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There's a quiet move underway to schedule an informal get-together recognizing the 2nd anniversary of Rupert Phillips' announcement of plans to close the Star-Bulletin. Sort of a "where were you when..." type of affair.The message I received put it this way: "We'll hoist a cup, look back on two years of memories, and talk story," and carry on "until the police officers bid us sweet dreams."
Not a company event, I'm told. Nothing organized, just a scheduled drop-in.
A lot has happened in two years, but it's still easy to recall the announcement in some detail. I can imagine different people having very different reactions to the idea of such a gathering, and it's recreation of those stressful days. It will be interesting to see how it all goes.
We're slowly catching up with Kaaawa's dawn. Sunrise is now about 6:07 a.m., and if we leave the house by 5::50 or so, we can make it down the block, over to the road behind Kaaawa's new fire station, up that road to the end, and then back down to Swanzy Beach Park just as the sun is rising. Of course, we usually miss the departure time and end up missing the sun's first appearance, and the possibility of a green flash, by just a few minutes.
Kaaawa @ dawn, 8/10/01
It was another one of those nights. First wake-up at 11:35 when Lindsey sat at the side of the bed and scratched my arm to let me know that his favorite food dish was empty.Then the sound of dishes popped me back up at about 1:15. I followed the sound into the next room, where Ms. Harriet was in the corner under a built-in desk trying to dig past a large platter and bowl that were stacked alongside a storage cube filled with thrift shop dishes, all collectible. She was running back and forth from one side to the other. Then I heard the first telltale "eeeek" and a tiny rat or mouse made a break for it, only to be snatched up by an eager black and white cat.
By this time other cats were coming in to see what the commotion was all about, and Harry took her catch of into my bathroom. Excellent. Despite her growls of protest, I retrieved the victim and let it loose outside, then returned to shower Harry with praise for her fine hunting. Ours is a confusing rule. We want to reward the hunting, we just don't want the hunt to continue in the house.
By this time, I'd been in the middle of the cat & mouse game, and had to make the mercy run out across the yard, and ended up sitting here surfing mainland news desperately trying to find something boring enough to put me back to sleep.
Email at 2 AM is a growing epidemic, I fear. I'm always surprised at mail received from other folks composed at odd hours and find myself wondering what's going on in their lives that puts them in front of a computer right then. There are dissertations waiting to be written on the social and psychological impact of this new technology, that's for certain.
I never know what to do with messages like the one received yesterday from an anonymous source who says, based on a supposed conversation with "a friend who works over at CompUSA", that claims of the chain's inserts appearing in the Star-Bulletin anytime soon are total b.s.
I don't really want to ignore folks who share information, but there weren't any details here to help me assess the potential validity of the source. Was the "friend" in some sort of position to know? Most folks working at CompUSA can't tell you where the front doors are, much less what the corporation's advertising strategy is going to be.
But it's interesting that the newspaper war extends to such forays into information and misinformation, as both sides fight for position.
I started the day yesterday reading Erika Engle's column about scouting super hero Warren Haruki, the once boy-president of Verizon Hawaii now all grown up and being honored for service to humanity.It was perhaps an omen, since a few hours later I was launched into my own little Verizon adventure.
It all started about six weeks ago. After seeing the full-page ads for a Verizon long distance plan offering 10 cents a minute at all times with no minimum and no monthly fee, I took a call from one of their telemarketers and agreed to switch. "No cost to you," they promised, "We'll cover all the fees."
When the first bill arrived this week confirming the change, you guessed it. There was the pesky fee of nearly $5 for changing carriers. And it appeared not just once, but twice. Just to stick it to me, I suppose.
So I look at the bill a bit closer, and there's a web address listed for billing inquiries. I leave a detailed message, and get a quick automated reply promising a real response within 24 hours.
The adventure begins.
Sure enough, I got a next day reply, an email from solutions.verizon.com: "We are the Local Billing Department. Please contact Verizon long Distance at 800-636-2355. They will assist you further with your inquiry."
I should have recognized this as a warning sign, but instead I picked up the phone, dialed the number, and got an error message. "You have dialed a number that is not in service at this time." That's it. No forwarding information.
Next step--find the new phone book and look up a number for Verizon long distance. No problem. It's right up front. And it connects you to one of those frustrating automated systems (press 1 if...press 2 if...) where none of the choices really fit your problem.
But I push ahead and make the selection for questions about an existing long distance account. Wait. Finally James answers. It's nice to have his name so I get back to him later. "Hi, Verizon? I'd like to talk to James."
Okay. I explain the problem. James says authoritatively: "I'll transfer you directly to the orders department. They can arrange to mail out a voucher."
Sounds good. Instead, I'm just dumped back into the original automated. maze. This time I try pressing "1" which is described as the proper choice if you want to sign up for new service.
"All of our representatives are assisting other customers," the pleasantly bland recorded voice informs me. So I wait.
Finally it's Christie who answers. I explain again.
"Is Verizon your local provider?" If so, she explains, I should be talking to the local billing office.
So now I try to recite the longer version complete with the email from the local billing office directing me to the non working Verizon long distance number.
She then asks some questions about what is shown on my bill. Does it list a number to call? I'm beginning to feel like I've gotten a wrong number and have accidentally started talking to someone unrelated to my long distance carrier. Maybe I've called Sears by mistake. In Omaha.
Back on hold. Another wait.
Then Christie is back, and says she is going to contact someone from the local billing office. "Sometimes they can push things," she says cryptically.
She asks if there is an 800 number shown on the phone bill. I read it off to her. Then I'm back on hold.
A voice repeats the on-hold mantra in endless cycles. "We promise to make your wait on hold as brief as we can. Rest assured, we'll address your specific needs as soon as possible."
I really didn't want my needs addressed. I just needed a credit to offset the fees that their company promised me would not be charged in the first place.
I look at the clock. Mistake. I've been on hold for more than 12 minutes, and still holding.
Then a voice disrupts the mantra. Christie is back.
She reports proudly that she's spoken to Kay at the local billing office. Kay has checked my account and issued a $5 credit. That's good, I say, but what about the second $5 fee?
Christie slows, checks her notes.
"Kay did inform me that only in-state long distance was switched to Verizon Long Distance, not interstate."
According to this secondhand report from Kay, the local Verizon office shows that I switched away from Verizon rather than to Verizon on the June 29 date. And that right now we have Verizon for in-state, but not for long-distance. Kay says that service was changed on the same day to carrier # 7562 and not toVerizon.
I sputter something about that not being correct, because this was all triggered by my agreeing to switch to Verizon Long Distance, 10 cents to anywhere on the mainland, etc.
Christie offers up a glimmer of hope. "Sometimes it takes 30 days for all the changes to be registered," she suggests without much enthusiasm. Then she tries the lateral flip.
"I would call the 643- number and talk to your local billing office," she says, now trying to get rid of me since she's run out of other suggestions.
I take the hint, promising to fight another day.
Rest assured.
Maybe I'll just send this to Warren and see what happens.
A headline on the Star-Bulletin's front page yesterday read simply: "Temple lowers roof to please Palolo residents."Hello?! It's a textbook example of a misleading headline, as if the Palolo Buddhist temple folks are just happily mixing with their neighbors and seeking to please.
The story beneath the headline, by Mary Adamski, tells us something quite different. The lowering of the roof line follows 15 years of public opposition and conflict, 13 years of court battles, repeated court orders including a decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court that found the roof to be illegal and ordering that it be lowered. Of course, this was all accompanied by years of foot dragging, duplicity and behind-the-scenes politicking most unbecoming to its Buddhist backers. If it weren't for pesky things like "contempt of court" lurking in the background, that roof would still be at its former illegal height.
But "to please Palolo residents?" No way.
Star-Bulletin staffers were told in June that ads from CompUSA and at least one other national retailer would be added to the Sunday paper soon. There's an awareness that they've got to break through with those Sunday inserts if the paper's going to be able to compete successfully. Without the ads, it doesn't matter how good a news product is produced, since a substantial slice of the public relies on the ads, inserts, classifieds, etc., to plan their weeks and lives, from real estate to rentals to the current shopping specials.
Meanwhile, advertising managers at both the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser regularly pore over their competitors product, dispatching troops to pick off clients whose ads appear on the other side. It's a war zone out there.
Back in Kaaawa, I've been trying to add another friendly dog to the morning dog gallery, but when we see her she's just too excited to sit still. I guess I'll just keep trying.
Manu in motion. Click for larger version.
I guess there's some interest in the university president, because visits to this site jumped 40 percent above "normal" yesterday. I'll have to work on the sequel.
This is an update for those of you interested in the search for a replacement for my favorite Rosti cooking spoon. My worn favorite is the blue one on the right, and the other three were ordered from Happycookers.com (which, by the way, came through with good service and quick delivery).
The red spoon is almost perfect--right shape, same Melamine material. But it's a mini, just 7 inches long. According to HappyCookers, it's available in larger size but only in a slotted version.
The white spoon is also almost ok, but it's bowl is angled almost like a ladle.
The black spoon is also very close in shape, but lacks the pizzaz of the bright colors.
Bottom line: I've found workable alternatives, but I'm still searching for the perfect replacement.I'm indebted to Jim Romenesko's MediaNews a couple of weeks back for highlighting a Salon.com story describing how the recent missile defense test which was proclaimed a wild success was actually rigged. This is a "must read".
It was a pretty lazy day out here in Kaaawa yesterday. I followed the cats' example and enjoyed a long afternoon nap.
Through much of the day, I could hear marching band music somewhere in the distant recesses of my mind, perhaps because new University of Hawaii President Even Dobelle is a character right out of the Meredith Willson musical, "The Music Man."
Co-nappers Leo & Lindsey
Instead of a marching band, the glib Mr. Dobelle is busily making the rounds filling the heads of influential observers with visions of a transformed university.John Flanagan's Sunday column unwittingly displayed a few of the underlying contradictions, noting that Dobelle arrived pledging to run things "from the bottom up instead of from the top down," and to rely on consultation rather than "command and control". Then Dobelle immediately proceeded to run as fast as he's been able in the opposite direction with a series of pronouncements made exclusively from the top without even a pretense of consultation or a shred of bottom-up involvement. Faculty have to check the news for the latest orchestrated announcements about their future from Mr. Bottom-Up.
At least in terms of the shape of academic decision-making, Dobelle's displayed a journeyman's skill in the art of saying one thing and doing another.
Who's he kidding?
Well, the news media, for starters, as most of the media have gone along uncritically with the enticing vision of a dramatically expanded university that somehow will suddenly be within the reach of a system that hasn't had the funds to maintain or repair its existing facilities, put furniture in new buildings, or provide many of the services common on mainland campuses.
The Advertiser's Ferd Lewis, meanwhile, deserves credit for doing a bit of reality testing on Dobelle's latest visions of a new 60,000 seat University stadium out in Leeward Oahu as part of a new campus.
It's about time to declare the honeymoon over and give Mr. Dobelle's plans the scrutiny they deserve and that they'll need if any of them are going to move beyond vision to reality.
Noticed and noted for comparison shoppers. The Honolulu Advertiser's web site allows you to access stories appearing in the last three months of back issues. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin's web site allows you to explore all the way to the first online issue, dated March 18, 1996. That's five years of stories and growing daily. It will be interesting to see whether competition eventually compels the Advertiser to extend availability of back issues.
Yesterday began with a sighting of a family of rays just a few yards off the beach in Kaaawa. They were close enough that the pattern of spots on the tips of their "wings" could be clearly seen.
Late in the day, the normally reclusive Silverman claimed the right to lay around the living room, and even took a turn or two around our bedroom before heading back outside.
He also gave me the excuse for a new round of photos posted in the gallery this morning.
Click on the photo for
this week's gallery
And this message came this morning from our neighbor, Bob, with echoes of Samantha's passing earlier in the week. He swears that one of our black & white cats, either Lizzie or Harry, was making regular runs over the fence to check out leftover dog food in Sam's dish. Other characters mentioned--Eric Herter, grandson of the former Secretary of State Christian Herter, Sam's original rescuer and person, and absentee owner of the house next door; and Tini, youngest of four girls.only the sound of waves
it is 3:15 a.m.
doing e-mail
lizzie or harriet is watching
perhaps this is her midnight run to sam's bowl
to see if sam missed anything
sorry girl ... if you were not so afraid of me ....
i'd give you sam's "mighty dog"eric called yesterday
told him about how sam went fast ... thank god
i said seven but it was more like 6:40 p.m.
... so it was her rainbowshe is buried next to Limpy, the girls pet monarch butterfly
Limpy was only with us 10 days,
but he was much cared for by tini
we buried him in a matchbox coffin
and tini made a headstonewe are in the process of making a stone for sam
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Since November 2, 1999
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