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Thank you Stuart and Sachiko!

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    THANK YOU STUART AND SACHIKO!  Please see below for the Japanese translation! These pictures are again from the recent trip I did with my friend Stuart. We have now done a number of trips together. I am so fortunate to be the recipient of the guiding and planning expertise of Sachiko, Stuart's wife, and Stuart! Stuart and Sachiko did a great job of organizing this trip and of making all the necessary arrangements. I think this is one of the best definitions of true friends: people willing to take the time to take steps that inspire those around them. Stuart and Sachiko provided inspiration in spades. My sincerest thanks! Speaking of thanks, I am very thankful for the medicine that was prescribed for me for the pinched nerve in my neck. I have now had that pinched nerve for almost eight weeks. I finally saw a doctor this past week. The MRI and X-ray confirmed the pinched nerve. I have a follow-up appointment in early July. I sincerely hope none of you ever experience t...
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The Best Ever????

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  Please see below for the Japanese translation! This may very well go down as the best photography trip I have ever done. The reason is simple: the cloud shots.  Since landing in Japan three years ago, I have dreamed of capturing a landscape with drifting clouds.  I saw some pictures that a friend took that accomplished that goal; they were stunning! Let's back up! Several months ago, My friend Stuart and I decided to do the Shiminami Bike Tour. This is a very well-known bike route that goes along the Japanese coast. Given my desire to take time to photograph, we decided to spend six nights and seven days doing this trip. We returned from that trip several days ago.  Ironically enough, the most climatic day started with rain. However, we decided to persevere and did the uphill route on our electric assist bikes to the top of the Kirosan Observation Point.  The weather at the top was very erratic: partially cloudy to very cloudy and everything in-between.  ...
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Tremendous Twee!

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  TREMENDOUS TWEE    Please see below for the Japanese translation! I do not think I will ever get tired of photographing Mt. Fuji. These were taken during a picture-perfect day trip last December with friends visiting from Eugene. What a treat!  Speaking of treats, I have discovered what is probably the most powerful teaching tool I have ever used. Welcome to the world of Twee! I recently discovered a wonderful English language teaching tool that is a component of the TOEFL test.  The student is given a sentence with the word order changed. The student needs to put those words into the correct order. This is a fabulous tool for helping students learn sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary. I then contacted Perplexity, my AI source, and asked where I could find a web site that offers this tool. And so began my love affair with Twee! Twee is an unbelievable AI-driven site that offers close to 50 tools that can be used to build all the key English language sk...
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I Thought It Could Not Get Any Better!

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  Please see below for the Japanese translation! These are more pictures from the trip Setsuko and I took last December. Unbelievable scenery! Just when I thought my technology could not get any better, along came Audio Hijack!  As I do so often these  days, I asked Perplexity for suggestions concerning the best way to record the voices of my students.  Sure enough, Perplexity recommended Audio Hijack. Even better, Perplexity gave me detailed instructions, including the best settings for my purposes.  I then asked about transcribing. Once again, Perplexity saved the day and told me I was in luck! This app works like a charm!　An unintended benefit is I can now record the speaking of my students and then work with the transcription to improve their sentences. This can be challenging if I am trying to write out and record student sentences because they can usually talk faster than I can type. 　  I am now working with a number of students who want to work towar...
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