sleepy?

Do you ever find yourself really sleepy at a certain time? You are so sleepy, you know you could lie down and fall asleep right away. But it's not bedtime, so you keep yourself from falling asleep. And then later when it is bedtime, you can't get to sleep. Has this ever happened to you?

It happens to me.

US presidential election is a tie!

Here is the result of the 2008 election for president of the United States.
Check this out.

<<edit>>
Link is no longer effective.

here's the color of my Tesla

My Tesla Roadster is Twilight Blue.

thankful to Tesla Motors

I'm thankful for the electric car industry that Tesla Motors has created. Where other well-established car companies had given up on electric cars, Tesla has come through. I'm thankful for the clean air that Tesla gives us. I'm grateful for the style, performance and quality of Tesla. I'm grateful for the future that Tesla has shown us. I appreciate the work that has gone into creating the Tesla Roadster. I appreciate all those long, hard hours that the engineers have toiled. I really want to say, Thank you Team Tesla! Thank you for everything. Have a great year!

Here's what I want!

I've finally decided what I want. This will be my test. When I receive this, then the secret will have proven itself.

I want a Tesla Roadster. The all-electric sports car. Currently only $109,000 and not yet available in Japan. So how am I going to get it? I don't know. I don't have to know. I just know that this is what I want. I haven't owned a car in 5 years. Now that electrics are being developed, I wouldn't want any car that uses gasoline.

I want a Tesla Roadster.





Come here Tesla. Here kitty, kitty, Tesla.

the Secret corner ribbon

I have just added the code that displays a ribbon in the right top corner. It links to the Secret. It is not an affiliate program. I could have just as easily put in a banner like the following:

Keith's Secret

I was introduced to 'the Secret' this February by my mother when I went back for a visit. Actually, I had noticed the book in the bookstore here before that, but I didn't know what it was about. The bookstore was selling the hardcover Japanese version and the original English version in paperback. The English paperback was more expensive than the Japanese hardcover.

So anyway, my mother has bought and sent the English hardcover book to me which arrived yesterday. I spoke to her on the phone and she also has sent the DVD. In February, I watched the DVD and it was interesting.

While I'm skeptical of "the Law of Attraction," I am not going to immediately dismiss it. I find it annoying when people knock something they haven't even tried. There was a saying, "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it" or something like that.

Here is a picture I just took of the book. Feel free to use it if you like. I've uploaded it at full size, but it probably looks best displayed at a very reduced size as it is here.

One of the interesting attributes of the Law of Attraction quoted by Bob Proctor on page 15 is

"The law of attraction is always working, whether you believe it or understand it or not."

I think this means that even if I am skeptical, I can still test out the law and see if it works. If it doesn't work, nobody can say that it didn't work because I didn't believe in it. Believing in the law is not a requirement. Apparently it does not make judgments. It is compared to the law of gravity. Gravity is in effect whether you believe it or not.

Because of this, I'm willing to give it a fair trial. I know I cannot believe in the law of attraction until I prove it to myself. The whole idea seems ludicrous to me but so is saying that something won't work just because you don't believe or understand how it works.

So to test it out, I'm going to think of something big. In order for it to prove itself, it has to be something that in no other way would I have gotten it. For instance, a private jet. There is no other way I could get a private jet. But if I asked for a private jet and then one day I find myself with a private jet, I would know that I got that private jet because of the secret. But actually, I don't want a jet so I'm not going to use that as a test. I don't know what I'd do with one if I did own one. So I'm going to think of something I really want. I will report back here when I have figured out what it will be.

lack of self-defense skills in Japan

Martial arts in Japan: Judo, Kendo, Karate, Aikido, Jujutsu

Last Sunday, there was a mass stabbing of people in Akihabara. It was a terrible, horrific event that should never have taken place. Of course nobody deserved to be killed or stabbed. I do not blame any of the victims. 7 people are dead and 10 others were injured. That's 17 people.

Some of them were first hit by the attacker's rented truck. I'm sure they were dazed and didn't see the man coming with the big knife. Others probably weren't looking either when they were attacked.

But 17 people? They were not alone in Akihabara. The place is crowded on Sundays. But unfortunately, we do not have 1 hero. Not one person stopped the attacker. Maybe they were all comic book and video game couch potatoes.

Where are all the martial artists?

In a country that has invented so many ways of the warrior, why do we have so few people able to defend themselves? Are the martial arts worthy of study? Can they actually be of use if you are attacked?

As far as I know, all of the Japanese martial arts are practiced without shoes. Practitioners hone their skills indoors on mats. I don't like that. Another thing I didn't care for when I took Aikido was the seiza. They practice defense moves from a sitting position and a position that bends your toes backwards.

How many of the victims Sunday were barefoot? Being outside and walking on the street and sidewalks, I guess it would be safe to say that NONE of them were barefoot. People don't go shopping barefoot. Everybody must have been wearing shoes or sandels or something to protect their feet.

How many of the victims were sitting in a seiza position when they were attacked? Hmm... Let's see... How many?.... ZERO!! Gee, I wonder why.

So why do the Aikido instructors teach this way? Perhaps they would not admit to how useless some of their activities are. I have not tried to pin one down and ask him. He would probably just throw me; throw me out of the dojo.

What is the reaction of people in Japan to the incident? Well, if the attacker had been a foreigner then people would demand more laws controlling foreigners and there would be a lot of anti-foreigner sentiment. That would make many foreigners feel like the Japanese are saying that only foreigners are the ones who commit crimes in Japan.

But this crime was committed by an ordinary Japanese person. So then, the obvious answer to them is to turn their attention to the weapon used. Yes, a big ol' survival knife. Let's have some kind of regulation on them. Sure, that'll do the trick.

Somehow, regulations are going to make people more safe? I don't think so. That just leaves everybody as vulnerable as before, doesn't it. I think the better answer is to empower the people.

Promote self-defense skills. More people should be studying the arts that were created in their country. More people would be safe. Someone should have been able to handle that wimpy attacker. He did not look like a big guy. One swift blow could have knocked him out.

In fact, Aikido is proclaimed to be good for small, weaker people. A small woman can throw a big man on his butt, if the technique is executed properly. And Aikido has ways to combat attackers who are swinging or thrusting knives at you.

But I doubt anybody will hear my calls to increase self-defense skills in Japan. Instead they will go back to playing video games and reading comic books and pretending that laws will protect them.

Why? Because after all is said and done, after everybody is killed and stitched up, Japan is still a very safe place. I can walk anywhere, on any street, any time and not find anything to really worry about. Nobody's going to attack me. We are all very, very safe here in Japan.

purpose of this blog

I've created this blog to place posts that don't fit into my other blog themes.