canspice.org » Hawaii

Things I Won’t Miss: Bad Hilo Drivers

Brad — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:33:42 +0000

Bad drivers are everywhere, not just in Hilo. You’ve got your standard array of aggressive lane-changers, people who don’t use turn signals, and idiotic tailgaters. Hilo’s drivers are especially horrible, though, and I won’t miss them one bit.

Take, for example, the Foot Driver. Sometimes you’ll see a passenger with their foot out the window. This is perfectly fine; I’ve done it once or twice before. But a driver hanging their foot out the window? Just how bad a driver do you have to be to think, “You know, what would really make this driving experience enjoyable is the wind blowing through my toes”? Alice has seen this three times here!

And then there’s the Kind Yielder. Picture this scenario in your mind: you’re driving down the road, approaching a traffic-signal-controlled intersection. The light’s green. There’s one car in front of you. You’d expect to just drive right through, right? Not in Hilo, home of the Kind Yielder! You always have to be ready for the Kind Yielder, the person who will stop at a green light to let oncoming traffic turn left in front of them. Here’s a tip, Kind Yielder: IF THE LIGHT’S GREEN YOU GO. It drives (ha) me up the wall! At least once a week I’ll get stuck behind someone who think they’re doing the whole world a favour by stopping in the middle of the road when nobody’s expecting it.

Nope, won’t miss them at all.

Tsunami watch for Hawaii

Brad — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:59:56 +0000

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Samoa, and it’s prompted this alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1804Z 29 SEP 2009

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... A TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH ARE IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

AMERICAN SAMOA / SAMOA / NIUE / WALLIS-FUTUNA / TOKELAU /
COOK ISLANDS / TONGA / TUVALU / KIRIBATI / KERMADEC IS / FIJI /
HOWLAND-BAKER / JARVIS IS. / NEW ZEALAND / FR. POLYNESIA /
PALMYRA IS.

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

VANUATU / NAURU / MARSHALL IS. / SOLOMON IS. / JOHNSTON IS. /
NEW CALEDONIA / KOSRAE / PAPUA NEW GUINEA / HAWAII / POHNPEI /
WAKE IS. / PITCAIRN / MIDWAY IS.

FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME -  1748Z 29 SEP 2009
COORDINATES -  15.3 SOUTH  171.0 WEST
DEPTH       -  SHALLOWER THAN 100 KM
LOCATION    -  SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAGNITUDE   -  7.9

EVALUATION

IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. THIS WARNING IS
BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AN EARTHQUAKE OF THIS
SIZE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN
STRIKE COASTLINES NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN MINUTES AND MORE
DISTANT COASTLINES WITHIN HOURS. AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS POSSIBILITY. THIS CENTER
WILL MONITOR SEA LEVEL DATA FROM GAUGES NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE TO
DETERMINE IF A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED AND ESTIMATE THE SEVERITY OF
THE THREAT.

ESTIMATED INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE ARRIVAL TIMES AT FORECAST POINTS
WITHIN THE WARNING AND WATCH AREAS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL
ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE
LARGEST. A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF WAVES AND THE TIME BETWEEN
SUCCESSIVE WAVES CAN BE FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR.

LOCATION         FORECAST POINT     COORDINATES     ARRIVAL TIME
--------------------------------    ------------    ------------
AMERICAN SAMOA   PAGO PAGO          14.3S 170.7W    1759Z 29 SEP
SAMOA            APIA               13.8S 171.8W    1810Z 29 SEP
NIUE             NIUE IS.           19.0S 170.0W    1822Z 29 SEP
WALLIS-FUTUNA    WALLIS IS.         13.2S 176.2W    1835Z 29 SEP
TOKELAU          NUKUNONU IS.        9.2S 171.8W    1844Z 29 SEP
COOK ISLANDS     PUKAPUKA IS.       10.8S 165.9W    1846Z 29 SEP
                 RAROTONGA          21.2S 159.8W    1929Z 29 SEP
                 PENRYN IS.          8.9S 157.8W    1954Z 29 SEP
TONGA            NUKUALOFA          21.0S 175.2W    1851Z 29 SEP
TUVALU           FUNAFUTI IS.        7.9S 178.5E    1932Z 29 SEP
KIRIBATI         KANTON IS.          2.8S 171.7W    1935Z 29 SEP
                 FLINT IS.          11.4S 151.8W    2025Z 29 SEP
                 MALDEN IS.          3.9S 154.9W    2037Z 29 SEP
                 CHRISTMAS IS.       2.0N 157.5W    2100Z 29 SEP
                 TARAWA IS.          1.5N 173.0E    2104Z 29 SEP
KERMADEC IS      RAOUL IS.          29.2S 177.9W    1938Z 29 SEP
FIJI             SUVA               18.1S 178.4E    2003Z 29 SEP
HOWLAND-BAKER    HOWLAND IS.         0.6N 176.6W    2008Z 29 SEP
JARVIS IS.       JARVIS IS.          0.4S 160.1W    2028Z 29 SEP
NEW ZEALAND      EAST CAPE          37.7S 178.5E    2044Z 29 SEP
                 GISBORNE           38.7S 178.0E    2100Z 29 SEP
                 NORTH CAPE         34.4S 173.3E    2112Z 29 SEP
                 NAPIER             39.5S 176.9E    2140Z 29 SEP
                 WELLINGTON         41.3S 174.8E    2150Z 29 SEP
                 AUCKLAND(E)        36.7S 175.0E    2212Z 29 SEP
                 AUCKLAND(W)        37.1S 174.2E    2239Z 29 SEP
                 LYTTELTON          43.6S 172.7E    2255Z 29 SEP
                 NEW PLYMOUTH       39.1S 174.1E    2317Z 29 SEP
                 NELSON             41.3S 173.3E    2323Z 29 SEP
                 DUNEDIN            45.9S 170.5E    2331Z 29 SEP
                 MILFORD SOUND      44.6S 167.9E    2358Z 29 SEP
                 WESTPORT           41.8S 171.6E    2359Z 29 SEP
FR. POLYNESIA    PAPEETE            17.5S 149.6W    2045Z 29 SEP
                 HIVA OA            10.0S 139.0W    2214Z 29 SEP
                 RIKITEA            23.1S 135.0W    2247Z 29 SEP
PALMYRA IS.      PALMYRA IS.         6.3N 162.4W    2102Z 29 SEP
VANUATU          ANATOM IS.         20.2S 169.9E    2117Z 29 SEP
                 ESPERITU SANTO     15.1S 167.3E    2123Z 29 SEP
NAURU            NAURU               0.5S 166.9E    2138Z 29 SEP
MARSHALL IS.     MAJURO              7.1N 171.4E    2147Z 29 SEP
                 KWAJALEIN           8.7N 167.7E    2220Z 29 SEP
                 ENIWETOK           11.4N 162.3E    2309Z 29 SEP
SOLOMON IS.      KIRAKIRA           10.4S 161.9E    2155Z 29 SEP
                 GHATERE             7.8S 159.2E    2227Z 29 SEP
                 AUKI                8.8S 160.6E    2244Z 29 SEP
                 HONIARA             9.3S 160.0E    2244Z 29 SEP
                 PANGGOE             6.9S 157.2E    2245Z 29 SEP
                 MUNDA               8.4S 157.2E    2248Z 29 SEP
                 FALAMAE             7.4S 155.6E    2304Z 29 SEP
JOHNSTON IS.     JOHNSTON IS.       16.7N 169.5W    2212Z 29 SEP
NEW CALEDONIA    NOUMEA             22.3S 166.5E    2216Z 29 SEP
KOSRAE           KOSRAE IS.          5.5N 163.0E    2233Z 29 SEP
PAPUA NEW GUINE  KIETA               6.1S 155.6E    2303Z 29 SEP
                 AMUN                6.0S 154.7E    2323Z 29 SEP
                 RABAUL              4.2S 152.3E    2349Z 29 SEP
HAWAII           NAWILIWILI         22.0N 159.4W    2311Z 29 SEP
                 HILO               19.7N 155.1W    2314Z 29 SEP
                 HONOLULU           21.3N 157.9W    2315Z 29 SEP
POHNPEI          POHNPEI IS.         7.0N 158.2E    2318Z 29 SEP
WAKE IS.         WAKE IS.           19.3N 166.6E    2322Z 29 SEP
PITCAIRN         PITCAIRN IS.       25.1S 130.1W    2329Z 29 SEP
MIDWAY IS.       MIDWAY IS.         28.2N 177.4W    2349Z 29 SEP

BULLETINS WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.
THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.

As always, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center should be the first place to go for information. These days, the next best place for info is Twitter, so follow this tsunami search.

After Dark in the Park: “Dark Sacred Nights”

Brad — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:23:11 +0000

After Dark in the Park is a lecture series put on at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Starting at 7pm, the free (with suggested $1 donation, and park entrance fees apply) series are on topics important and interesting to people living and working in Hawaii. The ADiP for August 18, 2009 is titled “Dark Sacred Nights”:

For countless millennia, migrating birds, nesting sea turtles and pollinating insects lived in daily cycles of daylight followed by natural dark. Nowadays, thousands of birds and other wildlife perish every year when artificial lights at night disrupt their normal foraging, reproductive, and migratory behaviors. Light pollution wastes electricity, diminishes natural resources and impairs our views of stars and other nighttime wonders. Happily, we can restore dark nights without sacrificing our safety or security. Park ranger Dean Gallagher shares information about cutting edge technology to minimize light pollution with Wildlife Lighting and Dark Sky Friendly Lighting. Learn how we can share the dark night sky with wildlife around us and protect our natural heritage of “Dark Sacred Nights”.

The BETTER Best of East Hawaii 2009

Brad — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:38:46 +0000

Today the Hawaii Tribune-Herald released its annual Best of East Hawaii list. While I agree with some of the choices, I can’t help but think a few of them are either because nobody in East Hawaii goes to the better places, or nobody in East Hawaii has any taste. Here are my selections for some of the restaurant winners:

Best Cup of Coffee: Trib readers voted Starbucks Coffee in as the best cup of coffee in East Hawaii. This, I think, is the greatest travesty in this whole list. Starbucks? They’re renowned for having about the worst cup of coffee you could ever sell. Even McDonalds has better coffee here. My choice? Kope Kope Espresso Cafe, hands down. Not only do they have excellent coffee, it’s local coffee too! The only fault I can find with Kope Kope is their customer service has gone downhill of late. A friend of mine was buying around ten pounds of local coffee, and we waited nearly an hour for the girls behind the till to get labels on them and package them up — and even then they weren’t labelled properly! If you’ve got the time to spend waiting for service, then by all means hit up Kope Kope for the best cup of coffee in town.

Best Italian Food: For some reason Pescatore Italian Restaurant keeps winning this category. I don’t know why. Serving mediocre pasta does not make for an award-winning Italian restaurant. I think nobody knows about Cafe Concerto, which blows Pescatore out of the water. The quality of the pasta at Cafe Concerto is miles above that at Pescatore. Customer service is about equal, but you’ll probably be offered an apéritif at Cafe Concerto.

Best Pizza: Honestly, I thought this was going to be a toss-up between Big Island Pizza and Pizza Hawaii. Both make awesome pizzas, and this category should have gone to both of them. So imagine my surprise (and disgust) when I found that it went to Pizza Hut! Ugh!

Best Smoothie: Another case where chain trumps local, Jamba Juice won this one, when it should have gone to What’s Shakin’, a little smoothie shack on the Onomea Bay scenic drive. Sure, the smoothies are kind of expensive, and sure, they take a bit of time, but they’re made with fresh fruits and are super delicious.

Those are the egregious offenders. There are other categories where I would have picked different winners (Best Japanese Food: Miyo’s over Nihon; Best Poke: Sack & Save over KTA; Best Hamburger: almost anybody over Burger King), but these four are the worst.

Tropical Storm Felicia

Brad — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:20:03 +0000

Five-day forecast for Tropical Storm Felicia

As expected, Hurricane Felicia has been downgraded to a tropical storm. Due to enter Hawaiian waters sometime Monday night, her winds have weakened to 60 knots. She’s also being torn apart by wind shear:

HURRICANE FELICIA HAS SUFFERED SEVERE PROBLEMS WITH INCREASING VERTICAL WIND SHEAR DURING PAST SEVERAL HOURS. THE LATEST UW/CIMSS WIND SHEAR ANALYSIS INDICATES VALUES OF 257 DEG/21 KT. THE LATEST INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY AND HURRICANE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT
DATA SHOW THE NEGATIVE AFFECTS OF THIS SHEAR.

As Felicia crossed over the 140W meridian, she is now tracked by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, where you can follow the updates.

Satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Felicia

Hurricane Felicia

Brad — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:22:18 +0000

Five-day forecast for Hurricane Felicia

It’s about five days out, but Hurricane Felicia is coming to Hawaii. As of right now (5 August 2009, afternoon) it’s a Category 3 hurricane, making it the strongest of the 2009 Pacific hurricane season to date.

Forecasts have it weakening to a tropical depression by the time it gets close to Hawaii, though.

For you worriers in the crowd, yes, we’re stocking up on supplies just in case.

Those interested can follow the updates at the National Hurricane Center.

Satellite imagery of Hurricane Felicia

Thirty Meter Telescope coming to Mauna Kea

Brad — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:56:35 +0000

News from the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy:

After careful evaluation and comparison between two outstanding candidate sites, Mauna Kea in Hawai’i and Cerro Armazones in Chile, the
board of directors of the TMT Observatory Corporation has selected Mauna Kea as the preferred site for the Thirty Meter Telescope!

You can read more at the TMT press release.

Greedy Hawaii County Council

Brad — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:58:11 +0000

The Hawaii County Council has voted not to turn down a 22% raise given to them a year ago. Their reasons?

The desire not to politicize the salary process, poor timing, the need to boost spending to help the economy and personal financial hardship.

Emily Naeole says she buys gas for stranded motorists, food for the hungry, and donates to other charitable causes. She also points out that she’s a single mom and feels she deserves every penny.

Kelly Greenwell says that “it’s not belt-tightening time.”

These days, when thousands upon thousands of people across the country are being laid off, when health insurance costs are rising, when employees are being asked to take furloughs and pay cuts, these are not the times to be taking more money from the people who pay your salaries. Kelly Greenwell is completely wrong. These are belt-tightening times. If you cannot see this, Mr. Greenwell, then it’s high time you pay attention to the world around you.

The six council members who voted for this bill, Naeole, Greenwell, Donald Ikeda, J Yoshimoto, Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, and Guy Enriques, ought to lose your vote in their next elections. Unless, of course, they support similar raises for county employees. After all, what better way to boost spending to help the economy than to give people raises? What better way to help prevent personal financial hardships?

A challenge to Big Island bloggers

Brad — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:47:58 +0000

This one goes out to all you living on the Big Island, especially the Big Island bloggers. The 9th Annual Hawai`i Fire Department Emergency Medical Services Run will be a go on May 24, 2009. There is a 5K run, a 2 mile walk, and a keiki fun run for the kids aged 3 to 10 years. It’s happening in Hilo, starting and ending at Queen Liliuokalani Park. There’s an entry fee, but you get a t-shirt if you register before May 18. Besides, the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society and a Hawai`i Fire Department firefighter/paramedic who’s battling cancer.

I’m entered, my wife (who gave birth two months ago!) is entered, and I want to see as many Big Islanders as possible enter as well! Surely you can take an hour out of your day to go for either a run or a walk and help some people out.

You can download the flyer and entry form for more information.

If you sign up, please leave a comment below!

Web surfing at work, Hawaii County and University of Melbourne views

Brad — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:52:28 +0000

Hawaii County Councilman Dominic Yagong recently requested that county employees have their web surfing monitored. One of his reasons for doing so is that there could be some correlation between extensive personal web surfing and overtime — if someone spends four hours a day at work looking at YouTube, then charges two hours of overtime, that’s probably not right. However, if someone’s taking microbreaks during the day, this probably helps keep them fresh.

A recent study seems to support this, finding that surfing the web at work leads to greater productivity. Moderate web surfing, of course. In this case the study out of the University of Melbourne found that employees who spend less than 20 percent of their work day surfing the web were more productive than those that don’t by nine percent.

I think we’d like our county employees to be more productive. Dominic Yagong ought to rescind his monitoring request and instead look at problem employees. Instead of assuming everybody’s abusing the system and setting up a blanket monitoring campaign, look at individual productivity and address the system that way. If someone’s doing two hours of overtime a day and still isn’t getting their job done, find out why. Don’t subject innocent — and productive — employees to a childish monitor. Treat them like adults, and perhaps you’ll get adult behaviour from them. Especially since monitoring their habits could cause them to become less productive.