The Weather Turns Amazing

The weather here cleared up nicely. It is a balmy 80 degrees today. It is hard to believe that it is snowing back home. This is the last day of the HICSS conference and we will be headed home tomorrow. Emily is sitting on the patio watching whales and I am off to the conference.

Feral Feline Advocates in Waikoloa

The feral feline population in Hawaii is very large. The feral feline advocate community is very large and seems to do a great job with their spay/neuter efforts.

The locals love the kitties and feed them often. The photo of the kitty above was taken at our hotel outdoor restaurant. He is relaxing after a great lunch. At dinner tonight I bought a bunch of feral kitties a pizza from Cafe Pesto. They were so tame that they were talking to me about how excited they were about a hot pizza.

Photography Opportunities are Everywhere

People tell me all the time that it is easy to take great photos when you travel to great locations. Some of the best photos are close to home. It is really a matter of vision. No camera in the world can capture what you can't see without the camera.

This photo is of flowers right outside my hotel room in Waikoloa.

Ironman

Emily and I ran across this sign when we were in Kona last evening for dinner. It is the starting point for the swimming event of the annual Ironman competition. This place is impossible to get around when all of the competitors and media are here.

Manta Ray Night Dive in Kona

Emily and I went on a Manta Ray night dive this evening. It was amazing. The video is something to behold in many ways. Perhaps some of the best footage that I have ever seen

On the down side, I thought that I got bent. I had the Divers Alert Network (DAN) on the phone for 30 minutes discussing the situation. I felt sorry for the DAN M.D. as it was 3:00AM his time. DAN is worth their weight in gold!

Update: The DAN physician called me this morning and insisted that I see a local MD today for further tests. I suppose that he thought through my situation further. The great thing about Hawaii is there are several physicians that specialize in dive medicine. The fear was that I had popped a lung. The x-rays came back negative for Pneumothorax. That was a relief.

A Beautiful Day in Hawaii

Today was really the first day that the sun was out for most of the day here in Hawaii. The locals tell me that it has been raining a great deal here lately. That is unusual for the this side of the Big Island. Any way you slice it, it is still warmer than Cincinnati :-)

Happy New Year from The Big Island

Emily and I arrived in Kona today for the annual HICSS conference. The conference represents a culmination of about 10 months worth of work leading up to my session.

While I am in meetings all day, Emily will be studying for the next part of the CPA exam sitting by the ocean. I get out each evening around 5:00pm, just in time for the sunset. The sunsets here are hard to beat.

The Big Island is like no other. If you have never been here it is like being on the surface of the moon. The entire island is basically made up of lava rock.