess

2011-05-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Julie and I went to a birthday dinner party for one of her friends. The celebration was nice but I want to focus on the food. It was at the North Woods Inn in San Gabriel.Guests were presented with three menu choices - a combination of steak, scallops and chicken; a seafood platter with shrimp, scallops and fish; or a steak platter. The seafood platter was deep fried and I

mattress

2011-05-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

We finally decided to get a new mattress. Our old one was pretty old - like nearly 20 years - and of course those Sit N Sleep commercials talking about how your mattress is a haven for bedbugs and a perspiration repository and other ewww stuff like that helped make our decision easier.I heard a lot of good things about memory foam mattresses. We went to Living Spaces and tried the Tempur-pedics

coach

2011-05-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big sports fan. You will rarely find me taking time to watch any game on television although I have to say I was rooting for the Lakers to do a three-peat until they fizzled out this year.It seems that the Lakers have made the most absolute stupid, dumbest, idiotic, who's-ridiculous-idea-was-that move in hiring the new coach, Mike Brown. Even people who aren't basketball fans are

yearbooks

2011-05-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up, this weekend you can peruse the yearbook collection that has been scanned at classmates.com for free.So if there's people you know now and wondered what they look like in high school, here is your chance to check that out. Unfortunately there's a bunch of holes in terms of years available but still it is a decent collection and where else are you going to find so many all in one

for the love of peta

2011-05-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

communication, or failure thereof

2011-05-19T02:00:00.000-07:00