Category Archives: Random

Culture, Environment, Lifestyle, News, Politics, Random

First of three new attack subs, the USS Hawaii, pulls into Pearl Harbor

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The Navy has been busy building the next-generation of attack submarines, called “Virginia class”, and the first of these, the USS Hawaii, built at a cost of $2.5 billion pulled into Pearl Harbor July 23rd at 9:30 am HST. It’s controlled by touch screen and joy stick, not wheel and shaft.

USS Hawaii leaving Connecticut bound for Pearl Harbor

Fanfare

The public was invited to attend the arrival ceremony, which started at 8 am HST, with a Hawaii Air National Guard F-15 jet flyover and the Pacific Fleet Band, the Kamehameha Alumni Glee Club, Halau Hula Olana Ai, Kahuna Pule Ganotise and a haka by Pa Kuci a Lua.

This morning’s arrival ceremony is a warmup for the 50th anniversary events marking Hawaii’s statehood next month. The USS Hawaii is the first commissioned submarine named for the State of Hawai‘i.

USS Hawaii being tugged into Pearl Harbor

If you visit the USS Hawaii, try to spot Governor Linda Lingle’s initials chalked on a plate on the bulkhead wall outside the crew’s mess.  She had a welder inscribe them during a keel-laying ceremony in Rhode Island back in  2004. Continue reading First of three new attack subs, the USS Hawaii, pulls into Pearl Harbor →

Career, Culture, News, Random, Science

Discoveries by amateurs set astronomy apart in science

Discoveries by amateurs set the field of astronomy apart from other fields of science in an era where professionally-trained Ph.D.s dominate research. The recent discovery of a dark spot on Jupiter by astronomy enthusiast Anthony Wesley of North Canberra, Australia, is just the latest example.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Wesley spotted the new dark spot on Jupiter early Tuesday morning with his 14.5-inch reflecting telescope, a type of telescope commonly used by backyard observers because of the relatively low cost and high resolution. Wesley’s setup cost about $10,000, a bargain compared to the millions required for smaller professional telescope facilities.

14-inch reflecting telescope

Wesley reported his discovery of the dark spot, possibly the result of a comet striking the planet and leaving behind a dark impact crater, in an observation report that he posted online, according to the New York Times.

Professional astronomers at NASA facility followed up the report with the NASA telescope on Mauna Kea on the Big Island and found his assessment of an impact crater to be likely correct.

In an era where scientific discoveries are generally the domain of highly trained professionals, an important discovery by an amateur serves to remind us that science grew into what it is today because of good old-fashioned curiosity.

humor, Random, Travel, Weather

San Francisco’s wintry summer

I travel to San Francisco often for business and leisure. It’s just a hop over the pond from Hawaii, and I was thinking recently of planning a visit this summer. Then remembered to my dismay that it’s July — the worst time of year to go.  Not because of crowds, but because of the weather. This may seem odd because the middle of summer may  seem like  the best time of year to visit any city at the edge of a temperate zone. But SF is different.

Locals and former residents aside, most casual travelers aren’t aware that winter typically happens in June or July, exactly the opposite of when it’s expected. So when all of the summer tourists are in town shivering in the drizzle at the Wharf or Chinatown, February looms like a beacon of pleasantness–light crowds, balmy weather, off-season discounts and tables open at the finest restaurants.

Mark Twain said, ” the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Wise words to travel by. I’ve decided to go in February instead.