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Total entries in this category: Published On: Mar 16, 2008 08:49 PM |
Sun - August 26, 2007I'm conflictedWhole Foods to open in
Hawaii
As much as I was looking forward to Whole Foods finally coming to our little
rocks (four stores will eventually be built on two
islands), I'm sad that there have to be casualties in its wake, particularly at
the location nearest to where I live.
Some of our favorite eateries will be booted from their long-time space in the mall, not because WF will be taking over their space, but because the mall management deemed them unworthy of the clientele WF will garner. Many of us who frequent that mall in an upscale neighborhood feel that's a huge mistake. One of our favorite restaurants is a perfect fit for WF because of its healthy offerings, but perhaps it's probably considered too "local" in that it serves most of the meals in "plate lunch" style (but with healthier options). My parents go there regularly and share fruit from their garden with the workers who've become their friends. (My dad made one of them cry the other day when he said that was probably the last time they'd come by with starfruit and guava.) Another place that'll soon be a mere memory after over 20 years at the mall is a very decent Chinese restaurant (lots of vegetarian dishes, not your usual crappy, oily, unhealthy fare), with really nice owners and workers. I had dinner there last night, and plan to at least a couple more times before they have to close. Another site of a soon-to-be WF market has been plagued by rediscoveries of ancient Hawaiian remains, but has finally received the go-ahead the other day to relocate them and continue construction. Huge controversy surrounds that location. Might be a sign. Most local folks don't know what WF is like, but are already developing a bad taste for it. I have no doubt that Whole Foods Market will do well in Hawaii, even though prices are likely to be even higher than in their (very pricey) branches on the mainland, and will shock the sh*t out of Hawaii shoppers. I do think four stores is about two too many, though. Basically, it comes down to theCostco/Walmart/K-Mart/California Pizza Kitchen/Starbucks syndrome. Anything new and big does great in Hawaii, out-perfoming Mainland equivalents. OMG, the only Krispy Kreme in the islands (on Maui) is ultra-popular and ships 'em in to other islands for fundraisers and parties. It's just doughnuts and it's just amazing. It's just because we're so desperate. Posted at 06:45 PM | Sun - September 24, 2006Blockbuster boo-booI don't watch much TV and only discovered my
cable was out and the actual wire need to be replaced when I tried to catch
season pilots the other week. I probably wouldn't watch DVDs at all if I hadn't
won a player in a drawing a couple of years ago (then had to get a new TV that
could play the thing).
But I love freebies and decided to take advantage of Blockbuster's free one month online trial. In addition to unlimited online rentals, I get four coupons for free in-store rentals. So yesterday I signed up, printed the first coupon, and went to my local Blockbuster that I hadn't been to in over a year. Didn't even have my card, but that didn't matter. Picked out "The Producers", took it to the counter, and got my freebie. I did notice the yellow tab in the case when I plucked it off the shelf, but forgot about it as the kid at the register rang me up ($0.00) then added my $1 Boys and Girls Club of America donation. Only when I got home did I realize the tab was still in, and I couldn't open the case. A call to the store gave me the permission to break in to it, since there'd be no way I'd be able to remove the tab that ran along the entire length of the right side of the case. (Yes, sidster, you're right, it takes super-strong magnets to remove it.) The operation was successful, the patient had its spine slit open, and the DVD was freed. So was the movie worth all that trouble? I didn't even get to finish watching it because I gave up after being interrupted twice by phone calls. 
Posted at 01:19 PM | Fri - July 7, 2006Korea's missile aimed toward Hawaii??Yikes, first we're being warned that California
is long overdue the "big one" (hopefully not when I'm there later this week) and
now it's been reported that the failed North Korea missile was aimed
thisaway:
By Ruth Mantell Posted at 09:39 PM | Wed - June 21, 2006I sound like a doofusThe more I listen to myself in that podcast, the more I don't like what I hear. At
first I had no idea what I'd be talking about, so I rambled on a bit until I
decided to narrow the subject matter to Butch. I edited a bunch out, but I
still sound awkward and unsure of what I was doing -- which was exactly how I
felt!
I'd like to eventually get it going where I can create education-related podcasts, but for now I'll stick to butchbits or whatever comes up. For what it's worth, the podcast is now a free download at the iTunes Music Store! Posted at 09:20 AM | Fri - June 16, 2006I was phone-phished by Sam-I-Am!I received a call from a male with a heavy
pseudo-sounding Indian accent today. At first I thought it was a
joke.
Sam: Hello, I am [garbled] from [garbled] [garbled] [garbled] calling about your domain ***.com. I was actually a little disappointed the guy didn't try harder. Did a little bit of research after I hung up, and found that others have had similar experiences. Turns out DomainRegistry.com knows about it this scam (they even received a phone call from them!) and says their company has nothing to do with these guys. They just want to spam-fax owners of domains in hopes of transferring them to their company -- the same thing Domain Registry does, but by email and snail mail. They probably got my phone number by doing a whois, but I already had a fax number listed. My other domain names don't show my phone number or any other personal information, and thought this one didn't either. It doesn't anymore! Posted at 10:10 AM | Sun - April 23, 2006Definitely hate DefinatelyThink there's a
trend?
Months ago I lamented the decline in people's
spelling abilities, which shouldn't rear its ignorant head in this day and age
of spell-check. A while back I ranted about the use of
"there's"
when
"there're"
is meant, and, more recently, complained about the stupid new use of the word
"random".
Can't help it, it's the teacher in
me.
What's been bugging me for a while now is the misspelled usage of "definitely". Because kids (and adults!) see it misspelled so often online, I think those who are on a shaky ground, spelling-wise, probably think that's the correct spelling. I mean, if so many people are spelling it EXACTLY that way, it must be right, right? WRONG!! What freaked me out was the email I received from a TEACHER on Friday, with that damn misspelled word!! I've read it in other adults' writings and could brush it off, but auuugh, no, not from a teacher!! UrbanDictionary.com even lists "definately", with this as its first entry: Posted at 01:15 PM | Sun - April 16, 2006Happy Easter...woops!
It's a beautiful-as-usual day. No more torrential storms, scary floods, nasty sewage-y stuff in the water. Perfect for taking pictures..you'd think. The first three above were taken this morning from my mom's church on the slopes of Diamond Head (where I visit a few times a year, coincidentally during holidays), and the fourth was at the restaurant where we had lunch afterward. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any more pictures because the fish were out to get me. Those peaceful koi have pondmates, a bunch of huge-@ss ulua (the largest was 80 pounds and is displayed over the buffet table, see below) that sometimes splash around, causing the walkway around the pond area to be slippery. After taking that last picture, I crouched down to get another view. My high heel slipped in the water, my butt hit the floor, and while the camera never left my hand, it also hit the floor. I got up quickly before someone took a picture of ME, and took one last glance at the fish. I coulda sworn I heard someone or something giggling under water. And, yeah, the camera is out of commission for now. I was zooming in to take a shot and it's stuck in that position. But not to worry, I have access to other cameras... 
Star-Bulletin photo by Cindy Ellen Russell Posted at 03:54 PM | Tue - February 28, 2006It took this.. to get me blogging
again
It's been about a month and a half since I last posted here. Didn't really have much to say. Until today. MY POOR LITTLE CAR! Someone keyed it maliciously, deliberately, even neatly. From the front to the back. Very carefully. Who hates me and my car so much to do that?? I don't think I p*ssed anyone off; didn't cut anyone off in traffic, didn't park too close to anyone, didn't ding any doors. I don't think I did ANYTHING to deserve this painful, deep gouge to the side of my injured Scion Tc coupe. Damn fr*cken little middle-schoolers whose parking lot it was in this afternoon!! Posted at 08:40 PM | Wed - October 5, 2005X-rays don't lieI'm a little crooked. Crooked-er in my lower
back than a year ago. Neck improved some, which was the actual reason I
originally started going to a chiropractor a couple of years ago. Lower back
wasn't really too much of a
concern.
But I guess my bad habits of driving with my left leg up on the seat, and poor posture while at the computer (many times with that left leg, if not both, on the chair or desk) have compounded my crookedness. Bummer, but I'm glad I saw what was happening so I can counteract it. My chiropractor had asked earlier if I wanted to take pictures of my x-rays to post on my blog. Kinda wished I had a camera with me today :) Posted at 09:03 PM | Mon - October 3, 2005WTF!?I might be a little riled up
today..
..but things just seem to keep on
HAPPENING!
Someone (inadvertently??) deleted files on the Public partition of one of our school's servers this afternoon. It must've taken a while, and at some point that person must've known something wasn't right. This whole school year is just not proceeding well. School-wide renovations definitely add to the mix, but other rather important things are falling through. Man, we've only been in session for about a month and a half and already we're squinting for the light at the end of the tunnel. Old hardware is driving me batty. Printers might be the death of me. Poor teachers. They're the ones having to put up with inconveniences; we're just trying to ease them. Thank goodness I have "real" techie guy who works part-time. But the straw that broke the camel's back might've landed on him last week. Posted at 09:53 PM | Mon - September 26, 2005Dialing inDon't know if my DSL carrier (the only one on
this little island) is actually down in my area, or if it's my silly-ass ISP
again, but didn't feel like wasting time tonight to find out. Decided to "rough
it" for the first time in years. So I'm on dial-up
tonight.
Kinda take for granted being always online. Not just email and web, but work-from-home. And frivolous stuff like blogging :) So now my trusty little old laptop and I are in the living room, actually watching TV together. Pretty cool. I don't watch a lot of TV, but this new one called "Prison Break" is pretty good. Funny thing is my laptop still seems to think it's attached to its flat panel monitor, though when I've taken it on the road it knew it wasn't. It's kind of spoiled, usually has its own secondary monitor, keyboard, mouse, and lotsa external drives/readers/good stuff. Hey, we could kind of get used to this. Except for the speed, or rather, lack of it. OMG, this is funny -- Hawaiian Telcom's "high speed internet" commercial is on now! Hmmph, their DSL ain't so fast tonite. But again, it might not be their fault. My ISP has had more than its share of problems in the past, and it always seemed that I was the only customer calling in to ask what was up. While this new setup is all cozy and all, if it lasts 'til tomorrow it will really be a pain. Gotta connect to work, and with the multiple power outages we had there today, we're not sure what tomorrow will bring. Posted at 08:17 PM | Sat - September 24, 2005No pink shoelaces for RockyWent to sign up for the Susan G.
Komen Race for the Cure today, but discovered that they didn't have
any pink shoelaces this year! I've been doing the Race with friends for several
years (we walk, not run), and have always looked forward to signing up in person
as opposed to online because I could score freebies, including long pink
shoelaces that Rocky Raccoon
loves.
Had to break the news to Rocky today that the mall that had been providing them no longer does so. Bummer, because I accidentally vacuumed up one a few months ago so Rocky's left with just one. And if you have a pet, you know how the last of any toy can up and disappear any time without warning. Here he is enjoying the last of the pink shoelaces tonight. 
Posted at 10:51 PM | Fri - September 2, 2005Not again6:46
am
Left home late, puttered along with too many others at less than 5 mph for approximately 7 miles, for no apparent reason. It's like, deja vu all over.. please, no repeat of yesterday! 7:04 am Traffic finally lets up at the main downtown exit and we were able to gain near-freeway speed..for two minutes. whee! 7:06 am Traffic grinds to a halt for miles. Radio reports a multi-car accident ahead. Ohgoody. Things that could be worse: I could BE in that accident. I could be in Louisiana or Mississippi instead of beautiful, grid-locked Hawaii that hasn't been hit by a hurricane in over a decade. I could be in a crappy car with no stash of great tunes burned on to mp3 CDs. 7:20 am An ambulance squeezes its way through our non-moving, bumper-to-bumper traffic. Radio reports that at least two lanes (of a three-lane freeway) are closed. Things that could be better: I could be wasting less precious gas. I could be at work and get to pee!! 7:54 am I finally reach the scene of the accident and can see the flashing lights. Suddenly the fire truck extracts itself, the lanes are opened right in front of me, and traffic begins to flow once again. Things that are OK: Despite the inconvenience, I've actually enjoyed the wonderful (not-that-hot-at-this-time) weather, and the opportunity to listen to my CDs of Foo Fighters, Low Millions, Ben Folds, Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, and more. Otherwise I usually only listen to my obsession, Butch. 8:04 am Pull into parking lot. A one hour and eighteen minute ride for a 14-mile trip. Several other teachers haven't rolled in yet. Bummer, not the best way to start the day. Posted at 11:43 PM | Thu - September 1, 2005Hey, people!Behave & be careful!
As of today, Hawaii has the distinction of being
the only state presently implementing a price cap on gasoline. Very bad timing.
Prices will now be even higher than ever imagined since it's hinged on prices in
the Gulf states, where refineries have been damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The
gas station near my house was selling regular for $2.95. Surely will break
$3.00 by tomorrow morning, tho nowhere near Georgia's
$6.00.
Traffic has been worse than usual. Drivers seem to be taking out the stress they feel on their wallets on others on the road. This morning, in the light rain, we were all toodling along on the freeway at about 10 mph when I heard a screeech and three loud crunches. I watched in my rear view mirror as a large red pickup truck plowed his way across at three lanes of traffic at an angle, and came to rest a scant couple of feet before the median. It must've flown onto the freeway from an onramp, realized too late that it couldn't really go anywhere, then skidded in the rain and kind of just pushed the other vehicles out of the way. The trip home was less eventful, but much longer. Took me just over an hour to travel 14 miles, and I left just before 6:00 pm! Thank goodness for my stash of mp3 CDs and the beeeautiful rainbows along the way. (At the speed we were traveling I could stick my head out and gaze at the rainbows.) I had the windows and sunroof open (no, I didn't stick my head out of there), music blasting, and didn't even mind the slight drizzle. When traffic finally opened up a few miles from my home, people started behaving badly: overtaking on shoulders, speeding up to cut others off, basically releasing their pent-up frustrations over the past hour or so. After the ridiculously long drive, I decided to treat myself to a barbecue chicken plate (no rice, extra veggies) at the mall, but, wouldn't you know it, there was no parking. Didn't feel like walking from one end to the other, so just took my cute little car home. Which is what others should do. There are way too many of us on this island.. Posted at 07:57 PM | Sat - August 27, 2005What. A. Week.*Now* I could use a
vacation
Re-entry back to school was more difficult than
in past years, but then, I knew it would be. I was just trying to avoid the
inevitable.
Our school is undergoing renovations, which means every little speck in classrooms (and computer labs!) needs to be boxed and removed, then unceremoniously crammed back in. Students and teachers have to be relocated, and oftentimes, doubled up in their temporary quarters. Boxes, furniture, and equipment end up where they shouldn't. The most important items go missing. Fingernails get broken :( Our lab is still a maze of boxes and computer parts, and I lug in my laptop every day because while we've helped to set up teachers in their classrooms, we're still a mess ourselves in the lab. On top of everything, some very disturbing events have unfolded. A rep at a large computer retail store (can you say 'dumbass CompUSA' ??) dropped the ball and may have caused us to lose over $36K in Federal technology monies, which we've been dependent on for the last couple of years. You don't f*ck around with Federal grants, and I've always made sure every thing was proper to the last decimal place, but after today's revelation, I was wondering just how much trouble we could be in. sidster wondered tonight if I'd have to go to jail. Posted at 10:41 PM | Sat - August 6, 2005I should start to packBut not really in the
mood
The event I'd been looking forward to for months
and was going to end my summer with a bang has petered out and
fizzled.
I really should start packing for my trip, but can't seem to summon up the energy. I'm usually excited when I go on vacation, but am actually now dreading the upcoming week. Oh, I'll still get to see Butch in concert. Alone. Well, with about 5000 others, about 4500 of them screaming Avril fan preteenies. 
Posted at 02:39 PM | Tue - July 19, 2005Disappearing commentsDarnit
Evidently Haloscan's free commenting service
retrieves the comment link counts for the last 200 comments only, so anything
past that is appearing as a big fat
"0".
Clicking on the comment link still displays the comments
themselves.
Uhoh, I just read that comments older than four months will be archived by Haloscan and not even appear when the link is clicked. I started the blog on March 20th. Tomorrow is July 20th. Four months, exactly. Even if I subscribed to their premium service (but don't need most of the additional features), the limit would still be only 800 comments. Not that I'd need that many, but still.. Hmmph. Posted at 11:01 PM | Wed - July 13, 2005Everything good has been taken....domain name-wise
Try to think of an original domain name. Betcha
someone already beat you to the punch!
catrick.com -- already taken We've known for years that all the decent domain names have been snatched up, but it's still irritating when you think of one and *really* want it, only to find it's not available. And "freakazoid.com" is not even being used, just being cybersquatted by vultures. Posted at 11:30 PM | Sat - July 9, 2005Bad MacromediaWonder if things will be more
Mac-friendly now that Adobe bought them?
Needed to view some images from the other day's
free Butch Walker concert in Chicago that someone put up as a Shockwave
PhotoJam. The page said that Shockwave Player 8 was required, so I downloaded
the latest Shockwave Player
10.x.x.
Tried it using Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. PhotoJam didn't work. Oh, did I mention I use a Mac?? Damn Macromedia (maker of Shockwave). They've been getting less and less Mac-friendly in recent years. Hope Adobe's buyout improves things. Oh, in case you were wondering, I was able to view this and other PhotoJams using a laptop running Windows XP Pro that I just happen to have lying around here. Having multiple computers sometimes does come in handy. Wouldn't want to have to use that laptop too often, tho, and become spyware-infested like just about every Windows user. ======== Butch Chicago pics below ========= Hmm, Butch might be gettin' too purty. Maybe his new dangling earring was borrowed from his wife. 
Posted at 08:16 PM | Sat - June 25, 2005Alcohol-related accidentAnd I wasn't even
drinking
My good friend picked up several bottles of our
favorite Riesling the other day and discovered she still had some in her stash,
so asked if I would like a few. Silly
question.
The drop-off was conducted in the parking lot, then we headed off to Starbucks, as is our usual Saturday routine. I later went shopping so ended up with quite a few bags of stuff. As I carried them to my house some of the bags started slipping, and wouldn't you know it, one of the precious bottles of wine went crashing to the ground -- and on my foot. My garage smells like a winery and my foot is still sore, but nothing's broken. Well, except for that lovely bottle of wine... :( Posted at 03:51 PM | Sun - June 12, 2005I suckand I've been rather snobby recently,
sorry.
Wasted much of the day reading a few Blogspot
blogs (where I have two of my own that I don't keep up), and I was blown away.
The posts are witty, intriguing, risque, hilarious, and slightly (if not more)
twisted. I've been thinking of moving back to Blogspot because I may actually
get more readers other than the few friends I beg and bribe to read here, but I
kinda like using the iBlog software I use now, especially since I actually paid
for it.
But moving my blog won't make me a better blogger. I'm too mild-mannered most of the time and don't have the attitude and balls (well, you know what I mean) and eventful/weird days to come up with topics that would command repeat visitors. Yeah, I'm jealous. And I realize a couple of my recent posts regarding grammar/spelling may have been a tad snotty, for which I apologize. See? How can I have an edgy blog worth re-visiting if I worry about offending poor spellers? I know I don't have a life (social- or sex-wise or anything else), so I don't have material from which to draw that the others do, but some of their posts push the envelope of what I would deem appropriate for public consumption. Makes for great reading, though! One thing I did notice was some of the best blogs are written by people with definite..issues. They admit to bouts of depression and more, so if that's what it takes to be a good writer, then I guess I'll pass. ====================== EDIT 6/13: Whoa, some of those bloggers I had listed above have taken a nasty turn (and I don't mean nasty as in unpleasant, but nasty as in NAAASTY), so deleted the links before anyone draws conclusions about supposedly mild-mannered me. If you want to know who they were, you naughty little perv, email me. Posted at 07:43 PM | |
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