
Life


Re-occupy Occupy Honolulu
That didn’t long. Those participating in Occupy Honolulu were cleared out of Thomas Square on Friday. On Saturday, this is what I saw.


Hip Can Be Old
Hip doesn’t have to be new, even the old can be hip. Like this picture I took a month ago that only now made its way to the Hipster Popular Page. Do you see the airplane in the skies above the Ko Olina Beach Lagoon?
What’s Your Anna Miller’s Contribution?
Had to chuckle at this one. While doing some basic background research on Anna Miller’s, I got these results from Google’s Image Search. Hey, is that my old kitchen counter pictured?!?
Yes, sure enough, it is my old counter under the Anna Miller’s pie tin. So I can now claim that I’ve contributed in defining Anna Miller’s on the Internet. 🙂
But I still don’t know what’s so special about their pie tins that require a deposit.

More Starbucks Hipness
I guess morning coffee from Starbucks is hip with this pic making the Popular List on Hipster.com.
Heh, viewed over 2500 times?!
Anna Miller’s Was Iconic
Or is it still? I never fully knew just how big Anna Miller’s is or was. Outside of Hawaii, did you know Anna Miller’s saw popular growth in Japan. Was the appeal the food, the “big pie racks,” the diner ambiance, or those fitted uniforms of the waitresses? All of the above no doubt. In Japan, there were a string of Anna Miller’s locations which have been closing their doors over the past two decades.
In Hawaii, all I can remember is the single Anna Miller’s location by Pearlridge, sharing the parking lot with Circuit City Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I’ve only eaten there a handful of times. Instead, they were the source of pies. Going to a party? Pickup a pie or two from Anna Miller’s. And of course, you knew when strawberry pies were in season with that huge banner on display. But don’t forget to factor in the cost of the pie tin.
Sure, I thought the waitress’ uniform, especially the cut and fit of them, were a bit… odd. But since they’ve been the same for so long, you kinda just accepted that’s how they were. Little did I know the iconic impact these uniforms had on the Japanese culture. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “big pie racks.”
Today’s Outage
Sorry folks, Pulpconnection was out most of the day due to issues with hosting provider, Dreamhost. There have been minor glitches with Dreamhost in the past, and most often, my tinkering is the cause of outages. But today, Dreamhost had to repair some major stuff that took time.
Anyways, all is resolved and we’re back online.
Oceanic Mobile Simply Works Here and Here and Here
I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to test drive Oceanic’s Mobile Internet service on several occasions. What can I say other than it simply works. Be it the older USB stick for laptops to the newer hockey puck-sized mobile hot spot, Oceanic Mobile Internet connected me to the online world again and again. And not just in Hawaii, but traveling in California as well. That’s why you’ll see the “And Here” tag associated with Oceanic Mobile since it works here and here and here.
Easy Setup
Connecting with Oceanic Mobile Internet is easy. Â The USB stick required software drivers to be installed on my Mac, but that was a breeze. Launch the connection software and after a minute or two, you’re online. That’s it. When the software or drivers need updating, you’ll be notified of the updates.
With the Intelligo mobile hotspot, setup is even easier. The device is associated with the Oceanic Mobile Internet network, and all you have to do is connect to the device’s WiFi.  If you want to configure the WiFi or other Intelligo settings, it’s all done using a web browser. Easy. The Intelligo offers 4G speeds and lets you share this connection to five other devices – great when traveling with a geared up family.
Great Connectivity
I can attest to the great connectivity of the Oceanic Mobile Internet service. Â Okay, it’s not perfect, no mobile carrier’s network reaches everywhere, but my OC Mobile device did remain connected when I lost connection with other carriers.
Here are just some of the pictures demonstrating the reach of OC Mobile.
Gotchas
To be completely upfront, there are some gotchas that you should know about however. Getting connected does takes some time. We’re talking minutes, not seconds. Part of getting connected is negotiating 4G or 3G speeds with the OC Mobile Internet network, and this is not instantaneous.
The battery of the Intelligo (first generation at least) gets really, really hot. Not dangerously hot, but more than “warm to the touch.” So when in use, you probably don’t want to leave the device in an enclosed bag. Let it “breathe” a bit. Battery life is pretty good. Depending on usage, you will recharge once a day.
Lastly, I just read about the change in service providers for Oceanic Mobile Internet. Oceanic changed partners from Sprint to Verizon. I’m not sure what impact this will have, but keep an eye on Oceanic Time Warner’s Verizon Wireless Partnership FAQ for more details.
Thanks to World Wide Ed for the free use of OC Mobile Internet, and to see where else OC Mobile works, head on over to andhere.com.
Eat Out Kailua
To bolster fundraising efforts, Kailua’s Hawaiian Soljahs baseball team organized a food truck and classic car rally this past weekend. Here are a few pictures from the event.
The Gluttony of Living Social
The deals offered by services like Groupon and Living Social can’t be beat that’s for sure. But once you engorge yourself with so many great deals, you face the gluttony of redeeming these deals, especially when the expiration dates come rolling around.
At Office Max, I bought 3000 labels to use a $10 coupon. Over the weekend, dinner at CPK (with another coupon) was followed by dessert at Cold Stone Creamery ($10 discounted). All the while, I was wearing one of the many shirts ordered from Threadless.com.
So yeah, getting deals is great since you feel like you’re saving money. But soon enough, when you commence your spending binge, you’ll feel the gluttony of living social.