What epic guests made special appearances while cruising Mexico?
Take a look at the towel animal art. Didn’t see any spectacular displays of marine life, just a sea turtle and an unidentified sea creature. The Crumpler $5 Million Dollar Home was perfect for this trip.
Twilight’s Bella Swan showed up, not once, but twice!
Watched the annual Kailua Independence Day parade, the only Fourth of July parade on Oahu (which happened on July 5th), and here’s some of what I saw.
Seems like every politician was represented. There were some strange groups marching in the parade, and I didn’t understand why they were there. Sadly, the parade has more politicians and social messages rather than fun, feel good displays.
A quick run down of the Hawaii Governor 2010 candidates and their parade showings. Mufi Hannemann brought out the serious tech hardware and marched the route surrounded by supporters. Looked like Mufi had the most supporters, but he seemed aloof walking in the middle of his party, not engaging the crowds.
The rain started to come down as Duke Aiona’s party passed by (the reason I don’t have pics of Duke), but it made for a spirited showing by his soaked supporters. Even rained on, Duke walked the sides of the parade talking with the people.
Neil Abercrombie was the last gubernatorial candidate to march as he led his fans. The choice to walk in front of his group made for a dramatic scene, and the guy shouting cadence for the Abercrombie party did a good job.
The first epic stop of the Carnival Splendor was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. There were pirate ships at the pier, and the coastline featured interesting statues and monuments.
Yes, Mexico has Starbucks locations with a similar menu but no free Wifi access. Ate at the air conditioned Coexist restaurant and watched World Cup matches.
Silly me for not reading closely the definition of “iPod” for Hawaii State Library’s Overdrive audio book system. My hold on Rework
You see, even though Rework displays this compatibility chart, you have to read it correctly.
Yes, I understand this audio book is NOT Mac compatible, but it does appear to play on an iPod. What you have to decipher is that this audio book will play on an iPod tied to a Windows PC. This particular audio book is protected with Windows WMA DRM which is not Mac compatible. So hoping to hear Rework on my iPod while driving to work isn’t possible. Bummed and bamboozled.
With an unsuccessful search for epic in FAT, the search moved elsewhere, headed to the open ocean aboard Carnival Cruise’s Splendor.
Being a social media giants, I don’t have to attend very many tweetups (that’s a joke people), but I couldn’t resist Farmers Hawaii hosting a tweetup focusing on Community Engagement on the Web. This was a most delicious event!
Amuse bouche by Liliha Bakery and superb pupus made by Chef Elmer from Poke Stop were sandwiched around a delectable panel of knowledgeable guests. Daniel Leuck of TechHui, Randy Ching of Civil Beat, John Tapper of Farmers Hawaii, and Dan Zelikman of Starrtech talked about their successes and struggles using social media and the web to engage their respective communities. Each panel member had a different perspective reflective of their user base, and it was interesting to hear the similarities and differences. Holding contests, featuring members, variable subscription rates, empowered and passionate community managers were mentioned as engagement tips with the only common tip being “work hard and keep working at it.”
Ooops, how can I forget to mention Ryan Ozawa as the moderating maitre d’? He kept the topical courses paced and moving along very well!
Thanks to Farmers Hawaii for a most delicious tweetup, and I can’t wait for the next one!
If you missed it, here are some pictures.
Every search for epic begins in the land of FAT, and now there are pictures.
And stay tuned for more pictures In Search of Epic.
Bought some newly available Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Iced coffee yesterday and am ready to live taste this drink.
Got my supplies sans the ice (I don’t really trust the ice here).
12:35 That packet is full! Stirring… Lots of coffee crystals to dissolve. After about a minute of pouring and stirring, I think all the mixture is finally dissolved.
12:37 First sip. Slightly sweet… No creamer or ice added. Bitter aftertaste typical.
12:38 Does resemble a Starbucks iced coffee bought in stores. Probably more so, with ice and half and half (my usual concoction).
12:39 Very passable, especially for the cost. About $5-6 bucks for a 5-pack.
12:40 With each passing sip, the aftertaste gets stronger and stronger. I think creamer and ice would help mellow out the drink.
12:53 Getting that caffeinated rush feeling.
1:13 Getting giddy and mind is all over the places. Must focus.
This is like a true transcript of my call to Radio Shack this morning.
Radio Shack: Hello, Radio Shack, home of the iPhone.
Me: Do you have any iPhones?
Radio Shack: Nope.
I asked a few more questions, but you get the drift.
I don’t pretend to be a Naval strategist or any kind of expert, but when asked to attend the naval Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise press conference and tour of Japan’s JS ATAGO destroyer, how could I say no?
The day began with remarks given by Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Vice Admiral Richard Hunt, Commander, Combined Task Force. Flanked by nation’s RIMPAC leaders, the pair outlined the goals of RIMPAC, its global significance, the positive impact on Hawaii, and the overall synergy of this international event.
Following the RIMPAC press conference was a tour of the JS ATAGO, a destroyer in the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF). Courteous and hospitable, the JMSDF Officers overviewed the ATAGO and its agile versatility to handle a variety of maritime situations and defend other JMSDF ships. As a personal observation, this ship was clean, meticulously clean. Each brass fitting on doors were polished and even the propeller on stowed vessels was gleaming.
In all though, the ultimate outcome of RIMPAC is the teaming and support of all the participants. Nations share a common bond and learn about other cultures which hopefully promotes global stability.
Agility, synergy, and support – that is RIMPAC 2010.
More pictures.
RIMPAC 2010:
While on the Search for Epic, here are some of the tunes that fueled the journey.
