She's Dead, Jim

Ugh.... What a day.

I came into town to run a few errands, and on the way to the local post office, my car died at a light.

Ugh.

I think it's either a problem with the battery or the alternator. I checked the connections, and nothing worked.

So, next step: call someone I know for a battery jump, or perhaps a tow, or at the very least a ride home.

But guess what! I misplaced my cell phone yesterday (I'm sure it'll turn up) so I've not only got no way to call someone (from the car, anyway), but more importantly, I've got no phone numbers of anyone to call given that I really only know two people in about a 3,000 mile radius who are at or above a friend level appropriate for calling for use of some jumper cables and a running vehicle.

I rolled my car into a parking spot (thank goodness there were a few on the street right next to where I stalled) and locked the car up.



At this point, I've got two choices:
a) walk the 5.5 miles home (5.5 miles with a 1500' climb)
b) take a self-guided walking tour of lovely down- and mid-town Hilo and wait by Kalewa's car at his work, and wait for him to leave around 8:30 or so.

Since the walk was much less, and it was a nice day, I took Option B. I also took some photos.

It was a good call. Somehow, the library was still open, and I was able to walk right in instead of spending the next 3 or so hours waiting in the parking lot. So now I'm hiding out here in the IT department, using one of their computers, and writing this to pass the time.

Garden Friends

More rain last night, but there has been some sun today, giving me a chance to do some work around the place. I did a little bit of yurt maintenance, and cut some waiwi (strawberry guava) to use as stakes and poles and such.

I also got to spend some time in the garden. Got some photos of some of the locals.



The garden is coming along, slowly but surely. More sun would be nice.

Instant Rain Update

I'm sure you're all dying to hear the numbers, so here they are.

Hilo airport recorded 1.16" of rain in the last 48 hours, and here at home my super hi-tech rain gauge (it's real nice, I got it on sale for $2) read just a sliver under 2".

I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Cameron! Two days worth of rain data is clearly enough to determine that you get almost twice as much rain as Hilo does." And I agree. But I'm going to keep collecting data for my own amusement, and for use on the farm. I will, however, cease boring you with the updates.

And now, here's a picture of something.

Hilo: Where Rain Reigns

About three weeks after I got here, Kalewa and I were in town and saw a car with a bumper sticker which I basically paraphrased as the title of this post. And it's no joke. It has rained here a lot. Now, I'm aware of all of the usual agruements, including but not limited to:

"You're from Colorado, which is technically a desert, so any rain will seem like a lot of rain."

"You knew it was rainy before you moved here."

"The rain is just God crying becase you make him sad."

and the ever-popular:

"Everyone knows that condensation occurs on the windward side of an island because the rising air cools by adiabatic expansion, so the air becomes saturated and the water vapor condenses, thus forming precipitation."

Yeah yeah yeah. Enough with your superstitions!

Still, everyone here up the road has said that it has been an unusally rainy year. And the numbers support them. The weather station at the Hilo Airport had recorded nearly 60" of rain in 2009 by the end of April, which is almost a third again more than the usual 45.5" for that time of year. Add that to the fact that there are not many sunny days here on the farm where I look down on a rainy Hilo, but there have been several rainy days here when Hilo is nice and sunny. Per the numbers, Hilo has only had another 7" of rain since the end of April, but I'm guessing we had 7" of rain here in just the last three weeks.

"That's a lot of guessing," I can hear you saying already, so I decided to set up my rain guage again, and to start keeping track. I bought it a few months ago, but stopped using it when, without fail, every time I checked it it was overflowing it's 5" guage capacity. I think now that the rain has slowed some, I should have a better chance of staying on top of it.

Funny though....it was raining again this morning, and then off and on through midday, but as soon as I put that stupid rain guage out there, I could almost hear the squeaky spigot as God turned off the rain, as if to say "How dare you quantify my good works! I'll show you!" but I guess the Big Cheese is over it, because I can hear the pitter-patter of raindrops on the yurt roof as I'm typing.

And no, I'm not complaining about the rain. I still really enjoy it. But I think some numbers about how much rain we're getting would be handy.

Anyway, here are some pictures I've taken since of been here that are kinda rain oriented. Enjoy.

End of an Era

Today Joe Sakic announced his retirement from the NHL at the age of 40.

For a complete, actually professional story, see this link.

For me, though, it marks the end of the Colorado Avalanche "Chapter One." Sure, for some people that chapter may have ended when Deadmarsh, Forsberg, Roy, or some other player left the team. For others, it may have been at the end of the 11th season in Colorado when the Avs failed to win the Division (and, if I recall correctly, even missed the playoffs). But for me the Colorado Avalanche has always centered around it's leader and captain, #19. Well, that and the guy on the third level who used to pour Matt and I these amazing gin and tonics that were 99.9% gin, and a squeeze of lime. That guy was pretty inspirational too.

But as far as "on the ice" goes.....although the g-and-t's had ice too.....

Ok.... as far as anything with skates goes, the Avalanche has always had Joe at the heart of the team since they moved to Colorado in 1995. In fact, the only hockey sweater I own is a #19 Joe Sakic.

Super Joe, you will be missed.

Note: One important stat left out of the linked article. Joe holds the all-time NHL record for most playoff overtime goals at 8. The next closest (shared by Drury, Jagr, Roenick, Lagenbrunner, Muller and Murphy) is 4.

To conclude, I'm adding some clips of great Joe Sakic moments (my favorite is the rare fight, announced my Mike Haynes)

This one really shows of that crazy-quick wrist shot

And for those of you who are confused because you were searching for Sinan Sakic, here's a rockin' video for you as well. (I'm really intrigued by the boys at 0:09 to 0:12 - it's reminicent of the girls in Elvis concert footage.....only they were girls swooning or whatever. What are these guys so excited about?)