If you're reading this and looking to the right of the screen, you'll see that at one time I was able to add links to my friends' and my favorite websites. Between the time that I entered those names and now, I have forgotten how to do it. I have a new name I want to add to my "friends' blogs" list.  What do I do?

So my wife and I were out with our son shopping today.  We had a nice time.  After lunch, my wife reported that she had a canker sore that has been KILLING her.  It was hard for her to eat and everything.  Poor Kaco...  (Canker sores are awful, aren't they?) Along the way, we decided to stop by a convenience store to pick up some chewing tobacco.  I figured that constricting the vessels around the sore (caused by the tobacco) would pinch the hole shut, a...

In America, we have adopted the British tradition of running 007 marathons at Christmastime.  Ever since SpikeTV acquired the rights to the 007 movies, we have had Bond marathons during various holidays. In the spirit of the holidays/Bond marathon, I would like to ask you: who is your favorite Bond? Most I assume would pick Sean Connery.  He defined the role, and seemed everything that James Bond should be. Pierce Brosnan is an actor who I think was born to become a Jam...

My wife subscribes to a service that mails out Japanese television shows on video and DVD.  Once we're done with a video, we send it back, and they send us a new one off of our "wish list."  (Just like that Netflix thing.)  Its a good deal for getting access to Japanese television in America. A few weeks ago, a video arrived of a show called "SABACON."  I really liked it!  My wife and I watched the program quickly, and sent it back the next day.  I w...

A few weeks ago, my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  It took me a while to come up with something that I thought I "needed."   Eventually I remembered that my computer's printer was basically shot, so I asked for a new printer. Well I got my new printer, and I am having a lot of fun with it.  As I was playing with it, I found a port in the front. It seemed as if the port would accomodate the digital-camera memory card from my video camera.   I p...

I grew up in the Minneapolis/ Saint Paul area.  While I was in high school, a lot of the buzz on the radio was about a local band named "Soul Asylum." By the time I was half through with college, Soul Asylum hit the big time.  They had a major label recording deal, they were getting a lot of radio airplay, and the lead singer was even showing up in the tabloids.  The album "Grave Dancer's Union" was a reasonably big hit.  It seemed as if "the sky was the limit."  (Q...

Last weekend, our clothes dryer broke.  My wife put a load of wet clothes in there, then nothing.  How sad. Since I am incompetent at fixing basically anything, I am waiting for my dad to help me get it running again.  Let's hope that it works! In the meantime, Kazuko and I are enjoying the posh convenience of the "Monticello Laundromat."  I am not kidding either, that place is pretty nice.  The store is clean, and the machines are relatively inexpensive and effici...

So tonight my family had dinner at McDonald's.  My son had some apples and some juice from a McNuggets Happy Meal.  (My wife ate the McNuggets.)  My wife had a chicken sandwich, and I had a Big Mac Value Meal. Once I was finishing up my Big Mac, I thought to myself: "Is that it?"  (I have had that same thought with recent Big Macs that I have purchased as well.) In the past, I recall Big Macs being substantially bigger than they currently are.  After a Big Mac...

I have a cold.  I have the stuffed-up nose, the sneezing, and a general ill feeling.  Not too severe to keep me home, but just bad enough to make me miserable. I suppose that as an elementary school teacher, these things are inevitable this time of year.  I hear sniffles, sneezes, and coughs all day long this time of year. (How many times per day do I have to say, "Please cover your mouth."?) So I have been taking my medicine, eating my clementines ("Mikan" in Japanese)...

Here are the pictures that I couldn't attach to my article (along with the original article): For most of the season, Jamie Burnside's team- Name TBD has struggled with its running game. After initially relying on Dallas' Eddie George, and Arizona's Emmit Smith to carry the load, the acquisition of Running Backs Julius Jones and Derrick Blaylock have added life to a stagnant running game. Not having to rely mainly on the ups-and-downs of Quarterback Daunte Culpepper and Wide Receiver Te...

I believe that people usually put up their Christmas tree and lights over the weekend after Thanksgiving.  This year we got a bit of a late start.  We finally finished everything today. I put lights in my big pine tree.  We have a lit-up snowman, some icicle lights, and colored bulbs in the front of our house.  My wife spent a lot of time on tree inside. It is pretty hard to get a picture of the big tree in our yard, but here's what the front of our house ended up l...

The day after Thanksgiving, my wife and I went Christmas shopping with our friends Rob and Yukari.  That day wasn't very productive as far as buying any gifts, but my wife and I got something nice for ourselves. One of the kiosks at the Mall of America was selling a game system that featured the older titles from the Super Nintendo game system.  My wife (who grew up in Japan) was familiar with a lot of the games, and those that she didn't know, I did. We are enjoying such games a...

So recently my computer broke down.  How sad.  It took a few days (plus the help of my uncle) to get it up and running again. While my computer was down, I received a 3 in 1 digital camera/ webcam in the mail.  I brought it to work and played around with a bit on my computer here.  I downloaded the device driver and a few of the components from the CD that came with the camera, but not all of them. Yesterday, I got my repaired computer back.  I was really excited t...

Hey there. Tonight my wife and I put the finishing touches on our Christmas shopping. It is nice to be done with it. One of our stops was the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Saint Cloud. The shopping was fun, but our one year-old baby went a little crazy at the store. He was running around, grabbing everything in sight, moving stuff around, greeting everybody, having a good time, and making a mess. It was really fun to watch him having so much fun there, but it was pretty rough keeping...

One of the most heavily discussed issues on the radio over the past week was a recent decision by Target Stores to not allow Salvation Army "Bell Ringers" to stand in front of their stores. According to Target, this is part of a general "no solicitation" policy. A few groups locally have been voicing their opposition to the move by Target. The company is being accused of violating "the spirit of Christmas." (Regardless of Target's massive charitable donations.) Please... I for one w...