Just got back from Halloween in Waikiki. Gotta get some sleep for work tomorrow but I posted a few photos. If I gave you one of my cards, please check back again in about a week or so.
Here’s the link to the full set on Flickr
Hallowbaloo 2012
Here’s the photos I took from an abbreviated Hallowbaloo street party courtesy of a tsunami evacuation. Luckily the tsunami did not do not any significant damage (as of this writing at least).
Here’s the full Hallowbaloo 2012 photo set
First Friday – August 2012
Once again the Hawaii Institute of Hair Design put on one helluva fashion show for First Friday. Afterwards, I took a different perspective to street photography with my monopod on Hotel St.
First Friday – July 2012
First Friday fashion shows at the Hawaii Institute of Hair Design and SOHO Mixed Media Bar.
Sunsets
SBX-1 Tour
I recently had the opportunity to take a tour of the Sea Based X-Band radar ship, or SBX-1 as it is called. It is a large radar mounted on what would have been a oil drilling platform. SBX-1’s mission is to detect and discriminate incoming ballistic missiles so that they can be shot down by the U.S.’s Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although it is currently docked in Pearl Harbor, it has been deployed recently during North Korea’s missile test.
151 steps is definitely not the kind of commute I would want to do every day. Our guide, Lt. Col. Steve Braddom, said that the crew has the option of going ashore but I’d guess they keep that to a minimum.
The SBX-1 is now in a limited test support role and will remain in Pearl Harbor unless it needs to be re-activated. The original intent of the ship was to go wherever it is needed in the Pacific theatre and be stationed in Alaska. However, SBX-1 was moved to Hawaii for budget reasons. The maintenance in lower in places that don’t freeze I suppose.
The most intriguing part of the tour was when we went inside of the radome, the inflatable dome that surrounds the radar. The radome can protect the radar from winds of at least 130 m.p.h. It’s remarkable since the difference in air pressure inside the dome was only about 1.5″ of water higher than the outside. Call it about 0.05 psi.
If you’re really curious as to what the radar itself looks like, there’s a photo of the X-band radar being installed on the ship in Texas. It’s about 1/3 of the way down the page.
A big Thank You to the Public Affairs Office of and for setting up the tour.
Google Street View Announcement
Google announced a big improvement of their Street View program today. This includes panoramic vistas of popular places inaccessible by car. It will help tourist take a virtual walking thru Waikiki in addition to driving down Kalakaua Avenue.
First Friday – June 2012
The first First Friday of the summer and things were off to a mellow start…for a First Friday. SOHO Mixed Media Bar celebrated their third anniversary with more body painters. This month’s fashion show had a jungle theme at the Hawaii Institute of Hair Design.
Moon Venus Jupiter Sunset Timelapse
Took a break from work on Sunday to catch a sunset and stayed a bit longer to catch the Moon / Venus / Jupiter conjunction.
Kawaii Kon 2012
The complete photo set can be found on Flickr.
My favorite anime convention was last weekend and although it looked like it might rain, we were quite lucky to not have to deal with anything more than a brief drizzle. The costumes were as bright and creative as ever. If you’ve never been to a Con (anime, sci-fi, fantasy, etc.) the experience is so much different than Halloween. The cosplayers have an attachment to their costumes that the average Halloween-goer does not. Halloween costumes are meant to be disposable whereas most cosplayers will keep their costume from year to year and build onto the costume gradually. Cosplayers identify with their characters and take pride in their handiwork. In a nutshell, one can find a Ghostbuster anywhere but only certain type of person will put in the effort to go beyond an inflatable Proton Pack.