Friday 5 for October 20: On the subway walls

 

Friday 5 for October 20: On the subway walls: As usual the questions originate from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. Which words do you use too frequently?

- Swear words when I am frustrated, startled or angry... the two common ones starting with F and Sh.

2. Which words do you use not enough?

I apologize.

3. Which words have you recently learned?

- Rakkyo - I thought it was "Ronkyo". I recently found out that ronkyo does not exist but instead it is called Rakkyo.

4. Which words do you love to hear?

"Chuckle" - it's cute when I hear it spoken in audio books or podcasts. I think about fuzzy little creatures that purr similar to Tribbles in Star Trek, even though it means a somewhat subdued laugh.. Chuckles.

FREE STUFF - Yep, that gets my attention.

FREE PARKING - self explanatory

FREE ADMISSION - yep!

FREE STREAMING - yep... Pluto TV, Tubi TV,  iHeartRadio, etc.

FREE - by itself is generally good too.

5. Which new slang terms do you especially like or dislike?

Some of these may be new, but I suspect and know several are old:

Like: 

Legit - legal, legitimate

Doh! - what?!! Oh NO! (adopted from The Simpsons)

Cluckers - I made this up and use it... chickens! 

Puka (Hawaii) - hole 

Dislike: 

Brah (local Hawaii) - I hate being called that... "Eh brah"

Unkle (local Hawaii) - I am not your uncle.

Friday 5 for October 13: Capitalizing on Opportunity

 

From Scrivener's Friday 5 weblog.

1. When did you last visit a building where legislation or executive governing take place?

Hawaii State Capitol - May 2023.... will be visiting again next week.

2. What do you carry on your person, in a bag, or in your car, just in case?

Either my primary smartphone (Google Pixel 4a) or my secondary "dumbphone", an Alcatel Smartflip 2. I was opposed to cell phones for a long time until I needed one in 2014 to communicate on the go and at work with my slowly dying Mom. I got a cheap 3G Smartphone at that time, which eventually saved my life in late 2015 after I suffered a mild heart attack at a public park. After that I always have one of them with me.

3. When did you last lower yourself (physically) through an opening of some kind?

It was either in 2010 on a tour aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, or more recently in 2015 on another tour on the historic battleship U.S.S. Missouri. Lots of climbing up and down, especially the carrier. 

4. How do you feel about the death penalty?

I'm all for it in its use in capital crimes such as murder, serial murder, treason against the United States of America, and for serial rape. 

5. Which vocalists most impress you with their ability to sing in the upper register?

Off the top of my head Art Garfunkel comes to mind... and maybe Jon Anderson in the group Yes. Of course there is always the late Tiny Tim... "Tiptoe through the tulips with me...."

However females can naturally hit high notes and for me the most famous locally is Genoa Keawe, a Hawaiian music singer who could hit high notes and sustain them with aplomb. See video at the top of this posting.

Below inside the Hawaii State Capitol Senate Chamber earlier this year. I work there part of the time.

Friday 5 for October 6: Boo!

 

It's SATURDAY October 7. The following questions came from the Friday 5 blog.

1. How easily are you startled?

Very easily. I don’t like sudden, unexpected things that pop up.

2. What music do you find scary?

Gangsta rap music and any type of ghetto (black) music associated with threatening messages, disrespect for the law, disrespect for our flag and country, espousing urban and rural violence, etc. That is the kind of rap music I would not want to be caught someplace where people love that stuff congregate. It is threatening.

3. When did you last attend a performance you didn’t think highly of?

I rarely ever go to live performances. I think the thing that offends me the most about paid live performances, is not the performers or the performance itself, but mostly the high ticket prices and zeroing on those horrid, mandatory “service fees”. Looking at you Ticketmaster. Blech!!!! 

Of course I know way in advance as to whether or not I would like the live performance by the type of content it would be… like I would go to some rock show and never ever go to a rap or hip hop concert.

So the chances of attending something I don't think highly of is fairly minimal at best.

4. What caused your most recent small cut or scrape?

Razor.

5. When was your ego most recently bruised, and what did you do to recover?

Can’t remember anything of recent times. I generally avoid situations where something negative may happen to me.

Friday 5 for September 29: Gang aft agley

Does this one sound like it is following another nautical term? From Scrivener's Friday 5 site, come these stirring questions.

1. When did you last plan a special gathering or event?

I think that was around 2019.... though I was not the main planner which is a good thing... It was for a family reunion back home on Hawaii Island... I just had to plan on being there as the main photographer... that was it. Oh and help set up the Facebook page for that.

Prior to that... um... my Mom's funeral in 2015 and some years before that, my Dad's funeral in 2010.

Oh what fun! 😟

2. How do you rate yourself as an organizer of activities?

I'd rather avoid it. Just invite me to eat or take pictures at your event. That is good enough.

3. When did you plan something and then say, “Never again!”

Um... certificate presentations for my former employer between 1999 and 2014. Those horrible things were like trying to herd cats to a specific day and time for a rather public event. I did not relish doing them, but for the most part I pulled them off. At the end of whatever presentation we were doing, I always said to myself "never again". But then another one would come up, much to my annoyance. The above photo was taken in 2002 during one such event.

Today I would not want to do them. Too much headache. Just let me take photos if you need me for something like that.

4. When were you especially impressed by someone else’s planning for a special event?

The special events that I have been to have more of less turned out well. When you are not involved with it, you don't see or experience the behind the scenes stuff, so if something went wrong or a detail was missed, I would not know or care. I haven't been to anything that was so awful to make a bad impression on me. But then I don't go to many organized activites in my life.

5. When have you recently experienced a sudden change of plans?

I try to avoid change of plans, especially if I have to travel off island. That can be EXPENSIVE. The travel industry tries to nail you for every change you make and whatever changes you do make, causes the experience to SOUR and put a bigger hole in your POCKETBOOK.

I guess that is a reason why I do not like traveling so much. It is stressful just taking a plane from one island to another because we can't even drive to another county in this state surrounded by water. 

Friday 5 for September 22: Don’t tip the boat over

Shades of The Hues Corporation for a song that is only a few years younger than you Mr. Scrivener. "Don't rock the boat, don't tip the boat over." I remember when the song went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as Casey Kasem counted the hits down on American Top 40 back in the summer of 1974.

Anyways here are my answers to these disco music inspired questions.

1. When did you most recently feel you should be dancing?

Not in this century. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s I did some stints as a disco DJ... that was another lifetime ago, though all of the songs linked to in these questions were popular dance numbers at the time I was working.

2. What hot stuff have you recently consumed?

Black pepper? Mostly seasoning on stuff. A recent Saffron Road microwave dinner was quite spicy hot.

3. What kind of side-hustle would be fun to try?

I don't know if I would be relevant now, but mobile DJ again. However today it is probably real easy as you can load your entire dance trax and much more into a laptop computer(s). Back in the day it was a couple of crates of heavy LPs, 45s and 12 inch singles - and then there is the heavy gear.. nope not going there. Plus no one worried about copyright and public airplay back in those days.

Probably a better one would be radio DJ if that were available, but most radio stations are all computerized.

Other than that I have done freelance desktop publishing and wedding photography in the past. The latter is too stressful to cope with at my advanced age. Was fun in the film days because not everyone was good at shooting photos in those days, and no one had a smartphone or digital camera.

4. What were some of this summer’s good times?

None. I'm just plodding through life at my slow, mundane, old way.

5. What are your plans for Saturday night?

More than likely staying home, watching a movie and maybe ordering a pizza to go. 

S A T U R D A Y   night!!!! 

Friday 5 for September 15: Happy Hour

I recently ate at Chic-fil-A for the first and only time so far. It was okay but nothing spectacular.

Happy Hour? Not.

 

I had all of my answers saved to Google Docs on Friday but forgot to post them here until today... Sunday. Questions come from their usual source.

1. During which specific hour of the day are you likeliest to be happy?

It depends on the circumstance and where I am during the day.

2. Which food-beverage pairings do you feel strongest about?

The standard burger - bun, beef, chicken or fish - should have tomato, lettuce and onion and one sauce at their most basic level.

The burger can be matched with water (my preference) or a soft drink of some type.

Optional - French fries or macaroni potato salad.

Optional 2 would be cheese, cucumbers, additional spices, avacado.

3. Do you enjoy (or have you enjoyed) socializing with coworkers?

It depends on where I have worked. Office parties are an unwanted social chore for me…. As are most "business" lunches with the entire group. I'm not a big fan of group gatherings.

One on one (or two) with a trusted colleague is more to my preference if one must socialize. Generally I rather go home.

4. When did you last try something different (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) to drink?

I haven't tried anything new in the drink department for a long time. I don't do any alcoholic drinks, and have sworn off sugared drinks since 2011. I mostly drink just plain old water.

5. What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long day of doing whatever you do during the day?

Listen to recorded music on one of my many owned playback devices. Records, CDs, tapes or digital files / streams. If I feel motivated, i also like to take photo walks with one of my many cameras.

Friday 5 for September 8: Kickoff

Friday 5 for September 8: Kickoff

From Scrivener...

1. What is your system or routine for paying bills?

Some are on auto pay, others are manual via online payment. A few are done the old fashioned way, "send in a check". I don't do any mobile payments. Only my wired Mac computer.

2. Forced to choose from a lion, bear, and panther, which would you keep as a pet, which would you put on your family crest, and which would you be reincarnated as?

• Crest - Lion
• Pet - Bear
• Reincarnated - Panther

And all of these are names of NFL football teams.. maybe I should be reincarnated as an NFL team owner?

3. Who in your life is (metaphorically!) a saint?

No one is perfect. So the answer is NONE.

4. Assuming no negative impact on the environment and all expenses covered by someone else, where would you go (and what would you do) right now if someone offered you use of a private jet?

First back to the Big Island and then traveling in different places around the United States. Of course it would depend on the size and range of the jet. 

5. Brown gets a lot of hate, but what are some lovely brown things?

One of the cars I used to own was brown. Dirt is mostly brown but you need it to grow things. I don't have any hate of brown. Heck I am brown skinned myself. So there.