Sunday, December 30, 2012

Apricot Hibiscus - Hilton Hawaiian Villiage Waikiki

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki

Apricot Hibiscus

This flower is blooming right in front of the Hilton Grand Waikikian building. A very beautiful flower. The orange color is very bright.

Mahalo eHow!!

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How to Care for Apricot Hibiscus

Instructions

    • 1
      Plant your apricot hibiscus in spring, in a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained garden soil. Add 1-part organic compost with every 4 parts of soil to improve soil drainage and fertility. Because this plant is frost tender, you might choose to grow it in a container if you live in an area with cool winters. Use a 12-inch pot with a drainage hole. Fill it with standard potting soil and move your plant indoors in fall.
    • 2
      Water in-ground and container plants well after planting. For in-ground plants, run a garden hose at a medium drip at the base for 15 to 20 minutes. For container plants, flood with water until it runs out the drainage hole. Maintain soil moisture until the plant begins to send out healthy new growth, and then water when the soil becomes dry.
    • 3
      Fertilize your apricot hibiscus frequently between spring and fall: use a plant food with an N-P-K ratio of 20-5-20 and repeat your application once every week or two. Follow product label instructions.
    • 4
      Inspect your apricot hibiscus plant for insect pests periodically. Aphids and spider mites are common pests that can affect your plant's health by sucking fluids from it. Showering your plant with warm water once a week can help to keep these pests away.
    • 5
      Spray your apricot hibiscus with insecticidal soap if an insect infestation becomes severe. Repeat your application every other day, according to product instructions, until all signs of the pest are gone.
    • 6
      Water your hibiscus more frequently if it begins to develop yellowing leaves. Insects can also cause this condition, so treat them with insecticidal soap if they appear to be present.

Waikiki Sunrise 12/30/2012 over Diamond Head

Waikiki Sunrise 12/30/2012 over Diamond Head (video)

Cloudy and raining this morning in Waikiki, that's great! Diamond Head is usually green this time of year but not this time around. It is very dry and we need more rain. Of course very little rain means great days for the beach and spectacular views. If you look closely you can see the hikers on top of Diamond Head taking photos of Waikiki. I can see the photographers hiking Diamond Head every day easily from my lanai but they usually don't show up on the time lapse. Have a great day! ALOHA

Did you know Time Warner may be charging a "lease fee" for your cable modem? They are doing it in my area. Check your bill.......


Saturday, December 29, 2012

Around Waikiki 12/30/2012 on Waikiki Beach




I had a nice walk on the beach this morning in Waikiki. If you click on the link above you can watch the 5 minute slide show I put together. There is a little audio in there too so you can listen to the waves. There is still some vog lingering around O'ahu and creating some really nice sunsets. The air is getting a little cooler and almost seems like "winter"? I heard on the radio this morning about being careful not to pile up snow against the foundation. Not much trouble with that around here. The temperature now is 75 Fahrenheit here in Honolulu, it's also 75 degrees in Hilo roght now. The air is pretty clear, great time for a stay in Waikiki 






Friday, December 28, 2012

Waikiki Sunset 12/28/2012 at the Groin

Waikiki Sunset 12/28/2012 at the Groin (video)

I got this new Swann Freestyle HD and shot this time lapse with it at sunset. Waikiki Hawaii at the Kapahulu Groin. The camera has a 170 degree wide view lens. I didn't use any effects and the video was made with Picasa time lapse

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Me BBQ Waikiki - 'Ono Chicken Katsu

When you ae in Waikiki and you want to eat some good Korean fast food you should stop in at Me's BarB Q. The service is good, food is very tasty and the price is right. Tonight I had a Chicken Katsu plate and it was delicious as always. The chicken is never dry, always juicy and crispy. The portions are huge and you ca choose up to 4 okazu for your meal. I also recommend the Bi Bim Bap with Seaweed soup and you cant go wrong with Na's special. You are guaranteed to be bloached after a plate from Me BBQ. Winnah chicken dinna






Waikiki Sunrise 12/27/2012 over Diamond Head

Sunday, December 23, 2012

last minute shopping at alamoana

Many people are doing there last minute shopping at Ala Moana
there are so many people that two escalators broke and almost everybody at Ala Moana was waiting for the elevator  and my dad just made me walk across the hole shopping center until we found an escalator.
a lot of people must like Lego because when i passed by almost half of the Legos were gone and the workers were getting hit and smashed.
as me and my dad were going to Macy's we stopped by to watch the hula so many people were there that you could not hear the chanting or the ipu.
right before we left the craziness the noise died down and everyone was leaving soon it was almost empty.


so my advice to you is shop early or come home with bruises.

Perfect gift for your homebrewer, the gift of family time!

I have a porter fermenting in my conical, this fermenter is by far one of the best investments I have ever made. I have been using it for a few years now. It is a huge time saver and virtually eliminates the risk of contamination during transfer. The unit has really good hardware and everything works very well. If you want to find the perfect gift for your brewer in the family, and give the gift of more time for the brewer to spend with the family, than this is the perfect gift to give!

Morebeer Conical Fermenters

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Ki - The Ti Leaf Plant

Ki - The Ti Leaf Plant

Cordyline fruticosa


The Ti Plant Called Ki

by Dino Labiste




Over the vast, South Pacific Ocean came the double-hulled canoes, searching northward into an unknown sea. On these voyagining canoes were the Children of Tangaroa, Tane, Ti and Rongo. In search of new land, these Polynesian settlers, called Kanaka Maoli (The People), came upon a chain of islands. With them they brought various seeds, tubers and roots to plant in their new homeland, Hawai'i.
One of the introduced plants to Hawai'i by the early Polynesians was a tall, stalk with tightly clustered, green, oval and blade-shaped leaves. The leaf was about 4 inches wide and varied from 1 to 2 feet long. It was a fast growing woody plant that reached from 3 to 12 feet in height. The plant was Cordyline fruticosa. Known to the Hawaiians as Ki, it was a ti plant, a member of the lily family.
Ki was considered sacred to the Hawaiian god, Lono, and to the goddess of the hula, Laka. It was also an emblem of high rank and divine power. The kahili, in its early form, was a Ki stalk with its clustered foliage of glossy, green leaves at the top. The leaves were used by the kahuna priests in their ancient religious ceremonial rituals as protection to ward off evil spirits and to call in good.
There were many uses for the ti plant in old Hawai'i. The boiled roots were brewed into a potent liquor known as 'okolehao. The large, sweet starchy roots were baked and eaten as a dessert. This versatile plant also had many medicinal uses, either alone or as a wrapping for other herbs needing to be steamed or boiled. The ti leaves were wrapped around warm stones to serve as hot packs, used in poultices and applied to fevered brows. A drink from boiled green ti leaves were used to aid nerve and muscle relaxation. Steam from boiled young shoots and leaves made an effective decongestant. The pleasantly fragrant flowers were also used for asthma. Besides its use in healing practices, the large ti leaves became roof thatching, wrappings for cooking food, plates, cups, fishing lures on hukilau nets, woven into sandals, hula skirts, leis and rain capes.



How to Care for a Ti Plantby Charmayne Smith, Demand Media
Gardeners in warm climates can dress up patios and gardens with the colorful, tropical ti plant. Native to Southeast Asia and the Pacific, this warm-weather plant is commonly known as the Hawaiian ti and thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture planting zones 10 through 12. This colorful plant produces long, glossy foliage that ranges in color from rich greens to deep purples, and even includes variegated patterns.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-ti-plant-22654.html



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Royal Hawaiian Hotel - Holiday Decorations 2012

Royal Hawaiian Hotel - Holiday Decorations 2012



Outrigger Reef - Holiday Decorations 2012

Outrigger Reef - Holiday Decorations 2012


Halekulani - Holiday Decorations 2012

Halekulani - Holiday Decorations 2012



Waikiki Sunrise 12/18/2012 over Diamond Head

Waikiki Sunrise 12/18/2012 over Diamond Head


Trump Hotel Waikiki - Holiday Decorations 2012

Trump Hotel Waikiki - Holiday Decorations 2012



Outrigger Waikiki - Holiday Decorations 2012

Outrigger Waikiki - Holiday Decorations 2012


Friday, December 14, 2012

Houseplant Drip Irrigation System - Very simple

A very simple and free irrigation system your your houseplants. Watering slowly will help increase saturation and make your plants happy!


This video shows a relatively large drip system for my Bamboo palm in a 3 gallon pot. If you have smaller plants you should use a smaller cup and you can hang the drip cup over the plant while watering. This is a great way to recycle in your home and makes watering your plants a little easier.




Waikiki Sunrise 12/14/2012 over Diamond Head


Monday, December 10, 2012

Pink Poinsettia


This year we have some nice looking pink poinsettias. 
 I think this one is especially nice and very pink!

Happy Holidays!!

Shiny & New Porsche 911 Carrera

Waikiki Sunrise 12/10/2012


Puakenikeni - the "ten cent flower"

Puakenikeni

Puakenikeni, Kane'ohe Hawai'i


Puakenikeni is one of my favorite Hawaiian flowers. The smell is very strong and unique. Some may say the smell is similar to this or that but it really is a unique smell of its own. I once planted this small tree in my front yard out by the road. I now live in a condo and no longer have my tree. It is very common to put a few of these flowers in your car for a wonderful smell all day. Whenever leaving home I would stop off and place a couple in my truck. The flower does not last long and it will be wilted and gone by the end of the day, no matter how you treat it. The Puakenikeni is often used to make lei and has a very wonderful smell. The lei will bruise easily because the flower is very fragile. It is sometimes hard to find this lei because of that. The flowers range in color from almost white to a deep orange. When they first open they are white, as they get a couple hours older they begin to darken. The lighter color is desived because they will last longer. If you put your lei in your room before going to bed, your whole house will smell wonderful!

Cultivation is usually done by air layering but the plant redily produces seeds in a small inedible fruit. I have seen this small tree growing in just about every climate zones and soil types. There is usually always flowers on the plant year round. 

Fagraea berteroana, Gentianaceae (gentian family)

ksid (Palau); mbua, mbua ndina, mbua ni Viti, mbua ni veikua, kandisa (Fiji); peengas, seewur peengas Chuuk); pua (Tonga, Horne Islands, ‘Uvea, Niue, Cooks, Societies, Australs, Rapa, Marquesas); pua Tonga (Tonga); pua kenikeni(Hawai‘i); pualulu (Samoa); pwur, seir pwur (Pohnpei)

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Hawaii Auto



Look at the size of he V-8 in this bug




Hinone Mizunone - Tonkatsu &

I had lunch at Hinone Nizunone yesterday, it is really good Japanese food and the price is good

 The restauant is on the corner of King and sheradon, 1345 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96814, USA. Very good authentic Japanese food with a dining room and they sometimes have bentos available too. The bentos are kind of hit and miss because they sell quickly, they are very good. There is a small parking lot at the establishment. Service is very good and they do have daily specials. No waiting around at this place and the very delicious hojicha (roasted green tea) is served on request.

Tonkatsu with Oroshi-Ponzu

I had the tonkatsu yesterday and it was very good as usual. The Tonkatsu is crispy and the pork is very tender and juicy. The Orishi Ponsu had a grated daikon on the tonkatsu and it is served with a Ponzu dipping sauce. In true Japanese style the teishoku set has lots of okazu and miso soup. Very good rice and always a pitcher of water on the table. 


Chicken Amakara Age


Akiko had the Chicken Amakara Age with a sweet ginger sauce. There are fried vegetables topping the chicken and the presentation is very pleasing. It was also very good but a little too sweet for me. If you like the sweet ginger sauce it will likely be very good for you because Akiko really enjoyed it. 

Lunch at Hinone Mizunone is always very good!