Friday 5 for August 14: 家

I don't know what the kanji character in the title means. I guess it has
something to do with this week's topic from Scriveners site. Dwellings, places you lived or presently are.

 1. In what forms of housing have you resided?

Single family home back in Honokaa Hawaii. Lived there my first 18 years of life. Belonged to my parents, but now with my sister. I have returned there many times over the past five decades. Love the place.

Dorms - A zoo while I was in college.

Off campus housing - While in college, I also had to share a dwelling with a smelly dog and bedbugs. At another place, I lived with a bunch of Japanese and two mainland Chinese students who occupied the kitchen cooking up all kinds of stuff when they were not away at class or studying.

Condo Dweller - Since the 1980s I have been in the same high rise condo that has been in our family since.

2. What are the best and worst things about the location of your home?

 Best things about my current location:

Convenient walking location to all major grocery shopping - Don Quijote, WalMart, Target and Foodland Farms plus Longs Drug. Those are the major affordable stores in my area of Ala Moana Center. Everything else became pricey over the years, not what it was like back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. I miss those days.

Living in the city you are close enough to decent medical facilities and
doctors.

Worst things about my current location:

• RAIL and the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) now springing up around me. Arrrrgh!
• Higher property tax assessments because of TOD and RAIL. I hate RAIL.
• Increasing property tax rates overall. Even if you don't own property, high taxes and rail impacts you as a renter because landlords will pass that cost to you.
• Higher HOA monthly fees, not like how it was before. Again RAIL and high property tax impacts.
• Rising crime rate - there was another murder not too far away from my dwelling again this week.

3. Where would you keep a second home if you could have one?

I like Hawaii despite the high cost of living. The weather is fine. So I guess my choice for a second home would be somewhere back on the Island of Hawaii, just outside of Hilo past the humming bridge along the Hamakua Coast of Highway 19. It should be no farther than 15 minutes away from the convenience of shopping at Hilo but away from any possible lava flow danger that could head down Mauna Loa mountain.

Otherwise I'd be okay in Honokaa, Waimea, Ahualoa or the Kohala area in North Hawaii.

4. How well would you adapt to permanent RV life?

 If I moved to the mainland, I think I could do OK living in a decent
 RV. I just need a place to keep all of my records and CDs a good
 storage facility for the duration of such an adventure; youd have to go
 fully digital with music, movies, TV and books in order to maintain a
 large collection of entertainment and knowledge. My Google Play Music
 cloud would be great for that but now Google wants to end it and force
 us to move to YouTube Music I hate that.

 I watch a few video blogs about some people who live the RV life. As a
 photographer it would be a great opportunity to take pictures, pictures
 and even more pictures everywhere.

 The downside is trying to find someplace to lodge/park the rig, keep it
 maintained, fueled and supplied with necessities and also having to
 deal with um getting rid of the waste products. The other downside is
 finding some kind of revenue stream to pay for it all. That would be
 the most difficult part.

 5. Whats the prettiest thing to look at within five miles of your
 residence?

I am mostly surrounded by tall buildings and even more of them springing up because of the dreadful rail and TOD. Not much of a view to call breathtaking. However if I zoom my camera in close to the far west or east horizon, I can sometimes capture a somewhat decent picture like the one at the top of this post.

Friday 5 for August 7: Polarity

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 page.

1. What are the dumbest and smartest things you did this week?

Dumb - Put stuff off for another day. Quite frequent in my life.

Smart - Made a suggestion to a group and they agreed on it.

2. What are the worst and best things you ate this week?

Worst thing I ate: Probably any and all the foods my doctors advise against.

Best Thing This week: Bento bowl from Don Quijote (Chicken, rice, etc.) - also qualifies as one of the worst due to health, salt content, etc., etc.

3. When this week were you unhappiest and when were you happiest?

Unhappiest - When I made my dear friend unhappy. Sorry.
Happiest - When I got help with a couple of items.

4. What did you have too much of this week, and what did you have not enough of?

Too much - Anxiety.
Not Enough of - Money.

5. What are you dreading in the next seven days, and what are you eagerly anticipating?

Dreading - Bill payments
Eager For - Relief

Sorry can't be too specific on these.

Friday 5 for July 31: State change

From Scrivener's Friday 5 page comes this weeks questions.

1. What recently caused you to boil?

Anger. Not going to say what it was, but when I am angry I can boil. 212° and higher.

2. What often causes you to freeze?

When I first spot a B52 cockroach in my home. I freeze in fear first and have to force myself to go into combat mode, which is unpleasant and still fearful... especially when the dam things are hanging upside down on the ceiling and you try to get them and they fly!!!! AAAAAAARGH!!!!!

3. When did something evaporate into thin air?

A lot of things in my home seem to temporarily evaporate into thin air only to be found much later. Wallet (always need that), keys (need that), comb, small thumb drive, some important papers, whatever.

4. What recently caused you to melt?

My friend Lisa.

5. Among United States you haven’t visited, which would you most like to check out next?

Probably Utah. I have friends there and I think it my be pretty. Actually all states have their beauty and as a photographer I'd be happy to visit any of the ones I haven't been to and even the ones that I went to. It's been a long time since I been to the mainland.

In this COVID-19 dystopian world, it is highly unlikely that I will be going anywhere off this island soon. Too much regulations going and coming and I certainly don't want to do 14-day quarantine.

Friday 5 for July 24: Scattergories, Part 10!

It's that time of the year when we choose a random letter from the "nifty Random Letter Sequence Generator". This year I get the letter H.
Questions from the weekly Friday 5 website.

H

1. What’s something in your pantry, beginning with the letter?

Ritter Chocolate Bar with Whole Hazelnuts.

Ritter Whole Hazelnuts Chocolate bar.

2. What’s something in your car, beginning with the letter?

Hoses... A few of them are in the engine compartment of my car. They are necessary for keeping an internal combustion engine cool, flowing and running properly.

3. What’s something you miss, beginning with the letter?

Hair at the top of my head. I am not totally bald, but the top has thinned over the years.

4. What’s a character trait you admire but lack, beginning with the letter?

I probably could strive to be more healthy.

5. What’s a regular inconvenience, beginning with the letter?

Hassles - There are plenty of those in our lives, more so today with COVID-19 rules and regulations. It is a hassle to have to wear a mask almost everywhere in public. It is a hassle to have to deal with automated phone menu systems before you can reach a real person. It is a hassle dealing with customer service, especially bad ones. It is a hassle having to pay tax for stupid stuff like the rail every time you buy something in Hawaii. It is a hassle getting through security lines at the airport, and now more so with COVID-19 screening... which has made me a reluctant flyer to the point that I don't intend to go anywhere anytime soon. It is a hassle to have to find a free parking space in this town. It is a hassle paying bills too. Need I go on with this crap? Probably not.

Friday 5 for July 17: Hopscotch and Crayons

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 site.

1. What was your favorite piece of playground equipment when you were a kid?

Back in the day (we're talking 1962 - 64) our elementary school had this sliding board that was built on a 20 foot embankment. On rainy days a small mud puddle formed at the bottom of the slide. It was funny to watch other kids go splash in the dirty puddle. I never did that part... Mom would have given me lickins'.

2. What do you remember about your first-grade teacher? Pick the earliest grade teacher you remember, if you don’t remember anything about your first-grade teacher.

Mrs. Higa was my first grade teacher. She taught us first grade reading. The three books we started on were My Little Red Storybook, My Little Green Storybook and My Little Blue Storybook. After we got through with those basic readers, we moved on to a book called The Little White House or something like that.

When I think back to those books, they were nice and conservative and achieved the goal of teaching us how to read and more importantly these days, espouse the values of what the United States is supposed to be like.

I wish I still had those books. Some of them are worth money today.

I am too fearful to find out what kids of today are learning. It seems like the curriculum is to lay blame on America and destroy our great country. If that is it, this is really scary for our future.

At the end of our first grade year, the school was getting rid of those books and they gave three of them to me. Less than eight years later, my sister who was eight years my junior, picked up those books and pretty much taught herself how to read before she got to kindergarten. I remember she asked me about words she did not know.

Cool when I think about that today.

Sorry the answer to this question is more about the readers and not so much about the teacher, though I have to give Mrs. Higa credit for teaching us the basics.

3. What’s an especially memorable field trip you took with a class in your very early years?

Yes there are at least a dozen field trips I can remember going with my class at various stages of elementary school. Here are some of my most memorable.

Fifth Grade - JPO excursion to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This is one of my favorite places to go to, but I rarely ever go these days. Last time I went there was in June 2005.

Fourth Grade - Hilo to visit the Hawaii Tribune Herald where I learned that the Horoscope was a bunch of bullshit, because the person there told us when the teletype broke, someone on the staff would just write one up... of course this was in the olden days when there was no internet. They gave us rolls of blank newsprint. That was fun. On that same trip we also visited the Lyman Museum (the only time I ever been there), and Hilo Macaroni Factory where they used to make Saloon Pilot crackers. We got free crackers!

Sixth Grade - We went to Waimea to the old Kahilu Theater to watch a play... forgot what it was but the presenters were Honolulu Theater for Youth as I recall.

4. What are some fads you remember from your elementary school days? Did you get into them?

The Beatles! - I had the pointy shoes. Heh. Parents would not let me grow my hair long. Had a couple of 45 rpm records... "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

Batman TV Show - with Adam West and Burt Ward was a big thing back in 1966. It was the first show I saw in color on a neighbor's TV set. We went to the full length movie that featured the TV cast. Fun stuff.

5. If your elementary school had food service, what’s a lunch you were especially fond of, and what’s a lunch you were especially not fond of?

Pizza was great. Shoyu chicken and rice was delicious as were most of the cookies.

There was some weird goop that passed for food that covered our rice. Not knowing what it was, we called it S.O.S. - Same Old S**t. We ate the bun, the fruit and drank the milk... but the rest went to the slop recycling counter... yuck... Haven't thought about that in ages.

My second grade class, May 1, 1965.

Friday 5 for June 26: Tubular

1. What’s your least favorite episode of your favorite television program?

“Babylon 5”, is one of my all time favorite TV shows ever. But just like any other show it did have a few dog episodes. The one that I don’t like is an episode called “Grey 17 is Missing”. It is about a big monster that lives an area of the space station called “down below” . Robert Englund, most well known for playing Freddy Kruger on the “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies played an eccentric leader with a small band of followers. I like Englund’s performance on the old TV series “V” that ran from 1983 to 1984.

Babylon 5 is available for purchase from Amazon or streams for free on Comet TV and STIRR.

2. Across its series run, in what way did a favorite television program get worse?

“Babylon 5” ran for five seasons and completed most of its pre-planned story arc. However the show was almost going to be cancelled during the fourth season. As a result a bunch of episodes that would close out the story was squeezed into Season 4 making it a blockbuster season. However after they got a 5th season, the writers and producers had to come up with additional content to finish the story out. The middle third of the 5th season spent too much time on a sub-arc dealing with rouge telepaths that were held up at the station. Don’t get me wrong, “Babylon 5” was still a great series. It is just that the 5th season was weaker than the previous 3 seasons (2 - 4) and matters were not helped when one of the key actors left the series at the end of the fourth year.

“The X Files” which I loved got worse from Season 7 onward. Cast changes and the storyline got tired. By the first end of the series in year 9, I wasn’t watching it very much.

3. Among television programs you like very much, which ended far too soon?

FIREFLY… It was one of the greatest space adventures that was cancelled way too soon! Ugh!!!! The show ran for only 13 episodes. They released a movie called “Serenity” to wrap up loose ends. That was OK.

4. Among television programs you like very much, which dragged on for too long?

The X Files - see #2 above

5. What are some lines of dialogue you love from a favorite television program?

The exchange of dialogue between Mr. Morden and Centauri attaché Vir Kotto when Morden asks him “What do you want”? Babylon 5 fans love this exchange and later to see Vir’s wish come true.

6. My Bonus List: Top 10 TV Shows (Changes from time to time) - Yes I mostly like science fiction.

1. Babylon 5
2. Breaking Bad
3. Star Trek The Next Generation
4. The X Files
5. Firefly
6. Fringe
7. Tales From the Loop
8. Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined)
9. Star Trek (classic)
10. Star Trek Deep Space 9

Friday 5 site

Friday 5 for June 19: Under lock and key

This week's Friday 5 - Under lock and key. Yep. Welcome to our dystopian world where government overregulation has crept deeper into our lives and taken away many of our personal freedoms, thanks to COVID-19. What a bummer. Questions are from Scrivener as usual on this blog.

1. What’s your mask situation like?

My current inventory consists of 10 cloth type masks that sell for $5.99 a pack at Don Quijote. These are just those light blue generic types, which I have found last quite a while. You can hand wash them and let them dry in the sun. Use them again and again. Yes, I am cheap.

These are government mandated fashions. Why should I spend too much money on this crap when it doesn't really protect me.

I have two colorful cloth masks given to me by a friend. Thanks Sandra C. I am saving the one I have for myself and gave the other to my friend. The second set of masks was given to me by someone that work in the organization that I do their website for. I got two patriotic masks with the American flag and an eagle on them. Haven't used them unless I go to something that deserves me to be seen in them.

I had two black cloth masks that I first bought when this whole mess started for $5 each. They were nice. One thing that I have found is that the elastic straps on these masks break easily. Both of mine broke and I no longer use those masks. I refuse to buy anymore expensive masks if the straps are the weak point.

I also have two N95 masks that someone else gave me several months ago when this whole crisis was in its infancy. I dare not wear those in public. There may be people out there who chastise individuals who wear N95s because "we are denying healthcare workers from getting one"..... bull-crap.

A cottage industry has developed because of this government mandate, with individuals as well as small and large businesses selling masks, most starting at $5 to $6 each. High end ones go for a lot more. No thanks.

Government is forcing me under penalty of being fined to wear a mask. After my two initial masks broke, I decided no thanks to any pricey masks unless I can find one that looks this:

2. In what way is your life better today than a few months ago?

Up until recently it was nice to drive on the streets without too much traffic on the roads. Now that things are opening up again, traffic is spiking up to near normal levels. Other than that, nothing else is better.

3. What do you miss from normal living?

Let's see if I can come up with a top 10 list to this one....

1. Being everywhere mask free. Duh????
2. Going to work
3. The monthly sidewalk sale for cheap records and CDs at Idea's Books and Music.
4. Eating inside a restaurant
5. Meeting my friends for lunch, even though I hardly did that.
6. Be worry free about touching things or brushing up against people who may be carrying the COVID-19 virus. 
7. I hate those places that require a temp check before entering. So far I am avoiding them.
8. I cannot go to the Big Island of Hawaii without a) subjecting myself to quarantine (up to June 15) and now b) having to fill out some stupid disclosure form before traveling and then submitting it to the government so that they may contact trace you. Ugh! Plus wearing masks in planes, airports, etc. suck.  So sorry Southwest and Hawaiian Airlines.... I am not flying until everything about that process reverts to normal pre-COVID19 levels.
9. Going to scenic points to take photos. Currently most of them are still closed I think.
10. Freedoms we had before this mess started.

4. When this is over, what will be your major takeaway?

Will the COVID-19 crisis ever get over? Hawaii is spiking up again since more businesses and socialization opportunities have reopened. Could the state and the rest of the nation go back into lockdown mode later this year during the fall and winter months? We are half way now to a year with this thing.

Perhaps the major takeaway could be to change the leadership of our local government through the elections coming up this year.

Buy a dumb burner phone.

5. What are your feelings about getting back out there sooner, rather than later?

Just be careful. Avoid gathering with large groups in the same place for a length of time.... perhaps 10 minutes or longer. Good thing for me is that I am not a group type of person. I don't go to movies, concerts or other large gatherings mainly due to cost, so avoiding these will be easy.

Surely though, the state should open up to tourism again since no matter what everyone says, it will bring the economy back since there are so many people unemployed and many businesses dying on the vine.