Images from New Year’s Eve
Just a few pictures from New Year’s Eve.
A small fireworks show.
JoJo reloads with more fireworks.
Extra Spicy was the winner of the night.
Setting the menu for the New Year’s Day party.
hawaii
A Zuny New Year!
2009 rang in and Microsoft Zune players around the world stopped working. Due to a glitch with its internal clock, 30GB Zune models froze and would not reset. This “Zune Y2K9” bug should rectify itself by letting the battery die, recharging it, then turning the Zune back on.
Frustrated Zune users, if you’re looking for a change, this guy might have a suggestion.
New Year’s Eve with Barack Obama…Sorta
On Barack Obama’s last full day in Hawaii, the family spent the day of New Year’s Eve driving through the Windward side to see if we could spot the President Elect or his motorcade. No such luck. Instead we only came across his security.
If we did get to meet Barack in person, it might look something like this…
Thanks to pulpy readers for submitting the above photo meeting Barack.
The “Highlights” of Ji Xiang
Wang Zhizhi. Mengke Bateer. Yao Ming. Yi Jianlian. Ji Xiang?
Four Chinese Nationals have made it to the NBA, and will University of Hawaii’s Ji Xiang be next? Ji is a freshman forward for UH who plays sparingly for the Rainbow Warriors. In Hawaii’s drubbing of George Washington in the Rainbow Classic, the 6-10 Ji got some minutes in, and here are his “highlights” of the night.
Needs work methinks.
My Chronology of Hawaii’s Power Outage
How’d your night with the recent Oahu-wide power outage go? Here’s my story, first in pictures then in words.
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
6:10pm. Driving to dinner at In-Laws in Kaneohe. Lightning brightens the drive over.
6:15pm. The sky goes bright for a second then followed by a lot of darkness. The street lights have all gone off but come back on after a minute or two.
6:30pm. About to eat dinner when the power goes off – now in complete darkness. Start to hunt for flashlights, candles, and even a gas lantern. Hey, is the gas lantern supposed to burn like that?
6:45pm. Can’t stop dinner which was fortunately already prepared. Warm club soda and Chicken in a Bisket supplemented dinner.
7:00pm. Finished eating dinner. Now what? You play with the kids’ battery powered toys! Autobots, roll out! Bumblebee was here to protect us in the darkness.
7:07pm. Remembered my 3G-powered (and charged) iPhone. Twittered about the power outage in Kaneohe. Start following the #hipower tweets to see what’s going on. Power outage is wide spread.
7:25pm. Start thinking about Barack Obama’s security and how all of this might be a far fetched test.
8:15pm. KSSK’s Perry and Price say outage will be at least 12 hours and is island-wide. But kinda already knew that from Twitter (and some Facebook).
8:26pm. Since we’ll be without power for some time, might as well eat the perishable items now. Anyone for ice cream?
8:40pm. More kids toys. Wow, just noticed that some candles we’re using were bought from Pay ‘n Save! That’s seriously old school. But they still work!
10:30pm-ish. Head back home in the darkness. Police stationed at major intersections to direct traffic.
11:30pm. Excited kids finally go to sleep.
5:16am. Power is back at home with a bunch of lights waking me up. Bummer, Oceanic Internet still offline.
12:12pm. Power is restored for most of the island. We go hiking.
Stephanie Lum Is the Face of HD in Hawaii
I saw that the KHNL news is now broadcasting in HD but didn’t know when the changeover occurred. Who better to showcase this move to High Definition than KHNL’s own Stephanie Lum?
From EngadgetHD.com.
And let me remind you that Stephanie Lum was the clear winner of the Listmania Hottest Local Newscasters back in 2005!
Oahu Blackout Conspiracy Theories
What caused the Oahu-wide electrical blackout on December 26, 2008? HECO isn’t sure if the outage was caused by lightning damage, but here are some simple (minded) conspiracy theories:
President Elect Barack Obama’s Secret Service detail needed a test. What better way to test the President-to-be’s security than protecting him and his family during a complete blackout away from the confines of a well-known, protected location?
HECO wanted to make a point. Hawaii residents have been complaining about the reliability of our electrical grid every time something happens to our power. Now that homegrown Barack is back in town for the Holidays, why not get HECO’s ailing electrical grid some Presidential attention and maybe, aid.
The Iolani/Punahou rivalry runs deep. During the blackout, Iolani alum and now Hawaii Mayor, Mufi Hannemann continually called Barack Obama who graduated from Punahou to offer assistance to his family. The subtext behind these calls? “Hey Buff and Blue, you’re going to be our next President, but you’re in my house now, the home of the Raiders. Just watch what I can do with my friends (and fellow alumi) over at HECO!” There is no confirmation that Mufi pulled some strings to punk’d Barack with this outage.
Anyone else got their own conspiracy theories to share?
Take the DriveSafe Holiday Pledge
Farmers Insurance Hawaii AIG Hawaii wants to make sure your Holiday season is a safe one and encourages everyone to drive safe. Be prepared. Don’t drive impaired, and join the DriveSafe Holiday Pledge.
By taking the DriveSafe Holiday Pledge, you make these promises:
- I will not drink and drive.
- If I do drink, I will designate a sober driver or use a taxi.
- If someone I know is about to drive while impaired, I will help them make other arrangements to get home safely.
As a personal benefit for your pledge, AIG Hawaii has some gifts for you. You can win gas for a year, get free soft drinks at participating restaurants, and each day various gift certificates are given out for Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut.
Make your DriveSafe Holiday Pledge today!
Update 4/10/2012: FYI, AIG Hawaii went through a change in January 2010 and is now Farmers Insurance Hawaii.
Holiday Lights Trolley Ride
Earlier in the week we went on a trolley ride to look at the various Holiday lights in Waikiki and Downtown. A caravan of trolleys departed from Kakaako and went through Waikiki and stopped off to see the Honolulu City Lights at the Honolulu Hale.
Was a fun ride (though a little long) and for whatever reason, Darth Maul and some Stormtroppers were at Honolulu Hale.
Think I’ll tell our workplace we should arrange this trolley ride for employees and their families for next year.
Technorati Tags: Hawaii
Feeding the Animals at the Honolulu Zoo
Did you know you can arrange a behind-the-scenes feeding of animals at the Honolulu Zoo? I don’t know how much it costs, but if you have a function at the zoo (like a child’s birthday party), it’s something to look into.
You go in a back area away from the public and get to pet and feed a rhino and giraffes. The Zoo guide also gives a mini tour and explains various facts of the animals in the zoo.
Here are some closeup pictures feeding the rhino and giraffes.
And yeah, the turtles/tortoises were at it again.
Top Chef Gene is a Survivor
After reading about Top Chef contestant Gene Villiatora’s self-taught cooking skills, I figured he wouldn’t last long in the fierce competition. To excel in Top Chef, you need skill, creativity, and a solid foundation in cooking. Unlike most of the other competing chefs, Gene has no formal culinary training. Something that will surely hinder this local boy’s quest to become Top Chef.
But what Gene doesn’t have in training, he makes up for with drive, determination, and a survivor’s mentality. Just check out his contribution to Team Cougar in Episode 3. In the Elimination Challenge of making a Thanksgiving meal for the Foo Fighters with a minimal kitchen, Gene makeshifts a Hawaiian style hibachi to smoke his pork.
Even though Gene didn’t get much air time this week, everyone noticed Gene’s hibachi, and Head Judge Tom Colicchio even called Gene’s pork dish one of his favorite dishes of this challenge.
Technorati Tags: television, Top Chef