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&nb sp; Losing Data Can Be Such a Painful Thing
By: Yasuo Ogawa Losing data can be such a painful thing! I know from personal experience how painful and more than that, how costly of a mistake it could be! I asked our techs in the office to try and take a look at my broken hard drive and even with the guru's standing right behind me, nothing. No pulse, no action no life. It was a horrible experience. But I learned from that experience and I am here to share it with you today. BACKUP
Always be ready to back up your data. Some people should do it nightly depending on how you use your computer. Some of our customers have a back up to a back up. But you would still be surprised at how infrequently people (and even COMPANIES!) actually do back up data! Backing up data can as complicated as setting up your RAID configuration on your robust servers or as easy as burning information down to a CD/DVD. What you want to do and accomplish is preserve your data so if anything should happen to the computer, (hard drive failure, motherboard failure etc) you can slip something back into a new computer and not suffer a disruption. Some of the external hard drives that we carry in our store actually include what's called a one touch back up. You press a button and WHAM, it takes care of the rest. If you computer ever decides to go to sleep and not come back, you simply unplug the USB connector, slip it into another computer and you have all of your information, music or photos. Just remember that applications themselves don't back up. Only the data. Applications are like your Microsoft Office Apps. You need to reload that part into your new computer but everything else is good to go!
ONLINE BACKUP
If you are a road warrior, you don't have to lug around a terabit external hard drive to constantly back up your laptop. Instead, you ever thought of an online back up system? Of course they aren't as fast as having the information on a hardware piece sitting next to you but it does provide a comfort to know that you can access your files right away. The only downside is you need to have a pretty good high speed internet access to accomplish this. You can find out more from online storage provides like xdrive.com. The cool thing is you can travel to anywhere in the world, login in to your account and have all of the files you saved there. Imagine going to Kinkos in Geneva and showing your grandkids what Hawaii looks like with pictures you saved online. The bad thing is you need to remember to constantly back up files!
Thumb Drives
The price of storage has come down quite a bit. I remember when thumb drives first came out, it would cost about $50 bucks for a 128KB stick to hold data and that was a deal! Now, you can get 32GB on a thumb drive for under $100! Imagine walking around with 100GB of information dangling on your key chain! That's really a good thing. The downside to this is thumb drives rely on something called flash memory technology and if it should break, there is really no way of getting that information back. Based on that knowledge, remember that thumb drives should be used to move information around and not to store information.
Floppy Drives
Lets not even go there. If you still save information on floppy drives, give me an email and let us update your PC!
So what happens if you are reading this and there is really nothing that you can do about it since you already have a failed hard drive? Got a few options. Possibly save you money.
Broken Motherboard / other PC issues
If you have a computer that broke and the hard drive is actually good, then you should consider yourself lucky! There are a few solutions to take care of with this. The first thing to do is to check with your technician and see if the data is still there. If it is, then the cheapest alternative would be to have your technician go ahead and take your hard drive and have them enclose it to what's called a external hard drive case. What you now have is your old hard drive and you can go to any computer with a USB connection, plug it in, and WHAM.. your data is right there.
Remember that if you purchase a new computer, you can also have them take your old hard drive and put it into a new computer as well! Just make sure it isn't a hard drive that qualifies as virus infected or you will transfer the bad and corrupt files too!
Virus infected hard drive
A lot of times, customers bring in computers that are so infected with viruses and spyware that the WINDOWS files are corrupt, missing etc. This doesn't mean your hard drive is infected! There may be an additional charge but ask your technician if the data is still salvageable and have them burn it off to a dvd or other format.
Broken Hard Drive
If you have a hard drive that was mechanically damaged either from a dropped case or water or anything like that, there is a good chance that nobody in Hawaii can actually help you out. There are a few companies on the mainland that will be able to help you out and if you have priceless pictures of your children or financial information that cannot be replaced, check them out online. One company we work with quite often is www.drivesavers.com . just a note of caution. It isn't cheap.
The next time you hear a hum on your computer, a grinding noise from the tower, your computer seemingly getting hotter or just running slower, freeze what you are doing, make sure you have a device you can back up to, turn on the computer, back up your information and when you are done, take your computer to your favorite Road Runner Approved Technicians!
Key Words: Computers
Having a Bad Day?
A couple of days ago, I held the door for three or four families before I entered the store I was visiting. They pushed right by and seemed to ignore my very existence. Not a single person said "thank you!"
This was very frustrating for me -- what in the world happened to manners? Anyhow, this fun page shows me there might just be a solution the next time around that will give me a way to act as impolite to them as they act to me!
In all reality, I don't really think a plan like this would pan out, but the story is definitely good for a laugh! Thanks, and have a great week! -- Alex :-)
Are You Having a Bad Day?
For all of you who occasionally have a really bad day when you just need to take it out on someone, don't take that bad day out on someone you know.
Instead, take it out on someone unfriendly who you don't know!
Now get this. I was sitting at my desk, when I remembered a phone call I had to make. I found the number and dialed it.
A man answered nicely saying, "Hello?"
I politely said, "This is Patrick Hannifin and could I please speak to Robin Carter?"
Suddenly, the phone was slammed down on me! I couldn't believe that anyone could be that rude.
I tracked down Robin's correct number and called her. I had transposed the last two digits incorrectly.
After I hung up with Robin, I spotted the wrong number still lying there on my desk. I decided to call it again.
When the same person once more answered, I yelled "You're a jackass!" and hung up.
Next to his phone number I wrote the word "jackass," and put it in my desk drawer.
Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up.
He'd answer, and I'd yell, "You're a jackass!"
It would always cheer me up.
Later in the year, the phone company introduced caller ID.
This was a real disappointment for me; I would have to stop calling the jackass.
Then, one day, I had an idea.
I dialed his number, then heard his voice, "Hello."
I made up a name. "Hi, this is Mike Smith with the sales office of the telephone company and I'm just calling to see if you're familiar with our caller ID program?"
He went, "No!" and slammed the phone down.
I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're a jackass!"
The reason I took the time to tell you this story is to show you how if there's ever anything really bothering you, you can do something about it -- just dial my good ol' friend, the jackass, at 555-1111.
[Keep reading! It gets better.]
An old lady at the mall really took her time pulling out of the parking place. I didn't think she was ever going to leave.
Finally, she got the car in reverse and she began to move ... very slowly backing out of the slot.
I backed up a little more to give her plenty of room to pull out.
Great, I thought, she's finally leaving.
All of a sudden this black Camaro comes flying up the parking aisle in the wrong direction and pulls into her space.
I started honking my horn and yelling, "You can't just do that, Buddy. I was here first!"
The guy climbed out of his Camaro completely ignoring me. He walked toward the mall as if he didn't even hear me.
I thought to myself, "This guy's a jackass!" There sure a lot of jackasses in this world.
Then I noticed he had a "For Sale" sign in the back window of his car. I wrote down the number then hunted for another place to park.
A couple of days later, I'm at home sitting at my desk. I had just gotten off the phone after calling 555-1111 and yelling, "You're a jackass!" (It's really easy to call him now since I have his number on speed dial.)
I noticed the phone number of the guy with the black Camaro lying on my desk and thought I'd better call this guy, too.
After a couple rings, someone answered the phone and said, "Hello."
I said, "Is this the man with the black Camaro for sale?"
"Yes, it is."
"Can you tell me where I can see it?"
"Yes, I live at 1802 West 34th street. It's a yellow house and the car's parked right out front."
I said, "What's your name?"
"My name is Don Hansen."
"When's a good time to catch you, Don?"
"I'm home in the evenings."
"Listen Don, can I tell you something?"
"Yes."
"Don, you're a jackass!" And I slammed the phone down.
After I hung up, I added Don Hansen's number to my speed dialer.
For a while, things seemed to be going better for me.
Now, when I had a problem, I had two jackasses to call.
Then, after several weeks of calling the jackasses and hanging up on them, it just wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be.
I gave the problem some serious thought and came up with a solution.
First, I had my phone dial Jackass #1.
A man answered nicely saying, "Hello."
I yelled "You're a jackass!", but I didn't hang up.
The jackass said, "Are you still there?"
I said, "Yeah."
He said, "Stop calling me."
I said, "No."
He said, "What's your name, Pal?"
I said, "Don Hansen."
He said "Where do you live?"
"1802 West 34th Street. It's a yellow house and my black Camaro's parked out front."
"I'm coming over right now, Don. You'd better start saying your prayers."
"Yeah, like I'm really scared, Jackass!" and I hung up.
Then I called Jackass #2.
He answered, "Hello."
I said, "Hello, Jackass!"
He said, "If I ever find out who you are..."
"You'll what?"
"I'll kick your butt."
"Well, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now, Jackass!" And I hung up.
Then I picked up the phone and called the police. I told them I was at 1802 West 34th Street and that I was going to kill my brother-in-law as soon as he got home.
I made another quick call to Channel 13 about the gang war going down on West 34th Street.
After that, I climbed into my car and headed over to 34th Street to watch the whole thing.
Glorious! Watching two Jackasses throwing punches and kicking one another in front of 6 squad cars, a police helicopter, and channel 13 news cameras!!!
It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!
Name withheld to protect the guilty.
Key Words: Funny
Ghost Sisters of Hilo Hills Near the mountains of Hilo, and appearing each one closer to the ocean, are three extinct craters in the shape of hollow hills. They are called Halai, Opeapea and Puuhonu. The soil on these hills were especially rich and the area was blessed with abundant rain. The goddess Hina, Mother of Maui, gave Halai to her daughter, Hina Keahi, mistress of fire. She gave Puuhonu to her daughter, Hina Kuluua, mistress of rain. The women settled on their bountiful lands and their people prospered for a long, long time. The change started slowly. The rains did not fall as heavily or as often, but still, food was abundant. Gradually, the ground became very dry as the rain ceased to fall altogether. The people became uneasy as their crops shriveled and their stores of food dwindled. Eventually, hunger beset the villages and the people feared the worst. Hina Keahi knew that something must be done to save her followers. She instructed the men to cross the dried up river bed and make their way into the mountains to gather firewood. The kahunas went on the expedition as well, uttering incantations against the possibility of failure. The weakened men entered the dry forests of koa and ohia and spent days gathering the necessary amount of wood. The next task was digging out a large imu or underground oven. Hina Keahi’s followers labored over the excavation of a great pit. They gathered all the best stones for retaining heat and arranged them in the oven with all the wood. Then they started the fire. Hina Keahi surveyed their work and said it was good. She then instructed the exhausted people to make preparations as if they were cooking food in the great oven. The people obeyed, making a place for sweet potatoes, for taro, for pigs and for dogs, though no food was actually laid on the stones. Finally, Hina Keahi told them to make a place for a human sacrifice. With dread, they made the preparations, wondering who among them would have to give their life to appease the gods, in order to save the rest. When all was done, the people stood along the sides of the oven, ready to cover it over when the sacrifice had been selected. Hina Keahi looked at her followers with pity and love. Then she gave them her final instructions. “This is my imu, and it is I who will lay on the hot stones.” She said. “Fear not, for I will sleep. But cover me well, or I will perish. Watch for three days and you will see a woman by the imu. Follow her will.” Then, Hina Keahi stepped into the pit and lay down as a great cloud of smoke arose. The people hurriedly threw the imu mats over her and filled in the pit with earth until she was buried deeply. Then they waited and watched over the buried oven. The land was disturbed by a series of earthquakes and the starving villagers kept their vigil with trepidation. Hina Keahi slipped down through the stones of the imu and entered the underground paths of the spirit world in order to get aid for her people. On that first day, Hina Keahi appeared as a gushing stream of water to provide comfort for her people. One the second day, she rose up as a pool which was named Moe-waa (Canoe Sleep), this time nearer to the sea. On the third day, she burst forth as a great spring that gushed into the ocean. This was named Auauwai. Then, a woman appeared by the imu and instructed the people to dig it open. Hina Keahi’s followers, refreshed by the cool water, and fortified by the miraculous events, dug away the dirt with renewed energy. To their amazement, the imu was full of food in such great quantity, that it would last until they were able to grow their crops again. The people rejoiced and exalted Hina Keahi in stories and song. Meanwhile, Hina Kuluua was struggling with the famine as well. Although she had power over the rain, she was unable to provide food to her people. She was very jealous of Hina Keahi, and when she got word of the miracles her sister had performed and the praise lavished over her for them, her jealousy intensified. Hina Kuluua ordered a great imu to be dug. Her people labored over gathering the stones and wood. They made preparations as if there was food and prepared a space for a human sacrifice. All was made ready for a goddess of fire, yet Hina Kuluua was a goddess of rain. In her haste to gain the honor that her sister held, she forgot that fire and rain could not work together. So, she issued the same orders to her people, that they should cover her well, and to look for a woman to appear in three days. Then she entered the pit. Her people quickly covered her with mats and earth as she had commanded. They waited for the miraculous events to occur, but only a rain cloud appeared above the imu. They waited for the appearance of the woman for three days. Then four. But no one appeared. It is said that Maui attempted to catch the ghost of Hina Kuluua which had risen up in the rain cloud above the imu, but she escaped to the kukui trees on the mountainside. Sometimes she rises up from them in the form of clouds which is considered a sure sign on rain. The ghosts of the sisters still appear near the old hills from time to time. Hina Keahi, as flowing lava, and Hina Kuluua, as clouds of rain.
Ghost Sisters of Hilo Hills
By Genesis Hawaiian Legends The Gods
The Goddess
The Spirits
Metamorphous
The People � 2002 NativeHawaii.com
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission
Key Words: Hawaiian Legends
The Man-Eating�Spirits of Niihau Early Hawaiians observed hunting and fishing seasons to preserve their resources. When the kapu (prohibition) was lifted, competition was fierce and in the case of fishermen, they had to travel far to find abundant fish to feed their villages. In ancient times, it is said that man-eating spirits roamed the islands. Remote locations were dangerous, but sometimes necessary to travel to in order to find food. It was for this reason that fishermen from Kauai would set out in their canoes to fish off the shores of Niihau. One season, five fishermen paddled out to this abundant fishing spot. Their names were Ekahi, Elua, Ekolu, Eha and Elima. They fished all day and ended with a good catch. When the sky darkened into evening, they went ashore to Niihau to clean, salt, and store their fish. Then they sat down to an evening meal in high spirits, and finally lay down on the beach to sleep, for the next day would bring more work. Upon awakening, the men were worried for Elima was nowhere to be found. The others turned to Ekahi, the leader of the group. They voiced their fears that the spirits had come and eaten their friend. They wanted to go back to Kauai. But Ekahi calmed them. "Elima has probably gotten up early for some shore fishing. He will be waiting for us here when we return with our catch." Ekahi said. So the men were calmed and they paddled out for a successful day of fishing. When they returned, they found the beach empty. A quick search of the area could not produce the missing fisherman. The men were silent as they prepared their catch, but their thoughts were in turmoil. That night, they lay close together and though they feared a supernatural predator, exhaustion overtook them and they slept. The next morning, the men were alarmed as Eha was nowhere to be found. Ekolu insisted that they leave the evil place. "Yes, this is a dangerous place," Ekahi said. "But as fishermen, we lead dangerous lives. We depend on the opelu and this is their favorite feeding ground." "Ae," Elua agreed. "We depend on this catch. Our village will go hungry if we do not stay and finish out the season. There is only two days left. Let us stay, but we shall sleep in the canoe offshore." The plan was agreed upon and the three men set out for another day of fishing. Again, their catch was a good one. This time, they did not come ashore, but prepared their fish in the canoe anchored offshore. Then, they had their evening meal and divided the night into watches. Ekahi's watch passed quietly, then he woke Elua. Elua's watch passed quietly as well and then he woke Ekolu. Just before sunrise, Ekahi and Elua woke at the sound of beating wings and a cry from Ekolu. They saw a great, flying creature, bat-like, with huge staring eyes. He had Ekolu in his arms and before they could even leap up, the creature had devoured the fisherman in one gulp. It flew off in the morning mist, unconcerned with the remaining two men. "Let us leave this cursed place!" cried Elua. "If there are no fishermen to return, our village will have nothing!" "Wait, Elua." said Ekahi. "If we return now, no man will dare come to these fishing grounds again and we will not have opelu. Without opelu, our village would starve. We must destroy the evil creatures that haunt this island and I will tell you how." With great reluctance, Elua conceded and paddled to shore with Ekahi. They did not fish that day. Instead, they worked in the forest and on the beach, building a long house. Inside, they placed two man-sized wooded images that sported gleaming eyes of inlaid mussel shell. Ekahi and Elua hid themselves and waited as the evening wore on. Wearily, the two men fought against sleep. The hours dragged by and eventually they dozed.  Suddenly, they woke to the sound of voices. The spirits were standing at the entrance to the house debating about entering.
"Look how the man-creatures sleep standing up!" said one spirit. "No, theireyes are open. They do not sleep. Let us wait." said the other. The spirits peered into the house hungrily. Ekahi and Elua crouched in their hiding places, and the wooden images stood with wide, staring eyes. This went on for a long while until one of the spirits got so impatient that he convinced the other to follow him into the house. The spirits fell upon the images, gnawing and clawing with great appetite. "These two are tough and stringy!" they exclaimed. Before the spirits realized they had been tricked, Elua crept up to the doorway of the house and tossed in a flaming torch. Then he ran to where Ekahi had the canoe ready and they paddled away. In this way, the man-eating spirits of Niihau were destroyed and the fishing grounds of Niihau were safe. The Man-Eating�Spirits of Niihau
By Genesis
Key Words: Hawaiian Legends
IN THE BEGINNING
HAWAIIAN GODS
By Betty Fullard-Leo
In the beginning in Hawaiian mythology, Po was a vast, empty land, a dark abyss where only one life form dwelled. This was the spirit of Keawe. A single light shown through the darkness of Po-a flame holding the energy of creation.
In this chaotic vortex, Keawe evolved order. He opened his great calabash and flung the lid into the air. As it unfolded, it became the huge canopy of blue sky. From his calabash, Keawe drew an orange disk, hanging it from the sky to become the sun.
Next Keawe manifested himself as Na Wahine, a female divinity considered his daughter. In addition, he became Kane, his own son, also known as Eli or Eli-Eli, who was the male generative force of creation. In the Kumulipo, the best known of the Hawaiian creation chants, the feats of Eli-Eli are detailed in rhythmic litany.
Na Wahine and Kane mated spiritually to produce a royal family, who became additional primary gods worshipped by the Hawaiian people. In ancient chants and rituals, three sons: Ku, Lono, and Kanaloa, along with Kane are the four major Hawaiian gods. Keawe made Kane the ruler of natural phenomena, such as the earth, stones, fresh water. Most importantly, Ku as Kukailimoku was god of war, but he also reigned over woodlands and crops, and in various forms was worshipped by craftsmen. Bird catchers and feather workers appealed to Kuhuluhulumanu, fishermen to Ku'ula, sorcerers to Kukoae, for example.
Kanaloa was responsible for the southern Pacific Ocean and as such was god of seamen and lord of fishermen. Lono, as lord of the sun and of wisdom, caused the earth to grow green. As a god of medicine, he had a particular interest in keeping herbs and medicinal plants flourishing. Lono was the god who presided over the makahiki season when war ceased and taxes were paid to the ali'i.
Kane and Na Wahine also had daughters. Among them, Laka was the goddess of hula; Hina was the mother of Maui who pulled the Hawaiian Islands from the ocean; and Kapo was the goddess of the South Pacific and was largely worshipped on Maui. Among the major divinities was the goddess Papa, queen of nature, and the man she married, called Wakea. In legend, Papa and Wakea's first child was born deformed like a taro root. From the child's grave, the first taro plant grew to furnish sustenance to the rest of the human race, which had its origins in this first couple.
 The twelfth deity was Milu, lord of the spirit world and lord of Ka-pa'a-he'o, where souls who had departed their sleeping or unconscious mortal body might end up if they were not pardoned by their 'aumakua (personal gods) during their wanderings.
One of several entrances to the barren, arid land of Milu was thought to be through a pit situated in the mouth of Waipi'o Valley on the Big Island.
Each man worshipped a deity, or akua, that represented his profession. Gods existed for bird snarers, canoe makers, robbers, kapa makers, fishermen, etc. Most farmers revered Lono, who was considered a benign god. When crops ripened, farmers performed religious services to the gods by building a fire to honor whichever god they worshipped, be it Ku, Kane, Lono, or Kanaloa. During the ceremony, food was cooked and portioned out to each man who sat in a circle around an idol of that particular god. A kahuna offered the food to heaven. After the ceremony was completed, the people could eat freely of the cooked food, but each time new food was cooked in the imu (underground oven), a bit of it had to be offered to the god again before the common man could eat.
Interestingly, kanaka maoli, commoners, could freely worship their personal gods, voicing their own prayers. For the ali'i (royalty), however, a kahu-akua, who was a priest or keeper of the idol, uttered the prayer. The king was the only one allowed to command the construction of a luakini (sacrificial) heiau to honor Kukailimoku, the war god, which required sacrificial offerings of human life during its construction. Lesser chiefs could build mapele, stone temples, to invoke the blessing of gods like Lono who could insure abundant crops. These temples were surrounded with posts carved with images, while inside idols carved of wood, stone or sea urchin spines, or fashioned of feathers attached to woven i'e i'e netting represented various gods. Oracle towers that jutted 20 feet into the sky held offerings made to the gods on wooden platforms far above the ground.
The old gods were disavowed just prior to the coming of Christian missionaries in 1820. Temple idols were pushed over and destroyed, but often commoners were faced with the problem of what to do with stone images that represented various gods, since neglect of the idols might cause unknown disasters. One stone god literally re-surfaced in 1885. An old man who lived with his son and a brother and sister near a fish pond in Kawaihae on the Big Island, woke them all one night, commanding his son to catch three fish from the pond. The girl was told to chew a mouthful of awa and her brother was told to climb a tree for coconuts. The old man directed them to dig in a certain place, where they uncovered a stone idol. The old man circled the idol's neck with coconuts, laid the fish in front of it and poured the awa over its mouth. He told the three young people the god's name was Kane; then he predicted his own death. In three days he was gone.
The stone idol is now displayed at Bishop Museum on O'ahu, an intriguing reminder of the mana, the power, the Hawaiian gods once embodied. Today, though the gods may have disappeared from every day life, in many Hawaiian households, they will never be completely forgotten.
&nb sp; A Legend of Maui Hi as you can see I have been adding many stories of Hawaii about my culture and some of the legends. Many of the stories have not been written but by those whose names appear in the blogs. I always try to find the ones that are closes to what I was told as a child... I hope it will give many of you a very good glimpes of what the hawaiian culture was back then as the legends continues on by every generation. By Senior Editor Fern Gavelek: Maui and his mother Hina lived near Rainbow Falls in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. The goddess and her women would often make kapa from the bark of the wauke and mamaki tree. After they soaked the bark and scraped of the green outside skin, they would pound the white insides with wooden beaters. Their busy tapping could be heard all day and the bark grew thin and wide to form a narrow strip of cloth. The strips would be dyed with beautiful designs to form cloth. Often, the kapa was still damp at nightfall. Then it had to be brought inside and sometimes the fine, delicate pieces would smear. In despair, the women wished the day would last longer. Seeing this, Maui, the demigod, decided to make the sun go across the sky more slowly. He went to the island of Maui and Haleakala (means House of the Sun), the world's largest dormant volcano. He twisted a long, fine cord of coconut fiber and hid from the sun, changing into a rooster. The rooster flew over the Big Island and Alenuihaha Channel, reaching Makena by evening. The hurrying sun spied the rooster but didn't detect danger. He sank to sleep in his mountain house while Maui changed back into the Fleet One. He hastened through Maui's upcountry until he reached the 10,000 foot summit of Haleakala. The sun was asleep in the great crater. Maui hid until morning and watched the sun start on his morning journey across the sky. The sun had one leg longer than the others. This first ray of sunrise appeared and Maui caught it with his twisted lasso of coconut fiber. Angry, the sun demanded an explanation. Maui said," First you must agree to go more slowly every day so my mother's kapa will dry." The sun would not promise so Maui struck off the long leg with his magic club. Left, with only short legs, the sun would now have to travel more slowly. Pleased, Maui demanded more. He told the sun not to shine too hot during the long days as young plants die in the burning rays. The sun agreed to a compromise. He would go slowly six months of the year and for the other six, hurry as fast as before. Happy with the arrangement, Maui hurried home to tell his mother the good news. The women made him a new cape and it dried in one afternoon.
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