Dan Birchall

We're at the Palace to see last year's "The Tempest" starring (among others) Dame Helen Mirren and Russell Brand, after chatting with one of the location managers.  A lot of the scenes were filmed here on the island - the ship/storm scene early in the movie was shot about a mile from the house. :)

I didn't realize I needed to remind anyone that I was going to check into Hale Pohaku tonight... so guess who had no room 'til morning?  Apparently  there may be some interface issues between the shiny new online reservation system and the same ol' offline people.  Fortunately, the head cook shows up early to prepare for breakfast!

 Happy 25th birthday to the Internet Engineering Task Force.

 And thanks to Emmanuel for reminding me of the name of Hugin, the free panorama software. :)

So... anybody I know from off-island going to Waikoloa Beach for the "Telescopes from Afar" conference on robotic/remotely operated astronomy? Registration fee goes up after Friday... anybody? Bueller?

L-R: Pu'u Haukea, Caltech Submillimeter, Pu'u Waiau, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, Mauna Loa (background, snowcapped), Submillimeter Array, Pu'u Poliahu, Hualalai (background), Pu'u Pohaku.   The 2 stars over Pu'u Haukea are Alpha and Beta Centauri, and the three over Pu'u Waiau are the bottom three of the Southern Cross.

January 1, Waikiki: Even the endangered monk seals just want to sleep off the previous night's celebrations.