At Costco, eat like a king on a budget...

Recently I was having a gourmet lunch of a kosher quarter-pound Polish frank with all the fixins and a refillable soft drink for only $1.50 at Costco.

I started thinking about all the people who say they are against the "big box" corporations coming to our island. The Costco outdoor cafe is always standing room only and for good reason, it's the best quality lunch for the price anywhere on Kauai.

When you are done at the cosmic gourmet $1.50 cafe, you can wander through the store and sample many different foods on any given day. The sample people are always friendly and do not mind if you go back for seconds and thirds.

Besides my Polish frank, I sampled wild Alaska salmon, beef Wellington, pizza bagels, teriyaki chicken balls, grapefruit slices and Japanese mochi ice cream, all for $1.50. That's not even a decent tip at most restaurants.

I usually don't like to give my secrets away; however, Costco without a doubt is your best bank for your luncheon dollar-fifty.

All I can say is, at least there's Costco.

down on politics...

I know many families who live in public housing, one family in particular gets to fly in a Boeing 747-200 B jet, rent a luxury vacation rental with all expenses including meals, 24 hour security and anything they wish within a phone call, email or whisper. At a time when public schools, county and state employees are experiencing furloughs and lay offs , unemployment at an all time high,and bankruptcies and foreclosures as common as apple pie, there happens to be a family who lives in public housing that gets to go on an all expense taxpayer paid vacation to the tropical destination of Hawai'i.

Many tour companies will be experiencing loss revenue to restrictions on air space and implied no fly zones within radius of the presidents vacation rental.(Vacation rentals, that's another blog) We have no real way to figure out the cost of our number one public servants vacation, but would bet it's in the millions of dollars.

When someone lives in public housing should they at taxpayers expenses be able to enjoy multi-million dollar vacations and bring down tour operators incomes when the rest of the country is going down? I guess these are the benefits of living in public housing?

I am not down on our president,I voted for him and if the election were tomorrow I just wouldn't vote, I'm down on politics, politicians and lies.

write a letter or blog you'll feel better....

Writing letters to the editor or maintaining a blog is an inexpensive way to vent your feelings. Call it therapy. One can write a letter or blog and get something off their chest. It's like having psychotherapy with the whole world watching.

While people offer their opinions and air their dirty laundry, it is quite entertaining. In fact, I have been told by many that the editorial page is their favorite page of this paper. If you are visiting another city and wish to get a feel for it, visit the local paper's editorials and letters. That'll put you in touch.

I wish to thank all of you who read my blogs and letters of mine and allowing me the opportunity to air my dirty laundry and share my therapy with everyone who reads this column. It's a win-win situation; we the people can whine about this and that, praise a thing or two, offer our opinions on anything from weedblowers to the Superferry to the police chief, GMOs, monkeypod trees, and on and on. In return we get published, we get blogged and feel accomplished.

If you have never written a letter or blogged with an opinion, try it, you'll like it! It's cheaper than a visit to the psychiatrist's office

Legalize everything!

Hawaiian's number one vacation destination is Las Vegas. Gambling and prostitution are legal there. If Hawaii would legalize gambling, prostitution and marijuana, the state could tax all those things which would give Hawaii the finances necessary for many projects such as an end to state and teacher furloughs, new roads, parks, pools, inexpensive housing, new libraries, public transportation, pedestrian trails, housing for the homeless, and have adequate funding for Honolulu's controversial rail system, etc...

Hawaii should legalize gambling with the start of a state lottery. Hawaii and Utah are the only states currently without a lottery. The lottery could help generate funds for the states below average educational system, and put teachers back to work, no more furloughs, every week another person would become rich.

Hawaii should legalize prostitution, with Aids and other STD's running rapid, at least prostitution would be controlled. The Prostitutes would need to be licensed and required to see a doctor periodically for a clean bill of health. The police would have more time to focus on the more serious crimes such as murder and robberies. Prostitution exists in Hawaii, just walk the streets of Waikiki or observe the numerous massage and relaxation parlors in Honolulu. Let's make it legal, safe and tax it, after all it already exists.

Hawai'i should legalize marijuana. Marijuana is accessible to anyone who wants it, why not legalize it and control the substance just as alcohol is controlled with legal age limits. (Many studies show marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.) The state could become very rich with legalizing & growing marijuana in Hawaii's perfect climate.

I am not a gambler, I do not buy prostitutes, or smoke pot . Legalizing everything would be a win win situation for law enforcement and the financial state of Hawai'i, plus alleviate the overcrowded prisons which cost taxpayers millions of dollars.This is how to stimulate the economy, prohibition just doesn't work!

"only the guilty speak..."

It seems every car I see with the End ice bumper sticker usually belongs to a drugged out person.

Psychology 101 states that only the guilty speak,for instance the first kid to say I didn't throw that spit ball is most likely the one who did.

Hawaii is insistent on being known as the Aloha state, basic psychology tells us just the opposite.

Ironically I used to live in Alaska which is the polar opposite of Hawaii and although the weather may be cold the people are warm and in Hawaii although the weather may be warm the people are cold.

The ultimate animal

It’s a wonderful world -- unless you’re a chicken. Chickens are the one animal that we need more than any other for survival, and Kauai has thousands of wild chickens, making it the wild chicken capital of the world.

Chicken can be prepared in numerous ways, from deep fried, to barbecued, to a nice saute in wine sauce, to many different Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Mexican dishes. If you include the egg as a chicken, then chicken is also an active ingredient in almost everything we eat, from bread, cakes, protein drinks and thousands of baked goods to the old standby breakfast omelets, scrambled eggs, over easy, poached, boiled and microwaved. There are egg salad sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches. Chicken is the essence of the food chain.

Even our tree's, flowers and gardens are fertilized with chicken manure, not only are chickens great to eat, but they make everything grow better.

The word "chicken" itself is used to describe someone who is afraid, and there is a good reason -- chickens are usually running from humans. The word is out that we use them as an ingredient in almost everything we eat.

The chicken is also an alarm clock, with the rooster crowing at the crack of dawn and all other regular intervals to manage time without a clock.

We name many things after the chicken, we have the disease of chicken pox, we say the word chicken as a prefix to four-letter words.

Chicken soup also known as Jewish penicillin is a healing serum used for colds, coughs and flus.

My friend Forrest, who is also known as the "chicken whisperer," can be seen pedaling his bicycle around the island with a wild chicken on the handlebars. Tourists and locals always smile and want their picture taken with his chicken. Everyone wants to be part of the chicken world.The chicken also will act as a garbage disposal. When camping out, I see the chickens eating everything imaginable, even the unimaginable.

A rooster and a hen are the one pair of animals you would want if stranded on a deserted island.The chicken is the ultimate.

Next time you see a wild Kauai chicken, stop and say, "Eerrrr eeeer eeeeer eeeeer, or just a simple cock a doodle doo...

Cars in the future...

Everyone seems excited about electric cars, electric cars have been around for years at country clubs and on golf courses.

It would be wonderful for an electric car capable of reaching speeds of their gas guzzling counterparts.

Electric cars are not the answer to crowded roads on an overpopulated planet. It's time to be creative and really move into the 21st century.

We need an easy to drive vehicle that is capable of flying, I would be for another Big 4 auto bailout if a flying solar powered electric mobile was in the immediate stimulus.

Imagine a flying solar powered rechargeable electric automobile, just like the one in the old Jetsons cartoon of the 60's!? We have the technology, electric cars would be wonderful, but they would not stop bumper to bumper traffic. It's time for the Jetson flying solar powered flying-automobile to become reality.

No more bumper to bumper traffic, we would only have to enforce a few no fly zones.
Imagine the new array of Tiger Woods and Bill Clinton jokes when no fly zones are mentioned.