September 28, 2007

Woot! Free coffee!

I drink Kona coffee or Kona-blend coffee most of the time. It’s good stuff and I like to help support Hawaii’s industry. I like to experiment too, though. My grandfather was a coffee roaster, so I learned to appreciate a good, robust cup of coffee at a very early age. I like to buy small quantities of different gourmet coffees at the grocery store or the high-priced coffee store at the mall. I like it even more when I find free samples. I just signed up to get a sample of free coffee from Folgers Gourmet Selections. After I susbmitted my information I was taken to a page that asked if I’d like to post the offer on my blog. Well, yes, I’d like to share the yumminess with my friends.

Here ya go:

Technorati Tags: coffee, Folgers Coffee, free samples

September 27, 2007

Puss Reboots on LJ

A few days ago I introduced you to Puss Reboots, Sarah’s general interest blog where she shows off her photography and art and other cool things. Sarah won two reviews from skeet’s stuff, so now I’m privileged to bring you Puss Reboots on Live Journal. Now, I have to warn you, you need to put on your cuteness deflectors becasuse otherwise you’ll go into sugar-shock from looking at Sarah’s little ones. Harriet is just too yummy for words. I want to reach right into my computer monitior and tickle and cuddle every time I look at her. Her big brother Sean went from looking like a toddler to projecting a big boy image with his last haircut. Having raised a boy, I’m taken back to another place and time on seeing those photos! Puss Reboots is a chronicle of Harriet and Sean’s days, a history that their proud parents will always be able to look back on with fond recall. And if that’s not quite enough cute for you, Caligula the cat is majorly cute and graces each page of Puss Reboots.

It’s not all about cute and cuddly, though. Puss Reboots is chock full of book reviews. There’s no way I can catch up and read them all, but I’ve read quite a few of them. Sarah has wide-ranging tastes in literature and writes succinct reviews that cut right to the meat of the book. I’ve been scribbling notes as I scanned her blog and she’s introduced me to a few books I need to read for myself.

Timing is everything! If you’d really like to get to know Sarah, go check out her Accomplishments Meme. She posted it just a few minutes ago while I was finishing up my reaearch for this post. I always have trouble navigating in Live Journal and can’t find a way to give you a direct link to the meme, but if you go to today’s journal entries and scroll down a bit, you’ll find it. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to hear the stores behind numbers 53 and 149.

Technorati Tags: blogs, journals, Puss Reboots

Buy a calendar, help a family

My friend Drew has been taking a photo a day, every day, for several years now and he posts them at The BenSpark. He’s compiled of them into a calendar and is selling them to raise money for a family that is having a rough time. Becky and Mike Machinski have both battled cancer. Becky is cancer-free now, but Mike continues with treatment. They can’t get medical insurance (Isn’t the insurance industry grand? If you’re sick you can’t play ball with them. I’ve been trying to get private coverage for eight years now and no one wants to sell coverage to anyone who is sick.) Mike has been battling Advanced Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for over three years. He has had numerous in-patient stays, operations, radiation treatments, over 120 chemotherapy treatments and a stem cell transplant. The costs for such care are astonomical. Throughout it all he and Becky have tried to maintain a normal life for their three daughters. They could use some help, though. Drew is helping to raise funds for them by selling his Photo-A-Day Calendar. They sell for $15.00 each. After production costs Drew is only making $2.97 per calendar, but he’s donating $2.00 from each calendar sold to the Machinski family. The photos are stunning and the calendars will make wonderful gifts for your family and friends this coming holiday season. I hope you’ll consider buying one (or more!) of them. There is also a PayPal donation button on Drew’s site if you’d like to help out that way. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much!) for considering the Machinski family and doing what you can to help.

Technorati Tags: calendars, cancer, charity, photo calendar

September 26, 2007

Business financing

I started my business with a small inheritance from my father. It wasn’t much, but start-up expenses were not much either: a van, some inspection tools, insurance and licensing, a computer and some office supplies were all I needed. I was very fortunate to have the money to pay for everything up front, but most people don’t have that luxury. With a solid business plan, though, business and restaurant loans are available to help you launch your own business. You can be up and running in a matter of weeks if you start the ball rolling today. Have you always wanted to own a business or restaurant? Follow the link and you’ll see how easy it can be to get started!

Technorati Tags: business, business loans, business financing, restaurants loans, restaurant financing

September 25, 2007

Kumu Kahua Theatre kicks off 37th season

This post has been submitted to the Carnival of Aloha for Monday, October 1, 2007.

Kumu Kahua Theatre kicked off their 37th season with Ala Wai, a Hawaiian Pidgin comedy by Bryan Hiroshi Wake that takes place in its entirety around a bench on the Ala Wai Canal. As the play opens , a fire has destroyed Bertram and Ernesto’s apartment. They meet up at Bert’s favorite spot beside the canal and Bert falls into the water, only to emerge with a Portugese man-o-war cinging to his testicles. It’s soon discovered that the sting has given Bert’s urine miraculous properties to clean and heal. Ernie sees an opportunity to cash in, while Bert wants to use his super powers for the good of humanity (or at least for the good of the Ala Wai!) There’s a lot of little-boy bathroom humor, as you can imagine, but I didn’t find it offensive. To the contrary, I laughed throughout the play. Supporting characters are as bizarre as our two protagonists and the resulting story brings to mind the laugh-a-minute slapstick of Laurel and Hardy.

Kumu Kahua Theatre is housed in the old Kamehameha V Post Office building on the edge of Chinatown. The space is small and audience size is limited to about a hundred patrons per performance. Many of the plays are performed in the round; all of them have an intimate feel, with the audience frequently being invited to contribute to performances. I am a season subsciber and usually attend the second-weekend Sunday matinees. Life got in the way this time and I just barely managed to catch the final performance of Ala Wai last weekend. My review is too late to encourage you to see Ala Wai, but there’s still time for you to catch the rest of the season.

Kumu Kahua Theatre

46 Merchant Street, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
Box Office Phone: (808) 536-4441

Plays about life in Hawaii.
Plays by Hawaii’s playwrights
Plays for Hawaii’s people

Please note that it’s not “plays about Hawaiians.” It’s an important distinction. Kumu Kahua recognizes and celebrates the diverse cultures that make up Hawaii’s people. Plays in recent years have featured Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Samoan and Hawaiian stories, among others. The common factor is that all of them reflect the lives of the neighbors we know and honor the contributions that each culture has brought to that wonderful stew we call “local.” The characters are as familiar as old friends, and the stories are embued with the local flavor we all know and love. The season runs through June, so there’s still plenty of time for you to enjoy some culture, local style. You can call the box office (above) for tickets, or order them online. And hey - if you make reservations for second-Sunday matinees, give me a shout so we can share the experience.

Bert & Ernie photo by Brad Goda

Technorati Tags: entertainment, Hawaii entertainment, Hawaii theatre, Kumu Kahua Theatre, live theatre, theatre

Tuesday Teaser Photo verification

Congratulations to Mouseclone, who was wise enough to see that the photo puzzle piece this week is taken from a photo of a commercial clothes dryer. Poor little Mousy had blog failure sometime in the last few hours, but y’all go visit once it’s back online. I’ll be doing a blog review soon, and Mouseclone will also have an entry in the end-of-the-month drawing for a $10.00 gift card. Good luck to all of my September winners and mahalo to all of you who have played. See you back here next week for a new Tuesday Teaser!

Technorati Tags: contest, photo puzzle, puzzle

Small business phone service

I have two phone lines for my office. One is the voice line and the other is a dedicated fax line. I also have a cell phone, of course. When I leave the office during business hours I forward the office phone to my cell phone. That way I don’t miss calls and don’t have to pay someone to babysit the phone while I’m out. It’s a pretty simple system that has worked for me for quite a few years. It’s inevitable, though, that my business will grow and my communications technology will need to change to keep up with that growth. The Packet8 Virtual Office is a complete small business phone service that is designed for folks like me. It offers unlimited and global calling plans, Outlook integration and professional installation services, but that’s just the beginning. Special features include:

Even a very small business like mine can structure a cost-effective plan by selecting only those services that will enhance communications with clients. The Packet8 Virtual Office will allow me to service clients in the field, knowing that I’m not neglecting existing clients or delaying contact with new client inquiries. Your needs are probably different from mine, but effective communications are vital to the growth and success of any small business. Take a look at Packet8 Virtual Office and see how they can help you manage your small business comminications.

Technorati Tags: business communications, phone services, small business services

Tuesday Teaser for September 25, 2007

Can you identify the item depicted above? Just take your best guess and post it in the comments below. If your guess wins, you’ll win a nifty prize. Here’s how it works:

1. Write a comment giving your guess as to what the item is.
2. First person to identify the item wins.
3. The author of this blog will be the sole judge as to what constitutes a correct answer.

What will you win?

1. The author of this blog will write a LINKY LOVE POST (review) about the winner’s blog (commercial sites ineligible.) The LLP will contain the url for your blog plus at least two deep links and will be posted here on Skeet’s Stuff, a PR4 blog. Skeet writes good reviews.
2. The winner’s name will be entered into a drawing for a $10.00 gift card from Starbucks or Amazon.
3. Drawing for the gift card will be held on or about September 30, 2007, and will include all weekly winners for the month. There are four Tuesdays in September, thus the maximum number of people who will be eligble is four.
4. Please try to maintain control of yourself when you think you’ve guessed the answer. EMTs are standing by with a portable oxygen concentrator
to revive those who faint, but, really you don’t want to call attention to yourself that way, do you?

Other stuff

1. All comments to this blog are time and date stamped. The winner will be the first person (according to time and date stamp) to provide the correct answer.
2. No hints will be given.
3. Answers must specifically identify the item. For instance, if the item depicted were to be a button on a remote control, the answer “button on something electronic” would not suffice.
4. Decisions of the judge are final. Don’t argue with me. I won’t answer.
5. I will attempt to post every few hours as to whether or not a winner has been declared, but I am not continuously at the keyboard so please be patient.
6. Entries must be posted before 12:01 a.m. Thursday, September27, 2007, Hawaii time (GMT -10, approximately forty-eight hours from now.)
7. This is intended to be an ongoing feature at Skeet’s Stuff. If it turns out to be a dud it will cease to exist, but all qualified winners will get their prizes.
8. Skeet’s Stuff is a do-follow blog, so you get some link value just for commenting.
9. Let the fun begin!

Technorati Tags: contests, photos, photo contest, blog contest

September 24, 2007

Buddy’s got a brand new bed

One of the things my vet advised for Buddy is that I have a nice cushy surface for him to rest his old arthritic joints on. Well, he had that - a big blue Hawaiian print pillow bed that he’s had for a few years. You’ve seen it here before. After talking to the vet, though, I noticed that the stuffing is matted and compact in the middle of the old bed. I try to fluff it each time I wash it, but that has become less successful recently and the bed was pretty flat. When I was at Costco last week I saw their dog beds and recalled the doctor’s orders. Never let it be said that I don’t provide for my boys!

It took a while for Buddy to decide he likes his new bed. He circled it, sat and stared and even slept on the floor in his corner, right next to the bed, when I first presented it. After a while he decided to check it out. There was a lot of shifting and circling and turning, but he eventually decided it’s a pretty cool bed. I hope it helps make him more comfy in his old age.

I just noticed that the mosaic program cut Buddy’s pretty face off in a couple of the pictures. I’m too lazy for a do-over. You can see the original, undefiled photos on my flikr page.

And what about Lance? Lance has two beds also, one in my room and one near Buddy’s bed in the living room. At night he prefers to sleep on my bed. During the day he’s most often found taking advantage of the cool tile floors near wherever I happen to be. It may be a progesterone thing. Buddy was neutered as a pup. Lance can’t be neutered because of his heart condition (no anesthesia for him) so he’s still fully intact. I’ve always wondered if that’s why he stays so much closer to me than Buddy does. Maybe it’s his hormonal response to the few hormones my old body still posseses.

Technorati Tags: dog bed, dogs

Puss Reboots

Puss Reboots is a wonderfully eclectic collection of book reviews, art projects, photography and family stories. Sarah is a web designer, wife, mother, artist, BookCrosser and voracious reader who has turned her blog at Puss Reboots into a daily memoir of all that and more. I found some familiar comfort right away at Sarah’s place when I realized that she lives and works in the area I called home for seven years before moving to Hawaii. Her place of employment is actually within shouting distance of the office block once occupied by my former employer.

Sean and Harriet, Sarah’s son and daughter, inspire much of the artwork and many of the book reviews at Puss Reboots.

The blog at is actually only a small part of Sarah’s website, which features a stunning collection of her artwork. Go read the book reviews and get to know Sarah and her family, but set aside a large chunk of time for losing yourself in the fantasy worlds and whimsical designs she’s created. A small sampling is shown here, just to whet your appetite. Go! Enjoy! You’ll thank me for the recommendation!

Technorati Tags: art, blogs, Puss Reboots