Ah....Paradise

The lava is changing direction every couple of weeks.

We've got a date with hurricane Flossie tomorrow afternoon.


AND.....we just had a 5.3 earthquake a few miles away.

I must say, this place provides a lot of cheap entertainment. Not much need for TV. Just sit around and wait for nature to thrill us.

It's all good, though. We live upslope from the lava, too high for a tsunami and ... well ... earthquakes we are used to.

Aloha.

She's Baaaaack

Pele has brought her bounty to the surface once again.

This is a screen capture from the live web cams looking into the lava pond in Pu'u O'o vent.
On Fathers Day the lava sank down and disappeared from the vent until just a couple of days ago. The vent itself collapsed in on itself. The floor sank 300 feet without any magma to support it.

Cool, huh?

Cool Happenings

A swarm of earthquakes started this morning at 2:30 a.m. Check out the earthquake map.

We had 70 in the following two hours and have had about 230 so far today.
It could indicate some change in the Kilauea eruption. Exciting stuff!

Unfortunately, the National Park closed most of the park so we couldn't check things out up close and personal.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that 2 cm cracks have opened on Chain of Craters Road near Mauna Ulu. Tiltmeters have been recording deflation which can mean that the magma is on the move. (My description, not theirs.) They say "All data so far indicate that an intrusion of magma started in the Mauna Ulu area and appears to be moving slowly down rift. This event may be decreasing lava supplied to Pu`u `O`o vent."

The vent that is currently active is Pu'u O'o (Hill of the O'o bird in English). It has been active since January 3, 1983. Helicopter overflights and other observers report that portions of the Pu'u O'o cone have collapsed and that the magma levels have dropped.

So, who knows what will happen but it could be good.

Secret Weapon

One of my volunteer projects has been involvement with the Volcano Health Collaborative. It's a non-profit working to increase access to health care for residents in the Volcano area.

Our current project is development of a health clinic. Why start small, right?

To foster communication and further motivate the community I figured we needed a web site. Others had the idea too, but I have my secret weapon.....Webmaster Mark.

He has created a great site: VolcanoHealth.org

Check it out.

I'm still working on content.

Tax Season

Yes....it's been a while since my last post. That's what employment does.

Tax season is drawing to a close. Most people would think that it should be past tense, as in - has drawn to a close. Not so, I found out. I was amazed at how many people called and showed up at the office on the 18th, 19th and 20th wanting to have there taxes done. I was asked at least five times, "When are taxes due?" The diligence and organizational ability of the American public continues to astound me.

Sigh...

Tax season was fun though.

I met a great range of people. They had in common getting their taxes done, but that was about it. With each new client there came a new story, a new set of issues, a new drama.

For everyone considering getting married or having children I recommend spending some time in a tax office. If there is strife to be had, you'll see it. Even if a child lives with one parent and hasn't seen the other in years, you can bet that both will try to claim the tax benefits. In fact, probably the grandmother, uncle and sister will try to claim the kid too.

Deductions seem to be another point of confusion.
Let me clear up a couple of things:

• No, you cannot write off the cost of gas (yes, I know its expensive...that's not the IRS's criteria).
  
• No, you cannot write off your apartment rent.
  
• No, you cannot deduct what you spent on groceries or even your kid's new slippahs.
  
• No, only the interest portion of your mortgage is deductible. It doesn't matter that you spend too much on the house.
  
• No, you cannot deduct child support (refer to marriage/child drama above).
  
• No, you can't deduct the cost of that new truck you just bought....really.
• No, you cannot deduct something that your employer reimbursed you for.
  

Self-employed people proved to be special challenges.
Some basic guidelines for anyone thinking about going it alone:

• Writing things down helps. Writing things down before you get to the tax office is even better.
• A plastic grocery bag does not qualify as a filing system.
  
• If you can't tell me a number (revenue, expense, etc) I can't put it into your return.
• I don't read minds.
• Having zero expenses every year might raise a red flag.
• Having zero revenue every year might raise a red flag.

Starting next week I'm back to hiding out in the rain forest.
More soon...

Gecko, not Geico

This funny-looking little guy was hanging out on our hot tub today.
We know we have a gecko. Linda told us and he leaves little tell-tale poops in the ceiling.
I think this is him. I know...he's not green like the character in the commercial. But, hey, it was cold and he was trying to blend in with the redwood paneling.

Very weird for him to be out today. It's raining and a bit chilly for a gecko (about 60).

Commuting Hawaiian Style

Work has begun in earnest. I've been commuting down the hill five days a week.
The job is going well. Taxes are like a puzzle that I'm learning to put together. Still much to learn, but things are coming along.

We've had a good bit of rain in January. There was over 15 inches in the first two weeks.
This, along with my frequent trips on the highway, has led me to observe a few things.
Most notably is that folks living in Hawai'i seem to have missed some of the basic automotive functions and highway informational points.

Here are some of the top items that I would love for my fellow highway travelers to learn about.*

1. Lights. Helpful see and be seen in dark, rainy or cloudy conditions. I promise they won't drain your battery too much. I volunteer to donate the ten cents or so of battery juice they consume. No, parking lights don't count.
2. Windshield wipers. Really handy when it rains. By installing working wipers you avoid getting your head all wet sticking it out of the driver's window to see.
3. Duct tape, string or wire. If you are not going to make it to your destination without some piece of your vehicle falling off or flying open, use one of these to tack things together. Having your hood pop open at 50mph just ain't fun. Mufflers are not meant to drag on the asphalt.
4. Turn signals. I know that you know where you are going. Believe it or not, I don't. Neither do other other folks out here on the road. Save us the mind-reading classes and use a blinker. This goes double when you are also guilty of #1 above.
5. Tarp or tie down. Even if you have three kids and two dogs piled on top of your trash on the way to the transfer station, you may still need a little extra to keep all those wayward bottles and bags in the pickup.
   
6. Yellow center line. If it's solid, stay in your lane. The highway guys didn't make it that way just cuz they had extra paint that day. If it's dashed you still need to look ahead. Generally a good idea to hold off on passing until there are not cars immediately in front of you coming toward you. A hint...if the car coming towards you has to drive on the shoulder to avoid getting head-on-ed, you didn't allow enough room.
   

*Bad drivers are by no means unique to Hawai'i. The California top list contains even more grievous behaviors, such as speeding, cell phone talking and doing your makeup. I have just been struck at the interesting things that people do or don't do along Highway 11.

Outside Cat, In

It was inevitable. Teeny made it into the house.
Not by sneaking in. Not by mastering the cat door. He made it in by melting Mark's heart and by a door being opened just for him.

Neither "inside" pet was pleased. Oscar harrumphed and promptly left. Bandit was blissfully ignorant for about half an hour and then was very concerned for our safety, whining all the while.

Teeny was just typical Teeny; happy, curious, finding things to play with, indulging himself in the creature comforts of carpet (his favorite discovery).

So, we enter a new era. Not sure how it's going to play out. Teeny did master the cat door once I shut the front door. Our control is tenuous, at best. Why we ever delude ourselves otherwise, I'm not sure.

Here are snaps of Teeny when he finally realized his favorite pal, Oscar, was on the couch and relishing in the cushiness of a wool rug (Oscar has left by this point).











In other news:
Progress on the studio continues. Drywall continues to strain my patience. I'll post more pics once it doesn't seem like I'm loading the same picture over and over. Let's face it, how many pictures of drywall can anyone stand. We did advance to some insulation (woo-hoo!) this past weekend.

Big Red, the Land Cruiser, has been getting a bit of a face lift. In addition to some routine maintenance, Mark has been banging dents and grinding metal. Sounds just like Xtreme 4x4 in our garage. I have gotten a whole new familiarity with Checker, the local auto parts store. Lucky for Mark (or maybe for me) Checker is just a few doors down from H&R Block.

A Guy Thing?

The addition of our newest family member has made me suspicious of the off-road and 4x4 TV shows that my beloved watches. I think they may be sending subliminal messages to bolster the pre-owned vehicle and after-market accessory industries.

We are now the proud owners of a 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62. I think it was once bright red, but is now a more muted shade of oxidized orange. It seems to run okay. No stereo, but a 3" lift kit.

I can't pin-point exactly when he decided that this was a must-have, but I am sure that it was after watching dozens of hours of Xtreme 4x4 on the Spike channel.

J - O - B

Well, my life as a Martha Stewart wannabe is coming to a close, at least temporarily.
Despite all the tales of woe about newcomers having difficulty finding jobs in Hawaii, I have gone and gotten myself employed.
My days of getting up with the birds, dinners that take hours to prepare, lunches with Mark, taking pictures of bugs, and an over-all feeling of relaxation are limited.

I completed my three-month class in tax preparation, passed the final exam, and am scheduled to report to H&R Block Friday, December 8.

It all happened kind of fast. I was really enjoying the class; plodding along in my number crunching, happily suffocating in the piles of tax forms. Then, suddenly, my pencil erasers had reached their nubs, I turned the page of my text and saw only the back cover, and no new case study was being assigned. The only way to continue was to throw my name in the ring and get paid.

So, on the 8th I'll work for my second employer since graduating college more than ten years ago. (Not exactly employer-hopping.) I'll step into a whole new puzzle of politics and personalities. Should be interesting.

Helping to maintain perspective during any bumps in the road will be the knowledge that come April 15th it will end. Once the hustle and bustle of tax season comes to an end, so do the pay checks.

Ah...but that's another post...one that I have months to figure out.