Google contact

I've been collecting contact methods from Google.

I got a:

• a phone call from them when signing up for Google Apps for Your Domain
• postcard for registering a business on Google Maps
• text message for signing up for Voice
• They even mailed me stickers

Pretty soon we'll go on a date.

Headphone cable

I have a fancy chair thanks to Vincent, it's seriously comfortable but the arm rests like to wrap my headphone cable around itself. It's so frustrating because it likes to tangle itself around the arm rests, wheels and base of the chair. For a while I was clipping the cable to my shirt and that helped a little bit but I don't always wear a shirt (cat sound!) at the computer. Today I had an epiphany and used a small hook to manage the problem. The majority of the cable sits on the other side of the hook creating enough weight to keep the cable retracted on that side instead of pooling around the chair.

'Ohana

Big Island Ohana Cafe. Owned by a father and mother, run by daughter and son. I never knew their names or their nationality. They had vintage signs on the wall and still offered banana splits and malt milk shakes. They were cash only.

When I moved here I ate there a couple three times a week, usually getting bacon cheeseburgers, fries and a drink for me and my boss. The store changed owners and my shift moved to the evening when BIOC was closed so I stopped eating there.

We started going to church and would eat lunch at 'Ohana Cafe every Sunday. Over the summer my hana'i nephew paddled every Saturday morning and we took him there for lunch afterwards.

We went often enough that they let me order off menu. I usually got fish over fried rice with eggs over medium. It was fantastic. Jessie got the same thing every time, which with their accent, was pronounced "Frenche Toast."

They closed 2 weeks ago.

Update:

BigIslandVideoNews.com has video of the corner being torn down. It may have been ugly but I don't see 15 new parking spaces being better than the 'Ohana Cafe.

Tsunami drill

Every month they sound the Tsanmi warning alarms as a test. This month they organized a complete Tsunami drill.

I was unprepared, I didn't bring water or really know what to do. So I set out to keep the kids in line as we made our dry run from the school to the edge of the airport where we waited in the sun for 20 minutes for them to open the gates. We walked with 700 kids across the tarmac of Hilo airport to then sit for 2 hours waiting for a bus ride home.

The kids did not take it seriously, they were rude and didn't follow directions and were plagued with selfish behavior as previously mentioned. In the event of a real Tsunami they might focus a little more because it's serious, but they'd also be under prepared and there would be a lot more chaos around them.

Tsunamis are a very real thing here. There have been serous ones within memory for some members of the community and the kids' families, so it's not like an abstract idea. I wish I knew how to convey the serious nature of this threat and the benefit of being prepared and focused.

The reality is that if a Tsunami hit where we are most vulnerable most of that area would not survive, there isn't enough time or organization to get everyone out.

The price of island life.

Every Day Carry

I was a Scout once. At the time I didn't understand the need to always be prepared because everything was always provided for me. As an adult I have the pleasure of providing for myself and I like to come prepared. A recent post on Reddit motivated me to make a list of my EDC items.

Every day carry means I always have a Leatherperson Micra & Maglite Solitaire on the key chain. This solves the majority of problems I run into.

In my backpack I carry:

• a makeup bag full of screw drivers
• ace wrap, adhesive medical strips and Neosporin
• Leatherperson Core
• notepad
• 3 pens, 1 sharpie
• Aspire One
• snacks
• Swiss army knife
• water bottle
• 4GB USB drive

In my car I have:

• full 1st aid kit
• change of clothes
• swim suit and snorkel gear
• Maglite Mini LED
• D40x

There're lots of resources for Every Day Carry items on EDCForums and EDCItems

Some people enjoy the serendipity of life and just roll with whatever happens and don't like faking control by carrying all this gear with them. I had a discussion once about whether the burden of always carrying everything was too high. In my mind it's not, I enjoy being prepared and I enjoy solving problems. To me the world is a playground, a workshop, and while it's not broken; I certainly enjoy fixing it.

What do you carry everyday?

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the flies might have been a shock when it was written.

After spending the morning with fifteen twelve year old boys I'm surprised we're all still alive.

The strong pick on the weak, the meek follow the strong willed. Everyone wants attention and control but shirks responsibility.

They destroy and cruel. They can't focus.

How are we all still here?

poke

I love poke. My favorite is spicy, it's Sriracha mixed with mayonaise on ahi, but I'll eat almost any kine poke. It keeps my diet rich in fresh fish, some of it caught locally. On gym days I like to eat a large amount of it several hours before, for the protein.

Sometimes I eat an entire pound of poke. Eating a pound of raw fish is sometimes an endurance test. I love raw fish, but still when I'm done my body recoils and it's not sure what just happened. It's a departure from my diet of old especially from the mainland. But I like to enjoy this opportunity while I have it.

Today is gym day, so I stopped at the fish market to pick up an ahi steak but they were sold out. To substitute I grabbed a package of tako, octopus, and I just finished half a pound of that. Again my body isn't sure about such a large amount of octopus with no chaser.

Forester is credit to team

I've been putting extra work and care into my Forester recently. I never imagined I'd drive an SUV, but it fits my needs pretty well. It has AWD, lots of cargo space in the back and the Weather band.

• I just had it detailed. Mind you I don't pay for this, it's a work exchange for computer repair
• I bought new floor mats with red dragons. They look completely rediculous.
• Applied Rain X to all windows and exterior mirrors
• Bought a CD folder for the visor.
• Registered an account on SubaruForester.org and found a way to disabled the seatbelt alarm firing more than once.
• Removed the license plate covers, so now I only advertise for Subaru and not the dealer. Currently looking for awesome replacements.

These are minor things but they make a difference.