Last post of 2009

Aloha: This is my last post for this year. I have decided to end the year on a positive note so I will just say that the the weather and the volcano are SOS. You all have a great and safe and joyous New Year. May God's blessing be with you and do take care of each other. Love to all.

Pet Peeves.

Aloha: We all have them. Little things that just set you off. There is one that I thought was put to sleep, but has reared its ugly head again. I do not understand how otherwise smart people can not understand that when we count we start at one. We have 10 fingers so out number base is ten. Why is it then that "smart" people thought that 1999 was the last year of the 20 century. Start at 1; end at 0!!! There was no year zero. I just read an article about "the end of the first decade of the 21st century". We still have 12 months left in the first decade. Start at 1; end in 0. Decade; 1 - 10. century 1 - 100. How hard is that? When you count your fingers it is 1 -10; not 0 - 9!!!!

Soon after I did my post yesterday, Anakam got a call from the insurance division of the office of consumer protection. She then got a call from her employer and she is to take all her paper work in to the HR people and they will work out the mess. Hopefully things will be worked out to her satisfaction.

After about 12 hours of a nice gentle rain the sun is back and the firemen are back on their knees. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice wet day and the firemen can stay in their firehouses. From this page to God's ear!

I hear that San Diego got a little bit on shaking this morning. There was an earthquake in Mexico. Quite a shaker, so there will be damage near the center of the quake.

Our volcano is just doing its thing and all is SOS, so that will be it for the day. May the Good Lord bless and keep you all safe in the palm on His right hand. In Nabru's case His left hand. for those of you who do not know; Nabru is left handed.

Prayers answered

Aloha: The firemen's prayers were answered last night as we had a nice gentle rain. I hope it keeps up until the New Years as it will help keep the fires to a minimum.

Today when I got to Anakam's house she was on the phone fighting with a health care provider bureaucrat. It seems that last October she mistakenly elected to get a policy that she does not need or want. She has been trying to get it fixed since then and the human resources person at her work site does not know how to do her job. The bureaucrat at Cigna can see the dollar signs and will not do anything to help. All Anakam wants is for them to drop the policy. The bureaucrat at Cigna kept telling her the "government" will not let then drop the policy. She could not tell Anakam what "government" or branch thereof she was referring to. In Hawaii we call that "pipikane kukae". It is what comes out of the south end of a north facing bull. Anakam now has the issue in the hands of the insurance division of the office of consumer protection of the State of Hawaii.

The vog is quite thick in Hilo this morning. Other than that it is a bright, sunny day in Hilo. Volcano was cloudy and a light rain was falling. The volcano was very bright from the overlook webcam last night. The report is SOS. I think I will close for today. God bless and be good to each other.

4th day of Christmas.

Aloha: Today is the 4th day of Christmas. January 5th is the 12th day of Christmas (12th night) and January 6th is "Little Christmas" and "the" big day everywhere except in the USA. The world is so much larger than our minds.

Today will be short and sweet, much to the relief of my brother Manuel. The volcano and the weather report are SOS. The mo'opuna report is, what can I say, he is a healthy active boy.

God bless and take care. May God bless the USA.

Last Sunday of 2009.

Aloha: Today is the last Sunday of 2009, so it follows, as night follows day, that this is the last Sunday report of 2009. But not to worry, there is always 2010, the last year of the first decade of the new century. The rain report is that we did not really have any. Less than o.1 inches for the week. The sun report is we had a lot. The weather report is we had some of that too. It got down to 37 one morning, but I still walked the dog in my "rubber slippa". Froze my toes.

The volcano report is SOS. For those of you who do not know what SOS means, this is it from the HVO website. Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Kilauea continued to erupt from two vents. At the summit, rising and falling, while continually sloshing, lava was visible at the bottom of a deep pit inset within the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater providing strong glow from the pit overnight. On the east rift zone, lava continued to erupt from the TEB vent and flow through tubes to the ocean just west of Kalapana; surface flows were active on the pali. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from both vents remain elevated. RB2S2BL quakes are at background levels, tephra is the same, and tremor is as it has been since this whole process started. (Same Old Stuff).

I got one bite on the small fire comment. A little turkey fat spilled in the oven and flared up. Two seconds later it was over, but made for a little excitement.

Kansas Vovo will be visiting in January and February. She will be here for my mo'opuna's 4 birthday. I wonder if A&T have anything planned for the occasion? What was the date again?

We have had such beautiful weather that the fire department is now praying for rain for New Years. The fireworks has a tendency to light the bushes on fire. Before Dan Inouye killed the sugar industry in Hawaii we would have cane fires and the sugar workers would have to cut fire breaks and help fight the fires. I remember the gook old days when there were no limits on fireworks and the smoke would be so thick you could not see across the street. My brother-in-law, Kansas Vovo's husband, was in the Army, and would bring us things that made the neighbors jealous. Those were the "good old days".

I could go on but will have mercy on all of you. For those of you celebrating Christmas on the 29th I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, of that, the 5th day of Christmas. God love you all and be safe.

A great day!

Aloha: I hope you all had as great a day yesterday as we had at Anakam & Topher's house. (I think I will just use A&T from now on.) The fire in the kitchen was very small and put a light smoke flavor on the turkey. We had way too much food and ate more than our fair share.

I got a test message from one of my nieces at 4a Christmas day. My phone was making a sound I do did not know and I was trying to turn off the alarm clock, 90% asleep, not knowing what was going on. I guess she was excited about having a white Christmas. Yes, AF, we love you too.

We have been living here in Volcano for more than 25 years. (we-25; me-30) When I first moved up here I had to get a PO Box as there is no home delivery. At that time I had to pay for the box. A few years later the PO decided to let us have the box for free, we just have to fill out a form every year stating that we live in the area. This year the PO has decided that I have to provide proof that we live here. They want a utility bill with our address on it. The only utility bill I have is an electric bill and it does not have a physical address on it. I do not have a land line phone and I have my own water system and sewage system so no bills there. I do have cable but no address there either. I hope they take the fire insurance bill. Why do they want that info after 25 years?

Weather is beautiful and the volcano report is "I forgot to check this morning". The overlook webcam had a great view last night. God bless you all and take care.

Just in case.

Aloha: Just in case I do not have a chance tomorrow I want to wish all of you a very, very Merry Christmas. I know how busy you all will be as we will be in a crazy mood too. Anakam will be doing her first turkey, and grandpa and grandma will be doing roast pork and sushi and lomi salmon and.....again too much food. Auwe! How can we lose weight? I really am too fat and I know I would feel a lot better if I lost about 60 pounds. For one thing I would be able to see my feet again.

This morning it was a bit chilly in Volcano. Thirty-nine on our porch and thirty-seven at the highway intersection. Still not a record; the first year I lived in Volcano it got down to 28 for three mornings in a row.

Auwe! I forgot to check the HVO website this morning, so I will just "wing" the volcano report and say SOS for the umpteenth time. (Wow, spell check likes umpteenth.)

Tomorrow we will be coming down to Anakam's early. I hope we will be able to sleep in on Saturday. We are planning on staying home on New Year's, as we have the last few years. I just might not get up at midnight to call and wake up my siblings.

My mo'opuna is waiting for the computer to play some of his games so I will close. God bless and take care.

"Junk" silver.

Aloha: Well, Christmas is almost here and I have not done any shopping, and believe it or not, I do not intend to do any. Christmas is just a reason to sell junk that will be discarded by January 1st. I guess that is what makes the economy hum but I think it would be better if the selling was spread out throughout the year. It looks like I will have to get with the program next year as my mo'opuna will be 4. That is the age when children understand just what is going to happen and kinda know how to make adults feel guilty.

I am thinking of investing in "junk" silver. It is not really "junk", but rather bags of pre 64 silver coins. The coins are 90% silver and are sold for their "melt" value. I read about a store that will redeem the coins for their "melt" value then you can use the "money" you get in the store. When I was a child you could buy a loaf of bread with a quarter. The dollars you get with a silver quarter today is enough to buy a loaf of bread. The silver has not lost it's value and the bread has not lost it's value. It is the dollar that has lost it's value. What my father was able to do on his small salary in the 40's and 50's it now takes two people working full time jobs and somehow we think we have gotten ahead. Auwe!!!

It was cold in Volcano this morning. It was back down to 44 after being in the high 40's for the week. It was nice and clear, with the mountains in clear view. The snow has all melted. It looks like we will not have a "white" Christmas this year. We will be at Anakam & Topher's house. It will be the same gang as Thanksgiving with two exceptions; Manuel will be here and Hawi sister and her husband will not. I wonder where Kansas Vovo will be for Christmas?

Our volcano is SOS. May God bless and keep you all in the palm of his right hand.

It has not stopped me before.

Aloha: I get the feeling that my readers do not want to read about what I want to write about so I have days like today that I really do not have anything write about. As I have said before, and I will say it again; just because I have nothing to say does not mean I will say nothing.

I have been trying to find something good to say about the "health care reform bill" in the Senate and I have finally found something. The Senate bill will reduce the rationing of care we now have. Care today is rationed by health insurance. Have insurance; have health care. No insurance; care is limited. In the present bill (Senate) the fines for not having insurance is so low that, for the young, the sensible financial decision would be to drop the insurance. For most of the young (late teens to about mid 40's) do not use and therefore do not need health insurance. Since the companies will have to cover pre-existing conditions there is no penalty for not having the insurance till you really need it. (When your house catches fire, call 911, then 411 and ask for the number of a fire insurance company. No pre-existing conditions.)

The volcano and the weather reports are SOS. Starting today the days will be getting longer and the countdown to 2012 begins. Three years and counting. 3..2..1.., you get the picture. I think it was 3 years for the USSR to be no more after Gorbachev got elected.

God bless and be good to each other. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Holy New Year.

Snow in Hawaii

Aloha: I was going to write about the woman in Virginia who killed her newborn, legally, but decided to go with the storm we had that covered our mountains with snow.

The last few days we have had rain in Hilo and lower Puna, we live in upper Puna. My oldest lives in lower Puna and had lightning strikes on her street. The thunder was so bad it knocked things off shelves in her home, and scared the dogs shitless. We could just see flashes of light up here in "God's country". This morning there was news of a cell over Kohala, between Hawi and Kapa'au and I am waiting for news from my Hawi sister as to what goes in her neck of the woods. The cell was to have produced penny size hail. In Hawaii thunder storms usually mean that there will be snow on the mountains and sure enough, I checked the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea webcams and there is snow on the mountains. (What is the Hawaiian word for snow?) As a kid I do not remember bolt lightening. We had sheet lightening that would light up the sky. It was not until I was 22 and in the Navy that I saw lightning bolts.

With all the rain they had in lower Puna we had only 0.2 inches for the week up here in Volcano. It was cloudy with no rain this morning, but now it has started to rain. It sounds like it will be a steady rain for the rest of the day.

The volcano is doing it thing and all is SOS. Hey, I think I just heard some thunder. No wonder the dog is on the porch "woofing" at me. He thinks I will let him. This is the time to show him that "fat" and "thin" mean the same thing. Like the dog has a "fat chance" of coming in the house. His chances are thin indeed! The adjective "fast" also can be used to mean to go quickly or to not move at all. Isn't English wonderful!!!!

Well, we just lost power for about 20 seconds and there was a clap of thunder. Time to go. God bless and take care.

It is sneaking up on you.

Aloha: Last night my wife informed me that this time next week will be Christmas. Auwe, it sure is coming up quickly. It looks like I will not be ready again this year. Next year my mo'opuna will be 4 and will know what Christmas and Santa means and I guess my free pass will have passed.

It is getting interesting in Denmark. As Shakespeare said, "there is something rotten in state of Denmark." Next year the rotten something will move to Mexico City. (For those of you who have not figured it out yet: I believe that anthropogenic global warming is a hoax that has, as its goal, the destruction of the American economy. It is based on the anthropocentric belief that humans are all powerful and responsible for all that is wrong with the universe.)

Our volcano is, again, SOS. The trades have returned so the vog is headed to Kona. The weather is bright and sunny. Clear weather equals cold mornings. I was 43 the other morning, 47 yesterday and 49 this morning. We just might have to invite another dog into the bed.

Have any of you noticed that I have started to put labels on my posts? "Run it up the flag pole and see if anyone salutes."

God bless and be good to each other.

Another one?

Aloha: After the last post I got another "follower". I really do not know what to think about this last one. I think it is a "scam" to get me to part with some of my money. I am one of those that do not open and/or look at things until I feel that it is "safe". I have a bad feeling about follower #6. Is it possible to remove a follower?

The volcano is, as usual, SOS. The weather is fantastic. The birds are singing, did you know, Volcano is the only place in Hawaii that you can live in a native forest with the native birds? I live in an old growth fern/ohia forest with apapane, making happy bird noises. Life would be prefect is Congress were not in session. (Sorry, I just had to get that in.)

May the good Lord bless and keep you all.

I got another one!

Aloha: Boy was I surprised this morning when I saw that I have a new follower. I clicked on the link and there were quite a few links to different blogs. I really do not know which one to read. I have no idea who he/she is and will have to spend some time going through the different links to see what is what. Looks like I will have some work to do.

Hey, Glen Beck just came on and he is in rare form. As I watch and listen to both sides, donkey/elephant, right/left.....I have come to realize that for some reason it is the right/elephant that seem to have a sense of humor. Donkey/left are all gloom and doom and everything is a crisis. "We can not let a good crisis go to waste." That is a quote from Obama's chief of staff, Rahm.

The weather in Volcano was great this morning. We could use a little more wind to blow the vog to Kona. Hey, better them than us. Our volcano is huffing and puffing and doing its thing. SOS. Not so much shaking, thank God.

I guess I will go to my new follower's blogs and do some reading. God bless and be good to each other.

Sunday report.

Aloha: How about a joke for today? Here goes, enjoy.
Young man Murphy applied for an engineering position at an Irish firm based in Dublin. An American applied for the same job and both applicants having the same qualifications were asked to take a test by the Department manager. Upon completion of the test both men only missed one of the questions. The manager went to Murphy and said, "Thank you for your interest, but we've decided to give the American the job." Murphy: "And why would you be doing that? We both got 9 questions correct. This being Ireland and me being Irish I should get the job!" Manager: "We have made our decision not on the correct answers, but on the question you missed." Murphy: "And just how would one incorrect answer be better than the other?" Manager: "Simple. The American put down on question #5, 'I don't know.' You put down 'Neither do I.'"

Have your eyes dried up yet? The rain report is 0.25 inches for the week. The weather is cloudy, with no wind so it is kinda voggy. The volcano is SOS.

It was good to see that someone is back on line. God bless you all and be kind to each other.

CFL's

Aloha: The other day I talked about the CFL bulbs that we will all have to use after 2012. Well, one person took exception to the comment about getting the "haz-mat" team in to clean up a broken bulb. I wanted to "lift" the part about clean-up from the EPA website but I do not think I have enough memory to do so, so I will, in my own words, give you all a few highlights. I hope I do not get cramps from tying this.

1.....Before clean-up; air out room.
a.....Have people and pets leave room, making sure no body walks through
the area on their way out.
b.....Open windows and air out room. Wait at least 15 minutes before
going back in room.
c.....If you have air condtioning or heating or fans, turn them off.
2.....Cleaning up steps for carpet and rug.
a.....Pick up glass and put in glass jar with metal lid.
b.....Use sticky tape to pick up small pieces of glass.
c.....Vacuum area; put used vacuum bag and/ dirt in sealed plastic bag.
3.....Cleaning steps for clothing and/or bedding.
a.....If clothing or bedding came in direct contact with glass or powder
discard items.
b..... Do not wash! You will contaminate the machine and
will have to get rid of the machine.
4.....Disposal of clean up materials.
a.....Place all clean up materials out doors for trash pick-up; checking to
make sure local requirements for disposal are met.

The volcano and weather reports are SOS today. The birds are making happy sound and it is just about time for me to go down to Hilo. God love you all and take care.

For reasons I do not understand this program will not spell check. Auwe!!!

Delivery

Aloha: Our bed arrived today. Delivery sometime between 9:30 and 11:30a They hit it on the head and arrived at 10:30. But..... They were supposed to break down the old bed and set up the new bed and haul away the old stuff. "Hey man, we just take away the old box spring and mattress, you have to remove the old frame and haul the frame away yourself." Now they are going to the dump to junk the stuff they take but cannot take away the frame at the same time? Auwe, no wonder the economy is in the pits; no customer service. A bright spot...the snail mail people delivered the flannel sheets today so the new bed will have new sheets. The sheets were shipped on November 4th and arrived today, December 9th. Not quite as bad as the cell phone from Maui but...

The weather is great and the volcano is SOS. Life would be prefect except that Congress is in session. With this group of nitwits Mark Twain hit the nail on the head.

God bless and take care.

Something interesting.

Aloha: I subscribe to an online newsletter from the National Inflation Association, (http://inflation.us). I will not bore you all with details, but I do urge you to read just one issue to get insight as to what is happening to our economy.

Not much for today. The weather was clear in "God's country" this morning. Clear and cold. It was 50 on the porch. Since the house is not heated or insulated it is only about 10 degrees warmer in the house. (The first year I was here it got down to 28.) That is the weather report.

The volcano report is SOS. Tomorrow the bed store is going to deliver a new bed. Our old one is only about 30 years old. I ordered some new flannel sheets and they were shipped on November 4th. Still a no show. I got in touch with the company and they are going to ship a new set. If I recall correctly I told you all about the cell phone that was shipped from Maui to the Big Island by snail mail that took 2 months to make the 75 mile trip. I just might get two sets of sheets out of this.

That's if for today. God bless and be good.

In the beginning.

Aloha: When I first started this blog I would copy a part of the HVO website as the volcano report. Hence today's title, "In the beginning", since that is what I am going to do today. Are you ready? Here it is!!!

Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Kilauea continued to erupt from two vents. At the summit, spattering continued from openings in the floor of a deep pit in the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and east rift zone vents remain elevated. From the east rift zone vent, lava flows through tubes to the coast and is entering the ocean at several locations west of Kalapana.

Just as in the beginning what I "lifted" is in red. Maybe I should put the rain report in blue. This past week we had all of 0.9 inches of rain in my neck of the woods in the village. How about green for the forest report? Red for fire; blue for water; green for veggies; and a jacket for me.

I just counted the light bulbs in our house. There are 27 of them. I changed to those energy saving fluorescent bulbs. The box says "lasts 10 times longer" then the regular bulbs. HA!!!!! Do not believe it. I have to change 4/5 bulbs a month, the same as with the regular bulbs. Right now I have to replace one in the living room and one in the kitchen. Have you ever had one of them break? We did. It will make your eyes water, and you have to call the haz-mat team. Also you are not supposed to throw them in the rubbish. They are a "no-no" in the land fill. Auwe no hoi! E kala mai i'au.

God bless and take care.

Waiting for the news.

Aloha: My brother just got back from having a great time at our niece's house for Thanksgiving. He told me about some family news that is rather exciting. I will not say just what it is until I read about it in a certain 4th grade teacher's blog.

My wife is teaching a class for the Red Cross this weekend. Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday. She is training instructors so each student has to do 2 "teach backs". That can take a long time.

Weather today is cloudy and rather dark. Good for staying in bed. My oldest is having a yard sale so I went down to her house for a short time this morning. It is a good way to get rid of unwanted items.

The volcano report is SOS. Earthquakes are way down. There is a glow from the Pu'u 'O'o vent and the Halema'uma'u vent. For some reason I can not get the movies from the HVO website to play on my computer. Something about a file missing from the "quick time player". When I click on the "fix" icon I am told the file is not on the server so TS. I was able to view them before so I do not know what happened. The same goes for the Mauna Kea webcams.

That is it for today. You will have to tune in tomorrow for the rain report. God bless and take care.

Kona weather

Aloha: We are having Kona weather in Hilo today. What that means is that Hilo is getting the vog and Kona is not. This happens when the winds are from the South. I had noticed yesterday afternoon that the sun was yellow-orange which is a sign that the sun is shining through the fume cloud. We usually do not get rain during times of "Kona" weather, just funny looking air.

Anthropogenic climate change: To make a long story short, it looks like an inside job, sorry Senator Boxer. The emails had been moved to a public server as part of a "freedom of information act" suit and into the public domain. This may just cost Al Gore billions of dollars over the next 10/15 years. Who knows, he n=might not be able to pay his $17,000 monthly electric bill not to mention his $8,000 monthly natural gas bill. Is it just me or do others think he is not a true believer. As a side note I was at the UH in the early 70's and there were professors there in the natural sciences who looked at the "next ice age" signs and took great pains to try to explain that the only constant in the weather is change and that it will go up and down (temps) until it peaks out and then back sown to the next "Ice Age". I find it quite amusing that in our anthropocentric belief we think we are so powerful that all that is wrong in the world is mankind's fault. Believe it on not, we are no greater than, or less than any other creature on this planet. We have a right to be here!

The volcano is doing its thing and just chugging along. In my opinion we will have a collapse of part of the rim in a short time, geologically speaking. All is SOS.

That's it for today. God bless and take care.

Snows of Mauna Kea.

Aloha: Last night our mountains got a light dusting of what we, here in Hawaii, call snow. It is really more like shaved ice, not light and fluffy. This is the second time this year we have had "white stuff" on the mountains. With the beautiful bright sun we are having it will all be gone by about noon. If you watched the news from Honolulu on the TV this morning you would think that we are going to have thunder storms all day in Hilo. I think that the people in Honolulu get a little jealous; if it rains in Honolulu, as it is today, then Hilo must be getting it worse, never mind the reality.

Since you have already gotten the "weather report" all I have left is the volcano report. I have the Fox News Network on and Niel Cavuto is on. He has the CEO from a place called "Blue Nile" and he just asked what the largest purchase they have via the internet. The answer: $1.5 million for a diamond ring. Hey, back to the volcano. Today is SOS with the RB2S2BL quakes still above background levels.

Have any on you been following the anthropogenic global warming hoax? The latest is that the "scientists" threw out the raw data so that no peer review could be done. All that is left is the data that they admit has been "tweaked". It looks like they started out on this path in 1996. The powers that be still have not figured out if it was a hacking of their computers or a person on the inside that leaked the info. I hope it is the second option as that would mean that somebody there still has a soul.

God bless and I wish all of you a very good December.

Last Sunday of November

Aloha: Boy does time fly. This is the last Sunday of November and Christmas is just around the corner. Soon it will be 2010. Today seems like it is winter here in God's country. The sun was shining for a few hours this afternoon but now at 4:17p it is 60 on the sunny side of the house and it has not gotten any higher all day.

The volcano report is SOS with the exception of the RB2S2BL quakes, which the number of have increased to above background levels. (Does that make sense?) I am OK with that as long as they remain 2Small2Be felt! The weather has been great and we had only 0.65 inches of rain for the week.

We are still eating leftovers from Thanksgiving. I told you we had too much food. Nabru has returned to P'Cola and reports that a great time was had by all (as usual) in Missouri. Same on this end.

Today was a "kick back" day and as little as possible got done. Just my kind of day. Tomorrow I will be sitting, not back, but with my mo'opuna. "The return of the "Tickle Monster". Wow, he will be 4 in January. Where does the time go? God love you all and please take care.

History repeats.

Aloha: A belated HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my loyal, and not so loyal, readers. I did not post yesterday as all my readers, that I know about, were not going to be near their computers to read my pearls of wisdom, so I just figured "what the heck".

Well, history has repeated itself again this year. We had too much to eat but tried to eat it all anyway. We all ended up more stuffed than the turkey. It was great. Now I will have to come up with some kind of excuse when I see the doctor on the 15th. I told him once that all mammals are genetically programed to store fat for the winter, but I do not think he bought it.

My wife had some excitement on her way to work this morning. A car entered the highway in front of her then started driving crazy. All over the highway, almost a head on, and finally ending up in the ditch. She pulled over and did her 911 thing and went to see if she could help. (She is a certified first responder) Much to her surprise the man got out of the car and had no major damage. His car was not as lucky. He will be hurting tomorrow.

I got a note asking about the volcano report. I stopped a few weeks ago to see if anybody noticed, (I am high maintenance blogger). Since somebody did notice you all will have to read about the volcano being SOS and that the weather is always great in "God's country".

I will have mercy on you and close now. God bless and take care.

Hoax exposed!!!

Aloha: In the 70's I was one of those people who held a sign that said "The Next Ice Age Is Coming". I am still waiting. We are now asked to hold signs that say " Global Warming Will Destroy Us All". I am not going to wait for the Ice Age to get here (in about 5000 years) and I do not believe in man caused global warming. Fact: There were once glaciers in Hawaii. This planet was once much colder then it is now! Fact: There were once palm trees in Canada. This planet was once much hotter then it is now. Yes, the earth will get warmer in the future. We are in an inter-glacial period and the earth will continue to get warmer till such time that Canada will have palm trees again. Then the cycle will will repeat and Hawaii will have ice caps on its mountains. I do not intend to stick around to see these things come to pass.

That brings me to the subject of this post. The entire "man caused" global warming panic is based on 5 studies and now over 1000 emails have surfaced that show that all 5 studies are PHONY! Made up. Not real. This whole "man caused" global warming thing is a HOAX! The next question is why. There is big money is global warming. In 8 years Al Gore increased his net worth from less than 2 million to over 200 million today. It is also a way to deminish the power of the United States in the world. I wish I had the "gift of gab". I have so much in my head that I can not seem to be able to put in words without getting very angry and losing my train of thought.

Sorry for the rant. God bless you all and may He bless the United States.

Better late then never.

Aloha: I almost forgot to make my Sunday report. Only 1.65 inches of rain this week. Now wasn't that worth the wait!

Anakam came back from Kaua'i this evening and I am waiting to read her blog about the trip. She called and had a list of people she met that are related to her on her mother's side.

My mo'opuna is feeling better today. He kinda had a rough week. every time he ate solid food he would throw up. Today was the first day he was able to keep anything down. I do not know where kids get their energy from. Even with the limited food he got, he was still full of energy. I wish I got half the energy from food that kid's get.

Take care and God bless.

A sad little boy.

Aloha: Auwe, my mo'opuna was a sad little boy last night. My daughter, Anakam, went to the island of Kaua'i on Thursday and Topher has to go to work early in the morning so I took CJ home with me last night. He was not a happy camper. "I want my mommy, I want my daddy." We had to go to bed at about 7:30p so he would stop crying. He woke up with a long face and so, since the doctor suggested not having him go to school today, we came down early. He was giving me directions on how to get to his house. He did not eat last night and did not want anything this morning. When he saw the McD sign he wanted to stop there, but he did not want breakfast. He wanted chicken nuggets. I told him he had to wait for lunch so that is where we are now, in the waiting mode.

I got a call from Manuel and all is well with him, Kansas Vovo, and everyone else at his first stop on his Thanksgiving adventure. I wonder if they will have snow this year?

That's it for today. Take care and may God bless.

I want that job.

Aloha: I have been watching the news about jobs created in congressional districts that do not exist. I found this little tidbit; (in red) Four Hawaii Phantom Districts Receive $45,639,408 in Stimulus Funds for 3.4 Jobs. States across the country reporting similar findings on Recovery.gov federal transparency web site. Malia Zimmerman http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?ca30a1e2-621e-4844-8fe2-41342687937a. $45 million for 3 jobs.....I want one!!!!! I can guarantee that I can stir up some economic activity with a job that pays $15 million. I might even let some of the teachers back into the classroom.

My mo'opuna has trouble keeping solid food where it belongs, so I kept him out of school today and the doctor (called) said to give him clear liquids and he should be all OK. Some kind of stomach bug going around.

I ordered some flannel sheets and I thought they would be here by now. Talked to the "boss" at the PO and he laughed at the thought that they would be here in 10 days. He said lucky if 3 weeks, maybe 4.

I guess that's it for today. God bless and keep all of you safe.

Busy, busy, busy.

Aloha: As my daughter said in her last blog, this is a very busy time of year. Making plans for Thanksgiving, where we will eat too much, and all the normal things working people have to do. Tomorrow I have to be in Hilo by 5:30a to take Anakam to the airport for her trip to Kaua'i for her HCC job. She just got a promotion at her other job and is now a supervisor. I will have to take CJ home tomorrow night and take him to school on Friday. My wife will be teaching a class for the Red Cross for the next few weekends. The course is for first responders. You know, the guys who get there before the EMT's and the police. Not so much for accidents, but for natural disasters. That reminds me of a joke. "What happened to the woman who backed into the airplane propeller? Disaster."

CJ did not go to school today because he was not feeling well. I had to pick him up early the other day because he was sick at school. He threw up at school the other day and today he had diarrhea. (That word just rolls off the tongue.) Believe it or not my mother thought that it would have made a beautiful girls name.

That's all folks!! God bless!

A requested blog

Aloha; I have tried to get my siblings to start their own blogs as a way for all of us to keep up with what is happening. The only way I can get them to read my pearls of wisdom is to email my blog to them. Well, my brother, Manuel, has requested that I tell the world that he is going to visit relations and friends on the mainland. He leaves today and will be gone till December 4th. (Or is it the 3rd). The highlight will be Thanksgiving at our niece's house in Missouri. Kansas Vovo and our other brother from Florida, Nabru, will be there with about 100 other nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews and our new great-grandniece. I was able to go a couple of times and it was a great experience. The first time was at one niece's house and the next year was at another's. The second time we had about an inch of snow and that was the first time my wife saw and felt real snow. I think I got 3 snowballs in the face before breakfast. A great time was had by all. We have "snow" on the mountains here on the Big Island, but it is more like shaved ice. Not soft and fluffy but hard. A Hawaii snowball is more like a rock and you do not want to be hit in the face with one.

FYI: There are glacial moraines on Mauna Kea. Hawaii once had ice caps, year round, on its mountains.

I guess that it for today. May God bless and keep all of you safe.

Sunday report

Aloha: The company I worked for before I retired three years ago is closing its last supermarket today. They will still have their connivance stores (Wikiwiki Marts) and there larger store (Island Market) in Na'alehu. I worked for them from 1974 till I retired from the Na'alehu store in 2006. I bring this up because there was a get-together yesterday in Kea'au and I was the oldest fart there. I just knew a handful of the older timers. I worked for Sure Save longer than most of the people there have been alive. Wow, this is getting to be rather morose and maudlin. I did not intend it to be so. E kala mai i'au!

My rain gauge runnth over. Not really, I just wanted to say that. It holds 5 inches and this last week we had 5.5 inches of rain. On Thursday I saw that it had 3 inches so I emptied the gauge so it would not runnth over. Spell check does not like runnth. How else would you spell it? The weather today is cloudy without rain, for now. Hilo has been getting a load of wet and wind. There is a small store by Anakam's house, Kai Store, that had the awaning blown off the front of the store the other day. Took some of the siding with it.

Thanksgiving for the Hilo clan has been set for Ka'iulani and Burida's house. My sister and her husband from Kohala are coming in and she is bringing her great pumpkin pies.

Well that it for today. God love you all and take care.

Hello out there...

Aloha: I was just wondering how I could get more people to read my pearls of wisdom. On purpose I allow comments without identification to encourage dialog, but it seems that there are very few of you out there who read this thing. Auwe, dear leader is on the tube again.

I had yesterday off for Veterans Day. I stayed home all day yesterday and just kicked back. Today I am back in Hilo and will have the honor of picking up CJ from school. He like to play little games with me. The other day I had him doing a counting game on the computer. The problem was 1+3=? His answer was 3. I told him to count the bottles so he counted 1, 2, 4, 3 see three. I know that he can count and the look on his face proved that he know what he was doing. Have I bored you enough already or do you want more? OK I will have mercy on you and end this thing. Gob bless and be good to each other.

Happy Veterans Day!!!

Aloha: I would like to take this time to wish all you veterans out there a very happy Veterans Day. When I got out of the Navy in 1969, after serving 3 years 8 months and 8 days, I went to the UHHC under the GI Bill. At that time I grew my "freedom beard" and looked like a "mountain man". One regret I have is that I never got my picture taken with the beard. I grew out my beard on two occasions in my life and both times I did not get a picture taken of my bearded face. Do not forget that the United States is the land of the free because of the brave!

I saw an interesting thing the other day and am going to put it here. Are you ready? I hope this copy and paste thing works.

NOAA: October was 3rd coolest on record (global cooling continues)by News Release Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Auwe; the photos did not make the trip. If you want to see the photos I guess you will have to go to (hawaiifreepress.com) yourself, or I guess you could go to the NOAA site. Sorry.
PHOTOS Left: Sun at peak of warming, 1998. Right: After 10 years of cooling, 2008. NASA reports that the absence of sunspots continues today.
The average October, 2009 temperature of 50.8°F was 4.0°F below the 20th Century average and ranked as the 3rd coolest based on preliminary data. If you are surprised by global cooling like this, it means you haven't been paying attention.

I also saw a program where Al Gore was being asked question and he was asked a question about the Polar Bears. Polar Bears are "endangered" and Gore was asked why there were more bears today than there were 40 years age. The questioners mike was cut off. It seems that the bears are "endangered" (a political distinction) when they are, in fact, not (reality). Another example of this kind of disconnect is that OJ is not guilty (a legal distinction) even though he did kill his wife (reality).

Auwe! Enough for today! God bless and take care.

Great - Grand

Aloha: Well it is now official. Not only am I grand, but now I am also great!!!! I am now a great grand uncle!! My sister's daughter's daughter had a daughter. In our family the first member of each new generation is female. The tradition continues...

It was cloudy at Volcano this morning. It is now partly cloudy in Hilo. The volcano report is SOS. Notice how much more exciting the second paragraph is than the first?

Now for the most exciting paragraph of all. God bless and take care.

Go to jail!

Aloha: It looks like Polosi got her way with the passage of the health care bill. Since no one can read a 2000= pages nobody knows just what is in the bill. FYI how about the following:
JAIL FOR NO INSURANCE UNDER PELOSI BILL The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation reported that the House version of the health care bill specifies that those who don't buy health insurance and do not pay the fine of about 2.5% of their income for failing to do so can face a penalty of up to five years in prison! The bill describes the penalties as follows:
* Section 7203 - misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
* Section 7201 - felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years." [page 3]
That anyone should face prison for not buying health insurance is simply incredible.

It was cloudy in Volcano when I left this morning. It is cloudy here in Hilo this noon. There was no glow on the Pu'u 'O'o webcam last night, although the "glow holes" in Halema'uma'u were quite visible. So the volcano report is SOS.

I got two responses to my plea for help about the birds pooping on my porch. One assumes that I live alone and do not have to take into consideration the feelings and desires of others. The second reminded me that I can use the same Internet I use for this blog to look up things, such as "bird repellents". Quite a few options there; from plastic hawks and balloon eyes to electronic devices to scare the birds away. I will be doing some research but am thinking the hawk thing looks good.

That's all folks! God bless and take care.

Another Sunday update.

Aloha: Another Sunday has come. and it is time for all of you to find out how much rain my rain gauge has accumulated for the last 7 days. Here it is!!! All of 0.05 inches. That's right, 5 one thousands of an inch. Today is another beautiful day in paradise!

The "glow hole" in the vent is almost closed off by spatter. I saw a faint glow from the Pu'u 'O'o webcam the last two nights. All else is SOS.

Anakam has given me the day off on Wednesday. November 11th is Veterans Day and I am a veteran. After going to UHHC on the GI Bill I got a job and had to shave my "freedom" beard. I took every Veteran's Day off. At that time my employer let us take one day off sick without a doctors slip, so I would take "my" holiday. We had a good deal at that time. We would get 7 paid sick days a year and if we did not take them off we would get 7 days pay as a bonus at the end of the company's fiscal year. When the bosses son came home from college and started to "work" for the company we lost those kinds of benefits. We did not get paid for one day sick and had to go to the doctor to get paid for any day after that.

We have a problem. Our big dog lives on our porch and he does not mind if the birds eat his food. I have seem one perched on his head while he is sleeping. The problem is that the birds poop all over the porch and make a great big mess. I want to get rid of the birds but do not want to hurt them. Any ideas?

I will close this for today. God bless and take care.

The plot thickens

Aloha: The floor of the vent is continuing to collapse. In reality spatter builds up along the edge and then the thing collapses. All else is SOS.

The weather at Volcano was bright and sunny this morning when I left. I had to leave early as my wife's "tank" had to go to the doctor this morning. She has a new noise that she wants to have checked out. I just might have to wait for her to finish her job at Big Island Candies tonight. Then I will have to come down early tomorrow. My wife is just like my mother, in that, she can function with very little sleep. Me, I need all the sleep I can get.

I guess that will do it for today. God bless and take care.

Do I have pull or what!

Aloha: Yesterday I put in a request for clear skys and, low and behold, the sky cleared in time for me to pick up my mo'opuna from school. Too bad the same thing does not happen with my bank account.

Last night there were more collapses of the floor around the vent, hole or what ever you call it. Other than that the report is SOS. The weather today is fantastic. Another beautiful day in paradise.

I really should learn to make notes when I think on something I want to write about. I have a problem with being able to remember one thing when I start to write about another. I guess I will just chalk it up to old age.

Did you notice that in all the political races that ended yesterday, each and every one that our "dear leader" campaigned in, the person he supported lost! I saw a graph the other day that showed he has made more speeches in one year than the previous President did in 4 years. I think that is called overexposure!

God bless and be kind to each other.

Something new

Aloha: There has been a change at out volcano. Just after 3 am, the floor between two of the holes collapsed leaving an elongate opening; just before 6 am, more of the floor collapsed to reveal a circulating and spattering lava pond below. The red part is from the HVO website. Auwe, I missed it. It sure would be nice if they would publish some sort of schedule of upcoming events. I really have lost tract of how many holes there are in the vent in the crater in the caldera, or if we now have a hole in the hole....... Tremor and RB2S2BL quakes are still low, tephra is slightly higher with new bits and hair. SO2 is still elevated. Almost SOS.

It was beautiful at Volcano this morning, but started to rain at the rubbish dump (transfer station) on the way down. It is wet all the way to Hilo. I hope it is not raining when I go to pick up CJ at school today. I do not like umbrellas. If I hold it high enough to keep my head dry poor CJ will get wet and if it low enough for him I can not hold on to him when we have to cross the street. I have put in my request for clear skys from 2 to 3p this afternoon.

Hey, Glenn Beck just came on so I guess that will do it for today. Take care and may God bless and keep you all safe.

A great day.

Aloha: Wow!!!! When I signed on today I had two new blogs to read. The one from my grand-niece has some great news. A very exciting time in her life. The other post is from my oldest and the traffic into Hilo was so bad this morning she was late for work.

We did not have our mo'opuna Saturday night as was planned. My wife and I were in Hilo to bring him home. He refused to take his nap and was getting more and more "cranky". Anakam told us to go on home as she and Topher were not going to go to the Halloween Party that evening. They were still planning to take him to the Plaza for Halloween "trick or treat". From what I have heard he did not improve and lost out on the "trick or treating". Poor kid! We had been trying all afternoon to get him to sleep so he could go but no go.

This morning the temperature was 50, and clear. I had to go to the dentist and it was 81 in Hilo at 9a. Topher's car had trouble so he was not able to go to work. After my torture session I checked with Topher and since I was not needed (boo-hoo) came back home.

The overlook webcam sure looked good last night. Too bad it is not in color. There was a lava pond with a vent on one side and the surface cracks all aglow. Quite a sight. Everything else was SOS.

That's all folks! God bless and take care.

Sunday report (again).

Aloha: November is here and I hope you all (mainland readers) remembered to change your clocks. In Hawaii we do not have Daylight Saving Time. We stay on Standard Time all year long; and, believe it or not, we do not even have trains.

I have been living here in Volcano for just about 30 years. Last night, for the first time, we had "Trick or Treaters". I was walking our big dog and there was a lady and her two children, all dressed up, were out on the road. I really felt bad that we did not have anything for the kids. I did my "sorry" thing and explained that they were the first in 30 years. The first Halloween after we got married we had made little bags of goodies and only one car came into the driveway. When we went to give out the bag the car backed out and took off. I got the impression that had we not been at home we would have come home to a very bad trick. Halloween is a good time for the "baddies" to do there evil deeds as there is a lot of traffic in the area. It was a Halloween night when I got robbed 35/40 years ago when I was living and working in the Waimea area.

We were going to have CJ with us last night but I guess my daughter and Topher had too much PARTY the night before so did not go to whatever Halloween Party that was planed for last night.

Now I know you are all waiting for the rain report so I will not make you wait any longer. We had all of 0.25 inches of rain this past week. The weather today is beautiful, bright and sunny. A great day to be alive.

The volcano report is SOS. There was no glow on the Pu'u 'O'o webcam last night. The overlook webcam was another story. Quite the view.

All pau for now. God bless and keep you all safe.

Happy Birthday

Aloha: Well, today is my youngest daughter's birthday. To be more precise, the 24th anniversary of her birth. Alter all, we are only born once. Today I will take my mo'opuna home for the night as Anakam wants to PARTY. My mo'opuna does not really like the dogs and the dogs don't know what to make of him. We will have CJ for most of the weekend.

The weather was nice when I left this morning. The Pu'u 'O'o webcam and the overlook webcam showed glow last night. All is SOS.

Take care and may God bless you all.

Pu'u 'O'o

Aloha: Last night, for the first time, I was able to see a glow from the Pu'u 'O'o webcam. Other than that the volcano report is SOS. The weather today is voggy. Since I do not have any sense of smell left I do not know if the white stuff in the trees is fog or vog. I checked the HVO webcam and they are socked in also, so am guessing it is vog.

Tomorrow is Anakam's birthday. We wish her a very "Happy Birthday". She lucked out and was not a Halloween baby, which was a big worry for her parents too many years ago. We were worried about the teasing she would have to endure if she was a Halloween baby.

Let's see, you have the weather report, the volcano report and the exciting news, so I guess it is time for me to close. God bless and take care of each other.

In Hilo again

Aloha: The title says it all. I am in Hilo. I just picked up my mo'opuna and am now waiting for him mom and dad to come home. Today he "officially" learned something he has known for some time. And that is that red and yellow make orange. He had to paint a pumpkin at school today. He has been mixing colors on the "Curious George" website for some time now.

The volcano and the weather are "same o, same o". Well, that is it for today. Very exciting. God bless and take care.

Sunday Update

Aloha: Well another week has come and gone. The older one gets the faster the world spins. I have found out that I am also getting taller. Either that or the faster spinning of the world is making it harder to bend down and pick up anything that I have dropped. It must be the centrifugal force. I know that you all are dying to know so I will not make you wait. The rainfall total for the week is 1.35 inches (+/- .025"). I have been told that the plus/minus thing makes it look more like I know what I am talking about.

Our volcano is continuing to shake and bake so all is SOS. The weather is beautiful. Just about all the rainfall happens at early (2/5a) morning. Right now it is bright and sunny, and 64 on the porch. A great day to be alive.

I sure would love to read some blogs. God bless and take care of each other.

Final Samoa (if you are lucky)

Aloha: I know it is a little late but.... My wife got in Friday morning at about 8:30a. The Samoans she worked with were really sorry to see her go. There is a great difference between the volunteers from the mainland and the ones from Hawaii. There is a great difference between the volunteers and the paid staff from FEMA. The FEMA boss in the big house and the staff in the hotels. The Americore(?), Catholic Charities, and the Red Cross in the gym, on cots, 70 to the room. When the last hurricane watch we had some FEMA "bosses" came and they have no idea of what is takes to live on an island. When my wife was in Texas for hurricane relief if you needed water, you got on the phone and the next morning a semi would roll up and you had your water. On an island you get your water a week later, if you are lucky, and only if the piers have not been damaged too bad so the ship can be offloaded. With a hurricane some hurry up planning and stockpiling can be done, but a tsunami gives no warning and what are needed are workers, not bosses. Pau vent.

I slept through the 4.8 quake we had the other night. I did not even know about it till I got an email from Kansas Vovo. I really do not mind missing out on that kind of excitement.

That's it for today. I can not wait to give you all the rain report tomorrow. I know you all are just on pins and needles wanting to know. God bless and take care.

Next to the last Samoa update.

Aloha: It is now final!! My wife will be leaving Samoa at 11p Thursday. She will be arriving in Honolulu around 5:30a on Friday. She will call me when she gets into Honolulu to let me know her inter island flight time and such. Funny how much anticipated news can be transmitted in just two sentences. Now what should I write about. Not to worry, I will think of something.

The weather today was misty. Anakam called this morning to ask me I wanted to go for a ride. She had to go to Pahala to trade out a couple of monitors and wanted company. We were back in Volcano by 10a. I went down to pick up my mo'opuna at 1:15p. Last night I got stuck in a line of cars that stopped completely. It seems a tree fell on the power lines and onto the road. I got home later that usual. Now wasn't that exciting!!!! I told you I would find something to write about. And how about three subjects in one paragraph?

The volcano is SOS. You can see the hot spots in the vent by logging on to the overlook webcam.

I will have mercy and quit now. God bless and be good.

Good News

Aloha: I just got a call from my wife. Very unusual; she does not call in the middle of the day. She will be leaving Samoa on the 22nd at about 10p. That is 11p Hawaii time. Again the powers that be were making noise about a passport so she called Immigration and was told that the papers I sent her when she was in Honolulu will be more than enough. It should be as that is the same paperwork Obama used to prove he is qualified to be president. Other qualifications are still in doubt. Stay tuned for a "nasty-gram" from some of my readers.

Our microwave went "kaput" this morning. I was reheating a cup of coffee and the thing would not go on. I just bought a new one "male" style. That means I went into the store, found the ovens, picked one out, paid for it and left. I will not spend $30 on gas to save $15 by shopping around. I am now looking for flannel sheets. Checked Sears and they did not have any so decided to stop. I just might go and try someplace else tomorrow.

The weather was misty when I left Volcano this morning. Wet all the way down to Hilo, and is now cloudy bright and humid. I am waiting for the clock to tell me it is time to pick up my mo'opuna from school. I am waiting to talk to Anakam as she had a parent-teacher conference on Friday.

The volcano report is SOS. There was a great view from the overlook webcam last night. The lave pond was quite high and you could see splatter and such. At about 10p the pond drained away and now there is nothing to see. The area is still inflating so we just might get some fireworks yet. Or not.

God bless and take care.

Sunday report

Aloha: I know that you all have been waiting with bated breath for the rain report for the last week. Your wait is over!!! We had all of 0.15 inches of rain this past week. Now, wasn't that worth waiting for?

My wife called last night and there is a good chance that she will be coming home on the 22nd. It is not firm yet but that is the date the powers that be are aiming for.

The weather today is great. On a day like today there is no place on earth more beautiful then Volcano, Hawaii!!!

The volcano report is, again, SOS. There has been a slight change in inflation of the volcano. What that means I do not know but it is a reason to check the report tomorrow. The overlook webcam view was nice last night.

That's all folks! God bless and take care.

Touching base.

Aloha: Just a short post to touch base with all my faithful readers. The return plans for my wife are firming up. They have asked her to stay at least one more week but she has declined. She does have a job and is not really foot loose and fancy free. They will be flying back via Hawaiian Airlines. She will call me when she gets into Honolulu for me to pick her up. This will be on the 23/24 or 25th. I said firming up, not firm.

The weather now is beautiful. It had been volcano misting about an hour ago. The volcano report is SOS. The overlook webcam does show two glowing spots, one has been producing Pele's hair. Other than that, SOS. Don't forget, tomorrow I will have the rain gauge report. I know you all are waiting for that.

God bless, be good and take care.

Tsunami In Hawaii

Aloha: Did you know that the tsunami that hit Samoa also hit Hawaii? I didn't. I just saw pictures on the Hawaii Free Press (www.hawaiifreepress.com) website of the wave on the Kona side of the Big Island. I think that Civil Defence should revisit what they consider an "all clear". We could have had a disaster. There are 3 pictures on the "front" page with a "more photos" link. Go to the "more photos" and there is a picture of a man standing at the top of the boat ramp with the water above his knees. That kind of surge could easily sweep a child away!

I got a call from my wife last night. It seems that in Iliili, where she is, has had a good old Hilo rain for the last 2 days. The volunteers from the mainland could not believe how much water can come down out of the sky. Don't they read the Bible? Of course the locals and the people from Hilo just change slippers (flip flops/shower shoes) for shoes and go about their business. A little water never hurt anyone.

I am in Hilo again today and it is clear and "warm". It was clear when I left Volcano this morning. The volcano report is SOS. I did see a report on, I think, yahoo, about the fumes from the volcano creating havoc with some flower growers. That has been a problem ever since the vent opened on the floor of Halem'uma'u. The SO2 values have been much higher than normal ever since the vent opened, but the higher values are what I call SOS., if that makes sense.

The cargo plane that took my wife down to Samoa was a newer version cargo plane so it took them 5 and a half hours to get there. Others flew on an older version and their trip was 8 hours. The Hilo group will be flying back on a normal passenger plane, but the final dates have not been set yet. The powers that be have been making noise about having people stay for a few more weeks but I do not think there are any takers. People do have to work and earn a living.

I guess that is it for today. Take care and may God bless all of you.

SOS revisited

Aloha: I got a note from a reader today. It is great to know that somebody out there is reading this thing. It seems that the reader had heard on the news, I guess, that the volcano was in fact not SOS. Since I missed yesterday I checked and did not see anything different. This is from the HVO website today: Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Monday's short DI event is nearing completion. Glowing spots were recorded in the summit vent webcam view. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and east rift zone vents remain elevated. Lava flows are active on the pali; lava is entering the ocean west of Kalapana. For those of you who do not know a DI event is just the lava moving up and down (Inflating and Deflating) in the plumbing of the volcano. Tremor (Harmonic Tremor) is the recorded sound lava makes as it moves through cracks in the rocks (conducts). When the volcano erupts tremor goes way up, sets off the alarm to wake the vulcanologists up so they can "ohh and ahh". The tremor usually starts before the lava breaks out of the ground. Some people say I have verbal diarrhea so if you want more information on what little I know you will have to ask.

The weather today is great. I will be down in Hilo later today as I have to pick up my mo'opuna from school and sit till his parents come home from work.

I could go on but will not. God love you all and take care.

Very interesting!

Aloha: I just saw a very interesting thing on TV. A guy had a pre 1964 quarter. He could remember when a quarter would buy a loaf of bread so he took the quarter to a metal dealer and sold the quarter for its silver content. He got enough for the quarter to buy a loaf of bread at the local supermarket. The bread did not lose value in relation to the silver. It is the dollar that has lost its value. Silver is at over $17 an ounce and gold is over $1000 an ounce.

My wife calls, using a calling card, every day, so far. She will be in Samoa for about 2 more weeks. There is a cruse ship in the area and she gets to go on board to get a hot shower and a hot meal every once in awhile. I think twice so far. The weather is hot in Samoa so just walking from the bus to the shelter and she is soaking wet from "sweat". (I know, horses sweat, people perspire.)

Today the weather is misty, but very pleasant. The volcano is doing its thing and is SOS.

Too bad my daughters have forbidden me from commenting on the news of the day. Things are getting very scary for our nation. That's all I will say as I do not want to get "nasty-gram" from my dear daughters, God love them!

God bless and take care.

Weekly rain report.

Aloha: I know you all are just waiting for the rain report so here it is. Would you believe 0.50 inches for the week ending this morning? Believe it or not that is what it is.

My brother-in-law, Chief, was on TV the other day. He was being honored for his work helping the Red Cross. He is a great help to my wife setting up for her classes when the Red Cross has their big push on CPR Saturday.

It was a beautiful day this morning but now we have a misty drizzle. That's the weather. The volcano report is no big changes from yesterday. SOS all over again. Very exciting day!

Take care and be good. May God bless you all.

You got to be kidding!!!!

Aloha: "April fools has passed, the Nobel Prize Committee is the biggest fool at last." I honestly thought it was a joke when I first heard about it. "Dear Leader" is now a member of what once was a very elite group. Lose an election to a Bush, win the peace prize; criticize a Bush, win a peace prize. Blame a Bush for all the worlds problems, win a peace prize.

On a happy note, Anakam and CJ came up to "Gods country" yesterday and we toured the National Park. Unfortunately my friend Arthur came along so we were not able to do much walking. All in all, it was a beautiful and enjoyable day. I hope to have many more of them!

Today is another glorious day. There is more air movement today then there was yesterday. A great day to be alive!

The volcano report is getting to be a drag. SOS........ Every day Same old same old. Hey, the news channel is like the volcano; "Dear leader" is talking again, this time to a gay rights group. SOS.

God bless and take care.

End of Flash

Aloha: I have decided to stop using "Flash X" as a title unless something really important happens. I can hear the cheering from here. Today "here" is in Hilo as Topher had to work as did Anakam, so I lucked out and got to sit my mo'opuna. It has been a very still day in Hilo and hot. It has just started to rain and I am hoping that the rain will cool things off. I will not find out till Topher gets home if I will be needed tomorrow.

My wife called me at 10p Hawaii time last night. She had called at about an hour before any tsunami would have hit Samoa and at that time was waiting for the buses, that had gone into the "field" to pick up workers, to return to pick up the shelter workers. She did not say so but I got the impression that the buses never returned to the shelter. Thank God that the earthquake did not produce a large wave as the shelter is at sea level. I have a felling that I will not get the "straight scoop" till after she returns. Today she, and the other volunteers, are getting language lessons and cultural awareness training. Again, she has not said so, but I get the feeling that the Red Cross is not too well organized in Samoa. Have I made mention that she can get a one hour calling card for only $5? Quite a deal I think.

The weather was clear when I left Volcano at 5:30a this morning. I had to leave early as Anakam had to be at work before 7. The volcano report is again SOS. I did not see any glow when I checked the webcams last night. (Spell check does not like "webcam".)

My former employer has just sold the last supermarket the chain owned to Foodland. I am still "on call", but can not remember the last time I did any work. When I do work I just do paper work. The guy in charge of the meat department at Na'alehu also works in the meat department at the supermarket so I have no idea how that will work out. The news release said that employees can apply for jobs at Foodland. (Foodland, Sack and Save, Emjays, Big Save, all are the same company, the largest food retailer in the state of Hawaii.)

That"s all for now. Take care and may God bless you all.

Flash 6

Aloha: I got 2 calls today from my wife. There was an earthquake in Vanuatu and Samoa is on a tsunami watch. She is at a place called Iliili, at the airport, less than a 10 minute walk to the beach. ETA for any wave generated is 3:10p Hawaii time. The tsunami watch for Hawaii has been canceled. I am now waiting for her to call to let me know that everything is A-OK. It is now past time for the wave to get to Iliili. No news is good news.

It is bright and sunny here in Volcano and we just had a great big "boom". I do not think it was thunder as it was quick and short. The dogs have been whining and fussing all afternoon today. Well, we just had a normal thunder so we just might get rain. The dogs sure do not like the noise.

The volcano report is SOS. The lava pond has receded below camera view but the glow says it is still there. That's all for today. God bless and be good.

No Passport

Aloha: I went down to Hilo today to see about getting my wife a passport. I tried calling and got tired of playing "punch the number", so went down to see what goes. To make a long story short I was right, passport have to be issued in person. It takes 6/8 weeks to process, but wait, for an extra $50 the time can be reduced to 3/4 weeks. When she was at Hickam she called and there were several members of her group that did not have passports so who knows what will happen in 3 weeks.

I told some of you this so please bare with me. She called the other day and told me that she had gone to a store to buy a phone care. When she told the owner what she wanted he let her call me on his store phone. I thought that was very nice of him. She told me that starting today she will be working the phone in the hospital fielding calls from people looking for loved ones. I do not think I could handle that. Just thinking about it is bringing tears to my eyes.

Hawaii has been on a flask flood watch from yesterday and will continue till Thursday afternoon. No rain here in Volcano yesterday and none today. Cloudy, some mist, but no rain. We could use a little wind as it is kinda voggy today.

The lava pond returned to the hole in the floor of the vent in the floor of the crater in the floor of the caldera. Last night the pond was crusted over by you could see how large the pond was because of cracks in the crust. It is a much nicer view when the surface is churning around. All else is SOS.

God bless and take care. Love to all.

News Flash 5

Aloha: I got a call from my wife this morning. The Red Cross has given each of their volunteers a calling card so that they can call those who care for them. Samoa is one hour behind Hawaii and she said that the area looks like the Hawaii of 30/40 years ago. Opihikao, Hawi, Kukuihaili, Milolii, only a lot hotter. They are keeping her very busy. She got to Samoa at 3a Saturday and has her own cot to sleep on, in a shelter. She has already been mistaken for a Samoan and has asked me to look into the possibility of getting her a passport. She does not like to have her picture taken so I really do not have one that could be used for that purpose. I guess I will have to go into Hilo to the main PO to check on getting a passport.

I just found out that if you drive across the border (with Canada or Mexico) you do not need a passport, but if you fly across the border you have to have a passport. Another government gem!!!

The weather is cloudy and kinda misty. Not really wet. The volcano is, I guess, SOS. I really can not remember if I checked the Kilauea update this morning. I know I checked the earthquakes and the webcams, but do not remember reading the update.

Oh well, that's all folks!!! God love you all and be good.

Sunday report

Aloha: The big news today is that for the week we got 1.45 inches of rain. How's that for exciting news.

Have you ever thought about how brave early explorers were? To leave family and friends behind, knowing that you will never see, or hear, from, or about, them again? No telephone or mail. Gone forever. Just something to think about. I know, sometimes my mind goes places I do not even understand.

The weather and the volcano are very SOS. I have not heard from Samoa so am guessing that no news is good news. Well, that's all folks. God bless and be good.

News Flash 4

Aloha: It is now 10a in Hawaii, and 9a in Samoa. My wife left Hickam at about 9:30p last night. The AT&T rep confirmed that there is a "roaming" fee in calls from Samoa to Hawaii and from Hawaii to Samoa so news from my wife will be very limited. The fee is between $2/3 a minute. It seems that AT&T does not service Samoa so all the palms must be greased.

The tale of FEMA requiring a passport/birth certificate to go to American Samoa reminded Nabru of the time he wanted to rent a car to go to New Mexico. The car rental company kept telling him that rental cars could not go across the border even after he showed them a map showing them that New Mexico is a state in the US and not a part of Mexico (for now). That reminded me of when I was in the Navy stationed in Maryland and I bought a car. I registered the car in Hawaii and proudly put the Hawaii plates on the car. Countless people, on seeing the plates, would ask me how long it took to drive across the Pacific. I got tired of telling them that the new bridge cut the time down to 12 hours.

The gods have been crying ever since my wife left the island. The volcano report is basic SOS. The biggest change is, from the HVO website, "The lava pond visible within the summit vent for the past few days disappeared around 2 am as lava retreated to deeper levels in the conduit, with glow diminishing accordingly. Prior to this, the lava pond was experiencing typical filling and draining cycles." I was asleep so did not notice the change.

That's all folks! May the Good Lord bless and keep all of you safe and may He bless all who live in our hearts.

News Flash 3

Aloha: Well, last night my wife worked till about 8:30. Got home at about 9:30, packed for her deployment and got to bed after 2a. We got up at 4a so she could be at the airport at 5:30 when they open. She flew to Honolulu via Hawaiian Airlines, then a cab ride to Hickam Air Force Base. That is when the trouble started. Drivers licences is not sufficient to get on a military aircraft so she would need either her birth certificate or a passport. Most of the Hilo group were caught in the same web. After looking in all of her "hiding" places I found her "Certificate of Live Birth" and had to run it down to Hilo and have it sent via air cargo to Honolulu where she will be able to pick it up after 4p. ($16) When I get home I get a call from my wife and they are driving her crazy. Now they say a fax will do. And it is not a military thing about the "birth certificate" but rather a FEMA thing. Now FEMA has decided that American Samoa is a part of the USA and that citizens do not need to prove citizenship to go there. Her drivers licence would have done just fine. She will still have to go get her paperwork from air cargo after 4p. Maybe she will not be able to leave Samoa and will need her "certificate" to prove she is not Samoan. For those of you who may not know my wife is Hawaiian. Close, but no cigar!

Today's weather is wet and the volcano is SOS. It looks like we got about 0.5 inches of rain last night. The overlook webcam showed the surface of the lava pond and spattering. Earthquakes and tremor keep going up and down, up and down. For the first time in a long time there was fresh tephra, not rock dust.

Oh, my wife was told that a call from Samoa will cost about $2/3 a minute so I do not think there will much talking going on between Hawaii and Samoa. I will have to check with my cell carrier and check it out.

God bless and take care. May God bless America.

News Flash 2

Aloha: My wife will be leaving Hilo on Friday to go to Samoa. Since she is a workaholic she went to work today and I think she will go to her second job tonight. That means that she will have to pack tonight and get ready to go. So far we do not know what time she will leave Hilo to go to Honolulu. The National Red Cross is making the arraignments and she will be going from Honolulu to Samoa by military transport. She thinks the plane will be filled with Hawaii volunteers. My oldest daughter told me that there is an article in the paper this morning about her going to Samoa. When I go to the PO I guess I will stop at the store to get a paper.

The overlook webcam had some nice views last night and early this morning. At night the camera will record in black and white. From daybreak to about 7:30a it will show color so you can see the pond of lava in the hole, in the vent, in the crater, in the caldera. This seems like a good place to sneak in that the volcano report is SOS.

Today's weather is wet. I made a small pot of soup and it is good soup weather. I cooked up some Tonbo Ahi (albacore tuna) for my wife as she really does not like soup although she claims she does. Whenever I suggest soup she shoots me down like she is the Red Baron and I am Snoopy.

We thank all of you for your wishes and concerns about my wife's trip to Samoa. May God bless and keep all of you safe and sound.

News Flash!!!!

Aloha: Just a short note for a news flash. As most of you know my wife is in the American Red Cross as a trainer for instructors and just about everything else. She was deployed to Houston for the Hurricane there and she has just called me to let me know that she will be deployed to Samoa in the next few days for earthquake relief. She will be gone for about 2/3 weeks. In Houston she was in Logistics and this time I think she will be in Shelter Management. God bless her and all the people she will be helping. God bless all on you.

Hawi sister, where are you?

Aloha: It has been a long time since my sister in Hawi has responded to my blog. I have not heard from her since before Nabru and his grandson visited. (Hint, hint) I am thinking of putting in a closet on the porch. I will have to cut a hole in the wall and, quite frankly, am kinda "scared" I will miss the mark and make a big "boo-boo". I am 99% certain that I have got it figured out but still....

Today's weather is wet, wet, wet. The volcano is SOS. God is in his heaven and I am in Volcano. May He bless and keep all of you.

Tsunami

Aloha: This morning there was a very large earthquake off the coast of Samoa. Hawaii went into a tsunami watch for a while and has since been taken off the watch. However the beaches have all been closed for the day as there will be some small wave action and currents around the beaches will be disrupted and could be dangerous. It has been a long time since we have had a tsunami here in Hawaii. I remember the 60 wave and helping with the clean-up. I saw the National Guard pulling bodies out of the wreckage and transporting them to the morgue. These islands are long overdue for a major tsunami. The school that CJ goes to is close to the tsunami zone so classes were canceled for today. Whatever wave action we will get is expected in about on hour.

I tried to go for a walk in the park today. It was very nice when I got up this morning but by the time I was ready for my walk the sky was dark and it looked like rain. I ended up just going to the PO and back. The sky is still not too friendly but no rain yet.

Our volcano is chugging along doing its thing so I guess I can say it is SOS.

That's it for today. God bless and take care. May God bless the USA!

New Info

Aloha: I have some numbers to share with you all today. I did not empty my rain gauge since last Sunday so the rain for the week was 0.60 inches and one bug for the week. Tune in next Sunday for an update. The second number is found in today "Kilauea Update" from HVO. The number of RB2S2BL earthquakes reached 25 per hour yesterday. Now all they have to do is let us know how that number relates to "background" levels. The webcams are stuck at 7:30p last night. They were fixed since the last time I reported them and I guess the fix did not stick.

This past Thursday the school called and I had to pick up CJ. The school reported that he had a fever and was feeling sick. He sure acted healthy when I picked him up, ran in the parking lot and fell down. No sympathy from me as I had told him not to "play around". (No damage.) Because he went home sick on Thursday he was not allowed back on Friday so I, grandma, and CJ did not get to participate in the special program at the school for "Kupuna Day". I had even shaved for the occasion and, believe it or not, was wearing shoes. It was a wet day so I did not get to take him to torment the ducks and geese at Wailoa State Park.

The weather and the volcano report are both the same, SOS. Hey, I have not heard from a certain 4th grade teacher in two weeks. Hope everything is OK. May God bless and be good to each other.

A new Post

Aloha: After over a month of silence Hokusushi has posted a blog. To read about her weekend in Kona go to http://hokusushi-mynow.blogspot.com/ . Too quick we become old, too slow we become smart.

For some reason the webcams I check have had the same picture since 8:30a Tuesday. Earthquakes are way down, tremor is up and the whole thing is SOS. Weather is great in Volcano and hot in Hilo. Since I stopped emptying the rain gauge every day I have gotten 0.25 inches of wet for the week. I have also gotten one bug. I hope it did not drink too much of my water.

Tomorrow the preschool has a program for student's grandparents and after it is over I will be taking my mo'opuna and I think we will go to Wailoa State Park to torment the ducks and geese. Just outside the park is a bread "day old" store and I guess I will get some for CJ to feed the "fly boys". And girls. Anakam has requested that I wear shoes and that I shave for tomorrow. I just might wear my "old guys rule" shirt too.

God bless and take care. May God bless America.

Pissed off!!!

Aloha: Just what is biting my butt? Saturday my wife worked at the County Fair all day. While she was giving free time to a group that exists to help the community, some A-H keyed our new car. Right down the drivers side. When I saw what had happened on Sunday morning I really thought that summery execution was a good idea. One thing for certain, they would not do it again.

On a happier note, CJ spent the night with grandma and grandpa last night and will again tonight. He was very good about getting up and dressed and all the little things to get ready for school. We went to McD's for breakfast, he had hotcakes and I had a Sausage McMuffin. McD's is just across the street from the school so quite convienent.

It is hot in Hilo today. It was 80 at 8a this morning. Clear when we left Volcano. The volcano is SOS.

Be good and may God bless.

Another beautiful day.

Aloha: After a wet day yesterday (0.1 inches) today is a bright and sunny day here in "God's country". My wife and a couple of her lady friends are "manning" a booth, all day, at the County Fair today. I bought a pair of sawhorse brackets the other day and now I can not find the saw I bought a year ago so that project is on hold till I figure out what I did with my saw. I just can not find anything or remember where I put things anymore.

Have I told you all how I am being "screwed" by Social Security? Because my wife has a family plan that includes me Medicare does not pay. I pay almost $100 for plan B coverage and Medicare will not pay for co-pays so I am throwing away $100 a month for nothing. HMSA has told me that Social Security law mandates that HMSA is my primary carrier and Medicare is secondary. Therefore, Medicare pays nothing. Bend over everyone, here comes the government!!!!

The volcano is just chugging along, SOS. Tomorrow my mo'opuna will be a guest up here in Volcano for two nights. After school Monday I have to take him to see his doctor. I hope he does not need to get a shot. I think it is just a follow-up for a cough he had earlier this week.

That's all folks. God bless and if you can't be good, be careful.

Lucky Nabru

Aloha: Boy did Nabru luck out. While he was on this side of the Big Island the days were bright and clear. We did get caught is a shower while at the Lava Tube, but other than that the weather was very "user friendly". Not so today. No problem as Nabru and his grandson are in Kona and on their way to Hawi. Then it is back to Atlanta and P-cola.

Last night I checked the webcams and there was quite a glow from the overlook webcam. Nada from the HVO webcam. Earthquakes are below background levels and tremor is elevated. So everything is SOS. I have been asked how long I thought this volcano thing will go on and the answer to that question is long after I am dead, cremated and scattered to the winds. This whole process started in 83 and there is no end in sight. However it could also just go "pop" and be over tomorrow.

Anakam has a conference in Kona to go to this weekend. Actually Sun, Mon and Tues. Topher has to work early on Monday so Grandma and I will have a house guest for Sunday and Monday night. Poor Topher! He will be all alone in the house.

Hey, it is 3:30p and the sun is making an appearance. Tomorrow my wife is going to help the Jaycee's at the County Fair. I will stay home and play on the computer.

God bless and take care. May God bless America.

Constitution Day

Aloha: Today is the 222nd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. It is too bad that for the last, at least, half century our leaders (Presidents, Congressmen, Senators and Judges) have been treating it like a piece of toilet paper. I am going to stop writing as I am getting very, very angry about the lost of our country.

God bless all of you and may He, please, bless America.

Another Great Day in Paradise

Aloha: Today was a great day in paradise!!!! My brother and his grandson spent the day up in Volcano touring and I was lucky enough to tag along. Tomorrow they pass through the Volcano area and go to Kona through Ka'u. They might even go to South Point. They will spend the night at an old hotel, Manago's, in Capt Cook, then the next day go on to Hawi and from there to the airport and back to Atlanta. Poor Zack, my brother is 70 and I am 65. Zack is 11 and I do not think he finds the same things interesting that us old guys find interesting.

The Volcano is putting out a bunch of fume. All else is really SOS. The weather has been very nice. Today we did get a little wet at the lava tube, but the rest of the day has been dry. We went to Hilina Pali for the first time in a great many years. Kipula Nene has been closed off. In the 60's and 70's we used to picnic there often.

That's if for today. God bless and be good to each other.

A great picnic

Aloha: Yesterday was a great day up at "Bird Park". I still call it "bird park" because that is what the area was called when we first started going there in the late 40's. My dad got his first car when I was 4 years old and I am the 4th of 5 children. Our major form of entertainment on weekends was to get into the car; yes all 7 of us, no seat belts; and go for a ride. We rarely knew where we were going, we just went. It was a great life. Well, to get back to what I was talking about, our picnic was great. As usual too much to eat. My older brother and my grand nephew made the mistake of eating breakfast, but we stuffed them anyway. My younger brother showed up just as we were putting the food away. He made an even greater error as he had eaten lunch. The church he goes to has a pot luck every Sunday after services. We did not expect him as he usually gives rides to 1 to 3 people from Hilo and they are "antsy" to get back down to sea level. He said he told them they were on their own so he could be there.

After we had eaten and got things packed up the weather went from bright and sunny to slightly wet. I guess we lucked out as we did not have to walk around the park trail. Us old guys dodged a bullet there. The weather today is the same as yesterday. It is now about 1p and has clouded up and it looks like we just might get a mizzle.

On Wednesday Nabru and his grandson pick me up and we will tour the HVNP. I love showing off this island. I hope my friend Arther does not show up as he can be a real pain and a drag.

The Volcano report is SOS. The only oddity is that earthquakes are really down. Below background levels. The overlook webcam has recorded a glow for the last few days, but the glow does not show up on the HVO webcam.

That's it for today. I am still waiting for a response from Connie. God bless and be good to each other.

Are you there?

Aloha: When I was a kid (last century) we were told that in England you answered the phone, not with a "hello", but with a "are you there". I have titled today's blog "Are you there" because I only follow 4 blogs and I have not seen a posting from 2 of them in over a month. Hokusushi and Coconut Girl Connie are missing in action. Hokusushi is my daughter Anakam so I see her all the time so she is OK, but Connie? "Are you there?"

Have you ever had your phone ring and when you answer the person on the other end asks "Who are you?"? I just tell them "If you do not know who you are calling I do not want to talk to you." and I hang up. Well, not really that politely.

I had an uncle, Uncle John, who, one day, got a call from a young lady who wanted to talk to Fred. He told her that she had the wrong number and that no one named Fred lived there. She called back about a half hour later and did so for about 4 calls. Finally he told he that Fred was out with Jane and the girl just broke down crying. He felt so bad that he spent the time to convince her that she indeed had the wrong number. Funny how one thought leads to another and us old guys just keep rambling on and on and on and........

I think I will stop looking at my rain gauge every day and maybe just once a week. Except for the one time I got 0.35 inches all I get is a trace amount. If I just leave it in the gauge for a week the trace today and the trace tomorrow just might add up to something I can measure.

My brother and his grandson are coming to this side of the island today. It looks like I will be off next week so I just might be able to "tag along" on the trips on this side of the island. We just might be able to see a sea turtle on the beach at Punalu'u.

Wow, this is getting long. Take care and be good to each other. May God bless all of you and may He bless America.

A Virgin no more.

Aloha: Well it finally happened. My rain gauge is no longer a virgin. We got .35 inches of rain the other day. I was going to make the big announcement yesterday but the wife and I went to Casco in Kona and were gone all day. Yesterday was sunny all over the island. Not so today. We had to go into Kea'au to do the laundry today, and it was wet all the way down and back. I will check the gauge tomorrow to see how much we got today.

Auwe!!!! I forgot to check the HVO website for the volcano update. Yesterdays' report had earthquakes at way below background levels. I hope she is not saving up for a grand one.

I guess that is it for today. We are looking forward to the visit of Nabru and his grandson. They leave Atlanta tomorrow and will be here for about 3 weeks.

God bless you all and may He bless America.

My "new" computer

Aloha: No I did not get a new computer. For less than $40 I expanded my memory so now I do not have to wait for things to happen. When I got this machine it came with 512 megs. Now I have 2.5 gigs.

Today my brother leaves Florida for Atlanta. He leaves Atlanta for Hawaii on Monday with his grandson. Everyone on this end is looking forward for this visit. My sister, Vovo, is thinking of a trip in January. I guess she wants to get away from a Kansas winter. My brother here in Hawaii is planning a trip to Missouri for Thanksgiving. I, on the other hand, am planning a trip to the bathroom in a few minutes.

Today is a very unusual day. My wife is actually taking a day off from work. Monday is Labor Day so she is going to be off for 4 days! At first we were going to go to Cosgo in Kona, but decided to sleep in this morning. I think we will be going tomorrow. Anakam called last night and I will be sitting next week. Poor CJ. I will have to be the bad guy and make him sit and eat and sleep when he is told so he will not be dis-enrolled from school. He really needs to be with kids his own age.

The weather is wet and the volcano is SOS. My almost new rain gauge has only recorded trace amounts of "precipitation".

God bless and take care. May God bless America.