Friday, August 25, 2017

Friday 5 for August 25: Five of Whatever

From Scrivener's Friday 5 blog:

Waimanalo Beach Park

1. How tidy are your kitchen cabinets?

Not too much food, so it is not very messy. I have plates, cups and a few other things in the other cabinet.

2. What’s an art project you did in school that you remember fondly?

In "Summer Fun" classes way back in 1965 we did two wood pieces that I still have back home on the Big Island of Hawaii. I think I may also have a ceramic truck and ash tray we made in 5th grade. Gotta look for that. Took photography in college, learned how to do black and white processing and still have plenty of my negatives and contact sheets. Slowly scanning those old negatives in to digital.

3. What’s the best thing you ate on your most recent trip?

Probably some cake & ice cream at my sister's place back in February since it was around her birthday.

4. What’s the dumbest non-political thing you’ve seen lately?

RAIL... oh that's political.... sorry I can't shake that one since it is the biggest, most expensive and stupidest mistake of the century still costing us way too much money and creates more problems than it solves.

Other than that I can't think of anything else.

5. What’s soemthing in your home that’s lasted longer than you expected?

I tend to buy or keep things that will last a long time. I hate built in obsolescence. That said here are photos of some old things that have lasted a long time in my home:

Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash

Above: I bought this 1950s era Kodak Brownie Hawkeye flash camera at the Salvation Army store in Honolulu for $4 back in 1979. It still works and I currently have a roll of old 620 film in it. Below is the 1960s era Minolta SRT-101 35 mm SLR camera that I've owned since buying it used in 1978 for $70. I have taken many pictures with it through my college years, and even use it from time to time today. I have since massed a small collection of manual focus Minolta 35 mm SLR film cameras over the years.

Minolta SRT 101

My Realistic Mixer

One of the best things I ever bought brand new is this Realistic 4 channel stereo mixer. I've had this thing since 1985 and it still works just fine today. There are a couple of things wrong with it... the headphone monitor output seems to have lost it, and one of the knobs broke off when something hit it in 2016.

Tape Deck

This is probably the last of the 5 or so stereo cassette tape decks that I have owned over the years. This one still works and I should use it more often to transfer the content of some of my cassettes over to a digital format before the belts inevitably break someday.

Top photo: My 1993 Toyota Corolla which I bought used in 2000 is still runs with only 101,200+ miles on it. I drove it from Honolulu to Waimanalo Park just the other day to catch some sunrise and beach photos.

Other old things I have around my home which are over 10 years old now include: Power Mac G4 tower computer, Macintosh Plus computer, many vinyl records, cassette tapes, and even CDs, old photos, negatives, cups, plates, an old pot, and a Sears Kenmore refrigerator.





Friday, August 18, 2017

Friday 5 for August 18: Homecoming

Happy Hawaii Statehood Day! :D

I haven't seen any Spiderman movie since Spiderman 3 with Toby Maguire in the lead role from 2007. Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

Police Action

1. What’s the crime like in your neighborhood?

July 2017 HPD report to Ala Moana Neighborhood Board #11:

- Honolulu Police Department (HPD) – A sergeant reported the following:

• June 2017/May 2017 Statistics – There were 14/24 motor vehicle thefts, 11/7 burglaries, 169/158 thefts, 33/34 UEMVs (unauthorized entry into motor vehicles), 16/24 assaults, 3/5 sexual assaults, 1/0 graffiti incidents, and 13/21 drug offenses. Total calls for service were 5,754/6,177.

• Business Security Tips – Tips included installing a video security system, having address numbers visible from the street, and knowing the neighbors to watch out for each other.

Don Quijote – Ammons reported that a resident e-mailed him about loud noise and possible criminal activities at the laundry mat. HPD is aware of the situation and he will follow up with the Third (3rd) Watch.

2. If you could have attended one of those high schools with a specific academic focus, such as performing arts, studio arts, sustainability, science and technology, international languages and diplomacy, or some option you thought of yourself, which would you have chosen when you were thirteen?

Business and Technology - unfortunately they did not teach much of that in the government school system back in the day.... though I hear it may be worst now....

3. What was memorable about a party you remember from high school?

After our senior year dance we stayed at the hotel in Kona. We had some crazy party in the room and I remember calling one of our goofy teachers in the middle of the night (like 2AM in the morning) asking if his refrigerator was running. We were also jumping from bed to bed, playing loud music on the cassette player, eating and throwing chicken bones off the balcony of our 4th floor room or something. It was a long time ago. We were still stupid kids.

4. Which of your older relatives is (or was) the handsomest or prettiest?

My cousin Dorian was Miss Aloha Hawaii in 1972 and was first runner up in the Miss Hawaii pageant. Her talent was dancing the hula to the 1960s novelty song "Puka Puka Pants" that was recorded by JoAnn Campbell. She is a few years older than me.

5. What was homecoming like at your high school? How did you feel about it?

Homecoming was a big thing in small town Honokaa where only one government school serviced the entire area consisting of Honokaa, Waimea, Kukuihaele, Kapulena and Paauilo. Homecoming week consisted of something happening on campus daily for 5 days that led to the big football game of the season. We had like pep rallies, movies, intramurals and one year a gigantic water balloon fight. We also had a bonfire the night before the game and also a parade. Highlight for each class was to build a float and have it parade through town following the 2 bands from the community... the Honokaa County Band and the Honokaa High School Band. I was in the band. And then the big football game which as far as I can remember, our school always lost until 1973 and 1974, in which both years Honokaa was the Big Island Insterscholastic League (BIIF) champions. Honokaa's Class of 1975 which I was part seemed to win several of those parade float trophies or whatever as well as the pep rally stuff... probably because for our small school, we had one of the bigger classes at the time.

When the school turned 100 years old there was a large homecoming parade of a sort where a lot of the older classes showed up for still a special celebration. Some photos from that are shown below.

Honokaa town is laid out in such a way that it was always good to have a parade go through it.


The July 2000 Honokaa School Millennium Parade. Photos by Mel.



Friday, August 11, 2017

Friday 5 for August 11: Scattergories Part 7!

Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 JA829J

What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions)?

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What’s something gross whose name begins with the letter? 

Some types of WORMS are gross, like um... MAGGOTS eating decaying, dead flesh. That whole scenario is gross.

2. What’s something crunchy whose name begins with the letter? 

* Waffles

 3. What’s something (or who is someone) you wouldn’t mind hugging whose name begins with the letter?

There are only 3 people in my Google Contacts list that start with W. I don't want to hug anyone on that portion of the list.

4. What’s something whose name begins with the letter and can be found on a passenger airplane?

  Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717-200Wings

5. What’s something (whose name begins with the letter) you could purchase at a hardware store?

Wheelbarrow
Weed Whacker
Window Frames
Window Shutters
Windows
Wastebaskets
Wiring
Washers

Friday, August 4, 2017

Friday 5 for August 4: In Your Head! In Your Head!

The questions are taken from Scrivener's weekly Friday 5.

1. Which mythical monster would you most enjoy discovering (first- or second-hand) is real?

Loch Ness Monster - If it is real it is best that it stays in its lake in the U.K. and not be a menace to seagoing transport. Would love to see concrete, scientific proof that this beast exists. A series of great photos and videos would do the trick. Come on people in the U.K. Where are those GoPro cameras flying over Loch Ness trying to get images of the elusive beast.

2. When did you last exhibit monstrous behavior?

When I lost a 48 page legal document I was typing in the computer many years ago after the power cut out for a minute! Lesson learned: save your work as you go along.

3. What do you think of monster trucks?

I would not buy an expensive toy like that. It's fine for people who have disposable income and like that kind of vehicle to crush other vehicles. If the owners are doing it for a show and deriving income from said truck(s), then it is totally fine with me. I just would not own one myself.

4. If you like monster movies, what’s a monster movie you dislike? And if you dislike them, what’s a monster movie you like?

Monster movies I dislike: Probably most slasher type of movies - Friday the 13th, etc.

Monster movies I like:



1. ALIENS (the second in the series was the best, and perhaps greatest monster movie of all time).

2. THE FLY (1986 version with Jeff Goldblum)

3. BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS - Classic 1953 Ray Harryhausen stop motion animated movie that inspired all of the big dinosaur movies that followed.

4. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) - The original, low budget, black & white movie foreshadowed all of the zombie movies that followed. This is a good movie made on a shoestring budget.

5. GODZILLA, MOTHRA - The Japanese Toho productions made monster movies fun. Especially the ones with people in rubber suits dressed as gigantic monsters.

Honorable Mentions - MONSTER IN THE CLOSET (1978), CARRIE (1976), KING KONG (1933).



5. What song about a monster (or with the word monster in the title) do you really like?

My top 5 monster songs:

1. Zombie - The Cranberries
2. Monsters and Angels - Voice of the Beehive
3. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
4. Frankenstein - Edger Winter Group
5. The Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett