Video from tonight's EARC meeting

We had a great time tonight at the Emergency Amateur Radio Club and we tried something new. We live streamed the meeting to the internet! Here is the video. If you watch the whole thing it will take 2 hours, so maybe just scan through and watch the SSB radio technology presentation Ron Hashiro (AH6RH) gives.

Aloha!

Bryan Demos his Cubesat at U.H.

We are so very proud of Bryan tonight! Because of some very generous offers, Bryan was invited to present his Cubesat to Dr. Wayne Shiroma and his team at the Hawaii Space Flight Lab on the University of Hawaii campus. Dr. Shiroma, who is a leader in this field, said that as far as he knew, no one has ever built their own Cubesat and was looking forward to seeing Bryan's.

We had a great time there having one the the geekiest Show-and-Tells I've ever had and we loved every minute of it.

One thing that they made very clear was that they wanted Bryan to attend UH when he gets to college. It is an exciting time at the University because they may be the ONLY university to have the capability to build AND LAUNCH their own Cubesats.

Anyway, check out Bryan's Scienze Blog for his perspective and all the photos.

Peace, Love and Opportunities,

Rich

Photos from Paintball! Splat Splat!

        

Bradley took a nasty hit to his finger!

WalMart Vision Center Rocks!

Hi Friends,

Many of you don't know that I have been wearing half eyeglasses this week because the arm (temple) broke off and I am still waiting for new contacts.  It has been annoying and kind of embarrassing and was really getting on my nerves this week.

I just want to share my experience with all of you about my chance visit to WalMart Vision Center tonight.  I was passing by as I was headed into the store and saw Matteo hanging out behind the otherwise quiet optical counter.  For some reason I changed course and without a plan or a clue entered the optical section at Walmart.  Right away Matteo greeted me and set me at ease.  I told him I had a problem, showed him my broken glasses and asked him if there was anything he could do to help.

He kindly took my glasses and without making any promises, began to rummage through a box of old glasses and spare parts.  Eventually we found the right combination of a temple and a screw and he had my glasses fixed!

But then he continued on and replaced my gross old nose pads and adjusted their position.  He cleaned the lenses for me and fitted the glasses to my head until they were just right.  All this took him a little past his closing time, but he didn't complain at all.

After all of that time and above-the-call-of-duty service he even posed for a great picture for me with a smile!  

Thanks to Matteo for an awesome job helping me see clearly again and renewing a pair of old glasses to feel like new! Everyone should go visit my new friend Matteo at the Walmart Vision Center!

Peace Love and Clear Focus,

Rich

KIPO Bytemarks Cafe Appearance

Hi Gang,

Ron Hashiro (AH6RH) and I appeared on KIPO's Bytemarks Cafe to talk about amateur radio yesterday.  It was an hour long program and our part began about 20 minutes into it.  Listen near the end for my mental derailment when I totally blanked for a moment!  I lost my train of thought, then PANIC ensued!  Took me a moment to get rolling forward again, but fortunately didn't sound nearly as bad as it felt.

Here is the link:

Bytemarks Cafe - February 18, 2009 - "Amateur Radio's Role in Emergencies"

It was great fun and I am so grateful to Burt and Ryan for having us on, and giving us an opportunity to talk about our hobby.  The feedback has been encouraging too.

Peace Love and Opportunities,

Rich

BlogWriterLite

Been busy, especially this week. 

I have good news!  I have replaced the LifeCast blogging app (FAIL) with BlogWriterLite (so far so good).  I'm hoping this leads to me showing up here in my own blog more often.  The problem wasn't that I wasn't blogging, it was that my wonderful blog creations in LifeCast were not posting, and there was no other way of getting them out of the LifeCast app.  It was so frustrating.

The only problem with the BlogWriterLite app is that if I receive a call while I am composing a blog entry, when I return to the app, everything is lost!  I discovered that this morning!  I hope they fix that bug because that could become very annoying!  It needs some sort of autosave feature before switching to the phone app.

If I like the Lite version, I may spring for the full version which will let me do photos too.  That would be sweet.  I am shocked that it has taken me so long to find a decent Blogger app.  Still not sure if I have yet or not, but I am hopeful.

Peace Love and new App-isodes to come!

Rich

Testing a new blog app

I just want to see if this will work. No news to report... Yet!

More Experimenting

Well, I just poured my heart and soul out into another post, and yet again the mobile blogging program failed me. Can I get any recommendations for a blogger app that works on an iPhone and with Blogger?

Posted with LifeCast

It's Emily's Birthday! Happy Dance!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Science Fair Projects Completed

 

(Click on photo for larger view)

Many of you know that Bryan and I have been working long nights on his satellite for the Hanalani Science Fair.  It is completed and you can learn all about it on his project journal / blog Bryan's Scienze (http://brysci.blogspot.com)  Wish him luck!

Bradley has also completed his first ever Science Fair and presented a beautiful board titled "Is a Rat Smart".  He tried to train the rats to ring a bell when they wanted to be fed.

I am so proud of both of my boys!  We are looking forward to a little relax time now that these big projects are completed.

Peace, Love, and Science,

Rich

Bryan's Science Fair

Aloha to all,

It is science fair time at the Fewell house and we have been putting almost all out free family time towards completing the projects.  This is the first year we have 2 projects to do, as Bradley has come of science fair age.  Brad is doing his about rat intelligence and Bryan is doing the usual electronics thing.  This year he is building a CubeSat, a 10x10 cm satellite.  He is building it from scratch!

No doubt we have some very late nights ahead of us, and we all wish we had started earlier.  (Mom & Dad are resisting the urge to say "I told you so!").  

Brad's project is due on Friday and Bryan's next Thursday (fortunately due to an unexpected extension!)

If you'd like to follow along on Bryan's project, check out his personal science blog, Bryan's Scienze.  If you do check it out, leave him an encouraging comment!  Every one helps it seem worthwhile.

Peace, Love and Science,

Rich

iPhone Blogging Not Working

If I ever get this iPhone blogging app working I'll start up again here. Meanwhile, patience I plead.

Rich

Posted with LifeCast

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

(I promise to blog more this year)

Peace Love and a Great 2009,

Rich

Rain, and lots of it

We just weathered a massive rainstorm last night!  It rained a total of 5.4 inches on our house, with 90% of that coming between 3am and 7am.  It was wild!  I collected a few of the photos I took on my iPhone and put them in a gallery.  Check it out:

Rain of December 11th Gallery

When I got up in the morning, I discovered my weather station gear wasn't posting to the internet.  I fixed it and got data from 4:30ish on.

Peace, Love and Dry Days Ahead,

Rich

December Update

Sorry it has been so long since I've written!

November was a very busy time both at work and at home.  At work we had not even recovered from the General Election coverage before we we waist deep in sweeps.  At home, we were rapidly trying to prepare the house for our Thanksgiving celebration which turned out great for all 26 of us (yup!).  I also went to a Men's Retreat with our church and had a good and deeply meaningful  time there.

As this month begins, it seems to be a month of changes.  My boss announced that this will be his last month with KITV.  We will be going into the new year without a manager until they decide to hire another one or dissolve our department, and roll it into others.  There has been no mention of what direction it may be, but corporately, they have not replaced the Creative Services Director after he left 5 months ago.  I don't feel like I am in any danger of losing my job, but no doubt changes are in my future.  It should be exciting, no doubt.

We are also very nearly out a debt.  When we finally make that last payment we are looking forward to redirecting that money elsewhere.  We have fallen behind in other arenas and we will still have some catch up to do in areas of maintenance and savings and the like.  Looking at the current economy I feel very blessed to have a secure job and be debt free.

We are looking forward to spending some time with our Maui family during the holidays.  We may even be taking the Superferry too, which I am looking forward to.  I'll be sure to let all of you know what that is like.  It will be so good to spend time with both our families and eat and sleep and read and rest.

That's enough of an update for now.  If you have any questions let me know by email.   I'm not very good at keeping in touch and sometimes I need a nudge. 

Wishing everyone Peace, Love and Joy during this holiday season,

Rich

Did You Know? I didn't

I sent this to some friends and got quite a response. Maybe it will interest more of you if you haven't seen it already. I was stunned by the information in this video. You may be too.

(press PLAY)

The Way Things End Up

This morning I woke up feeling very thoughtful. I was re-analyzing past decisions in light of where I am now, trying to see if, in the current light, past cloudy decisions are any clearer.

(Oh wow. Even as I write this there are 2 guys next to me at Starbucks discussing the same decision I was analyzing.)

I started thinking about my direction in life, and where I am now in comparison to where I thought I was going to be. Obviously they don't line up well.

I notice that young people have such a confidence that they are going to change the world. They are going to leave their mark on history. I remember thinking that way, but it seems like those intentions evaporate. Reality quietly sets in and hardens like concrete, to the point that the energy necessary to break out is too great for us and we settle for what is, rather than what could have been.

Is this just a lifestage thing? Is anyone else my age feeling this? Is everyone feeling this?

It seems it is a pattern with so many things in my life:

Our old church started so strong and ready to change the world, and ended (for us) with hurts, distrust, division, and sorrow. (on the mend)

Our marriage started blissfully, but guess what, it got hard! We went through some really tough patches. Praise God we are still together (on the mend).

When I started my career, I was hot stuff! (Ha!). I was fast, accurate, conscientious and committed! It's been a while now since I've felt even a little warm! (ha ha)

My video ministry at New Hope Mililani restarted a year and a half ago with an explosion of activity and plans. Here I am a year later struggling to maintain status quo.

Plans and dreams seem to corrode. What was shiny clear and new becomes battered, rusted and weathered.

Isn't that one of the laws of thermodynamics? That things tend to deteriorate unless energy is added to them?

The only thing that is stable and unchanging in my life is my relationship with the Lord. He has been a constant through all the changes and stresses in life, a source of comfort and wisdom. He is a friend like no other, who draws near to me in times of trouble or joy.

Some of you may be sarcastically thinking "...must be nice to have a perfect imaginary friend.", or you are surprised by the personal "relationship" terms I use when talking about God. I know. There are all manner of crazy ideas and suspect motivations out there. All I can say at the moment is that the presence of God's Spirit feels very real, the wisdom I apply seems to work, and the character issues He reveals to me are not my own ideas. I understand myself, others and the world better and I find fulfillment in pleasing God in my heart and actions. I wish I would do that more consistently, but I have a foe, my old wayward nature.

From the beginning we are independent creatures, not submitted to God. We are born that way, each one. Our waywardness causes a rift between us and God. I suspect that is one of the reasons the best of intentions always seem to deteriorate into something less than ideal. The Bible calls it sin and it is a disease we all have, but many don't even know it, or they hear the diagnosis and deny it. It is a terminal disease. For God to remain perfect he must punish sin. For all of us, that's bad news because the punishment is death!

Here is the good news. God has taken the punishment we deserved and applied it to His Son Jesus who lived a perfect life, and satisfied the requirement of justice. He died from our terminal disease, then God broke the power of death over man and raised Jesus from the dead. What remains is for us to admit we are wayward, agree to the transaction, and restart a new life with God.

Each person has to decide for themselves. No one can decide for you, and just like in our recent ballot question voting, a blank vote is counted as a no.

You can decide how the most important decision in your life ends up. All it takes is a sincere conversation with God. Tell Him you know you've been living independently from Him and you want to accept his offer of Jesus and start a new relationship submitted to Him. That is when your new life begins.

For me and my family, it was the best and most important decision we ever made. It didn't make us perfect, but it freed us from the burden of our sin and enabled us to live new lives.

I encourage you to consider for yourself what you will do with God's offer. Decide now, or start your journey of discovery to see if what I've written here is true. It is the most important, significant, eternal decision you will ever make.

This time, you get to decide the way things end up. Choose wisely.

Wishing everyone Peace, Love and New Life,

Rich


Posted with LifeCast

Blind Testing

Something just happened to me and I have to share it. I was on my bike in downtown Honolulu, biking along S. King street toward KITV. I was still in the heart of downtown at Alakea and S. King. I pulled up to a stop light (on the road) just as it turned red. The pedestrians began crossing in front of me. There was one pedestrian left behind and immediately it is obvious that he is blind. He has a long white cane and was wearing very unusual blacked out goggles that covered his eyes and forehead. (It was gi-normous, with an acrylic-like face!)

One of the first pedestrians arriving from the other side let him know it's OK to cross, so he started out, sweeping his cane in a really wide arc as people scattered wildly in front of him realizing his condition themselves. He passed me just fine, but then began to drift out of the crosswalk and was heading over to the middle of a stopped bus! His cane was going to sweep under the bus and he wouldn't know it was there until he hit it!

I called over and then rode over to him telling him to come towards my voice. He stopped just in the nick of time and turned and was now walking toward me, parallel to the bus. "This is good" I thought until I saw his head heading for the massive rear-view mirror on that side of the bus. I called out frantically, trying to warn him, but he didn't respond and I cringed fearing the worst....whoosh it just missed his head! As he passed the front of the bus he turned toward the curb and found it and got up on the sidewalk, successfully having crossed the street.

The light had already turned green by this point but everyone was cool and when he was safe, traffic began to flow again. He never spoke once.

I find myself analyzing this experience over and over. Was he really blind?

I've seen blind people before and I've never seen them swing their cane in such a wild, wide arc. It was almost as if he was trying to scatter the people. He never asked for help or said thank you, (not that that is important for me, but I would think communication is key to safety in a situation like that). Despite me calling out, he took several steps until he stopped just shy of the bus. I also don't remember telling him to turn toward the curb after he had passed the front of the bus. He seemed to do that on his own. How did he know?

Here are the possibilities:
1. He is really blind. If so, I feel terrible for doubting it, and I would be concerned for his safety. He is not ready for being solo in an urban environment.

2. He is newly blind. Perhaps this was the first day he mustered up enough courage to leave the apartment and go to the corner market himself. If so, good on him!

3. His giant black-out goggles are a training tool. He may be training to work with the blind and as a training exercise he has to "walk a day in their shoes".

4. This is a TV show or social experiment to see what happens. Perhaps he could see dimly through the goggles and was fabricating situations to record and evaluate the reactions of others. There were plenty of places to record that scene from if it were so.  It would sort of explain the near misses and other behavior.

Fortunately, no matter which is true, my actions should still be the same. Help to guide the gentleman across the street. 

After he was safe and I left, I wished I had stayed with the guy and guided him all the way to his destination. Perhaps then I would have known better his condition and the truth of the situation. I guess I will never know. If anyone ever sees a TV show with that kind of set up situation, let me know.

Peace Love and Character Testing,

Rich

Badger Me at Your Own Risk!

Today's Dilbert had me in tears I was laughing so hard. It probably won't be as funny for you, but I was dying! I had to share it.

Mahalo and "props" to Dilbert.com

UPDATE:  Added after great recommendation by twitterer RossB (Courtesy GreystoneInn.net)

Peace Love and Patience,

Rich
(often badgered KITV artist)

A "Wrench-ing" Journey

My first experiment with Animoto, creating a slideshow celebrating my mechanical victory.