Monk Seal Count Recap

On the Saturday of the monk seal count, I ended up being assigned the KoOlina zone. I'd never heard of any seals hanging out there, but I was told that every once in a while they spotted one. So, remembering that all of Oahu's coastline was to be surveyed and happy that I could do my part, I cheerfully took the assignment and hit the...rocks. Yep, KoOlina is an area of man-made coves and most of the natural coastline is rocky. Very rocky! The odds were stacked against me that I'd see anything I could report, but I got a great workout climbing on and around the rocks. You couldn't help but admire the views, either. I kept wondering if it would be more efficient to check out the area via kayak. Maybe I'll try to team up with somebody to do that next time.
Of all the Leeward areas, there was only one report of a seal that morning, on the lava rocks near a beach in an area known as "Tracks." It wasn't too far from KoOlina, and I was itching to get a picture with the camera gear I had with me, so I ended up driving out there and looking for the already-counted seal myself. I even struck out with that.

Diamond Head views

My Mom has been visiting this past week. We've been busy (and that means I haven't been studying much) and we're having fun. Yesterday morning headed east and walked/hiked up to the top of the Diamond Head crater. A short walk, a bit challenging but worth it. It feels great at the top! Next time she's here we'll do the Koko Head crater or Ka'ena Point on the western tip. Or both! So much to do, so little time.
The picture posted shows Kapiolani Park and the Waikiki hotels and coastline.

I -heart- Pano!

I was in Waikiki Thursday evening attending a training session for the Monk Seal Count coming up on Saturday. I arrived late and missed most of the brief presentation, but still they deemed me OK to continue. I walked away with two T-shirts: one free, official-looking volunteer shirt, and another "fundraiser shirt" for $15 with the 2009 - 2010 count logo. I'm awaiting an email with my "zone" assignment. For the purpose of the count, Oahu's entire coastline (starting with Kaena Point's North Shore access and working clockwise around to the West side) is divided into 20 more or less equal distances; I think they will be able to honor my request for a Leeward zone.
Had enough time to wander the East end of Waikiki for a few minutes at sunset. Here's the moment, captured with Pano (click the image to see a bigger picture in your browser). The Pano makers recently pushed out an update and they did a good job with the major overhaul. You might not think by looking at it, but the sky merge is pretty accurate. This time of year the sunsets are better on the Leeward side, and from Waikiki you get a partial view due to obstruction from the mountains, as seen here. The Waikiki beachfront hotels are in the middle of the picture, on the right is a private event (dinner and music) on the grounds of the Waikiki Aquarium. They hosted the training session, too, but on the other side of the building in their classroom.

House guest

This feathered fellow showed up in our backyard on Monday morning. At first I thought he was hanging out to harass/hunt the backyard geckos (yes! they're back! I've seen a few along the fences), but he didn't do much of anything. He also looked a bit odd to me with the perma-ruffle feathers. Maybe he's sick? If so, he's come to the right place. We're a sick house here, Robbie was sick Monday and Cub caught it a day later. He sure is an odd visitor. He let me get really close with the iPhone for a picture, and isn't all that worried about the dogs. Even after Cal sort of charged him. Cal was by my side as I took this picture, and he got antsy and barked at the bird, even lunged for him a little. Scared me more than the bird!

Monk Seal Mania!

I stumbled onto a very cool, Hawai'i blog a few months back by clicking the "Next Blog" link from my own site. It's the daily Hawaiian Monk Seal tallies from a group of volunteers who work closely with NOAA officials. They hit the local beaches every day and record and photograph which monk seals they see, whether hauled out on the sand and natural jetties or swimming near the shore. I've become a big fan and check for updates frequently. They're a passionate, dedicated group of people and I hope to soon be one of them! There is an island-wide, bi-annual Hawaiian Monk Seal Count on Oahu in a few weeks, and I've signed up to help on the Leeward side.
Here's the group's mission statement: "We maintain and train volunteers to assist federal, state, and non-governmental organizations in responding to Hawaiian Monk Seal "haul-outs", pupping events, and injuries. Anything we can do to assist in the recovery of the Hawaiian Monk Seal!"
Please check them out here: http://www.hmsrto.org/
Here's the site I found that started it all: http://monksealmania.blogspot.com/
And here's a sister-blog from a blogger who shares his sitings and photos with the Monk Seal Mania site: http://northshoremonks.blogspot.com/
The picture alongside this post is from last month on Kauai. We stayed at a property on Poipu Beach and were lucky to see one, sometimes two, monk seals hauled out on the beach each day. It's an iPhone pic and not very close, but you can still make out a patch on his back. I think at one point he/she had a transmitter attached.

This is way more complicated than it looks...

I spent most of the morning working on my latest homework assignment. We've entered into the world of Java applets, and our instructor wanted us to create a drawing of "an object that makes sense," using programming methods (opposed to "just spare shapes and colors" thrown around the screen). So, here's my object, a train engine. That sort of makes sense. A very simple structure, yet took hours for me to code. Don't worry, this is not the new career path I'm taking! But I will be looking into more classes with the digital arts - possibly photos and drawing for fun. All I could think as I repeatedly opened and closed my browser to check my compiled updates was, "This could have been knocked out in minutes in Illustrator!" :) Our final assignment for the semester is due next week. We have to design and implement a virtual slot machine. Bet on...me!