Archive for February, 2008
February 28, 2008 at 5:36 pm · Filed under island life
From the USGS site:
Activity Summary for last 24 hours: Two lava flows continued to advance through Royal Gardens subdivision; one has reached the base of the uncovered subdivision. A second lava flow remained active between the rootless shields and Kalalua Cone. Seismic tremor levels and sulfur dioxide emission rates were elevated to several times background levels at Kilauea summit.
Royal Gardens is the Kalapana subdivision that was mostly decimated by Kilauea’s lava flow some twenty years ago. There are still reportedly two homes standing that are in danger now.
The vog conditions are causing limited visibility - it looks quite like it’s foggy all day long here, on the opposite side of the island from the flow. Closer to the flow sulfur dioxide emissions are a problem:
SO2 concentrations are likely to be at hazardous levels for visitor areas downwind of Halema`uma`u, especially during weak wind conditions or winds from the south. Most people are sensitive to sulfur dioxide at these levels. Children and individuals with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or other breathing problems should avoid areas in the south caldera: southwest rift zone, south caldera pullout, and the Halema`uma`u overlook parking lot.
Check out a short video of the flow (and the vog) here.
February 28, 2008 at 3:25 pm · Filed under home education
Paper Dali — print out and color your own free historical paper dolls
What’s Your Beef – an extensive article from Mother Earth News detailing what goes into supermarket beef
2008 Notable Children’s Books — from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
February 28, 2008 at 7:19 am · Filed under My Musings
You’ve all heard me swoon at the fact that I don’t have to change my clocks back and forth anymore since we moved to Hawaii. It’s a good thing. But I was surprised and appalled to read Meg’s post over at Get In, Hang On. She references an article from the WSJ that addresses the environmental impact of daylight savings time.
When Indiana made the switch to daylight savings time a couple of years ago it confused the cows (hee!) and gave scientists a chance to study the change in electrical usage.
Their finding: Having the entire state switch to daylight-saving time each year, rather than stay on standard time, costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills. They conclude that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.
Kind of makes you wonder if the electric companies are involved in the whole clock switcharoo, doesn’t it??
February 27, 2008 at 7:07 am · Filed under books
We have LibraryThing, GoodReads, and JacketFlap. LibraryThing and GoodReads are pretty general in their content, while JacketFlap features children’s authors and fans. Now, we can add to that Booknolia, which focuses primarily on nonfiction books.
When I mentioned Booknolia in a previous post, Francis Tapon - one of the founders of Booknolia and author of Hike Your Own Hike - asked:
What feature would you like to see that would make the site irresistible?
This seemed like a good discussion to have. What exactly DOES make a social book site worth visiting? Ease of use? Access to authors? Good reviews?
If you use any of these sites, what do you like about it (or them, if you use more than one)? What could you do without?
Talk amongst yourselves….
PS: If you’re feeling clever, What Else Wednesdays is up.
February 25, 2008 at 8:13 pm · Filed under My Musings, island life, home education
Another instance in which I discover new things via my children. My eldest has a great appreciation for Bela Fleck. By watching Bela Fleck videos, we’ve become aware of the art of Tuvan throat singing. When we discovered that these guys would be at our local theater (at a student rate!) we had to go check them out. Absolutely incredible. Each participant can sing in several different octaves at once. While my musician son has no trouble picking out the different octaves, I find listening to this music to be quite like looking at those Magic Eye books where you have to look at a picture a certain way in order to see the hidden picture. You have to listen to these performers a certain way in order to hear the layers of sound. But when you get it, it’s amazing. Like a background of angels. Or a flute. See if you can hear it:
Edited for clarity.
February 25, 2008 at 8:44 am · Filed under books
I received an email the other day from Booknolia, a new site with a focus on non-fiction books and authors. It seemed like a good thing to report on Nonficiton Monday.
Booknolia is a social network built around books, readers and authors.
Readers join Booknolia to share their individualized reading experiences, meet like-minded friends, join book clubs and reading circles, and gain access to a wealth of content about their next great book.
Authors join Booknolia to promote their books, interact with their fans, and share their thoughts and bookshelves with the community.
I’ve signed up, though for now my profile is bare bones and picture-less. You can take a peek, here.
February 23, 2008 at 11:56 am · Filed under island life
Coffee Mom posted a picture the other day of her newly arrived Hawaiian print fabric for the Tie One On project. This prompted me to pull up some photos I took awhile back of a local fabric shop. Stepping into Kimura Store is like stepping back in time. Located in Kainaliu, it’s off the beaten path and remains charming in its simplicity.
As you might imagine, there are stacks upon stacks of Hawaiian print fabrics. My pictures are a bit blurry - probably why I didn’t post them originally - but I’m sharing them anyway. Note the hardwood floor.
The assortment of fabrics is wonderful, and the last time I was there I came home with some prints that I’ll use for an apron of my own. Someday. When I get around to it.
The most intriguing feature of the store however is the ecclectic assortment of other stuff they have on display. Cleaning supplies that appear to have been on the shelves for quite some time. Cosmetics. Underwear. Rubber slippers. It’s a small town, and I suppose at one time - before WalMart arrived in nearby Kona - these items were good to have on hand. You can see in this picture a little of what I’m talking about. The shelves in the foreground feature craft and sewing magazines from way back - I think the prices on some of them were 75 cents. In the background, you’ll see the shelves of assorted cleaning supplies.
I love visiting this shop for the pure quirkiness of it.
February 22, 2008 at 8:23 am · Filed under history, books
Anyone have any experience with the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament? They have locations scattered across the nation. I may have the opportunity to be in Tampa, Florida in October which is just shortly after my medieval book is due out. There’s a Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament facility in nearby Kissimmee, and I’m wondering about the possibility of doing a book signing or some such.
If you’ve been, can you tell me if there’s a gift shop adjacent to the facility? If so, is it open all day, or only short hours before and after the show? And how do you think I’d look in this?
Oh, the excitement! Oh, the nerves!
February 22, 2008 at 8:09 am · Filed under home education
Via Principled Discovery, I read this article by Katie Kriss (oddly, the page tab says, “Excellent Resources on Homeschooling - ?). I was all fired up and ready to rebut, but then I made my way back to Principled Discovery to finish reading The Life and Death of Homeschooling: A Eulogy and realize that there’s really no need. Principled Discovery has it covered.
February 21, 2008 at 7:40 am · Filed under My Musings
This mother has my unending admiration.
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