Watching and waiting

A little pre-flight lunch with the girls - Jenny and little Hannah pictured, and Laura and Sue too! 

I've been back for 4 days now. Even though my life is far from organized, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I had the relaxed and calm feeling of being "at home" pretty much as soon as I walked through the door. Which considering I had such a fantastic visit to Hawaii was nice. I didn't make many "good friends" out there (the kind you hang onto forever), but this trip really reminded me of how much I miss those people. Despite that, Maine is home, and it feels good to be home. Even if only for a few short weeks before I head south on my Antarctic cruise (and man what a bear the organization of that is turning out to be.....but i'm going to spare you there....).

The big news here of course is that the government could go into shut-down mode tonight if they don't come to a budget consensus soon. I'm not a federally funded employee, so i'm not worried about not being paid, but the majority of my research grants are federal, not to mention the several I have in review right now, that will be in stasis until this gets figured out. Our cruise to the Antarctic is federally funded, and though we think we're all okay, impacts are not quite certain right now. The biggest impact is with my collaborators - Kathy from Woods Hole, who works for USGS and Bob in Alaska, who works for NOAA could well be in limbo next week, without pay. If the government goes into shut down, they're not just told not to work, they are physically locked out of their buildings, out of their email, out of their phones - they are literally not allowed to work.

So i'm in two minds. Kathy and I have dreamed up a scheme that if this really happens she's going to truck up to Maine next week and come and hang out up here. We'll work on some "non-USGS" things together, and it'd be great to see her. I even went out and bought a bed and bedding tonight for my spare room just in case (so that pretty much guarantees it's not going to happen....). On the other hand though, Bob being locked out of his office means our live corals have no-one to look after them, all that hard work put into collecting them could go to waste. They're doing well so far too, but the big plankton bloom has just begun up there, meaning the water gets thick and sludgy, clogging up the corals - in the past this is the time of year the live corals suffer and often die if not looked after carefully. So we're concerned.

All this talk of government cut-backs included a large cut to science spending in the US, but it seems right now as if the government has conceded on most things except funding for Planned Parenthood - an organization here in the US that provides reproductive health care for low income families. This is the most stupid debate to me, coming from the UK, where both healthcare and contraceptives are free, as they should be. You should never have to decide between contraceptives and food in my opinion (~$10-$20 a month for the cheaper ones, with insurance), but many do, which is why Planned Parenthood, who charge less, is so important. Why is this even an arguing point? The Tea Party stresses it doesn't want federal funding to go to abortions and that is why it is not conceding, yet abortions provided by Planned Parenthood are not subsidized by federal money, those are charged at cost, so it's not even a true statement. What's more, if funding were increased for Planned Parenthood, to a level where contraceptives could be made free to those on low incomes, we would save a considerable amount of federal money not supporting single unemployed mothers and their children, likely more savings than shutting down the service. But we don't want to encourage people to have sex do we. That wouldn't be very republican. I love being in this country, but some things drive me nuts, this week has been full of them. Let's hope Obama doesn't back down on this one.

So in the end what's happening with science spending? I guess we'll find out soon. I hope I haven't just found my lot in life to have to give it up because science funding has tanked.....

Happy Weekend!

I'm off!

It's 11pm and i'm up at 4am to get on a plane - yay! Everything is packed away and even in the car, as it's way too early in the AM to be lugging two giant bags down the stairs. I should do that more often, stops me last minute re-arranging....:0)

So i'm off to do two of my favorite things - camping and science - and even combine those two for a few days. I'm really excited, relieved, and happy the time has finally got here. Glacier Bay National Park here I come! Don't forget to tune into my science blog (link on the right), that's where i'll be posting photos (look under Glacier Bay National Park Corals link), i'll try and check in here sometimes too, internet is going to be pretty sporadic, so no promises until I get back!

A slight whinge....

Okay, so one of the things I will NOT miss about Hawaii. How darn expensive it is here. In everything. I just went to get some prescription inhalers, and bam, i'm down $60. For 2 inhalers. It's the first time i've tried to get them here in Hawaii (I usually try for the UK as they're cheaper there, but I have got them before in MA and they were ~$40 for the same). Turns out they don't do generics of either of my inhalers at the major pharmacy in Hawaii. Ish! Its 9pm and I have no idea where the next different pharmacy is around here and to be honest just do not have the time to search right now so I bit it this time, but man, it's going to be a big search before I get that refill, $60 no way! Even if I have to not breathe between now and Maine. Well okay, that's a little far, but you get how pissed off I am at this right now. 

So that's my whinge over. On the other side you do get some great oddities here, though admittedly this might be all around the US. Check out some of the great store items i've found in the last couple of days.  

For the child who wants to work in a abattoir....

...and those who want to learn to eat healthy. The best bit about this one is that it's advertised as environmentally friendly wooden toys. Can't toys be environmentally and health friendly at the same time? Is this really where the BPA crisis has lead us......wooden donuts??

And for all those purple people like myself, rest assured you are calming, relaxing and focused. Not to mention Superliminal.

Tsunami day!

It's a bit like a "snow day" only a bit wetter....:0) I shouldn't joke, it could have been serious, and Hawaii, wonderfully and efficiently, took it very seriously. We've had a number of tsunami warnings this season, but the difference with this one, is they actually detected a wave in the middle of the Pacific, which meant it went from a warning to a reality. My day started with a 5am phone call from Cape Cod. A friend back there that works for SEA was calling me to see if I could help get their boat out of the harbor because a tsunami was coming. This was the first I had heard of the tsunami.

I checked in with the Red Cross at this point, as I knew we would be gathering to plan what, if anything, was needed later in the day. They were happy for me to put myself on the watch list for the evening, to continue with shelters if any were set up while I was offshore.

So I gulped down some breakfast, quickly checked the tsunami warning system here to look for the extent (at that point they were warning of 2m surge) and jump in the car - just in time for the first sirens to go off at 6am. I got down to the dock just as the sun was rising. The rest in pictures.

Sunrise over Snug Harbor in downtown Honolulu. I and three other volunteers got there at 6.30am and we had a slot to leave harbor at 7am - this slot was vital, as things were hectic, all the boats were trying to get out, as in a tsunami, the safest place to be is at sea. Any boats left behind risk being slammed around in their moorings and tipped over in the waves - at sea, the large waves don't appear until close to shore, so you just ride over the top.

Sunrise over the wheel house (yes I know there is no house, but that is still what it's called). The SEA vessel Robert C Seamans is a 134ft Brigantine sailing ship used as a floating classroom for undergraduates from all over the USA. It's being docked here in Hawaii for 6 months, as they've been hit by the recession, so had to cancel their spring program. SEA runs out of Woods Hole, so I know many folks who have done SEA, and over the last few months i've been helping put together a short cruise for Hawaii students, hopefully at the end of May.

Sailing out of the harbor (well, steaming, not sailing, unfortunately the sails had been packed away for storage, so we were entirely under steam). Usually they have a crew of 30 people do this. We had 6. Their minimum to sail is 4. We were super busy at the cast off and docking, so I would personally, hate to try and do it with 4!

Honolulu from the water.

We sat at at the 1000m depth line (about ten miles off shore) - as at this depth the tsunami would hardly be felt at all. There were lots of boats out, everyone who could left the dock. I was texting with some students who have sail boats and were also out on the water. At this point we decided it would be fun to turn on some of the science equipment, so we had some current meters going and a bottom sounder. We were all outside when "it hit", so we don't know yet whether it showed much, but it'll be interesting to look at that data later!

The moment "it hit". In reality, it was just a 2ft surge that hit Oahu, and a 6ft one that hit the Big Island, so a good thing, not quite a false alarm, but no major damage done. We did actually feel it which was amazing. For about ten minutes the water got choppy and confused, and then went right back to steady and calm. Eeeery.

Heading back in. I like that I live in the time that I do. We were not out of phone reception at all, so on my iPhone I could get emails and updates, so before we headed in I knew my car would still be there, and the islands had got off lightly. I can't imagine what it would have been like to head in to no news, not knowing what we would find. But I guess in that time there never would have been a warning in the first place, and maybe there would have been a few swept out to sea this morning.

Now thoughts turn to Chile. Everyone I know there has checked in which is fantastic, but there is still a lot of damage we do not know about as yet.

Well...

They sent the letter in error apparently. I'm not sure I believe them as yet, but will see. I looked it all up and I have a year to appeal, so as long as they don't send me a bill in the next year, and I rechase this up in a month or so just to be sure, all should be well. Thanks Blue Cross for making my weekend so stress free.

Mt Olympus

Today was an awesome day, so much fun! I went for a 6 mile hike up Mt Olympus with my friend Russ, followed by a swim at Kaimana beach and a "Cheese Burger in Paradise" (yes, it's owned by Jimmy Buffet). I'm now back in my apartment nursing my dehydration, stiff legs (I did a ten mile run on saturday too!) and bruised butt (and by bruised, I mean BRUISED).

I wish I had taken a photo of me on this hike, but I forgot. By the end of the hike I was literally covered in mud, all up my legs, my butt and my arms. It's a typical Hawaiian muddy trail, but also steep and really slippy in places. I managed to take a good slip (one of many by both of us) onto a tree root, my right butt cheek is now black. At least the outcome is indicative of how much that hurt, I hate it when you take a good tumble and don't even have a bruise to show for the pain. I've also ascertained my Keens might be beyond their useful tread-life. I kind of knew this, but was hoping to eek them out a little longer....

The hike (topographic map here) -

The trail on the Wa'ahila Ridge trail. This is looking back into Waikiki.

Some beautiful views of Diamond Head volcano.

Looking down Manoa Valley (right - where my house is) all the way to Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. Palolo valley is on the left, we're right up on the ridge between them.

After two hours walking up the ridgeline we finally came to Mt Olympus - this photo is taken from the top looking down to Kailua, on the windward side of the island (the opposite side from where I live, and the opposite from the previous photo). It was gorgeous, but a little cloudy, so this photo looked better in sepia.

Kailua town. It was getting pretty cloudy up here, but otherwise we were lucky with the weather, no rain.

There was a short trail down from Mt Olympus towards Kailua that we investigated, it didn't go too far though. But there was a ton of Korean hikers sat on the Mt Olympus viewpoint, so we didn't feel like sticking around there too long.

Last days on the Cape

The Vegetarian Buffet at the Coonamessett Farm - yum! This is a summer staple, every friday they have an all you can eat buffet (vegetarian and sometimes they do meat too) using many of the vegetables from around the farm, as well as extras. The weather was overcast, but this actually made it way less busy, which was nice!

You can also bring your own bottle! Me, Laura and Alison! Breck, BL and Kate (Owens) also joined us for the meal - it was in fact BL's idea - good one BL!

And animals too!

I did manage to go swimming on one day, but the week was mostly overcast and rainy. Falmouth Heights beach.

Hanging out with the Soules, such a wonderful family!

American Red Cross

I did my final training tonight to be a "Hotline Operator" for the Oahu chapter of the American Red Cross. What does this mean? Well, the Red Cross primarily deal with local emergencies, such as house fires, flooding etc. They go to the scene and help anyone who needs help - providing food, shelter, monetary help and counseling services too. Basically helping people get back onto their feet after a disaster and being there when needed. I would eventually like to get onto one of these teams that go into the field, but there are quite a few courses you have to take to get on one and i'd really like to get some experience in what kinds of calls the Red Cross respond to. 

Here in Hawaii one of the most needed volunteers are Hotline Operators. This means you're the one who takes the call from the emergency services and passes on the message to the relevant team to respond. So you're basically the point person. Here in Hawaii, where numbers of calls are relatively low, this means you're on call either day or night (not both) for a week at a time. The nice thing about this and my crazy schedule is that it fits around really well - I can say when i'm here in Hawaii and when i'm not, and I can be "on call" in the evenings, so around my work schedule. Here in Hawaii the average is 3 calls a week, so really not a big time sink. 

The Red Cross are always looking for volunteers, are in every community and have a variety of things you can do that can fit every schedule (from once a year to once a week!). Take a look at your local chapter to see what's going on in your area, you'll be helping people in your community as well as doing something very worth while. 

Love it......

Just filling out the forms for a background check to become an official Red Cross volunteer, and this made me laugh. Apparently, if you are a resident of California, possession of cannabis doesn't count as a previous conviction, unless you were caught on school grounds. The differences in laws between states always amazes me, this one made me chuckle.....

Michael Palin for President

I don't know how to upload You Tube Video's on here (i'll try and investigate later) - so you'll have to click the link below. If I could vote, I know where my vote would be......

Michael Palin for President