Thursday, October 30, 2008 - Huia @ Kaipalaoa Going Off
Speaking of Kaipalaoa (see yesterday's entry), a NE swell generated in the northern Pacific Ocean has pumped in some long waves at Bayfront (also known in ancient times as Huia). I was watching the buoy readings and Surfline forecasts the last couple of days, and sure enough a head high swell has emerged, and along with it seemingly half of Hilo out in the lineup. Not to be discouraged, I made my way to Honoli'i to enjoy some 2-4 foot clean waves at Mid-Channels and the Point. I usually surf Mids, as I love surfing the rights on my frontside. For a change, I paddled over to the Point, which offers some of the best lefts on Hawaii Island. It also gave me a chance to dial in my goofy foot surfing, as I've been able to switch stance since small kid time. The Point on a smaller day breaks closer in and toward the rocky cliffs, with large reefheads producing shallow waters and ledgy takeoffs. "Keeps it interesting," said a young surfer in the lineup to me. Interesting indeed - I've seen more than a few surfers eat it big time going over the falls here. I had no intention of living up to that ignominious misadventure, and had a great session, taking off way behind the peak and getting some long walls to play with and a couple of shacks through the inside section. Switching stance while surfing allows one to experience "the other side" as it were. Most people are either right handed (regular stance) or left handed (goofy foot), and will surf with their left foot forward or right foot forward, respectively. Regular foots will generally prefer right breaks, while goofy foots the left breaks - keeping their frontside to the wave. Surfing backside, or going left for a regular foot / right for a goofy foot, takes a different approach to one's surfing. By switching stance, I can kind of have it both ways, and it also throws people off. I can probably count on one hand the number of good switch foot surfers over the past four decades of surfing - Jock Sutherland, Angie Reno and Rusty Keaulana come to mind. Not to say that I can put myself among that elite crowd, but switching stance does afford me more flexibility and options in taking the best advantage of the wave I have at hand. Today I had my 9'1" squashtail thruster "Barney" with me, and he certainly didn't disappoint me. We had some very late, vertical takeoffs in the pit, and pulled through with nary a waver. Barney also guided me through several lip bashes, cutbacks and tube rides. You gotta love a board that does everything you want it to, and then some. For that, as i mentioned, Barney does not disappoint. If the swell continues to build, I may move over to Huia to surf some of those "freight train" lefts tomorrow morning!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 - Kaipalaoa Landing Park
I attended a meeting last night of the Kaipalaoa Landing Park steering committee. I was invited to attend by Stan Lawrence, proprietor of the OrchidLand Surf shop on Kamehameha Avenue (and good buddy and shaper for all of my boards). The goals of the steering committee are to develop a mini park at the Kaipalaoa Landing at Hilo Bayfront, adjacent to the existing lighthouse. Additionally, the group's wish list include installment of a pedestrian crosswalk with traffic signals that connect Bayfront Highway to Kamehameha Avenue and Waianuenue Avenue; manicure the grounds surrounding the lighthouse (install trash cans, mow lawn, trim foliage, etc); installation of interpretive signage that provides information on the historical significance of the area (Kaipalaoa was one of King Kamehameha I's favorite surf spots and the location at which he decreed the Mamalahoe Kanawai or "Splintered Paddle" law); installation of picnic tables, pavilion and barbecue pit; installation of a public outdoor shower; and signage warning of no lifeguard on duty. Several upstanding community members were in attendance, at which Braddah Skibbs spoke of his work reclaiming Honoli'i paka. The conditions at Honoli'i paka have most certainly improved over the course of the last five years: from a dirty, garbage strewn bay to a beautifully manicured, safe public park that has seen an increase in its usage by families. Since then, Braddah Skibbs and his crew of volunteer community members have not just maintained Honoli'i paka, but also started work on Hakalau, Honomu and Waiuli. Well, I have been so inspired by Skibbs and the others on this committee that I put together a web page that has some information about Kaipalao, including links to download the Hilo Bayfront Trails planning meeting record. The Hilo Bayfront Trails planning committee is the group with which we hope to work, as many of their objectives and recommendations align with those of our Kaipalaoa Landing Park steering committee. Next meeting of the Hilo Bayfront Trails planning committee will be Wednesday, December 10 from 4:30 pm at Auntie Sally's Luau House (formerly Seven Seas).
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - Pie Safe
My buddy Jim is working on building himself a pie safe out of Philippine Mahogany. A pie safe is a piece of furniture that was prevalent in households in Hawaii during the early twentieth century (old guys would know what I'm talking about). They are basically free standing cabinets with perforated sheets of tin on the doors to allow air to flow freely through them. Before the advent of the ice box, when kitchen cabinets were still more of a luxury than a standard item, a pie safe was considered a prize possession. These unique cupboards were used to store baked goods, flour and other kitchen sundries. Freshly baked items could be placed into them after being pulled out of the oven to cool slowly within the pie safe. Of course because of the perforations in the tin, the aromatic fragrance of the baked item(s) would waft enticingly throughout the house in a matter of minutes, teasing my tummy into fits of writhing hunger. I remember seeing one in my grandmother's house when I was growing up as a youth in Makiki on the island of O'ahu. Jim purchased a kit and is building it in his home wood shop. Most pie safes used to feature a design in the tin perforation - geometric shapes or simple landscapes were common. He wants to have the top panels of the pie safe doors to have a picture of the North Star Polaris and the Big and Little Dippers around it. And he wanted it to scale. So you can guess what my job would be. I used Starry Night Pro to display the northern celestial pole, zoomed in to show just the aforementioned constellations and asterisms, and printed scale copies at various sizes. He can then select the size he wants and use it as a template to perforate the tin before installing it in the door. I can't wait to see the finished product. It'll probably bring back old memories of gramma's house and the wonderful baked goods that used to hide there ... but not for long!
Monday, October 27, 2008 - Another Busy Day
It started out in the ocean with my 9' longboard at Honoli'i, enjoying playful albeit small 1-3 footers on a diminishing medium tide. Work stated with a video conference test at the IfA with NASA Ames, for the purpose of facilitating a live web conference featuring Hilo voyaging canoe Hokualaka'i Captain Kalepa Baybayan (more on that in the future). Next up is a meeting with Imiloa Astronomy Center Planetarium people Shawn Laatsch and Ahia Dye. We'll be learning more about what my International Education Week presentation will be about. I think I have a concept that is sort of indigenous astronomy meets travel magazine. I'll be taking the audience through the South Pacific and Eastern Asia to offer folktales of featured regions, through storytelling. Hope it works. Later in the day, I need to meet with my supervisor to go over my job's performance evaluation process. In the afternoon, Kaipo's mom and I have a Parent-Teacher Meeting at Kaumana Elementary School. Our son was having some behavioral issues a couple of months ago, many of which have been resolved. The Parent-Teacher meeting will hopefully affirm that observation, at least from Kaipo's teacher's perspective *fingers crossed*. Back to work for a couple more hours before heading to the Hilo Lagoon for a meeting to discuss the proposal of developing a public surfing beach at Bayfront, near the lighthouse. Stan Lawrence, proprietor of the OrchidLand Surf shop invited me to attend the last time I saw him out in the lineup at Honoli'i. Several upstanding community members will also be attending in support of the proposal, which would provide more fun, safe recreational opportunities for youngsters in an overcrowded present environment. I think its a good idea and will see what I can do to support it.
Sunday, October 26, 2008 - Weekend Warrior
We had a busy but fun weekend for our family, starting with a snow flurry on Mauna Kea during the early morning hours, courtesy of a passing storm. This deposited a mantle of white around the summit area which was clearly visible from HIlo and Puna when the sun rose. At this time I was on in the water, enjoying some early morning glass at Honoli'i, a local surf spot. Bayfront was also firing, with head high walls peeling left and right. I got in about two and a half hours before pulling myself out to meet my family at the Bayfront soccer fields for Kaipo's 9 am game. It was a spirited affair that yielded a 3-3 tie - kind of an anti-climax, but a good game just the same. Chizu had a "Girls Night Out" later that afternoon and evening, which gave Kaipo and I an excuse to watch videos and hang out. This morning , I awoke at 5 am, and was floored by the clarity of the early morning sky. Absolutely clear with Iwa Keli'i (Cassiopaeia) and Nahiku (Big Dipper) across from each other with Hokupa'a (Polaris) between them. It has been some time since I have been able to see stars clearly from our house in Hilo. I savored the moment and took some time to greet the constellations up in the sky. A growl in my stomach brought me back in the house to create a quick breakfast before sliding into my board shorts and heading out the door with my 9' squashtail thruster (deciding to dry dock my 8'2" mini-tanker when I discovered an open ding in the tail bead [from which I was able to suck a great volume of salt water]). Lucky thing too because the waves had dropped substantially, squeaking out 1-2 foot mushburgers with occasional 3 foot waves - the extra length would making catching and riding them easier. After a couple of hours in the water it was time to head home for some chow and to knock a few things off the "honey do" list. The biggest chore was doing the lawn, as it had manifested itself into a weed-infested disaster. But a couple of hours pushing a lawnmower in the hot sun never hurt anyone, and if done briskly would be a very effective cardio workout. It was. Afterward, I enjoyed the luxury of watching the Phillies win a game in the World Series while sipping on a beer with a lau lau to grind. Life is good.
Thursday, October 23, 2008 - Sky Stories Presentation
So I have let a few things slide over the past couple of weeks, and I find myself in somewhat of a bind to complete (at least part of) my Sky Stories of Pacific Asian Cultures anthology for a presentation at the opening of the University of Hawaii at Hilo's International Education Week in mid-November. I have been collecting these mythologies and folktales about the celestial heavens since 2002 with hopes of creating a book. Much of the manuscript has been drafted, but revisions are needed to focus the content for my intended audience (which has shifted from a research orientation to that of a children's book). Months have passed since I committed myself to do the presentation and I suddenly find that I have about three weeks to pluck a few of the stories to massage into a general audience presentation in the Imiloa Astronomy Center planetarium. In addition to refining the stories for oration, I am being asked to supply images, graphics or pictures to accompany the presentation to be projected onto the dome within the planetarium. I had originally planned on doing the artwork for the book myself so it wasn't being pushed to do something I wasn't capable or willing to undertake. It's just that now I have to do this in a much more compressed timeframe. I meet with Imiloa Planetarium Director Shawn Laatsch and his assistant Ahia Dye next Monday, so I had better get in gear. Bless their hearts, as they have been imploring me to begin work on this for the past several months, but my schedule and other personal issues have prevented me from accommodating their requests. Now its do or die time and I have to get it done.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - West Hawaii Outreach
Its been somewhat hectic trying to catch up with work over the past couple of days. In spite of budget cutbacks to our Science Education and Public Outreach (SEPO) office this fiscal year, we are planning on developing a significant public outreach event on the west side of Hawaii Island during the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Our idea is to reserve the Paleaku Gardens in Honaunau in late summer/early autumn for a Galaxy Garden Gala. The Galaxy Garden is the brainchild of artist Jon Lomberg, who worked with Carl Sagan to depict astronomical concepts for Sagan's Cosmos television series. Jon's vision to create a botanical representation of the Milky Way Galaxy was realized a few years ago at the Paleaku Garden, which is directed by Barbara DeFranco. The idea for our Galaxy Garden Gala is to have astronomers from the Mauna Kea Observatories stationed at various places throughout the garden to interface with and share their respective research with the public. We are still working out some details of the proposed event that includes shuttle bus service, liability insurance, stargazing activities after dark, and additional activities for adults and children. We are hoping that this event will be a door opener to develop more astronomical public outreach events on the west side of Hawaii Island.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - UH Foundation
I caught the second flight out to Honolulu this morning, to meet with two Development Officers of the University of Hawaii Foundation (UHF). The weather was rainy in Hilo, so it was good to get out of the dreary weather and visit the big city. After landing I grabbed a Pontiac G6 (nice) and drove up to our Institute for Astronomy Manoa campus. Because I was a bit early, I had a chance to talk to Director Rolf Kudritzki for a while - nothing specific, but a chance to catch up and talk story. The last time I saw Rolf was in Hilo at the Imiloa Astronomy Center for the Mauna Kea Users Meeting earlier this month. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend much of the second day of the meeting (when Rolf gave his presentation on the IfA). Rolf then took the time to give me a copy of his Powerpoint, which I perused. It was clear from the many slides he used how proud he is of our Science Education and Public Outreach office's endeavors. When in the midst of planning and conducting our programs, we don't usually have much time to stand back and admire our work, or to even to review and critique. It's fantastic to know that your boss appreciates your work and dedicates a good portion of his report to his colleagues on your accomplishments. Makes me want to go out and do an even better job. After speaking with Rolf, I entered into the meeting with UHF development officers Emily and Heidi. Thanks to my assistant Kenyan, I had wonderful informational packets for them. The meeting went well, lasting almost an hour and a half (I can wala'au when I need to). Basically, I spoke of the history of my office, and the programs that we have initiated and maintained over the years. Emily and Heidi both seemed sincerely interested and willing to help find money for our programs and I have high hopes for their success.
Monday, October 13, 2008 - Surfs Up
After being out of the water for over three weeks (east shores of Hawaii Island have been miniscule in wave size), my wife urged me to go out Sunday morning. Even though I have been out of the action, I have been watching the buoy readings and checking the weather every day, and a tradewind swell was forecast for this weekend. I admit I was out of shape and pale, but I brought Kermit, my 8'4" squashtail, thruster out to Honoli'i. When I got there at 6:30 am, I was blown away by the number of cars that lined the street leading to Honoli'i - easily over 50 cars, with at least twice the number of people out in the lineup. The waves were 4-6 feet with occasional well overhead sets. I did my stretch routine on the beach while watching the size, form and direction of the swells, and paddled out during a lull. Although a little rusty, I did manage to catch a number of sizable waves, and despite the crowds was able to get my share of the set waves. The point at Honoli'i was like a battle zone. The surfers in the lineup made up a wolf pack of hungry animals, all jockeying for position, and screaming their claims to each wave. Regardless, many waves carried 2-4 surfers, and although their form were hollow and peeling, I did not care to put myself in that arena. Sometimes I miss the old days when a crowd was five guys - and you knew all of them. But there is no sense in lamenting days gone by. I'm just happy that I have my health, my family and that I am able to enjoy water sports as passionately as during my youth. Hey, I'm a kid at heart (key to staying young)!
Saturday, October 11, 2008 - Busy Day!
Today is shaping up to be quite a busy one, starting off with my son Kaipo's soccer game at the Bayfront fields. I've been taking some footage of his games with my HD hard drive camcorder. The purpose isn't really to video document the games as much as to provide Kaipo with an opportunity to see the game and himself from a different perspective. I remember how different it was to see myself on film from what I had perceived myself to look like - it allowed me to identify strong and weak skills and helped me improve my game. So, I've imported files into Final Cut Pro to edit later. After the soccer game, we are heading to the St Joseph Country Fair for lunch and to enjoy the event. My assistant Kenyan is working our IfA booth with a button making activity for the kids, and I hope to stop by to take pictures and video and to offer moral support. After the St Joseph Country Fair, we are heading to the University of Hawaii at Hilo to check out the VEX Challenge robotics competition. Several intermediate and high school student teams will be competing in the day-long event, and we wish the best of luck to all of them. After a brief rest at home, our family is headed up the mountain to attend the Visitor Information Station (VIS) Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at Hale Pohaku, the mid-level facility on Mauna Kea for observatory staff and astronomers. The IfA Science Education and Public Outreach Office (as does all Mauna Kea Observatories) appreciates the efforts of our VIS and VIS volunteer staff in communicating astronomy to the public. Mahalo nui loa.
Thursday, October 9, 2008 - Hilo Wayfinding Festival
A new Hilo Wayfinding Festival is taking place this week through the weekend at the Imiloa Astronomy Center. With Hokualaka'i captain Chad Kalepa Baybayan as Resident Navigator, Imiloa has applied for and received funding for the festival which will feature many presentations and activities. Knot tying, canoe mele nane, Hawaiian star compass demonstration, planetarium shows, and much more. There will be a female navigators panel discussion facilitated by Imiloa Associate Director Ka'iu Kimura, featuring Katherine Fuller, Ka'iulani Murphy, Pomai Bertlemann and Chantell Ching. Saturday will feature "Honoring the Founders", a talk on the historical perspective of wayfinding by UH anthropologist and author Ben Finney. Sunday will feature "Mau Voyager", a recently released documentary, and "Significance of the Pwo", featuring Master Navigator Kalepa Baybayan. Tonight, my wife and her friends attended "Aloha Mirai!: Hawaii no Kokoro Hokule'a gou Nippon he", a Japanese documentary on Hokule'a's voyage to Japan last summer. She said it was a good show, but was somewhat surprised by the sparse attendance. We are hoping that more folks attend the remaining activities scheduled over Friday and the weekend.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - Kaipo in Camp Eureka
This is the second day of Fall Break for students in Hawaii, and the second day of Hilo High School's Camp Eureka. My son Kaipo is attending this robotics camp for students in 3-6 grade, and is having a lot of fun. The half-day, one-week workshop uses the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics platform, and the Robolab programming software. They are led by Hilo High teacher Tom Murphy with a lot of help from his robotics club students, many of whom we recognize as Hawaii Youth Robotics alumni. My wife and I are glad that Kaipo has something to do over this Fall Break that he is interested in, and especially that he has some friends in the camp as well. Now he has a reason to open his NXT kit at home and follow up on stuff he learns in the camp. I will be installing the Robolab software onto his Mac Mini later this afternoon. In the meantime, while Kaipo is engaged with his Lego Mindstorms NXT, Daddy can work on upgrading a Surveyor SRV-1 robot, and installing RXTX serial communication drivers onto my MacBook. Hey, kids can inspire parents just as much as the converse!
Monday, October 6, 2008 - Waikoloa Weekend
My wife's longtime friend is visiting Hawaii from Japan, so we met up with them in Waikoloa over the weekend. After Kaipo's soccer game on Saturday morning (which the Zombies won 3-0), we drove over the Saddle Road to meet them at the Hilton Waikoloa. This is one of Kaipo's favorite places, as he enjoys riding the train and boat, swimming in the large pool, and hitting the water slide. We got a chance to visit the Queen's Shop and dine at Restaurant Sansei. Great eats and I managed to score a Reyn Spooner aloha shirt for twenty bucks (for something like a 400% discount). After dinner it was great to see some of my favorite winter constellations in a clear sky - something I would not have been able to witness in cloudy Hilo. Of course, by the next morning, it would be evident that the environment in Waikoloa is much more arid and brown, so although we miss the transparency of the night sky, being able to see green countryside in cool climes is equally important. Sunday snuck up on us and before we knew it, it was time to head back to Hilo. Taking Saddle Road, we enjoyed the progress made on the road realignment. Much of the Hilo side of Saddle has been completed to about the 20 mile marker, while on the other side of the Mauna Kea access road, up to the Mauna Kea State Park. Much of the rest of the road from Pohakuloa Military Training Area to the Mamalahoa Highway 190 has been repaved, widening the two lane artery, smoothing out the pot-holed, pock-marked shoulders. We made the trip back to Hilo in a little over an hour at reasonably sane speeds. The one caveat about the Saddle Road realignment: the construction crew does almost too good of a job. The completed roadway is so civilized that from behind the wheel it looks like any other road in any other city in any other state - kind of sterile asphalt and gravel pushing back nature. I still like the undeveloped parts of Saddle Road where you can see the beautiful flora and fauna of the adjacent kipuka clearly. Ah, the price of progress...
Thursday, October 2, 2008 - Mauna Kea Users Meeting
I will be attending the annual Mauna Kea Users Meeting at the Imiloa Astronomy Center Moanahoku Room over the course of the next two days. Representatives from all of the observatories, the MK Weather Center, Office of Mauna Kea Management, MK Communications Network, Visitor Information Station and MK Outreach Committee will present reports on the state of their respective organizations. Over the past several years, it has been interesting to watch how telescope and instrument upgrades are planned, designed, fabricated and maintained. The meetings are also an opportunity for me to meet and re-aquaint myself with people I don't get to run into during the normal course of the year. As an aside, I have noticed that more and more folks who attend and present at the meeting bring their Mac laptops. OSX, the Mac operating system, with its Unix kernel provides them with a good platform to run their Unix data reduction and analysis software. Of course I brought my Macbook Air, stashed within my small leather portfolio, sneaking peaks to check email and attend to work from time to time. Today, however I will not be able to attend the entire meeting due to the fact that I need to depart in the afternoon to help prepare for the UHH/HawCC New Faculty Reception at Wailoa State Park. My responsibilities include printing and hanging the event banner, procuring cases of water and canned juice, and to support the event. This event starts at 5, and will probably finish around 8, making this a pretty long day.