Friday, May 16, 2008

napoleon bonaparte did not drive a buick

I can hardly believe it.... but i finally have a chance to update! Boy ... gobs of things have happened since my last entry. As most of you know by now- i have since made a trip back up to 'the mainland' (as we isolated island types like to affectionately refer to it). Also, i have had visitors- 83% of the knudtson family was here, accompanied by jessica. a grandiose time was had. and no one left with staph infection. we also had our circuit assembly a few weeks ago which was wonderful. More recently, in the past few days actually, Brooke and I have made the decision to move. All the way down to apartment 206. Its a short move... 5 doors down to be precise, but it will afford us much more space and privacy. Not to mention the biggest lanai in the building. woot! Anyhow we're looking forward to it, and should be getting ourselves moved in by the end of the month. We've been plenty busy lately. Also my birthday was yesterday, and an alarming number of you somehow remembered that it was. (and were sure to point out that i was just a little closer to slipping down the geriatric slope.) so thank you for that...
The atmosphere here on maui has become rather unpleasant lately. First there was the cane burning which made the air rich with ash and soot. In addition, the VOG has enveloped the island. (the smog produced from the lava flowing into the ocean on the big island, rich with sulphurdioxide) To make the situation worse it has gotten very hot lately and we havent had any wind for several days. So the air is humid, sticky, stinky, and still. In fact there is a constant haze which prevents you from being able to see above the tree line. The bugs are in heaven- no wind to blow them out. So everyone is dealing with infestations and respiratory discomfort. But to add a strange twist, I read in the paper today that a new concern has developed: an alarming mass of sea turtle doodoo has washed into Maalaea harbor, coating the area in smelly turtle sludge. Environmentalists claim that it cannot harm humans..... hmm. i beg to differ. Also they recommend that people with respiratory illnesses should try to remain indoors at all times with air conditioning to avoid breathing the air outside. Something tells me the authorities in this field havent given much thought to their advice. Hopefully all of this will all pass on soon, it doesnt make for very paradisaic conditions.
ALso in the mean time i am going to be conducting research studies in an attempt to figure out why it is that women in the teens to late twenties have such difficulty keeping plants alive. I will call the dissorder 'black thumb' for now.
well thats all the time i have for today... goodnight and good gravy to you.