A walk in the Park.

Aloha: Today is a much better day than yesterday. I was able to go for my walk in the Park. When I got to the Lava Tube a few bicyclist showed up. We had a nice chat till they realized they were one short. The guy I was talking to thought that she had gone to the restroom, but was taking too long. When her husband went to check she was not there. (Rereading what I wrote I see I forgot to say that it was 2 couples.) I think that the missing rider did not know that her companions went up to the tube overlook and just went by. I asked if the missing rider had a cell, and the other woman looked at me as if I was crazy. They went looking for her and I went home.

It looks like something might be happening at out volcano. The following is lifted from the HVO website. Activity Summary for past 24 hours: Seismic tremor and summit earthquakes increased starting at midnight along with glow from the Halema`uma`u vent after 3 am suggesting the return of a lava surface deep below the Halema`uma`u Crater floor. The report also stated that the RB2S2BL quakes are above background levels. Things just might get interesting.

Both of my daughters report having wild pigs in their yards. That would be expected for my oldest as she lives in the "boonies", but Anakam live in Hilo proper. Walking distance from schools, churches, stores, and other city stuff. I suggested she get in touch with Fish and Game so they could trap them. I worry about my 3-year old mo'opuna.

Here it is, almost noon, the temperature is 62 and it has gotten dark outside. It was like this yesterday at just about this time, but we did not get any rain. My wife reported that it poured in Hilo yesterday.

Well, I think I will quit for today. God bless all of you and may God bless America.

Air Quality

Aloha: When I got up this morning it looked like a good day for a walk. However, when I went outside the air quality was bad. When I got to the end of the driveway I could taste the sulfur in the air. If I can taste it it is really bad since I have lost most of my sense of taste and almost all of my sense of smell. One good thing with loss of smell is no problem changing a dirty diaper.

Our volcano is doing its thing. No changes. What I can not figure out is in the daily report HVO will say that "12 earthquakes were located under Kilauea", yet on the earthquake update there will not be any quakes shown. Strange!

The wind has picked up here in the village so the air quality has really improved. The HVO website still shows the plume going the "wrong" way. I do not like to walk in the middle of the day as it can get quite hot, even up here at 4,000 feet.

I have the news on the TV and am not so happy. Politics, flu....Auwe!!!! God help us. God bless all of you and be good to each other.

Do you have the flu?

Aloha: Two weeks ago I was sick with a cough. No fever or any other symptom just a bad cough. I got over it and now my wife got it. Same like me, just a cough, nothing else. It took me about 10 days to get over the bad cough, but I still will get a fit about one or two times a day. My mom had gotten the flu in 1918 and as a result never got the flu again.

This morning it did not look like a good day for a walk so I stayed home. I should have just done it. It has been cloudy all morning, but no rain. The plume from Halema'uma'u is going in the wrong direction so the air quality is in the "not so hot" area, so maybe I did make the right decision.

It looks like Topher will be off the week that my wife and I go to Denver for her user conference in May. We will miss out on my youngest graduation from college. Auwe!!!! Do not tell my wife, but I was hoping that the trip would not be approved. I, for one, would rather visit people than places.

This morning the temp was below 50. Now, at 11:30a, it is 60, and cloudy. The volcano report is the same old SOS. Because the wind has been blowing in the "wrong" direction HVO has not been able to measure SO2 production since April 15.

Well, I guess that is it for today. I hope this finds all of you healthy and well. God bless you and may God bless America!

Webcam info.

Aloha: The part in red is "lifted" off the HVO website. I included it so if any of my readers want they will have the web address where they can go to see the view from any or all of the webcams. Ready, set, here we go. Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: For the second consecutive night, glow from the summit vent was very weak (as recorded by a webcam directly over the vent - see our new "Webcams" link at hvo.wr.usgs.gov for that and other live camera views of Kilauea and Mauna Loa). How about that, I am always surprised when it works! The volcano report is the basic SOS.

This morning was bright and sunny, temperature about 55, but a little voggy. It is now 10a and it has gotten cloudy. If it is the same tomorrow I will be able to go for a walk.

We had a pleasant evening at my daughter's house for her "candle" party. As always too much food. Wow, the sun just broke through the clouds. It is a bright and sunny day again.

As I said in another post, Topher is off this week so I will be writing this from glorious Volcano village. I will get to sleep past 5:30 a, go for my walk and write my blog. I just might think up a pearl of wisdom or two.

God bless and take care of each other.

Odds and Ends.

Aloha: I got an e-mail, two really, after my last post and non-post. After the last post I was told that "there is no law that says I must post every day". So yesterday I did not post anything. I then got the second e-mail asking why I did not post anything. So here we are today.

I do not know about the rest of the island, but Volcano did not have much of the predicted heavy rain. The webcams on ML and MK show no new snow even with the thunder storms. This morning the sun was shining and it looked like it will be a beautiful day in "God's country". However now at 9:15a it is overcast so who knows.

This evening the wife and I will be going to a "candle" party at my daughter's house. A "candle" party is like a Tupperware Party only they sell candles. My daughter has a thing for candles. She has candles in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the living room, in the dining room, in the bedroom; have you gotten the picture yet?

My wife was told yesterday that her trip to Denver has been approved. She is now trying to make her reservations. Just as she was to lock in the flight the screen flashed that the flight has been sold out so she has to start all over again.

God bless all of you and may God bless America.

3rd time is the charm.

Aloha: This is the third time I have tried to get something written today. Unfortunately my brain has gone south for the day and let it ever be said that having nothing to say has stopped me from trying. Everything here is SOS, except that the Weather Service is expecting heavy showers this afternoon and tomorrow. My mo'opuna is much better today. Eating well and not throwing up. Topher is off next week so I will be doing this from home. I hope I will be able to walk in the park. Well, that's all folks. God bless and take care of each other.

Did the earth move for you?

Aloha: As you may have noticed I changed the size of the font. If any of you need it to be larger let me know and I will be happy to go back to the larger font.

Did any of you feel the earthquake yesterday? Both Anakam and I felt it so I reported it on the earthquake website. It took awhile but my "technologically challenged" brain finally figured out how to do it.

Yesterday I went to order my new glasses and when checking my record I had to change my phone number. I got rid of my land line and am going with my cell only. One thing led to another and it seems that the eye glass doc has had those car warranty calls also. I think that Dale was right because his (the doc's) was from a different number than the calls I got. Both my wife and Anakam got calls yesterday and their calls were not from the same number as mine. I guess if you make a million calls and get a response of 1% you can make a mint, but you also get a lot of enemies. I really do not see how anyone would respond to those stupid pop-ups on the computer. They just get me angry.

I was watching Fox News yesterday and saw something very interesting. There was no sound, just video. It was a meeting of Chavez and Obama after Chavez had given his hour long "speech" and had given Obama that "book". Obama and Chavez were in profile and the interpreter was facing the camera. Obama was giving that little dictator an earful. Wagging his finger in Chavez's face and poked him once in the chest. The interpreter looked like she was about to be shot. Chavez, face looking down, did not say a word. My estimation of Obama went up a few points. I still think he is in over his head, but am glad he will not take any "crap" from petty dictators.

Auwe, my mo'opuna just threw up!! What a mess!! I guess that will be it for today. God bless and take care.

Hornet's Nest

Aloha: Boy did I stir up a hornet's nest. So far I have gotten 5 comments about that call I got about the car warranty. I will be sending a snail mail "nasty -gram" today to the registered owner of the phone number. The phone number (256-659-6931) is registered to a Tomas D. Sebastian, 1962 Road 92, Crossville Al. 35962. One of the comments pointed out that he may also be a victim of the scam so I will tone down the "nasty-gram" to a "mild roar". I will also follow up on another comment and file a complaint with the FCC. On a related note I also get these "offers" in the mail. If they can not tell me what car they are talking about the letter goes into the circular file. The end (for now).

I checked the summit webcams and it looks like the snow is almost all gone. The weather at volcano this morning is the same as yesterday. The volcano report is SOS. Today the HVO website called the tephra "juvenile", whatever that means.

My little spider man is asking about the spiders and crickets and bats and such so I think I will take care of my little piece of heaven. God bless and take care of each other.

The "eyes" have it.

Aloha: I got back from the eye doctor a little while ago and boy, do things look weird. I had drops in the eyes and am now waiting for things to clear up so I will be able to go to the eye-glass shop. It was spooky driving back to Anakam's house. Every time I start to write on this blog my mo'opuna wants to see spiders. I guess he will just have to watch Poo for a while till I finish.

The vog was bad in the volcano area yesterday. A little better this morning and is light here in Hilo. With the "kona" winds we usually have bright and sunny days at volcano. When only Pu'u 'O'o was degassing the vog would be below the inversion layer and volcano would not have any vog. Halema'uma'u change all that since the vent is above the inversion layer. The weather and eruption updates are SOS.

Have any of you gotten a call about your car warranty? I have gotten at least 3 in the last month. The number is 256-659-6931. I googled it and have a physical address. I am thinking of sending a "nasty-gram" to show just how much I appreciate their concern. I do not listen to the message and now Anakam has programed my phone to say "Do not answer, Scam".

Well, it looks like it is spider time. God bless and be good.

Like a bad penny

Aloha: Like a bad penny that keeps turning up, here I am again. Oh how lucky you are. The wife and I had a very pleasant time in Waikoloa this past week. being in the area brought back memories of hiking in from Puako in the early 60's to camp on the beach and fish, in the ocean and in the pond. There was a 3 walled shack on the beach that we slept in. Years earlier, when my older siblings were in high school. the family would go the Hapuna and we would be the only ones on the whole beach. During the summer a couple of school teachers from California would camp for about 2 months at Hapuna and then we would have company. I think we cramped their style.

The weather and volcano reports are SOS. Topher works this week so I am on duty. The song lyric is so right. "The closest thing to heaven is a child".

Hey, the sun is out and the temperature has gone up 5 degrees so I think I will go out and toast a little. God bless all of you and be good to each other.

SNAFU

Aloha: Just a short note. We are here in Waikoloa and I just got back from a visit with my sister and her husband. They are fixing the windows on the windward side of the house and the windows look good. They are double paned so when closed the room is very quite, no wind noise.

I am using my wife's laptop and do not have my list of favorites so was not able to check the volcano websites. I hope all is well with our volcanoes.

Hope this finds you all well and may God bless.

PS....S(ituation) N(ormal) A(ll) F(screwed) U(p).

Vacation?

Aloha: My wife and I will be going to the other side of the island this afternoon. I do not like to write on a laptop so I may not post anything while I am there. I guess that means that all of you will have a vacation from me for a few days. The reason I do not like to type on a laptop is that my thumb keeps hitting the dohickey (mousepad?) and the machine does things I do not understand. I will look at the screen and "what in the world"??? Where did that come from?

It was a wet and cold day in the village this morning. At 6a the temperature was 54 and looked like it would not go much higher. The Halema'uma'u webcam reveled the summit to be obscured by fog. The report on the worlds most active volcano, Kilauea, is that there has been no change from yesterday. The webcam on our "Great Mountain" showed that the snow, that had covered the floor of Moku'aweoweo, was slowly melting. Quite a lot of words to just to say SOS.

Tomorrow I will visit my sister, who lives on the other side of the island, for the day. It was at her house that I first saw the "gold dust day gecko". When I was at Cam Rahn Bay we had, I think, monitor lizards living in the sand bank above the beach. The largest was about 3 feet long and was quite pretty.

God bless and I will be back on Saturday. Be good to each other.

Egg Hunt

Happy Monday everyone! This past Saturday my wife volunteered me to help at the Easter Egg Hunt down in Keaukaha in Hilo. We were to staff a booth for the morning and another group was to man the booth for the afternoon. Well, the pm group did not show up so you all know who spent the day manning a booth. Topher, Anakan and CJ came down and CJ got his "keiki ID" and his share of "eggs". All plastic, so no egg salad sandwiches this week. Kids just are not interested in eggs that can be eaten. While manning the booth I was able to talk to a guy in the next booth and one of my "pet peeves" surfaced. I would like to know who or when it was decided that "Portuguese" is a brand. "Portuguese Brand Sausage" and "Portuguese Brand Bean Soup". I guess I am a "Portuguese Brand Human Being" now. And how about the word "Koa". I forget just where I heard it, but "Koa" is not a wood now, but a style of bowl. I heard a bowl described as a "Koa bowl made out of Monkeypod". What???? How about a Ford made by GM! Auwe,!!!

It is a little warmer today. 58 on the sunny side of the house, cloudy and the ground is wet. The volcano update is SOS. I checked the summit webcams and it looks like the snow on the mountains is sticking around. I wonder how long it will last.

Tomorrow the wife and I will be going to the Kohala Coast for her user conference. I will drive to visit my sister on Wednesday for the day. I will miss out on the "Tea Party". There is one here in Hilo and another in Kona.

That's it for today. I will try to get a "chapter" in tomorrow, but may not be able for the rest on the week. Be good to each other and may God bless you all. May God bless America.

HAPPY EASTER

Aloha: I got this from my brother, Manuel, last night and really liked the message. Have a very happy Easter everyone.

MAY THE SON THAT RISES THIS SUNDAY
MORNING HOLD YOU IN IT'S WARMTH
AND PROVIDE A SAFE HAVEN
IN TROUBLED TIMES.

May the Lord bless you all and do be good to each other.

It's Snowing

Aloha: I just checked the Mauna Loa webcam and it is snowing on our mountains. I used to have a link to the Mauna Kea webcams but somehow I lost it. The MK webcam is much better that either the ML or the Kilauea webcams. I think that if I Google "Canada, France, Hawaii telescope" I should get to the home page and there should be a link to their webcams.

There has been no real change in "our" volcano in the last 24 hours. It is a cold and wet day in Volcano this morning. Looks like it will be so for the rest of the day. It is now 56 degrees on the "sunny" side of the house. I read a report from NASA and the data they have collected show that since 1997 the mean temperature of earth has declined every year. NASA's research also shows that the changes in the weather we are going through are, in fact, man caused, but the cause is the clean air laws and regulation of the 60's and 70's. Something about the decreasing of sulfur emissions. Also noted is that we are now into a period of decreased solar output.

Today, being a holiday, we are home and the poor dog on the porch is trying to protect his food from the doves. I guess that is how he gets his exercise. I think we got him in 97. Topher is off next week so I do not have to sit CJ. My wife and I will be going to the other side of the island as she has a EMT conference to attend.

Oh, yesterday I was going to make mention of the snow on ML when I checked before I wrote. There had been a light dusting and most had melted when I checked at noon.

God bless and be good.

Police Stop

Aloha: Did the title of this posting grab you? I will try to make a short story long. Well, I have to have something to write about. On our way down into Hilo this morning a car pulled out in front of us. The speed limit on the highway was 55 and the car, now in front of us, was doing all of 35. Laurine had to break to avoid hitting the car. The guy in back of us and the one behind him, and so forth, all had to break and we now had a parade. The limit changed to 45 and the guy slowed down to 30. The "villain" then called the police and reported that we were "tailgating" him. Just when we passed Kea'au the police stopped us. We had passed the car at the Kamehameha School intersection, as did all the others. The officer wanted to know the plate number of the car but we did not even look at it. I think next time we will call and report these slow drivers. They are a real hazard.

The weather and the volcano reports are, like yesterday, SOS. Someone e-mailed me yesterday to ask what SOS stood for. S(ame) O(ld) S(**t). In polite company S(tuff).
Do you all know what SNAFU stands for?

CJ wants to see his spiders so I will have to go. God bless you all and look out for each other.

SOS again

Aloha: Activity Summary for past 24 hours: There were no significant changes. That about sums it up for Kilauea. Same for our "Great Mountain".

It was 50 degrees and wet when we left Volcano this morning. It looks to be a bright and sunny day here in Hilo. Next week my wife has a Hawaii State EMS conference in Kona so we will be there for a few days. Our house dog will have to go visit her birth mother and brother for the week. Poor thing, she will not be allowed to go into the house, but instead will be treated like a real dog. Boy, will she be happy to see us when we return.

Do any of you watch "House"? This past episode they killed off one of the regulars and I have found out why. It seems that the actor got a job with the Obama administration and his acting career had to be put on hold. He had done some work for the campaign so....

God bless and may Heaven help us.

Bye-bye US

Aloha: The title says it all. Read it and weep. "On April 2, 2009, the work of July 4, 1776 was nullified at the meeting of the G-20 in London. The joint communiqué essentially announces a global economic union with uniform regulations and bylaws for all nations, including the United States. Henceforth, our SEC, Commodities Trading Commission, Federal Reserve Board and other regulators will have to march to the beat of drums pounded by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body of central bankers from each of the G-20 states and the European Union." The United States will have only one vote in the "FSB", so if the French do not want you to have a mortgage you will not get one. Not quite that micro-managed, but you get the idea. The next sovereignty give away will be in the junk science of man made global warming. As I said in a previous post, by the time CJ is 50 the United States will only be a memory.

When we got up to the volcano yesterday we could see that they had had a beautiful day. This morning it was wet all the way into Hilo. The volcano update is SOS, although tremor is increasing.

My mo'opuna is still sleeping, so I thought I should get this done before he gets up and I will have to look for spiders. I do not know what it is about spiders but .... His aunt will find videos on the web of spiders fighting all different kinds of other bugs. She will do the "eek" thing and kind of scares him. I hope it does not stick.

God bless and be good to each other.

Not Blue Monday.

Aloha: Here I am, after a two week break, sitting with my mo'olpuna. The weather here in Hilo has not decieded what it wants to do. Real liquid sunshine! It was in the low 50s in Volcano this morning. Looked like it will be a nice day in "God's country".

The volcano update is, this is getting boring, SOS. Quakes, tephra, tremor, SO2 all the same. Parts of the park are closed because of the SO2. Has been for quite a while now. I have been thinking of getting a treadmill to put on the porch so I will be able to get some walking done when it is wet. Nothing fancy, just the basic walking machine.

CJ wants to see spiders so I will close. He like to see them on the screen but not is real life. He really does not like the webs. I do not blame him. Have you ever done the spiderweb hop? Arms waving and all that hopping around. Great fun. Not....

God bless and take care of each other.

I'm Back

Aloha: Yesterday was a long day. Left volcano at 5:30a and got back too late to do much of anything. My nagging friend, "Arthur Itis", was bugging me about my knees all day. I was helping my wife at CPR Saturday at the UHH. They were able to certify 130+ people who can now save my life if I have a heart attack. This morning was a bright and sunny morning and I was not able to go for a walk because the wife and I had to go to Hilo to wash clothes. I will be sitting with my mo'opuna this week so I will be the pleasure of running around chasing him. Anakam brought him to the UHH yesterday so that made the day a whole lot brighter.

As I said today was bright and sunny, The volcano is busy doing its thing and here I am trying to think of something to keep you all entertained. It is now 4p and the warm side of the house has gotten all the way up to 60 degrees. The kakuma is just about ready. I think my wife is planning to try some tomorrow and if it is ready we will bag it up and give it to all the relatives. She usually keeps enough for 2 more days of good eats.

May the Good Lord keep you all in the palm of His Right Hand.

No Change

Aloha: Today is another day, just like the rest. I have been off now for 13 days and only one day was a "go for a walk day". One other day was spent in Hilo. Was able to drink a lot of coffee, and get mad at the news on the TV. My girls wish I would not watch so much news as it tends to depress me. The reason we have freedom of the press in this country is so that we have an informed electorate. Then we have a failed school system that produces an electorate that can not read. I saw somewhere that a large percentage of 18 - 30 year olds get their new from the Colbert Report. That is a comedy show!!!

Our volcano is just chugging along, doing its thing. Sometimes at night, just as I am falling asleep, I think I hear the roar of the volcano. I then realise I forgot to turn the fan off in the other room and have to get out of the warm bed to turn it off.

Today is wet and gray. It is 52 on the "sunny" side, not raining now, and the news is all about the shooting in NY. Too bad nobody there had a "right to carry" permit. Instead of 13 dead there would have been, maybe, 3-4. Same with the Virgina Tech. shooting. Instead of 34 dead, it would have been only 5 to 8. Sorry for the rant.

Be good to each other and may God bless America.

Auwe no ho'i!

Aloha: For some reason I am feeling kind of blue today. My wife has a user conference in May that she has to go to for her job and she wants me to go with her. That same week my youngest, Anakam, will graduate from college. Then I hear what is being "surrendered" by the US in London.

I just came back from a short walk down the driveway to calm down. By the time CJ is 50 the United States will only be a name. We are at the beginning of the end of the great experiment in "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".

God bless us all.

Happy April Fool's Day!

Sorry, I do not know how to say "Happy April Fool's Day" in Hawaiian. Today is no joke! April Fool or otherwise. Auwe!

Today is wet. The saying goes "April showers bring May flowers". I hope so. Flowers,
that reminds me of a joke. A couple goes in for counseling. The councilor asks the husband "What is your wife's favorite flower? The man turns to his wife and asks, "It's Pillsbury right?".

Guess what's SOS today! That's right, it is the volcano update. The weather is wet, the temperature is 51, and the air is clear and clean.

God bless and take care.