Also, each “recipe” names the Walmart mom who submitted it. Very smart, Walmart, very smart.

Head on over to pinterest.com/walmart.

I must admit that the Camry does look great. It’s got style and high tech features like the integrated smartphone charger. Place your iPhone on the interior charging mat and it charges wirelessly during your commute. I rode in the four cylinder model that still had some decent pickup even with four passengers.

I like the aggressive look of the fascia and the styling of the front lights, atypical of a family sedan.

Truthfully, the Camry did impress, but at that time, I was looking for something roomier and with more swagger.

Here’s my favorite shot of the night.

And here are a few more pics from the #BoldNewCamryHI event.

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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.

Read the Dwellable blog post for more details and how to win. I guess you can enter more than once, but to win, your #GetYourGlassOutside entry needs the most retweets on Twitter. Good luck!

Here’s my (first) entry of the Mokulua Islands seen while hiking the Lanikai Pillbox trail.

The Mokulua Islands while hiking Lanikai Pillboxes @Dwellable #GetYourGlassOutside pic.twitter.com/PIJbcPo0wl

— Gee Why (@geewhy) July 10, 2014

This reminds me, I should update my Dwellable links in Hawaii.

Yup, thanks to Atlassian’s sense of humor, I won this Git shirt along with a BitBand band as part of an April Fool’s giveaway. Back on April 1st, the software company announced a hardware product, the BitBand. If you followed the press announcement and attempted to fund their hardware project, you would have found the giveaway entry form. Luckily, I won some Git goodies. The front of the shirt says “Just Do Git.”

Thanks Atlassian (but stick with the software)!

If I could, who would I nominate for an embark?

The Ambassador of VH07V

In the footsteps of the original Ambassadors of Aloha, Ed Sugimoto has to be a natural pick. So what if he wasn’t named Top40Under40 by the Pacific Business News, Ed’s an entrepreneur, cultivating and spreading his VH07V brand. I’m not saying Ed should be giving away free VH07V shirts during the embark (well, maybe stickers), just embody aloha while on this amazing tour. And no Ed, Oceanic Cable’s Oahu Wifi ain’t gonna work.

The Digital Artist

From past embarks, there have been countless pictures, movies, and words recounting experiences. But how about original artwork inspired by the magnitude of a Navy vessel? In short, I want to see what Valentino Valdez comes up with – illustrations, posters, shirts, sketches, or even toy mashups.

In Reel Life

Matt Spencer knows his movies. It’s that simple. He watches, critiques, and promotes films all the time and then some. When Matt’s not watching movies, I think he’s reading about them or planning his upcoming viewing schedule. What does movies have to do with a Navy embark? The U.S. Navy in the movies? Surely, you’ve seen a flick or two. From Matt’s point of view, I want to know how realistic the scenes are, which movie has the most accurate portrayal of Naval operations, what actor or character does the ship’s captain remind Matt of? How can Matt relate his experience in terms of films – that’s his reel challenge.

The Inspired

On the surface, Gary Nacapuy looks like a casual Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter denizen. Now go beneath the surface, and you’ll see a growing world of software development. Coding, developing, engineering is where Gary thrives. Combine his passion with the inspiration instilled from a Navy embark, and I’m excited to see what follows.

The Entertainer

Now why would a local celebrity, entertainer, and radio celebrity like Gregg Hammer go on a Navy embark? To broadcast his firsthand experiences with his audience. No, this isn’t a public relations ploy, as a car fix-it guy, Gregg will love visiting the engineering deck, listening to the crew talk in detail about hydraulic fluid, valves, radiators, and arresting cables that catch landing aircraft. Don’t you want to hear Gregg’s tales and adventures during your morning drive in traffic?

My Brother-in-Law

He asked to go after hearing my stories.

Bonus: The Rainbow Warriors

As far as Navy exercises go, the Rim of the Pacific aka RIMPAC is as international as it gets. Similar is the international makeup of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team. Of course, this will never happen since I’m sure there’s some NCAA infraction or regulation standing in the way, but it’s fun to dream. Imagine seven-footer Davis Rozitis cramped for a COD launch. Can Isaac Fotu get his hair into a safety helmet? Heck, imagine any of the Rainbow Warriors walking the onboard passageways ducking through every hatch. Although it would be cool if the team had a shoot around with service members inside the hangar. Just make sure the ball stays inbounds, the Pacific Ocean is very unforgiving to errant passes.

And there’s my list of fictional nominees. Of course, this list has no significance, but as I’m grateful that my embark was the result of others’ nominations, I have a duty to pay it forward.

Surprisingly, Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest. That Pinterest, the visual bookmarking site that had its start with crafters. I joined in April of 2011 and not finding pins that strongly piqued my interests, I started pinning stuff that I was attracted to, namely kicks. Of my various Pinterest boards, my Kicks Pinboard is the most active with 573 pins and over 2600 followers.

That amount of followers easily eclipses any of my other social networks, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and even Plurk (my favorite social networking underdog). So whatever magic and mojo Pinterest possess, I can attest to it.

Fellow Hawaii-focused bloggers, you offering up your services?

Late this afternoon, I saw several tweets announcing that I had been randomly picked as the week 1 winner. How great is that?!

This week's winner of our Flutter & Flyaway contest is @Geewhy! He gets a trip for 2 on Mokulele air. You can… http://t.co/sNizfBgsFx

— Pearlridge Center (@Pearlridge) July 6, 2013

You know how it goes. If you don’t enter then you can’t win a contest, but even after entering, you typically don’t win. But once in awhile you get lucky, real lucky, as in a free trip via Mokulele Airlines along with gift certificates for several Pearlridge stores. So I repeat, how great is that?!

The live butterfly exhibit is fun for the family. You learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly, see them in their different stages, watch them eat, and sometimes, they’ll pay you a personal visit. You don’t experience this everyday in a shopping mall. I highly suggest a visit, and of course, participating in the Flutter Flyaway contest.

There’s still time to turn your #PRflutter experience into something extra special. Read here for contest details and watch this video.

Be sure to follow Pearlridge on Twitter and Facebook, and thanks again!

This project has already surpassed its initial goal and is now 31% of its way to reaching its lofty stretch goals. So if you’re a blogger, understand the shortfalls of blogging tools, and see how Ghost addresses these problems then it’s not too late to back this project.

How’d it all begin? In June of 2012, I received a message from Jane from Dwellable asking permission to share some of my blog posts about Hawaii. Sure, as a blogger, having your content featured elsewhere is a great compliment, but what really intrigued me is Dwellable’s personal contact. Every interaction with the Dwellable team felt unique, not mass mailings or name-changed form letters. That rarity endeared me to their cause so I willing keep an eye out for content helpful to Dwellable. Along the way, Dwellable started its leaderboard to drive up the competitive spirit then Dwellable had its Travel Blogger Contest won by the well-traveled Ed Paff, Jr. All of this adds up to fun for you and me and also enriches Dwellable’s offerings. That makes Dwellable a special company in my book (and I’m not just saying this because I won an iPad Mini).

Thanks again Dwellable and hope you guys continued success (and fun)!

eating char siu bao

— Gee Why (@geewhy) June 11, 2007

Yeah, that’s some riveting stuff there I tell you. For all of 2007, I posted 33 tweets, 23 of which were in my first month of use (June 2007).

The winnings come in this small Scion pouch.

But this pouch is stuffed. There’s a Scion-branded stand for a tablet, ear buds, a key chain, and the greatly-timed Ala Moana gift card with $50.

I was hoping for keys to this…

But hey, I’ll still take my prize pack! There are still two more days of the contest so be sure to become a FB fan of Scion Hawaii. Thanks again, Scion Hawaii.

Who knew coffee was not only a source of caffeine but a way to explain many things including social media services. Confused? You won’t be after viewing the below graphic.

Thanks to the Marketplace Maven for this coffee-based tutorial.

1. Guardian • Alanis Morissette
2. Spectrum • Florence + The Machine
3. Madness • Muse
4. Too Close • Just Too Close to Love You
5. Let It Grow • Ester Dean
6. Sussudio • Phil Collins
7. Lights • Ellie Goulding
8. Wild Ones • Flo Rida
9. Call Me Maybe • Carly Rae Jepsen
10. Daughters • NAS
11. Wide Awake • Katy Perry
12. National Anthem • Lana Del Rey
13. One Night in Ibiza • Mike Candys & Evelyn
14. Bombs Away • B.o.B.
15. Hard Knock Life • Jay-Z
16. Gangnam Style • PSY

You can also find the full list on my shared iTunes playlist and a partial list on Spotify. Sorry, having a problem embedding the Spotify playlist here.

It must be the proverbial midlife crisis. How else can I rationalize wanting to drive a new, sporty Scion FR-S? The car is totally impractical for my lifestyle, yet the allure is there.

Maybe I’m trying to recapture my former Toyota Celica days. Maybe I’m remembering way back to small kid time when my family of five rode around in a 1984 Celica coupe with me perched on the center hump. Whatever it is, it is still there.

And here we are… Scion Hawaii started their Social Media Superstar Search contest a few weeks back to test drive a Scion FR-S for one week, and I entered. But it’s only for one week you might be thinking. Yeah, so? Ultimately, I know I can’t buy this car since it’s just not realistic – two doors, a tiny back seat where I would have to cram two kids’ car seats. Can you see this situation playing out over the years? So one week? Heck, yeah, that’s doable!

Getting back to the contest, the top two vote getters wins the FR-S for a week. Voting ends on 11pm, Friday, August 31, 2012. Since this is a social media contest, well really a Facebook contest, there are a few things you got to know in order to vote.

1. First you need to have a Facebook account.
2. Then you need to “like” the Scion Hawaii page in order to see the contest.
3. To submit your vote, authorize the (trustworthy) Offerpop app to your Facebook timeline. While it might sound scary, Offerpop is legit.
4. At the contest voting page, you can now vote for any of the finalists but only once in a 24 hour time period. Hopefully, you vote for me!

Yes, I realize I’m waaay back there in the contest, and there are very qualified drivers who can better put the FR-S through its paces, but… this is a social media contest, and it’s all in fun so why not have fun with it? I’m not saying my Sienna van high revving its engine to enter the H3 freeway isn’t fun, but I’m sure the FR-S experience would be fun-er.

So go ahead, have some fun, and place your Scion FR-S vote. Random voters can also win a Scion backpack and $25 in credit at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

While you’re voting for me, follow along with Scion Hawaii’s latest on:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Thanks for your support!

• The Continuum of the U.S. Navy: The Past, the Present, and the Future
• USS Nimitz Flight Operations
• Sounds from the USS Nimitz
• Marines Flying Jets from a Naval Vessel?
• Surprises While Touring the USS Nimitz
• Six Things to Pack for a DV Embark
• Ambassadors of Aloha
• View at Hickam

I hope you enjoyed these posts just as much as I enjoyed the entire experience.

Acknowledgement

My embarking to and from the USS Chester W. Nimitz CVN 68 aircraft carrier during RIMPAC 2012 was made possible via my nomination by Dennis Hall, founder of Avere Group LLC (www.averegroup.wordpress.com), through collaborative referral to him by Guy Kawasaki (www.GuyKawasaki.com) and L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine (www.Faleafine.com). Dennis Hall initially submitted my nomination to the Public Affairs Officer of the US Navyâ€s Third Fleet. The Public Affairs Officer then referred my nomination to the Office of Public Affairs, Commander, US Pacific Fleet. The US Pacific Fleet selected me for the Distinguished Visitors Program, inviting me to embark for about 24 hours during RIMPAC 2012.

Through good graces, you’ve been nominated and selected to participate in the Navy’s Distinguished Visitors (DV) Embark Program. You can let out a “woo hoo,” don’t be ashamed. As your departure date nears, you’ll have to pack for this short but dense trip. What do you bring? Embarking on a military aircraft carrier is not exactly like going on a plush cruise. Typically, the Public Affairs staff will give you great info on what to expect and what to bring. But here are six things that you definitely need to pack.

1. Shower Shoes

Aka “slippers” in Hawaii. A community shower onboard an aircraft carrier is a community shower nonetheless. ‘Nuff said.

2. Extra Cash

Having extra cash during your stay is a must. For one, you can’t use your normal credit card for purchases, and two, there will be many opportunities to buy memorabilia, not just from the carrier but from the units assigned to the carrier group. You’ll definitely need to buy a patch marking your first “trap” COD landing on the carrier, and while you’re at it, you need to buy a COD patch as well. If the shirt design is cool, add that to your luggage. While on board, you just never know when you’re going to meet up with the Death Rattlers. Death Rattlers?! By name alone, you’re drawn to buying sweatshirts, stickers, shirts, hats, and whatever else that can rattle death. I wonder if the Death Rattlers sell logo-ed shower slippers? I would have paid for slippers with a rattlesnake pattern for sure.

And then you’ll need that cash for the carrier’s ship store… oh wait, our group had a change in schedule and didn’t make it to the store. This leads me to this tangent…

Tangent: Visit the Ship Store

Even with your embark schedule laid out, you might want to talk to your escorts and see if you can visit the ship’s store earlier rather than later. For our tour, our plans changed, and our visit to the tour was canceled. Definitely not a showstopper by any means, but I think most of the group was ready to open up their wallets and load up with Nimitz gear.

3. Cargo Pants

Don’t be ashamed to look like Steve McGarrett from Hawaii Five-0 by wearing cargo pants. More pockets the better. See if Old Navy has some long cargo pants on clearance. In your pockets, you can hold a camera, your iPhone, a video camera, your “foamies” hearing protection, a snack or two, maybe a bottle of water, and a purchased Death Rattler shirt. You gotta haul all this around especially if you don’t have your bags.

4. Travel Light

This is a two-for-one. Although only an overnight stay, you are allowed two bags with the intent of carrying one bag with you. But for your safety on the COD flight, they don’t want you to carry anything that’s not in your pockets (see the rationale for going McGarrett with the cargo pants?). So you’ll be travelling light after the flight crew stows your second carry-around bag. Odds are that if this happens, you won’t see any of your bags until you reach your stateroom which could be at the end of the day. I didn’t have access to my DSLR camera until day one was about done.

Also, bring a travel light. If you got a compact flashlight, it may come in handy. While your staterooms have sufficient lights, you might not want to disturb your roommate by turning them on. Walking the passageways at night would be easier with more illumination in unfamiliar territory.

5. Compact Gear

While you might not have access to your bags, you have your cargo pants pockets so all is not lost. Then you’ll need compact, versatile gear to fit in your pockets. I eventually did truck around my Canon DSLR around my neck but had other gear pocketed. A smartphone is great to have to snap pics and record closeup videos. Right before departure, I had bought a Sony HDR PJ260V camcorder, and it worked great! It easily fit in my pockets, even with an extended battery. Great picture quality, awesome sound pickup with wind noise reduction, and 30x optical zoom. Another option might be a mirrorless camera like the new Canon EOS M. A compact body but with DSLR-like image quality, and it can record movies.

Speaking of compact gear, due to the close proximity you’ll be in, don’t bring a monster lens if you got a DSLR. A wide angle lens would be more useful. My Canon EF-S 15-85mm was versatile enough.

6. Comfy Shoes

The packing list from the Public Affairs Office already tells you to bring comfortable shoes, and I’m going to reiterate that. You’ll be on your feet for hours, walking, climbing, high stepping all on non-forgiving metal surfaces. Personally, if I had the means, I’d get some new Nike Air Max. The Nike Air Trainer 1.3 Max Breathe makes a statement, and a LeBron 9 Low looks like it provides a cushioned ride.

One last tip that’s not something to pack (unless you can pack a buddy on your tour). Make friends quickly and take pictures for them, and they’ll reciprocate. Taking pictures of fighter jets and other cool stuff onboard is fun, but taking a picture with you and this cool stuff is even cooler. Unless your self-portrait skills are good, have your tour buddy capture some memorable shots for you.

There you have it. When you get the call, you’ll now be more prepared to enjoy this excellent adventure.

Acknowledgement

My embarking to and from the USS Chester W. Nimitz CVN 68 aircraft carrier during RIMPAC 2012 was made possible via my nomination by Dennis Hall, founder of Avere Group LLC (www.averegroup.wordpress.com), through collaborative referral to him by Guy Kawasaki (www.GuyKawasaki.com) and L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine (www.Faleafine.com). Dennis Hall initially submitted my nomination to the Public Affairs Officer of the US Navyâ€s Third Fleet. The Public Affairs Officer then referred my nomination to the Office of Public Affairs, Commander, US Pacific Fleet. The US Pacific Fleet selected me for the Distinguished Visitors Program, inviting me to embark for about 24 hours during RIMPAC 2012.

During the short, overnight embark on the USS Nimitz, there were a few surprises (to me anyways). Here’s a list in no particular order.

COD Landing and Takeoff

There’s a lot of attention placed on the catapult launch off the carrier. Truly, it is an exhilarating experience. But there’s not much mentioned about the arrested landing. Maybe I wasn’t mentally prepared for the landing, but personally, I felt the effects of the landing more. For the scant seconds as the COD decelerates via the arresting cables, taking a breath felt impossible. It felt like my lungs weren’t working and all the air was pushed out of me. It lasted for just a few seconds, but it was surreal.

The Inventiveness of the Marines

I loved the way the Marines adapted and overcame. Need to ceiling mount a projector? Twine is all you need.

In the close proximity of the hangar bay, you have to watch your head and not walk into things. One way to prevent a bruised noggin is by using swimming pool noodles as bumpers. Now that’s using your noggin.

A Visit from the One Star

Like I mentioned before, our group was fortunate to meet and talk with Rear Admiral Peter Gumataotao, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, and Commander, USS Nimitz Strike Group. During his visit, Rear Adm. Gumataotao connected with the group as he spoke from the heart. I was impressed and surprised by his down-to-earth, earnest demeanor.

Dinner

Okay, since our DV group dined with the Nimitz’s Executive Officer (XO), we were treated to a special menu. Our meal was not what the other thousands of sailors ate on board, but the same initial components were used. The best culinary specialists on the Nimitz teamed together to use the ingredients for the day and infuse their own creative twists into a memorable meal. It was like a Top Chef challenge to create cuisine using stock components. I loved every dish!

Ball Cap

Each member of our DV tour received this awesome USS Nimitz ball cap. Even awesomer is that each cap is personally embroidered in the back.

Humor

Most of the sailors we encountered showed a sense of humor I hadn’t expected. The atmosphere wasn’t as serious and deadpan as sailors joked with us and each other. I have to give kudos to the public affairs crew who were our tour guides. Not only were they knowledgable, but they kept our group on schedule, didn’t lose anybody (okay, just once), and kept us entertained. Thanks to LT Hontz, LT O’Connor, MC3 Cotter, and MC3 Bartlett who were our primary escorts.

My favorite line from LT Hontz when someone asked a question he didn’t have an answer for – “They do stuff there, and after that, they do more stuff.” So you probably had to have been there to appreciate this humor, but his straight-faced delivery of this line was classic!

Acknowledgement

My embarking to and from the USS Chester W. Nimitz CVN 68 aircraft carrier during RIMPAC 2012 was made possible via my nomination by Dennis Hall, founder of Avere Group LLC (www.averegroup.wordpress.com), through collaborative referral to him by Guy Kawasaki (www.GuyKawasaki.com) and L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine (www.Faleafine.com). Dennis Hall initially submitted my nomination to the Public Affairs Officer of the US Navyâ€s Third Fleet. The Public Affairs Officer then referred my nomination to the Office of Public Affairs, Commander, US Pacific Fleet. The US Pacific Fleet selected me for the Distinguished Visitors Program, inviting me to embark for about 24 hours during RIMPAC 2012.

USS Nimitz Death Rattlers from Gee Why on Vimeo.

Sorry, I missed the part about the squadron’s history explaining the Death Rattler name, but you can read about the VMFA-323 here.

Acknowledgement

My embarking to and from the USS Chester W. Nimitz CVN 68 aircraft carrier during RIMPAC 2012 was made possible via my nomination by Dennis Hall, founder of Avere Group LLC (www.averegroup.wordpress.com), through collaborative referral to him by Guy Kawasaki (www.GuyKawasaki.com) and L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine (www.Faleafine.com). Dennis Hall initially submitted my nomination to the Public Affairs Officer of the US Navyâ€s Third Fleet. The Public Affairs Officer then referred my nomination to the Office of Public Affairs, Commander, US Pacific Fleet. The US Pacific Fleet selected me for the Distinguished Visitors Program, inviting me to embark for about 24 hours during RIMPAC 2012.