August 24, 2008

Waipi’o Majors Little League Day in Hawaii (by proclamation)

I don’t make it a habit to copy others’ words and post duplicate content, but this is special and needs to appear as is. From the office of Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle:

On behalf of the people of Hawai’i, we would like to congratulate the World Champion Waipi’o Majors on winning the 2008 International Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Sunday, August 24, 2008.

Since 1939, Little League Baseball has promoted and nurtured the interest of baseball in our youth. Discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship and physical fitness are developed through coaches’ exemplary leadership, shaping not just high-quality athletes but good citizens as well.

Throughout this year’s World Series, Hawai’i’s Waipi’o Majors embodied the legacy of Little League Baseball that has shaped the character and leadership skills of so many youth who came before them. The team’s performance was truly inspiring, with a thrilling, historic, “one-for-the ages” 7-5 comeback victory to win the United States Championship over a talented team from Lake Charles, Louisiana, becoming only the third team from Hawai’i to earn the national title.

The skilled outstanding performance throughout the tournament was capped off in the final game against the international champion team from Matamoros, Mexico as the team captured the World Championship in decisive fashion by a score of 12 to 3, scoring in every inning with great pitching, hitting, and fielding. With gritty and focused determination, the Waipi’o Majors fought back from the brink of elimination at the state championship tournament in July to win for the third year in a row.

Throughout the regional championships, working together the team collected wins against teams from Utah, Massachusetts and the previously unbeaten team from Nevada. The entire state of Hawai’i cheered the players on as Waipi’o finished the West Region tournament with a 5-1 record.

The team’s overall 12-2 record in the 2008 International Little League Tournament will not soon be forgotten.

The team’s spirit, hard work and passion brought much pride to all our residents and honor to our state. Only nine teams from Hawai’i have claimed the achievement of participating in the Little League Baseball World Series with only two of those teams reaching the championship game.

Manager Timo Donahue and coaches Kiha Akau and Gregg Tsugawa’s guidance, mentoring, knowledge of baseball and hard work clearly helped lead the Waipi’o Majors Little League team through a triumphant season, resulting in capturing the 2008 International Little League Baseball World Series title.

THEREFORE, I, LINDA LINGLE, Governor of the State of Hawai’i, and I, James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr., Lieutenant Governor, do hereby proclaim today, August 24, 2008, as WAIPI’O MAJORS LITTLE LEAGUE DAY in Hawai’i, for the team’s hard work and sportsmanship resulting in winning the 2008 International Little League Baseball World Series. Representing the United States, the State of Hawai’i and our community with sportsmanship and aloha, the Waipi’o Majors brought great pride to their family, friends and coaches. These athletes are true champions in every sense of the word. Congratulations Waipi’o Majors!

DONE at the State Capitol, in the Executive Chambers, Honolulu, State of Hawai’i, this twenty-fourth day of August 2008.

Linda Lingle Governor, State of Hawai’i
James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. Lieutenant Governor, State of Hawai’i

Adding my own congratulations to the boys from Waipi’o, and mahalo to Governor Lingle and Lieutenant Governor Aiona for recognizing that Little League is about more than “just” baseball and that baseball is more than “just” a game. My son played for Pilney Little League in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana throughout his growing-up years. I can attest that participation in Little League builds sportsmanship, leadership and teamwork in all of the kids fortunate enough to participate, along with a long list of other desirable qualities that they’ll carry within them for life. The World Little League Championship goes to the Waipi’o All Stars, but every Little Leaguer is a winner in my book.
[tags]baseball, Hawaii local news, Little League Baseball, Little League World Series, Waipio All Stars[/tags]

August 23, 2008

Woot! Hawaii takes US World Series Championship!

Our local boys from Waipio defeated my “old” home state of Louisiana today to become the US World Series Champs. Tomorrow they play Mexico for the Little League World Championship. Today’s game was a real nail-biter, but you’ll have to go to KITV4 News for the details. I’m still trying to get the blasted virus out of my computer & things are running so slow it will take me half an hour just to publish this little paragraph. The Finals will air tomorrow (Sunday) on ABC, so check your local listings and cheer our boys on!

Congrats Waipio! Today the US, tomorrow the World!

Image credit: Little League Online

[tags]baseball, Hawaii local news, KITV4, Little League Baseball, Little League World Series, Waipio All Stars[/tags]

July 4, 2008

4th of July on the Waianae Coast

I didn’t make any special plans for the Fourth this year. There’s been a carnival-type festival going on all day at Maili Beach Park. I tried to find a place to park so I could walk around, watch the kids on the rides and visit the food booths. Alas, the nearest spot to leave my car was much too far away. I did park at the other end of the beach, though.

Families get camping permits for long weekends and stake out their territory early - probably Thursday afternoon for most. There might be six or eight tents in a family gathering, with aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins all enjoying the holiday together. It looks crowded in the photo above, but it really isn’t - just the angle of the photo, I guess. Groups are far enough apart to not intrude on each other and there’s plenty of open space left over. The park is probably about a mile long, and the festival area only takes up a stretch of a couple of hundred yards.

Maili Beach Park is the closest beach to my house. I have to pass it to go anywhere, so I stop by frequently. Sometimes there are hardly any people there, but on weekends it gets a lot of local traffic. On holiday weekends, everyone goes.

I was in street clothes when I stopped by. These kids were having so much fun I was tempted to strip down to my skivvies and join them! I don’t remember toys being this cool when I was a kid!

I always ask before I take photos with recognizable faces. This family group welcomed me warmly. There are several veterans in this group. The young man writing in the notebook is currently serving in the Navy. The fellow directly behind the blue bag was in Nam at the same time as my ex.

I was going to grill outside today and wanted a steak, so I stopped at the market while I was out. I did get a steak, but I’m saving it for tomorrow. There was a huli-huli chicken calling my name. I had some for lunch and will have some more for dinner. When a word is repeated in Hawaiian it means many or plural. Huli is turn. This is chicken that has been turned many times - you’d call it rotisserie chicken. Whenever I see huli-huli chicken I think “turn-turn” and start humming … “To everything, turn, turn, turn - there is a season, turn, turn, turn.”

I’ve been hearing a few fireworks intermittently all day. They’re getting more frequent as the sun is just going down. I might drag the ladder out in a little while and set it up so I can go sit on the carport roof. There will be a big, professional fireworks show at Maili Beach Park. My roof provides an almost-front-row seat.

Oh, my! They’ve started early! Here I go!

[tags]Fourth of July, Hawaii, July 4th, Maili, Maili Beach Park, Waianae Coast[/tags]

June 20, 2008

What’s your vacation destination?

Do people take road trips for family vacations anymore? We did that many times when I was young. We’d drive all day, stopping at cheesy roadside attractions and theme parks, eating at small town diners and enjoying the surprises we found along the way. The one surprise I remember as being not-so-pleasant was the overnight accomodations we sometimes had to endure. After passing neon “No Vacancy” signs for an hour or so we’d be ready to settle for whatever we could get. Sometimes we got lucky. I remember a travel court with an icy-cold, springe-fed swimming pool - a great relief after hours squeezed between siblings in the back seat of the old Buick with no air conditioning - and bear-cubs cavorting in the parking lot at another place (great fun when you’re a kid!) Other times we had lumpy rollaway beds with broken springs and shower stalls with green fuzz. I still like spontaneous adventures, but when I’ve traveled as an adult I’ve always pre-planned my accomodations to avoid the pitfalls of “finding a place when we get there.” Give me a comfortable bed, a clean bathroom and fresh, hot coffee within moments of waking and I’m a happy camper. Oh, the camping trips - no, never mind. You don’t want to know! What you need to know, instead, is how to find the lodgings that suit your personal style. Whether you’re wanting the pampered luxury of Destin resorts or the ultra-privacy of Kissimmee vacation homes, you can find just what you want at Rentalo.com, an award-winning travel lodging directory used by 5.2 million travelers to find vacation rentals, hotels & bed and breakfasts. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to travel planning, but one site does because Rentalo.com can hook you up with whatever type of accomodations you want, within prices ranges to suit every budget. Whether you’re looking for Puerto Vallarta hotels for a scuba diving excursion or affordable accomodations near the kids favorite theme park, you’ll find it all on one site. If you’re coming to my place it’s free and you’ll settle for what you get. If you’re going anyplace else, better check out Rentalo.com first.

[tags]travel accomodations, vacation rentals[/tags]

June 12, 2008

Oh My Wordle!

I love playing with words. In the past that’s always meant creating puns and silly rhymes, doing crossword puzzles or playing word games like Scrabble with my son when he visits. My friend TW just turned me on to a way to literally play with words and turn them into art that can be displayed and shared. You can see the results of my first visit to Wordle above. I copied the text of Skeet is not a dirty word, a post I wrote way back in December 2006. I pasted the text into a box, hit submit and - voila! - I have my very own Wordle. Don’t you just love it? TW did it with a poem she was giving to the love of her life, I chose a blog post, but you can do it with any group of words you choose. I’ve just sent a letter to my great niece in which I asked her to tell me all about what makes her world go ’round. I hope she’ll write back and tell me about her friends and hobbies and all the things she likes to do. I’d love print her own personal Wordle on card stock and send it the next time I write to her. My head is spinning with possibilities! I have some old school essays of my son’s around here somewhere. Oh, and maybe I could make a card for my friend who’s losing weight with nuphedragen - just a little encouragement to help her keep going and let her know I’m proud of her, ya know? Hee! I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with words! My Wordle is now featured in their onsite gallery and they have tools that let you post to Delicious so you can always find them later. The tool to copy the code to your blog or a message board wouldn’t work for me so I did a screenshot in order to let you see it. Whatever, it’s still a fun site.

If y’all get sick of them you’ll have to let me know, because I suspect that Wordles will be showing up on my blog pretty frequently in the future. Yeah, I love playing with words that much! You know I love illustrating my posts with pictures. Now I can combine both passions and highlight my posts with word pictures. *Too*much*fun*!*

[tags]art, playing with words, word art, Wordle[/tags]

December 28, 2007

Dream Day First Home - new hidden object game

Just as the pre-holiday frenzy kicked into high gear I was notified of three new hidden object games. I love to be the “see it here first” blog, but I had so much to do last week that I couldn’t keep up. If you’re a hidden object fanatic you’ve probably already found Dream Day First Home, but I’d hate to not review it and then find that some of you were unaware, so here ya go!

I’ve played the first two games in the Dream Day series, so I pretty much knew what to expect with this one. Robert and Jenny needed our help in the past with planning their Dream Day Wedding, and even invited us to accompany them on their Dream Day Honeymoon, so of course they knew they could count on us to help them get their new home in order. The whole house starts off as a cluttered mess, but you’ll eventually be rewarded with “after” pictures of each room, the yard and the facade.

This is another “fair play” games, with clutter and clever placement of hidden objects providing the challenge. I think the Dream Day games are among the easiest that I’ve played, just right when you’d rather chill out than strain your brain and eyes. I started out playing First Home in the timed mode, then switched to the relaxed, untimed mode because there were too many distractions going on. If you’re looking for a game you can play with the kids, try this one. Most objects in each scene are fairly easy to find, with just enough “toughies” to keep you on your toes.

Fixing up a home requires numerous trips to the hardware store and various other shops, so those scenes appear throughout the game. Hints are accumulated by collecting golden eggs - five golden eggs required for each hint, so make sure you collect them all. How many can you spot in the scene above?

A few of the screens will have an item in blue at the bottom of the list of objects to find. Scratching a blue item off of your list requires one click to expose the object and a second to claim it. In the scene of above, “snake eyes” appears in blue. See the dice at lower right? They’re showing 8 pips. Your first click will roll them over to snake eyes, then the second click will mark them as found.

You’ll be rewarded with mini-games after each round. I found them to be pretty mindless, but I played them anyway so I could see the final bonus room - the attic. A surprise awaits all who finish the attic, but you’ll probably figure out what it is long before you’ve papered, painted and furnished the scene.

I downloaded the trial version of Dream Day First Home from Big Fish Games, my all-time-favorite game site. I bought the full version, too, to add to my growing treasure chest of hidden object games. The cool thing is that I’ve “purchased” six games in the last few days without paying a penny for any of them. I’m a Big Fish Game Club member and they’re very generous with special offers, game credits and coupon codes for their members. Joining is a no-brainer if you love hidden object games, or any other computer games, for that matter. Just sayin!

[tags]Big Fish Games, Dream Day First Home, games, hidden object games[/tags]

October 22, 2007

Do we need Never Summer Snowboards in Hawaii?

Of course we do! We don’t get to snowboard on Oahu. It might surprise some of you to know that you can play in the snow in Hawaii, though. Our tallest mountains, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Haleakala get snow every year. When a good snow falls people here grab their gear, hop on inter-island flights and take their surfing to the mountains. (You’d be surprised how often I see snowboards and skis in the local homes I inspect.) Most snow bunnies go to the mainland, though, if they want to play in the snow, since our’s is usually not very deep and doesn’t last long. There are a lot of ski clubs and travel clubs here that arrange trips for snow-lovers. Whether you get your snow fix in Hawaii or the more traditional spots, you’ll want to check out Never Summer Snowboards to get yourself geared up for the fun. They’re built tough in Denver, Colorado by folks who know what you want, and come with a 3-year warranty, one of the longest in the industry. Pick out a styling design and make sure you get a Dakine Super Tune Kit to keep your board in tip-top shape. Dakine? Like da kine, the Hawaiian pidgin catch-all term for something everyone knows? Well, there ya go! Snowboard experts with a Hawaii connection! Winter’s coming. I know because I had to sleep in sweats last night (must have been way down in the sixties!) It’s time to get outfitted for winter fun. What are you waiting for?

[tags]Hawaii, snowboards, Never Summer Snowboards, sports gear, winter sports[/tags]

July 3, 2007

Coastal Golfaway

You haven’t gotten around to planning your summer getaway yet? You were planning on finally taking that golf vacation you dreamed about all winter and you just haven’t gotten to it yet? Not to worry! Coastal Golfaway can help you plan the perfect myrtle beach golf vacation! Their currently-featured specials will get you three nights and four rounds for as low as $299, including 3 nights lodging, 4 rounds of golf, all green fees, cart fees, daily full breakfast, and all taxes. Prices and packages vary and there are several Discount Golf Vacation specials still available for the summer months. Coastal Golfaway has been helping golfers plan their golf vacations since 1986, so you know they’ve got the experience to help you enjoy that perfect golf vacation you’ve been dreaming of. I know you can’t all manage a trip to visit me in Hawaii this year, so get on over to Coastal Golfaway and book your Myrtle Beach Golf Vacation instead. You can always visit me next year!

[tags]Florida golf, golf, golf vacations, Myrtle Beach golf[/tags]

June 27, 2007

More from the Waianae Boat Harbor

When I visited the harbor last week I found the wrecked plane and blogged about it. There was more to see at the harbor, though, that I’m only just getting around to sharing. It’s a small boat harbor, too shallow for the big tour boats, cruise ships and commercial shipping that keep Honolulu Harbor buzzing. Most of the boats here belong to local fishermen, dive boat operators and a few smaller tour operators. Sail boats are berthed here, too.

This young man had not had a catch yet when we spoke, but said he catches fish here most days. He was on the next dock over when I first noticed him. I think it was my picture-taking rather than a search for a sweet spot to drop a hook that drew him nearer.

One of life’s simple pleasures - watching the water shush in and out of a mini coral cave at the harbor’s edge. I’m not a good enough photographer to capture the small fish and crabs that slid in and out of the opening and scrambled on the rocks with each wave. Kind of like Six Flags for sea creatures.

I watched this fellow for half an hour and took about twenty shots before I finally caught him in shallow enough water to get his picture. He lives in the calm waters of the harbor, so his shell does not get scoured by the ocean surf and is covered with algae. He’s a Green Sea Turtle, called honu in Hawaiian.

[tags]boats, fishing, harbor, Hawaii, honu, photos, Waianae Boat Harbor[/tags]

June 21, 2007

Sandcastles

Everyone is thinking about vacations this time of year. As the sole proprietor and lone employee of a small business, vacations are a luxury I can’t put on my agenda very often. I can dream, though. I can dream about spending time with family and friends and about exotic locations that would be fun to visit. How nice would it be to combine the two and meet my entire family and all of my friends at a vacation resort where we could spend our time relaxing and catching up with each other? I just used a really neat tool to help me visualize that. Everyone should build Sandcastles some time in their life, cool ocean breezes blowing and surf shushing in the background. I built mine and can use it to help me picture that perfect vacation.

I’ve looked at the other sandcastles people have made and I’m a little embarrassed to display mine. I’d like to think that I’m not lacking in imagination. I think the missing ingredient for me was a child to help me see the possibilites while I was playing with this fun application. A child would have added more color and tossed a few seashells and beach toys on the sand around the sandcastle. Maybe I should borrow one of the neighborhood kids and let them help me build another one.

Go build your own sandcastle! The tools are easy to use and it’s a fun way to take a break. The finished castle is an ecard, so you can send it to all your friends and share the fun. Post me a link in comments or send me the ecard, too, so I can go visit your fantasy sandcastle.

I’ve been wanting to take a diving vacation with Beaches in Turks & Caicos ever since I got certified to dive. One of these days I’m going to figure out the magic formula that will let me close my business down for a week or so without offending all of my clients. Maybe we can all go diving together then! Until then, I’ll keep taking mini-breaks and building virtual sandcastles.