Kind of a slow month...

For Paradise, written anyway.  I've been finding myself quite busy off-line though, although, Facebook has made keeping up with old friends and family much easier... so much easier that I've not been updating here... but such is life.  Anyway, speaking of life... Larenda and I were lying on the roof of my building a few weeks back getting some sun by the pool, when the thought occurred to me that I was ready to lose some weight... well... I decided right then and there that I was going to drink water only for one month and see what happens... well... I did, or I should say, I am... I think it was like the 13th or 14th of July when I decided, and tomorrow is the 3rd of August, so it's been nearly three weeks.  No beer, no wine, no sodas, heck, not even drinking Gatorade... just water.  I am drinking coffee with no cream or sugar in the mornings at work, and I'll also drink an unsweetened iced green tea from Starbucks when Larenda brings me one (green tea is supposed to be pretty good for you) but other than that all water... well... what motivated me to do only water was the fact that I had a cousin who I was talking to at our family reunion back in June and he had lost like 20 lbs just drinking water... well, as we were sitting there on the roof in the sun, I was looking at my belly thinking, I really need to do something about this... I remembered my cousin's water-trick, I thought, why not?  So I committed to it.  And I've stuck to it as well- it's been about 20 days so far... and it's actually done pretty well for me.  My skin, in some areas has improved, which a waitress, who was also a skin specialist, asked me if it had improved, and I hadn't even thought about that, but it in fact has, and I also have lost some weight... but I must add... once I decided that I was going to do this water thing for a month, I thought, why not work in a decent work-out program and see how that plays out?  Well... I bought the 'Body-for-Life' book waaaay back in 2000... my buddy Scotty and I started it out and did it for about 2 weeks or so, but I wasn't committed to it.  Well, I had found the book recently, and decided to give that a go as well... before you know it, I was on a full-up diet and exercise program.  Well, the first night I started this program, I was 190 lbs.  The lowest I've seen so far since then is 183... 184-185 is about the norm for me.... but I can say that my waist is shrinking and I'm getting a little more lean and shaped up top, which is always good... and get this- I had my flight physical done in June- I've historically always had borderline high blood-pressure, well, last time I had it checked in June for my annual flight physical, it was like 132/87 or something like that.  Not so great honestly.  Well, with Body-for-Life, not only am I working out 6 days a week, but I'm also on a much healthier meal-plan (low-fat, lot's of protein, 6 small meals a day)... well, I went to the dentist this last Friday, and they took my blood pressure, and it was down to a svelte 110/71!!  I couldn't believe it- the dental tech was like "That's a really good reading..." I was pretty happy about it... all from just changing up my diet really... I've actually been running fairly regularly this year, so I don't think it was from any changes in exercise... just from changing up my diet... so anyway- needless to say, I haven't been writing much this month, but I've sure been active.  I work out about 45 minutes each day except Sundays, which are may day off of both working out, as well as dieting, and it's been going fairly well.  That is one of the great parts of the Body for Life program, is one day a week, you get to eat whatever you want.  That gives me something to look forward to each week... last week I had some pizza and wings... along with some of my favorite guava-filled french toast at Wailana Cafe...  I've been happy with the results, and I feel a lot better too.  Those that know me also know I've never really been into working out much, but for some reason, I'm just really enjoying this... maybe it's Hawaii... who knows.  All I know is that I'm glad I'm doing it.

In other news, I'm looking at buying a house here in Hawaii in the next 6 months... if I've got the guts for it, that is.  The prices are coming down out here as well, although not as much as on the mainland, but I feel like it's time I owned my own place.  The scary part, is the bank just approved me for over half a million dollars in debt... and the median price of homes here on Oahu is $620,000.... isn't that crazy?  I've been looking at trying to swing a deal on a foreclosed home... we shall see... I've got a lot of learning to do, that's for sure... but I'm ready to move into the burbs.  This year has been good living in Waikiki, but I'm kind of ready to move into a bigger place with a yard... I think.  Who knows.  Anyway- that's what's been going on in my life this month.  Among a lot of other things...  Cheers and Aloha from Paradise.

(A Generic) One Year... (post)

Well, it was one year ago today that I stepped off of that plane in Chicago's O'hare airport after flying in from Narita International in Japan and was re-introduced into American culture... I've become more 'American-ized' if you will in the last year, as I've rejoined western civilization as we know it, but I still consider myself having a small amount of Asian culture remaining... L and her sister and mother and I ate lunch at this great Thai place on the North Shore today, and I found myself using chop-sticks without even thinking about it to put away a nice plate of Chicken Curry... wow- it was tasty too!  Thanks L, for the great recommendation!

Anyway- so I guess I'm sitting here tonight, being somewhat introspective about how my life has changed in the last year... I guess because it was such a drastic change moving back from another country, and really, well, a marker for me in my life, because I feel I came back still the same old Hal, but changed in some deeper ways that may not be evident on the surface.  So I guess I'm just trying to identify if there is anything that I've changed in my life since I've moved back... well, one thing is certain... I'm in better shape.  I've gotten to where I'm running a lot more, and it's helped me out in life all around.  In fact, I'm even going to run the Honolulu Marathon this year.  Back when I turned 30, I said I was going to do it that year, well, that didn't happen, so I'm a few years removed from that year, so I'm doing it this decade... I won't be hanging with the Ethiopians, but I should be a middle-of-the-pack runner... probably 3 hours and some change...  what else... hmm... well, I do feel one thing has changed in the last year... I feel like I've gotten a little more selfish... and a little less patient.  I specifically remember thinking that patience was one thing that I brought back with me from Japan... and I think, to a small degree, I still have that quality, but sometimes, when it is tested a bit much, I have to take a deep breath and remember that patience is indeed a virtue.  A valuable one.  Our culture, unfortunately, no longer values patience.  But it is, indeed, a good virtue to possess.  May I have more patience... selfishness... another quality that I feel has crept up on me.  I don't know... I feel like I'm a pretty giving person, but sometimes I feel like I don't make sacrifices where I should make sacrifices... and that leaves me feeling selfish.  Fortunately, I'm not want for anything else in my life materialistically, but I think sometimes I'm selfish with my time... but I'll leave it at that.

One thing that I'm so thankful that has happened to me, relatively of late, is my relationship with a wonderful woman named Larenda.  For those of you that don't know, we met actually, at the Dog Park of all places.  Living in a Condo in Waikiki with an Irish Setter requires quite a bit of exercise, if you can imagine... well, Larenda also has a dog, and we managed to start synching our trips to the dog park without actually talking about it.  Just so we 'happened' to run into each other each evening around the same time... I'm a big fan in case you can't tell... more details later, as I need to hit the rack, but I just wanted to mention how thankful I am for Larenda in so many, many ways, and also, just put a post up for my one year anniversary of being back in the states.  Hawaii is definitely the best state to be in that's for sure.

That's all for now.  1 year back in the states... still proud to be an American, and really glad to be living here.

Oh yeah- got some new slippers (Flip-Flops for you mainlanders) today... Larenda has been extolling the virtues of the Rainbow Slipper pretty much since I met her, and well, since I blew out one of my flip-flops when I was home for the reunion... I needed a new pair.  She had no problem talking me into getting a pair.  They are great- they have leather soles and conform to the soles of your feet... plus they are guaranteed not to blow out until you've worn out the sole completely.  Not bad if you ask me.  So now Larenda and I have matching slippers... I told her we needed to get matching Aloha shirts and walk around in Waikiki with them.  Not a chance was the vibe I got back from her.  Thanks for the recommendation L.  You're the best!

Take that, Diamond Head...

Ran from one end of Waikiki to the other, lapped Diamond Head, and ran back just now.  9.21 Miles, 1 hour, 17 minutes, 39 seconds... I feel good!

Things I'm digging today...

Life

Texting 'I love you' to my Mom... just because I can...

The song 'White Moth' by Xavier Rudd

Good Co-workers

Murphy constantly putting a toy in my lap while I'm trying to blog...

Knowing I'm going sailing on Thursday and Sunday

Having to plan for the big Kaneohe Sandbar trip on Saturday... it's kind of turned into a monster... 40 people!

Living in Hawaii.

I found an old poem recently that I've had since one of my summers in college selling books door-to-door (yes I did that for 3 summers) and it's always kind of been a good one for me, so I think I'll share it today:

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving,
and tolerant of the weak and of the strong.
Because someday you will have been all of these.

-George Washington Carver

Sodoku, Saddles and Seclusion...

So L and I took a weekend trip to Moloka'i (pronounced 'mohl-oh-kah-ee' for those studying the Hawaiian language) this weekend... wow.  What a great trip.  I was actually introduced to Sodoku for the first time... and I've turned into a fan.  L is a fanatic about them, and she does them all the time sitting at Starbucks, but I've just never really had the patience to learn how to do them.  Turns out, they are really simple... as probably most of the world actually knows, but whatever...I find them entertainment for the brain.  I'm still learning, but we were sitting drinking coffee and eating some raisin bread and eclairs one morning when I asked her to show me how to do them... she happily obliged... of course, she's about 10x faster than me at them... but I'm getting there.  I haven't raced her yet, but once I get the hang of it, I plan on giving her a run for her money... look out L... I'm practicing for you... :D

Anyway- I had a few days left in my vacation, and we were considering going to Maui or maybe Kauai, but neither of them just really felt right, and L was telling me about this Hawaiian blessing that they'd had at her work... apparently, the salt that they used in the ceremony or whatever was from this peninsula on the north shore of Moloka'i called 'Kaulapapa'... which happens to be where in the 1800's they sent all the lepers from the Hawaiian islands.  As it turns out, I had, in fact, heard of this place, and even read an article about it before I came to Hawaii... and given that we were looking for a place to go, during this discussion, we decided we would try and go to Moloka'i and visit this very place.  So we did.  It was great... we found a condo online  and couldn't have been happier with it.  We took a tour to the former Leper colony on Friday, spent Saturday on the beach and came back today, refreshed and rejuvenated.  

So about this former Leper colony, Kaulapapa (pronounced 'Cow-la-papa' for those interested)... it began in the mid to early 1800's, when Hawaiians began contracting Leprosy (or Hansen's Disease as it is known today), and were unusually susceptible to it.  This peninsula on Moloka'i was chosen as the site for the colony, because it was naturally barricaded by nearly 2,000' cliffs as well as ocean.  It may have well been a deserted island.  In the early days, they just dropped people off there that had the disease.  They had to live off of the land, and had no supplies or anything given to them.  Anarchy was also the rule of the day, as there was no formalized government, well the Catholic church established a small outpost there in the 1850's and a 33 year old priest by the name of Father Damien spent a 30 day mission there, and, realizing how much this distraught community of lepers needed spiritual leadership, as well as guidance and leadership in general, volunteered to come back and dedicate his life to helping these people.  While we were there, we saw areas where he had changed the cemeteries by building walls around them to keep the feral pigs from digging up the shallow graves, saw two huge fresh-water wells that he dug, a reservoir for collecting and storing rain-water, a small cathedral that he built, which I found especially touching because he cut holes in the floor along each pew so that those afflicted with leprosy, that had lost control of their mouths and/or saliva, could spit into the holes without interrupting the service and walking out.  It was quite moving to say the least.  Because of his commitment to these people he unfortunately was afflicted with their disease as well, and 16 years after starting his service to the lepers, he succumbed to the disease himself.  He was buried on Kaulapapa, and in 1935, his body was exhumed and he was sent to his fatherland of Belgium.  Eventually, his right hand was returned and buried again at his original grave site, where it is today.  He is currently awaiting Sainthood and was beautified in 1995.  Read more about him and his life here... It was moving to be around this spectacularly serene tropical environment, and hear all the stories of those afflicted with this disease.  At the height of the population, this 5 square mile peninsula had over 5,000 lepers on it.  So Father Damien, and his staff that accumulated over the years, had quite a large undertaking.  Today, Kaulapapa is a Hawaiian county itself, and there currently reside approximately 15 original patients that are still living.  Fortunately, due to the wonders of pharmacology, Leprosy is no longer a threat, and is treatable, but those that remain are some of the last patients to ever have been confined to this colony.  There are currently 26 of them still living.  Quite a touching story really.

About the Saddles... in order to get to this particular locale, one must traverse said 2,000' cliffs... and there happens to be an outfit designed specifically for this purpose.  With Mules.  So L and I plopped down our dough, and saddled up.  Literally.  It was quite an enjoyable ride, albeit a little frightening at times, especially when my Mule, 'Chevy' (glad he wasn't a Ford), decided that he wanted to take the outside of the path, meaning here I was staring off of my saddle down a 2,000' drop... but Chevy, in all his nearly 20 year career has yet to drop anyone, and alas, his flawless record continues.  I did have a bit of a scare, as Chevy and I were the lead mule and ass in the train... we came upon what appeared to be a hastily built bridge, over a small gulch that had some lumber off to the side... well, Mister Chevy, seeing something different than what he's seen on that trail would have none of it... first he stopped... to which I prodded him to continue with a kick and a click... and he decided he was going to turn his ass around... which he did.  Or at least try to... even with me kicking him and pulling him... and trying not to think about me and my ass going over the side of this cliff... it was an interesting moment... fortunately Chevy's cool head prevailed after Bobby, our trusty mule-skinner, got off his mule, and walked Chevy across that bridge.  It was interesting to say the least... I was wondering if I was going to kiss my ass Chevy goodbye there for a second or two... ironically, I was filming a video at the time too... maybe I'll post it to YouTube, so my readership can see it... 

In fact, here it is:

Finally, seclusion... we stayed at 'Paniolo Hale' (pan-ee-oh-lo ha-lay meaning Cowboy House in Hawaiian) near several beautiful beaches and a beautiful Ted Robinson designed Golf Course... except, due to the unique depressed economy on Moloka'i, it was closed.  So here was this incredible golf course, on an incredible beach, in an incredible place, that had been unkempt for a couple of years.  L and I walked around the complex (it was also a resort at one time) and the buildings all look like people just left things as is... it kind of reminded me of 'I am Legend' except in Hawaii... the beach had a pretty good break, and so there were surfers there of course, and oddly enough, the pool was still being kept up (we guessed for the residents of the nearby condo's) but other than that, it was completely a ghost town... almost eerily so.  Fortunately, it was a pretty popular beach, so there were a few people here and there, but for the most part, it was quite secluded.  And we liked it like that.  The nights were still and quiet, save for the occasional bird calling out... a far cry from the streets of Waikiki that can get quite crowded and noisy at times.

Well, that's all I've got for now.  It's bedtime... and back to work tomorrow.

Cheers and Aloha.

Hal

Family Fun...

So this week, I've spent with my extended family at the Hilton Grand Vacation Resort in Orlando.  It's been quite the week actually... in fact, I believe the last time we got together a group of this magnitude was 1998, also here in Orlando.  The families have grown... my cousins family trees' have branched and I honestly think we had more kids here than adults this week.  Cranium, Cards, Golf, Sea World, Pool, Beach, Ping Pong, Shuffleboard, Chess, Snacking, Sunning, Talking, Eating, Snacking, Repeat.  What could be better?  I'm blessed to have some pretty interesting cousins, as well as cousin-in-laws, and it's made for a good week.  I was honestly a bit apprehensive about spending the money to come all the way back to the east coast, but the family had sort of planted a stake in the ground on the dates, and everyone made an effort to get here.  I'm glad to say, it was worth every penny.  It's funny how, the older I get, the more I appreciate my family.  Especially being that I'm still single... and well, don't have a nuclear family of my own quite yet, but being here this week has somewhat reconfirmed the fact that I love my family.  Even if I don't get to see them all quite often, and well, don't even really communicate with them all that often either.  Fortunately, several of us are bloggers, and we manage to share our lives, and even have a genuine interest in each others' lives... which is good, in my opinion.  So seeing everyone in the flesh this week has been great.  In addition to some real good conversations with some of my cousin-in-laws... (I've got tons of female cousins, and two male cousins... one of which didn't come... so that makes for a fair amount of cousin-in-laws, if you get my drift) anyway- in addition to catching up with my cousins' husbands... getting some good quality pool time in with the nieces and cousins' kids was another highlight.  There is nothing more fun than making the little ones' happy.  And it seems to be so simple some times... my nieces are the greatest though... My sister has done such a good job raising them to be so well behaved...  but they LOVE to play- especially in the pool.  It's funny how I can see the changes in them since last summer, when I saw them after coming back from Japan.  Madison, the middle one, who is the artist in the bunch... was quite timid in the pool last year.  This year, there isn't much she won't do in the pool.  One of her favorites is to have me throw her in the water.  Her frankness is sometimes stunning as well... 'Grandpa throws better than you! (in a stern matter-of-fact tone)' was one that I heard this week... which had to make me smile... and of course, the never ending requests' to 'Throw me Uncle Hal!', 'Let me ride on your back Uncle Hal!', 'Flip me Uncle Hal!' and 'Let's be Alligators (or Sharks, minnows, or insert waterborne-creature here) Uncle Hal!' from her or Katie or Claire, or anyone of the other kids... it truly was a delight.  Being a childless single man, I don't get nearly as much interaction with kids of these age, actually none, really.  But I truly enjoy spending time with them, and helping them have a good time... and honestly, after seeing all my friends blogging about their kids, I now understand even a little more, why they do it.  Kids are truly a blessing... in fact... doesn't the Bible say something about Kids?  Jesus said..."Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Thanks God, for Kids.  And especially thanks for my wonderful family.  And I'm especially thankful to my Grandmother for raising all her kids as Christians.  What a wonderful heritage you've got Grandma.  This week was a visible testament to all that you've done over the years.

Well, I'm staying up all night tonight.  It's currently 8:49 Hawaii time, and 2:49AM Orlando time, I'm sitting at the table in my parent's condo here waiting for my dad to wake up at 4:30 and so kindly drive me to the Airport.  I've learned you've got to be straight up offensive on getting even with Jet-Lag, so I've decided to take no prisoners.  No sleep for me, until I saddle into 22A on that Continental 757-300 at 6:30 this morning.

Later.  Maybe once I get back to spending a little more time on my Island, I'll stop blogging about my Jet-Lag so much.

Live from WWDC...

Watching the live WWDC Steve Jobs Keynote this morning before work... 

http://live.iphonebuzz.com/

Good People...

(San Diego, CA) So I'm sort of a fan of music, in case you can't tell, and a band that I've been a fan of for some years now is called Audio Adrenaline.  They have a way of capturing ideas and principles that I respect and rolling them into some catchy tunes.  One in particular that I really like, is called 'Good People' -the lyrics are as follows:

I grew up impressed by the people I knew
In the buckle of the Bible belt
Hopped in the van with the band
Now I’ve been just about everywhere else
Met a soldier from seattle and a lawyer from the east
A texas oil baron and a roman catholic priest

Every day I choose
To walk in their shoes
’cause pretty are the feet of those
Who bring the good news

Good people
Good, good people
Everywhere, everywhere it’s God’s people

Been on the road been far from home
But I found me a friend or two
Time has taught me well and I can tell you
The good things people do
They really care and I’ve been there
Seen it with my eyes
You can tell that they’re God’s people
By the goodness in their lives 

Anyway- I bring that song up because tonight I was talking with... well, I'll call her 'L' for now...  and she reminded me of how I seem to always meet the most interesting, or shall we say, unique people.  Last night, after my run, I walked down to the Jacuzzi here in this hotel I'm staying at, and met one guy who is here for the same reason I am, (work stuff) as well as an interesting guy from Marin County/Wine Country, CA.  He was an EMT who was telling us that he was going to be working the races this summer at Infineon Raceway... he was pretty excited because he was going to get free 'all-access' to the pits, a chance to meet drivers, and maybe even see 'a huge crash', which I thought was kind of morbid considering his profession, but I guess even lifesavers appreciate a good wreck every now and then... anyway- once he found out my profession, he had a hundred questions for me... everything from fuel calculations to going to the bathroom in the cockpit.  He was a pretty inquisitive guy from the start- I had been in the water for all of 14 seconds when he asked me where I was from... Another interesting thing about him was that he had a transplanted heart.  He had about a 10" scar running the length of his chest, from just below his adams apple to his sternum.  We didn't get into the details, but he seemed like a really young guy to have a new heart... although, I guess younger people are better candidates for major surgery like that anyway.

So tonight, after going on a small mission to find some of the finest Mexican food in San Diego, I headed to the mall and bought a new shirt and some flip-flops... as my current 'nice' pair, aren't so nice anymore.  In Hawaii, most people have different flip-flops for different occasions, and yes, there is such a thing as 'nice' flip-flops... so anyway- I came back to the hotel and well, since I woke up in the middle of the night last night... (hmmm... kind of like tonight) I decided that tonight I would walk down to the hotel bar and have a glass of wine or two to help me get to sleep a little easier.  So I did.  Well, the first thing I notice when I walk into the bar/lounge area, is there is a guy sitting there with a remote controlled helicopter on the chair next to him.

Now, keep in mind, I'm staying at a fairly nice resort here in beautiful (not so sunny this week) San Diego- it's called the Kona Kai (I chose it specifically for it's Hawaiian style), but sitting at the bar, our backs are to a marina with dozens of super-yachts, and literally hundreds of sailboats and smaller yachts- this isn't exactly your corner bar... well, of course, being that there was a seat open next to this guy, it was the logical choice for me to sit at (the other side of his helicopters' seat of course), so I sat down and said hello.  Well, being that it was kind of like the 800 lb gorilla at the bar, I couldn't help but bring myself to ask about his chopper.  So, he started explaining it to me... turns out the guy is pretty interesting- I mean, who wouldn't be that would carry a remote control helo into a marina lounge.  He was Polish, spoke decent english with an accent, and turns out he's the chief engineer on the second-largest super-yacht on the water behind us.  Me, being the inquisitive one, immediately established all the important stats on the yacht as it related to his job... two V-12 cummins diesels mated to two 900 kWatt Caterpillar Marine Generators... his yacht can make 14 knots, but generally cruises at 12, and has an unrefueled range of 5,000 miles.  The flag is the Cayman Islands, and the owner is a British Big Shot... who... "Hasn't done anything in 20 years, but drink wine and travel the world.."  He couldn't tell me who owned it, or what industry he was in for that matter.  Anyway- we established that this yacht fully fueled could hold 30,000 gallons, or roughly (by my calculations) 210,000 lbs of fossil fuel.  That's about 10 full loads of an EA-6B... wow.  Anyway- so this gentleman has been stuck here in San Diego for 2 months, after they ran into some exhaust problems on the yacht down around Panama this last spring.  So the yacht has been here for repairs, and in fact is finished, and so the crew waits, for their master to return and continue sailing the world.  And my Polish mechanic friend drinks beers and flies his remote control helicopter.  

Oh- I forgot to mention that- while we were talking and he was finishing what I observed to be his second beer, the barkeep asked us if we'd like another- he politely declined saying 'I must fly helicopter- not too much beer' in the best polish accent... I don't think you can have a more interesting last night in San Diego.

Tomorrow, Hawaii beckons.  Tonight, sleep does not.

Who could resist...

A great alien story like this jumping the 'kook-track' into mainstream media... gotta love my friends over at Wired Magazine...

And I quote:

A Denver-area man called

a well-attended press conference Friday to reveal video footage of what he claims is an alien peeping into a house.

The brief video was reportedly shot by a surveillance camera set up by Stan Romanek -- a Coloradan who claims he's been the target of alien abduction for years. Romanek wanted to know who was peering into his windows when he lived back in Nebraska, and he claims to have caught the image above on tape as the alien bobbed up and down. The video got into the hands of Jeff Peckman in Denver, who is calling for the city toset up a local Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission. No word yet if Denver's city fathers are considering the move.

These E.T. claims come and go, but this one somehow jumped the kook track over to mainstream media acceptance. The story appeared on every major news service, Fox News and CNN. It's difficult for the public to make a call on the story, beyond common sense, as different images are emerging online. The widely shared image above (which could feature anything from Stewie Griffin to a shrunken apple doll peeping to see if the soup's ready) contradicts the widely circulated video featuring a very puppet-ish alien nodding into view. (In truth, it couldn't look more like a puppet even if it sang, "It's not easy being green.") Some claim the video is a deliberate fake created by Denver reporters.

Here is Larry King's actual coverage of the story.  The funniest is watching the 're-enactment' videos... hilarious.

Jet Lag...

(San Diego, CA) So the thought just occurred to me that it is 3:50 AM in Hawaii right now.  I don't think my body knows what day it is... fortunately I've been able to miraculously fall asleep relatively well... by the time June is over I'll have accumulated nearly 30,000 frequent flier miles... Elite-status here I come...

Read the Bible last night for the first time on purpose in a long time.  Psalm 35... talked about God being a shield and a protector.  My how I need that.  Thanks God for being a shield for me, quite honestly, when I forgot how important it was to have one.  Alright- work beckons.  Who knows what traffic is going to be like here in San Diego... fortunately my hotel isn't far from work.

PS  Check out 'White Moth' by Xavier Rudd... incredible song.  Great song to start a day with...

On the Road Again...

I really *can* wait to get on the road again...  I'm leaving tomorrow for a trip to the far east... then I get back and have to turn right around and go to San Diego... normally these would be good trips, but seriously... when you live in Hawaii and you are happy where you are at for more than one reason- who would really want to go?  Maybe this is evidence I really am immune to 'Island Fever'... Murphy is going to be very well taken care of while I'm gone, so that's definitely a good thing-  then I'll be back for like 10 days or so and take a vacation and go see the fam in Florida- definitely looking forward to that, but well... anyway- let the travels begin.

One out of Three So Far...

So I haven't watched it yet... I spent this evening taking a GMAT practice test... (loads-o-fun), but apparently, David Cook won ye ole' American Idol... I would like to point out, that while I did miss out on picking UNC for the champions in my March Madness (but did come close) I did in fact call it for David Cook on America's Talent Show... American Idol.  Those of you who care, can find my original post here... and I quote... 

"And one more thing... while I'm on predictions,  I'm going to go ahead and choose my American Idol winner... David Cook.  I know he wasn't in my original Idol prediction post, but I think he's got what it takes to win.  David Archeleta could pull it off purely from the popularity factor with the post-pubescent set with text messaging voting cell phones under their pillows at night, but David Cook is the real deal.  Much like Chris Daughtry of season 5.

Alright, I'm out.  McCain, UNC, David Cook."

I did miss on the UNC thing, but I'm pretty proud of my talent picking abilities...  and John McCain is still in the hunt!

Alright- I'm out... dinnertime!

A New Hope... and Marathons...

So I had the pleasure of attending a church today that I truly enjoyed.  It's called New Hope, and the thought occurred to me while I was enjoying the worship, that the name is somewhat, well... fitting I guess for me?  Hope is something that I've had in the past... and I feel kind of like I've lost touch with hope... but being at this church really gave me a 'new' hope... at least for a wayward son... which I've really been conscious of lately... the message was about insecurities, but what I really received from the pastor's words were how much God loves me, us, all of His children, but I guess it really spoke to me specifically, because he reminded me of the story of how a shepherd with 100 sheep would leave 99 of them to go seek out one that has strayed... It really spoke to me.  Am I a sheep that has strayed?  Probably... am I conscious of the fact on a pretty regular basis?  Definitely... am I glad that God used a series of unique events to guide my path to this church?  Absolutely.  There are lots of things that I appreciated about this church, but the fact that they don't own any buildings was probably the most striking... and they have a membership of over 10,000!!  They meet in a high-school auditorium for 4 or 5 services on the weekends as well as 4 or 5 other locations around Oahu... (the island I live on)- but even though they don't have a regular building that they 'own',  they have the process down of taking over the entire courtyard and auditorium of Farrington High School here in Honolulu.  I didn't really even realize it was a High School until my friend told me... I thought it was an actual church campus- anyway- all-in-all I really enjoyed it... although, Uncle Sam beckons, and unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it for the next two weekends... that thought also hit me as I was enjoying the service... oh well- hopefully the church will still be there when I'm back from my off-island travels... 

In other news... as I was running through Waikiki this morning... this thought occurred to me:  "Is a Marathon a unit of measure of distance or is it now defined as a race?"  I, of course, know the story behind Marathon... well, I thought I did, before I did some research just now... but regardless, according to the community over at Wikipedia- the official distance of a Marathon has been changed 6 or 7 times since the first official marathon was run at the 1896 Olympic games at Athens Greece.  Originally, it was around 40 kilometers or roughly 25 miles, which is the actual distance from the Marathon Plain to Athens... but, well, read this:

Distance

Year	Distance (kilometres)	Distance (miles)
1896	40	24.85
1900	40.26	25.02
1904	40	24.85
1906	41.86	26.01
1908	42.195	26.22
1912	40.2	24.98
1920	42.75	26.56
1924 onward	42.195	26.22

The length of a marathon was not fixed at first, since the only important factor was that all athletes competed on the same course. The marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were not of a set length, but were approximately 40 km,^[10] roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length of the Olympic marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue.

The marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London was set to measure about 25 miles (40 km) and to start on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue leading up to Windsor Castle in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. The Princess of Wales wanted her children to watch the start of the race, so the start of the race was moved to the east lawn of Windsor Castle, increasing its length to 26 miles (42 km).^[10] The race was to finish at the Great White City Stadium in Shepherd's Bush in London; however, Queen Alexandra insisted on having the best view of the finish; so, in the words of the official Olympic report, "385 yards were run on the cinder track to the finish, below the Royal Box".^[10] The length then became 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards or 26 ⁷⁄₃₂ miles).

For the next Olympics in 1912, the length was changed to 40.2 km (24.98 miles) and changed again to 42.75 km (26.56 miles) for the 1920 Olympics until it was fixed at the 1908 distance for the 1924 Olympics. In fact, of the first seven Olympic Games, there were six different marathon distances between 40 km and 42.75 km (40 km being used twice).

Following the 1908 Olympics in London, an annual event called the Polytechnic Marathon had been instituted over the 1908 distance of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km), and it was largely due to the prestige of the Polytechnic Marathon that 42.195 km was adopted as the official marathon distance in 1921 by theInternational Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) - Rule 240 of their Competition Rules.[2]. The difference between 42.195 km and 26 miles 385 yards is 1.2 centimetres. The difference between the standard distance and the rounded figure frequently employed (as in the table), 26.22 miles, is a little over two metres.

Interesting eh?  For some reason I was thinking about miles and stadia and cubits and other ancient measures of distance this morning while running, and I thought, if a stadia can be roughly the length of a stadium as well as a 'unit' of measurement, couldn't the same logic apply to a Marathon?  Not only is it a distance, it could also be a 'unit' of measurement... who knows- the strangest things pass through my mind sometimes while I'm running...

Oh- got my guitar fixed- just started playing 'The Blowers Daughter' this last week.  An incredible song, I found out is about a guy falling in love with his clarinet teachers daughter... strange eh?  A good song none-the-less... can't take my eyes off of you... can't take my mind off of you...  Good night... do I really have to go back to work tomorrow?  Well, at least I get to travel next weekend.

Peace.

Facebook...

OK... so I have to admit... I may have just become an Internet Social Networking Geek... innocently enough, I tried to visit the meetin.org facebook page this evening, but it wouldn't let me access it without signing up for an account... whatever, I thought... how many accounts on silly websites can one person have?  So I just signed up for it... not really caring to invest much time in it.  Well... wouldn't you know... Facebook GOT ME!  I think I wrote about how I just didn't really get MySpace in an earlier post... but when I logged into Facebook and started seeing lot's of old friends from College, College Professors even... I couldn't believe it.  I had 8 new friends in like 15 minutes... people I knew who were online at that moment who became my 'friend'... because, well, technically they already were, but I just haven't seen alot of them in years... and anyway- all the sudden I GET facebook.  I actually used caps twice in this post.  Anyway- if you aren't on facebook, you should check it out... I especially like it because it seems a lot less juvenile than MySpace... no offense to you myspacers out there... Cheers- time to go running...

Something Fun...

So Murphy took a celebrity personality test tonight when we got back from the Dog Park... probably one of his favorite places on the Island so far...

And the results are in...

George Clooney....

I found out about this little test for him after reading this article in 'That Liberal Rag' (my Dad so affectionately refers to it as) the New York Times. It's kind of an interesting article about Dogs in the Workplace... too bad I can't take the Murphster to work... but how I really found out about the celebrity personality test is that the article featured 'Bella's Boxer Shorts' a Boxer named Bella's point-of-view of her owners work.

Anyway- thought it would be interesting to post it. By the way, Happy (early) Birthday Dad... your present is in the mail. (seriously... :D )

Carrier

So, I've been watching a program on PBS, compliments of TiVo, called 'Carrier.'  If any of you want a small glimpse into what life was like for me the last three years, watch this show.  I've watched 3 episodes of it now, and I must say, it is hands down one of the most authentic, hard-hitting, real looks at what life is like on an aircraft carrier.  From the highs to the lows... no glossy cover-ups... granted it is public television, so it's PG, and trust me, life on a carrier is anything but PG... but anyway- they even have a piece in episode three, 'Super Secrets' where they pull into Hong Kong... a port I've been to 3 times.  A film crew deployed with the USS Nimitz in 2005, and basically followed several people on board from start to finish.  It's been enjoyable for me to watch it, and if you have a chance, you should definitely watch it.  If you've missed it, you can get it on iTunes...    or you can check out pbs.org.

In other news... it's Monday.  My life isn't nearly as interesting as it was when I was deployed... I think I came to that realization last week when I sat down and tried to write something well... interesting.  And failed miserably.  Tony and I are talking about going in together on a Catamaran...  This one.

Oh yeah...  I promised a write up on 'Strengths' in my last post... that'll come later... I'm really sunburned tonight from a beach trip on Sunday... good night.

Kokua Festival, Astronauts and Wikipedia

So there is just something about living in Hawaii that just never gets old... although, I must admit, I've almost reached the 7 month mark here, so the idea of things 'getting old' is probably a bit preconceived on my part.  I've been told that Haole (pronounced how-lee), as they call us white-folks here in the Islands, tend to get so called 'Island Fever' after about 6 months of living here... well, that hasn't happened to me yet... and I don't forsee it happening to me anytime soon, but you never know... anyway, back to my original thought.  What hasn't gotten old to me yet after living here is the never ending good weather and sunshine... but that's really boring, and writing about it probably doesn't help with my readership... but anyway- last night, some friends and I went to the 'Kokua Festival' an open air festival featuring two of my all-time favorite artists at the 'Waikiki Shell,' an outdoor venue that is used quite frequently for concerts and the like- while I will admit that we didn't actually have tickets, we were able to sit out on the grass, and listen to the Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson who were here to play... anyway- I walked there and walked back from my house- it was a concert celebrating, ahem, earth day, probably not one of the most compelling celebrations in my book, but at least I lowered my carbon footprint for a day by walking the 1.5 miles to the concert and back... it seems I cover a lot of ground on the adidas express living here in Waikiki though- but it literally is easier to just walk everywhere than it is to drive... not to mention parking is at a premium, gas is well, $3.67 a gallon and heck- you can cover a lot of ground on foot if you just take the time to do it... of course, I do pay a premium for living in this fantastically convenient location, but hey, as they say, you do have to pay to play... what does that mean?  Anyway- I'm sort of rambling, but I guess I'm just happy to be here, and figured I'd write about it... today my buddy Tony and I took the Murphster to the beach over by Sandy Beach on the South-East side of Oahu... I did manage to get my truck stuck for about 10 minutes in some soft sand... which made me wonder for those 10 minutes why in the heck I bought an SUV without four wheel drive, but with a push from Tony and another helpful soul and some rocks under the rear wheels I managed to get out of the predicament I was in... carbon footprint be damned... anyway- the beach is great... whatever... nothing too earth-shattering in this post so far, but I've neglected my blog this week and felt like I needed to put something up... which is probably not the best reason to post, but whatever... so what I was going to say originally, living in Hawaii has yet to get old to me.  Tony and I kicked around the idea of going in halves on a Hobie Cat... I love sailing and having a Hobie Cat would be a great reason to get out on the water on a regular basis... not to mention the wind here in Hawaii is legendary... there is really no such thing as a bad wind day...  OK... my next topic- astronauts-

So for some reason, I was reading about Shuttle Missions this afternoon- oh yeah- when I got home from the beach today, there was a special on Discovery HD (which by the way, for those of you that don't watch TV in HD... you have no idea what you are missing) anyway- the special on Discovery HD was about STS-114, the first Shuttle Mission after the Columbia disaster, the Shuttle Discovery slipping the surly bonds of earth... well, in reading about it, I came upon something I found quite interesting... apparently NASA has had a tradition since maybe the days of the Gemini missions of waking astronauts up each morning with a pre-chosen song of one astronauts choosing... for those of you that don't know, I was an astronaut wannabe when I was a kid... unfortunately I didn't cut the mustard when it came to advanced math, so I just settled for a run-of-the-mill Naval Flight Officer (but I did go to Space Camp :) so I've always kind of had an affinity for all things space... even if it is just as an enthusiastic observer... but you've also probably figured out that I'm also a music fan... so when I found out that they play songs for the astronauts each morning to wake them, and then I found some of the actual recordings of the dialogue that follows each waking from some of the recent missions, I figured I'd feature them here... so here they are, compliments of Wikipedia... which by the way, have you ever thought about the amount of work that all those selfless Wikipedians put into their body of work?  I mean seriously- you can find information about almost anything on Wikipedia- but who wants to spend all their time writing that stuff?  I'm a big fan, admittedly, but seriously... I was reading it today, thinking, someone puts a lot of selfless work into this.  I admit, I have edited a post or two, but more to assist in the accuracy of something which I know a lot about... not really to generate data, more to just correct it.  I guess those folks who have that strength of... you know what... my next post is going to be about Strengths, and the Gallup Organizations' take on them... stay tuned.  

Anyway- check out some of the 'wake-up' songs from STS-123, the most recent Shuttle Mission, excerpted from, you guessed it, Wikipedia:  (by the way, if you do listen to one or two of the songs, listen to the whole thing, because they don't play the entire song, but Mission Control will start talking and you can hear the conversation between them and the particular astronaut who chose the song for the day... kind of cool)

(note: I also just found this little write up on the history of music being used as wake-up calls in Space...)

Wake-up calls

A tradition for NASA human spaceflights since the days of Gemini, is that mission crews are played a special musical track at the start of each day in space. Each track is specially chosen, often by their family, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.^[33][34]

• Day 2: "Linus and Lucy" performed by Vince Guaraldi, played for Mission Specialist Michael Foreman. WAV MP3
• Day 3: Soundtrack of the movie Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and the song "Godzilla" (from the album Spectres) performed by Blue Öyster Cult, played for Mission Specialist Takao Doi. WAVMP3
• Day 4: "Saturday Night" performed by the Bay City Rollers, played for Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman. WAV MP3
• Day 5: "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)" performed by The Byrds, played for Mission Specialist Richard M. Linnehan.WAV MP3
• Day 6: "We're Going to Be Friends" performed by The White Stripes, played for Mission Specialist Robert L. Behnken. WAV MP3
• Day 7: "God of Wonders" performed by Caedmon's Call, played for Commander Dominic Gorie. WAV MP3
• Day 8: "Sharing the World" performed by Gregory H. Johnson’s brother, played for Pilot Gregory H. Johnson. WAV MP3
• Day 9: "Hoshi Tsumugi no Uta" (星つむぎの歌 or Song of Spinning Stars), performed by Ayaka Hirahara, played for Mission SpecialistTakao Doi. WAVMP3
• Day 10: "Burning Love" performed by Elvis Presley, played for Mission Specialist Michael Foreman. WAV MP3
• Day 11: "Blue Sky" performed by Big Head Todd and the Monsters, played for Mission Specialist Richard M. Linnehan. WAV MP3
• Day 12: "Enter Sandman" performed by Metallica, played for Mission Specialist Robert L. Behnken. WAV MP3
• Day 13: "I Loved Her First" performed by Heartland, played for Commander Dominic Gorie. WAV MP3
• Day 14: "I am Free" (Newsboys song) performed by the Praise Team at Michael Foreman's church, played for Mission Specialist Michael Foreman. WAV MP3
• Day 15: "Furusato" (folksong) performed by Yuko Doi, played for Mission Specialist Takao Doi. WAV MP3
• Day 16: "Con te partirò" performed by the Andrea Bocelli, played for Flight Engineer Léopold Eyharts. WAV MP3
• Day 17: "Drops of Jupiter" performed by the Train, played for Pilot Gregory H. Johnson. WAV MP3

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