Peaceful 'Ohana
General
Hitting the Sweet Spot with Amazon: Free Shipping to Hawaii
Jun 30th
For those of us living in Hawaii know, when sites say “free shipping” they often don’t consider Hawaii as part of that. And for some reason, many of their shipping methods then change from 2-3 day to only overnight express for $20 or more, making that sweet deal of $5 HMDI cables look pretty crappy.
That’s why so many locals love Amazon. If you spend $25 per order from Amazon (and not on their “other” merchants selling within Amazon), free shipping includes Hawaii!
So, how can you get every order to be $25 or more when you only want a book for $19.99? What about some of the other THOUSANDS of things that Amazon sells- clothes, toys, games, soaps, food, movies, etc. Surely there’s something there you could use to save yourself the $5 shipping charge. Just get to $25 and free shipping.
One of my favorite sites for finding good deals is 
Slickdeals.net”>Slickdeals.net – lively discussions, free alerts for keywords (like “Amazon”, “slack guitar”, or “Wii”), and their sister site SlickFillers.net. With Slickfiller you type in the amount needed to get to $25 ($5.01 in this case), and it will present a list of qualifying items from Amazon you can add to your cart. Slick! So instead of spending that $5 on shipping, you got a “free” children’s coloring book or stickers.
Celebrating 50 Years of Diversity: East-West Center
Jun 7th
Intercultural weddings bring together a weaving of styles and traditions that may be strange at first to those unfamiliar. Right now, the East-West Center gallery is currently running an exhibition on Wedding Ceremonies around Asia-Pacific. Highlights include weddings from China, India, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. This “Golden Ceremony” exhibit is part of the 50th Anniversary for the Center, created in 1960.
The gallery, located inside Burns Hall on the University of Hawaii Manoa Campus, is open weekdays 8-4:30pm. Paid parking is available through UH. If you can’t make it to the gallery, you can check out some of the images virtually.
What could be more Hawaiian: Spam-flavored Mac Nuts!
Apr 18th
Imagine the look on your friend’s face when you bring them a bit of Hawaii with these new Spam(R) Macadamia Nuts! (Travels better than Spam Musubi’s!)
More Guilt: "Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids"
Aug 5th
Those who are concerned about their “carbon footprint” have started looking at individual’s decisions, including those about reproduction.
A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environment-friendly practices people might employ during their entire lives — things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs. [LiveScience.com]
It does make perfect sense. And, yet, we have another child coming soon…
Should there be a limit on how many children a family can have, as they do in China?
Zen Apps for iPhone/iPod Touch
Jun 18th
Here are some great iPhone/iPod Touch apps that, while not strictly “Zen”, they do help to calm the mind (or at least remind me of my time in Japan). You’ll find these all in the iTunes App Store:
Koi Pond — beautifully done with sounds accompanying the koi (Japanese carp). Feed them, scare them (my two year old loves that), or just watch them swim around. $.99
iZen Garden — you are your own monk at a famous rock garden. Rake the stones however you desire. Shake to reset. (There are several of these type of apps now, ranging from free to $2.99.)
Bloom — from Brian Eno, this musical and visual app treats you to a break through subtly-changing, repetitive sounds and images. This is great to hook up to speakers as background music while you work. $3.99
Bowls — can’t afford a $300 Tibetan “signing bowl” but love that droning, melodic sound? This app lets you “play” several different bowls as a way to relax your mind. $1.99
iBonsai — grow your own beautiful bonsai plant in seconds, then, move it around, shake it to remove leaves. Snap a picture and email to a friend. Then repeat… $.99
iKoto — the sound of the koto for me is very relaxing. So to have the ability to play a portable koto wherever you go — with some songs already pre-programmed — is a great way to take a mental break. $1.99
Easy Relax — choose where you want to go and let the sounds of your new “environment” relax you. From Hawaii Vacation to Fishing Time, Blossoms from India to Jungle, all within your reach. $.99 (There are many of these ambient sound apps available, ranging from free to $2.99.)
TanZen Lite — OK, this isn’t actually relaxing. It’s a game. And it can be a damn challenging game at that. However, it reminds me of staying in an ryokan in the mountains with my wife and one of these games was there. We sat watching the snow on the mountains in the warmth of our room silently playing this game.
There are apps for Chakra, meditation, Buddhism, you name it and there’s probably an app for it…
Hopefully you could find something that might help you stay in peace…
Kid-friendly iPhone and iPod Touch
Jun 17th
If you’ve been thinking about an iPhone or iPod Touch, or already have one, here’s some pretty cool things you can do that will provide even more value to you as you extend it to your family; I’m talking about making it “kid-friendly”.
I moved from having Palm PDA’s for years to an iPod Touch. The Touch does all the things I needed my T|X to do (wireless, applications, calendar, note taking, etc.) but with a much better web browser, incredibly easy-to-use iTunes integration, and — with using Plaxo — syncing my calendar between work PC and home Mac.
But the apps are what really make this thing kid-friendly. My two and a half year old sees me working on it and says “I play papa game!” He loves to try out the fun of using that touch screen to make things happen. And, as I’ve learned from other parents, having an iPod Touch/iPhone that can hold MOVIES can be PERFECT for long flights, like to Japan! This device has probably helped lower my blood pressure level significantly (no more wandering child, screaming of boredom).
So, here are a couple of great toddler-friendly things for your iPhone or iPod Touch:
More >
The Onion News presents a view into our future
Jun 16th
This was a very funny clip from the Onion News Network — something that living here in Hawaii I see all the time. Lots of tourists, each with cameras, cell phones, or video cameras, taking images of almost everything they see.
Looking to the future, this can only happen more and more; cheaper and smaller recording devices with greater storage space and ease of use, means that soon everyone will own and use these all the time. (I know it’s happened to me! 
)
More >
The Daily Show's take on News Channels
Jun 16th
I had to post this even though it’s a little old; The Daily Show with Jon Stewart did a review of the “flavor” of the different news channels: Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. While it might not be completely accurate, it’s still very funny:
"The Crisis of Credit Visualized" Video
Feb 23rd
Here’s a really nicely produced video explaining the current credit crisis the US is going through and how we got there, including sub-prime mortgages. Worth your 11 minutes to watch:
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
[via CreditMattersBlog]
Live streaming video of Obama's inauguration event
Jan 20th
Live streaming video of Obama’s inauguration events was available via Hulu.
Watch a recap via MSNBC:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Also check out the Honolulu Advertiser inauguration special.