With all the cash and effort the born-again right is throwing against the “domestic partnership” issue before the State Legislature now in the form of rallies and radio spots, it behooves us to stand up against these people who hide behind the catchphrase “traditional marriage” and show them once and for all that in order to protect Hawaii’s multi-cultural diversity, we are sick and tired of them trying to force their religious beliefs down everyone else’s throats. You may not care one way or the other about the domestic partnership issue or the same-sex marriage issue that they are attempting to noose it to, but this is one step of many that they are trying to force Hawaii to take down the road toward a christian theocracy (the next step is getting Dook in office). FTP!
Author Archive for risu
Page 61 of 95
If you happen to be in the Seattle area, Jason Teraoka will be having a solo art show, “Homesick,†at the James Harris Gallery. If you’ve seen his works before, the imagery of people bearing their internal conflicts and experiences as expressions on their faces will be familiar. From the sample images that JT showed me, there are some nice and interesting uses of color and light in this new crop of paintings that I really like. When I told him that I liked his use of impressionistic color and chiaroscuro, I was surprised that he didn’t call me a pompous ass! The show opens tomorrow night at 18:00 and runs through 28 March 2009. Check it out if you’re in the area! Continue reading ‘Homesick’
It’s bad enough that I have to come in to work on what’s a holiday to virtually everyone else, but do I have to also deal with people going less than 40-MPH on the H-1 Eastbound? The freeway users were sparse and there were no collisions to stop up the works, but for some reason everyone felt that they had to go surface-street speed. Speed up, get off the freeway, or stay home!
(0)
With the March Japan snowboard adventure looming, it was time to get the boards back in shape. Early season and peak winter trips to Whistler had wreaked havoc on the boards due to the marginal conditions. I am not sure what the conditions will be like in Japan next month, so I had to get both boards ready just in case. The short board had a base gouge and trashed edges, so that was an easy fix – just some P-tex repair filler and liberal filing and sharpening, followed by a rewaxing. The powder board was a different story. The edges were pretty much intact, but there was a base delamination bubble just forward of the end of the metal edge, and a 9mm x 12mm triangular smash on the nose with a tear in the base. Continue reading ‘Snowboard Repair’
Got a new set of “Asian Fit” nosepieces for my Oakley Half Jackets to replace the set I lost one of. They’re for the Straight Jacket, but they are exactly the same. These newer ones are a lot more rigid than the original ones I had, but those originals were from the first prototype production run – my Half Jackets are so old there was no such thing as “Asian Fit” at the time! Oh yeah, they’re the wrong color, but who the F cares!
The direct successor to the original HL-EL400/410 LED headlamp (top, in left photo), the new HL-EL450 (bottom, in left photo) utilizes a single high-output LED instead of three standard ones. The light output is cleaner, brighter, and more focused. The apparent brightness is around twice that of the older model. The packaging says “400 candlepowerâ€, whereas the HL-EL410 was rated at 180 (the HL-EL400 was only 90 candlepower). Against a Surefire M2 with a P60L 80-lumen LED module, the apparent brightness is around half to a third, so I’m guessing the element is in the 25 to 40-lumen/1-watt range. The housing is all plastic, so it isn’t generating a whole bunch of heat like an 80-lumen/3-watt unit would be. The light body is very similar structurally and aesthetically to the original light. The bezel is o-ring sealed (exact same silicone o-ring) and comes off the body with the same 1/8th-turn bayonet-style mounting. Power comes from the familiar three AAA (LR03) batteries. Battery run time is noted as 30-hours on high and 60-hours on low or flashing on the packaging. The HL-EL410 was also rated for 30-hours for the constant mode and 60-hours flashing (there was no low power setting). The HL-EL400 was rated at 80-hours constant and 160-hours flashing. Continue reading ‘Cateye HL-EL450 Headlamp’
Dropped by Toyota today to grab a now-tiny oil filter for the FJ-80. While I was there, I stopped by the showroom. I sat down in the new Matrix. It looks pretty nice inside, except for the non-DIN opening for the radio, but I know there are at least 2 adaptors available. The forward-folding front passenger seat looks like it would make it big enough inside for a DH/FR bike with both wheels on to fit, but the liftgate appears too narrow to accommodate a long fork and wide riser bars. The reach to the shifter might be a little far, especially 3 and 5. The one thing I disconcertingly noticed was the view out the windscreen. The hood line is so high and the seating position is so low that you probably won’t be able to see the road immediately in front of you! The bottom edge of the windscreen is about 108 cm (42â€) above the ground. Continue reading ‘See? See Not!’
Saw something on the morning news on KHNL channel 8 this morning about the homeless situation a the McCully Library – they even interviewed Hillary. Mayby finally something will be done about it, like maybe enforcement of current statutes.
(0)
Stuck in traffic on the Eastbound H-1 this past Saturday morning between Pali and Punahou? Well, I’m not sure what exactly happened, but it’s this guy’s fault! There were no other vehicles visible nearby that could have also been involved.
Dropped in to Hiroshimayaki Shou-chan again with Root. Only the two of us, so we got one combination Hiroshimayaki, the beef tendon stew, and we tried the braised chicken. Everything was very good. The stew was tender and flavorful like last time. The Hiroshimayaki was cooked perfectly and constructed with care and attention. The chicken was soft and well-infused with the flavor of the tomato-based sauce. If you’ve ever had Japanese-style rolled cabbage, you’ll be familiar with the flavor of the sauce. Continue reading ‘Shouchan Revisited’