Dan Birchall

It's nice to be able to go to the farmer's market and pick up some fresh cut flowers and greenery to brighten up the house a little bit. It's even nicer to get all the flowers and greenery shown here for... four dollars. Yes, really. After all, this island is one of the top areas for production of tropical flowers! The nifty purple vase in the center, incidentally, was also gotten at the farmer's market. It was made by Daniel Moe of   Moe Hot Glass .

Last month I mentioned an impending battle with the evil forces of leaky water-supply hoses to toilets. I am pleased to report a recent victory on that front. That which leaked was replaced; that which was loose was tightened, and the water now stays (or goes) where it's supposed to. On the vanquishing subject, the Jackie Chan vehicle "The Medallion" was light, enjoyable fare for a matinee with somone today. If that other couple hadn't come in late, we'd have had the whole theater to ourselves! It was nice to see Gimli, er, John Rhys-Davies, in a good (if somewhat small) character role, and the blending of Chan's usual physical humor and martial arts with "wire-fu" and a bit more in the way of a "fantasy" plot was interesting.

"WILBERT YOSHIAKI WADA, 87, of Hilo, Hawai'i, died Aug. 31, 2003. Born in Honokohau, Kona, Hawai'i. Retired Hilo Electric Light Co. millwright. Survived by daughters, Charlotte Nakamura, Christine, Carol Tsunezumi and Catherine Katayama; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild. Private service held. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary, Hilo." Mr. Wada's yard backed up to the side of our yard. He was a nice old fellow, quiet, enjoyed gardening and plants, grew lots of good lima beans. Some months ago, he fell and hurt his hip, or something like that... after that, we didn't see him outside as much. We'll miss him.

A bunch of my friends started playing   Bookworm   from Popcap Games. Since I like words, I gave it a try after a while. The deluxe version isn't available for download for Mac OS X yet (some other Popcap games are) so I was limited to words of no more than seven letters. I played it several times, and after earning this score in excess of a million, I think I'll call it quits and rest on my laurels for a while.