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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

WE HAVE A WINNER!

CONGRATULATIONS TO JO

She correctly spotted that the people were surfing AWAY from the beach. You might be able to do that in The Bay Of Fundy, but you can't in Hawai'i.

An Honorable Mention goes out to Little Green Men Of The World for noticing the lady surfer was wearing shoes, and strapped sandals with a small heel at that. I wonder what this artist was smoking when he painted(?) this pic?

Thanks all for participating. After I posted that image there was something "wrong" about it and it took a couple of viewings before I "grokked".


WOULD THIS INTEREST ANYONE?

I received the following e-mail yesterday:
Hello Wil,

I am a casting director at Bullrun, a new TV show from Spike TV, which is based on the automotive rally of the same name. We are looking for drivers to compete in the televised version of Bullrun in October, which will go from Vancouver to Los Angeles. These people need to love their cars.

Right now we are specifically searching for taxi drivers who have their own car or truck (or taxi!) that they love. We are especially looking for outgoing, personable and young people.

Since I'm sure you have access to taxi drivers I would appreciate if you could pass this information on to anyone you think could be a potential participant in the show. We want great cars and great people who are 21 years of age or older, have a passion for their car, know someone who could be a co-pilot and have a good driving record. Please have them contact me (of course, if you're interested, you can contact me as well). They can also go to www.bullruncasting.com for more information.

Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Roberta Brodsky
Casting Director
Bullrun

As noted in what they are looking for, I really don't meet their demographic profile. I would be the comic relief portion of the show.

Those of you who might be interested in participating, and can prove to me that you really are a cabbie, I have her phone # and e-mail addy. Otherwise, just click the link and best of luck.



MET-BLOG-HAW (HAW)

I am having fun there and am breaking so many of their sacred rules. Four posts and two complaints from the "Big-Wigs". As I have done my entire life, I will only obey those rules that I want to obey. I have no one to answer to but myself.



LAST NIGHT

A boring, and slow, night. 14 runs and just missed cracking $200 on the neter by less that $10. Had to work the entire 12 hours to do all that, though. After day-shift had started checking in they were each given assignments requiring a van. A large group of Japanese tourists are on the island and are sequestered at various hotels and condos in Wailea and Kihei. This morning they all went to Ma'alaea Harbor for a snorkling trip to Molokini. I was the "utility clean-up player", handling all the hotel to golf course pu-pu runs. Had to get the hell out of Dodge when the sun finally crested Haleakala, as my skin began giving off smoke. "Vampires" have a problem with the sun.

Just after bar close I was headed down to The Grand to get today's reservation sheet. As I passed Cove Park, about two blocks south of the "Triangle", I was flagged by two males, obvious intoxicated tourists. When I asked where they were going, they replied "2805".

"2805, what?"

"I don't know. All I can remember is that it said '2805' next to the door. Oh, it was between a street that started with a 'K' and another that started with an 'O'"

Now this was a challenge. You have seen the street signs that I posted before. The vast majority start with the letter "K". My brain shifted into high gear. The house numbering sequence in Kihei would place that address between Keonekai Street and Kilohana Street. Kilohana is the dividing line between Kihei and Wailea. Running south from Keonekai are three streets.

O'hina.

Pu'u Ho'olai.

Kauhale.

Logic places the street they wanted as being Pu'u Ho'olai, since it is between O'hina (a street with the letter "O") and Kauhale (a street with the letter "K").

I pulled up to 2805 Pu'u Ho'olai and said. "Here you go guys."

"This ain't right. We're staying in a huge condo."

"Friend. There are no condos with a street address of '2805' between roads beginning with the letters 'K' and 'O'. What else do you remember?"

"Uh...

Well we just got here today and all I can remember is seeing a mile post marker with the number '10' on it and thats where we turned. I don't remember the name of the condo but it was called 'Phase-2'."

I "nailed" their destination instantly. They had turned off of the Pi'ilani Highway at O'kalani Street (Letter "O"), which is the next street south of Kilohana (Letter "K"). The main street in Wailea is called "Wailea Alanui" and connects these two. There are two condo complexes on Wailea Alanui between these two streets. The names have changed a few times over the years and the second phase is now called "Wailea Palms". The street address is in the 3300 block, but internally the buildings are numbered and the individual condos are identified by listing both the building number and the unit number. Hence "28-05".

It only took me 11 minutes from the start of the run to the drop-off. About 2 minutes longer than if I had had the correct location from the start.

Thats how I translate "tourist-speak".

They were so happy, the gave me $20 on the $11.90 fare.

That made me happy, too.



TODAY'S PICS




A sunset on Kaua'i


West Mau'i Mountains
Waimanalu Beach, O'ahu
West Mau'i Mountains
Does this look familar?
Think "Magnum, P.I."
These are the small islands seen from the beach at "Robin's Nest"

Are you a "Wave Rider"?






Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION

CAN'T SAY THE SAME ABOUT MY ANSWERS...

jo said...

Love those 1920's pics, where did you find them?

Did a google image search, using the word "Waikiki"


You never know what you'll find under a waterfall





Little Green men of the world said...

The Hawaii tourism board should be paying you by the post!

That much money would throw me into a tax bracket. I would become a blip on our Draconian Gov'ts radar.


NO RAIN....
NO RAINBOWS!






CharterJames said...

How does this dispatch chore work? I am picturing that one of the drivers does it on the fly, and that you pass the chore around from night to night? But how do you do it from within the car?

The landline is "call forwrded" to the company cellphone. The driver who has that night's "duty" answers the phone. Asks the appropriate questions,

"Where is the pick-up?"

"What is the destination?"

"How many people?"

He then uses the cab's two-way radio to dispatch the call. We are not computerized.

The driver/dispatcher also must keep up with the location of every cab, who is where in the queues and take reservations for the next day. All this is done while also doing their duties of driving a cab.


LIFE ABOUNDS AROUND MAU'I









jo said...

Hi Wil

Are you sure you are not a woman?

Hmmm. Let me check...
If my Gray's Anatomy is correct, then I am all male.

I learned to multi-task a long time ago. One of my first jobs was as a short-order cook in a diner that had greasy windows and a flickering neon sign that said "EATS". I was also a radio disc-jockey back in the days of 45 rpm records. Paid for my first year of college.

Both of those occupations required me to do a hell of a lot of things at the same time. And they had to be done correctly and in a timely manner. Radio stations don't want "dead air" and construction workers wanted their breakfast NOW!



ANOTHER ROYAL CAB

Snagged this one from San Francisco Taxi

Compared to the Crown "Vic" behind it, those London style cabs are really small. Look to be the size of a Scion.




ARTISTIC LICENSE

Did anyone else notice any thing wrong with this picture from yesterday?

I'll post the answer tomorrow.



Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

Monday, August 14, 2006

HONOLULU

THEN AND NOW

Honolulu ("hoe-noe-lou-lou" not "hon-oh-lou-lou"), is the capitol of the State of Hawai'i. The City and County of Honolulu comprise the entire island of O'ahu ("oh-ah-who" not "oh-wah-who"). The island has a population of about 1,000,000 people. This is where the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and Hickham Air Force Base are located and was the site of the start of World War II for America, on December 7th, 1941.

Prior to that war, Honolulu was an exclusive tourist destination for the wealthier members of society. This was before air travel was common and the only way to get to Hawai'i was by ship. Every Friday, the passenger ship would dock at the Aloha Tower. Arriving guests would leave the ship and departing guests would board. Friday was a big day in Honolulu at that time and all this activity spawned the term "Aloha Friday". "Aloha" means "Hello", "Goodbye", and "I love you". People arriving. People departing. Romances terminating. It's a good word.

The Aloha Tower

The Traditional Lei Greeting
Waikiki Beach, Diamondhead in the background




Nightlife was traditional Hawai'ian
And the girls didn't wear coconut shell bras for their shows
There were only two hotels
The surfboards back then were made of Koa wood and were very heavy
Honolulu Today
The city went through a massive building boom in the late '60's
Only in an aerial shot like this can you really see Diamondhead
Now hi-rise condos and hotels block the view from the beach
A view from Diamondhead
What little of Waikiki beach that remains is usually extremely crowded
Waikiki at night



Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"