I was watching a TV and there was a story about Tararaya (Japanese Traditional Inn in Kaori). The owner, Okami, talked about Omotenashi which is Japanese word for hospitality. What she said stack in my mind.
Omotenashi does look like coming from the heart but it comes from the wisdom. If the hospitality comes from the heart, it sometimes comes and sometime it does not. That is not Omotenashi. Moore Ashli must be repeatable and only way it can do so is if it come from the knowledge.
To provide better service, it is not the heart or desire to do so. It must be learned and trained and practiced. That will be something I will think about for 2017.
Just three years ago I bought anew car ... Honda Pilot. Just yesterday I bought another car, Subaru Outback 3.6R Touring. Prices are about the same ... but new one has so much gadgets ... I am sure newer Honda has them too. Here are some of the things I gained in three years.
(1) Front collision avoidance ... auto stop
(2) Lane departure Warning
(3) Backup collision avoidance
(4) Lane keep assist
(5) Blind side warning
(6) Adoptive cruise control
(7) Lock/Unlock from the iPhone (Smart Phone)
The Puget Sound Business Journal Book of Lists 2017 is out! The Book of Lists contains lists of top companies, arranged by industry. Congratulations to Seattle Executives member companies who made the esteemed list.
When you order food for people, make sure you order more than enough. The last thing I want our guests to think is "is there enough food?"
I asked the office to buy food for people working on Monday ... Those are the food we had ... that was just enough for everyone but I don't think that was enough. I want to make sure people feel we had too much. Too much is better than just enough or too little.
O MO TE NA SHI (おもてなし）
Omotenashi, loosely defined as the art of selfless hospitality, is a cornerstone of Japanese culture. To welcome someone into your home or establishment and be able to anticipate their every need is seen as a privilege for the host, and working in a service industry is regarded with the utmost seriousness and respect.
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You must read fine print.This is what my setting is...I think this is what I should be...
I reported that I was missing some thumbnail photos on my Photos on my Mac. So I tried to rebuild the thumbnail using Command + Option to start Photos in recovery mode. That fixed the problem but ...
Did you know, it causes the system upload ALL pictures to iCloud?
Wel, I have 115,000 photos and this will take about 5 days. Crap. It's too late now. I must not be using iCloud right. I don't think I should download all photos to my computer.
No, it's not that long time ago and it's not too far away. My daughter found a business card from about 20 years ago. This was when we were just launching our Internet Hosting Business.
From this business card ...
(1) We had a domain name pspinc.com
(2) The company was known for Double Byte Specialists (Do you know what is mean?)
(3) Telephone number ended 8080 (What is 8080?)
(4) Email address was ken@pspinc.com (It is not used anymore)
(5) My title was president
If there is a self driving car, dogs can be placed in the car and being delivered to the location you want. That will be cool. Actually, for that matter, blind people can use cars as well. That will be cool.
Instead of inviting millions hundreds of millions of dollars, I rather see self driving buses. That will be much more convenient and cheaper. Trains (railroads) are 19th century technology.
This is the most viewed YouTUBE video of 2016 and is from Japan. If you are trying to understand why this is such a hit, you are already too old to do anything on your webpage, social media or blog. I am getting there ... This is more puzzling to me than why Donal Trump won the election. Well, I just accept both.
When the car tell you you have only 13 miles of energy left but you are 5 miles away from where you can charge ... You spend more time looking at energy gauge. I hate this. We usually use Leaf for just going to Seattle and back nothing else. That is why after 5 years, it has less than 10,000 miles.
Do I recommend EV to my friends ... Unfortunately at this point, I do not. I do recommend hybrids if you are very environmentally conscious.
As a part of PSPinc's effort to assist Japanese companies to enter the US market, we are providing the virtual office with English website. We have just launched the first Japanese company's website under Japan-US.com
When I upgraded Mac OS X to Sierra ... I did something to Photos which I have over 117,000 photos. It is rebuilding the index and uploading every photos to iCloud. But the uploading is going so slow, it may take days if not weeks.
The funny thing is all the pictures I have locally are already up on the iCloud. Why is this doing his?
I casually upgraded the Mac OS to Sierra this morning ... It took all morning and even crashed my photos library. It is 4:00pm and it is still rebuilding it. I want an OS (Operating System) that is not heavy and quick. I guess my next computer will be Linux ...
Banner Bank has invited me to a Seahawks game last week. It is an ultimate entertainment for people in Seattle. What does your company consider an entertainment for your clients and possible clients. I wish we get to the point we can do this too.
''A guy looked at the Corvette the other day and said I wonder how many people could have been fed for the cost of that car. I replied I am not sure, it fed a lot of families in Kentucky who built it, it fed the people who make the tires, it fed the people who made the components, it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires, it fed people who make the trucks that haul the copper ore. That's the difference between capitalism and welfare mentality. When you buy something, you put money in people's pockets and give them dignity for their skills''
Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.
People do judge book by the cover.Do not promote the content, promote the cover!!!
When you spend money marketing .. Your goal should not be try to sell one product ... rather you should try to create a brand image. One you are successful in creating recognizable brand, your marketing should be more effective and less costly.
The largest hotel group started in 1974, owns 8,000 hotels, employs 32,000 people is worth $7 Billion dollars. airbnb started in 2008, owns no hotel, employs 2,000 people is worth $30 Billion dollars.
What do you think? Do you think airbnb worth more than 4 times WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP? Or is this even a fair comparison? Are they even in the same industry?
People are friendly.Thank you Banner BaknkWow!Getting Out !!!Bus was already there.
I was invited by Banner Bank to see Seahawks vs Ram game yesterday. The game was going to start 5:30pm ... right in the middle of rash hour and traffic jam. I wend few miles word the freeway (i90) but the traffic was not moving. If I get near the field, I had to find a parking and pay as much as $40 to park my car.
So, I gave up and parked my car at Eastgate Park & Ride and caught an express bus (Route 545). Thee were only two stops before I was only few blocks away from the stadium. After the game, I took the same bus back. There was no wait.
Each was was $2.50 but I paid $3.00 (I did not have change). So the transpiration cost me only $6.00 and the parking was free. What a deal!!! After 31 years of living in Seattle, this was my first time taking a bus. I liked it.
I was asked if we can upgrade the system memory of MacBook Air?
I told them we can but I wanted to make sure ... so I took the cover off my old MacBook Air. Memory chips are welled onto the mother board. So, there is no way I can upgrade it.
So, if you want a upgradability, you need to buy MacBook Pro ... Not Air.
iPhone 7 Plus has quick 2x zoom capability. It is not digital zoom ... It is an optical zoom (I think). Do you see the difference? I wish they had better zoom.
I am testing iWatch ... I have wore it for about 24 hours and it used up about 50% of its battery. Although I have not figured out many of its functions ... meaning I am not doing anything that uses a lot of battery ... it is safe to assume it last for a day comfortably.
I will be flying out on January 31 and coming back to seattle on February 10. The main reason for my trip will be attending the Otsuka Corporations Solutions Fair in Tokyo.
Beautiful paper-weight with Japanese phrase wedged in. This is one of the product I am working with Kusak Cut Glass Works in Seattle. It will soon be available for sale.
This picture is not taken by Bruce ... He could not have taken this picture because he is in it.Mayumi with Lenny Wilkens Autographed Basketball.
Thank you, Lenny.Me with Lenny and BrigitOur Interns and Lauren, our Stand up Comedian.When UW Foster School meets Lenny Wilkens FoundationMr. Takahashi ... Ten Sushi SeattleSushi BuffetFrom Aldarra Golf Club13 year old daughter is fluent in Japanese ... self learned.
Amazing!!!Mayumi with Tiny ... Happy.Again, Interns.Beautiful PSP StaffDoes PSP employ any man ??? Happy Time !!!Win a drink !!!
Those pictures are taken by Bruce Johnson of Rowland Photo ( http://www.rowlandphoto.com ). When professional takes photos ... You can really see the difference.
We just finished 2016 Holiday Party at PSPinc. Thank you, everybody, for coming. We will make 2017, out 30th Anniversary Year, even better than this year. Thank you all for all your support.
It was snowing very hard and I thought we might have to postpone our party. But the snow turned into rain and we can proceed with our plan. What a relief!
After 6 teeth were pulled, Pompom is now doing fine. Thank you very much for all your support. He is acting years younger ... He does not act like 14 years old.
Do you know what Light Field Camera is?
Don't worry, most people do not.
It is a camera that capture all images at all focus points. After taking the picture, you can edit photo by changing the focus point. It is kind of cool. I bought this on Black Friday ... although I founded it $20 cheaper on eBay today. I will have fun with this.
Last three pictures above are the same image. I adjusted the focus points. Do you see what I mean by changing the focus points? The changes can be done after the picture is taken. Cool!
I purchased au (Japanese Cellular Carrier) Portable WiFi Hotspot unit in Japan last time I was there. This unit provides unlimited data usage (unto 300 Mbps) in Japan for fixed cost of $40. What a deal!
This will save us a lot of money when we travel to Japan.
I got a VIP program letter from one of our customers, Fuji Heavy Industry, to purchase Subaru at non-negotiation price. "Thank you."
I went to test drive and I like the Outback 3.6R Touring. They did not have the color I wanted, so I ordered it. It has every option possible and is going to be a very safe car. Also they have 0% interest for 48 month ... I will take advantage of that. Why use money when you can borrow it for 0%.
freetinyimages 
橋本諭弥 
田仲なお美 
木曽町田中屋豆腐 
水琴晶子（みことあきこ） 
落語好きプロコーチ 砂村よしお 
カワシマヒロキ（ひーさん） 
さち 
Lupin 
中村祐美子 
神戸のおいさん