Tattoo Legend
If you want Mike Ledger to create your next tattoo, get in line. He is booked for the next two years, with a waiting list. His elaborate tattoos can take months and many repeat visits to complete, but his fans…
Lifestyle
Business Etiquette Dilemma: Smartphones or Rude Phones
Modern etiquette test: Using your smartphone in a business meeting shows that you’re: a. Connected 24/7 and responding instantly to clients; b. Rude, distracted and about to get fired; c. Under 30 or working for a tech company; d. Assuming…
Innovation: Medicom Technologies Puts Medical Information on a Watch
Medicom Technologies says its Medical I.D. Wristband is the first device with audio-visual capabilities that stores, displays and voices a patient’s complete medical history in up to nine languages for first responders and hospital personnel in an emergency. “This could be…
Hawaii 2011 Our Quality of Life
Understanding Hawaii, Then Acting to Improve Our Quality of Life Building a better future for Hawaii begins with a clear understanding of who we are and where we stand – our vital strengths and crippling weaknesses. This report provides key…
Crafting Egg Shells
Michele Saito, president of Farmers Insurance Hawaii, Inc., already enjoyed arts and crafts when she came upon the obscure art of eggery two decades ago. How obscure is it? There isn’t even a Wikipedia page on it. Enthusiasts turn egg…
Belle of the Harbor
Yes, the Falls of Clyde is still a treasure. Today, the 133-year-old, four-masted barque that helped found the Matson shipping empire squats in disreputable shambles in her berth at Pier 7, between the defunct Hawaii Maritime Center and the Aloha…
Air Guitar? No, App Guitar
Your inner rock star has been waiting for this app: Miso Music can teach you how to play several types of guitars, ukuleles, banjos and mandolins. Created by Miso Media – an app development company based in California but made…
What it's worth? Big Fish.
$8.30 a pound Monday through Saturday, before the sun rises, independent fishermen bring their catch to Pier 38 for the Honolulu Fish Auction, the only fresh-tuna auction between Maine and Tokyo. The United Fishing Agency quality-control staff inspects and tags…
Buss Laugh
How many times have you heard the expression: “Laughter is the best medicine?” Well, get ready to O.D. with a blast from the past. It is the 30th anniversary of “Pidgin to da Max,” Hawaii’s original pidgin-English dictionary. First published…
Pau Hana with Bill Deuchar
Sailboats have been “the other woman” in a lot of marriages. At least Bill Deuchar was wise enough to name his yacht after his wife. Deuchar is a developer whose former construction company, U.S. Pacific Development, built landmarks such as…
Connectivity Lessons
John Adversalo and his staff at Architects Pacific sometimes work late into the night or on weekends. He needed a way to get quick answers in the least obtrusive way possible, so he equipped everyone with Apple’s smartphone. HB: Why…
Innovation: ATCO Software’s Kiosk Makes Restaurant Reservations Easy
ATCO Software’s Web-based technology lets users quickly make real-time reservations for restaurants, tours and attractions without picking up the phone. How it works Tourists can book online before arriving, or visit the hotel’s concierge desk or an ATCOKiosk. For example, the…
Hawaii’s Tech Industry After Act 221
Watching the death of Act 221 was like watching the Superferry ordeal unravel all over again,” says attorney Jay Fidell, president of ThinkTech Hawaii. “Why this state continues to oppose progress and kill measures that so many people and businesses will benefit from…
Ask SmallBiz: Protecting Your Data
Q. My business would be a disaster zone if our data were lost or stolen. What should I do to protect it? A. Today’s small businesses are under assault on many fronts. In October, the FBI warned of a new wave…
What's it Worth?
This wooden monkeypod vase from Gump’s, circa 1930s or 1940s, is carved with a shallow relief of torch ginger. Gump’s Hawaii store opened in 1929 in Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue and commissioned local artists to produce works of art, many…
State closes highways for aliens, pirates and McGarrett
Hundreds of Ewa-bound vehicles came to a standstill on the H-1 Freeway near the airport when space aliens attacked a baseball field filled with Little Leaguers. After each one- or two-minute attack, police cars moved out of the way and…
Some Kind of Jedi
This fictional short story will be published in March in the local journal Bamboo Ridge I dunno how for respond to da boss’s question when she asks me, “What are you, some kind of Jedi?” I nevah intend for anybody see…
What's it Worth?
For $25 you can own a piece of art that is both beautiful and functional. Aaron Lau, CEO of Simply Wood Studios and Lau Lau Woodworks, started handcrafting pens out of koa, abalone and other exotic materials in 2002 after…
Green Tea Goes Well with Cookies
Looking for a great holiday gift? If so, Big Island Candies has put a spin on its world-famous diagonally dipped macadamia-nut shortbread cookies by dunking them in a rich white cream coating with matcha (finely milled green tea). “Green is…
Pau Hana with Jay Fidell
Attorney Jay Fidell hasn’t met a gadget he didn’t love and wanted to learn. When the first Apple computers came out about 30 years ago, he learned to program and has been programming ever since. It was an easy leap…
Parting Shot: Resurfacing the Mirror
6:32 a.m. Thursday Basement of Gemini Observatory, Mauna Kea summit, Hawaii Island Photo Courtesy of Gemini Observatory >>Technicians from Hawaii and Chile combine forces about every four years to resurface this 24-ton, 27-foot mirror from the Gemini North telescope. Hawaii…
Geothermal's Second Chance
When geothermal steam was first harnessed to generate electricity on the Big Island almost three decades ago, the project left many residents with a bitter taste. The technology was substandard, the community wasn’t consulted and environmental protestors became fixtures outside…
Parting Shot: Catwalking at Mickey’s Place
6:32 A.M., Thursday Aulani, Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina Photography by Twain Newhart >>Father and son crane operators Jim and Mike Beyer walk along the counter-jib catwalk of dad’s crane, 280 feet above the Aulani site, to check…