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A Shoutout from Gregg Hammer

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What a way to start Thursday morning! I had just pulled out of my driveway for my morning commute with the radio tuned to KRTR 96.3. Aunty Mildred Kaneakala was kicking off the morning’s Story Time when I heard my name on air. Wait, what was that? Did I hear Gregg Hammer as Aunty just give a shout out to his/her favorite blogger?!? Why yes I did (see the Instagram comments)!

Wait what? Did I hear @the.real.gregg.hammer mention my name this morning on Story Time?

A photo posted by @geewhy on

Sadly, I wasn’t ready to record the audio or fast enough to get the delayed playback on the Tunein app. So no recording, just memories of this special good morning! Thanks Gregg and keep everyone laughing in the mornings.

Most Viewed Pulpconnection Posts Written in 2012

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Okay, I’m a little bummed that the popular posts for Pulpconnection in 2012 were posts written before 2012. So what were the highlights that actually actually transpired in 2012? The top ten for 2012 looks like this.

  1. Buyer Beware the TVPad
  2. I Want to Draw the Linsanity!
  3. Belkin Grip Candy Sheer Black and Green
  4. Making Sense of Your iPhone 5 Order Status
  5. Vote for Vawer!
  6. iOS 6 Install Frozen?
  7. iPhone 5 Screen Flicker Problem
  8. Thunder and Lightning Olympic Jordans
  9. Dwyane Wade, Why Are You Leaving Team Jordan?
  10. It’s Winter Online!

Yeah, pretty tame stuff so I can see how these posts didn’t rate highly against my older material. I mean how can iPhone 5 problems, a complaint with the TVPad, and news from the house of Jordan compete against Hawaiian slang, a ghetto latte, Abercrombie & Fitch, LEGOs, Club 939, Taylor Lautner, and a moose knuckle?

Now, I don’t know if there is a correlation between posts and revenue earned from ads on Pulpconnection. But here’s a comparison for this past year. The number of posts is indicated by the green bars while advertising performance is the red line.

I don’t spot a trend, but I like what happened in October. For the month with the least amount of posts, it looks like my second highest earning month. I need to look into this, early Christmas shopping perhaps?

Waimanalo Christmas Parade 2012

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Waimanalo has its own unique community no more evident than in its annual Christmas Parade. It was my first time attending this parade (I didn’t know it existed before this), and I got to see a good, old parade reminiscent of small kid time.

UntitledLuckily, our family was guests on the float sponsored by Waimanalo Feed Supply. This float may have been the pinnacle of the parade featuring a decked out flatbed truck with a Christmas tree, enthusiastic riders, and three sheep enjoying the festivities.

The parade had an early 9am start time kicked off by Grand Marshall Eric Bunyan. Then came a caravan of some most interesting vehicles. There were bikers from the Yokozuna Riders.

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Yokozuna Riders

Windward politicians, Ikaika Anderson, Chris Lee, and Laura Thielen walked the route and passed out candy.

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Chris Lee and Laura Thielen

Then came muscle cars, vintage cars, and even a homemade barstool “car.”

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Barstool awesomeness

Yes, Miss Hawaii Filipina was there.

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Miss Hawaii Filipina

These golf carts are outrageous!

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Golf carts?!?

But not to be outdone, there was a speed boat.

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Speed boat in a Christmas Parade

In the heat and humidity, the seniors had it right, riding a covered trolley.

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Waimanalo Seniors

Nothing says Christmas like a dune buggy and an off-roading truck.

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Ready to go off-roading

Here’s the full length view of the Waimanalo Feed Supply float with sheep in tow.

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Thanks to the Waimanalo Feed Supply

The Royal Hawaiian Movers were out in full force, each truck blaring its horns.

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Royal Hawaiian Movers

Did I mention the candy? Remember back in the day when paraders would let fly the candy? Now, it’s all handing it gently to the bystanders… except in `Nalo. This community harkens back and still lets the candy sail through the air. And lots of it. Lots. Each vehicle unleashed an arsenal of sweets. Just check out the stash in this truck’s cabin.

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Loaded with candy

Security from Bellows was there, not for safety or security, but yes, you guessed it, to fling candy at the audience.

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Security Forces

I have no idea about this.

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Waimanalo Research Station

Then the closing highlight of the parade was Santa’s arrival… by boat.

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Santa’s on a boat!

While Santa and his Elves unloaded candy, treats from the North Pole also took the form of frozen Otter Pops.

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Passing out frozen Otter Pops

Here are even more pictures from this eclectic community Christmas parade.

And don’t worry about the sheep. They were fine, eating the whole ride. They did want to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Does Paalaa Kai Mean “Wow!”?

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There’s definitely a “wow” factor when visiting Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua. As in…

  • Wow! 4.5 stars on Yelp after 80+ reviews!
  • Wow! After all this time on Oahu, how come I’ve never heard of this place?
  • Wow! A Snow Puffy?!
  • Wow! Where is this place?
  • Wow! The parking there is tight.
  • Wow! They’re on Twitter and Facebook.

After you overcome the wow factor, settle in and get ready to feast on all kinds of baked goodies. Their signature item is the Snow Puffy.

Paalaa Kai Snow Puffies

My best description of a Snow Puffy would be “extremely balanced.” First, there’s the flakiness of the pastry. As it crumbles and melts in your mouth, you get to the cream-filled center. It’s sweet, light, and chilled. The next bite comes across the chocolate swirl. The dense chocolate contrasted with the airy cream and their different forms of sweetness is so complementary. Finally you feel the powdered sugar on your lips, licking off this sweet surprise.

Along with the Snow Puffies, Paalaa Kai offers up many other baked goods.

Paalaa Kai goodies

Of course, you need coffee with your goodies and Paalaa Kai has their mini corner coffee bar.

PKB Corner Coffee Bar

If you’re visiting the North Shore or taking a “Be Like Barack” mini-vacation, keep an eye out for this sign.

Paalaa Kai Sign

It’s kinda in the middle of nowhere, and you can easily pass it. Look for a tiny but packed parking lot or a bunch of people with telltale powdered sugar on their faces.

Holiday Gift Guide: Starbucks Steel

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Starbucks Steel Card
This gift is all about being a trend setter possessing a status symbol. Nothing says you’ve arrived like this limited edition Starbucks premium gift card actually made out of steel. Only 5000 of these special cards will be forged and sold through gilt.com for a mere $450. But don’t worry, $400 of the cost is Starbucks credit. The other $50 covers the cost of the card itself.

This is something Chad Ochocinco definitely needs. If you remember, Ochocinco made the news when his Starbucks Gold Card was stolen along with his wallet.

Me? I’ll wait for Starbucks to release an iPhone Steel Card app. 😉

Air Jordan XX8 to Be Worn by Ninjas?

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I’m not sure what to make of the silhouette of the newly announced Air Jordan XX8. From initial pictures, I’d say these will be worn by ninjas, by fishermen (they remind me of tabi), or by Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe.

AJ XX8 image from Sole Collector

Eight inches tall, a zip up upper, responsive, light, and expensive at $250 a pair.

From a design perspective, there are elements from other Nike shoes. The sheathed upper definitely brings back memories of Gary Payton’s The Glove.

There’s also a feel of the Jordan XVIII back in 2003 when MJ played his last days in the NBA.

Air Jordan XVIII

The midsole reminds me of a variation of the Air Jordan XVII.

Air Jordan XVII

When the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook unveils the XX8 on the hardcourt on Tuesday night maybe initial opinions will change. All I can say for now is #DareToFly.

For more info on the Air Jordan XX8, check out the Nike Blog.

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Got My Juicies

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It’s been a long journey for the Kickstarter-powered Juicies project. Started in 2011, Juicies goal was to bring colorful cables made out of recycled materials to the iPhone market. The colors were delicious, the price was right, and hey, Laurens from Hawaii was behind it all so why not back this project?

Then there was a string of manufacturing delays that Laurens explained in detail. Then Apple moved from the de facto 30-pin dock connector to Lightning. Juicies persevered with production and allowed backers to change cable types to a USB extension or a micro USB cable.

After a long wait, here are the results.

Love this display.

Juicies display of colors

The box design deserves some attention and credit as well. No fuss, no muss but good looking.

Juicies box

What’s in the box is minimal and looks made out of recycled materials as well.

What’s inside the Juicies box

At long last, my Juicies cable in lime green. It was either green or orange, but I thought the green was more vibrant. Actually, the pink and purple colors had a good sheen on them as well.

Juicies lime green USB extension

Thanks Laurens! Oh yeah, he may have extra cables to purchase for the holidays.

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Starbucks Twelve Days of Gifting 2012

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Starbucks is back at it in 2012, commemorating the Twelve Days of Christmas their way. Here’s what I think is Starbucks 12 Days of Gifting for December 2012.

Click to embiggen Starbucks 12 Days of Gifting
  • Day 1. Buy any tumbler or mug and get a free grande beverage.
  • Day 2. Buy any VIA Ready Brew 12-pack and get one free. Buy any Tazo Tea Tin and get one free.
  • Day 3. Buy the featured Free Brewed Coffee Tumbler in December for $30 and get free brewed coffee the entire month of January.
  • Day 4. Get a stainless steel tumbler for $9.95. Get any 1 lb. Christmas Blend platform packaged coffee and a Red stainless steel tumbler for $19.95.
  • Day 5. Get a red, blue, or gold acrylic tumbler for $5.95.
  • Day 6. Buy a Merry Moments Cocoa gift set for $12.95. Buy a VIA Peppermint Mocha 5-pack for $4.95.
  • Day 7. Buy 1 lb. of Christmas Blend platform packaged coffee for $9.95. Buy one Christmas Blend K-Cup pack for $8.95. Buy a VIA Christmas Blend 12-pack for $7.95. Buy one Christmas Blend Verismo Pod Pack for $8.95.
  • Day 8. Buy a String of Lights Boxed Mug for $8.95.
  • Day 9. Buy a 12 oz. Red Cup Collection mug for $3.95. Buy a 16 oz. Red Cup Collection mug for $4.95.
  • Day 10. Save 30% on gift packs: Christmas Blend and Mug, Starbucks VIA REady Brew and Mug, Tazo Joy Tea and Mug, Gingerbread Biscuit and Mug.
  • Day 11. Save 40% on Cold Cups and cold cup straws.
  • Day 12. Save 40% on a Cranberry Bliss Bar tray.

Note: Reference the image above in case I had any typos.

Of course, the most interesting item is the free coffee tumbler. I luckily got one in 2011 and took advantage of the deal. My only complaint is the tumbler itself. Flow of the fluid is really slow since air doesn’t vent in easily. The lid cover touches my nose when I’m drinking so I have to wipe away any coffee drops. Although a 16 oz. tumbler, its shape is tall and skinny so when in a shallow cup holder, the tumbler moves around quite a bit. I hope Starbucks fix these annoyances for this year’s tumbler.