Here's one of those photos I usually stash somewhere and never post online. Going over my blog stats I noticed that two posts, both having to do with Cherry Blossoms (桜) have taken over the Top Ten most viewed since this blog was started. I'm sharing this because you are who decides what's popular, not me.
THE BEAN COUNTERS AT RYUKYU LIFE SAY THE TOP TEN BLOG POSTS BY PAGEVIEWS ARE:
12,493 Views FLOWER: SAKURA OKINAWA, JAPAN
12,250 Views CHERRYBLOSSOM FESTIVAL OKINAWA, JAPAN
9,518 Views WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE? DRUNK PILOTS IN INDIA
7,986 Views WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE? WRONG GRANDPA
6,540 Views EARTHQUAKES, OIL SPILLS, TSUNAMIS, NUCLEAR DISASTERS AND COAL
5,962 Views ORCHID LOVERS A TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY ESSAY FOR YOU
5,028 Views LAPTOP COOLING TOWER: THE REDNECK VERSION
4,786 Views A STATUE OF THE MOST LOYAL AND FAITHFUL DOG IN JAPAN
4,606 Views SUNDAY'S SILLY SIGN APRIL 10, 2011
4,438 Views EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI IN JAPAN FAR AWAY FROM OKINAWA
Blogging has taught me a few things. I get all the newsletters telling me how to be a successful blogger and writer, belong to blogging organizations and read other people's blogs, everyday.
There are something like 126 million bloggers in the world. They all probably get the same information I do and they're all trying to get to the top of the pile and become millionaires. Hah !
What I do is sort of look around and if I see something I think is alright, I do it. I pick cherries and only take the ones I like. I don't want my blog to be just like everybody else's. So, I watch what everybody is doing and make sure "I DON'T DO THAT".
The fun part of it is hearing from the people following my blog. And, I know I have the security cranked down a bit too tight on the Blogger Comment ( SPAM CONTROL ) thingy but, I hear from people everday through other sources, FaceBook, Stumble Mail, Tweets, Emails and my website contact mail. We have agreements, disagreements, suggestions, hints, encouragement and a couple of good laughs, several times a day at the privacy of our own keyboards.
There have been some sad times, too. Readers have consoled me when I'm down and I really needed a boost. I have folks who alerted me about my photos being snatched and posted by someone else. There are some who help me correct my misspellings ( I should have a black belt in that by now ) and there are other readers who probably don't read and send me music and videos not knowing I can't hear. There are readers who have questions that give me ideas for new posts and others who warn me I'm wandering into dangerous territory. It's all good.
The thing that has made the biggest impression on me is how unpredictable a blog can be. The last Top Ten blog posts list I made changed while I was composing it. It only takes me about 2 hours to type these things. And it changed, just like that.
The Cherry Blossoms are gone from Okinawa now. They're sprouting all over the mainland of Japan and, I guess, in other locations around the globe. But, for right now Cherry Blossoms rule this blog.
Stick with me and we'll see what floats to the top next time around. I enjoy blogging for you.
Cheers,
Mike
Spring has sprung and the flowers are blooming all over the island of Okinawa. That means, anyday now, it will get so hot my flip flops will start sticking to the blacktopped roads. It'll be just like Summer !
I love hot weather but, those poor laptops of mine don't. They started meltdown today. Not one to present a problem without a solution here's my version of the redneck cooling tower.
Mind you, this is just a prototype the Ryukyu Mike Research and Development Staff is working on but, so far it's an all-systems-go. If your better half is as fussy as mine about housekeeping you might want to consider spray paint, or something, for the blocks before placing them on the kitchen table.
What prompted this ingenious set-up? Well, I remember one day last summer, I had a skimpy little cooling tower. It consisted of a pair of real fancy, custom made flip flops a gal gave me for my birthday. They were too nice to wear so, I used them to prop up the back end of my laptop. That gave it about half an inch of air circulation and I put this humongous floor fan right next to the kitchen table. It worked alright for awhile. But when it got really hot in the summer my keyboard started sagging in the middle. I suspect it wasn't getting enough cooling air.
Do you know, if the supposed genious laptop builders had any brains they would make the things with built-in fold down legs. Then people like me wouldn't have to run around the neighborhood looking for nice clean cement blocks to borrow. But, it could be they want our laptops to melt so we have to buy new ones every few years. Not me, Buddy. I ain't that stupid.
Just in case any of those wise guys try to steal my Redneck Laptop Cooling Tower idea get this:
I AM THINKING OF GETTING SOME OF THOSE PATENT PENDING STICKERS FOR MY CEMENT BLOCKS.
I BETTER NOT CATCH ANYBODY SNOOPIN AROUND MY INVENTIONS.
GET YOUR HANDS HIGH IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM, TURN AROUND AND WALK AWAY SLOWLY !
If you are one of my friends who isn't a millionaire and it gets hot in the summertime, in your neck of the woods, you have my permission to experiment with this invention. Friends are good people.
Just be careful not to drop any of the parts on your toes during assembly. OK ?
This is a LIMITED OFFER, one time, probably THIS WEEK ONLY chance to WIN any photo in Mike's Ryukyu Gallery absolutely FREE. To win you have to SHOOT MY BLOG !
Shoot it just like I did in the photo above of my October 19, 2010 blog post. Only, there's a catch!
My Legal Advisor says we gotta have RULES. Don't ask who the legal advisor is. It's somebody who's always screaming important stuff like, "Don't forget to take out the TRASH".
RULES:
1. Look at the view counter in the upper right hand corner of my blog.
2. Snap a screenshot of it when it hits 99,999. It's going to happen this week, I think.
3. Snap a shot of it when it hits 100,000. That could happen real soon after it hits 99,999.
4. Snap a shot of it at 100,001. That'd be when the contest is over, probably sometime this week.
LEGAL STUFF:
1. Only one screenshot of either 99999, 100000, or 100001 per individual may be entered.
2. Entries accepted via email, only.
3. There will be three prizes awarded. One for the first email containing the 99999 shot, one for the first email recieved with the 100000 and one for the first with the 100001 shot attached.
4. Offer is void in New Jersey and some other places where people talk funny. Just don't tell me where you live and you can participate if your email address is someplace where they have stupid laws and people call birds, boids. Do they still whack people there?
HOW TO ENTER:
1. If you don't know how to do a screenshot, don't worry. Prop your elbows on the table and shoot the winning numbers with your cell-phone camera or any other camera and email that shot to me.
2. To email me, if you're not already in my address book, simply go to MY HOMEPAGE and hit the thing centered on the top of the page that says "CONTACT ME". Then we can swap email addresses as long as you promise not to send any naked lady photos to me or naked anybodies, for that matter.
3. I will email the winners a humongous 300dpi JPEG file, suitable for printing, of any single photo they choose from any category in my photo gallery. If a winner prefers to have me print an 8x10 photo in either High Gloss or Matte, I will do that and cover the postage anywhere on Planet Earth providing it's not New Jersey or anywhere else where contests are prohibited by law. However, that means I'll need your personal mailing address. Have no fear; I don't do Xmas cards. I just want to give everybody (even people with boids) a chance to win.
4. Any disputes, gripes, or problems can be handled by the COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT. You can reach them by going to CONTACT ME and in your subject line type these words,
"COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT: C/O MRS RYUKYU MIKE" and see what happens !
All joking aside, this is a big event for me and there are way too many people for me to thank individually for the phenominal numbers of views my blog has been getting. I want to thank you all. If you're so inclined, make sure you follow the rules and SHOOT THIS BLOG !
