UH dining prices...

UH dining prices


Recently I visited the UH Manoa campus. I could not believe the food concessions on campus are more expensive than their coneterparts in the real world. For instance, one of my favorite restaurants has a concession there with the same menu as the same restaurant off campus, only the difference is smaler portions and more money.

The irony is students do not have that much money, when I was a student back in the 1970's food was cheaper on campus, in fact many people came to the university for the good deals. Food service people would practice and sell the food at reasonable costs.

Now coporate America has taken over the concessions at our university's and are ripping the students off.

I cannot understand how food vendors are charging more on campus. I am appalled at the food vendor's at UH Manoa.

Hawaii's shoes-off custom sometimes difficult to bare...

Hawaii's shoes-off custom sometimes difficult to bare

Taking off one's shoes is a custom in many Hawaii homes. Hawaii's shoes-off custom sometimes difficult to bare

Everyone seems to have it wrong. They go through the physical motions of taking off their shoes but lack the inside slippers as is the custom in Japan.

I was recently at a friends home and everyone was upset because I did not take off my shoes. The carpet was filthy, they had five dogs inside that play outdoors all day and they expect me to bare my feet in all that filth and bacteria.

The custom in Japan is to take off your shoes and don a clean pair of slippers, either supplied by the host or you bring your own. When going to the bathroom, you take off your house slippers and don your bathroom slippers, because you do not want to spread bathroom bacteria to the rest of the house.

I do not understand the Hawaii custom of taking off one's shoes in many homes when you are walking in many instances in a dirty environment with other barefooted people who might have bacteria infections such as the contagious athlete's feet.

The shoes-off custom is suppose to be hygienic, and it is not hygienic to have bare sweaty dirty feet walking on floors. Hawaii needs to take a lesson from our Japanese friends before leaving their footwear unattended.

The old expression of "your feet run and your nose smells" should be reversed for Hawaii, "where your nose runs and your feet smell."

Inflation...

Inflation...
Is it just me or do prices on our cosmic island inflate like a pair of silicone implants during the summer months with tourism at its peak?

One little dainty secretarial slice of pizza at a bakery in Kilauea is $5.25 plus tax; one scoop of ice cream at numerous places in the Coconut Marketplace for $6; hot dogs at a local hardware store — $6 plus; even our dollar store at Kukui Grove is now the $1.59 store with miost items costing eve more.

Restaurants want $20 to $25 per entree not including salad — that’s another $5.50. Then the servers expect a 15 to 20 percent gratuity for service that is usually slow, ineffective and not up to par. Compare this to Japan, where the service is the best in the world and there is no tipping; in fact, if you left money on the table they would come running after you since they would think you accidently left it behind.

There are still a few good deals left on our cosmic island. I cannot share them since before long those businesess, too, would start overcharging.

Writing a letter beats being psychoanalyzed...

Writing a letter beats being psychoanalyzed


Why do people write letters to the editor and  blog, exposing their most vulnerable opinions?

When you put your opinion in writing it validates it; it's in print; your opinion now has merit. It is great therapy and settles the matter psychologically by being in print. And it's much cheaper than a visit to the psychiatrist's office.

Being a retired publisher, photographer and writer, I miss seeing my name in print. It's easier writing a letter than committing a crime just to see my name in the paper.

Whenever I need an ego boost, or a little therapy, I write a letter in hopes it is published; it's the best anti-depressant. Seeing your name in print gives one an adrenaline rush.Those who deny this fact would be fooling the mind.

Timothy Leary once said, "If we did not glorify all the criminals with front page coverage, crime would decrease immensely."

When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them I am a writer for the Honolulu paper. It sounds better than saying I am a certified nut looking for my name in print.

"Why not buy a donkey?..."

                                                               

I have been scanning the  Internet classifieds for a used vehicle the last six months. With a limited budget of under $900, there are many vehicles that come up under the term “island beater.”

What is an “island beater?” When a seller says they owned the car seven years and has never had a problem, I think the odds are about prime for a major problem since the car has over 175,000 miles on it, usually the radio and A.C. do not work, a window or two is off track, some of the doors will not open from the outside, a seatbelt or two is missing, and there is a screeching sound, but they say don’t worry.

 There is usually  a lot of rust and usually not very cosmetically maintained. They will say you can see fine through the crack in the windshield. They will say my mechanic will get it through the inspection, don’t worry; that the brakes are pumped full of air and the speedometer and gas gauge are not working along with a “check engine” light that is covered with a bandage.

Does one really want to invest, or should I say gamble, $900 into an island beater? Sure you may find one that runs and gives you little or no problems, but your odds of winning the jackpot in Las Vegas are just as good as finding a decent, reliable island beater.

Besides, gambling is illegal in Hawai‘i anyway, so why not just by a donkey and not be a dumb ass?

blogger's addiction...

Blogger's addiction


Some people are addicted to alcohol, some to drugs, others to caffeine, sugar and junk food.

A person can be addicted to anything from bubble gum to sex and places in between.

There is one addiction I am trying to overcome which is the most addicting of all addictions, blogging  addiction. I am faithfully a member of  blogger's anonymous and am trying to curtail my blogging . Like any addiction,  blogging  need's support of fellow friends and associates.

So please try and help me curtail my addiction, or else you will need to continue reading my most inner thoughts, or is this addiction incurable?

"Spare tire..."

Computers have become a way of life for most people and I am no exception.


My computer hard drive crashed and I was at a loss since every morning it’s a routine along with my cup of Joe to read The Garden Island online and check e-mails.

I took my computer to three people and no one wanted to work on it. One person said they could fix it for $150. I can buy a refurbished like-new computer for $114 online, so I did.

In the meantime I tried working on the computers at the library, but every time I went to work there, I had a mom with a crying baby right next to me or a person who did not bathe on the other side of me.

I decided after 10 years I would pull my old Web TV unit out of storage and connect it to my TV.

Web TV never crashes, it’s just a terminal box with all technical data at the server’s location, so I was able to sign up for free service for 30 days while awaiting my new computer.

Web TV sure makes for a great spare tire.