Rottweilers Ate My Laptop — Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Turtles! (13 of 30)

November 13, 2008 by kathi

Finally, an actual vacation-type activity!

Today we drove up to the North Shore of Oahu. Every year that drive makes me a little more nostalgic for the way things were when I was a child, or even for the way things were on my husband’s first trip back to Hawaii with me in 1993. I will spare you all the rant about how progress is not always good, or the one complaining about how tourism has wrecked Haleiwa town for well, me. Tourism is down right now and God knows my hometown needs the income it provides.

The highlight of the day for me was visiting the basking sea turtles at Laniakea Beach. Volunteers are always there protecting the turtles from overzealous tourists and local residents alike. You can still get pretty close and the turtles really don’t seem to mind.

The photo links to a few more turtle and beach photos in a Flickr! set for those of you who enjoy turtle watching as I do!

Malama na Honu is the organization whose volunteers devote their time to protecting the turtles, and there is more Laniakea turtle information at turtles.org.

Done, I think (12 of 30)

November 12, 2008 by kathi

I think we’re finally done battling technology.

Tomorrow I hope to do something more in keeping with a typical tropical vacation, and see green sea turtles basking on the beach. I hope they are more cooperative than the humpback whales, which I have seen exactly one, exactly once, despite a yearly wintertime trip to Hawaii (not to mention the 18 years living here prior to that).

What did I say about technology being fun? (11 of 30)

November 11, 2008 by kathi

This time it’s not self-inflicted, like it was earlier in the month.

My older relatives have all refused to get cable or satellite television, for a variety of reasons, some good and some extremely bad. This has made our task of getting everyone ready for the switch to digital television approximately 100 times more difficult than it needs to be.

We have not been entirely successful at getting across the very important concept that if you start out with a weak and crappy signal, it will not get better, even when fed into a brand new HD-ready Sony Bravia. The visual evidence is pretty strong but it’s getting a bit (ok, more than bit) frustrating that the point has still not quite hit home.

Mmmmmmmm… (10 of 30)

November 10, 2008 by kathi

Sometimes it’s not the most famous or highest quality cuisine of your hometown that you miss the most. Sometimes it’s just the little things you can’t get anywhere else.

This is a very little thing indeed.

There is a special edition Hershey’s Kiss – the macadamia nut kiss – that is sold only in Hawaii (and from what I understand, at least one online source). While some candy lovers complain about the small quantity of macadamia nuts in each kiss (c’mon, a kiss is a very small candy), I think they are just wonderful. Just enough chocolate and just enough macadamia nut flavor. Of course that would be too much chocolate if you just keep nibbling on them, because they are soooo darn good.

Yes, I have a couple of bags to take back to the vast midwestern wasteland with me. Mmmm mmm mmm!

Analog man in paradise (9 of 30)

November 9, 2008 by kathi

The idea of blogging from vacation is probably not my most brilliant one ever.

Today was not spent enjoying sea and sun and other typical Hawaiian vacation things. Since TV is going 100% digital in February 2009, and my dad is total analog man, it’s up to me and my husband to leave my folks’ house digital-ready before we go.

I am sure I am not the only one who has had to fight past parents’ reluctance to adopt technology. There is no cable or satellite TV in this house. I am not completely sure why my dad is so adamantly against getting it. He usually blames me, for a variety of reasons going back to when I was about five years old that are so absurd that I will not put them in writing.

To add to the fun, Hawaii is going all-digital a month before the rest of the country. I can totally get behind the reason for doing so. The dismantling of the analog broadcast facilities needs to be completed before the nesting season of the Hawaiian petrel on Maui. I’m all for saving birds and their habitats. But this means we have to get the digital converters installed on this trip for my parents and two of my aunts.

This burden falls mostly on my husband because my technology smarts are limited mainly to computer matters. I’ve done my part there. I’m typing this on my mom’s year-old iMac which is connected to the ‘net via wireless high-speed broadband. She is not nearly as analog as my dad and actually uses this computer quite a bit.

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll actually get to somewhere more scenic than Sam’s Club and Best Buy, and have a tale more exciting than one of dragging reluctant people into the 21st century. Once again, a fond Aloha!