I’ve Gone Nuts!
Yep, I’ve gone nuts, picking up a few Kukui High “Go Nuts!” bumper stickers.
Thanks to @hawaii and @valdezign for the fun!
Is Dancing with the Stars Getting Hipper?
Could it be Dancing with the Stars is appealing to a younger, hipper audience? In seasons past, the youth movement wasn’t as big on the competition featuring B-listers, former stars, and (mostly) retired sports jocks. But check out the early results in Season 11.
Week 1, internationally infamous David Hasselhoff is out. Both you and I know the Hoff as Michael Knight and Mitch Buchannon, but today’s kids are like, “that burger-eating drunk on YouTube?”
Week 2 saw 80’s crooner Michael Bolton in the elimination spotlight. Maybe kids would have recognized him if he still had his CD signature long locks.
So what can we extrapolate for Week 3, Story Night? Jennifer Grey will be safe with her Harry Potter routine. Oh, that’s not Harry Potter? Oh well, close enough for the kids. Kurt Warner will be there next week (and I think he can still take a NFL snap or two). Kyle Massey? Disney got his back.
Margaret Cho is in danger but exuding gay pride this week, she might get new allies. Cheryl Burke now has partner Rick Fox disrobing while dancing (and his gf Eliza Dushku in the audience). It’s a successful strategy.
Audrina Patridge waltzed her way to the top this week, and if it is true, the young, hip voters will keep Bristol Palin and “The Situation” dancing. I mean how else has this greasy french fry stuck around?
So that leaves Florence Henderson. Mrs. Brady is an icon, but will her emotional Sound of Music waltz resonate with the young’ens?
The Canon EOS 60D is Out
The new Canon EOS 60D DSLR is now available on Amazon. With or without a lens.
UH Band New Hawaii Five-O Video
Here’s the redone video of the UH band performing the theme song of Hawaii Five-O. Way more glitz than their original entry in the Marching Band Mania competition.
Electrified by the Tesla Model S
After reading about Tesla Motors and its lofty goals in this month’s Wired magazine, I admit I’m intrigued about the upcoming, mass produced Model S. It seats seven?!
But that base price of $49,000 (with a tax discount) is steep! I wonder how available it would be in Hawaii? And is it me or does the Model S remind you of the Air Jordan XI Cool Greys?
Every Little (Slow) Step
Wayne Brady, Bobby Brown, and Mike Tyson(!) relive the classic Every Little Step video. Though Mike’s dancing is a step too slow, this vid is still a must watch!
Will Santa Be Rocking Cool Greys?
This Christmas will Jolly Old Saint Nick be delivering these Air Jordan XI Cool Greys to good girls and boys, or will he be rocking them on his sleigh ride? Drops December 23.
And yes, for the UH Basketball fans, Carl English dominated in these.
Researching Photovoltaic in Hawaii
I’m on the solar bandwagon after hearing about its benefits from Wayne’s World. Getting a photovoltaic system for your home is a win-win scenario right now with the available (and generous) tax credits. In turn, you can curb or even “eliminate” your HECO electricity bill with power produced from the sun. Too good to be true? We’ll see!
What is Photovoltaic?
First a little background on photovoltaic systems. While I knew about solar as home water heaters, I hadn’t known about solar and PV systems to generate electricity for your home. Basically, solar panels are installed on your roof, take the sun’s energy, and converts it to electricity for your home. Depending on the quantity and efficiency of the PV solar panels, you can offset your monthly HECO electricity bill or (almost) eliminate the bill altogether (HECO always has a basic charge of $18 per month). The number of solar panels depends on your electricity usage, how aggressively you want to address your bill, and the type of panels themselves and could range from 8-24+ panels for a single family home.
The Sticker Shock of PV Costs
Yes, a PV system is very expensive up front. There’s definitely a sticker shock. But after state and federal tax credits, the net cost of what you actually pay is reasonable. Currently, installing a home PV system makes you eligible for tax credits covering about 60-66% of the overall PV system cost! So a $30,000 PV system could end up costing roughly $10,000 when all’s said and done (I make no promises with tax laws). A PV system could pay for itself in 6-8 years and from that point on, you could be making money with your electricity bill savings.
Finding PV Installers
Trying to find out about photovoltaic systems installers in Hawaii isn’t the easiest thing to do online. A quick Google search lists various vendors and several renewable energy articles but not much about people’s experiences with these companies. I’ll be blogging some of my experiences to fix that. 😉
So how did I find PV companies? Through scientific research, careful analysis, and umm, asking around. WW went with Sunetric and had a great experience. Another coworker recommended Alternate Energy, and lastly I saw a bunch of signs and flags for RevoluSun.
But you gotta stay tuned for more upcoming PV posts…
Twilight Breaking Dawn
Can you wait until 2011 for part 1 and 2012 for part 2 of Breaking Dawn?
If you’re here looking for Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2, it’s over here.
The Wake Up Crew Reunited
and it feels so good! With the return of KreyZ Oshiro to the 98.5 morning crew of Rory Wild and Gregg Hammer, the former 93.9 Wake Up Crew is together once again, and the laughs are back!
Island 98.5 is now programmed on my car radio with the energized group dynamic and its fun and its flair. Have you listened recently?
Yes, the music format is still Hawaiian and Reggae, and it still isn’t my acoustic taste, but that’s where Island’s rival sister station 93.9 Jamz comes in. Exclusively playing “ol’ skool” jams, familiar tunes are a button push away once the Wake Up Crew has spoken.
Katy Perry’s SNL Comeback
So Katy Perry’s duet with Elmo was stricken from television for exposing too much of Katy’s skin (not the naked Elmo). So as musical guest for the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, the SNL crew had to have some fun with this.
Here’s the skit with Katy in an Elmo tee shirt.
Available on Hulu.com for a limited time.