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The Green Sandy Beaches of Hawaii

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Picture by Mark Quezada

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole sang about the white beaches of Hawaii, but did you ever hear of the green beach of Hawaii? Yes, green. This natural rarity can be seen on the Big Island at Papakolea where Olivine semi-precious stones have been eroded by the ocean making green sand.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), this phenomenon is shielded by a long and moderately difficult hike, limiting its access.

Check out pictures of the Papakolea Green Beach from To-Hawaii.com.

Thanks to @mirthlab for the information and picture.

From Allegro to Solna

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So I had the Hansgrohe Allegro E Gourmet kitchen faucet in hand but was scared off by it size and potential water splashing. Then someone recommended the Brizo Solna. It’s new and features Scandinavian style and is from Delta’s luxury line of faucets.

What’s neat is its concealed sprayer. Magnetically locked into place, you can’t see the sprayer hidden inside of the faucet. But with a slight tug, the sprayer unlocks for use.

Since it’s new, there’s promotional pricing to encourage purchases. Normally $400, the special pricing is about $270.

 

Quick Look at Photovine

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Photovine, Google’s new social photo sharing service, is still in private invitation mode, but on Saturday morning, they posed a simple challenge on Twitter.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/photovine/status/92252397509947393″]

I replied back with a proposed vine called “Yummy colors” using this picture. And soon enough, I was invited to “plant a photo and watch it grow.”

Photovine is not strictly about pictures but rather the topical vines that tie various images together. It’s not like the filter frenzy of Instragram. It’s not for uploading galleries of images to showcase ala Flickr. It’s the community’s creativity that makes Photovine interesting. It’s your personal interpretation of a vine and the images you attach that drives Photovine. While some vines are straight forward (“What I’m Drinking”), the creative, open-ended vines are more entertaining like “Where I Stand” and “Warm and Fuzzy” (that’s showcased in the teaser video below).

Currently, Photovine is accessible via a native iPhone app with an Android version expected (Photovine sprouted from Google you know). I haven’t seen Photovine realized as a web site. So far, I’ve started a vine (Yummy colors), added several pictures to vines, liked pictures, left comments, and interacted with other members – all the basic features you’d expect from a social-based service. I’m still finding users to follow (not so easy in my opinion) and looking through countless vines to watch grow. Yes, I did encounter a bug and a crash or two, but Photovine is still new, and I’m sure improvements will abound along with additional features and refinements.

Sorry, although I am an invited member, I don’t (yet) have the ability to invite others to check out Photovine.

And lastly, the image that epitomizes the Photovine “warm and fuzzy” has to be this one. Creates a lasting mental image, no? 🙂

Hansgrohe at Costco!

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Now this was definitely a surprise. On a whim, I made a quick visit to the Iwilei Costco and what did I see? In plentiful stock is the Hansgrohe Allegro E Gourmet kitchen faucet!

That’s $249.99 for a faucet that typically runs over $300. No wait, no shipping costs, just pay at the register, and walk out with a Hansgrohe.

This Allegro E Gourmet (part #04275805) is in the steel optic finish and comes with a lifetime warranty. This may be a Costco “special” version however. Just keep in mind that if physically similar to other Allegro E kitchen faucets, this is a large faucet. It’s 16 1/2″ high, has a 11 3/8″ projection, and the spout height is 10″. But at the cost, you can’t really complain. 🙂

Confused About Hansgrohe Talis S Kitchen Faucets

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Hansgrohe has a good selection of high quality kitchen faucets, and I was intrigued once I saw my first Hansgrohe in action and up close. Heck, I even went with their Focus S Remodel Kit after learning about it. So why not continue the trend with a kitchen faucet?

While I originally like the Allegro E stylings, that water splashing was just way too much. I’m wondering if that 11 1/2″ spout height has anything to do with the force of the water splashing down on dishes? So I’m looking at other Hansgrohe kitchen faucets and the high arc Talis S looks cool. But there are a few models of the Talis S (not counting the smaller prep faucets) that is confusing.

Their web site shows:

Then there’s also the “old” Talis S from what I understand. So which one is which? The current Talis S is a 2.2 GPM model and has an angled handle.

The “old” Talis S has a handle that is at 90-degrees (not slightly angled) and needs clearance behind the faucet profile for hot water. If your sink backspalsh is too close, the “old” Talis S handle would bump into it.

The “old” Talis S sounds like the Interaktiv HighArc2 model which sounds like the Talis S HighArc 2-Spray Pull-Down. These feature a 360-degree range of motion for the spout and a movable body for cleaning purposes. There is no mention of magnetic docking for the spray head.

The Talis S2 is a water-conserving 1.5 GPM faucet, has a magnetic docking spray head but only swivels 150 degrees. It has the slightly angled handle.

Then there is the Talis S. It’s 2.2 GPM, has the angled handle, needs no clearance for hot water, and has the magnetic spray head. Both the Talis S and S2 are 16 1/2″ tall with a 8 3/4″ projection. The spout height is 8 7/8″, a few inches lower than the Allegro E Kitchen Faucet. All of these come in finishes of chrome or steel optik.

You can find any and all of these models on Amazon but be sure you have the right model number for which Talis S you want. You might be able to find these stocked locally in Hawaii, just depends. As of today, I know Ferguson Hawaii has the Talis S available. Here’s a picture of their inventory on the shelf (looks like a mix of Talis S and the HighArc 2-Spray Pull-Down), but they supposedly have more in the warehouse.

Toto Suggested

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After looking at home improvement stuff on Amazon, its mighty match feature suggested I check out toilets including those by Toto. Wow, scary. I, in fact, did take a look at Toto toilets at Hawaii Home Expo.

Sometimes, Amazon’s recommendations are right on the money. Other times, not so much.

Special Kit for Hansgrohe Focus S

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If you’re in the market for new bathroom fixtures and are looking for something a little different, then you’re in luck. Hansgrohe has bundled a special boxed kit with its Focus S line.

The Focus S Remodel Kit comes with everything you need to outfit a typical one sink/one tub bathroom arrangement. The kit includes:

  • Tub spout with diverter
  • Shower arm
  • Shower head
  • Control valve
  • iBox Universal rough in
  • Focus S sink faucet (w/base plate)

That’s German designed, American made, and award winning design. Oh, but chrome finish only. Here’s a Hansgrohe video about this promotion.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

https://media.dreamhost.com/mp4/swfobject.js

var swf = new SWFObject(“https://media.dreamhost.com/mp4/player.swf”, “mpl”, “540”, “379”, 8);
swf.addParam(“allowfullscreen”, “true”);
swf.addParam(“allowscriptaccess”, “always”);
swf.addVariable(“file”, “https://www.pulpconnection.net/movies/Focus_S_video_3_540x360.flv”);
swf.addVariable(“image”, “https://www.pulpconnection.net/movies/Focus_S_video_3_540x360.jpeg”);
swf.write(“v811”);

As far as costs goes, it might depend on the retailer. Check out my favorite, T.Oki aka Hawaii Home Expo, for their low prices, but other Hawaii vendors carry Hansgrohe products as well.

Utopia Is Breezy

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Did you know that Utopia is cool and breezy? It must be with these Utopian ceiling fans from Casablanca. Despite its basic appearance, this fan is all performance, moving more air than many competing products.

You can find this popular ceiling fan online, but be sure to check out the Fan Shop in Aiea. Currently, their sale price beats online pricing. However, any accessories like a light kit, remote control, etc. are additional costs.

Blue Star, Bertazzoni, NXR?

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You ever heard of cooking ranges from Blue Star, Bertazzoni, or NXR? Me neither. But if you’re in the market for ranges with fanatic fan bases, consider these three brands.

I only started doing some research, but these three brands seem to have the most advocates. It all started with basic ranges like those found at Sears – Kenmore, Whirlpool, LG, Kitchen Aid, GE Profile. Then the search jumped to the high end like Viking, Wolf, GE Monogram, and Theramdor. Then I started reading about other niche brands in online forums. There are frequent discussions comparing various ranges but the most commonly mentioned are from Blue Star, Bertazzoni, and NXR.

Of course, all of these are difficult to get in Hawaii although NXR said they ship right away. But Blue Star has the biggest oven which is one of our criteria… But since time is also an issue, these three may be out of the picture.

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