The Lily and Jacoblog

This is how it begins

2012-01-23T15:53:00.010-10:00

Jake had a blast at the Lemonds' last weekend skating with his Kailua crew. Jake hadn't used his board since the xmas before last but it seems that the hook is now set. So after a quick trip to the skate shop, Jake's got new wheels, bearings, bushings, risers, and a Spitfire (non-RAF) helmet.

Uncle Dave even turned me on to a new (to me) style of board. The Carver. The closest thing to surfing out of the water I've ever done. Amazingly good fun.

For those of you who live in Leipzig and don't see waves, one word. Dude.

Jake was the only one in the family who didn't wind up on the ground in pain (it'll come though).

Dude addendum

2012-01-19T09:52:00.003-10:00

Dave sent me a link with insane footage of the monster swell from last August.

It was big when it reached Hawai‘i.

When it hit Tahiti three days earlier it was, what some might say, gnarly. Really gnarly.

Check out Mpora Gear

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2011-12-06T10:53:00.004-10:00

What's making Lily happy?

Her eerily good, make up and mask free impression of a chimpanzee.

If you are a mirror and have been within a few feet of my daughter in the past few weeks, you already know this, but for nonreflective and unvitreous among us, here you are.

Two Words: Du ude !

2011-08-31T11:52:00.010-10:00

A haiku for a glorious south swell:

Solid ten foot faces
Occasionally bigger
Go to work late dude

Not sure if this was actually a once in a decade swell as some media reports have said but it was (actually still is - supposed to hang around another day or two) a solid south shore summer swell.

A totally gorgeous Hawaiian summer day, light trades, mellow crowd of old dudes on longboards with the rare shortboarder/boogieboarder. Clean conditions. Mahalo mahalo mahalo.

I am a creature of habit and only surf two spots:
Under headhigh = Kewalo's
Headhigh and up = Big Left's

Big Left's will only break (with quality) a few times a year and man this was one of those lucky rare days.

About the same conditions that broke my previous board:

You know it's big when the Ala Wai Boat Harbor channel closes out:

Life is good.

New tattoo method

2010-08-24T08:15:00.002-10:00

Pros: No needle (read: pain)

Cons: Munchies

No way

2010-08-05T08:29:00.006-10:00

Unbelievable.

Here's an article from Midweek, an O‘ahu based lowbrow weekly (read: they publish Michelle Malkin, Bill O'Reilly and local right wing nutzoids).

I can understand pandering to Republican homophobic idiots (triple redundancy I know) on political issues, but a VET WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION?

This guy somehow graduated from veterinary school (same one as you Roger) without coming to grips with the fact that modern biology is based on the work of Charles Darwin. If you are looking for a vet to take care of your pet, you might want to check out his "thought" process.

I wouldn't trust this guy to open a childproof top and he's prescribing medicine for living creatures.

Dr indeed.

What is a crouton?

2010-07-15T19:56:00.003-10:00

So I was thinking. Call me a splitter, but things need to fit in their categories. They simply must. Some examples.

Roast beef (or garden burger for the vegans who walk among us)= entree /meat
Mashed potatoes = side dish / starch
Green beans = vegetable
Bread = cereal / grain / baked good
Doughnut = pastry
Apple = fruit
Beer = beverage (and oh what a beverage)
Parsley = garnish
Mustard = condiment
Pepper = spice
Sage = herb
Ice cream = dessert
Pita chips = snack
Hummus = dip
Ranch dressing = dressing (duh)
Pickle = hmmmm, tough one....

So I ask again...what is a crouton? It's so much more than a simple baked good.

I suppose that bacon bits might be in need of a taxonomic home as well.

We need a new word!

Big Sad

2010-07-09T18:06:00.002-10:00

Gene finally sold Rancho Regretto today and will be moving...well...who knows where but probably Phoenix (god - perhaps even Scottsdale - ugh).

Good luck to him and Alex - hope they find a dream house but definitely bummed that my room, MY ROOM won't be my room anymore. And all that stuff that I scratched into the foundation og the house as we built it, before I helped lay the tile will someday be found by somebody who isn;t related to me.....

I only lived for three years at old RR but lots of important stuff happened between sophomore and senior year of high school. I'll miss the wild animals, the remoteness, the amazing view, the far too large pool and hot tub, the desert...oh the desert.

Was hoping a lot of loud music, drums and guitar playing and booze might help but not so much.....

Maybe time for more loud music, drums, guitar and booze....definitely more booze.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-21T20:22:00.002-10:00

We've been without a grill for about 8 months. Certainly a luxury but hard to resist the siren call of grilled meat when summer rolls around.

Bought this and saw Toy Story 3 with the rest of the (Hawaii) Evans'. The meal and movie were top notch.

In case you're interested:

Flank Steak
Mix in a medium bowl: shoyu (soy sauce to you mainland haoles), red wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, olive oil, salt, pepper (and whtever else sounds good).

Put steak in gallon ziploc bag.

Smash bag, though not to the point of breakage.

Flip over.

Smash and flip every once and a while until you've finished a beer or two (no need to marinade if you beat up the steak occasionally for 20-30 or so).

Grill until it's cooked the way you like.

Serve with slices of toast.

Yum.

And I'm still considering if TS3 can possibly be as good as TS2 which I consider the best movie ever made....it's close. Fantastic Pixar goodness.

Latest

2010-06-07T20:36:00.001-10:00

Just finished another P-38. Very pleased.

Gotta love those sharkmouth WWII fighters.

Thrilling

2010-05-27T23:55:00.004-10:00

The Ma‘ema‘e A+ after school program just had their annual family fun night.

Lily stole the show with her zombi-licious Michael Jackson moves.

Jake was cool and let lily wear his leather jacket which completed the ensemble.

She most certainly does not get her dancing prowess from her old man. Shudder.

I've found a kindred soul in Stephen Fry. Great podcast btw.

Submariners

2010-05-25T19:15:00.003-10:00

For years Charley has been telling us how cool the Atlantis submarine off of Waikiki is, and with the Boy Scout coupon book the price is totally awesome.

So we caught the tender by the Hilton Hawaiian and cruised out to meet the sub

Which was off in the middle of the ocean

Grandpa Gene looking sea worthy though highly charged with static electricity

Zach and Jake plotting their course

Up by the cockpit - note depth gauge at left. We did go a LITTLE deeper. Like down to 105' - way cool.

Saw a spotted eagle ray, some turtles, lots of fish. No sharks though.

An artificial reef down at the bottom. My fish pictures were pretty lame, but a really amazing experience. And now that Jake and I have season passes, one that we'll definitely do again.

$5 Fix

2010-05-23T19:20:00.003-10:00

Needed to fix the kid's surfboard. The plastic washer thingie that held the skeg on got broken and fell off.

Needed something that I could drill through and countersink, about 2" wide and 1/16" thick and was expendable.....

Howabout a $5 chip from the Fremont ?!

Thanks Tutu Kăne!

Death Dealt

2010-05-10T12:00:00.003-10:00

There was a time when I would argue with Morgan about the merits of fantasy artists.

Of course we were 13 and knew nothing, but we sure thought we did, and boy would we let the other one know what and idiot they were for their foolish choice.

Was it silly? Absolutely, but I suppose that "Frazetta or Vallejo?" is akin to the evergreen "Paul or John?" or "Beatles/Stones?" or "Flight/Invisibility?" question: a quick seemingly, innocuous binary choice that can actually tell a lot about a person.

Let it be told, I'm a Frazetta (and John, Stones, and Flight, if you must know) and now old Frank is no more. RIP to the guy who created the visuals that I'll never shake out of my head from my Robert E. Howard phase of reading.

Where will the Molly Hatchets of the next century find their album covers? Who will paint the coolest Conan now?

Pray it isn't Boris.

Excellent Podcast

2010-04-28T13:46:00.003-10:00

If you are a podcast addict like me and you've already worked yourself through all of the PlanetMoneys, Skeptics Guide to the Universe and both Slate Gabfests (cultural and political) then you need more listening material.

I really like the British Museum's, History of the World in 100 Objects.

Once it gets rolling it's a great podcast with interviews with archaeologists (duh) but also artists, musicians, economists, and others who provide fascinating views on the given object that is under consideration.

Highly recommended.

Truth be told, I came across it by listening to another podcast, the aforementioned Slate Culture Gabfest.

Speed Scrabble

2010-04-18T09:18:00.002-10:00

Here's a bar graph that I've never seen before:

Scrabble tile distribution.

Ever since being introduced to Speed Scrabble at Cousin Liz's Xmas party I've been proselytizing.

Rules:
No Scrabble board required.
Put the standard 100 Scrabble tile upside down on the table.
Best with 2,3,4 or 5 individuals or teams (if playing with three take out one tile from the 100)
Everybody takes 7 tiles face down from common pile.
On go each player tries to use their own letters in a legitimate Scrabble style crossword that only they add to.
First player to use all their letters calls "Go".
Every players takes one more letter from pile.
Players may rearrange their letters at any time.
First player to call "Done" when all tiles are gone wins.

Extremely addicting.

Fun to add special rules:
No 2 letter words (just to win - you can use to call "go" during play)
Got to have a 9 letter word
Have to have two words that are opposites
Got to have a color, etc.

Belated Xmas Present (to myself from Grandpa Gene)

2010-04-05T18:02:00.006-10:00

Grandpa Gene gave me some xmas cash to replace my broken board (see summer 2009) and I just got around to spendifiying it.

Thanks Craigslist and Gene! Looking forward to many Wednesdays of fun.

Behind is our 4 year old coconut tree which is a few months away from giving us our first crop.

‘Aiea Loop Trail

2010-02-19T17:10:00.001-10:00

We find the rare Loopius hawaiianensis.

Dorothy and Toto

2010-02-19T17:07:00.001-10:00

Or Lily and Sally as the case may be.

"I think..."

2009-11-24T11:49:00.002-10:00

On this day in 1859 Charles Darwin published the book that gave birth to modern biology. Happy 150th!

WWAD? Addendum

2009-11-24T09:43:00.004-10:00

Forgot to add.

Got back to Honolulu and told my sad AC/DC story to Blair, an Aussie who by old down under habit refers to the boys as "Accadacca".

I told him that in a weird way I was kinda glad that the concert fell through.

Here's my thinking: when the last notes of "For Those About to Rock" faded at the end of the show I'd have a sinking feeling that this would be my last AC/DC show. A part of my life would be officially over.

That was gonna be rough.

Blair summed it up.

(With Aussie accent) "Listen to yourself man! What do you think Angus would want you to do....? He'd want you to ROCK ! Get over it."

WWAD?

2009-11-13T12:04:00.004-10:00

Ok. Enough time has passed I can tell the story.

So back in October Kim and I took Lily and Jake to Disneyland. Coley noticed that AC/DC was playing in Vegas the night after we got in and so he set to sweet talking (successfully) Kim into letting me go.

So we caught a flight to Vegas in the early afternoon and checked into the MGM Grand where the concert was to be held.

Here's what we found:

Concert canceled. Brain was recovering from throat surgery, so the Vegas concert would be rescheduled for next spring. Sigh.

The Joy of Spitfires

2009-11-08T07:56:00.003-10:00

A great video.

A middle aged British nerd tries to convince the 13 year olds of today that plastic models are actaully kinda cool.

And uses the same kit that got me back into model building after 30 year...the 1/72 Airfix Spitfire...as blogged waay back here....

Carhole of Scariness, Mk V

2009-11-04T19:08:00.011-10:00

We've been at it for five years now and we're (which is to say Dave) getting pretty good at quickly putting up the walls and running the juice for the many lights, fog machines, dimmers, lasers (yes really), and more.

As a result the Lemmonds' now have more Halloween decorations than X-mas.....buwahahahaha.

Old favs are back. Bottomless pit. Black light room. Pictures with the eyes cut out.

But the vortex is new this year. Oh the vortex..must...go... into....the......light.

For 2009 we let the neighborhood teenagers do most of the staffing/acting. Last year our three hour marathon of presentations of our take on Young Frankenstein meant that I didn't get to walk around and go trick or treating with the little ones.

Only a few years left of that, whereas we can go on building haunted houses for far longer....

Muzak 2009

2009-11-04T09:01:00.003-10:00

Some strange music experiences over the last few weeks.

Went to a large Asian style supermarket a while ago and I was suddenly an 8th grader again. Planet P. Waitresses. DEVO. And not Whip It....not even Girl You Want. They were playing Through Being Cool? Seemed a little subversive for a commercial environment. Absolutely no mix just the top New Wave hits of 1980-1982.

Had a 20 minute wait for tech support and was listening to the BIZARRE mix on speakerphone while doing other stuff. Elvis. Bob Marley. Sinatra. Dido. Huey Lewis. Radiohead? Granted it was from The Bends, but still. WTF? Who (besides me) would like this mix? I'm actually thinking about just calling to be put on hold.....

Lily and Jake were watching Scooby Doo the other day and I was only partly paying attention...until the chase scene started and the music started up...what? The Ramones? No way!

The Magic Kingdom (and Disney's California Adventure)

2009-10-24T21:20:00.004-10:00

Fall Break. Disneyland. Cousins. Grandparents. Fun.

Nothing a few years of therapy won't solve.....

Reunited and it feels so good.

This needs to be an album cover....

Prepare for blast off...

See some more here:

Disneyland 2009

VACATION !

2009-10-01T15:28:00.009-10:00

Fall break has arrived and it's time for SoCal with a little side trip for U. Bump and myself (AC/DC in Vegas !).

Time to clear out pictures from the camera so we take a ton at Disneyland this weekend. Here's some that had been hanging around:

Hanging with the Scholly-Bromwells

North Shore shave ice

Ant's eye view

Lily's little friend Candace

Mini-golf

Skating lesson from U. Jacob

Nike Fun Run:

Finish line in sight!

Post race snacks

Squirt Gun Fight !

Locked, cocked

Ready to rock

Target acquired

Attack!

Retreat!

Model geekery:

My first Mustang. I never liked the look of the P-51 but I came around while building this one up. I showed it to Kim when it was about 90% done and she said it looked like a shark....which is cool.

A Corsair for a former Bachelor made on spec. Pappy Boyington's from a photo op in 1943.

A Yak-15 for me w/Italian marble base. Marble was detritus from fine Carrara marble that a sculptor who works at the museum had brought back. Interesting plane - At the close of WWII Russian's took jet engines from captured Me-262's and stuck them on the front of some prop-driven Yak fighters to see what would happen. What happens is that your engine's exhaust melts your tail wheel....replace with all metal tail wheel.

How dorky am I?

2009-09-18T22:35:00.005-10:00

...enough to be excited that I finally got all of the state quarters?
...to take a picture of said collection?
...to arrange them roughly geographically?
...to post it on a blog?
...to point out that there are actually 52 quarters there (I didn't know that District and Territories were getting till today)?

Yes. THAT dorky.

Happy (Way) Belated Birthday to Lily

2009-09-13T19:41:00.004-10:00

I try to post pics of b-day celebrations pretty quickly but we had a couple of mitigating factors.

1. My trusty old keyboard finally died. Most letters worked fine but the "1 Q A Z alt" diagonal was kaput. So needed to replace otherwise it would have came out "Hppy Birthdy Lily".

Just got a replacement and the a's are flowing.

2. Her final present only was purchased a couple weeks ago and might be her favorite ever.

Ever the creatures of habit, we did for Lily's big day what we did last year. Took her and a gaggle of friends to the Family Fun Fair at Ala Moana.

Here's a couple shots with presents

LEGO House

Mouse House

Poptart and Lily

Swimming excursion

2009-09-08T10:08:00.004-10:00

Went swimming over in Kahala the other day with some friends.

Clockwise from left - Julia, Lily, Calvin, Jake, Kim, Zach, Charley, Courtney, Al, Kamaile, and a Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Canstruction 2009

2009-08-17T11:34:00.004-10:00

Every year, Group 70, where Kim works, takes part in Canstruction: a fundraiser for the community foodbank. Teams of architects and those studying to be architects build sculptures out of canned (and bagged) food.

Lily, Jake, Kim and I helped out on our teams entry: Spam Musubi. I think ours is especially cool in that the musubi used the actual ingredients for the building materials (that's rice, nori [seaweed], and Spam for the uninitiated)

Spam Musubi

Aloha shirt

Train

A half finished poi pounder

Shave ice

Open For Business !

2009-08-11T08:52:00.004-10:00

After 3 years and $20 million we reopened Hawaiian Hall last weekend.

I think there about 7 separate "special" openings - for the staff, for families, for members, for major donors, for the media, for tourism industry types, and then last Saturday, the big one - everybody.

Kim's halau provided the lei and took part in the opening ceremonies of which I saw absolutely nada: too busy running around with a screwdriver / allen wrench / cell phone / worried look.

The inside is now climate controlled (read: it has AC now) and lighting is conservation department approved. Lots of modern works of art by native artists really brings the place alive. Plus now the famous whale has some friends to hang out with now.

Uncle Dano was in charge of dismantling and rebuilding the hale pili. Pretty much everybody in the extended family helped out in one way or another: carrying rocks, building the foundation, gathering pili, lashing posts, or just sitting around and providing moral support.

Here's some people learning about the hale by ~~playing~~ interacting with my touchscreen kiosk. I actually changed some stuff about 3 hours into the opening day since I got to see people getting confused. Works better now. Come check it out....

Prince Lot Hula Festival

2009-08-02T22:22:00.006-10:00

A couple weekends ago Kim's halau performed for the umpeenth time at the Prince Lot Hula Festival at Moanalua Gardens.

Only got one slightly blurry pic. They were scheduled to go on at a blissfully early 8:30 (usually they go on at 2 p.m. when it's stinking hot) but were even a little ahead of schedule. We got there just in time....

The after pics are the better ones anyways.

Homemade ti leaf skirt. And don't be fooled : those things are heavy. Once you get them moving around they want to keep going.

Time to pound poi....or pa‘i ‘ai if you want to really be correct. Step one, clean kalo.

Ready for pounding

Choose ku‘i

Check

Final instructions

Twenty minutes later....

Yum.

Brad + Kim = Cosmic Upheavals

2009-07-29T09:17:00.003-10:00

So Kim and I just celebrated our 15th anniversary. And once again the universe (ok maybe just the solar system) is in on the remembrances with good sized fireworks.

Way back in 1994 we had a massive blowout of a party to get hitched. We got incredibly lucky in that hurricanes passed by Oahu the day before and the day after. Well, Fabio was just a Tropical Depression but GIlma was a doozy.

Also, literally as we said our vows, parts of Comet Levy-Shoemaker 9 were smashing into Jupiter with forces vastly greater than all the nuclear weapons on Earth combined.

Well, for our 15th, it's happened again. And Jupiter took the hit again.

Hate to see what the cosmos has planned for our 20th.

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-07-24T12:31:00.001-10:00

Ross Simpson-ized me.....

The family that geeks out together....

2009-07-19T08:04:00.001-10:00

As seen on our kitchen table last weekend - the products of our family's geeky hobbies.

From left to right: Brad's work-in-progress Corsair (yes, former Bachelor, yours); Lily and Jake's Lego Y-Wing (a present from U. Bump for Jake's b-day - took about 10 person hours); and Kim's Ni‘ihau shell bracelets (made at a workshop organized by Aunty Karen).

Happy Lahaina Noon

2009-07-15T12:42:00.003-10:00

The kids have been spending the summer on campus doing day camp.

I've really liked having them around - at least a couple of days a week I get to eat lunch with them. Our paths cross a lot around campus too - they get to see me fixing things, walking around, taking pictures, painting things....

Today, instead of eating with the campers as usual, I took them out to Bob's for hamburgers, fries and a malt.

While we were there I realized that today is Lāhaina Noon for Honolulu - the day the sun passes directly overhead.

Everyplace in the tropics has a two days when the sun passes right overhead, and that's what we watched at exactly 12:37.

It's pretty cool to see shadows of things like inverted cups (above) or flagpoles just disappear....

Happy #6 to Jake

2009-07-13T21:02:00.004-10:00

Spent all afternoon this past Sunday at Ala Moana eatin, drinkin, swimmin, biking, cakin, and openin. A good time was had by all. Best. Birthday. Evar.

Fully loaded

U. Jim - always safety conscious

Squirt gun battle!

Pinata

One..more...swing....

Feeding frenzy !

Cake time

Time for dessert

Presents!

Rainbow on a sunny day

Last one at the party

At Kaimana Beach

2009-07-09T22:55:00.001-10:00

Auntie Terry took a nice picture of us at the beach beach last weekend....

For Sale

2009-07-05T18:57:00.006-10:00

~~One slightly used 9'0" surfboard~~

Two rather heavily used surfboards. One is 2'3" and lacks a fin. The other is a 6'9" singlefin.

*sigh*

Here's the story:

So there I was (as all good stories should begin)...it was Wednesday and I was at Big Lefts.

Faces were 10-14ft and pretty consistent. Only about 10 minutes between sets.

Friendly mellow crowd with all the guys I only see in the summer time when we migrate back to Big Lefts from where ever it it that we all surf the rest of the year.

So I wait until the sun has set so I can score a macker and don't quite make it into one. Naturally the NEXT one is the bomber and is about to crash right on my fool head.

Ditch board and swim for depth.

BOING! There goes the leash...buh bye board....

UH-oh.
Getting dark.
Big-ish waves.
No board.
300 yards to shore a good 150 yards of which is about 12-24 inches deep over coral (read: pokey, sharp, w/urchins).

This was gonna suck.

I was lucky to find both parts of my former board after about 100 yard swim. At least I could paddle over the shallows on something rather than coming in with a load of echinoderm needles in my hands, feet and who knows where else. Just had to watch out for jagged fiberglass....

Took a long time to finally get in - quite dark by then - but got in in one piece whereas my J. Johnston wasn't so lucky.

Guess that's what I get for calling Burke a sponger....(see below).

IM'ing w/ Burke

2009-07-01T16:47:00.001-10:00

BradMEvans: anyway
BradMEvans: i'm going surfing....
arjuna808: anyway. surf's up!
arjuna808: enjoy
BradMEvans: you didn't surf the other day right?
arjuna808: i did on sunday
BradMEvans: rather you boogieboarded
arjuna808: well, ok, bodyboarding. still a form of surfing
arjuna808: it's not golf
BradMEvans: don't make me come up there and open a can of whoopass
arjuna808: SNOB
BradMEvans: sponger

2 Years - Big Difference

2009-06-29T15:36:00.004-10:00

Lily and Fiona at the Children's Discovery Center

2004

2006

Lily picks THE SLOWEST LINE EVAR!

Hilarious

2009-06-22T08:53:00.000-10:00

I try not to double post from BoingBoing too much, but man this is funny.

Doing Uncle Bump's Job

2009-06-12T16:27:00.003-10:00

Gotta share a couple pictures of my niece

Love the curls.

asucolby (AKA Uncle Bump): you better not post that I thnk she looks like Bigfoot....

Of course not. She's looking the wrong way...

Perfection

2009-06-12T11:57:00.002-10:00

In the foreground:
J. Johnston 9'0" atop my car comfortably parked in the Super Secret Spot.

Actually not so secret. In fact the MOST sought after parking spot at Ala Moana Beach Park during a summer swell: directly inshore from Tennis Courts and Big Lefts, right next to the showers for afterward.

In the distance (250-300 yards that is): Solid 10-12 foot faces at Big Lefts, light offshore winds, chill crowd.

The only drag were the two helicopters hovering 50' off the water trying to find/rescue some poor soul. Hope s/he was ok.

Lily in the Honolulu Advertiser

2009-05-26T11:01:00.002-10:00

From Keiki Art Day at Bishop Museum

Grandpa Gene's visit

2009-05-22T19:00:00.004-10:00

Way back during Spring Break, Grandpa Gene was out for a quick visit.

Here's some pics:

In full coach mode

2 times over

Cute pic from the zoo

Watching the monkeys....

Shave ice!

Manning the AAA

Bogeys mark 27

Bowfin museum

In Das boot

Dorky hobby, Part XXII

2009-05-22T18:53:00.003-10:00

What can I say?

The Spitfire is just a gorgeous plane

When Gene visited I made him help with the airbrushing. Turned out pretty nice IMHO.

The Red and Black Snakes

2009-05-03T21:32:00.002-10:00

Or at least 75% of them.

Lily's on the Pink Eels which sounds to me like a euphemism for penis but whatever....

And there's ANOTHER Under 8 girls team named the Eels....wth?

Dirty snowball or comet?

2009-05-03T21:31:00.001-10:00

Yes!

From the astronomy open house at UH.

Lily got all hand's on and made some astronomical stuffs.

They had lots of activities. One of which was a do it yourself pin toy like these:

where you put in the pins into a black box to find what type of terrain is below. SUpposed to model remote sensing of terrain on Mars or Venus.

With the low res version, there's only 40 or so pins (8 x 5 grid), mid-res about 80 and the high res is something like 150 you get the correct "map" created.

The people who brought it had considered not even bringing the hi-res one - figured no kids would actually have the patience to do the whole thing at each of the three resolutions

Turns out there were two who did.

Soccer buds

2009-05-03T21:29:00.000-10:00

Lily and bff Aiyana.

Lily has already scored twice this season, once in her first game no less. And interstingly, it was nearly a carbon copy of her old man's first goal back in 1977.

Left side.

Five yards from the goal.

Ball bobbles to us.

Stop.

Wait.

Think.

Kick.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

Brought it all back.

Easter Baskets

2009-05-03T21:27:00.000-10:00

Bring on the goodies.

Looks dangerous...

2009-04-26T20:34:00.001-10:00

You go first.

My kids talking Livy into something less than smart...

Good Times?

2009-04-24T09:58:00.003-10:00

Still have a job, as does everybody in Exhibits. Some people won’t be as lucky today.
All salaried staff are now 36 hour employees (ie. 10% pay cut).
Got back to my desk and was listening to Dick Tater and the Czarina's weekly radio show.
They were playing “Good Times” by Chic.
So wrong.

Ready to play

2009-04-23T21:38:00.001-10:00

Enough with watching her little brother - Lily is ready to go.

Jake the bike mechanic

2009-04-23T21:37:00.001-10:00

Now that Lily and Jake can ride w/o training wheels it was time to get my bike out of mothballs so I can keep up when we head to the park.

Jake loves cleaning and prepping.

That's my one and only mountain bike from back in the day. Got it in 1989 and still is great, though rusty here and there.

Teeth

2009-04-23T21:35:00.001-10:00

Lots of them.

Ms. Focus

2009-04-23T21:34:00.001-10:00

Getting ready for a throw in - time to visualize...

Fashionista Jake

2009-04-23T21:33:00.001-10:00

Now he only wears Paul Lars Campbell fleece..the snob.

IR family

2009-04-23T21:30:00.002-10:00

Lily and I in IR at the Astronomy open house at UH

A is for.....Admiral Akbar!

2009-04-08T08:20:00.005-10:00

So Jake and I are reading before lights out last night.

He chose "Zoe and Her Zebra" - one of those alphabet book where each page has an animal with a different initial letter. Each page also has a like lettered kid being "chased" by said animal.

So we're on B....

I'm pointing to the words and Jake is slowly reading...

"B....is...for....Ben...but who....is...chasing......him?"

Rather than go for the obvious (and pictured) animal Jake goes with an alternative that works.

"BANTHA !"

I love that kid. He was remembering when I showed him this:

Star Wars Alphabet

Have a Rocking Angus Day

2009-03-31T13:39:00.002-10:00

Happy Bday!

NPR picks up the mashup below:

2009-03-16T13:55:00.001-10:00

Here's the story

OMG That ROCKS!

2009-03-13T10:34:00.002-10:00

I've pointed a lot of people to BoingBoing over the years (I keep the link over there on the right hand column) but incase any of you missed it....

Some mad genius of teh Intrenets took other people's YouTube videos, remixed them and created a seriously rocking jam. Trumpets. Drums. Bass. Guitars. THERIMIN (!).

Enjoy. I'm still shaking my head at the supreme awesomeness.

You asked for it.

2009-03-10T12:10:00.004-10:00

Brother Midnight (he so doesn't remember his nickname I'm sure) has questioned my mental health: he claims this blog evidences an "unhealthy obsession with (my) children"

Furthermore he demands more pictures of Kim.

This is the guy who (oh so many years ago) said to me and another friend "Let's have a contest to see who can make Kim their girlfriend"

I won, already.

Move on dude.

Hello old friend

2009-03-06T12:56:00.003-10:00

Had to run an errand today...and got to park next to my old car!

Of course, since the dude who bought the Honda works at the Museum with me, I get to see her everyday anyway.

'ch angen beth?*

2009-03-04T15:13:00.006-10:00

*TRANS "You want what?"
So heritage day is coming up on Friday for Jake's kindergarten class. Kids are supposed to bring in food that reflects their ethnic heritage.

Since Jake is Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Japanese from his mom's side, we could bring in just about anything that local kids eat here on a daily basis:

Mochi

Musubi

Haupia

Kulolo

Noodles

Fugu (ok, maybe not an everyday food)

So what does Jake ask for?

"I want Welsh food"

Um.

Dude.

Boiled mutton will not go over well...but I am the kid's dad and will do what I have to do. Fine.

This is why they invented the Internets.

So I was calling around trying to see who has ingredients for Jake’s Welsh dessert request. Hard to find Caerphilly cheese 8,000 miles from its source.

I did find this recipe though:

Cynhwysion
450g o fwyar duon wedi eu golchi a'u sychu
75g o siwgwr brown
150g o flawd codi
75g o fenyn
ychydig o ddŵr
Cyfunwch y mwyar duon, y siwgwr ac ychydig o ddŵr mewn sosban a berwch y gyfuniad am tua 5 munud. Yn y cyfamser rhoddwch y blawd mewn powlen a rhwbiwch y menyn iddo nes fod y gymysgfa fel briwsion mân. Trosglwyddwch y mwyar duon i ddesgil addas i'r popty a rhodwch y gymysgedd crymbl am ei ben.

Trosglwyddwch i bopty wedi ei gyn-gynhesu i 175°C a phobwch am tua 20 munud, neu nes fod pen y crymbl yn euraidd. Gweinwch yn boeth gyda chwstad.

>>>>>>>>>>>
Once again, I'd thank my ancestors for leaving the old country and moving to America where there were plenty of vowels.

I doubt my descendants will be able to take our family’s quest for a low consonant to vowel ratio much farther than Hawai‘i.

We are, at long last, home.
( or if you prefer: ]m , am ddyhea bara , addef)

Translations provided by the Internets.

When life gives you the Lemmonds kids...

2009-03-01T21:09:00.005-10:00

Take them to the beach and skating at the Ice Palace

Exploring the Ka Iwi Coast

Mermaidens

Making off with the trail mix

And then....time to crash

The Mini Me's

2009-02-18T09:22:00.002-10:00

Aunty Chris took the kids for an outing last Sunday.

They were stoked that they got to ride in a sport (ok, sporty) car.

A good time was had by all.

Here's hoping.

2009-02-12T08:33:00.005-10:00

Like so many millions of people, I'm on Facebook and yes, it's totally addicting. Like all fads or diseases, there is a classic infection curve. Slate has a great story of one of the mini-fads within Facebook - The 25 Random Things.

The graph shows the growth of 25 Random Things in the facebook world. With my low, (relatively) unhip, and (for the most part) trusted friend count, I didn't get hit up to do my own until February 10 well after the epidemic had begun to peter out.

I'm hoping that my unsociability in the real world (reflected by my paltry Facebook friend total) will save me when ebola or bird flu goes airborne, or people start turning into zombies.

I'll be up in the hills with a shotgun and MRE's by that time.

*Note to self. Find out where to get shotgun, how to load shotgun, how to fire shotgun, research zombie physiology to exploit weaknesses. Don't forget can opener for MRE's. And MRE's. Bug spray. Sunblock. Couple books. Definitely a guitar....

Alright.(Some of) you asked for it.

2009-02-08T20:28:00.034-10:00

Got some grief that I've been slacking.

Pull up a chair and pop a 12oz. of your choice: this might take a while.

>>>>>>>

Punahou Carnival

malasadas.whiteelephant.games.midway.rides.booths.friends.nomud.announcements.gyros.hamburgers.ferris.whee.lfun.house.

Oh the lines

Ferris wheel: going up!

Quite the view from up high....

Not actually scared...

Getting too big for this...

Finally! Jake get's to go on the REAL rides!

This is gonna ROCK!

Hey....wait a minute. Why do they lock us in? Um...hold on....

Joy

Aftermath - parents.

OK. While I'm faking, Kim is Boom Boom Out Go the Lights.

>>>>>>

New Year's (Chinese)

Tradition: go to Chinatown and watch Lion Dances

Gotta give them the lychee for good luck ;)

DRAGON!

Couple pics by Jake.

Picture 15 of a 234 part series.

Pretty girls in Corvettes.

Jake's favorite photographic subjects.

From on top of Dad's shoulders - quite the crowd scene.

>>>>>>

New Year's (Western)

Tradition: bouliabaisse and hang out.

In you go !

Dad prepares to dig in....

Adding insult to injury.

Lobster + crab + butter + poi + garlic bread (not shown) = mmmmmmggmmfgrgrg*

*Note - sound your stomach makes when quite pleased.

Another tradition.

>>>>>>>>

Uncle Kahea and Auntie Ying's wedding.

A great wish was granted by Uncle Kahea/Uncle Jacob when Lily and Jake got to be part of the wedding party as Flower Girl and Ring Bearer.

We also got to be part of the rehearsal and dinner where O‘ahu was treated to an islandwide....

BLACKOUT! Fortunately for the happy couple, that was pretty much the ONLY thing that went wrong with the ceremony or anything else that weekend....they got it out of the way nice and early.

Got some cool pics out of it though. Not so cool that people didn't complain when I made them the masthead. Fine!

We'll go with the traditional....

Getting hammered on virgin mango martinis

Playas.

And I don't mean Mexican beaches. Wait. Maybe I do, since should it be Playahs....? Is there a correct spelling for Ebonics terms?

Can you see two things wrong with the gestures in this photo?

Looking handsome

Mom and Kalei do a hula

Signing the cast

Dad goes with the Jackass theme....

>>>>>>>>
XMAS!

An Easy-Bake oven for xmas....

and Lily officially joins American Girlhood.

Xmas present time! Got all sorts of goodies from all over....

Got a Wii from Tutu Kane: Jake in mid-lightsaber duel.

Reason 1.2 billion why living in Hawaii rules....

....when your Auntie Bandit get's you a Slip-n-Slide for Xmas, you can use it THAT DAY !

>>>>>>>>>

Caution: Nerd Zone below.

Haven't been showing off the models lately vie this venue since I've become a little self-conscious since it's just a bit dorky. But damn! I'm getting good !

So suffer.

Kinda proud of this one. Painted to match the plane of an Iraqi defector who flew his MiG-21 to Israel in the last 60's. They put it to use to learn about their opposition and even had it on standby as an interceptor.

What was fun was the painting. Did it all in one fell swoop. Of course that meant a serious job with the...

Masking tape. About 5 hours of work, cutting, planning, testing, for about 2 minutes of spraying.

Kim and I are complete BSG nerds now. She got me a Viper kit for my b-day.

I've wanted to make one of these since I was 10.

Last one promise.

An Israeli F-16. One of the ones that took out Saddam Hussein's under-construction nuclear reactor in 1981. Interestingly, one of the pilots on that mission, Ilon Ramon, was at the controls of Space Shuttle Columbia when it disintegrated on reentry. That's his plane that I made....

First in flight one I've made. Here's a look at the base made from scraps from around the Museum....

An actual quote....

2009-02-05T08:42:00.004-10:00

From the new chairman of the Republican National Committee:

"Not in the history of mankind has the government ever created a job."

Wow.

He's the former Lt. Governor of Maryland - did they privatize the executive branch or something?

Teachers? Cops? Firemen? Road repair? The public sector makes up nearly 20% of the workers in this country.

The GOP today are Hoover redux.

Don't know why....

2009-02-04T15:45:00.002-10:00

but watching this video sure makes me want to play music. Would have embedded it but it's disallowed.

What's not to like?

Electric guitar

Feedback

Dune reference

David Lynch's Dune reference

A level of seriousness that makes you wonder if in fact what you are watching is meant ironically or not

Way cool

(Yet another reason why) scientists are cool....

2009-01-22T08:03:00.006-10:00

Famous far side.

Well, just last night I was reading with Jake. We had gone to the public library and as usual we had walked out with something like this:

1 Dvd for Lily - usually a Disney movie

1 DVD for Jake - usually something from the "Land Before Time" oeuvre

1 DVD for Kim and I to watch that we invariably don't get around to.

3 or 4 books for Lily, usually split half and half between picture books (Curious George, eg.) and beginner chapter books (like this generation's Encyclopedia Brown, Cam Jansen*)

2 - 4 CD's for me to arrrhsimilate

A non-fiction book or two to keep the trivia flowing

8-10 dinosaur books for Jake

We've been going semi regularly for years now, and at this point Jake has checked out just about every dinosaur related book in the Kalihi-Palama library at least a couple times.

Well, they got a new one in and he found it. A very good one at that - lots of great illustrations and some fairly high level writing (for a kid's dinosaur book) that go into some pretty obscure topics like radiation, cladistics, classification, and more.

Anyway, we were reading about stegosauria and as I was reading I was surprised by the author's description of a fight with an attacking allosaurus. He said that the stegosaur "swung his thagomizer, striking the meat eater".

Thagomizer? No way.

Way.

A paleontologist and fan of the Far Side actually used the term in a peer reviewed journal article and the term has since become accepted scientifically.

*Cam Jansen should not be confused with Tek Jensen.

Kids love to measure things

2009-01-21T23:04:00.001-10:00

A picture of our regulation issue "door-jamb-with-markings-of-the-kids-heights-over-time".

Nothing too remarkable. Kids (and parents) have been doing it since time immemorial. I'm sure there are caves in France with heretofore unexplained markings that are just this.

Lily just measured Jake the other day and used tape to mark his height.

Well and good.

On the otherside of the doorway you can see this one:

Slayed me.

"Dad ! Wake up !"

2009-01-20T10:33:00.003-10:00

A little before 7:00 a.m. (HST) Lily ran in and woke me up.

"Barak Obama's becoming president! Turn on the TV !"

TV went on in time to see the VP swearing in and then stayed on for the good stuff. Kids were late to school. I couldn't stop watching until W was safely out of camera shot. These have been a long 8 years.

I don't feel the same elation like back in 1992 when Bill was elected. Probably because back then it didn't seem like the outgoing prez had completely screwed up, oh, well just about everything like W has done.

Definitely a more sober inauguration.

1-20-09: An end of an error.

Um...well that's strange...

2008-12-02T08:44:00.002-10:00

Uncle Bump just pointed out this link to Canadian alt-folk duo...Jacob and Lily

Thanks Mighty Mo

2008-12-01T23:00:00.003-10:00

Took Lily and Jake to see the Battleship Missouri with the Brooks'

Uncle Jim tries out the fiddy-cal

Places!

Portrait with 16" guns.

Teak deck!

Looking for likely AA targets. No Zeros today fortunately.

From keel to the top of the tower = 206 ft.
Length: 890 ft.
Crew: 1900

"Galley? This is the Bridge. Two Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches please...."

2 foot thick walls around the bridge.

Insert Cher joke here

Required watching

2008-11-26T15:49:00.003-10:00

Then go and download the Planet Money podcast from NPR where they talk with Peter (11/21/08). Scary stuff, eh kids?

Special Guest blogger Uncle Bump with some bad news.

2008-11-24T15:34:00.003-10:00

Blitz,

Formerly known as Heineken, and before that BW's Entertainer (I don't know where they get that stuff).

We don't think he ever raced since he was up for adoption at 18months, and we adopted him before his 2nd birthday. Most greyhounds worth their salt will race for 4-5 years or so.

He's showing a bit lot more grey around the muzzle now, but aren't we all? Blitz has been a great companion and friend for the past 7 years, and we'll miss him terribly, but he's got a bad hip that could break anytime, so it's time for him to hang up the collar once and for all. Amputation and chemo just won't buy the kind of time that would make it worthwhile.

I'm sure we'll be in the market soon for another one just like him:

scared of his own shadow (or at least Chihuahuas and kittens)

perfect with kids

quiet as a mouse (we've heard him bark 4 times, and once was straight at the ceiling fan)

never an indoor accident

nicest guy you'll ever meet

no doggie stink or shedding

(if it sounds like I'm selling.... that's because I am)

One saving grace is that the kids aren't really old enough to be too broken up (we think), and now, maybe Amanda has become a 'dog person'.

11/19/1999 - 11/26/2008

Here is a contrast picture.

*******

When we would visit U. Bump, one of the highlights was taking blitz for a walk which inevitably turned into a run, though run is too weak to describe it. A greyhound at full sprint is a beautiful thing to behold.

So send good vibes way this Wednesday to Blitz and Uncle Bump, race in peace.

Supracondylar fracture, humerus

2008-11-23T00:15:00.005-10:00

Know what that is?

Well Jake does now.

He learned the hard way what the most common fracture is for kids 3-8.

Nothing fancy. Just fell while playing after school.

A Special Day

2008-11-17T13:34:00.009-10:00

The Romans used hepatomancy to divine the future.

Not me.

Livers are not to be used in ritualistic ceremonies to figure out what will or won't happen, or if a given location is appropriate for building. Rather, they should be consumed with some grilled onions. Perhaps some fava beans and a nice chianti.

But I digress.

My favorite method of prediction is to listen to the radio and if a really cool song comes on, it is a blessed omen that should be respected and augurs well for the coming day/hour/week/year/relationship/choice that you just made.

Call it radiomancy, and I am a believer.

Case in point.

Scene: Colorado Springs, 1988.
Early Summer, 12:01 a.m.

Tom, Mike, Derek, Henry, Dave and I cannot move into our rental property until the first day of the lease. We figure that since the day begins at midnight, that would be a great time to start moving our stuff in.

Loading Tom's Toyota Land Cruiser to the gills, we begin transferring our collective crap from around campus to our new headquarters. As we drive over, KILO plays a song that bodes well:

Boogie With Stu.

Not just a Zeppelin song, but one from Physical Graffiti. Not a popular song (Kashmir *shudder* or Houses of the Holy) or a riff based rocker (Trampled Underfoot).

But a weird, rarely played (at least on the radio) tune that made us realize that the gods smiled upon our efforts that night. This became the house of houses. A place so rocking that we actually had a party with one band playing per floor....an actual orangutan (stuffed)....black light attic....The stuff dreams are made on.

Had another epochal radiomancy moment yesterday.

We had a family get together at to Ala Moana Beach Park. Kim and the kids were driving down in the BGV and I was in the Toyota. Kim had a function to go to afterward, hence the separate cars.

So I'm alone and listening to KTUH good and loud. The show was Vinyl Revoultion, so only stuff on LP's complete with wonderfully loFi scratches and pops.

Just as I'm pulling into a busy AlaMo on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the DJ announces that it's time to play some Iggy and the Stooges - Search and Destroy.

Radiomancy says: All signs point to ROCK!

Usually I don't need a full tilt radiomancy omen to score a sweet parking spot. I have karma for that, and this was no exception. The super secret spot was mine.

No, my radiomancy predicted good time was forthcoming.

I had brought down a regular long board and a blue foam "surfboard" that the kids can paddle about on. If a grown-up tries to paddle it, it slowly sinks, but in the hands of a stoked elementary school kid, it's a great way to start learning to surf.

Typically the kids will muck about in 2-3' of water and I'll push then into shore. At AlaMo it's flat and easy for them to stand up, even if they are perfectly still - a trick I certainly can't replicate.

Anyway, yesterday I played with the kids for a while then told Kim:

Me: Tag team. You're on kids duty. I'm gonna go surf for a little bit.

Kim: OK. Have fun.

Lily: I wanna go!

Me: No way. You're too big for me to put on this board....Take the blue one out.

Lily: OK!

This marked the first time that Lily has gotten up the courage to paddle out on her own the 250 or so yards to the real surf spots outside of AlaMo. We've played in shorebreaks, but this was the real thing.

She got tired after 100 yards or so and I took off my leash and towed her the rest of the way out. So much easier that a 50# weight on the front of my board.

Got out to Tennis Courts and just hung out for a while. We talked about how the last time we were out (when I let her surf on the same board as me) we saw a baby turtle.

Finally she'd had enough.

Lily: Let's go catch a wave already.

Me: Alright. I'm gonna paddle us both and when I say one-two-three-GO you have to let go of my leash and just hang on...stand up if you want. And if you wipe out, just grab onto your board. It'll float.

Waves comes. Maybe 3-4' face. One armed paddle..one-two-three..LET GO!

And off she goes.

I watch the wake in the back of the wave....still on it...still on it....STILL ON IT!

She never did stand up and her ride came to an abrupt halt when the wave jacked a little and she did her first pearl. But that was magic. Fifty yards just Lily and a wave.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddyyyyy!"

By then I'm already almost to her...the board is upside down and she's clinging on with a white knuckle grip. I've got the biggest smile on my face....

Me: "ALIRGHT! You did it. You rode a wave all by yourself!"

Lily: "Let's go back to the beach"

Me: "Of course. That was awesome! Man too bad we didn't see that turtle again...."

Turtle takes his cue.

Pops up to check us out, and the outing is complete.

Online today?

2008-11-04T07:57:00.005-10:00

Just a little?

Well, I'm gonna be adding stuff to the blog all through the day to serve as a sort of election day Unicorn Chaser (page down a little for the definition).

1. Now it's two down!

2. Halloween at Ma‘ema‘e

Finally!

2008-10-27T20:21:00.005-10:00

Lily's got one down...19 to go...

She's the last of all her friends to lose that first tooth and I think she was starting to get a little worried.

One of Kim and my jokes about having kids was that they might get lucky and get only the best of each of us:

tall

lean

perfect 20/20 vision

easily managed hair

straight teeth

Or their opposites.

Now, I'm no dentist, but I think with Lily we can safely say five out of five ain't happening.

Public radio reviews....

2008-10-27T12:00:00.003-10:00

...the new AC/DC album?

Even the Washington Post!

Apparently the demographic has changed. Time was when you could only count on jazz, indy rock, classical....

Of course the radio story makes the case that surges in AC/DC's popularity in Great Britain are related to tough economic times (see post below). Whatever. You know you just wanted to review an actual rock album instead of the newest world beat mix.

Required listening

2008-10-20T19:31:00.005-10:00

Listened to both of these. Now, I THINK that I have a little bit better grasp of the most dramatic shock to the American economic system since before my parents were born:

The Big Pool of Money

Another Frightening Show About the Economy

Religious listeners of This American Life have already heard them. Great explanations and if that fires you up, subscribe to the
Planet Money podcast and blog from NPR and you'll soon be fretting over the LIBOR and TED spread like me.

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, our current fiscal freakout will seem like so much yesterdays news 20 years from now.

I remember very distinctly freaking out back in 1987 with Brother Codpiece thinking that "This is it - a new Great Depression...."

So if you are wigging about the bailout package or the credit freeze, just do what we did back in college: get stoned, listen to the Nuge, and sit out on the roof of the dorm watching the sunset. It'll all sort itself out.

I think Warren Buffet does the same thing.

I got a nickname!

2008-10-17T11:35:00.006-10:00

I'm not a White House reporter, frat boy, fighter pilot, or boxer, so I've never been the kind of person that would spontaneously get a nickname.

I mean a REAL nickname.

Not one based on your own name (sorry UofAPilot, "Brevans" doesn't rise to the level).

Not one that you chose yourself as you're nom de Rock (so to Brother Codpiece, "Brother Loud" doesn't count either).

One that people assign to you based on your behavior and/or appearance. One that you sometimes really hate because it's based on your behavior and/or appearance. I can't imagine that Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove is too enamored of his nick, but serves him right.

Anyway, a few years ago I realized that Kim's hula practice every Thursday night left me with a night of solo dad work. Being a selfish bastard, I told her that I'd like a night off too to go surfing. If that was ok honey. And fortunately it was.

So began Wednesday night Boy's Night Out. For the first few months it meant going surfing and not having to be around to pick up kids and do the whole bedtime routine.

Then I finally convinced Iamnotasurfer to try to become one and he joined me. At that point Boy's night out morphed into surf/drink beer/see whatever quality movie was out.

That continued for a little more than a year until Iamnotasurfer decided to move to SF and become an architect/luthier/cold water surfer/ad guru. Whatever.

Well, I've stuck it out without a surf partners and kept up the drink beer part. I'll drink alone, but hell if I'm going up to the ticket booth and only buying one ticket. That's messed up.

So I was out a few Wednesdays ago at Straight Out's (that's 37's to you Surf3's) and one of the regulars (who in my interior monologue I have given the nickname "Tiny" because he's probably about 260 lbs) looks over and asks me:

"You surf yesterday?" << apply proper pidgin inflection

Me: No. I only surf on Wednesdays. Why was it good?

Tiny: Ho brah. Was unreal.

The next week I'm out again and Tiny sees me.

"HEY, WEDNESDAY !"

Check that one off the life list.

I try...

2008-10-16T12:04:00.002-10:00

I really try not to inject politics into the LilyandJacoblog but this just cracks me up.

Somebody grabbed some frames of last nights debate, capturing some of John McCain's bizarre facial movements.

This being the web, people have taken the video and run with it. I love the internets.

Window display

2008-10-09T09:29:00.002-10:00

Every time we open a new exhibit, we install a window display at the Border's at Ward Center. Since everybody but me is working 100% on the reopening of Hawaiian Hall next summer, the job has fallen to me.

Of course, we have to disassemble the old one and take all the stuff back to the museum. That's when Lily and Jake get to share space with things like whale vertebrae.

Fun at the Park

2008-10-05T23:08:00.002-10:00

Had gymnastics on the brain after watching the Olympics. Tried out our moves up at Na Pueo Park

Dad tried doing a handstand with assistance. Not enough.

Ok. Back to business

2008-09-06T10:03:00.004-10:00

Enough with musings on judicial systems, democracy, anniversaries of important speeches...this is a blog to share pictures of my cute kids.

PURPLE CHEETAHS! and coach Brad...yep. Much fun.

Jake takes a water break during his first game.

The soccer siblings

Lily about to put the hurt on a piñata...such a change from way back in her PETP (People for the Ethical Treatment of Piñatas) days.

Lonesome Cowboy Jake

Playing with Zachary Myers

A family in balance

Jedi in training: Jacob the padawan.

"In a world..."

2008-09-02T10:09:00.002-10:00

..where the guy who says 'in a world' for movie previews dies, it makes the news.

Aloha Don:

and because who can resist:

Upon further reflection....

2008-08-28T12:45:00.002-10:00

Here it is, the anniversary of the 'I Have a Dream' speech, and the day in 2008 that Barak Obama accepts the Democratic party's nomination for president. So I was thinking about it....forget Harding from that previous post....the first democratically elected president of the US was selected a mere 40 years ago and, irony of ironies, it was Richard Milhouse Nixon.

American Judical Exceptionalism - Like Miles in a Metric World?

2008-08-13T10:55:00.007-10:00

Catchy lede huh?

Earlier this year I got selected for jury duty.

Unlike a lot of people I was psyched to get chosen and hear a case.

After a couple delays that pushed back jury selection I got down to the district court there were forms to fill out and orientations to listen to.

Eventually we made it into the courtroom and heard mini-openings from the prosecution and defense.

Murder case! Cool this is gonna be interesting.

Well, not really. Seems there was a drunken brawl and somebody got stabbed and died. The first person who was accused and acquitted was now accusing somebody else. Oh. And there was no physical evidence to tie the new accused to the crime. He was there, but so were 20 other drunk guys at 2:00 a.m.

So, eyewitness testimony from a drunken acquitted witness. oh-kay. This was gonna be a hard sell for the prosecutor.

So jury selection began and people got into the jury box and answered questions. Some were peremptorily challenged by either side. Of course people also tried to get out of service for a variety of reasons. Care of children or elderly relatives, small business owners, relatives of police, people who had friends or family murdered (there was one...shudder).

I got called up and like a good American I tried to shirk my duty. We had just made plans for Spring Break days before the summons, including plane tickets and reservations. This proved good enough to get me a deferment. Just a deferment till the next round....and I honestly do want to be on a jury (though I'm glad I didn't waste my time on that one - he got acquitted too of course) but when they asked "Any reason that you can't serve?" I said "Well, was planning a trip..."

But the take away message for me form the whole thing was something that the judge kept repeating to prospective jurors over and over.

He would tell us all about our civic duty and how citizens in a democracy should step up. About how the judicial system in the US is a model for other nations and how a trial by jury is a cornerstone of that system.

Then he said (not verbatim): "You know, not many countries around the world use the jury trial. It's part of our common law heritage from English law. If this were a trial in most other places in the world, the accused wouldn't have the opportunity to have a jury trial - he'd be judged by a panel of judges...."

This made me think.

So like the English/Imperial system of measurement (which all right thinking people loathe), the American use of jury trials puts us in the minority of world judicial systems.

(NOTE: Don't go by size of course....number of countries is the key here)

Here's a map to simplify things. Blue are civil law (ie. trial by judges), salmon are common law areas (jury trials). Interestingly India abolished jury trials since they are too easily swayed by the media.

So actually, our judicial system is NOT a beacon to other countries. If anything, countries are moving the opposite way....And when you look at rock stupid jury verdicts like Rodney King and O.J.'s, it makes you thing that we actually might have something to learn from the rest of the world here.

My Little Gourmand

2008-08-12T08:37:00.007-10:00

I love telling the story of how when Lily was just 2 or so and starting to let us know her food preferences, she really enjoyed cheese.

And since she got stuck with us, it's rare to have velveeta or american cheese slices in the fridge. Far more likely to find aged smoked gouda, feta, extrasharp cheddar, and other more adult cheesy comestibles.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise when Lily would call out her choices by name rather than just a request for generic "cheese".

But hearing a whiny two year old screech - "BRIIIIEEEEEEE ! I want BRRIIIIEEEEEE!" was hilarious to say the least.

Fast forward a few years.

Making dinner the other night: rice, veggies, applesauce and pork chops (sauteed with butter and oil, little bit of garlic, little bit of cinnamon).

Lily: What's that?

Me: Pork chops

L: I don't like it.

M: Um....you like hot dogs...you like kalua pig....this is the same thing...

L: I'm not gonna eat it...

M: Try it...there's cinnamon plus with the applesauce it's really good.

L: No.

M: Here's a little piece with just a touch of applesauce...they taste good together..it's like that part in Ratatouille where Remy and his brother....

(NOTE: Appealing to Pixar animated characters is sometimes useful to help make a point or misdirect small children)

Jake: MMMMMM....I don't like it...I LOVE IT!

M: Thank you.

(NOTE: Occasionally rival siblings will take opposing viewpoints merely to piss off one another. But if that means that at least one kid eats their dinner without kvetching, bring it on)

L (beginning to lose it): No...I WON'T!

M: Well Jake likes it...

L (blubber whine pout stink eye): IF THIS WAS SUSHI THERE WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM !

Happy Birthday Lily

2008-08-10T22:04:00.003-10:00

Interestingly Lily and Jake's birthdays always fall on the same day of the week. He was born exactly 28 days before his big sis (this year they were on Tuesdays). Kim and I share birthday days of the week too but on two Thursdays (this year at least) much farther apart.

Lily asked for cinnamon cupcakes for her special treat and she got em...along with all sorts of cool presents.

Don't know if she considered a really pretty sunset a score but the rest of us thought so.

The real party was on Saturday when she and some friends from Ma'ema'e (and preschool before that) all hung out at the house, watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, ate ice cream, played dress up...then went to the fair!

Ala Moana has been hosting the Family Fun Fair for the last three years - great place for rides and corndogs. And since the kids are at such an age, things like the lagoon, rocks with crabs crawling about, and the fun house are all you need to have fun. Well, an access all rides all day long bracelet didn't hurt either.

Jake goes to kindergarten

2008-08-09T22:51:00.004-10:00

Over the course of the past couple weeks, Jake has been orienting at Ma'ema'e. The schedule is one bound to make working parents tear their hair out:

Monday: Boys 8:30 - 10:00
Tuesday: Girls 8:30 - 10
Wednesday: Boys 8-12
Thursday: Girls 8-12
Friday: No school at all...

....or some such nonsense.

Back when I WAS A KID mom and dad just dropped us off the first day, kiss on the cheek, buh bye - kindergarten time. But you try and tell the kids today that, and they won't believe you (thank you Monty Python

But Jake was ready....
Pencils? Check
Folders? Check
Erasers? Check
Apron? Check
Crayons? Check
Watercolors? Check
Favorite dinosaur t-shirt? Check
Sauropod toy (saltasaurus if you are keeping track)? Check

One last hug from Mom for good measure then it was time. Fortunately he has two friends from preschool in his class (and he and Kaela are the two little lovebirds - oy) so he'll be fine.

Lily was stoked to start school with a messenger bag that she'd been lusting after for months.

Jake? He's just psyched.

Special guest: Kim

2008-08-06T08:30:00.000-10:00

Well, there it is. It's 7:50pm and the kids have done a fabulous job this Wednesday evening while their dad is out surfing. Finished their homework, ate dinner, had 45 minutes of free time, stopped nicely and transitioned into the shower, cleaned up their toys, brushed their teeth and got comfortable in bed with their book of choice.

Lily chose to read her new birthday book....Where Do I Come From.

After a little gasp, giggle and a cover of her mouth with her hand, I had to ask..."what are you laughing at?"

"Mom, did you know that the stuff that comes out of my nose came from dad's penis?"

Flabbergasted, I inquired curiously, "Where did you read that? Show me." She pointed to the paragraph that explained how after the wriggling about, it ends with something like a sneeze. Needless to say I had to read that page out loud and clarify that her hunnabutta does not come from her dad's penis.

However, she did need to verify that to make a baby the man's penis has to go inside the woman's vagina. Big giggles from Lily. And then the inevitable..."Mom, did dad do that to you?"

"Yes," with textbook calmness I replied.

"eeeuuu. I don't ever want to have a baby. I'm not going to get married."

So now I get to don on my anthropology degree and add, "you know Lily, we are of the homo sapien species and if we don't make babies then we won't have more of our species. "

You can image that at this point I'm thinking Brad is missing out. This is absolutely hilarious. Of course, knowing Lily, she'll want to talk about this some more.

We both agreed that she could come to me for questions to clarify rather than her 7 year old friends.

Oh no, now I hear Jacob asking...what are you reading.

Time to turn of the lights in the room! - Kim

Dear Third Day

2008-08-01T10:17:00.004-10:00

Radiohead wants their album cover back.

Happy (Belated) Birthday To Me

2008-07-25T10:51:00.007-10:00

Happy Birthday To Me
I'm one hundred and three
I still go to preschool
And I miss my Mommy.

My Mommy's at work
She fired a jerk
She hired a monkey
To do my homework

The monkey couldn't do it
And he said "Boo hoo"
He went out of the door
And back to the zoo

*As taught to me by Jacob

* Cartoons by Ross Yamanaka. I wish by me.