Friday 5 for December 7: Themeless

1. You know those delicatessens that name sandwiches after famous people? What would be the ingredients of the sandwich named after you?

The Mel Burger would have a garlic flavored sesame seed bun, 1/2 pound charcoal broiled all beef patty with lettuce, tomato, bell peppers, onion, olives, a light spread of mayonaise, a touch of ketchup, green relish and sprinkled with black pepper and other spices. The buns would also be toasted. The deluxe combo would come with a medium Strawberry Icee and an optional bag of tator tots, potato wedges or onion rings.

2. What’s your favorite part of staying in a hotel?

Having maid service clean up after you mess the place up the night before.

3. What was the last book you read, and how was it?

"How to Write and Self Publish eBooks for Free" by Jessica Cambrook... this is a short read on the basic nuts and bolts of how tow write, publish and market an eBook. I expected a little more on the technical end of what is the best software to use for creating an eBook. But then again this eBook was free from the Apple store so I can't complain too much.

4. What’s something super-unhealthy you’ve recently eaten?

Eating burgers and fries, chocolate candies and more on a regular basis tends to add up to "super-unhealthy".

5. What do you do with all those Christmas cards with photos of friends
and their kids?

Usually they get filed away, but I think this year I will scan them in and put 'em on Flickr and Facebook.

Questions posted from Scrivener's Friday 5 weblog.

Friday 5 for November 30: Tired Car Metaphors

1. What area of your life has lately (and pleasantly) been on cruise control?

Nothing. It's always stop and go for me.

2. Where in your life should you probably hit the brakes?

Eating.

3. Where do you go when you just need a little tune-up?

Home. Big Island of Hawaii.

4. How much junk have you got in the trunk?

Too Much. Want to buy a small collection of old Nintendo NES game cartridges?

5. Where is the needle on your fuel gauge pointing today?

Full @ 92,000 miles.



Answer these questions and more at Scrivener's Friday 5.

Friday 5 for November 23 - Black

OK, yes this is late but I could not pass this one up since it has a great music question / list at the end. So here goes... BLACK!


1. What’s your favorite black article of clothing?

Black Space Invaders T-Shirt.

2. What’s the best black food?

Opihi - raw with Hawaiian rock salt for flavoring. BTW, Opihi are not totally black, but their bodies have black coloring that you can see after you pry them out of the shell.

3. How did you pass the time during your most recent extended blackout (power outage)?

Listen to the radio waiting for news on when the power would be restored and the emergency situation would end. Also went around community and took photos. This was during the October 2006 earthquake.

4. When did you last play blackjack?

Sometime many years ago on my Mac IIsi computer.

5. What are some songs in your iTunes (or other media player) whose titles contain the word black?

I have about 50 tracks in my iTunes library with the word "black" in its title. Among my favorites:

1. Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
2. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
3. Black Magic Woman - Santana
4. Blackbird - The Beatles
5. Black Sheep Wall - The Innocence Mission
6. Black Friday - Steely Dan
7. Blackout - Breathe Carolina
8. Black & White - Three Dog Night
9. Black Betty - Ramjam
10. Black is Black - Los Bravos
11. Black Magic Woman - Fleetwood Mac
12. Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) - The Hollies
13. Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
14. Spin the Black Circle - Pearl Jam
15. Black Horse & a Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
16. Black Water - Doobie Brothers
17. Black Sand - Kalapana
18. Back in Black - AC/DC (not in iTunes, LP only)
19. Black - Pearl Jam
20. Black Country Woman - Led Zeppelin
21. Man in Black - Johnny Cash
22. Black or White - Michael Jackson
23. Two Black Cadillacs - Carrie Underwood
24. Black Cat - Janet Jackson
25. Baby's in Black - The Beatles

Friday 5 for November 9 - TV Sitcoms

The answers to these questions have nothing to do with TV sitcoms.



1. When was someone or something recently Too Close for Comfort?

This was not very recent, but it did occur in 2004. I was on board an Aloha Airlines flight that had to abort a landing at Honolulu International Airport because another plane was on the runway that we were set to land on.

2. Besides yourself, who’s recently been in Double Trouble?

Mitt Romney, Ben Cayetano, Linda Lingle and Charles Djou all lost the November 6 election. The nation is in double trouble because a lot of people with socialist and communist agendas have taken over.

3. What’s Happening?

I just typed a response to these questions and posted them online. Something will happen next, but I'm not telling.

4. Who’s the Boss?

Me, myself and I.

5. What are you most likely to be up to from 9 to 5 tomorrow?

Working on something with my computer.

Thanks for participating, and have a Makin’ It weekend!

Will try. 10-4 over and out.

Friday 5 for November 2: Dreaming

1, If you suddenly received a ton of money and could open up some kind of store or service just for the pleasure of having it (assume it wouldn’t have to be too financially successful!), what would it be? 

 I always wanted to operate either a record store or a radio station.

 

 2. What service or store that no longer exists do you miss most? 

Plenty - Aloha Airlines, Mid Pacific Airlines, Woolworth, Kress Stores, Western Stores, Job Lot, Records Hawaii, The Record Museum, Tower Records, Radio Free Hawaii, Froggies, Hasegawa Store in Honokaa, Hamakua Fountain, Tou Inn, Dairy Queen in Honokaa, and other eating places too numerous to mention.



3. What local business do you think you could make better if you were to take it over? And if you don’t mind sharing, what changes would you make? 

Not exactly local, but at the Don Quijote Stores I'd bring back all of those one dollar items they used to sell that came from Japan.

4. What spot nearby seems to be impossible for businesses to survive in?

Restaurant Row complex near Downtown Honolulu has had a historically high rate of turnover. Many eating places have come and gone there over the last 20 years. There frequently are many vacant spots for people to set up a restaurant, but they remain empty.

Kalama Village Center, a small strip mall located in Hawaii Kai is mostly empty.

5. We’ve all seen stores that combined books and records, beer and laundry, or coffee and whatever. One of my favorite places to get coffee in Honolulu is a cafe and florist, and there is a car garage that’s also a diner in a town nearby. What would be a cool hybrid of two disparate ideas for somewhere you’d like to hang out? 

How about a classy coin laundry, bookstore and internet cafe mixed into one business.

Questions posted Nov. 2 at Scrivener's Friday 5.

Friday 5 for October 19: Vice Squad

From the seedy side of life comes Scrivener's Friday 5 on Vice.

1. What is your history with cigarettes?

I don't smoke. Never have, never will. A total waste of money if not your life. Why would people want to smoke? You're just burning money. Plus tobacco taxes are sky high. What a waste!

2. What is your history with alcoholic drink?

I do not consume any alcoholic drinks. Never have. Never will.

3. What was the worst trouble you got into at school?

Can't remember what it was, but I got hit by the substitute teacher with a yardstick when I was in the third grade. If that happened today, the school system as well as the teacher would face criminal charges, a lawsuit or both.

4. What’s something you got away with in school but shouldn’t have?

Can't think of anything in particular. I was a good student for most of my life. Did not want to get hit with a yardstick again.

5. Who’s your partner in crime?

No one.

Yes, for the most part my life is pretty dull. Next...

Friday 5 for October 12: Wallflower

From Scrivener's Friday 5 blog: "This past week, I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower in anticipation of the film, which I also saw this past week. In its honor, here are five questions inspired by the novel and film."

1. What do you remember about high-school dances?

The first dance I went to my friends and I rolled cookies onto the darkened dance floor and laughed at couples stepping on them.

2. At whose house would you and your friends usually gather after school-related activities?

I pretty much just went home. Did not attend too many dances anyway.

3. Who in your school had a memorable nickname?

The "Lord of the Flies" because he did #2 in class when we were in the 5th grade. This guy also had other names such as "King Fut", throughout his remaining tenure at our small school.

4. What was your high-school cafeteria like?

Utilitarian like most Hawaii public school cafeterias... long, hard benches with integrated fold down seats... low.... loud atmosphere.... but versatile because besides being an eating place, the school held socials there and community groups held and still use it for meetings.

5. Your parents aren’t reading this, so what were some of the crazy (or just memorable) things you or your friends did while driving?

Driving 85+ mph in my cousins' Ford Maverick.

Photo: Honokaa High School (top) + Honokaa Class of 1975 school reunion, 2010 (below):