Friday, July 29, 2011

A Letter from the Publisher



"Thank you for choosing the Honolulu Star-Advertiser as your trusted, comprehensive source of in-depth local news and information.

[However] Beginning Aug. 3, we will be introducing charges for digital subscriptions for those who do not subscribe to the print edition."

President / Publisher
Honolulu Star-Advertiser



So, let me see if I get this. People who do subscribe to the print edition of Honolulu's only daily newspaper aren't and won't be charged for the digital version. Okay to that. However, does this message mean that non-subscribers won't be allowed to read the online version of the newspaper? The publisher did mention paying does entitle digital subscribers to "premium" content. I surmise this all depends on what's meant by "premium" content or access to it, thereof. Personally I don't see paying to read the digital version online, by the same token, that I don't see paying to watch network tv programs, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc. because they make their revenue from the ads that they run, and the advertising rates they charge are based on their viewer ship numbers, for example, me and you. The larger the viewing audience, the more they can charge for a given ad, and that business model has survived as a sound way of doing business with mutual benefits. Paying to have any access at all is downright too proprietary. You might as well pay to read my blog. My 5 loyal regular readers would go somewhere else. Right at the moment, I don't know for certain if the publisher is posting an advance notice that we won't be allowed to read his newspaper online unless we pay for the privilege. Which ain't gonna happen. The me pay part.

Of Pepto Bismol Dreams

In another life, which started two days ago, and ended now, a tummy ache started to feel like a strap around my upper abdomen. Almost as though I had pulled a muscle. It was odd. The pain was a confined to horizontal zone say about 2-inches wide and 8-inches in latitude, but definitely emanating from a rut gut stomach. Anyways, I ended up taking 2 bottles of Pepto Bismol® during a two day episode of high anxiety. Like, it's an ulcer. No, it's not. It is. No, it's not, already. Bartender, pour me another shot of Pepto Bismol®. If it was an ulcer, why would I suddenly feel it all of a sudden instead of it gradually introducing me to its symptoms over a few weeks long period. When the pain subsided it was 50 percent physical relief and 50 percent mental relief, plus now I'm able to start eating my regular foods with my regular size servings. I don't remember eating anything that was possibly spoiled because the foods were fresh from the grocery store so that ruled out food poisoning. The moral is you never know how well you have it until more tragic things intervene. In this particular situation, merely the foreboding sense of tragedy, but still, never want to go through that again.

Then there were the dreams. Some idiot at the Pepto Bismol® factor idea of fun musta been spiking the contents of my pink bottle with hallucinatory magic mushrooms or peyote and on an empty stomach their hallucinatory effects were heightened at night. My memory fails me, but either it was the plumbing sprung a leak under the kitchen sink or the faucet wouldn't shut off and the sink started overflowing like Niagara Falls. Then the living room floor was 2 feet deep in water. I live on the 12th floor but water wasn't draining onto the lanai (balcony) and off the ledge into the Ala Wai canal. Uh-oh, I didn't even check to see if the lanai door was open. In the dream, that is. The water was opaque and a little sudsy on the surface because I was searching in the water for something intangible but couldn't locate it through the lack of visibility. It was a drain plug, that's it. That's what I was searching for. There musta been a drain plug in the middle of the living room floor for just this type of emergency. Pure genius, the unsung architect. Alas, I woke up but the dream did not stop. I was dreaming I woke up in the dream. Now, most of you already know that I suffer from bouts of insomnia, and at nights, an insomnia state can induce similar degrees of temporary madness where the line between the reality of awake and unawake gets murky, but this was an entirely new experience in its own right.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Four Hawaii Post Offices May Close

Why am I not all sad about this? A few years ago, the post office lost $2 billion, I think 2008. Last year, the post office lost $2 billion per quarter, and a staggering 8.5 billion total for the fiscal 2010 year. All this happening during a down economy. Postmaster General Donahoe said that some 4,500 postal workers may lose their job nationwide from closing 3,653 post offices considered to have the "least amount of foot traffic and retail sales." In recent years, the Postal Service has already reduced its workforce by 130,000 employees. All I can say is the more the merrier. At any rate, that's your humble correspondent's opinion of the night.

Why Balance the Budget .... Just Raise the Dept Ceiling, Again.

I might be imagining this, but Obama appears to be sticking to his guns with the August 2nd showdown with the Republicans. That's on the issue on whether to balance the budget by increasing taxes or balancing the budget by cutting federal programs. Previously, Obama has caved on every major legislation. In fact, a Democrat congressman actually asked Obama whether he's planning to cave in the last minute. To which Obama replied (paraphrasing), "I'm the President. My words carry a lot of influence." Whatever that means. "Change," perhaps.

The Republicans have made a slippery lexicon out of "tax increases." Ending the Bush tax breaks is equivalent to increasing tax rates by their vernacular. Ditto with doing away with existing tax breaks for big industry. While there are a lot of federal programs that should be axed to trim the fat out of the budget, on the other side of the ledger, big industry enjoys lavish tax breaks that otherwise would provide needed revenues (list below from Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont). Not withstanding, will Obama cave at the midnight hour?

What everyone in Washington DC is worried about if a deal can't be negotiated and the nation defaults, is not about all the bad things that will befall the nation's credit rating, etc., but whether the Democrats will be blamed if they happen to be a Democrat, or whether the Republicans will blamed if they're a Republican on the other side of the aisle. I realize Obama wants another 4 years, and if the Democrats are blamed for a default he might not get re-elected via backlash as well as a lot of fellow Democrat congressmen in the same boat who are up for re-election. However the same scenario holds true for Republican congressmen too. We'll see.

Exxon Mobil. $19 billion profits in 2009. $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.

Bank of America. $4.4 billion profits in 2010. $1.9 billion tax refund. ($1 trillion in bailout money.)

General Electric. $26 billion profits in the United States. $4.1 billion refund.

Chevron. $10 billion profits in 2009. $19 million refund.

Goldman Sachs. $2.3 billion profits in 2008. 1.1 percent of its income in taxes. (Almost $800 billion in bailout money.)

Citigroup. $4 billion profits in 2010. $0 (zero) federal income taxes. ($2.5 trillion in bailout money.)

ConocoPhillips. $16 billion profits from 2007 through 2009. $451 million in tax breaks during those years.

Carnival Cruise Lines. $11 billion profits in the past five years. 1.1 percent federal income tax rate during those years.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Awaiting Moderation




Blogger was off and on for me tonight. When Blogger started working again, I found 5 comments "awaiting moderation." Dunno what's that's about. I don't enable 'comment moderation,' at all. Anyways, if your name is on the list above, you've won a million dollars as compensation for any inconvenience it might have caused you. Oh, wait those were back in June. So now you don't get a prize at all. But just in the event that you were wondering what happened to those comments after you posted them.




Now I find spam too....

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Friday, July 22, 2011

Idle Wise

Happy Aloha Friday. Let me double-check, yes it is Friday. Just making sure. Temperatures in New York City hit 104 degrees today. I don't believe Hawaii has ever hit 100 degrees. Rarely do we register in the 90's. Humidity of course increases the "feels like" it's hotter factor. That being said, it's the season of the year to issue a public service bulletin of one of my top pet peeves about owners walking their dogs on the sidewalk in the middle of a hot summer's day. Since like most animals, dogs walk on all four legs, their body is only a foot from the hot pavement. Plus, they don't wear shoes. I live a stone's throw from the ocean and people are always walking barefoot on the sidewalk and across Kalakaua Ave. on the ocean front. It's a sight to see them scampering in their bare feet to a 6 square inch patch of shade because their feet are sizzling. Well, it's the same thing for dogs too while their nincompoop owners have on slippers or shoes. (Shaggy dog below was at a cooler 6pm.)



A funny thing happen on my way home today. As a matter of routine, I always ride down Kalakaua Ave., the main drag in Waikiki, before I turn off onto a side street to circle back home on the city's magnificent Ala Wai canal why with all them abandoned shopping carts and old tires stacked on top of each other below the surface. Kalakaua Ave. had the usual pau hana traffic (finish work). I hear this siren behind me. I was about to turn into the next lane, I was in the middle lane, when I noticed that the lane was empty. So, I stayed in my lane to keep an empty lane empty for the cops to pass. There was this tourist van following behind me, and the driver turns into the empty lane meaning well. But in the same process, his actions road blocks the cops' cars. I thought that was kinda lame too. By 'too," I mean the cops musta wanted to ticket the imbecile. In some instances it's indeed better to stay put.

Another incident in the staying put category happened a few year ago, as in, did I mention it already? Anyways, traffic was at a standstill bumper to bumper on Ala Moana Blvd. right in front of Ala Moana shopping center. You could leave your car and do a few hours of shopping at the mall and you'll still have the same place in the line after you got back. After a while, the lady driver in front of me decides to turn into Ala Moana shopping center albeit requisitioning a one-way exit lane for a personalized entry. Initially it appeared to be an excellent idea. Women are from Macy's. Or something like that. Before I forget to mention it, the exit is only a single lane wide.

No sooner had she turned into the misappropriated lane, two cars in the approaching direction, one behind the other, come speeding at her, and she had to veer sharply onto the sidewalk border. In fact things were happening so fast, that the two approaching cars had to hop the sidewalk on the opposite side of the lane as they zoomed pass by her their wheels in the air. What a display of driving skills. You'd had thought that they were stunt drivers doing dry runs for a live scene later on on the set. You have to imagine that this is all playing out in front of my eyes while I'm sitting in traffic idling away the day which on most occasions is usually a mundane experience.

It turned out that the drivers in the two different vehicles didn't know each other that well. The one behind happened to be chasing down the front driver. So the front driver immediately gets snarled in traffic. The pursing driver steps out of his vehicle, leaves his engine running, and walks over to the lead driver, and then starts punching the lights out of the lead driver. Obviously, there was an argument moments earlier in the parking lot of the shopping mall before the main event. The guy was macho built but he sure didn't carry himself like a punk or appear angry at the world. To spectators, more like taking care of unfinished business. And his opponent, he was trailing way behind on the scorecard to say the least. All he did was cover up and do his best imitation of a punching bag. As soon as traffic cleared an inch, the bruised driver immediately stepped on the gas and high tailed it outta there rather than stand his ground if in fact he knew where it was after the pummeling. The last I seen of the two was the assailant chasing the assailed down Ala Moana Blvd, both of them weaving in and out of traffic.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Eggs and Things



The last time I attempted to balance a carton of eggs on top of the lanai railing, the carton fell over. Onto the lanai floor, not into the street, if that makes any difference .... most of the eggs ended up cracked. That's the reason for the half-dozen carton in tonight's photo. I bought the eggs from a local egg layer. Lately they were running tv commercials and asides from that they have two retail outlets that they sell directly to the public. The store I stopped in is in Kaimuki. Their big sellers are the trays, at around $8.00 each, however, if you buy 2 trays, you get 1 tray of small Grade A eggs for free. Since I was only buying the eggs to take a picture of them on the lanai railing, I bought the dozen carton instead. That's a joke, btw. I was in the Kaimuki area because I had to return an item at City Mill. When the countergirl was ready to refund me in cash, the cash register drawer refused to open for some odd reason. Huge hmmmmm. She had to call somebody else to resolve the issue electronically. Then I got my money.

Helicopter II


It turned out that Tuesday's Coast Guard helicopter was assisting federal marshals in conjunction with the police department in a fugitive roundup. The police department has its own helicopter but the feds have a huge arsenal at their disposal. Well, this morning, a helicopter off undetermined origin is back. It's too far away to discern the markings, whether it's the police. If it is, in this instance, it's bs. The area the helicopter is encircling is over the Ala Wai golf course fairways itself. Dunno what that would be about.



It took a few shots. Those LCD viewfinders can be a bit cumbersome.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wednesday's Apparently's


Huckleberry Finn is back with a first mate on their way to the Mississippi. These pics aren't the best resolution because they're taken with my older 4 megapixel clunker as such the telephoto is limited in scope.


Tonight's second guest. You've probably ran into this guy outside a Waikiki store waiting nervously as always for his master to finish up shopping.

Yesterday's Post

I mentioned yesterday about an unnecessary 4-hour freeway closure due to an accident from a driver entering the freeway in the wrong direction. Btw, the driver clearly at fault was the only fatality, but still, the 'condolence factor' kicks in, specifically, the length of the freeway closure is a makeshift memorial relegating the inconvenience to commuters caught in the procession being late to work, etc., secondary to the time required to complete a thorough investigation in accordance with the nature of a death. But to determine what? There's numerous eyewitnesses on the scene with earlier calls to 9-11 reporting a driver traveling in the wrong directions. There are also thousands of passing motorists who already tracked the debris with their tires far and wide miles down the road before the area was cordoned off and the freeway closed.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tuesday's Guarding the Coast


It musta took me 50 shots from the lanai (belcony) to get the Coast Guard sikorsky dauphin¹ helicopter in the picture. What it was doing flying sorties above the Ala Wai canal for over 20-minutes is....

(¹ mahalo, Nani)


Well, you've probably heard for yourself on tonight's news that the Coast Guard helicopter was participating in some kind of "an ongoing operation" in association with the Honolulu police departmen, get it, heli....cop....ter. Speaking of cops, yesterday the police dept. closed down the freeway for 4-hours to investigate an accident scene. The person who caused the accident was driving the wrong way. Anyways, the controversy revolves around what evidence would you be looking for for four hours to determine blame I guess with a situation where the perpetrator drives the wrong direction on the freeway, hits a car, causing another car to veer and hit the median? If this extended freeway closures weren't the standard M.O. every time there's an accident involving a fatality on the freeway, then it wouldn't be as bad as it is to the commuters late for work, and for all intents and purposes, an insult as it represents to common sense. Perhaps, it's all about something as simple as overtime. But it sure seems stupid.


Sunday, July 17, 2011

What is Wrong with the World?



I was on the freeway just above Pearl City and I signaled to merge right, to position myself into the lane for the freeway exit a half a mile up the road, up the road not down the road since the exit is at the top of a hill, and this beach in the adjacent lane, huge space btw, speeds up so there's no gap to merge into. Holy Harry Porter, I'll just merge behind her then, again beach, okay I feel better, but than she takes the same freeway exit, so she just about knew that was my intention too, not just getting in front of her. What is wrong with the world.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Sun Also Rises


Today, July 16, 2011, 6:05:28 AM


And lest you think, I'm the only one living on this side of the island, I backlit the photo to show you proof positive that there's a few more inhabitants. Probably blogging for all I know. Or for all I would want to know. That's a shot of the mountains and hills across the Ala Wai canal. (more later)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Spouting Off



Tonight's guest .... the Williams Sonoma non-spill spout that I bought a while back to stick onto the Wesson cooking oil bottle because I was tired of grabbing a sticky oil bottle. Inevitably, excess cooking oil drips over the edge of the bottle's mouth and down the sides of the plastic container. Even the freakin cap gets sticky. Then the handle on the refrigerator door gets grease on it a moment later. Then the volume button on the tv. Then the keyboards. Then the computer mouse. Just having some fun. At any rate, the non-spill spout was the solution.



The problem was finding a bottle with the right size mouth for the non-spill spout to fit into. Eventually, I found a maple syrup container that worked and have been using it for the past two months with no leakage. To my good fortune, the maple syrup bottle happen to have a promotional "50-percent more" capacity because typically, maple syrup bottles aren't that large to begin with. And yea, it's the cheapest maple syrup on the store shelf since things were still in beta and bottle collecting gets expensive otherwise. Just in case you're wondering, indeed, a glass bottle would work, the spout would fit perfectly, but I don't like glass containers around the stove. And el cheapo bartender's spouts won't keep excess oil from off the sides of a cooking oil bottle. The Williams Sonoma spout is extra spill-proof in that regards and of course more expensive.




Monday, July 11, 2011

Something that Bugs Me



I never ever saw one of these bugs before. It introduced itself by landing on the edge of the monitor screen. Even late night tv shows have better guests drop in on them. The bug seems to fly more than it likes to crawl. For some strange reason the general shape of the bug reminded me of a stink bug, the kind, you squeeze, and true to it's reputation, let's out a foul potent odor. That's tonight's bugology lesson.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

AM Saturday



I've rarely get to see 4-man canoes in the naturally carbonated waters of the Ala Wai canal. The photos were taken 6am-ish, in the morning. The person operating the inflatable raft was their coach (photo below). When I happened to look down from the lanai, the 4-man team were engaged in approximately 200-meters all out sprints. None of that row row your boat gently down the stream for this group. Btw, Blogger has been off and on for me this morning, and during some of last night Blogger wasn't running on all cylinders either.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Friday Tidbits



As always, Happy Aloha Friday, if it is, or if it isn't. Korean Festival tomorrow at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki (photo above). They're setting up for tomorrow. You're already aware for yourself that 2 out of the 4 regular cast members of the Hawaii Five-O task force are koreans. Grace Park (Canadian actress) and Daniel Dae Kim (Korean-American, previously of "Lost", also filmed in Hawaii). Perhaps, Grace will grace the festival with a guest appearance as the master of ceremonies, other than that, the highlight of the annual Korean Festival will remain the kim chee eating contest. The winning prize is free perfume for a week.

We briefly interrupt regular programming to bring you the following message....



Our tradewinds have been blustery over the past few days. The plastic chair mat, that I bought from Office Depot, that I set out "temporarily" on the lanai (balcony), Home Depot had rolled up the chair mat and taped the roll together for delivery, well the tradewinds knocked over the rolled chair mat and the roll eventually lodged itself of course against the end of the movable lanai door, essentially locking the door shut from the outside. The harder I tried to push the lanai door open, the more stubbornly the roll lodged itself in place. In the end, I had to stick the handle of a mop through the open jalousies to free the roll using the mop sideways.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

So, Disposed.



That's a tube and a nozzle from off another spray can that I stuck onto the Raid insect spray can. The Raid can has lasted 6 months so far. The object was to restrict the burst of spray to the insect in the line of fire instead of an entire square foot zone around the proximity of the target insect. In the process, the retrofit conserves the liquid in the Raid container probably quadrupling its useful life. The odd thing is that when I point the tube an inch away from the insect in the bullseye, the insect apparently freezes in position, perhaps thinking it's about to win the lottery. Then, one less insect.

Another odd thing, since it's happened enough times that the situation has become noteworthy, as in, it's a I'll mention it on the blog thingie. I get on our apartment building's elevator, press the button for the lobby floor. On its way down, the elevator stops to let another resident on. I step back to make room for the boarding passenger. However, when the elevator reaches the lobby floor and the door opens, the second occupant confoundedly motions for me to step out first as if to extend me a courtesy of sorts in spite of being closer to the elevator entrance since he got on after me in the elevator in that descending order. In return, I motion for him to step out first. Sometimes, twice.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Oranges, and Casey Anthony.



I forgot to mention that the oranges pictured in Sunday's post were lush inside. The Chinatown proprietor lets the oranges ripen in the sunlight. Well, at least, where the rack with the oranges on top of it, the rack, is setup outside exposed to sunlight unlike the supermarket fruits and vegetables basking in artificial light indoors ripening on the vine under a coat of paste wax. I picked out four oranges, the best of the lot, with not a single blemish mark from customers squeezing them for reason known only to their circle of connoisseurs, but when the bunch rung up to almost a whopping $4.00, I told the proprietor to take two of the oranges back, that my wallet only desired two oranges. That would have been almost an entire $1 bill per individual orange even at a lowly 99¢ per pound. I surmise that's due to the water content. Just like bananas. Ever rung up a bunch of bananas? Same thing. Of course I had no way of knowing at the time that the oranges sported USDA meat under their skin. I don't necessarily mean the best tasting oranges that I've ever ate on the planet, but the full body-ness. At any rate, the thing I most appreciate shopping at a Chinatown store is that they just want to sell you the merchandise, and they wouldn't be any happier whether the customer happens to be Joe the Plumber or Mr. Famous Person. That's a mutual since all I want is to buy the same merchandise. Thusly, things always worked out for me in Chinatown.

The Fourth of July was a NO-INTERNET day for me. A holiday in its own right. Does that make any sense at all. Yea, it does if you remember....the Internet makes you stupid. Anyways, the only tv that I did watch was the local news because the usual nothing but 24-hour news channels that I normally watch, had wall to wall coverage of the Casey Anthony case ad nauseam even though the jury was deliberating behind closed doors and the courtroom itself was empty. Casey Anthony was declared not guilty. Despite what you believe is the truth, there was no circumstantial evidence that tied Casey to the murder. To convict Casey of murder, would be tantamount to designating the prosecution as the beneficiary of the beyond a reasonable doubt rule. That's not the way it works in the USA. Just ask O.J. Simpson. Micheal Jackson. Anyways, a higher court would have reversed a guilty verdict on appeal. A legal expert on tv said that the prosecution got greedy. If the prosecution had sought a somewhat lesser charge of manslaughter, there would be six jurors without a lethal injection closure. A murder trial requires 12 jurors.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Tonight's Parade


Pardon the non-clarity of the photos, the parade started at 6 o'clock tonight, and the falling shadows reduced the available light. Or, I still haven't gotten the knack of adjusting the exposure, wink.


Hawaii's Ambassador of Aloha, Danny Kaleikini. Still the genuine article.




The same city and county Royal Hawaiian Band who were playing music at Kapiolani Park Bandstand in the previous post.


Miss Teen Hawaii USA.


There's a humorous nickname for these type of vehicles. Can't seem to remember.

Sunday at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki


I heard the Royal Hawaiian Band playing at Kapiolani Park Bandstand Pavilion when I was passing by. Decided to stop by, and to my delight there musta been only 100 people in the audience. Plenty seats available.






I dunno who the Master of Ceremonies was, but he had a radio broadcaster's voice. It gave a professional, professional something, to the concert. He sang along on a song too later.






I like the concrete pads they installed under the benches, instead of the plain dirt.



Later in China Town....


If you remember in the previous post, I was ranting about round onions costing a $1.59 per pound in the supermarket. 90¢ Cheaper in Chinatown, as are other fruits and vegetables.



Saturday, July 2, 2011

Saturday.....Sit-urday



I bought this chair the other day from Office Depot on Ala Moana Blvd. for $180. Office Depot delivers merchandise over $50 for free, too. Assembly required which turned out to be a lot of fun bonus. The amount of time that I spend at the computer calls for something comfortable to sit on. The old chair, the seat part, was tilted at the front due to metal fatigue, and it was getting to be anti-ergonomical to the extreme on the southern hemisphere. How's the condition of your own computer chair? I also decided it was time to purchase a new chair mat since the wheels of the old chair had worn potholes into the plastic mat at spots. And if you're wondering....no, it's not leather. But then the artificial leather is easier to maintain. I think the old chair lasted some 7-years. Not all that bad.

Remember Obama's speech about withdrawing troops from Afghanistan? If my math is right, Obama is planning to pull out only the troops that was added for the surge. That's not a military pullout in my book. What's keeping US troops in Afghanistan? A 100 al-Qaeda fighters? Possibly, but more likely, the 100,000 military contractors, who would be out of work without a war. While soldiers stationed in Afghanistan make $70,000, a military contractor makes $170,000, a $100,000 more for a phony position. Not all, but many do. Dishwashers obviously don't make much. It's become a money war and there's nothing better that the military contractors would like than for the US to embed themselves in Afghanistan indefinitely so they can roll over their cash windfall like it was a dead cat. Perhaps, Obama should cease listening to the advice of his generals who would be influenced by their friendship with Daddy Warbucks and their pals at the military industrial complex base camp.

IMHO, the resurgence of the Taliban is a bogus excuse for remaining in Afghanistan. Sure, the Taliban harbored al-Qaeda in the days following 9/11. However, that was mainly due to an obligation they were beholden to al-Qaeda for assassinating the leader of the rival tribe, the Northern Alliance, only a few days earlier. I highly doubt that the Taliban would invite al-Qaeda back to Afghanistan to train for executing another 9/11 type mission. From personal experience, the Taliban knows fully well the repercussions on their fiefdom that another terrorist attack on US soil entails. And now that the US has been in Afghanistan for a decade, we know the nooks and crannies of the terrain like the back of your hand.

When al-Qaeda pulls off a suicide attack on US soil, the world feels sorry for the US, but when al-Qaeda terrorists attack another country, the victim country is angry at the US. The US saved Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda's collective ass during Russia's military occupation of Afghanistan. In that sense, al-Qaeda is the evil stepchild of the US parent. Had the US not provided stinger missiles to the Mujahideen, they along with al-Qaeda would have been history. The Russian gunship pilots were afraid to fly since they were losing a helicopter gunship and their crew a day and the Russian roulette took it's toll and devastated the pilots' morale. If the current Afghanistan War was a play, it would be a penned as a tragedy. It would begin with an enemy of your enemy is a friend. Ever heard of the case where a child who murders his parents pleads for mercy from the judge because he's now an orphan? In this hypothetical play, it's the parent who pleads for mercy.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Friday's Sojourn


"Sojourn," I actually had to look up the word on Websters Online, and got a Netflex pop-up ad in the process on the Websters webpage, btw, the word means "temporary stay." I had thought sojourn meant a pleasant or peaceful trip to a mountain meadow, or something to that effect, but the word refers more to the length that you stayed at a mountain meadow. Meanwhile, going to get into that Netflex thing someday. Is it better than YouTube? That's a rhetorical question. Don't write an answer in the comment section. Excuse me for a moment, the zenon lamp on my desk is shinning in my eyes. Okay, back, after adjusting the zenon lamp. Opps it's already Saturday. This post was dated Friday. Regular readers to this blog will know what I'm referring to. All five of them. Rabbit Island, below.




The road carved into the side of the cliffs leading down from Makapuu scenic lookout to Sea Life Park has been repaved and chain link fence has been staked to the mountain side to prevent boulders from tumbling down on the traffic. The stop sign in the photo just before a bend in the road is the unofficial demarcation line between town and country on island's eastern tip.


When onions get to be $1.59/lb., I refuse to buy them.