Well, this is a much neglected blog... pua ting!





..now, to get back on track. Barak Obama is our President elect, standing by to take office very soon. He'll be stepping in at a very critical time for our country, with the economy in the dumps. I think everyone at this point is just hoping that he can deliver. But, actually the fact is that he's not in control here anyway - God is! Ultimately! So, with that said, having prayer and wisdom in our own lives is the best thing we can do.





For the moment the report on the oil prices are good. After rising above $142 a barrel in July, it's currently down to about thirty-eight bucks, which translates to about $2.50 a gallon here on the east side of the Big Island. Not too shabby, hopefully this holds up for a good while.





Currently, Hawaii is receiving a heck of a lot of precipitation, and more showers are expected throughout the week. This cold, wet climate has been consistent here for the past couple of weeks now. It was worse even for the folks on our neighboring islands like Oahu and Kauai who got hammered by rainfall that they couldn't handle resulting in massive flooding. This stormy weather did bring about snowfall on the tops of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa treating many visitors to a weekend of icy recreation.

2009 promises to be a year full of many interesting and noteworthy events, and I need to make a promise (to myself) to keep up with and maintain this blog with entries more frequently than every 5 months. Much, much more frequently!

ALOHA!!

Happy Thursday the 24th!

Another day passes with a bit of scattered rain showers, inching us away from drought. And more showers are expected for the weekend! That's what they say anyway, although by the looks of the satellite image that KHON2 provided it seems like nothing but clear skies ahead.

Speaking of the news, an interesting story was reported the other day about the slaughtering of a sea turtle named "Honey Girl" at Laniakea beach on Oahu's north shore. A memorial was set up for her on the beach where she would frequently sun bathe, complete with her picture, lei and flowers, and even an American flag. On Monday afternoon, a large male sea turtle named "Kuhina" made his way up on the beach toward Honey Girl's memorial, placed his head down and sat in front of it for hours, staring at her picture. A classic example of the animal kingdom displaying human characteristics!

-jast

Kilauea Volcano

As Halema`uma`u continues to pour out sulfur dioxide gasses, a breakthrough of lava started recently fountaining a couple of miles east of Pu`u`O`o. Here's some awesome footage.



There's also a good little story about the eruption on KITV's website that's worth checking out.



peace...

jast

Happy Fourth of July!

On this Day of Independence, skies were free and clear of any vog and it was an 86 degree high in Hilo. What a great day to gather with your favorite people, at your favorite spot, down at the beach or park, or in a parking lot (with a good view of the fireworks of course!). I wonder just how much charcoal is sold across the country on this holiday? I wasn't able to find that out, but here are some other facts about July 4th that are pretty interesting.

Fireworks are being lit like mad in the United States, but no one does it like Madame Pele!

peace-

jast

Weather....

It's amazingly calm in Hawai`i while forces of nature create incredible challenges not so far away. Northern California wildfires sure could use the extreme excess of water from the Mississippi River right about now. I received these photos in my email today of the flooding in Iowa, and some before and after pictures of flooding in the midwest. Internationally, tragedy strikes the Philippines in the form of a typhoon this past weekend. Weather most likely didn't have anything to with this, but as long as I am logging current events here I should note that locally here on the big island the Cessna plane that was missing for nearly a week was found in the Ka`u forest, unfortunately without any survivors.

I feel there's a need for a lighter note here, so on a much lighter note, here's a cool link to check the status of the Pu`u `O`o vent at Kilauea volcano. It's a panoramic view and it's updated every few minutes. It's definitely worth a look... check it out!

peace,
Jast

In Loving Memory

Last week, on Wednesday, Kamehameha Day, June 11, 2008 we as a family gathered to remember and celebrate the life of William Raymond "Ray" Au, Jr. It was a day that I considered to be a "perfect" Hilo day. It Began with a gentle rain to cool down the earth just enough to welcome everyone gathering at bayfront. Blue eventually filled the skies as makani remained the day's constant companion.
What a blessing it was to see and be with loved ones and friends. Uncle Wede delivered a beautiful eulogy that treated all of us to recollections of grandpa's life. Over a week has already passed since the service, and I miss seeing everyones smiles. Aloha nui loa, A hui hou, Papa Au

Aloha,
Jast

In the peak of summer

Today was a day that was graced with rain followed by brilliant blue skies and summer heat, then cooled by strong trades to make it the perfect day for...

...a yard manicure! ahhh, there's something about the smell of freshly cut grass!

Right on guys, much mahalo for your kokua.

Gee, with the way the gas prices are, those electric mowers are looking pretty attractive!

In the meantime, gotta save those pennies. Keep track of the lowest (and highest) gas prices in your zip code area with MSN Autos. It's a pretty nifty site that's updated every evening.

Peace,

jast

Checking In...

...my first message, brand new to the blog thing, but gotta get on it eventually. I guess it's about time! I hope all the fathers out there had a great Father's Day yesterday!

Oh, what a day for golf! Tiger Woods nabbed up his third US Open title today after he parred the 7th hole at Torrey Pines on a sudden death 19th hole. Mediate just couldn't hold Woods back! Tiger, still recovering from his knee surgery, was quoted that he's now going to "shut it down for quite a while." Awesome tournament, and one for the history books.

See ya!

Jast