What happened with my Wells Fargo debit card?

What do you do if in Hawai`i and in need of cash? Lots of cash? Well, of course, you go to the local branch of your bank. Wells Fargo. I got my loan from them, let’s just go to their local branch, no?

The phone book lists a Wells Fargo branch in Hilo: I call her up, and Phil (whom I knew from dealing with the Home Mortgage arm) tells me there is no branch. I can though get a cash advance from any bank, up to the limit set on my card, as long as the bank is willing to do that. All the way up to $7,000!

No news is bad news

I’ve tried to get in touch with my contractors in Hawai`i over the weekend. I have a quote for the screens outstanding (anodized or painted?) and wanted to wish Brad a happy birthday on Sunday. Called several times, left messages, heard nothing back.

I know the pattern – not the first time it happens. Whenever there are bad news to report, I hear nothing from them. What could it be this time? Most likely the plumber can’t come to get final for another couple of weeks, and they don’t want to tell me.

Hiking the Kohala Ditch

[I found this item on the Internet somewhere – not a hike I have done, but one I want to do. if you wait long enough, you’ll see my version of the same hike! ]

It was August of 1977 when Fred Dodge and his two teen-age children, Charlie, 17, and Alyce (Tootsie), 16, and I hiked across the north slope of the Kohala mountain from the end of the road above Pololu Valley to Waipio Valley. I had hiked the Kohala Ditch trail with the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club some years before on a trip organized by Dick Booth, I believe. On that trip we had taken the inland trail, and wound behind a waterfall and in and out of many deep gulches before reaching the end of the trail. This time we stayed on the coastal route, crossing the mouth of Pololu Valley and climbing the wall on the far side. Here the trail forks, with the right branch running up the ridge and eventually connecting with the inland trail in Honokane Nui Valley.

Cryptonomicon (N. Stephenson)

First things first: don’t read the paperback edition. The print is tiny, and the book huge – the perfect recipe for a painful headache.

I heard about Cryptonomicon first in a personal ad, in the category last read. The title sounded interesting, so I bought the book and read it on my last trip to Hawai`i. Which ensured that I had plenty time to read with no distraction or better things to do.

Season Ending in Tahoe

Sadly true, this and next weekend are going to be the last ones for a nice run in Tahoe. Heavenly is about to board up the lodges, and so are all the other resort, concluding a short season that started poorly, as it ended on a bang.

Next year? I’ll probably do without Heavenly, probably switch to the multi-pass for Kirkwood and Northstar. Heavenly finally got to me, I know every single run by heart, and I am sick of the tired snow an hour after the mountain opens.

What does Ninole mean?

From “Place Names of Hawaii”:

Nīnole. Land section and village, Honomū qd.; land section, homesteads, village, cove, and gulch, Honu-ʻapo qd., Hawaiʻi. There are freshwater springs at the Nīnole in Honu-ʻapo; see Pū-hau. A cannibalistic moʻo, Kaikapū (hag), lived at the Honu-ʻapo Nīnole; her pretty granddaughter led travelers to her cave, where she ate them raw (HM 264). Lit., bending.

Coming Back to San Francisco

{moszoomimglink:Brad}Latest update, mid-April. A tough month, already over a month into the extension. Here is the latest list of things to do (green: HAPPENING; grey: DONE):

• Wall to the master bedroom and MBR closet
• All swinging doors (14, plus closets)
• Fixed doors to the kitchen
• Drywalls and mud
• Painting
• Electrical (rough-in)
• Electrical (finish)
• Plumbing (finish)
• Bathroom and kitchen tiles
• Honoka`a bedroom
• Garage
• Upstairs bathroom tile

Brad says he’ll be done by the 16th (his birthday). I sure hope so, otherwise I just might run out of money…

DIY Mudding

Given that the timing is tight and I need to do something useful, I started helping with the mudding of the walls. Do you know what that is? I didn’t, hence I’ll explain it to everyone that doesn’t know either.

The process of putting together a wall used to entail, in the old days:

• bricks
• mortar
• plaster

You’d take the bricks, put them together with mortar, and then add plaster on top.

Canon Digital Rebel XT

I compared the Digital Rebel with a bunch of other Digital SLRs in a different article. Here now, after a couple of months, my first impressions with the Canon.

Overall Impression

I am very impressed with the Digital Rebel XT. It is a very responsive camera that delivers clear shots in most lighting conditions. The autofocus is very precise, battery life outstanding, and the availability of accessories excellent. The only drawback (which is shared by all digital SLRs) is sheer size. You have to be in a photo shoot mode to carry it around with you.

UPDATED: CanoScan N 1220 U

Guess what? Now it all works. Regardless of whether you use OpenSuSE or Fedora, it’s all good. You just fire up the scanner tool and scan the images the way you want. I have tested it over and over again, and I am thankful to all those that made it work for me. Go, Linux!