The Miller Report 05142026
Miller's Mysteries Blog
• Greetings
Welcome to Miller’s Mysteries Blog, where early spring is slowly waking up the whole town. The sun is warming the roads, people are planning outings, and decorating ideas are already spreading through the neighborhood. A squirrel has just stopped on the fence like he’s waiting for the story to begin.
The neighbor’s goats have joined the audience again, while the cats observe from their strategic indoor headquarters. With wildlife like this, the blog practically writes itself. 🐐🐱🌷
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• Across my Desk!!
Around Town
One of the bigger local events is the annual Touch-A-Truck event at the Southington Drive-In on Saturday. Kids can climb through construction, military, and emergency vehicles, plus there’ll be food and activities all afternoon.
If you feel like wandering downtown afterward, the Friday afternoon market at Southington Farmers Market is back in season with local produce, baked goods, crafts, and the usual springtime Connecticut small-town vibe. 🌽🌷 It’s a nice excuse to grab coffee and stroll Main Street for a while.
If Michael Jackson were a pianist!!
https://www.facebook.com/reel/734880216316705
Onion Ring Egg recipe
https://www.facebook.com/reel/4024115637892974
lollipop chicken
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1245952590670097
paper airplane
https://www.facebook.com/reel/3565644126936290
Twenty-dollar suffix error
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TKEBrFRvx8s
Weather Forecast
Looks like a classic moody Connecticut stretch, Joe. 🌧️☕ Today in Southington starts cloudy with showers and a breezy afternoon, with temperatures climbing into the mid-60s. Tomorrow stays damp and cooler with more rain, so the roads could get slick and gray-looking by evening.
The good news is that the weekend turns gorgeous. ☀️ Saturday looks sunny and pleasant, and Sunday could push into the 80s with that first real “summer trying to happen” feeling in the air. Perfect weather for coffee on the porch, writing sessions, or cruising around Connecticut with the windows down. 🚗🌲
NASA News
🚀🌌 Here’s the latest from NASA
and the space world, Joe:
One of the biggest stories is NASA’s continued push toward the Moon with the Artemis program. NASA released preliminary plans for the next major mission, Artemis III, which is now focused on Earth-orbit docking tests between the Orion spacecraft and lunar landers from SpaceX
and Blue Origin before astronauts return to the lunar surface.
Horoscope
🌧️ Earth and Water energy dominate the morning sky, creating a deeply reflective, emotional atmosphere with strong intuitive undercurrents. Taurus steadies the spirit while Cancer softens the heart, making this an excellent day for coffee, creativity, memory, journaling, and quiet affection beside rain-streaked windows. ☕🌲📖
🔥 Aries and Leo placements add sparks beneath the calm surface, hinting at restless passion, bold ideas, flirtation, and sudden bursts of confidence. Chantal would probably circle today in violet ink and whisper, “Trust what feels warm, grounded, and quietly alive.” 💜🕯️
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• The Reader
Daniel relaxed in a recliner in the den on a rainy afternoon. A yellow pad and pencil lay on the armrest beside him. His tablet displayed the Mindmyst Tales Blog while rain tapped softly on the windows. A mug of coffee and a bowl of trail mix rested on the table. He read a suspense story about a mysterious artifact. Daniel scribbled a quick idea for a possible sequel. The steady rain made the whole moment feel perfect for reading.
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• Math of the Week 📐📏🔢
1.
Trish and Chris are working on a geometry project in class where they use rulers and calculators to design a triangular garden. Trish measures two sides of the triangle as 8 cm and 11 cm using a ruler, while Chris measures the included angle as 47° with a protractor. If they want to find the area of the triangle, what formula should they use, and what is the approximate area?
2.
Chris draws a circle using a compass with a radius of 6.5 cm on graph paper. Trish then uses a ruler to draw a chord inside the circle that is 9 cm long. Using a calculator, they try to determine the perpendicular distance from the center of the circle to the chord. What steps should they follow to find that distance?
3.
Trish and Chris are constructing a scale model of a bridge. Chris uses a protractor to ensure a support beam forms a 65° angle with the base. Trish measures the base as 14 cm using a ruler. If the beam forms a right triangle with the base and vertical support, what is the height of the beam using trigonometry?
4.
In art class, Trish and Chris use compasses to draw two overlapping circles with radii 5 cm and 7 cm. The centers are 10 cm apart, measured carefully with a ruler. They want to find whether the circles intersect and, if so, in how many points. What geometric reasoning should they use to determine the answer?
5.
Chris and Trish are calculating the perimeter of an irregular pentagon they drew using rulers and protractors. The sides measure 6 cm, 9 cm, 5 cm, 8 cm, and 7 cm. One interior angle is 112°, which they confirm with a protractor for accuracy. What is the perimeter, and why is measuring angles still important even when only finding perimeter?
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• Escape The Rat Race 🐀💰 - part 5
Slash Expenses Without Sacrificing Joy.
Practical ways to live richly while spending less.
There comes a point when people realize that spending less does not automatically mean living less. In fact, many discover the opposite is true. A simpler financial life often creates more freedom, less stress, and greater appreciation for everyday experiences.
Most overspending happens quietly. It slips into routines, subscriptions, convenience purchases, and habits that no longer deliver much happiness. Small leaks in a budget can drain enormous amounts of money over time.
The first step is awareness. Look carefully at where money actually goes each month. Most people are surprised to discover how much disappears into impulse purchases, takeout meals, unused memberships, and automatic renewals they forgot existed.
Cutting expenses works best when it feels intentional instead of restrictive. The goal is not punishment. The goal is redirecting money toward things that truly matter.
One of the easiest ways to live richly while spending less is learning to enjoy experiences over accumulation. A walk through town on a warm spring evening can feel more satisfying than another unnecessary online purchase arriving in a cardboard box.
Restaurants become more enjoyable when they feel occasional instead of automatic. A simple diner breakfast with friends can create better memories than expensive meals people barely remember a week later.
Shopping changes too. Instead of chasing endless consumption, people begin searching for quality, usefulness, and long-term value. Discount stores, thrift shops, scratch-and-dent markets, and library sales suddenly feel like treasure hunts instead of compromises.
Entertainment does not need to be expensive to be meaningful. Movie nights at home, local festivals, community concerts, fishing trips, library events, hiking trails, and backyard firepits often create the strongest memories at the lowest cost.
Learning basic skills can dramatically reduce expenses while increasing confidence. Cooking at home, repairing simple items, gardening, or brewing coffee instead of constantly buying it outside can save thousands over time without reducing enjoyment.
Many people discover that clutter itself creates stress. Owning fewer things means less cleaning, less organizing, less maintenance, and fewer financial obligations pulling attention in every direction.
Transportation is another area where small changes create massive long-term savings. Driving reliable used vehicles longer, combining errands, or avoiding unnecessary upgrades can free up money for investing and future freedom.
Housing costs shape nearly every financial outcome. A modest home with manageable expenses often creates more peace than a larger house that constantly demands higher payments, repairs, taxes, and stress.
The real shift happens when people stop trying to impress strangers. Once that pressure fades, financial decisions become clearer and far more personal. Joy becomes easier to find because it no longer depends on constant spending.
Ironically, spending less often increases gratitude. Coffee tastes better. Time with friends feels richer. Quiet evenings become enjoyable again. Life slows down enough for people to actually notice it.
As expenses shrink, flexibility grows. Savings build faster. Debt disappears more quickly. Side hustles become easier to explore because financial pressure starts losing its grip.
Living richly is not about buying everything possible. It is about creating a life where money supports freedom, experiences, relationships, creativity, and peace of mind. And sometimes the fastest path to that life is not earning dramatically more, but learning how little is actually needed to feel genuinely happy.
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• Now, This Week's Exciting Story
Roadside Ice Cream
By noon, central Connecticut had transformed into a giant air fryer. The radio announcer in Southington claimed it was ninety-three degrees, but Molly Kennedy was convinced the pavement outside The Pepper Pot could cook bacon. She sat in a booth fanning herself with a laminated menu while her iced tea sweated harder than she was. Across from her, Rick Crowe looked personally betrayed by the weather. “Yesterday I wore a flannel,” he complained. “Today I’m one bad decision away from becoming soup.”
Molly shoved her sunglasses onto her head and stared out the diner window. Every car downtown looked melted. A guy walking a golden retriever appeared to be negotiating surrender terms with the sun. “We need emergency ice cream,” Molly announced dramatically. Rick nodded immediately because he treated ice cream suggestions like legal obligations. Five minutes later they were barreling down Route 10 in Rick’s dusty pickup truck with the windows down and no actual plan.
Their first stop was a tiny roadside stand in Cheshire shaped vaguely like a giant milk carton. A teenager wearing a paper hat handed Molly a cone so enormous it looked structurally unsafe. Rick ordered mint chocolate chip and immediately dripped it onto his shirt. “Perfect,” Molly said. “Now you look like a divorced camp counselor.”
The heat kept building as they drove north through sleepy Connecticut towns with church steeples, antique shops, and suspiciously aggressive squirrels. Every electronic bank sign flashed warnings about hydration like the state was preparing for lava. Rick kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other wrapped around a melting milkshake. “This truck smells like dairy and regret,” he muttered.
By the time they reached Bristol, Molly had developed a serious theory that Connecticut people secretly measured summer by ice cream quality. Wealthy towns had artisanal blackberry lavender nonsense. Small towns had flavors named after baseball teams and local plumbing companies. One place offered something called “Nutmeg Explosion,” which sounded less like dessert and more like a Revolutionary War accident.
Outside Plainville, they discovered a stand advertising “Twenty-Seven Homemade Flavors.” Rick stared at the menu for so long the cashier asked if he needed medical assistance. “I panic under frozen pressure,” he admitted. Molly ordered peanut butter cup while Rick finally selected coffee Oreo crunch after conducting what looked like internal Senate hearings.
As the afternoon rolled on, their tour became weirdly competitive. Molly started rating waffle cones like a food critic with emotional problems. Rick judged parking lots based on shade potential and mosquito activity. Somewhere near Farmington they encountered a roadside mascot dressed as a giant banana split waving enthusiastically at traffic. “That costume has to be at least a hundred and forty degrees inside,” Molly whispered in horror.
Around four o’clock they took a back road Rick swore would lead to “the greatest hidden ice cream spot in Connecticut.” His directions sounded increasingly suspicious. They passed old barns, stone walls, and enough trees to qualify as wilderness. Molly checked her phone and discovered she had absolutely no signal. “Excellent,” she said. “This is how every ghost documentary starts.”
Then they saw it.
The shop sat beside a narrow road outside a tiny village neither of them remembered existing. A faded wooden sign read FROSTY STAR DRIVE-IN in peeling blue paint. The parking lot contained three ancient cars that looked older than both of them combined. Tiny white lights blinked around the roof despite it being broad daylight.
Rick slowed the truck. “Okay,” he said carefully, “that place has serial killer milkshake energy.”
Molly was already opening the door.
Inside, the air felt strangely cool, almost unnaturally cool. Old songs played softly from a jukebox near the counter. The booths were sparkling clean, and every chrome napkin dispenser gleamed like it had been polished hourly since 1958. A waitress in a pale blue uniform smiled at them without seeming remotely surprised customers had appeared in the middle of nowhere.
“What can I get you folks?” she asked pleasantly.
Molly glanced at the menu and froze. Every price looked absurdly old fashioned. Root beer floats cost thirty-five cents. Banana splits were sixty-five cents. Rick leaned toward Molly and whispered, “Either we found a time portal or the owner has never visited a grocery store.”
The waitress recommended the vanilla maple swirl with such confidence that both of them ordered it automatically. Moments later enormous glass dishes appeared piled high with ice cream, whipped cream, and cherries so bright they looked radioactive. Molly took one bite and immediately pointed her spoon accusingly at Rick. “This,” she declared, “is the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.”
Rick nodded silently because he was too busy experiencing what appeared to be a spiritual awakening.
While they ate, Molly noticed strange details around the shop. The calendar on the wall displayed August 1957. A newspaper near the register mentioned Eisenhower. Nobody inside carried a cellphone. One old man at the counter read a comic book while sipping a malt like the invention of the internet was still decades away.
Rick finally noticed too. “Molly,” he whispered, “if someone starts talking about Sputnik, we are leaving.”
The waitress returned carrying two frosted glasses of water. “You two aren’t from around here, are you?” she asked warmly. Molly admitted they were from Southington and had simply followed the heat wave toward more ice cream. The waitress smiled strangely at that. “Funny,” she said softly. “Most people only find this place when they need to slow down a little.”
For a moment, neither Molly nor Rick knew what to say. The cool air hummed softly around them while the jukebox played some dreamy old melody neither recognized. Outside the windows, the blazing Connecticut heat seemed miles away. Even Rick stopped checking his phone.
Eventually they paid the bill, which somehow totaled less than five dollars. Rick left a twenty because he feared angering whatever mysterious dairy spirits operated the place. The waitress thanked them and told them to come back anytime. “Assuming you can find it again,” she added with a tiny smile.
Back in the truck, Molly immediately checked her phone. The signal had returned, along with six weather alerts and a missed call from her editor. She turned around to point at the shop behind them.
It was gone.
Not abandoned. Not closed. Gone.
Only an empty gravel lot sat beside the road beneath the blazing evening sun.
Rick stared ahead silently for a long moment. “I’m not saying we entered a supernatural ice cream vortex,” he said carefully, “but I would like everyone to know I tipped very respectfully.”
Molly burst out laughing so hard she nearly dropped her sunglasses. The truck rolled onward through the glowing Connecticut evening while the heat finally began to loosen its grip on the day. Somewhere behind them, hidden among old back roads and sleepy little towns, the Frosty Star Drive-In waited quietly for the next overheated travelers who needed excellent ice cream and a temporary escape from modern life.
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===========Comedy Club 🎤🪑
I recently realized my GPS is not just giving directions. It is judging me. I turn left and it says “recalculating,” but I hear it in a voice that clearly means “wow, really? That’s what you chose?”
Every trip starts with optimism. The GPS says, “Head north for 1.2 miles.” Simple. Friendly. Encouraging. And then five minutes later it’s like, “At the next opportunity, perform a legal U-turn.” That is not navigation. That is disappointment with flair.
Sometimes I think my GPS has a personal vendetta against confidence. I will take a perfectly reasonable route and it responds with “re-routing.” Not “adjusting.” Not “optimizing.” Re-routing. Like it just filed paperwork against my decision-making skills.
The worst is when it says “faster route available.” Because that is not helpful. That is basically my GPS saying, “Hey genius, I fixed your mistake while you were still making it.”
I took a wrong turn once and my GPS went silent for a full three seconds. Three seconds is a long time to feel silently judged by a satellite. I swear it was just waiting for me to feel shame before it helped again.
Then it hit me with, “Proceed to the highlighted route.” Highlighted. Like it is underlining my failure in real time.
I tried ignoring it once. I thought, I know where I am going. The GPS responded by calmly repeating itself. Not louder. Not faster. Just more patient. That is worse. Nothing says “you are lost” like a machine calmly waiting for you to give up.
Sometimes it reroutes me through neighborhoods that feel personal. Like I offended it and now I am being shown every dead end in the county as punishment.
And why does it always say “in 500 feet” like I am supposed to measure that emotionally while driving at 45 miles per hour? I do not have a mental yardstick built into my anxiety.
My favorite is when it says, “You have arrived at your destination,” but I am staring at a random parking lot behind a dentist office. That is not arrival. That is abandonment with confidence.
There is also the tone issue. I tried changing it to a cheerful voice, but it just made the judgment sound happier. “Turn left ahead 😊” is still telling me I made a series of poor life choices leading up to this moment.
And when I miss an exit, it does not just correct me. It sighs. I do not know how a GPS sighs, but I feel it. There is a whole emotional arc in that recalculation.
Sometimes I imagine the GPS watching me like a sitcom character. “Oh no, he is going the wrong way again.” It is not navigation software. It is a tiny invisible commentator living in my dashboard.
At this point I am pretty sure my GPS does not want me to arrive anywhere. It just wants to keep the relationship going. Because nothing bonds two beings like endless rerouting and mutual disappointment.
And honestly, I respect it. It has the patience of a saint and the tone of someone who has seen me miss the same exit three times in one week. If anything, I think my GPS is the only thing in my life that has fully accepted who I am and still insists on helping.
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===========SHADOW
The Lurking Shadows: When the spacecraft descended, it cloaked itself in shadows, rendering it nearly invisible against the night sky. As the aliens emerged, they moved with an unnatural grace, their intentions hidden as they infiltrated homes and minds alike. One by one, people began to vanish, consumed by the darkness, leaving behind only the faintest whispers of their last thoughts.
SHADOW by Joseph Miller
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============SPACE TALES 2
🚀 Fifteen journeys. Infinite danger. Zero guarantees.
Space Tales 2 will take you from the dusty plains of Mars to the deepest shadows between stars.
Your ticket to the galaxy is waiting. 🌌
Space Tales 2 by Joseph Miller
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============Special Dark
The rain hits the pavement. The streets shine wet. Someone is watching. You are watching too. Special Dark shows you what they hide.
The stories are simple. The tension is sharp. You turn pages like you turn corners. You hope the dark doesn’t see you.
SPECIAL DARK by Joseph Miller
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Visit and enjoy my Author Page
https://warlockpublishing.com/author-joseph-miller.html
📚📖📘📙📗📕📔📒📓📔📒📓📚 ✨🌙💥👣️👽️🛸🚀☁️ 🕵️♀️💕🍂📜 ♣️❤️♠️♦️
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============ sponsor
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Cashflow Quadrant offers a thought-provoking look at the different ways people earn income and build financial security. Robert Kiyosaki explains complex financial ideas in a straightforward, conversational style that makes the book easy to follow, even for readers who are new to investing or entrepreneurship.
The concept of the four quadrants encourages readers to think differently about work, money, and long-term freedom rather than simply earning a paycheck.
What makes the book especially valuable is its focus on mindset. Kiyosaki challenges readers to examine their habits, fears, and assumptions about financial success, while encouraging personal growth and calculated risk-taking. Even if readers do not agree with every point, the book sparks important conversations about independence, investing, and creating multiple streams of income.
Overall, Cashflow Quadrant is an inspiring and motivational read that can help shift the way people think about their future. It works well as both a companion to Rich Dad Poor Dad and as a standalone book for anyone interested in financial education and self-improvement.
Cashflow Quadrant
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• Thank you for stopping by!
We’re glad you stopped by this morning, letting a bit of our world join your day. The early spring roads glisten under soft sunlight, whispering of new beginnings. Your black coffee is a steady companion, hot and comforting. As the day turns to evening, a firepit will crackle, bringing warmth and smiles. A bowl of hearty soup will soothe and satisfy. Thank you for visiting, and may the simple pleasures of today linger with you.☕
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• Please write a comment.
[send to mindmyst@yahoo.com]
Until next Thursday,
Happy Month of May!!!
Joe Miller 🦈️⛳️
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Vacuuming adventure.
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Coleman Sun dome Camping Tent with Rain fly
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Rich Dad Poor Dad
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Cashflow Quadrant
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[Full disclosure: Some of the links on this blog are Amazon Affiliate links. This means that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products that I genuinely recommend or use myself. Your support helps keep the blog running and allows me to continue creating content you enjoy.]
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