The second House of Hoops comes to Hawaii at the Waikiki Footlocker location. The Ala Moana Footlocker was Hawaii’s first House of Hoops back in 2011. I’m not sure why it took so long to designate this second location. I would have guessed Waikiki would be busy with tourists looking for shoes during their Hawaii stay, especially the kicks crazy from Japan.
This morning featured a major, six-plus car accident on the H1 westbound. Not wanting to be stuck in that snarled traffic, I sheltered at Starbucks in Kaneohe and snacked on a bacon, egg, gouda breakfast sandwich that earned me 3 bonus reward stars.
Checking Waze and Twitter for traffic updates, it still didn’t look good, so I killed more time at Ross. Looks like they had just restocked the men’s shoe department with shelves filled. What did I find? Nike Air Trainer SC II in black/volt-grey and a real surprise, the Air Jordan 4+ “Columbia.” And what these are going to be redone this year as well? Or are these the rereleases? I have to take a closer look later.
So there it is, my 1-2-3-4+ morning.
I’ve come to rationalize realize that the Apple Watch is in my future. The journey to this latest in wearable tech started back in 2005 with the advent of the Nike+iPod Sports Kit. The alliance of Apple and Nike, two of my favorite brands, materialized the idea of data-driven workouts for the masses. With a sensor in my Nike+ shoe and a transmitter connected to my iPod Nano, data about my runs was collected on the Nikeplus web site. From this, I knew I hit 100 miles run in 2008 and surpassed 600 total miles in 2010. But even then, my stats showed me that actually I slowed down in 2010. In 2015 as I approach 1000 walks ands runs, I’ve traveled 2417 miles in all.
Related to the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, I was an early adopter of the Nike Amp+ watch. This short lived product acted as a remote control for the iPod which made it more convenient to control your tunes while running, and hey, the Amp+ even told time (albeit poorly).
In April 2012, I had my next interaction with wearables, pledging to the Pebble watch Kickstarter project. Not completely convinced this watch could be become a reality, I became a believer.
Later in 2012, I took another step in my journey supporting the Misfit Shine project. I intended this activity tracker to capture more of my life, thinking I would more conveniently wear this tiny monitor. But after close calls almost losing the Shine and it being washed, I became more conservative with it, not taking it everywhere.
Over the years, most of my wearable tech has gone by the wayside. My Nike+iPod Sports Kit sits idle with the malfunction of my iPod Nano. Even then, my GPS-enabled iPhone 6 has improved and integrated geo-tracking, making the Sports Kit obsolete. My Misfit Shine is still with me, battery-less eating up CR batteries much too quickly. My Amp+ was a poor timepiece, ate batteries, and was eventually stolen. Only my Pebble watch remains viable, even gaining functionality with updates and apps.
Now, here comes the Apple Watch. At the low end price point of $349/$399, the Apple Watch is cost comparable to the first iPod, going for $399 for a 5GB model. With its functionality and growth potential, how can I not get the Apple Watch?
I don’t normally start my annual Kicks Analysis this early, but Yoda808 called me out on it, so here we go… Round 1 of the 2015 NCAA Tournament officially starts with the “First Four” as eight teams vie to enter the Round of 64. Here are the eight teams along with their shoe sponsorships.
So that’s six for Nike, two for Under Armour, and surprisingly zero for Adidas. Will the First Four field all Nike swooshes? Probably doesn’t matter since I doubt any of the First Four will make it past the Round of 64. While I couldn’t find pictures of all the team’s kicks, I must say that Robert Morris got their kicks game going with a variety of styles and colors.
The new year has spurred on new small local businesses in Kailua with the opening of The Local and soon, Mahaloha Burger. Located down the street from the new Target, these businesses are poised to benefit from increased foot traffic in the area.
The Local is a hybrid store selling clothing items in one half and shave ice in the other. The shave ice is flavored with natural syrups such as Mountain Apple, Kona Coffee, Chili Peppa, and 4 Kine Lime.
I haven’t yet sampled their goods, but I want to pick up one of their shirts.
From The Local, head towards Target, and you’ll come across Mahaloha burger. Like The Local, natural is the motif of Mahaloha’s burgers. It’s a two-story location and construction looks well incomplete. Their signs advertise a loco moco burger which I’m surprised I haven’t seen done before.
So next time when you’re in the 96734, you have a few more places to check out.
Be sure to track the hashtags of #FlyHappy or #IslandAir on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. A bunch of the Hawaii social media cognoscenti are touring the Four Seasons Lanai, flying from Oahu on Island Air and doing an excellent job showcasing the resort.
What a room makeover!
I had the opportunity to stay at the Four Seasons Lanai in 2009 to attend a wedding, and ever since then, I’ve dreamed of going back.
After inheriting a not-so-old-school Nintendo Wii console, I have to find some games for it. These look like fun and are playable by all.
My eyes popped when I saw these LeBron X Lows stashed away in the corner of the shoe section at Ross. In the size 8 area, but really a size 9.5, these kicks are the red plum/electric green colorway. Sadly, I could have fit these 20 years ago, but now a 9.5 is just too squeezy for my toes. If they were a 10 or 10.5, I would have snatched these up for sure, even at a higher than normal $60 price tag.
I always loved the LeBron Low with its full length Air Max unit. Even though two generations old, these are $100 cheaper and are very, very distinctive, and I’m a sucker for that paint-flecked look.
Any Lexus owners out there have poor radio reception with the stock deck? We got a used Lexus that’s newer than our (former) Toyotas, but the radio reception is so bad.
Driving my normal routes, the FM radio reception is staticky and even drops out at certain spots. This didn’t happen with the Toyota stereos. I figured this wouldn’t have been an issue for the luxury Lexus line, but it is, and it’s real bothersome.
I talked with Bill at Progressive Auto Sounds in Aiea, and he said changing the deck wouldn’t necessarily improve radio reception. It may or it may not. An alternative is to stream radio broadcasts via a smartphone and apps like Tunein or iHeartRadio. But then, I’d still need to change the deck with a newer one that can connect to my iPhone. Guess I’ll be listening to static…
The Target location in Kailua had their soft opening today with the grand opening scheduled for Sunday, March 8. Open to the general public for the first time, the people of Hawaii didn’t disappoint. There was an expected line to get in as many thought today was the official grand opening.
The shopping carts were quickly snapped up as the people kept on coming.
I didn’t grab a cart but instead, opted to zip around unencumbered, and you know what? From what I saw, this Target looks like any other Target you’ve been to. Check out the familiar bath section.
Here’s the electronics section.
The groceries.
Although I love the layout of the milk containers. Reminds me of the Matrix movie for some reason.
The toy section was happening as serious Hot Wheels collectors picked through the virginal batch of cars. I found the latest Lego Minifigures series along with the newest line of Lego Elves.
Some of the sale items advertised in last Sunday’s ad were wiped out already on the first day of shopping.
Sadly, no new flavors of Mountain Dew Kickstart were available like at the other locations. Just the usual ones.
The Target dog wasn’t on-hand today but his replica was. But I didn’t take a selfie.
The Starbucks inside wasn’t as crowded as I expected, and there is another location just down the block.
All shopping carts were accounted for, and you had to hunt for one.
The plentiful parking disappeared as well. The connecting lane joining Safeway was still blocked off. All I can say is that Boots and Kimo’s is gonna be nuts with this Target (and its parking) open across the street.
Be sure to watch the local news tonight for in-depth coverage. Every channel was there. Anyways, here are more of my rushed pics. I didn’t want to stay too long as more and more people entered the building. Although I must say that since this location is so huge, even with all the shoppers, the store didn’t actually feel cramped or crowded. It was a comfortable shopping experience despite the craziness.
The newest Target in Kailua is set to open this week, and here are a few more pictures before the opening.
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)!
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.
