Bike gang

Here are some photos from the ride to work today.  I bought the camera to try to take a picture of snow on Mauna Loa, but that's right where the sun rises!  no good for photo.  too cloudy later in the day!

 hmm.

 isn't it crazy how the ocean doesn't drain down to antarctica?  look at that slope!  good work gravity.

dirt biking on the Cellana Road.  This is the end of my commute. No Tresspassing!

clear skies

Clear skies in Kona.
I wish I had brought my camera with on the bike ride to Cellana today. Thursday is the first time I remember (or maybe noticed?) being able to see Mauna Loa from the road by Cellana.  You can't see it in town, because the slopes of Hualalai are too close.  Out by Cellana, the visibility was never high enough to have a good look.  Well it's been so clear here that I have had some peeks at it lately.  It is cool to see lurking behind Hualalai.  It is much less steep that Hualalai, but five some thousand feet taller.  Today, after the big storm yesterday, there was snow on a lot of it!  I always think it is cool to see the line where the snow abruptly ends in the mountains. Maybe I can get a picture for you tomorrow.

Rain in Kona!

Ok, it's been a couple of days.
I have:
-fretted over and finally submitted my best job application yet
-received my truck
-gone ocean canoeing
-witnessed a tropical rain shower in kona
-begun to wade through the process of registering the truck in Hawaii

The highlight is a toss up between canoing and receiving the truck.  This is the most excited I've ever been about having a car.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder?  Our legs are pretty worked after biking (almost) everywhere the last two weeks.  Thanks to our friends who have given us rides.  The hills here take more out of you than expected.  They don't look like much, compared to the mountain behind us.  But they are enough to tire a cyclist out. 

It is raining like crazy right now.  I would say that visibility from my window is about a quarter mile.  It is even raining hard enough to drown out the shrieks and cackles of what are starting out as very noisy neighbors.  It's nuts here, though.  They said flash flood warnings and 2-3 inches of rain-- I bet one has come down in the last 15 minutes.  This is all very weird for the side of the island that is normally so dry that there isn't even a stream on it!  The weather, as I think it is prone to do in the winter, is coming from the west, and the radar right now shows it is clear in Hilo. A total role reversal.

It has been spectacularly clear for the four days leading up to this.  That is also thanks to the winter weather pattern, I hear.  The vog, or volcano smog (more of which has been seeping out of Hualalai than usual for the last two years or so) is blown away from kona by these winds from the West (this is all speculation based on my limited observations. I should find some sources on this info).

click here for a bigger version of this cool photo looking east at Hualalai and the vog over kona from Mauna Kea observatory.  This guy also has a pretty blog about working at the observatory with lots of awesome sunset photos.



Beth and I went to Keahou Canoe Club Tuesday morning, her Sunday.  I didn't get any pictures, but there are lots of good ones here.  Also, if you are a lakes and rivers paddler, you might like this discussion of outrigger paddling technique.

The paddling felt really good.  With so many people in a canoe (we got in the idiot-proof canoe, as we were nubes, and had 10 people in the double hull) it is way more aerobic than the canoeing I'm used to in Minnesota, after which I inevitably had worked my shoulders really hard.   Also, the technique is such that I got a better back and core workout.
It was super fun to be on the water.  We paddled out for 20 minutes or so, then jumped into the super warm and clear water for a little "midlake swim"  then headed back.  We were with the retirees and other  people with nothing to do at 8 o'clock on Tuesday morning.  It will be fun to try paddling with the really strong paddlers sometime.

What can be said about the Hawaii "Safety" Check aspect to getting a vehicle registered here?  It is ridiculous.  $20 every year to have someone tell you that your lights work.  check.  At least it's not any more expensive.  And, I'm pretty happy with the folks down at Dixson Service. So it could be worse.
Here are some cool photos.

kiawe, koa haole, parrots, haoles and surf films

Beth and I went to the Kona Surf Film Festival last night. Check out their webpage.  They have some good video tidbits if you are looking for something cool to watch.  It was good.  One video offered a testament to the appeal of surfing: 200+ people sat outside in the bitter cold Hawaiian winter winds and watched over and hour of pretty similar shots of the same guy catching wave after pretty similar wave.  If it is that mesmerizing for us to watch, I'm sure that it is that much more fun to do.  There, I've revealed myself to be a total surfing nube.  The ocean is still pretty scary to this flatlander.

Some thoughts:
I'm getting cold here in the evenings.  Don't go thinking it's going to be all sunshine in Hawaii.  You need to bring a long sleeve t-shirt for when the sun goes down, or those 70 degree nights will chill you to the bone.

Cellana must make employees meet a quota of social events every month... it kind of feels like I'm a freshman in college again, with all these familiar, but unknown faces everywhere I go.  We're going to a "yankee swap" aka white elephant gift exchange tonight.  I'm going to take attendance.  Unfortunately, I could not find a single christmas sweater or even a T-shirt at the thrift stores here!  What ever shall I wear?


Ok, today's feature:  The Noisy Parrots of the Lot Next Door.

Not a great picture, I know.  This one was checking me out from the moment it landed.  It had enough after three photos similar to this one, then shrieked to it's buddies, and they all flew away.  I guess they don't like people. From what I can gather, they are Red Masked, or Cherry Headed Conures.  Native to Equador and Peru.  Apparently, they make bad pets, and got released.  I guess they bite, and I can testify they they are noisy. When we first moved in here, they came over every morning to hang out and eat Kiawe seeds in the trees next door (which is from the same part of South America!).  Sources say they are wary of people in the wild; that explains still loads of Kiawe seeds next door and no parrots.  Habitat invasion!
I don't think there are many Conures in Hawaii, but it looks like they are in stable populations.  However, they are endangered in Equador and Peru.  Another example of an exotic species successfully naturalizing in Hawaii!

In the picture above, you can (kind of) see the yellow flower spikes of the Kiawe (say: Key-ah-vey) trees.  At first, I struggled to tell them apart from the Koa Haole (say: how-lee), which also lives in the lot next door.  But, lucky for you, dear reader, I have cracked their code.
Specifically:

 Kiawe leaves are once-compounded

Kiawe has nasty thorns (but these are vairable in size and often hard to see)

Koa Haole has twice compounded leaves, which are more orderly and more delicate

Koa Haole has many, dark, clusterd seed pods.  Sometimes, you can find its white spherical flowers.

OK, here is the best way to tell the two apart:
Koa Haole has lots of brown bean pods in clusters all over the trees.  They are not more than about 15' tall.

Kiawe is about 30' tall, fuller, and has single yellow bean pods, much less conspicuous than Koa Haole's.

Here is a picture of a Kiawe in the middle of a field of Koa Haole.  case closed.

Koa Haole is named after the Koa tree, a majestic endemic more common in the wetter and higher forests.  It was an important tree to the native hawaiians, prized for its wood which was used for canoes and surfboards.  The flowers are similar, but yellow.  "Haole" means forgiener, generally, but nowadays is commonly a racial slur for whities. So "Koa Haole" literaly means "forgien Koa," but could now be construed to mean "white/white-man Koa," which has meaning on two levels instead of one.  Now that's what you pay me for.

One time, Beth tried to make friends with the parrots. It worked!

Selected sources:  Parrots sure are charismatic!

"Tracking O'ahu's wild Parrots" http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=10372980

"Red Masked Conures" http://www.avianweb.com/redmaskedconure.html

"The Wild Parrots of Kailua Kona" http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2008/09/10/features/features01.txt

Hawaiian plants, animals and landscapes: a mission statement.

So who likes to read posts about Hawaiian plants and animals? (e.g., the I'o, the garden orb weaver spider, and the gold dust day gecko)

I'm hoping to learn about the common and interesting plants and animals here in my yard in kona, and eventually, beyond to the higher and wetter forests. It's a good exercise to synthesize and catalog some of what I learn here on the blog-- so here I go!

I hope you like it. We'll see how long I last.  Hopefully, I can get it to be pretty user friendly.  It'll be a work in progress.  let me know what you think, here or via email.

I'm getting there on the job front, by the way.  I'm taking a break from application stuff today, after getting a sweet one in for a job I'd really like.  They're not officially hiring though... so I won't say any more now.  Except that Terra Firma was officially trying not to hire when I came on... and that this job would be a distinct departure from carpentry.

Gold Dust Day Gecko

Beth and I are going to a white elephant gift exchange tomorrow with her coworkers.   Oh man, you better hope you get my present.  I could barely keep myself from taking it out of the box and playing with it last night. 

As promised:
The gecko I pictured back in "Back in business!" was misidentified.  It is actually a gold dust day gecko.  What a looker!  These guys are really cool looking, and all over the place, too.

As I'm not so hot with the ol picture machine, I'm going to continue to blatantly steal images from elsewhere on the web. I'll work on my citations. promise. this is from here.

These buggers are diurnal, or active during the day.  We see them sunning themselves on our stair railings and plant leaves all the time.  We're glad to have found them, becuase apparently, geckos mean good luck to some Hawaiians.  For us, the fact that they eat bugs is lucky enough.


They don't really like to be looked at, though.  When they catch you staring for too long or from too close, they use their amazing little gecko toes to scamper around to the underside of whatever they are laying on.  Geckos are able to walk on the underside of leaves, up walls, and on windows thanks to these amazing little gecko toes, which have around a million hairs on each toe pad.  I guess the tiny amount of friction, compounded over millions of hairs, is enough to hold the buggers up! Check out this website for more on geckos. They do a more comprehensive page on these guys.

The gold dust day gecko is a species introduced from Madagascar, but apparently only common in the "suburban" areas of Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu.  So maybe it's not as damaging to Hawaiian ecology as many of the other introduced species.
Do any bit of reading about plants and animals in Hawaii, and you will see what a comprehensive impact introduced species have had on the endemic species that evolved on these tranquil little islands. More on that later.

comments! bring em on!

Beloved Followers,
I believe that I have figured out how to let you, my dear throng of frothing fans, post comments on my blog.  Now don't all do it at once and overwhelm the server.  Just know that you can (or should be able to).  Someone try it out.
Also, I've been busy fretting over a masterpiece of a cover letter, so I haven't gotten to the "cute and ubiquitous" house gecko.  I will soon.  In the meantime, check out my new "bookshelf" page up there in the top right corner.  I'm going to let you armchair travelers in on some little secrets!
Here's something to rest your eyes on while you wait for the gecko:

The view from my living room window onto the Paradise Garden (our yard), kona, and the ocean beyond!
Yes, that is a cruise ship in the bay!  On Wednesdays, when they come by, I feel like less of a tourist. Can you spot our sickly avocado tree in this photo? I promise I'll tell you about the plants in our yard soon.

Back in business!

Hiya hiya!
We got the internet up and running at our new house!  I'll be posting frequently again-- if staring at the computer doing resumes and job applications doesn't drive me nuts.

Happy thanksgiving, and goodbye to November.
Beth and I are pretty well moved in here now.  I think Beth is going to do something with some photos she took of our place...  I'm trying to figure out what to do with the comment that the blog is "very domestic."  I think I'll embrace it, but stop short of posting home pics right off the bat.
Here is our address, in case you were wondering to send all that stuff you've been getting for us:

75-192 Alakai St. Rear Apt.
Kailua-Kona, HI, 96740

Best parts of the last week or two we've been floating anchorless without the net:

College buddy Laura came to visit with her man Nick for thanksgiving!  We bumped and rattled their little Hyundai over the 1801 lava field near the airport, then hoofed it over the last section into the remote beach of Makalwena.  It was a holiday weekend, so it was pretty busy for how remote it was.  Still, though, "a little slice of paradise," as Laura said. 

Thanksgiving, of course.  We had two: one with Beth's coworkers, one just the two of us.  I have to report, sadly, that the (in)famous Bevis Green Jello Salad didn't go over well with the locals.  It does, happily, keep well.  It's pretty good with coffee.  Must be the pint of heavy whipping cream.  Now how could anyone not like something with that in the ingredients?

Note: 1) the awesome mugs Beth found us! 2) one of the 4 green coconuts Beth harvested from our front yard.  Them things are hard to get into.  Here she is showing appropriate strain:

Here she is working on other kitchen goodies:

Another highlight: my first taste of the legendary Hawaiian culinary creation Spam Musubi.  Basically, about a cup of white rice and a quarter-inch thick slab of spam wrapped in nori.  It's that simple.  But the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts, right?

This is Spam Musubi in its native environment.  And that, dashboard, cellophane and all, is exactly how it looked when I ate it.  Us bike commuters got to keep our calories up!

I hope to kick off a new aspect to the blog later today or tomorrow:  more posts about plants and animals I see here in Hawaii.  Something to supplement the raw shock value of the spiders.   I hope it interests you as much as it does me. There is some pretty cool stuff here, and I want to document it as much for myself as I want to show you.  Perhaps I will start off with the ubiquitous and cute house gecko, as most people seem to think these are pretty cool!  Stay tuned!

Slowly but slowly

“Slowly but slowly,” as our roommate at the company condo Egan likes to say. “We’re slow, but we’re expensive!” as my uberskilled carpenter cousin Ian likes to say. 

It's all coming together here, but it'll be a while until we're truly cruising. We’ve moved into our new place and are getting settled in. 

We had a *great* ultimate tournament last weekend.  One of the best I’ve been to.  My opinion may be partially swayed by the fact that I felt the best I’ve felt at a tournament for a long time.  This was another story, thanks to lots of stretching and really slow running for the last year or so.  Ah, the discipline I never had in highschool or college.  I didn’t get the least bit injured, as far as I can tell.  That may actually be a first.  But on top of the personal victory, the tournament was awesome. 

We got good beer Friday and Saturday nights, good dinner both nights, a live band and a firedancing performance on Saturday, camping both nights, breakfast both days, great field food, including all the fresh local avocados, starfruit, and bananas you could eat; a pool and an ocean to swim in…all for $50.  Big props to the TDs.  It was really great to meet all the players, too.  Many from Alaska.  Many from the mainland.  I was most happy, though, to meet the other Hawaii players.  Ultimate is going to be fun here.

I’ll try to keep it short.  We don’t have internet at our new place yet, but every once in a while, my computer picks up a signal from one of the coffee shops down on Alii Drive.  Right now, I’m riding their waves and feeling fortunate.  So I’ll sign off and keep my fingers crossed that this actually posts.  When we get a more reliable connection, I will balance the personal posts with some more informative (and graphically interesting) ones.  For now, I’ll take the fleeting connection as a good omen!

It's Beth's Birthday!

Today/Tomorrow, the 16th.  Wish her a good one!

Beach!

Yesterday I went to a beautiful beach with some of Beth's coworkers (she was working...)

Guess who forgot their camera!  I do have to say that the Cellana folks are all really friendly.  Most are about our age, very fun and welcoming.  It is a good community to fall into.

comments

I've gotten some complaints about not being able to post comments!  I don't know what the problem is.  I'll try to fix it!


In the meantime, here are some of my responses to yer comments:

Thanks for the comments!  Glad you're out there checking this out.

The frisbee pickup was fun.  A good group of people out there, playing hard.  Wide range of skill levels. A good family game to get in on.  We are excited to go again this Sunday. We are also planning to attend a hat tournament next weekend north on the Kohala coast with some of the players.  Exciting!

Carl the cane spider left us.  I've yet to see any a 'is kin. I have see a lot of these buggers called orb spiders.  They are much smaller, but more scary looking.  Have a peek.   Also huge crabs?  Easy blog to waste time on.  Kind of like mine?

Here's a new (and accurate) picture of a garden orb weaver spider, on the milkweed bush in our yard. It caught a honeybee, so you can see how big it is.  What a feast!  These things are everywhere.  No problems yet. This milkweed bush is really buzzing with activity. I'll for sure put some more stuff up on it.

this is Argiope appensa, commonly called the Garden Spider or orb weaver spider.  Scientists eh?  Can't even be moved enough by that nasty bugger to give it a unique name!  I bet I can find a Hawaiian name.  In theory, I like spiders.  But the ones around here are giving me the creeps.  Fortunately, I haven't found a dangerous one yet.

Here's a good info page on weaver spiders. It sounds like there will be some interesting spider discoveries in my future here.

homework.

So, today I spent 8 hours working on our apartment, getting it ready to move in.  Mostly trying to clean up the floors.  They are nice oak hardwood floors, they are just really dirty.  We knew this coming in, kind of, we just didn't realize how dirty they actually were.  After spending the morning trying out different cleaners, I got a hold of the landlords... and they were very friendly and helpful. To think I had spent the morning cursing them.  I can say these things because I don't think they have found this blog...yet.  This post may be short lived, so if you want the dirt on my cleaning (and I'm sure you all do), better lap it up while you can.
 
Orange citrus degreaser.  That was the key.  I would have never thought to put that on the wood floor, but it worked wonders getting what appeared to be years of sticky grime off the floor.  I'm realizing this post is going to make me look like I'm renting a dump from a slumlord.  I only hope that's not the case. So far, I don't think it is. I get a good sense from the landlords.  I just wish they hadn't thought that it was a good idea to rub olive oil onto the floor to "moisturize" it.  At least they told me, and gave me keys to the degreaser!

Here are the good things:  2 bedrooms and an office, it's a freestanding house, it's got a lot of storage underneath, it's got a great breeze, it's got a corner full of windows with views out to the ocean and along the coast, it's got fruit trees: avocados, guava, limes, lemons, and lots of other cool stuff in the yard. And we (Beth) can afford it!  It's just being a pain in the butt to furnish! We still need a bed.  We do have a dining room table, and a few other random things, so once we get the bed worked out, I think that we will be able to piece the other stuff together. 


I'll post some pictures of the house and yard soon!

A day off!

Today is Monday for Beth: she had the last three days off, and will work for the next six.  Cellana is on a nine day week.  I took a break from blogmastering so that Beth and I could do the requisite house and furniture searching together, but we also got our first good taste of the scenic Hawaii people vacation here for.

We drove south down the highway for a cluster of Kona attractions: snorkeling and spinner dolphins in Kealakekua Bay, and down farther, the historic Hawaiian religious site and royal grounds of Pu'uhona o Honaunau.

Kealakekua Bay is a sheltered bay formed when a huge chunk of Mauna Loa fractured off of the mountain and slumped into the ocean.  It is now a shallow (40'?) bay, flanked by the huge landslide scarp (cliff), a safe place for spinner dolphins to rest, and a sheltered place with a great snorkeling reef.  It is also where the infamous Captain Cook first landed on Hawaii, putting it on European maps.  He also died here, not long after his first landing.  It's a pretty interesting story.  Here is, once again, a Wikipedia link.  Man, they sure do a good job.  A monument across the bay from the access marks the place of his death and also the best snorkeling spot.

Beth and I rented a kayak and made the 30 minute paddle across, stopping to find the local dolphins on the way.  I jumped in with my fins and snorkel, and watched them swimming around, but they weren't interested in me.  Still cool to see them underwater.  I suppose I saw 15-20 of them, the closest about 30' away.    The guy we rented the kayak from said it was like swimming in an aquarium.  True.  This is where my novice blogger status really comes through, though; I haven't trained myself to take enough pictures to make a truly lively blog. You'll have to use your imagination (or come see for yourself).

The snorkeling was great, but we (that's us on the right) had to get out after only about 40 minutes, because the water was so cold!  Most locals here wear thin wetsuits while diving to stay warm.  We don't have an underwater camera, but this was another aquarium scene: lots of lobate and finger coral, lots of jackfish, parrotfish, eels, sergeant fish, pipefish, groupers, and fish I don't know the names of.

Well I've got to head out to do some moving-related work for our New Apartment!  More about that, and Pu'uhona o Honaunau later.

furniture

Who knew furniture was so expensive? We spent a good few hours today looking at various furniture stores.  I think we'll take what craigslist has to offer. We've already found some possibilities.  It looks like the thing to do is get it from people moving off the island, or from resorts that are redecorating.

Highlight of the shopping day: we found two good thrift stores, and were happy with our purchases there.

Best quote from Beth: "You found a bundt pan?  A springform bundt pan? Oooh, good for pineapple upside down cake.  We're gettin it."

Shout out to NordicWare.

bicycle commuter!

This morning, Beth and I skipped sunrise at Honul's beach to ride our bikes out to Cellana.  Once we snuck out of town, avoiding the major streets, we got up onto Queen Kahumanu Highway, and it was a quick little ride along the relatively flat road.  There is a very wide shoulder, but it is a little scary riding next to the 50 mph traffic. It was a quick 40 minute ride, door to door.  Little did we realize that our journey was eased, like so many before us, by strong SE trade winds!  I'm sure that by the time she has to ride home, the wind will have switched to her favor... grumble grumble.

I stopped by Wawaloli Beach Park on the way home.  It is situated on the same 1801 lava flow as the airport and Cellana, and has lots of rocky shoreline.  A little reminiscent of the North Shore of Lake Superior.  Only a little.  The rocks are both basalt, yes, but they are way younger and more rugged here.  Also, the waves are a lot bigger.  Pretty impressive to this flatlander.  I was impressed with the power and size of the waves and the amount of water they pushed up onto the rocks.

The big peach rock in the middle is covered by about 6 feet more water in the bottom picture than the top!  (sorry no scale).

One place, the waves would slam into the porous, fissured rock, and force air and water through the spaces.  The rocks would hiss and sputter with each wave crest.  Almost like they were alive.  It was very cool.  I was spooked the first time I heard it, until I figured out what was going on.  I even saw one little geyser that would shoot 3 feet in the air! neat.

Here is some of the pahoehoe (ropey lava) I saw.  groovy.

 Rainbow! Wavebow?

 The lil geyser.  Ok, maybe not 3 feet.

One of the funny parts about walking on the rocks was that the little rock crabs would go scurrying away like crazy, usually before I even saw them.  Often with so much vigor that they would fling themselves off the 6' cliffs and go spinning into the sea.  I suppose it is so they wouldn't end up like this:

Here is a Honul's Beach crab, so you can see what the living ones look like: well camouflaged.

Kale?

Some personal updates:

Beth and I looked at a pretty nice house yesterday.  We're submitting and application tomorrow.... we'll let you know!

Today, once I finish my chores (Beth ain't happy when she gets home from work and I haven't gotten my chores done) we're going to go to the local pickup ultimate frisbee game!  We're excited, but don't know what to expect.  This is a small town, and I think most locals are more apt to get out the surfboard or soccer ball than frisbee, but it should be fun.  Sorry Robbinsdale.

There is a local fruit and vegetable market/bazaar down in Kailua Town, just a walk or short bikeride from Ali'i Cove.  I went today and scored this:

A bag of Thai chillies, two limes, a tomato, a huge avocado, two mangoes, two peppers, two bunches of bananas. $7.  How them hard squashes?  I haven't found any squash or suitable kale replacement yet, but I think I can make due.  Can you find the frisbee in the picture above?  MN pride?

I got a kama'aina (hawaiian for child of the land) or resident discount on these beauts; I'm learning how to ask for a kama'aina discount and when its appropriate to bargain.  It's a whole new challenge.

sunrise at Ali'i cove!

Nice sunrise this morning.  This place is called Houl's Beach, just minutes from Cellana's condo.

Here is a picture of the condo complex from Ali'i Drive (map).

On the map, you can see Honul's beach in between the vacation rentals and the clairvoyant center. Kind of a metaphor for my life? Anyway, the condo is in the wedge of undeveloped (at photo time) land just inland of the clairvoyant center.  Ali'i is the Hawaiian word for the historic noble class, believed to have had divine origins!

Our unit is on the ground floor, facing the pool, which in this picture is behind the hedge. 

You can see Mt Hoalalai in the background of this picture.

There it is on the map the Easternmost mountain on the big island.
Hualalai is considered dormant, but is responsible for the 1801 flow that the Kona Airport is on.  It has also been a part of 3 seismic/eruptive events since then, most recently in 1929.  It is the 3rd most active Hawaiian volcano, after Kilauea and  Manu Loa.  Doesn't sound dormant to me! Here is a good Wikipedia page on Hualalai.

But all the really active lava flows, the ones famous for flowing continuously into the ocean, are on the coast south of Kilauea.  There is a lot of cool Volcanology here.  More to come to be sure.  But while this picture is here, check out Lo'ihi, in the ocean south of Kilauea.  It is currently the volcano most directly over the hot spot and will be the next volcanic Hawaiian island.    Here's a graphic illustrating the idea:  see how the hot spot is stationary and the Pacific plate moves NW, creating the island chain?  Good.

rude radio

May I please take a moment to reaffirm my love for the twin cities radio scene?
I knew that KFAI, Radio K, KNOW and the Current were special, but I figured that everywhere would have some kind of community or public radio, even if it wasn't up to the TC standards... alas.  I shouldn't neglect to note that I have heard some pretty cool Hawaiian music on the radio around here.

This morning, I've been listening to Rude Radio on Radio K.  How thankful I am that all the stations I mentioned stream live on the internet!  The roots reggae and ska is perty perfect for the Hawaiian climate, in my mind.  Stream it, or, if you're lucky enough to tune it in on your radio, enjoy some aural sunshine beamed from the Caribbean to Minnesota to the South Pacific and back again.

Any other favorite radio stations I should find out there in cyberspace?

heat's on in Hawaii

On my bikeride home from checking out an apartment today, I stopped by Target to pick up some stuff.  I looked in the fan area, but all the fans had been replaced with electric heaters.  How seasonal!  The low is supposed to be 73 degrees F tonight.  Does this say more about Target or Hawaii?

Of relevance: electricity is really expensive here.  The bill at the apartments we've been looking at are around $100 a month.  $0.33/KWH.  I understand it is made predominantly by burning diesel in jet turbines...

DST and daylight in Hawaii

So all my friends back on the mainland will be celebrating daylight savings time tonight by gaining one hour of sleep.  Not so here on Hawaii.  Tomorrow, I will be only 4 hours behind my Minnesota friends.  What's an hour on island time?

The real difference with daylight between here and the mainland is its length.  The sun rises about 6:30 and sets about 5:45.  There's about the same amount of daylight in Minnesota right now, but the weather here is more like Minnesota in July-- when there is about 15 hours of daylight.  It's weird to have such pleasant weather with such a short amount of daylight; so much nice weather when it is dark out.

It's pretty nice, weather-wise here. It gets cloudy everyday around 10 AM, which means the sun is not as intense.  Sometimes there is a drizzle around 4 in the afternoon-- then the sun starts going down.*  Cool mornings, with fresh air from the ocean.  Beth and I have been getting up pretty early (5:30-6), partially because we are still adjusting to the time change, partially to take advantage of the weather.  We have been walking down to the beach to watch the sunrise. There wasn't a spectacular sunrise today, because it was cloudy.  Now it is raining.  Apparently, this is one of the 12 statistical rain days in Kailua Kona.  So we'll appreciate it.  But hard for a guy who has to ride his bike around to look at apartments.

Here is a beach picture from this morning:

If you'd like to see something less blurry, you can mail your requests on the box of a Cannon PowerShot SX30 IS

*This is all different for the folks who live up the mountain-- a lot of people here live around 1000' elevation, where it is cooler and cloudier and wetter all the time.  These mountainsides are a new thing for da flatlander, too.

trouble in paradise

While I was laying on the floor doing some back exercises, I glanced up and spotted this guy:

uhgg.  I had to know they were out there, being as we're in the jungle, but...
4" of spider hanging out on the wall over my head.  Yikes.  Maybe the reason I haven't seen any of these yet is the condo association's guy wearing a VOC vapor mask and spraying all the plants around here... yes, my fellow association members, living in a photograph of suburban american paradise plopped into the tropics takes upkeep!

Here is as close as I could venture for some scale.  I was half amazed I didn't have a spider in my face for doing this.  

The furry fellow appears to be a cane spider.  Look how their eyes reflect the flash!! Creepy!  Apparently, it is friendly and going to eat the roaches for me.  I'll call him Carl the Cane Spider.

Well, time for something else.  I won't tell you that I'm going to go for a swim and read a book poolside.  That would make me and all other homemakers look bad.  It's just that I've already got dinner taken care of.

 If you like these posts, you better pray I don't make any friends down here!

local fauna

So who moves to Hawaii and doesn't give their friends any idea what the place looks like.  All in good time.  For now, here are the few photos I have taken.

First, a Hawaiian Hawk, or I'o

or

Look at his little flamingo leg lift!  Apparently, that's in here in the tropics

There he is, up there in the palm tree outside of our condo.  Beth spotted him while getting ready for her first day of work.  As you may have read in the link above, these guys are very rare.  A good omen!

These photos were taken from our lanai, the Hawaiian word for patio or deck.  As we've been looking at apartments, I've come to realize how common they are around here.  In fact, a house without a good outdoor living area is pretty much lacking.  Some of the nicest places we've looked at have a bit of an extra kitchen outdoors, with bbqs, stoves or sinks in addition to the requisite shade and chairs.  We're hoping to land in a place with an outdoor shower.  A nice amenity, when da wedder is always 85 and partly sunny!

Lanai is also the name of one of the many (more than I thought; 18 is commonly accepted) Hawaiian islands, just west of Maui.