Amazing, A-Maze-ing, A-Maize-ing, and a Giddy Lemming

"World's Largest Maze"
Dole Plantation, , Hawaii

"...In 2008, Dole Plantation's giant Pineapple Garden Maze was declared the world's largest maze. The maze stretches over three acres and includes nearly two and one-half miles of paths crafted from 14,000 colorful Hawaiian plants. ... one of only a handful of permanent botanical mazes in America. The fastest finishers win a prize and enter into the history of Dole Plantation, with their names recorded on a sign at the maze's entrance...."

The folks running Dole's Pineapple Garden Maze set eight stations inside, which the Lemming gathers must be found and marked before emerging from the maze. That's a pretty good idea: otherwise, someone might get a bearing on the direction of the exit, and barrel straight toward it, right through the hedges. Of course, some of those "colorful Hawaiian plants" probably have thorns, so maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea.


(Dole pineapple maze on Oahu (February 12, 2008) ErgoSum88, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission)

Eight-Acre Corn Maze

"Corn Maze"
Denver Botanic Gardens

"We invite you to get lost at this year’s Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield's 8-acre Corn Maze.

"Navigate the twists and turns of the newly designed cornfield this fall at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield's Corn Maze.

"Wind your way through acres of corn, view the design from two 15-foot tall illuminated bridges that overlook...."

Since "corn" is what folks in this part of the world call "maize," the Lemming thinks that names line "Corn Maze" are hilarious. Your experience may vary.

Hedge Mazes Predate Harry Potter

"Hampton Court Maze"

"...'It is the most famous Maze in the history of the world, and immeasurably the one most visited.'
(Ernest Law, 1926)

"The maze at Hampton Court was designed by George London and Henry Wise and commissioned around 1700 by William III. Originally planted using hornbeam and later replanted using yew, the Hampton Court maze covers a third of an acre, is trapezoid in shape and is the UK's oldest surviving hedge maze.

"The maze itself is referred to as a multicursal or puzzle maze and is known for confusing and intriguing visitors with its many twists, turns and dead ends. Before the creation of the Hampton Court maze, unicursal or single path mazes were the most popular form of maze in the UK. Unlike the puzzle maze, the single path maze has one path, usually in a spiral shape, winding to a centre point...."

Outdoor mazes were around for about three centuries before "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" hit the shelves: but it's still a rousing story. And another topic.

Ashcombe Maze

"Hedge Maze"
Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens

"Australia's oldest and most famous traditional Hedge Maze now standing over 3 metres high & 2 metres thick. With four mosaic flags to find in each half of the hedge maze, the hundreds of metres of winding paths take you through the South Maze into the Centre Garden before you tackle the North Maze. While not overly complicated it does take a little while to make your way through (some people take longer than others!) The North Maze is a totally different layout to the South Maze, so any tricks you worked out while making your way through the first part, mean absolutely nothing in the other!

"The Ashcombe Hedge Maze was planted in the 1970’s with more than 1000 Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) plants. They are planted at around 1 metre intervals, and each year the hedge gets a bit bigger (and the paths get a bit narrower!) Being a drought tolerant plant the hedge only needs irrigation in extreme heat waves. It now stands more than 3m high and 2m thick.

"We do not use string lines or straight edges to trim our hedge and the overall effect is very organic...."

That first photo gives a pretty good idea of how complicated and organic-looking the Ashcombe Maze is: but it's hard to tell just how big the thing is. Judging by this one, nobody's going to be looking over the tops of this maze. Not without a periscope. Assuming that's a normal-size human being. Come to think of it, we can't see the creature's face.

Which brings up an interesting point. Do the folks running these mazes keep track of how many people go in - and come out? And what do they do if the "in" and "out" count doesn't match?

What if more people came out of the maze, than went in?

Then there's this story about an absent-minded dude named Theseus.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Flabbergasted: What's a Flabber, and How Does One Gast It?"
  (October 21, 2011)
• "A Cause for Our Time: Campaign for Real Gravy"
  (March 7, 2011)
• "Sri Lanka, Hawaii: World Heritage Sites and People"
  (August 1, 2010)
• "Dumbo Octopus: Two Eyes, Eight Tentacles, and Wings"
  (February 1, 2010)
• "Volcanoes in Hawaii, Alaska: Science and Tourism"
  (June 7, 2009)

Brainless Blobs Invade Hawaii! - Or - Attack of the Ctenophores!

"Strange jellyfish-like creatures cloud Hanauma Bay"
Kathy Muneno, KOHN2 (March 3, 2012)

"A few weeks ago at Hanauma Bay, a group of swimmers ran into a group strange looking jellyfish.

"Called a ctenophore, it may not look menacing, but a swimmer said there were thousands - so many, they had to get out of the water.

" 'I was not very surprised, it's a very rare event and those people who got to see them were actually very lucky people because they're really harmless and it's a rare sight,' said Mark Martindale, a UH professor and ctenophora expert.

"That's right, although swimmers said they felt like these animals stung them, they are harmless.

" 'They do not sting, they have tentacles but instead of having stinging cells like the Medusi jellyfish that most people are familiar with, these animals use their tentacles to stick to the prey and then they bring them to their mouth, so yeah they're perfectly harmless,' Martindale said.

" 'These aren't jellyfish at all but they certainly look the part,' said UH professor Angel Yanagihara.

"But they can harm some environments, like when they depleted fish stocks in the Black Sea...."

Not to worry, apparently: the ctenophores aren't likely to eat Hawaii. The places where the voracious little predators caused problems are smallish bodies of water. The Pacific Ocean - isn't.

The hand-sized blobs of appetite showing up in Hanauma Bay may have something to do with the dropoff near the bay's mouth. Or maybe something else was going on. That's what the Lemming gathered from the article, anyway.

One more thing - a UH professor and ctenophora expert Mark Martindale says the critters are "extremely important" because "they're the most ancient example of multi-cellular animals. They've been around longer than any fish." Not that the individuals at Hanauma Bay are upwards of 488,300,000 years old. Mark Martindale probably meant that critters that looked like ctenophores have been around for something like half of a billion years.

Brainless Blobs

Ctenophores - mercifully - have another name. One that's easier to pronounce: comb jellies. Oddly, there don't seem to be brush jams, although the Lemming is familiar with door jams, and that's another topic.

Ctenophores are a sort of minimal animal, getting by with no brain: just a 'nerve net,' a sort of cobweb of nerves that runs through the critter. There's a gag or two involving elections, committees, or opinion polls, lurking in that factoid: but they eluded the Lemming. The gags, that is.

Other posts about critters:

• Wet
  • "Really Big Amphipod: 11 Inches Long"
    (February 13, 2012)
  • "Lemming Tracks: Inflatable Sharks? Swell!"
    (June 28, 2011)
  • "Save the - Goldfish?!"
    (June 16, 2011)
  • "Animals That Don't Need Oxygen - It Gets Weirder"
    (April 9, 2010)
  • "Dumbo Octopus: Two Eyes, Eight Tentacles, and Wings"
    (February 1, 2010)
• Dry
  • "Radioactive Pigs Attack Germany - No, Really"
    (August 4, 2010)
  • "Tarantula Feet, Silk, and Research"
    (May 20, 2011)
  • "Bradford's Giant Rat? Coypu? If You Meet One: Does the Name Matter?"
    (August 20, 2010)
  • "The Aye-Aye: Very Strange Primates In Madagascar"
    (January 7, 2010)
  • "Montauk Monster is Back: Photo Revealed"
    (May 13, 2009)
• Cute
  • "Heidi the Cross-Eyed Possum"
    (January 12, 2011)
  • "Funny, Freakish Critter's Feet: the Photo"
    (June 9, 2010)
  • "Cute: Strange, but Cute"
    (May 20, 2010)
  • "Oh, Look: It's a Cute - - - Thing"
    (May 8, 2010)
  • "Don't Worry: I See It, Too"
    (March 8, 2010)

More:

• "Ctenophora"
  Wikipedia
• "Ctenophores"
  C. E. Mills, University of Washington
• "Introduction to Ctenophora"
  UCMP (University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley)
• "Geologic time scale"
  • "Ordovician"
  UCMP (University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley)

Space Shuttle Discovery, Names, James Cook, and a Little History

"How Did the Space Shuttle Discovery Get Its Name?"
Denise Chow, Space.com (February 21, 2011)

"Twenty-six years after its maiden flight, NASA's space shuttle Discovery towers majestically over the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center here, just days away from embarking on its final spaceflight to the International Space Station.

"Discovery, the oldest of NASA's space shuttles still in operation, is scheduled to launch Feb. 24 to deliver a new storage room, humanoid robot helper and critical supplies to the space station. The orbiter has made more spaceflights than any other in the agency's fleet, and over the course of its illustrious history, its name has become synonymous with the spirit of exploration and human spaceflight.

"So, where did the shuttle's designation come from?

"Discovery was partly named after one of two vessels used by British explorer James Cook during his voyages in the South Pacific in the 1770s. One of these journeys eventually led Cook to discover the Hawaiian Islands. Cook also navigated Discovery to explore the coasts of southern Alaska and northwestern Canada...."

Today's Discovery will carry a medallion from Britain's Royal Society: one struck in honor of Captain Cook. At least, that's the plan.

The Lemming is fascinated by language, names, and how they relate to the human experience: so this account of how ships used by James Cook and Henry Hudson are commemorated by a surface-to-orbit freighter is quite interesting.

To the Lemming. Your experience may vary.

As for Captain James Cook and his expedition: His ships made it back; he didn't. Resolution and Discovery left port in 1776, returning in 1780. Hawaiians killed him in 1779, during a disagreement. My guess is that it had to do with Cook's returning to repair a broken mast, after a breakdown in communications. Cook's decision to grab a Hawaiian in retaliation for the capture of a ship's boat probably didn't help. His hostage was a Hawaiian leader.

Look at it this way: say space aliens snatched the American president. The Secret Service would not take kindly to that. Which is about as close to hand-wringing as the apathetic Lemming will get today.

Which is another topic. Topics.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Last Discovery Launch Scheduled - Again"
  (January 29, 2011)
• "Last Flights of the First Space Freighters, New Construction at Spaceports"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch: Aerial Snapshot"
  (June 26, 2010)
• "Last Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch: More of a Beginning, Than an End"
  (May 14, 2010)
• Humanity in Space:
  • "The Next Few Decades"
  • "The Next Few Centuries"

Sri Lanka, Hawaii: World Heritage Sites and People

"Sri Lanka, Hawaii sites get world heritage status"
Reuters (July 31, 2010)

"Sri Lanka's central highlands and a protected marine area in Hawaii, the only habitats of several endangered plant and animal species, have been added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites, the U.N. body said on Saturday.

"Sri Lanka's central highlands were deemed of prime importance because of the pristine forests that are home to the Sri Lanka leopard and other rare animal and plant life...."

Sounds like a nice idea. Folks living in Hawaii can probably afford to get about 140,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean declared 'off limits.' I sincerely hope that the same can be said for their counterparts in Sri Lanka.

Don't get me wrong: I think it's a good idea to set aside tracts of land that are of particular interest.

For example, there's a patch of prairie a dozen or so miles east of Fargo, North Dakota, that's never been tilled. It's a protected area, which is a good thing. Several decades back, some twit wanted to dig it up to get at the sand underneath: which was silly, since sand is as common as dirt in that part of the world.

We still have the Bluestem Prairie, and nobody in northwestern Minnesota went hungry because they couldn't mine sand there.

Like I said, I hope that folks in Sri Lanka can afford having some of their land set aside.

Quake in Chile, Tsunamis Around the Pacific

---

Updated 11:26 a.m. (February 27, 2010)

"Pacific nations gear for tsunami after Chile quake"
BBC


(National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, via AFP, via BBC, used w/o permission)

"Nations around the Pacific Ocean are on full alert for a possible tsunami following the devastating earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday morning.

"Tsunami warnings have been sounded in an area affecting about a quarter of the globe.

"Waves will spread from the epicentre of the 8.8 quake in central Chile and may strike land bordering the Pacific in the next 24 hours.

"People in the Galapagos and on Easter Island have already taken refuge.

"Large waves are already reported to have struck Chile's Juan Fernandez island group, reaching halfway into one inhabited area. Three people there are missing, local media say. Two aid ships are reported to be on their way...."

There's a link list of charities, with some additional contact information, at the end of this post.

---

"UPDATE 11-Massive earthquake strikes Chile, 122 dead"
Reuters (February 27, 2010)

"A huge magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 122 people, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami that rolled menacingly across the Pacific.
Quake in Chile, Tsunamis Around the Pacific
"TV Chile reported that a 15-storey building collapsed in the hardest-hit city of Concepcion, where buildings caught fire, major highway bridges collapsed and cracks opened up in the streets. Cars turned upside down lay scattered across one damaged bridge.

"Residents huddled in streets full of rubble of masonry and glass from destroyed homes. Many were terrified by powerful aftershocks and desperately trying to call friends and family.

"Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera said 122 people had been killed and the death toll could climb higher...."

By comparison, Haiti's January 12, 2010, quake was 7.0 magnitude.

As often happens in large-scale disasters like this, it's hard to get a 'big picture' idea of just how much damage has been done. Communications systems are down, so it may be quite a while before the folks in Chile know what they're dealing with

Meanwhile, it looks like the Hawaiian Islands will experience a tsunami in roughly three and a half hours.

"Sirens Sound on Hawaiian Coasts"
The New York Times (February 27, 2010)

"Evacuation alarms sounded in Hawaii’s vulnerable coastal areas at 6 a.m. local time Saturday, (11 a.m. Eastern) as the region prepared for what federal officials say could be a dangerous — but most likely not catastrophic — tsunami to hit the islands in the aftermath of the earthquake in Chile.

"The tsunami was expected to arrive in Hawaii at 11:20 a.m., or 4:20 p.m. Eastern time.

"Brian R. Shiro, geophysicist at NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, said that computer models show that the impact will be greatest in such spots as Hilo Bay on Hawaii Island and Kahului Harbor in Maui.

"In those areas, the tsunami waves could reach as high as six to 10 feet, Mr. Shiro said. Elsewhere in Hawaii, the waves will likely be only about two to three feet.

"Officials warned that all coastal areas in Hawaii could be affected because the wave can reach around the islands as it passes the region...."

Here We Go Again

Even Australia may get noticeable waves from this quake, I've heard.

I doubt that Australian towns and cities will have a problem dealing with the waves, by the time they get there. (Famous last words?) The same goes for Hawaii, and many other places on and in the Pacific.

On the other hand, some folks will need assistance - or at least could use it. After the Haiti quake, I put together a list of charities: with a little editing, I think it'll do for the current situation.

You don't have do do anything, of course: and maybe you can't. No pressure. On the other hand, if you do think that contributing something is a good idea, and can do so, here's an edited copy of that list:

List of Charities

No guarantees made, or implied: but I think these are a pretty good place to start:

• The usual high-profile outfits:
  • American Red Cross
  • Americares
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
  • Direct Relief International
  • Doctors Without Borders
  • International Medical Corps
  • Medical Teams International
  • The International Committee of the Red Cross
  • International Relief Teams
  • Mercy Corps
  • Operation USA home page
  • The Salvation Army
  • Save the Children
  • Shelterbox
  • World Concern
  • World Food Programme
  • World Vision
• Catholic charities (we help anybody, but these tend to get more support from Catholics)
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • The Catholic Relief Services Collection
    On United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website
  • Caritas Internationalis
  • Catholic Relief Services donations
  • Catholic Relief Services home page
    • By phone 1-800-736-3467
    • Mail to CRS
      P.O. Box 17090
      Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
  • The Catholic Relief Services Collection
    On United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website
  • Salesian Missions
    • By phone 1-914-633-8344
    • Mail to Salesian Disaster Relief
      Salesian Missions
      P.O. Box 30
      New Rochelle, NY 10802-0030.

Dumbo Octopus: Two Eyes, Eight Tentacles, and Wings

"Species: Grimpoteuthis or Dumbo Octopus"
Everything Octopus (February 1, 2009)

"The octopuses of the genus Grimpoteuthis are also known as "Dumbo Octopuses" from the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies, resembling the ears of Walt Disney's flying elephant. They are benthic creatures, living at extreme depths: 3000-4000 meters, and are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species. They can flush the transparent layer of their skin at will, and are pelagic animals, as with all other cirrate octopuses, and unlike many other incirrate octopuses.

"They hover above the sea floor, searching for worms, bivalves, pelagic copepods, and other crustaceans. They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, or by waving their ear-like fins...."

"Cirrate?" "Benthic??" I'll grant that this isn't the easiest-to-read post you'll ever find.

A rough translation: Dumbo octopi live really deep in the ocean. and have fins.

The dumbo octopus is of the Cirrata suborder of octopi. From the writeup on the other side of that link, I gather that "cirrata" means "finned" - in this case.

"Pelagic" means "relating to or occurring or living in or frequenting the open ocean". (Princeton's WordNet)

Just about every article on these deep-sea octopi say that those fins look like ears. I see what they mean: but they're more like wings.

This post does a pretty good job of describing these strange and - I think - beautiful creatures. From the looks of it, the blogger picked up quite a bit of the information at BBC's "Dumbo octopus" page.

Dumbo Octopus Videos

"Octopus Ballet"

RSNOOI, YouTube (March 31, 2009)
video, 3:08

"This white octopus was filmed with a high-definition underwater video camera at 6600 feet depth 200 miles off the coast of Oregon in September 2005 as part of the...."

An octopus - Grimpoteuthis bathynectes - swimming. Set to music. Maybe that'll help more people see the beauty and grace of these creatures. This YouTube video seems to be derived from "Octopus Ballet," WUTV, University of Wisconsin.

"Dumbo Octopus at the FeMO Microbial Observatory"

hstaudig, YouTube (December 1, 2007)
video, 1:03

"A dumbo octopus visited the Microbial observatory for Fe-oxidizing bacteria at Loihi Seamount Hawaii"

No music with this one: but you see the creature from a different angle.

"Graceful?" "Beautiful?!" "That?!!"

I'll grant that the Dumbo octopus isn't as cute and cuddly-looking as the creature's namesake. You may think they look more like Cthulhu than anything that belongs in this universe.

I'll grant that octopi, along with quite a few other marine creatures, don't 'look right,' from our land-living point of view. A - thing - with all-too-human-appearing eyes, a body that looks like a floppy head, and tentacles where the mouth should be (the mouth's there, actually, in the middle of them) isn't the sort of creature that makes for a good plush toy model. Title character in a horror story? yes. Cute? No.

But I also see creatures that move with wonderful grace through the water that's their home.

One more thing: I've heard that octopi don't make very good pets. They get out of their tanks easily, and can live in air for a while.

Pleasant dreams.

Not-exactly-related post about another strange critter:

• "The Coconut Crab: No, It's Not From a Science Fiction Movie"
  (September 25, 2009)

More:

• "25 Worlds Weirdest Animals"

Spaceport Hawaii: Maybe

"Hawaii wants to add space travel to attractions"
The Associated Press (July 10, 2009)

"Space pioneers envision launching high-end Hawaii tourists from the sand to the stars, taking island-hopping to new heights.

"Hawaii could become the first place where travelers can use the planes for real transportation. Planners envision planes taking off in one place, traveling through space, then landing in another, going from the Big Island to Oahu. Within a decade, space travelers could island hop from Hawaii to Japan in 45 minutes.

"And promoters promise a unique perspective during the flight...."

Plans for a Hawaiian spaceport face the same sort of issues that New Mexico's Spaceport America have had.

Apparently, on top of expenses related to actually building the facility, there's the matter of a license fee. Hawaii's state government has authorized $500,000 to pay for a federal spaceport license from the federal government: but Hawaii's got the same economic problems as the rest of the world.

This article gives a pretty good look at the sort of preparation that goes into setting up a new spaceport.

For someone like me, who remembers John Glenn's first orbital flight, the development of spaceports around the world help make this an exciting time.

Related posts:

• "Groundbreaking at Spaceport America: World's First Purpose-Built Commercial Spaceport"
  (June 20, 2009)
• "Doing Something for a Much Larger Reason"
  (December 22, 2008)
• "Spaceport America: Still Open for Business"
  (November 6, 2008)
• "Spaceport Development Tax on Otero County Ballot"
  (November 5, 2008)
• "Spaceport America: It's Real, and Open for Business"
  (October 26, 2008)
• "Spaceports: the Blog"
  (October 26, 2008)
• "Dubai Architecture: A Photo Gallery"
  (October 25, 2008)
  • A review of a post by someone who wasn't aware that a commercial spaceport was already in operation.

Background:

• Rocketplane Global, Inc.

Volcanoes in Hawaii, Alaska: Science and Tourism

"Hawaii Volcano Glows"
LiveScience (June 7, 2009)

"Lava is thought to be close to the surface of the summit of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, suggesting a modest eruption might occur. But geologists don't really know if it will erupt, or if lava might simply flow from the summit, or neither.

"In past events, the volcano's lava has sometimes travelled 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the crater to the sea. The flows, at 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, occasionally explode when they contact the cool ocean waters...."

The glow-in-the-dark volcano got a more extensive writeup in The Associated Press:

"Scientists eye glowing volcano crater in Hawaii"
The Associated Press (June 6, 2009)

That photo, from the LiveScience article, shows that there are places that have more trouble with road maintenance than Minnesota.

---

LiveScience also has a somewhat more detailed article about the use of a Lightning Mapping Array at Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano:

"Dramatic Image Shows Volcano's Lightning"
LiveScience (April 8, 2009)

FBI Bloggers - Top-Notch Hawaiian Blogs ("From Big Island")

"Big News: The Right Blue Joins FBI Bloggers (no, really!)"
The Right Blue (May 14, 2009)

"Earlier this week we were invited to join FBI Bloggers, and we gladly agreed to become a part of the team. No, not that government organization. FBI in this case stands for 'From Big Island' -- that is, the Big Island of Hawaii, our home.

"FBI: From Big Island. That's us!

"Awhile back, Big Island blogger Damon Tucker decided to create a website to gather 'the Big Island's best blogs' into one location. FBI Blogs is that website...."

That's From Big Island (FBI) - The Big Island's Best Blogs - fbiblogs.com

Featured posts, when I checked in were:

• "A High Dynamic Range UKIRT"
  A Pacific View (May 15, 2009)
• "Postcard from the Reef – Moray Mugshot"
  A Darker View (May 15, 2009)
• "Anticrepuscular Rays"
  A Pacific View (May 14, 2009)

You may have to click a couple times, to get out of FBI Blogs to the blogs themselves - but it's nowhere near as annoying a process as some 'directory' sites make it.

And, judging from today's crop, the photos in these "FBI Blogs" are spectacular.

A tip of the hat to bnsullivan, at Twitter, for the heads-up on this.

Hawaii, an Island Paradise with Gentle Breezes, and the Occasional Earthquake

"Earthquake jolts Big Island"
Hawaii247.org (April 21, 2009)

"A 4.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the Big Island Tuesday at 4:58 p.m. The epicenter was in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park...." (2009 April 22 02:58:09 UTC)

That's a significant quake. This notification was all I could find about it at the moment.

Thanks to bnsullivan on Twitter, for providing the URL - and the heads-up.

---

UPDATE (April 22, 2009)

bnsullivan left a comment, which updates this post:

"FYI, I have not heard of any damage caused by yesterday's quake, but it was unsettling as it came just a week after a 5.0 magnitude quake in nearly the same spot. That is making everyone edgy.

We are accustomed to the ones that amount to no more than a little jiggle, but larger ones are another story. (We had a 6.8 a couple of years ago that did substantial damage.)

Here is a web page run by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory that monitors Recent Earthquakes in Hawaii."

Thanks, Bobbi

Earthquake off Hawaian Islands: Tsunami Warning; A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

"Message hawaii.2009.03.09.194934"
National Weather Service Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (March 9, 2009)

"TSUNAMI SEISMIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER 1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
949 AM HST MON MAR 09 2009

"TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

"SUBJECT - LOCAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION

"THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.

"AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

" ORIGIN TIME - 0945 AM HST 09 MAR 2009
" COORDINATES - 20.1 NORTH 155.2 WEST
" LOCATION - OFF THE HAMAKUA COAST OF THE BIG ISLAND
" MAGNITUDE - 5.2

"EVALUATION

" NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED. REPEAT. NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED.
HOWEVER... SOME AREAS MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED STRONG SHAKING.

"THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.

Well, that's good news. Provided you've got things tied down well.

Thanks to Hawaii's own bnsullivan (Twitter), for the heads-up on this.

The Lemming Gets Serious: Obama's Now President Obama

President Barack Obama was sworn into office today, making him the 44th American president.

It's a pretty big deal, and the 2,000,000 or so people on or near the Mall in Washington, D.C., seem to think so, too. That figure is an estimate from the Park Police, reported on a news channel. I haven't found it in online news yet.

The Lemming Reminisces

I've seen a few big milestones go by in American history since I was born, back in the Truman administration. I remember the:

• First president who identified himself as Catholic
• End of segregated lunch counters and drinking fountains
• First pocked calculator
• Last working steam locomotive in the Red River Valley of the North
• Jet airliners take over long-distance passenger service
• First people to walk on the Moon
• Beginning of direct long-distance dialing
• First commercial push-button phone
• First trans-Atlantic live television signal

I remember when it became possible for a

• Man to carry his baby in public without ridicule
• High school boy to take Home Ec
• High school girl to take Shop

Those technological changes made it possible for people to travel faster, farther, more comfortably. And, made it possible for them to have conversations with each other, even if they were on different continents.

Someone in central North America being able to order a book from a store in England, and be reading it a few days later, isn't just convenient. It makes Europe, and North America, and Asia, and Africa, and all the rest of the 'connected' world, neighbors. I think we're only beginning to see major changes in the way people deal with each other, coming from 'the Information Age.'

Depending on your point of view, the world is cosier, or more crowded. And each of us, again depending on how you see things, has either a wonderful set of new neighbors on the block, or a neighborhood full of disturbingly different strangers.

I tend to see the world as a cosier place, with a refreshingly unfamiliar set of neighbors as close as an online forum: but I know that not everybody sees things that way.

Back to Obama

Barack Obama is black. About half his ancestors came from Africa. His father is from Kenya: and yes, Barack Obama is an America citizen. Born in Hawaii. Thanks to peculiarities of various laws, he had dual American/Kenyan citizenship until he was 21, but make no mistake: Barack Obama is an American citizen.

Not everybody's happy about Barack Obama being president. There are quite a few people who will hate the current president at least as much as others hated #43. It'll be for different reasons, but the feelings will, I think, be about the same.

Judging from the crowd in Washington, D.C., having a sort of street party on steroids, a whole lot more Americans are tickled pink that Obama will be behind the big desk in the Oval Office. We may not get an 'official' count for Obama's inaugural audience. The National Park Service says that Congress told it to stop doing those crowd counts, when the NPS came up with a number that Congress didn't like for the 1995 Million Man March.

I'm glad that I was around when Martin Luther King led an effective civil rights organization, and now, then the first American president who is from Hawaii - and black - took the oath of office.

What I feel is at most pennies on the dollar to what the Reverend Joseph Lowery must be experiencing. As CNN put it:

"The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a close friend of King's who will deliver the benediction at Obama's inauguration, said the timing of the two events 'reflects the mysticism of the movement.'

"[Andrew] Young chuckled upon hearing Lowery's words relayed and added, 'I always say that coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. ... I can't think of a nicer birthday present for Martin Luther King.' "

Barack Obama Day at Apathetic Lemming of the North

I've decided to make today's posts 'all Obama, all the time,' more or less. I've found a few items that should be interesting. Don't worry, though, the Lemming isn't making this into a fan site. I just think that an historic occasion like this warrants special treatment.

News and views:

• "More than 1M crowd DC for Obama's inauguration"
  The Associated Press (January 20, 2009)
• "Inauguration Insider: An Instant Moment in History"
  FOXNews (January 20, 2009)
• "Record Web crowd flocks to CNN and Facebook's live inauguration stream"
  Los Angeles Times (January 20, 2009)
• "Security tight as Obama takes oath"
  CNN (January 20, 2009)
• "Civil rights vets: Fight not over because Obama reaches top"
  CNN (January 19, 2009)

More posts about Barack Obama's inauguration day:

• "President Barack Obama: An American Made History Today"
  (January 20, 2009)

This Blogger Likes Hawaii: A Lot

Do you like Hawaii?

You're not the only one.

Hawaii Topia "...is a blog about news and information related to Hawaii. I have lived on Oahu for over 6 years and I hope to share some news and valuable information regarding Hawaii. I also hope to share my last year and experiences on Oahu!"

This blog isn't entirely what you might expect. One of the main navigation links is to "Hawaii Football Schedule."