EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE

This is Hump Day, so let me again depart from saving Planet Earth and Humanity.  If for whatever reason you feel sorry for yourself, read about these individuals who have soared against extraordinary circumstances.First, of course there was Helen Keller, who was born normal, but at the age of one and a half became deaf and blind from an illness.  How she went on to earn a degree from Radcliffe, cum laude, then a spokesperson for the...

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GOODBYE FLOSSIE, HELLO GIL

In the East Pacific are two more storms:The lead is Tropical Storm Gil, now at 45 MPH, and expected to attain hurricane status in a couple of days, heading straight to Hawaii:However, Gil will most likely lose strength before getting here.  But, you never know for sure.  In anticipation of the worse from Flossie, I bought a case of water and another of beer, so I'm ready for Gil.The sunset was average, with Flossie somewhere over the s...

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A FEW THINGS ABOUT CHINA THAT WILL SURPRISE YOU

NewsChina is the English version of China Newsweek, which is not related to Newsweek.  I've long wondered why NewChina pretty much reports it as it is, with little propaganda, as such.  I don't yet have this answer.The August 2013 issue (cover to the left) was particularly surprising.  You can read the details by clicking on that link.  Let me summarize five article in a row, from pages 34 to 51:Exam Boot Camp:  My Chapter...

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FLOSSIE HAS ARRIVED

While the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Seaboard and Eastern Pacific have had their share of serious ocean storms, Hawaii has largely been spared since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, more than two decades ago.  I have mostly lived here all my life, but have not yet experienced a hurricane.  I was in Utah when Iniki devastated (nearly $2 billion of damages) the island of Kauai.  It was, nevertheless, a surprise to me when I learned today that the...

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THE BEFORE TRILOGY: Sunrise, Sunset and Midnight

The "Before" trilogy must be the lowest grossing trilogy in the history of film.  Also, the most boring.  The films are talky, without any killings, no action, a total absence of superheroes, vampires and zombies, no animation, and yet they worked.  Has something to do with your relating to those phases of romance and marriage.They all are R rated, for reasons I can't fathom (well, the third one had some breasts), and did very well...

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A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT JAPAN

1.  The population of Japan has dropped for six straight years.  Just 1.03 million were born last year, the lowest since the end of World War II, while 1.24 million died, the second-highest (2011 was worse because of that Fukushima disaster) in the post war era.  Demographers predict that the 128 million current population will drop to 87 million in 2060, when 40% of the population will be 65 or older (it is currently 20%).  In...

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STORAGE COULD BE THE KEY TO EXPANDED WIND /SOLAR ENERGY

Geothermal energy and ocean thermal energy conversion are baseload, so they intrinsically are preferred over intermittent sources.  The problem with solar energy and wind energy is that the Sun only shines a few hours each day and the winds come and go.  If a utility had the ideal water reservoir at elevation from their solar farm, that would work well, as pumped storage can be effective if you don't need to build that reservoir.  But...

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53 BY THE SEA, THE SECOND BEST RESTAURANT IN HAWAII?

Clearly, Vintage Cave is the best restaurant in Hawaii.  However, 53 by the Sea, now about one year old, located at the former site of John Dominis, is vying for #2.  Certainly, 53 has the best view in Hawaii:At the Sea is obvious, but why 53?   That is their address on Ahui Street.  Why is this street important?  I grew up on 524A Ahui Street, a couple of blocks mauka (towards the mountain) of this restaurant.  I...

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