Got Manduca Sexta?

Over the past 10 years or so, one of my favorite programs on NPR has been Talk of the Nation's Science Friday!  Sorry, I get excited every time I say Science Friday or "Sci Fri" as it's sometimes referred to.  You can even say TGISF when you wake up on Friday mornings if you're especially excited about the day's topics.

This week, Sci Fri had a segment on a particular flying insect called the Hummingbird Hawk Moth, or Manduca Sexta as they called it (Note:  There is some dispute over the proper name as Manduca Sexta seems to refer to the species with the common name Tomato Hornworm/Carolina Sphinx, while the species with the common name Hummingbird Moth may be known as Hyles lineata, but I've also seen it referred to as Macroglossum Stellatarum, a species of Sphingidae.  I'll ammend this post if/when I ever figure out the actual name.  For now we'll trust the Sci Fri folks and stick with Manduca Sexta.  Sounds cooler anyway).

Hummingbird Hawk Moth.  Pic swiped from http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2008/11/hummingbird-hawk-moth.html

There it is.  Pretty cool, huh?  My interest in this little guy is that I had the pleasure of actually seeing one while I was sitting on the retaining wall behind my apartment having a beer with my neighbors.  At first I thought it was the smallest hummingbird I'd ever seen, because that's exactly what it looks like when you see it.  It flies exactly like a hummingbird, feeds on nectar like a hummingbird, and moves with amazing quickness and dexterity like a hummingbird.

Check out this video from Sci Fri.  The only thing I'll point out is that the video doesn't translate the actual beauty of the moth when you see it in the wild.  Hopefully if I ever see one again I'll have my camera with me instead of a beer, or better yet, camera and a beer. 

Occupy Harvard

Initially, this post started as an email to my brother Dan.  I'm usually interested in his take on socio-political happenings, and am typically surprised by his responses.  Sometimes I'll make a wager with myself on where his views will land, and I'm often wrong.  This is a good thing.  It shows signs of an intelligent thought process, aspects of critical thinking, and an ability to examine each issue without a predetermined bias (i.e. taking either the left or right side of an issue regardless of facts and details).  In effect, and it pains me to say this, he's not a neanderthal (unlike me in my previous post).

Then, I decided that this issue might be blog-worthy.  It's having to do with the recent Harvard student walkout on a 100 level Economics course because the students felt that Professor Greg Mankiw was not providing a balanced and broad perspective on economic theories.  More specifically, they felt the Mankiw was focusing mostly on the economic theories of free market capitalist Adam Smith, and provided no insight into the macroeconomic theories of John Maynard Keynes.  I'm not going to delve into whose economic theories make more sense because frankly I know little about either of them.  I don't even believe that people who study economics really know anything more than simply the history of economics.  That is, time and time again the "economy" has acted like Mother Nature and just when we thought we had it figured out and could predict events with surprising accuracy, with one fell swoop (2008 Economic Crisis, Japan Tsunami) she (it) throws everything into disarray and let's us know that we are not in control.

For the purposes of this post I'm more interested in people's opinions/views on the act of demonstrating in and of itself.

My email began like this (I copied and pasted and then as you will see I continued the discussion in blog form):

What's your take on this?
http://www.thejournal.ie/economics-students-walkout-of-harvard-to-join-occupy-movement-270343-Nov2011/

Here's the thing, the easy thing for 'Libs (Liberals) to do is applaud them and go about their way.  The easy thing for 'Pubs (Republicans) to do is call them spoiled, whiny little brats and go about their way.  The comments placed by readers at the bottom of the article show the divide.

Could it be, as usual, that the truth lies somewhere in between?  Maybe, but simply saying it lies in between would be taking the easy way out.  Whenever I see dissent, civil disobedience, or sparks of revolution like this (ok, revolution might be too strong a word for this walk-out, but not for Occupy Wallstreet as a whole), I can't help but think of all the walkouts and sit-ins and marches of the 60's and 70's.  Most of the hippie kids involved in the demonstrations were college students and the "spoiled brat" moniker could have easily been applied to them at that time, but you don't get the impression (looking back on it now) that it was.  Now, we look at the demonstrations as a collective movement that when its parts where summed up, created a lot of change (Civil Rights, Environmental Protections, etc.).

Is the act of "walking out" in and of itself a good thing?  Well, let's examine this particular walkout.  I have questions that aren't answered by the article.  I wish I could ask the students the following:  Did you ask the professor why he doesn't teach the theories of Keynes?  Did you inform the professor of your intent to walkout?  Was the walkout an attempt to get the professor (and the university) to require the teachings of Keynes in the economics class or was it to provide publicity to the Occupy Wallstreet movement, or some other motive?

The tone of my questions might suggest that I'm against the walkout when in fact it's the opposite.  I think we are in a time that requires walkouts.  We probably should have never left the time of walkouts and should continually be walking out to protest policies that promote unfair business practices or global inequalities in human standards of living or environmental atrocities.  I'm just saying that the Harvard students took the first step towards being revolutionary (and I assume it was probably one or two students that actually took charge and pushed the idea into a full-fledged walkout), now they need to refine their tactics, examine what worked and what didn't, and learn from the experience.  This same technique could be applied to anything in life, business dealings, management, parenting, etc.

We need to then ask, what if they didn't walk out?  What if they approached the teacher and told him they want to learn more about Keynesian economics and the teacher agreed and began including it in the curriculum?  Would it have been enough to achieve their specific goal, or was there a need to tie this issue into the Occupy Wallstreet movement in order to send a message to all professors/universities who may be biased in their teachings?

What did the walkout do?  It made the news (nationally), and it was another example of discontent, as well as the contagion of public demonstrations.  The endurance of the Occupy Wallstreet movement is what's allowing for (or promoting) the other acts of disobedience we're seeing.

So, is it a good thing?

To be honest, it's hard for me to root against idealistic college students.  Maybe most of them don't exactly know what it's like to live in the "real world" yet, but if they're observant enough to realize that the real world is headed in the wrong direction then why shouldn't they strive to change it for the better.  That's what the movements of the 60's and 70's were about.  Maybe idealism can push things in the right direction and at least provide a chance for change that benefits everyone, as opposed to throwing up our hands and saying, "that's not how the real world works."  The real problem with idealism is that it's often hypocritical, and often abandoned too easily.

I say, keep walking out and keep protesting.  Money can buy a big megaphone, but masses have no need for megaphones as their voices are amplified through sheer numbers.  However, individual responsibility and examination of every issue (not just blindly jumping on any bandwagon) is essential to effectively promoting changes that will benefit society as a whole.

That's my story.  I may or may not stick to it.

Superferry Returns to Hawaii

Press Release, September 24, 2011

After months of setbacks, record company hostilities, missed deadlines, substance abuse issues, and unsanctioned animal husbandry, Superferry has agreed to terms allowing them to take the stage on September 24th at the Ho'olaule'a BBQ in the parking lot of the Kapiolani Street Apartments.  The fabled writing team of MacKenzie-Curry (formerly Curry-MacKenzie) has assembled a group of slightly better than sub-par musicians to debut their most recent project, Superferry.  Sparks may very literally fly as the band performs outside in one of the rainiest cities in the US.  The Hawaii National Guard has been put on alert as the mere mention of activity from the Superferry camp has incited riots in the past.

Be there to witness the shear awesomeness of America's soon to be favorite train wreck of a band, SUPERFERRY!

(Disclaimer:  Superferry, LLC., is not responsible for deaths or disfigurement due to electric shock or by being slapped in the face by rock n roll!) 

Here's a video of us playing our original song Boys of the Superferry and into The Dandy Warhols' Boys Better.

Laupahoehoe Point (or, Why did I decide to go to Chemistry Boot Camp?)

I'll start with Chemistry.  I found out that I needed one more Chemistry course a while back, and of all the classes I knew I was going to have to take, this is the one I dreaded the most.  I had hoped that I finished all of my core math and science courses 12 years ago when I tortured myself through three semesters of Calculus, Physics, and Chemistry.  Apparently I didn't torture myself enough.  I needed one more, and to make matters worse it's the second class in a two-class series, one building off the other.  As mentioned, I took the first one 12 years ago and had forgotten about 90% of it so that meant I needed to re-learn most of that material as well.  Oh, and the term is only 5 weeks long, so it's kind of like a Chemistry boot camp of sorts.

So, here I am, 4 weeks into one of the most grueling courses I've ever taken, and on the verge of a week filled with 3 regular exams and a final exam.  If all goes well, next week at this time I'll be enjoying the fact that I'll never have to take another Chem class again!!  Still a big "if" at this point though.

So that's why I haven't blogged in a while.  I really shouldn't be blogging now because I should be studying but I'm so sick of Chemistry I had to take a break from it for a little while.  Let's talk about something else, shall we?

Many of the breakwaters or seawalls here on the Big Island are constructed of these oddly shaped concrete blocks.  I think they look pretty cool.  I have no idea why they're shaped this way and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the way they're stacked.
(After reading this post my niece Christine sent me a text asking if maybe they were shaped like that to dissipate wave energy, and she was exactly right!  Good job, Christine.  I'll send you an official "I Lived On A Boat" T-shirt and coffee mug as soon as I have them made.  Each block is called a Dolos, plural form is Dolosse, not to be confused with Accropodes, which are a slightly different type of oddly shaped sea-wall block.)
(People keep chiming in on this one.  My brother Dan responded saying they resemble Tetrapods.  He used to see them all over the coasts when he lived in Japan.  Nice guess, but from what I can tell the Tetrapod has a slightly different shape, same purpose though.  No t-shirt or coffee mug, Dan, but thanks for playing.)

I took these pictures at Laupahoehoe Point.  This is yet another incredibly scenic area on The Big Island.  The water here is an amazing looking foamy-blue/green color.  It looks so inviting, but you can't just jump in anywhere because you'd probably get smashed against rocks and pulverized, but like I said, looks inviting.

This is just one of the many beautiful detours on my way to the bank.  I was telling my sister Renee that I love going to the bank here.  The closest branch is 45 minutes away from Hilo in a town called Honoka'a, but the drive there is amazing.  And, if I choose to, I can drive an extra 10 minutes further and see one of the most picturesque views in all of Hawaii, Waipio Valley.

Welp, that's it for today.  Just wanted to say hello to everyone, bitch about Chemistry a little, and share some pics.  Back to the books!

Our Fathers

Ever since seeing the movie Smoke Signals several years ago, I've occasionally thought about the poem "How Do We Forgive Our Fathers" by Dick Lourie.  It's an incredibly powerful poem, and I don't think I fully understand the whole meaning behind it, but maybe that's the point.  It's a beautiful poem no matter how you look at it, and you can read it many times and interpret it differently each time.  Maybe I like it so much because I think my dad would have liked it (or maybe he did, I don't know if he ever read it).  As a disclaimer, I can't really think of anything I ever needed to forgive my father for, but this poem makes me think of him nonetheless.  This is an emotional poem and my father was an emotional guy.

How Do We Forgive Our Fathers? by Dick Lourie

How do we forgive our Fathers?
Maybe in a dream
Do we forgive our Fathers for leaving us too often or forever
when we were little?
Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage
or making us nervous
because there never seemed to be any rage there at all.
Do we forgive our Fathers for marrying or not marrying our Mothers?
For Divorcing or not divorcing our Mothers?
And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness?
Shall we forgive them for pushing or leaning
for shutting doors
for speaking through walls
or never speaking
or never being silent?
Do we forgive our Fathers in our age or in theirs
or their deaths
saying it to them or not saying it?
If we forgive our Fathers what is left?

This version of the poem was altered from the original version for the movie Smoke Signals, but I like this version.  I read that Sherman Alexie half-jokingly said that he wrote the book/screenplay for Smoke Signals to lead up to the poem at the end.  Incidentally the original book is called Lone Ranger and Tonto:  Fistfight In Heaven.
If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it.  Spoiler Alert:  The following video is the scene from the end of Smoke Signals where Tomas reads the poem.

This post is dedicated to my Dad, Grandfather, and Lee, Lynn, and Duane McPherson (picture swiped from Lynn's facebook page).

For The Birds

This is the Honey Badger.  No, wait, this is the Honeycreeper.  Sorry, wrong animal.  That video still cracks me up (see Honey Badger by Randall on Youtube).

No, I haven't taken up squishing defenseless little birds.  I started volunteering on a project being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service on various species of the Hawaiian Honeycreeper birds.  I think the one pictured above is an Amakihi.  I'm still trying to get all the names down.

We started out the day by driving up the Saddle Road between the volcanos Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea to about 5000 feet above sea level and identified the Kipuka we were to work at for the next two days.   A Kipuka is basically an area of forest within an ancient lava flow that wasn't consumed by fire and molten rock.  So, as you drive up the Saddle Road, after a certain elevation on either side of the road you generally see vast expanses of hardened black lava, except for a few of these "islands" of forest (Kipukas) that appear up through the blackness.  When the lava flowed down from the cinder cones it flowed around the Kipukas and they were spared from total destruction, meaning that many of these areas are very old-growth forests.  The Hawaiian Honeycreepers have taken up residence in many of these Kipukas, but at lower elevations they've been dying off due to malaria transmitted by mosquitos.  The Forest Service is researching the populations of Honeycreepers within the Kipukas so that they can try to prevent them from going extinct.

When we drove as far as possible we could see the Kipuka about a mile out into the hardened lava.  On the Hawaiian islands there are two types of lava:  A'a (say it like The Count from Sesame Street would) lava and Pahoehoe (Pa-Hoy-Hoy) lava.  If you happen to be hiking on lava, hopefully you're hiking on the relatively smooth and stable Pahoehoe lava, but today's lava was A'a.  A'a is composed of very sharp, very hard, and very poorly distributed basketball to car sized lava rocks piled on top of each other.  The razor sharp rolling hills of lava rocks, with gaps between some of the rocks perfectly sized for a foot to slip between, were extremely unstable.  One rock would be solidly pinned against the next and then the following rock would be teetering on an unbalanced one underneath.  Each step was an adventure.  We carried all of our supplies over this rock for about 45 minutes or so.  No one was seriously hurt, but after two days of walking through the A'a lava my trail shoes were pretty shredded up.
I've edited this post and added a picture of the A'a lava (below).  I didn't think to take any pictures as I was walking through it, so I had to "borrow" this picture from "Mike Watson's Diary" blog.  I hope he doesn't mind.  I've never met him, but his blog looks pretty cool so I'll give it a plug as well http://mikewatsonsdiary.blogspot.com/2008/04/hawaii-2008-with-birdquest.html.  Thanks Mike.

 

But in the end, it was all for the birds...

I'm not sure what species this one was, but they were all pretty cool looking and fun to work with.  They were definitely annoyed, but surprisingly patient with us as we tagged them and documented various observations and measurements.  I'm holding this bird in what they call the "photographer's grip", probably named so because they're easy to photograph like this.

Below, an I'iwi (E-E-Vee) is caught in one of our mist nets.  They're carefully removed and then tagged before releasing again.

You can see that the various species have different sized and shaped beaks and different coloring.  Each has evolved to suit its own unique method of survival.

I have to say that this was the most physically demanding work I've done since my days of working construction.  Props to the U.S. Forest Service Kipuka Team.  They're the Honey Badgers of the U.S. Forest Service. From left:  Olga, Jessie, and Nolan (Sonia not pictured).  I hope to be back soon!

Lunar Landscapes

Astronauts have trained on Mauna Kea because, apparently, it resembles the surface of the Moon.  I enhanced my "other-worldly" experience by listening to Radiohead (Kid A and OK Computer) and Pink Floyd (Meddle and Animals) on the way up.

It's pretty cool when you start looking down at the clouds.  I've lived in mountainous places before, but getting to the top of Mauna Kea involves going from sea-level to almost 14,000 feet above in less than 90 minutes.  I assumed that since I'm in relatively decent shape and have lived in the mountains before, I could skip the recommended 30 minute acclimatization at the 9,000 ft. Visitor Center.  I was wrong.  Whew!!  I should have known when I made a brief stop at the location in the pic above, probably around 11,000 feet and took a short walk around and got extremely winded.  I then ignored my body's warning signals and proceeded straight to the top.

The top is pretty cool, even if you're not a complete astronomy geek.  I am not, but I think space is cool and perplexing.  I took a 100 level Astronomy course at Wayne State University in my early 20's thinking it would be a fun, easy way to get a science credit.  It was hard.  We didn't just look at stars and talk about constellations all night like I expected.

Mauna Kea hosts some of the most advanced telescopes in the world.  Its consistently clear air and low light pollution (see Hilo and Kona's dim, yellow lights at night) from surrounding cities provide astronomers with ideal conditions for viewing the heavens.

But moving on, it was 80 degrees when I left Hilo and 30 degrees when I got to the top of Mauna Kea.  The cold wasn't so bad.  I grew up in Michigan.  I can take it.  But after a short hike I started feeling light headed and was really short of breath.  Yes, maybe I'm not in as good of shape as I thought, but seriously, I was not feeling well.  So, I descended.  My plan was to stay until sunset because I had heard it's worth it, but it would mean staying up at this elevation for another three hours and I thought it would be better to go down for a half hour or so, acclimate, and then come back up.  It worked.  I went down to about 9,000 feet and hung out for about 45 minutes until the light-headedness went away and then cruised back up to the top.

Now invigorated and feeling spry, I decided to cruise around (by car) and look at the beauty and the weirdness of this "Astronomy Domine(ted)" mountain top.  The dome shaped structures, which were much bigger than I had imagined, and swiveling space dishes were really cool to look at, and broke up the otherwise completely barren, wind-scarred landscape of the mountain-top.

So I was actually beginning to get bored.  None of the observatories were actually open, it was cold, and the sun was so intense you couldn't really hang out outside for long even if you wanted to.  Eventually though, I killed enough time to make it to sunset.  That's when the place literally came to life.  As I sat in my truck, the colors on the horizon slowly started to become more vibrant as I looked out over the ocean.  Maui could be seen poking through the clouds in the distance.  Oh, and it started to get REALLY cold.

Glad I packed the ol' ski parka w/hood.  Let's start the show!

Pictures don't do it justice.  They never seem to.  As I was watching the natural beauty appear before me, I started hearing weird buzzing and whirring sounds all around me.  As I looked around, nearly all of the buildings, dishes, and other objects were set into motion, warming up for the real show that happens nightly within the spacey Pac-Man shaped structures.  It was cool just to see everything moving all of the sudden.  Most of the huge observatories swivel, so you're looking at the spherical equivalent of a 10 story building slowly rotating.

On my way down I noticed that the parking lot at the Visitor's Center was packed so I stopped in to see what all the fuss was about.  A bunch of amateur astronomers had set up their telescopes and were letting people view the stars.  It was crowded and I wasn't feeling patient enough to wait in line so I just sat and stared at all the stars that could be seen with the naked eye.

Again, The Big Island delivers.

Hut...Hut...Hoo!!!

I've been meaning to blog about one of my favorite activities since I moved here, paddling in a 6 person outrigger canoe.  I joined up with a group through the university, not knowing what to expect, and it turned out to be a lot of fun, great exercise, and a great way to spend time out in the Hilo Bay.

I happened to catch a cruise ship pulling into the harbor while I was taking pics.  The little white pontoon type thing on the left is called the Ama.  It provides stability for the canoe.  Six people sit in a row, paddling on alternating sides (the person in front and behind you paddle on the opposite side you're paddling on).  We paddle in rhythm, everyone's paddle hitting and exiting the water at the same time, for about 10-14 strokes until the person in the 2nd seat from the front calls out a 3-2-1 type command that signifies the moment for each paddler to switch sides without losing a stroke.  However, instead of saying, "3,2,1", they call out, "Hut, Hut, HOO", and then you switch.  Typically, everyone joins in on the "HOO".
The person in the 1st seat (front/bow) sets the tempo of the stroke and the person in the 6th seat (back/stern) steers the canoe.
Occasionally, if we paddle the boats into some surf, we can catch a wave and it gives us a little push as we're paddling.  The guys who are really good at it can catch bigger waves in these big canoes and take them for a nice little ride.  It's cool to watch, hopefully I'll actually get to do it some day.  You can pay someone take you out in a canoe and ride the surf in Waikiki on the island of Oahu, but I want to learn how to do it as a team to get the real experience.
The paddle I bought was hand-made by a local carpenter, and the store I bought it from, Hilo Bay Paddler, "sizes" you to make sure the length of the paddle fits your reach.  Here's mine.

The last day of paddling with this club was this past Thursday and we had a pot-luck.  Tons of great food.  Sad to see the Thursday meetings come to an end, but they will resume again in another month or so.  Until then, I'm going to check into getting with another university club that meets more regularly.  I'm still working on getting a water-proof camera so I can start getting some action shots.

Hitchhiker, Valley, and a Topless Chick

Did you know that President Obama and Manti Te'o (Notre Dame star Linebacker) both graduated from Punahou High School on the Island of Oahu?  I just found that out.

Well, Spring Break 2011 is in the books.  I kind of chuckled to myself all week long that I'm 39 and on spring break from the University of Hawaii at Hilo.  It was a little different from the spring breaks of my teens and early 20's.

I took two notable day/road trips.  The first was to Waipio Valley.  I was rubbing it in most of the way there by taking pics and sending them to my brother Dan.  One of his responses was rather bitter and I won't repeat it on this blog.  Let's just say it had something to do with him hoping a shark bites me in a sensitive area.  I probably deserved it.  I've been rubbing it in a lot lately.  It's only because I'm hoping you'll all become so jealous that you'll come out and visit me.

I drove up a side road from the coastal highway and it wound up and up toward Mauna Kea (background).  It looked like mostly agricultural land and ranches.  The scenic diversity is amazing here when you follow the "mountain to the sea", or Mauka(mountain) to Makai(sea) route as they say in Hawaiian.  Native Hawaiian lands were originally divided up using this system, called Ahupua'a.  Strips of land were apportioned from the mountain to the sea so that each clan (Alaea) had a tract of land that could provide its families (Ohanas)  everything needed for survival; fertile lands for crops, ample water supply, access to the sea, etc.  Original Hawaiian maps have the Ahupua'a boundaries.

After my little detour and as I was pulling up to get on to the coastal highway again, I noticed this long-haired, bearded hitchhiker standing on the side of the road smiling and dancing, waving to cars as they drove by.  Hitchhikers are all over the place here, I typically don't give rides, but at the same time I'm not opposed to it.  I used to hitchhike to and from work in the Rocky Mountains when I worked at Keystone Ski Resort when I was 19.  Anyway, I had seen this guy when I left Hilo about an hour earlier and I respected his hitchhiking technique so I picked him up and told him I could take him as far as Honoka'a, about a half hour further up the road.  He happily accepted the ride.  It turns out that he had ditched optometry school in Alaska because he just wasn't feeling it, and decided to do some backpacking around the world to take a break from school.  This guy had some good stories.  His next move (after spending a couple more months in Hawaii) is to northern India to help teach English.  He had met a woman who runs a school there when he was traveling through Europe and she offered him a job.  This guy was content and it showed. Imagine a less intense version of Christopher McCandless (Into the Wild).  I dropped him off in Honoka'a and wished him the best of luck. 

Moving on, I made it to Waipio Valley on the Northeast shoreline of Big Island.  Wow....

From the top, lookout point.

Zoomed in a bit.  From the beach (below).

From the black sand beach, looking up into the Waipio Valley.

Waipio Valley is definitely a "must see" if anyone plans on coming to the Big Island.  However, the walk down along the 4-wheel-drive-only road is steep; not hard going down on foot but coming back up was a hell of a workout.

Two more things:  As I was hiking along the coast I passed by a couple who asked me if I wanted to try some fresh-picked New Zealand lettuce.  It seemed like an odd thing to ask, but sure enough they identified it and picked some right off the edge of the coast.  I had one leaf and I have to say that that one piece of lettuce was better than any salad I've ever had.  The leaf was lightly coated with salt from the salt-air blowing in from the ocean.  It had an incredibly sweet, salty, and fresh taste.
Oh, and then I saw a girl from the Czech Republic jump in the ocean, topless.

That's all for now.

Wait, I said I took two road trips, almost forgot.  I went to Mauna Kea Resort (not to be confused with Mauna Kea, the mountain) beach on Thursday for a little more relaxing, touristy-type fun.  The beach was beautiful and the snorkeling was great, although not as great as I had been lead to believe.  I'm getting picky with my snorkeling spots because there are so many great ones here.

Had to rub it in one more time.

Kona, Tsunami, and Fiddle

I traveled over to Kona on the west side of The Big Island with my neighbors two days after the tsunami devastated parts of Japan.  Apparently, and I just found this out, The Big Island saw the most impact from the tsunami of any of the Hawaiian Islands.  A house in Kealakekua Bay was swept out into the bay and another badly damaged, and many shops and hotels were damaged in Kona as well.  I talk about Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook) in an earlier post.

I searched Youtube and found this video shot by a guy who was standing on a break wall in Kona.  You might say this guy's a fool for standing there, but keep in mind that this was shot more than three hours after the first tsunami wave was expected to hit the island.  Most people assumed the worst had already passed by this time. It goes to show that the effects of a tsunami are long lasting; and successive, large waves can arrive long after the original.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOSulxinFkQ

Here's a pic I took of the street where that guy was taking the footage.  You can't see much from the pic, but most of the concrete beyond the barricades needs to be replaced.

This structure is a shrine called Ahu'ena Heiau and was actually part of the original capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, built by King Kamehameha I in the early 1800's before the missionaries arrived.  It received some damage as well.  Here's what it looked like prior to the tsunami.  Most of the damage occurred around the base.  It's actually amazing that this little thatched building remained standing.

We went to Kona for the Kona Brewery annual Brewfest, which was a lot of fun.  The highlight of the evening for me though was when I got back to the hotel at about 2am, a fiddle player was sitting in the lobby playing tunes.  My neighbors and I sat down next to him and we ended up requesting and singing along to a countless number of songs well into the morning.  This is not something you would find at most "resort" type hotels on Maui or in Waikiki.  The hotel staff probably wouldn't allow it!  But the Big Island is a little different that way. This guy was good too.  He knew a ton of songs, was an amazing fiddle player,and had an excellent voice to go with it.  He played everything from Dylan to Van Morrison to classic Hawaiian songs.
We went back to the room and since people were scattered about, I took my blanket and camping pad out onto the balcony and slept outside.   

Aloha

Tsunami from Hilo

It's 3:04am and I've been up listening to reports and watching footage of the devastation from the tsunami that hit Japan several hours ago.  I can't imagine what it's really like to be living there right now.

The tsunami is expected to hit the island of Kauai in a few minutes so I'll probably get some early reports on whether there's been any damage and that may signify what could happen here.  Fortunately, most of the main Hawaiian Islands rise relatively sharply from the sea, although I think Kauai is the flattest.  My apartment lies above the evacuation zone, but I'm still relatively close to the sea, just high enough so that even a very large tsunami would not reach this height.  Still, if any damage happens to downtown Hilo, I'll see it as it happens.

Anyway, it's been bizarre.  The tsunami sirens have been going off every hour for the past 5 hours or so.  I went to the grocery store with my neighbors at about 10:30pm and it was packed with people buying up all the water and preparing for the worst. 

They had a similar warning last February if you recall.  I remember hearing about it and watching on the news but not much happened.  This is different because it's happening in the middle of the night.  It's quiet but you can tell everyone's still awake (how can you sleep with the sirens?).  I'm sure people will start going outside in a few minutes as the expected landfall time approaches (about 20 minutes from now).  People here may have a false sense of security since the last one was small.

I'll post again later this morning.  Hopefully everything will be fine on the islands.  Things are not fine in Japan.

Addendum to "I Can't Complain"

In my previous post I mentioned that I snorkeled at Leleiwi Beach, but I saw no sign there that said "Leleiwi Beach" and as it turns out I was not at Leleiwi Beach.  Like Columbus who wrote about finding the peoples of the East Indies when he really found the peoples of the Caribbean, I was mistaken.  Yes, my story is very similar to that of Columbus.  Columbus wishes he had a blog.

So, since I really saw no sign at all at this particular spot (common here on The Big Island) I'll just say it's a small park just north-ish of Richardson's Beach, which most certainly will be designated on maps and in guidebooks.  Richardson's Beach also offers some great snorkeling as well, but can be a little more crowded.  In fact, I don't think I was at a typical snorkeling spot at all, but it was incredible just the same, maybe more so because I had the spot to myself.

And as guidebooks go, someone gave me (probably Mystyn or Cindy) a really good one called "Hawaii:  The Big Island Revealed".  I recommend it for anyone traveling to any of the Hawaiian Islands.  The publisher offers a similar one for each of the main islands.  This one is written by Andrew Doughty and it's published by Wizard Publications.  They accept no money from businesses (restaurants, resorts, parks, etc.) that they endorse or bash, and visit them all anonymously.  Reading through it, I discovered that I was not at my intended destination of Leleiwi Beach, so now I have to go back and find Leleiwi. 

I'll report about the real Leleiwi after I visit it.

Aloha

I Can't Complain...

...and if I did, who would listen?  This little saying seems to sum up life here so far on Da Big Island, Brah!  Sorry, I'm picking up a bit of the pidgin spoken here.  I'm not bold enough to use it in conversation yet, but one can't help but to listen and try to interpret.
Probably the most popular pidgin saying is, "If can, can.  If no can, no can."  Pretty easy to translate that one.  I take it to mean, "If you can do it, fine.  If you can't do it, still fine."
A few days ago I asked this guy where I could get something good to eat and he said, "Oh brah, go up da hill der.  Dey got da kine grinds."  "Kine grinds" meaning good food.
Or, if you want another beer you might say, "Eh brah, get one nuddah beer."

But as I was saying, I can't complain.  My buddy Jonny, most of you know him, Jonny Lee or Scott Lee or Jonathon depending on which era and where you know him from, sent me a text the other day saying he just got done shoveling snow at midnight and that it showed no signs of letting up.  So I say, how can I complain and why would I when I'm sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt and many people who I know are out there on the other side of the world shoveling snow and trying to stay warm?

No, I can't complain.  I got my open-water scuba diving certificate last weekend.  It was an incredible experience and though I doubt I'll become addicted to it, I definitely loved the experience and feel like I conquered some fears I previously harbored about doing something so completely unnatural feeling as scuba diving.  After spending the first two days dividing time between a classroom and learning basic skills in a pool, we got to go on an open water ocean dive down to about 55 ft.  Some of the skills tests while we were down at 35 feet included:  Flooding our masks and then clearing them, simulating running out of air and then switching to your partner's auxiliary air, and practicing emergency ascents.
I may not become addicted to scuba, but I am quickly becoming addicted to snorkeling, and the scuba class helped my snorkeling technique.  Snorkeling is the easiest way to get out in the ocean and see what's happening underneath the surface without a lot of fuss.  I found a sweet place about 10 minutes away from here today (see pics above and below) and swam around looking at Green Sea Turtles, colorful corals, and amazingly colored tropical fish for over about an hour and a half.  Our bodies are much more buoyant in the ocean, due to the fact that salt/sea water is more dense than fresh water.  This allows you to leisurely float on the surface while looking down through your mask into the crystal clear water while breathing through your snorkel, occasionally diving down to get a little closer to the action or swim with the green sea turtles who don't seem to mind that you're in their space too much.

This is Leleiwi (pronounced Leh-leh-ee-vee) Beach.  I don't know why they call them beaches here because there's no "beach".  There's a lot of rock though.  They should just call them Rocks.  No madda brah, this is where I snorkeled.  It was pretty amazing. 
I can't complain. 

Paddy'O We'll Miss You

Patrick Edward Riney Sr., "Uncle Pat" to me, Paddy'O his pen name, passed away yesterday.  Uncle Pat was a true Patron of the Riney family.  He was the kind of person we all looked to for strength and guidance...even when we didn't know it.  I saw him more than a year ago at Uncle Keith and Aunt Joan DiMaria's wedding anniversary party and I approached him the way I used to approach my dad's brothers when I was younger, with great respect.  He seemed genuinely happy on that day.

Uncle Pat was a great poet.  I remember his book The Equine Me proudly displayed in my parent's living room.  My dad was very close with Uncle Pat.  He treated Pat like a brother and a friend.  Uncle Pat was actually my cousin, but because he was so close in age to my parents we always knew him as "Uncle Pat".

As I run through all the memories I think about my Aunt Patty, Patrick, Shaun, Kelly, Kevin, and their families, and how they must be grieving.  My heart goes out to you.

Cheers, Uncle Pat.  You will be greatly missed.

The New Phone Books Are Here!!

So if you Google my blog name, it now comes up in the search!  Yes, my friend Lee's blog comes up first, but still, mine does come up.  It didn't before, I've been checking.  Other blogs came up like, "We lived on a boat", but not my blog.

Hooray!!  I feel like I am somebody now.  Like Steve Martin's character Navin R. Johnson in the classic comedy The Jerk when he finally gets his name listed in the phone book:

Navin - "The new phone books are here!  The new phone books are here!"
Navin's boss, Harry Hartounian - "Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing."
Navin - "Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now."
Cut to scene of a sniper in his apartment who opens a phone book and randomly points to a name - "Johnson, Navin R.  Sounds like a typical bastard."

Hilo Rain

It rains a lot in Hilo.  Average rainfall per year here is 140-170 inches.  To put that in perspective, Detroit's (for all you Michiganders) average rainfall/precipitation is roughly 30-35 inches per year and L.A.'s (for all you SoCal'ians) is about 15 inches per year.

I've been lucky so far apparently.  Hilo is in a drought.  Last year it only had 65 inches (still double what Detroit had) and this year's starting out the same way.  But when it does rain here it doesn't mess around.  You've never seen a downpour like a Hilo downpour.  I got soaked walking approximately 7 feet, from my car door to the awning over my apartment door the other day.  Soaked!  I actually stood there at the door for a second in disbelief.  I looked at myself, sopping wet, then I looked at my car 7 feet away and thought, "this is impossible". 
Grammatical Query:  Do quotation marks go around thoughts?  Gia?  Dan?

Anyway, here's a pic from under my umbrella as I walked to my car today.  This was just a sprinkle though.

In contrast, on the other side of the island is Kailua-Kona, or just "Kona" as it's often called.  Kona is more like Southern California, very dry.
Here's me over on that side of the island enjoying the dryness and the sun.

Also, I don't think I've ever been actually woken up by rain before.  Yes, I've been woken up by thunder and lightning, but it was raining so hard the other night, in such massive quantities that the sound of it hitting the roof woke me up and I thought it was Pearl Harbor all over again in Hawaii, but this time in the Hilo Harbor!  I looked out the window and saw no Japanese fighter planes, only water falling from the sky.  An Aircraft Carrier-load of it.  Sometimes it will rain like that for about 30 seconds and then stop completely and the sun will come back out.  So, unlike SoCal where I once watched (Cindy knows the story) crazy, collagen lipped, fake-boobed housewives run for their lives at the site of a few drops of rain (they were probably afraid of melting); here it's just business as usual.  True story about those Cali women though.  One woman backed her Cadillac Escalade up to the grocery store door and blocked the whole door so she could get her groceries in the back without getting wet.  The manager looked at her in disbelief and politely asked her to move as she was causing an incredible safety hazard to all the other customers.  Eh, it's California, not surprising really.

Big Island Pics

On the coast near the Hawaiian Botanical Gardens in Hilo.  I went exploring on the 2nd day in town and found this great little cove.

 This is on the coast near one of the (run down) resorts in the Hilo Bay.

My local surf spot, Honoli'i.  I took this before I even went down there.  I drove over this bridge and looked down and saw this awesome surf spot and later found out it's one of the few good local spots.  Great view from this bridge, probably 150 ft. up.

 Here's the "Palm Tree Alley" I described in an earlier post.  Look how green the palms are and how pastey white I am.  Hey, it was my second day here, pre-Hawaii tan.

 Akaka Falls just outside of town.  Pronounce it like what you see when you open a baby's diaper.

Cool looking island flower.  I have no idea what it is.  Anyone?