This Year's Aloha Festivals Parade

Honolulu's 63rd Annual Aloha Festivals Parade rolled down the street from Ala Moana Park to Waikiki today. The colorful parade featured a variety of marching bands, beauty queens, floral floats, Pa'u riders on horseback, flags, banners, people lining the roadway, sunshine, heat, a politician or two, and an occasional drizzle. The parade lasted for more than 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Photos in this presentation were taken with a Minolta XD-11 35mm camera using Kodak film which was scanned to a CD. The JPG images processed with Apple's iPhoto software on a MacBook Pro laptop computer. Mac OSX 10.5.8

• Aloha Festivals Parade Photos on Flickr

Thunderbirds Are Go!

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team made its triumphant return back to Honolulu for a 2 day spectacular show this past weekend, September 19 and 20. Thousands of people flocked to a rare open house at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii. The open house featured displays of various military aircraft with the highlight being the 2 public performances of the Thunderbirds each afternoon.

The Thunderbirds never disappoint their mesmerized audiences as they perform a series of in-flight routines that scream with speed, finesse, altitude and sonic noise. All for the good as everyone looks on in awe and wonder, with many trying to keep time with the fast moving jets to get that picture perfect photograph.

The Thunderbirds have been flying since 1967 and currently deploy with the Lockheed Martin built F-16 Flying Falcon. The Falcon is a single seat fighter jet that has a long distinguished record of service with the Air Force. It can fly at speeds of up to 1,500 mph or 2 times the speed of sound. For demonstration purposes the Thunderbirds usually push their planes to about 600 mph.

This year's public show was the 2nd in the past two years in Hawaii. The Thunderbirds also came to Honolulu in September 2007.

The photo slideshow below depicts both the 2007 and 2009 performances.




You can view a larger version of the slideshow by going to its Flickr page or to my website.

Additional Links

• US Air Force Thunderbirds Website
• Mel's Thunderbirds Flickr Photos
• Thunderbirds Slide Show
• Flickr: Many Thunderbirds Photos slideshow (various members)
• Thunderbirds Roar & Roll - StarBulletin.com
• Air Force Thunderbirds Swoop Up Praise - Honolulu Advertiser
• Air Force Thunderbirds Bring Thunder to Hickam - KGMB 9 News
• Thunderbirds From the Cheap Seats - my shaky video
  

Corvette Summer 2009

The Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most celebrated automobiles to roll off America's assembly lines. An instant classic the moment it is made, enthusiasts from all over the world as well as in Hawaii love to showcase their 'Vettes. I was lucky enough to catch such a show in Waikiki earlier this month. Here are pictures of dozens of Hawaii's coolest Corvettes around. Enjoy!

• Corvette Summer 2009 Photos @ Flickr.com
  

Honolulu Tea Party Express

A couple dozen citizen patriots showed up near the State Capitol this past Saturday, September 12 for the Honolulu version of "Tea Party Express." People came to sign wave against the Obama administration's health care plan, tax increases, cap n trade, bailouts, legislative pay reductions and other issues.

This post features the short video clip that I made using iMove 09 with a brand new Apple MacBook Pro laptop computer that I have in my possession at this time. The clip is rather rough, but passable for a short view. I still have a lot to learn about using iMovie and creating better clips.

Below is a slideshow from photos I shot that are posted to my Flickr photo site.

Tea Party Express Comes to Honolulu

This announcement was posted to the new Hawaii Republican Assembly website:



Sign Waving Near the State Capitol

9 a.m. to 12 noon on Sept 12, 2009
9 to 12 on 9/12

To honor those who died on 9/11 this demonstration is "Pro U.S."

Join in with the national tea party express (http://teapartyexpress.org/ ) demonstration to take back our country.

Meet for three hours on the washington place side of beretania across from the state capitol.
Bring your own tax or health care or constitution protection signs!!

This event is not sponsored by any organization and is open to all who want to protect their freedoms as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.

No speakers, just sign waving for freedom.

Stinky People Can Still Ride

People who don't take a bath, smelly homeless people and anyone else with bad "body odor" or foul smelling animals and articles can continue to ride The Bus. A proposed bill before the Honolulu City Council that prohibited people with offensive body odor from riding The Bus and the city's proposed rail system was indefinitely "deferred" yesterday during a council transportation committee hearing.

The "body odor" prohibition bill (Bill 59) made national headlines this week after City Councilmen Rod Tam (Mr. "Naps and Snacks") and Nestor Garcia introduced it early this week. The bill would have made it a crime for people with "offensive body odors" from riding The Bus. Penalties ranged from being removed from The Bus to monetary fines.

The bill was opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Honolulu Police Department, the City Prosecutor's office and many others. Opponents cited constitutional, civil rights and enforcement issues for their opposition to the bill. Some bus users however did support the bill.

As goofy as this bill sounds, it does bring to light an issue that many people have not talked about much until now. It is a fact that bus riders are often subjected to the presence of foul smelling people during the daily commute. It is one of many reasons why most people do not ride The Bus and won't ride the rail.

I have some memories of being seated or standing next to offensive smelling people during my days of being a regular bus rider. Believe me it is not pleasant.

Something has to be done to better address the "stinky people" issue.

Photo: The usually crowded bus stop area at Union Mall in Downtown Honolulu.

Baggage Fee Increases Cost of Inter-island Flying

Haven't blogged about inter-island airline travel in a while.

Since my last entry on this topic, Hawaii is now served by 3 major airlines and 3 commuter airlines. Mokulele Airlines is both a "major" and "commuter." They started jet service last November and join Hawaiian Airlines and Mesa/Go for the bulk of inter-island travclers.

Mokulele Airlines started the latest airfare battle with its $299 all you can fly promotion for the month of September. Hawaiian Airlines and Mesa/Go responded in kind with their own price reductions.

Those lucky enough to either book or reserve in August got to or will be able to fly between the islands on Hawaiian Air and Mesa/Go for about $25 each one way. The discount prices have now crept back up to the $42 level, with most seats selling for higher depending on time of reservation, travel dates and other factors.

But this is only airfare... the price to get you from point A to point B.

Bringing check-in baggage?

Disappointingly and surprising at the same time, the local airlines are now going to charge most passengers a $10 fee for the first checked bag. Previously the first check bag flew with each passenger for FREE. Not anymore.

For a long time now, the 2nd bag was $17 and this still applies. I was lucky enough to always fly light and managed one check in bag and some carry-ons.

The added bag fee is a penalty for all inter-island travelers impacted by the fee.

It is funny that Hawaiian Airlines says that without the baggage charge, that they cannot remain profitable. Hello? They have a huge order for new Airbus jet aircraft and will probably bend to union demands and give their pilots some kind of range. I guess those items are being financed by the baggage fee. Hmmmm.

The airlines should not have played the fare game this time around... Surely $25 is a great deal but now when you add the first bag fee the price is $35. This does not include taxes and security fees which are the norm in today's travel market.

It is no wonder why airline travel these days suck. Baggage fees, higher taxes, poor service, lost bags, crowded airports, increased security screenings, delays, change fees and more inconvenience only adds to the public's reluctance to fly. For an aging person like me, it is best to minimize travel and just stay home if at all possible.

It is too bad that we don't have the Hawaii Superferry anymore. They had a fare and a fee for your car. But you could pack that car with all the stuff you wanted without any additional fee. Too bad environmentalists, lawyers and special interests killed the Superferry.

Photo: Hawaiian Airlines aircraft at Honolulu International Airport.