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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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As Good As It Gets!

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AS GOOD AS IT GETS! Please see below for the Japanese translation!   Sorry for the delay in completing this series of posts. Life has been incredibly busy! These pictures are again from the trip we took this past September. The huge bridge is the Seto Ohashi Bridge, one of the largest suspension bridges in the world. What a thrill it was to photograph that stupendous site!   One of the reasons I want to keep working is that there has never been a time like today to be a teacher. Below is a one of the reasons for this incredible state of affairs.    Six weeks ago, I was in the middle of a tutoring session with a very astute intermediate non-native English language adult student. We were working on verb tenses. He wanted some practice exercises. I said I would prepare those for our next lesson. He said he could do better. He went to ChatGPT and one minute later, we had twenty excellent practice exercises. Given that I knew virtually nothing about AI, I was totally blow...
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Just a Pair of Socks!

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  Happy New Year! Please see below for the Japanese translation! I hope you enjoy these photos of Kurashiki, which is close to Okayama. I fell in love with this beautiful European-style canal, bordered by classic Japanese buildings. What a sight! I photographed this location in the afternoon and early evening, and in the early morning. I love that early morning light! I am sure you are wondering about this title! Just a Pair of Socks??? To be truthful and accurate, it was four pairs of socks. That was my thoughtful wife's Christmas present. Little did she know how precious that gift would turn out to be!  As I have expressed on this blog, I am pretty fanatical about the environment. Although I have not been active as an activist, I have been trying to do my part in my personal life. With that in mind, I try to avoid using the heater by dressing warmly and staying as active as possible. Despite my efforts, my feet get cold; it is a real challenge to give them the active care th...
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Are We There Yet?

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  Please see below for the Japanese translation! One key to good photography is to return to the same site again and again. I was fortunate to photograph Okayama Castle once during the central part of the day and once during the early morning. Thank heavens for that early morning light!   Are we there yet? How many thousands of kids have asked their parents that question???!!!! The same can be said about the ongoing process of personal development. However, in that case, at least speaking for myself, I will never fully arrive! I wish I had several hundred years to learn all the lessons I need to know! Given that is not the case, here is an update. One of my favorite sources of personal wisdom is Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements. One of those agreements is not to take anything personally.  In particular, he talks about not swallowing the emotional poison of others. In other words, if a person is upset and losing their cool, I should not swallow that poison or rea...
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