Pics of Felicia
So the weather anomaly once called Hurricane Felicia fortunately lost steam as it headed to Hawaii but did bring unusual weather. Here’s my pictures of Felicia.
Visibility at 4:30 in the afternoon.
But then, the cloud cover opens up.
hawaii
Bytemarks’ Hawaii Top Social Media Geeks Represented
Taking a look at Bytemarks’ Top Social Media Geeks of Hawaii, you’ll see quite a few represented in the US Navy Distinguished Visitor embark program. This program allows citizens to come aboard Naval air craft carriers to experience a day at sea and then share their experiences with others. What better way to accomplish this goal by enlisting the aid of social media geeks!
Here’s the list of social media geeks with Navy DV participants in bold:
20. Burt Lum @bytemarks. Story.
19. Judi Clark @judico
18. Ryan Ozawa @hawaii. Story 1, 2, 3.
17. Christa Wittmier @supercw
16. Ian Kitajima @ikitajima
15. Donna Nakasue @champuru
14. Liza Pierce @amauiblog
13. Jared Kuroiwa @KGMB9
12. Dan Leuck @dleuck
11. Greg Yamane @geewhy / Susie Collins @thecanaryreport
10. Todd Cochrane @geeknews
9. Roxanne Darling @roxannedarling. Pictures.
8. Vernon Brown @vbrown
7. Paula Bender @lavagal
6. Mitchell Dwyer @scrivener
5. Melissa Chang @melissa808. Part 1.
4. Nathan Kam @nathankam. Story.
3. Nadine Kam @fashiontribe
2. Andy Bumatai @andybumatai
1. L.P. “Neenz†Faleafine @neenz. Story.
Not bad, 6 out of 20 (so far).
What a Week, Part 7: Dinner at Kin Wah
Even after days of living large and eating well, the food fest rolled on. After arriving back from Lanai, there was a family dinner at Kin Wah Chop Suey for the newlyweds.
What an awesome way to bring closure to What a Week!
What a Week, Part 6: The Lanai Wedding
The reason we were living the life in Lanai was for a wedding on Saturday, July 25, 2009. Set at The Lodge at Koele in the afternoon, the backdrop of the garden and the temple were gorgeous.
I loved the Hawaiian wedding chant since I’ve never heard one before. Try listen…
[audio:https://www.pulpconnection.net/audio/hawaiian-wedding-chant.mp3]Congratulations to the happy couple!
Bonus: Get your own soundtrack for the Lovely Lanai wedding!
My Canon Went Kaput at Wet’n’Wild
The family’s first trip to Wet’n’Wild Hawaii was fun even with the crowds and sun out in force. With young ones, we hung around the Keiki Kove, Water World Playground, and the Kapolei Kooler, having a blast going down the various water slides.
Unfortunately my trusty Canon PowerShot SD700IS camera gave out sometime during the day. I didn’t take many pictures and didn’t bring it near the water, but it still went kaput. Well sorta. The camera powers up fine and seems to be working, but the images taken are washed out and sometimes all white. Here are some samples.
The camera was working early on.
Then the images got white-ish and lined through.
Too much fun at Wet’n’Wild? I’m guessing it’s not cost effective to repair a 2+ year old digital camera, and I did pick up a Samsung TL34HD camera at Christmas. So I’ll be retiring my Canon. 🙁
Paina Cafe Is Now Open
Have you been to Ward Warehouse recently? There are a lot of changes in this collection of boutique shops including the recent addition of Paina Cafe. I first heard about them as a sponsor of the recent A Touch of `Iolani 2009 then I read this review and had to try for myself.
The location is tiny, right in the middle of Ward Warehouse, next to Town and Country. There are a few tables outside, but not very many.
I went with the large Poke Bowl with white rice, mild sauce, spicy tuna poke, and taegu. What a winner! The poke chunks are huge and soft, and the “hidden” soy sauce on the rice provided a nice salty surprise. The spiciness of the tuna eventually got to me, but it was so good! I couldn’t finish the entire large $6 bowl and saved the rest.
We also got a pastrami sandwich, reuben style which also tasted great. The pastrami was thinly sliced, and the bread was ono. The only disappointing aspect of the sandwich was that it doesn’t come with anything else. No fries, no chips, just the lonely sandwich.
Check out their menu. What would you order?
Goodies from Nene Goose Bakery
If you’re ever in Kailua, you should try out Nene Goose Bakery. They have great tasting pastries and treats (but do run out quickly).
Their mochi an pan is as close to their signature creation as can be. Though costly, you gotta try it at least once.
Kids love identifying and eating the choco animals.
Personally, I always get a chocolate donut if they haven’t run out. I swear these are the best on the island. To begin with, the donut itself is soft, and the quality of the chocolate is rich. And they don’t skimp on the chocolate coating. The chocolate is slathered on, thankfully overrunning the edges giving you more to enjoy.
Summer Peach Pie, North Shore Uproar, and Coconut M&Ms
Some goodies I recently got.
Dreyer’s Summer Peach Pie ice cream. Sounds better than it tastes. Too thick with a “doughy” consistency.
Lion Coffee North Shore Uproar 100& Hawaiian Coffee. Looks like (and priced like) a premium Lion Coffee, but doesn’t cost as much as Kona coffee. Comes in medium and dark roast. Haven’t tried the Uproar yet.
Thanks to Michael for tracking down these limited edition Coconut M&Ms.
10 grams of fat per bag! Interesting nutritional value highlight on the back.
A Newbie’s Blog
Showing some blogroll love to classmate and fellow Tweeter and now blogger. Yes, his blog only has one entry, but let’s see if this post adds some pressure to keep blogging. 😉
Go harass darrennakao.wordpress.com.
What a Week, Part 5: I am a Top Social Media Geek of Hawaii!
Let’s do this. Picking up on my What a Week series. This is when the id, ego, and super ego combust, and it’s time I lay these busters down.
Friday night, July 24, 2009. Honolulu Academy of Arts, Academy Arts Center at Linekona. Pecha Kucha Night Honolulu. Bytemarks presenting. 6 minutes and 40 seconds. His picks for the Top 20 Social Media Geeks in Hawaii. The elite in order of flow:
20. Burt Lum @bytemarks
19. Judi Clark @judico
18. Ryan Ozawa @hawaii
17. Christa Wittmier @supercw
16. Ian Kitajima @ikitajima
15. Donna Nakasue @champuru
14. Liza Pierce @amauiblog
13. Jared Kuroiwa @KGMB9
12. Dan Leuck @dleuck
11. Greg Yamane @geewhy / Susie Collins @thecanaryreport
10. Todd Cochrane @geeknews
9. Roxanne Darling @roxannedarling
8. Vernon Brown @vbrown
7. Paula Bender @lavagal
6. Mitchell Dwyer @scrivener
5. Melissa Chang @melissa808
4. Nathan Kam @nathankam
3. Nadine Kam @fashiontribe
2. Andy Bumatai @andybumatai
1. L.P. “Neenz†Faleafine @neenz
So what’s this all mean? It means I rank! Ha! Not on the list? Losers and suckas! I’m better than you!! 😉
Or maybe not. Yup, it is an honor to be on a list like this, subjective (but fun) as it may be. But hey, I did make the list of a digital ronin, and that’s cool. Thanks to Bytemarks for the compliment, and this only puts the pressure on to keep chugging away.
Oh, thanks to @ryankanno for live tweeting Bytemarks’ list while I was living the life on Lanai.
Three Things I Learned About Chris Pirillo
First off, I learned who Chris Pirillo is. 😉 To tell you the truth I had no idea until Tuesday’s impromptu tweetup at The Counter at Kahala Mall. You can read about Chris’ varied history and background on his personality-infused site.
So what did I learn about Chris Pirillo? Three things.
Speed and wit. With his nerdy background and online success, Chris is obviously a smart guy, a little kooky, but a smart guy nonetheless. What impressed me was the speed of his wit. When presented with gifts or situations, he quickly adapted and imparted his own flavor to each. And he is speedily efficient with his online updates. No sooner had he gotten his Counter burger, he was video recording his custom creation (in a single take), and uploaded the video.
Give it all you got. During lunch, you couldn’t deny Chris’ zeal and enthusiasm. With everything he did, he gave it his all (and recorded it). Showcasing his Counter burger creation and the gift of Star Wars Stormtrooper Lego figures led to loads of zaniness and pictures.
And just watch him sample Zippy’s chili and saimin. Yes sir, give it all you got.
You need thick (white) skin. Being a social media maven, Chris has a ton of followers and haters. I’m sure he’s developed some very thick skin over the years to fend off the criticisms, barbs, and brutal comments. Read some harsh comments left on Chris’ video interview with Traci Toguchi who hosted Chris during his Hawaii stay. Yikes. And about that white skin… Chris is classic shark bait. Even being out in the sun with no sun screen did nothing to change his whiteness.
So there you have it, three things I learned about Chris Pirillo from a lunch tweetup.
P.S. It was fun to meet @darrennakao, @rickyli99, @tracitoguchi, @l3379lad180r, @lauriecicotello, @trulyjoannies, @kaizenhawaii, @scsdogg, @ynoelani, @alohabruce, @alohayaling in real life. A few of my pics from the Chris Pirillo tweetup hosted by Traci Toguchi (with a special appearance by Artie Wilson).
The Wake Up Crew Still at It
Like an addict that I am, I couldn’t stay away forever. Yeah, I held out for some time, but that craving was still there.
This morning, I shunned the safe haven of my iPod and tuned to FM 98.5 to satiate my hunger for Rory Wild and Gregg Hammer. It seems the remixed Wake Up Crew is doing well and has compromised the Island reggae music format with the unique stylings of Wild and Hammer.
What did I hear this morning? Gregg and Rory ripping on UH Head Coach Greg McMackin’s apology for his recent incident. This skit was so wrongfully right. Playing Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror as a backdrop was classic! You missed it? Oh no you didn’t! Take a listen…
[audio:https://www.pulpconnection.net/audio/coach-mac-apology-wake-up-crew.mp3]Then unfortunately the music began, and I changed stations with my addiction abated.