"Researching the Past..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York
( A suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.)

 and has worked in the ophthalmology
 field of medicine for over 30 years

 Editors note, Judy is  running for a scrubs and beyond model search of 2015, scrubs being the things medical pros wear. Please click on the link anytime after November 1,2015 and vote for Judy!  ;-)   http://contest.scrubsandbeyond.com/landing?id=1445372726537

Researching the Past

Recently my husband and I became more curious about our past history and where did we come from.

Since both our parents have passed away we can no longer ask questions about our family history and the past. 

Sure we spoke to them over the years about events that had happened many years ago with their parents but never any concrete details and dates of happenings in the past. 

We had heard of  ancestry.com but never really took the time to investigate. We have found that the website researches the past but also shows certificates, documents and proof of what really happened and where we came from. I find it amazing that by a click of the computer such documents can be produced for all to see. 

It has answered many questions we had wondered about
and is a website that one can return to off and on as it is a tedious task to branch off of each relative and track down details. I find this technology amazing while it lends such incite as to how we came to be.

Judy and Steve Whitehead
a few years back....

There is a small monthly fee that can be cancelled at any time, no commitment. If you have the time and patience it is well worth the effort...

P.S.
Check it out; Tell them Judy sent you!
www.ancestry.com

Judy, Judy, Judy!  ;-)

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

Flying to New York with a blonde... 'Obama Da Dog' (Source)

Obama Da Dog currently resides with her best friend
and mentor James "Kimo" Rosen on the alleged
island called Paradise. (Kauai)

Obama da Dog gets a visit from
"The Great Pumpkin!"

Flying to New York with a blonde

A beautiful young model boards a plane to New York with a ticket for the economy section. She looks at the seats in economy, and then looks into the forward cabin at the first-class seats.

Seeing that the first-class seats appear to be much larger and more comfortable, she moves forward to the last empty seat in first class. The flight attendant checks her ticket and tells the woman that her seat is in economy. The blonde replies, "I'm a famous model, and have never had this problem before. I'm going to sit here all the way, until we get to New York." 

Flustered, the flight attendant goes to the cockpit and informs the Captain of the blonde problem. The captain goes back and tells the woman that her assigned seat is in economy. Again, the blonde replies: "I'm a famous model, I'm sitting here all the way to New York." . The captain doesn't want to cause a commotion, and so returns to the cockpit to discuss the blonde problem with the Co-pilot. 

Obama Da dog opening wide
for the Dentist!  ;-)

The Co-pilot says that he used to date a blond model like her, and that he can take care of the problem. He then goes back and briefly whispers something in the blonde's ear. She immediately gets up, says "ok, thank you". She hugs the Co-pilot, and rushes back to her seat in the economy section. 

Living da Good life!

The pilot and flight attendant, who were watching with rapt attention, asked  the Co-pilot what he had said to the woman. He replies, "I just told her that the first class seats aren't going to New York."

Obama Da Dog all dressed up in the car seat
waiting to go Holo Holo!  ;-)

  Hana Hou, Encore, Shared from Facebook...

"Open letter to Richard Dawkins..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Vintage Bettejo)

Bettejo Dux has lived on the cosmic Garden
 Island of Kaua'i for over 40 years.

Bettejo is a regular opinion writer in the Garden Island news

 and is the author of the famed novella, "The Scam." 

 Her latest fiction"Children of extinction"

 is now  released and available on Amazon!
Bettejo has a gift of mingling
 the present, the past, and the future. 

www.bettejodux.com

www.amazon.com

Editor's note;

Bettejo recently had the opportunity to break bread and have dinner with her mentor Richard Dawkins during her recent California sojourn...

Notice the book she is holding in the photo above!

Open letter to Richard Dawkins
Dear Richard,

I’m a columnist not a journalist. Columnists have more fun. We break rules.

Quick aside: Ann Druyan and I started a religious war on Kauai. In the November/December 2003 Skeptical Inquirer ‘Ann Druyan Talks About Science, Religion, Wonder, Awe…and Carl Sagan’ and I responded. My letter appeared in the Letters to the Editor section in the March/April 2004 issue. It then appeared as a column in The Garden Island Forum.

Eleven years later and I still don’t understand what it was in that letter that set ‘them’ off. The war’s still waging.

The current column --better known in this back neck of the woods as a bettejo-- was a hoot to write. Have already had one response. Before the letter was published--I think there’s a leak--someone named Jerry Terui from Lihue cautioned me, quoting 1 Corinthian 1:18-25, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

….blessed are the dense for they will inherit the earth?

My Editor wants more Richard Dawkins. Will try to work something up about A Candle in the Dark and see if I can include the densers. Don’t want to leave them out.

By the way, I found, on my desk when I returned home, two books: Sense of Style and 36 Arguments for the Existence of God. I’m trying to read Candle, Sense, and 36 Arguments all at the same time.

If gawd had a hand in this, I think he’s got his fingers crossed.

Aloha,

Bettejo

PS: New comment: ‘I’m a Dawkish adolescent.’  In a way I'm kind'a flattered. Adolescent? Don't I wish.

Bettejo provided the quote on 

the enclosed Kauai sunrise meme!

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...

Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen---Blogger-n-chief, dakinetalk blog---

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"Consider a county manager style of Government..." 'Glenn Mickens' (Guest blogger)

 We would like to welcome Kauai resident Glenn Roger Mickens as our newest guest blogger.
Glenn has lived on Kauai  with his wife Ruth for the last 26 years. Born July 26, 1930 in Wilmar, California, USA) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in four games (two of which were starts) for the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers. He also played for five years in Japan, from 1959 until 1963 for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. There, he compiled a record of 45–53 with a 2.54 ERA.  Glenn also  served in the Army for 2 years and coached baseball at UCLA for 25 years. 
Last but not least Glenn would really like to see Kauai give the county manager style of Government a chance.

Consider a county manager style of Government

Please join Mr. Mickens in testimony
tomorrow at the Kauai county building
to help ensure a county manager
system of government gets on
the  ballot for the next election....
or email testimony to;
counciltestimony@kauai.gov

First I want to sincerely thank  Kaua'i Council Chair Rapozo and Committee Chair Chock for their hours of work in gathering information on this County Manager style of government.

They both went to the ICMA conference in Seattle and with a lot of work going to many meetings and talking to City and County Managers from all over the country, they accumulated material that should be highly valuable to those who need to know just how much good this style of government can do for any municipality.

 And remember that a Council/Manager system is being used in places with a population as small as 5000 so there is certainly no problem with it working on Kauai.

For the viewing public who are not familiar with the Manager type of government, let me give you a brief overview of what it is and what it does.

The Manager is hired by the Council and must have a wide range of stringent qualifications to get the job. The Mayor is still elected by the people but will sit as one of the 7 council members with 1 of the votes on all issues. He will still have all the civic duties he has had in the past. 

Obviously, one can see that this change alone will immediately stop the finger pointing and turmoil associated with the administrative and the legislative bodies--a HUGE asset for getting the work done for our people. 

The Manager will appoint all department heads and oversee the selection process of the commission members. 

Basically the Manager is given the powers that were entrusted to the Mayor but now a person who is responsible for a $200 million budget will have the qualifications to make decisions affecting the county unlike a Mayor who is elected because of his/her popularity and is 30 years or older and has lived on Kauai for a minimum of 3 years. 

And, the Manager is not going to hire people for political reasons as he well knows that if the jobs that the council and Mayor give him are not properly done he can be fired. 

The 23 year old Kilauea gym roof leak is one of the most glaring problems that would never happen under a Manager as the Manager would have long been fired for any problem lasting a fraction of that time. 

With a County Manager we would have, amongst so many other good things, someone who is accountable for what happens. 

Just put this issue on the ballot and let the people decide what they want---just an up or down vote.

Epilogue;
Kauai residents you can either testify in person or send an email today for the county council meeting tomorrow.
Send email testimony to;
counciltestimony@kauai.gov
You can send the same simple words I sent, at this point it is important to  just get it on the ballot for the upcoming election.

Here's what I sent, send in the same email just using your name instead of mine;

I James "Kimo" Rosen am in favor of putting on the ballot for the general election
a county manager position.

I believe it's worth a try. It worked very well in my former home of Homer Alaska.

Mahalo for your considerations,

James "Kimo" Rosen

Remember it's not too late, send email testimony to;

counciltestimony@kauai.gov

P.S.
Check out Glenn's Wikipedia page;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Mickens



Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from the internet...

"Recycling can and should be easy...'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #95)

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer
 and amongst other things lived in a tent outdoors for 7 years.
Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i
with his best friend and spiritual adviser Obama Da Dog!

Editors note;
This blog also appeared as an opinion article in the Friday~October 23,2015 edition of the  Kaua'i Garden Island news; "Recycling too difficult in Hawaii."
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-oct/article_7dc735b3-40eb-5c5d-8f90-b1c868a46ae3.html

Recycling can and should be easy

My sister and brother-in-law
visiting Kaua'i back in 2008. It was
 now my turn to visit them in
Western N.Y where I learned
a lot about recycling
the simple and logical way!

The state of Hawaii does not  require  retailers to operate redemption centers at their stores. 

The state of Hawaii charges a $0.05 deposit and a $0.01 fee for each container (can, bottle, 2 liter, quarts of juice, but NOT milk) You are suppose to receive the nickel back when the container is turned in, but the process is such a pain that people just take what's given to them and it usually does not work out to $.05 a container. The $0.01 fee is used to support the costs of the program.

Recycling is simple in Western N.Y.
My sister Linda returning her
beverage containers
 at the local big box store.

Recycling on Kauai  is a real chore. I believe the state does not really want people to return their cans or bottles! The reason being you must find a recycle place. They are few and far between and  there are usually long lines waiting for the recyclers to weigh your recyclables.

Back in the day when I was a kid-- you bought a bottle or can of soda pop and you returned it to the store you bought it and it was that  simple, you got your money back. 

 Recently on my trip to 'America' (the mainland) all the grocery stores and  big-box stores had giant machines that looked like humongous  soda machines where  you put your bottles or cans in and it prints out a receipt. My question is, 'why doesn't somebody do the same thing state wide here on Hawaii?' This seems like the logical thing to do. However logic is not one of the forefronts  of life in the 50th state.

You can see the enclosed photo of
 my sister depositing a can
 in the machine that looks
 like a vending machine,
 and it's that simple.

This is such a slush fund for the state. I truly believe the state intentionally makes recycling difficult as to discourage people to return their beverage containers, thus keeping all that money for the politicians to make important decisions, like pay raises for themselves.

After depositing your cans or bottles,
presto! A receipt emerges with
the amount of money owed you!

Hawaii, let's get with the times. This is the 21st-century.  We're living like a third world country.  My relatives in Western N.Y. were teasing me about living in a third world country-- and after some thought, they're not so far off.

http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-oct/article_7dc735b3-40eb-5c5d-8f90-b1c868a46ae3.html

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook...

"Getting a lid on our environment..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York
( A suburb of Buffalo, N.Y.)

 and has worked in the ophthalmology
 field of medicine for over 30 years

 Getting a lid on our environment

As I watch the snow flurries come down in October, my mind takes me back to planning a trip out west again.

It seems if I get another trip all set and planned,  it makes the present more palatable.

The weather reports are all over the place, some say hard cold winter,  some say hardly any snow and just cold. 

These brutal winters that we have had for the last few years remind me of the ones we endured when I was very young; snow forts and "house high" snowfalls.  

Beginning in the years 2000 and up our winters had become more mild until 3 yrs ago. Weather is changing all over the country. Out west since the water is in shortage, the trees and plants are having trouble surviving; you hear of mud slides, fires and tornadoes  more than ever before.

Maybe we should spend more time taking care of the ozone layer and  conservation; 

Al Gore had some good ideas about our environment.  Who knows what the future weather pattern will bring but we better get a lid on our environment soon.

Judy, Judy, Judy!  ;-)

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"RICHARD DAWKINS and me..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Vintage Bettejo)

Bettejo Dux has lived on the cosmic Garden
 Island of Kaua'i for over 40 years.

Bettejo is a regular opinion writer in the Garden Island news

 and is the author of the famed novella, "The Scam." 

 Her latest fiction"Children of extinction"

 is now  released and available on Amazon!
Bettejo has a gift of mingling
 the present, the past, and the future. 

www.bettejodux.com

www.amazon.com

RICHARD DAWKINS and me

Many of us, I'm, sure, hold someone so completely in awe that the very idea of meeting him, dining with him, takes our breath away.How could it happen? If it did, wouldn't we be struck dumb? Turn  loose a tsunami brain wave that washes all our cognitive thinking out the door? We'd mutter. We'd stutter. We'd falter. We'd faint.

Well, it wasn't like that. It wasn't like that at all. Richard Dawkins, my seating companion at the table, was, as David Silverman, president of the American Atheist, Inc., said, ".... sometimes funny, sometimes fascinating, and always interesting..." But, more than that, a delightful host. He made me feel welcome, comfortable, at home. All of them did.

It was a small group at the table. Several brilliant women, three Turks, one who played polo, a guy from Australia, a lawyer from Texas--hope I've not left anyone out--I didn't count, I listened and talked and had a great time.

The experience, I suppose, was something like it might be for you Christian guys having supper with Jesus. We didn't drink blood or eat flesh, but we did wine and dine.  Richard didn't wash anybody's feet. Good thing. I was wearing a pair of Haines Barely There panty hose which would have turned foot washing into a rather awkward feat at the table.

The introduction by the others was impressive. Lot of letters before and after names, degrees in fields of science I didn't know existed. But there was a human quality there.  No chest pounding or me me meing. They were almost humble. Richard's introduction was,    "I'm Richard Dawkins."

When my turn came, I said,"I'm Bettejo Dux. The lady from the provinces.  I'm an atheist. No buts about it." It was an 'inside' joke and Richard grinned. That made me happy and set the stage.

Sometimes the banter became a little hefty but all of it fascinated me. Held my interest. I could have sat at that table for hours listening in.

I think the women were a bit more interested in the awful ways in which atheists were  treated. I told my story about guys on Kauai who  say, "I agree with Bettejo but I can't say it." "I'd lose my job." "I couldn't be elected."  "Neighbors wouldn't talk to my wife." "What would I tell my flock?" We all agreed  speaking the truth was a dangerous step but one which all of us had to take. Someone said, "Like our gay friends, we have to come out of the closet. Too many are sadly locked in there alone."

I make it easy on myself. As an atheist, "...I prefer to pal  with astronomers rather than  astrologers. Reason my way through life  rather than indulge in make believe. Study The God Delusion rather than the Bible.  Watch  Cosmos, narrated by Carl Sagan, rather than any sermon from any televised house of worship."

Lets teach kids the truthful magic of math, not the  mythical magic of religion.

What do you think?

P.S.
Check out the October 2, 2015 interview with Richard Dawkins by Bill Maher on HBO's real time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvvQJ_zsL1U

Bettejo a few years back playing checkers
with her nephew...

Bettejo provided the quote on 

the enclosed Kauai sunrise meme!

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...

Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen---Blogger-n-chief, dakinetalk blog---

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"An Important Lesson..." 'Chester "Unc" Lau' (Source)

Dakinetalk's favorite Uncle (Chester Lau)

"Unc"  is really passionate about creating a national Caregivers day.

Any help , support or ideas would be greatly appreciated...

'Unc' currently resides on the Hawai'ian Island of Oahu. 
He is a retired cinematographer,
 and  enjoys giving the politicians a bad time...
"I am PRO-CHOICE ON EVERYTHING WITH RESPONSIBILITY..."

An Important Lesson 

Unc,Armed & Dangerous
 in basic training 1946.

 First year students at Medical School were receiving their first anatomy class with a real dead human body. 

They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet. The professor started the class by telling them, "In medicine,it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor. The first is that you should not be disgusted by anything involving the human body." 

The Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the anus of the corpse, withdrew it and stuck it in his mouth. 

The students were in shock but must comply,

They eventually took turns sticking a finger in the anus of the corpse and sucking on it. 

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at the class and told them, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger but sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention!"

P.S.
If you missed Larry David doing Bernie Sanders on SNL this is a must see for any political junkie! Be ready to laugh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfmwGAd1L-o

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...