Author: Peg

While I was having dinner, the cruise ship left and a fine misty rain arrived.  Fortunately, I was having dinner on my very own lanai – so, I just enjoyed it. Without getting the least bit wet.

And, if you are looking at this soon – Puff the Magic Dragon showed up at sunrise this morning.

I did get wet today. Took the GoPro out for a little swim.  Little one minute video. It looks like crap in full screen from YouTube. Think maybe I am trying to understand too many new things at once. But, as a vintage person, I am not sure I have time for serial understanding.

I should have an opinion about the impeachment proceedings. But, I keep coming back to “Elect a clown. Expect a circus.”

Over the last few days, we had “interesting” weather.  They even had a little hail on Oahu. A news segment to explain hail was required.

Had a fine swim this morning. Photo-wise not so great. But, it was good to be out in the ocean. A little video – one minute. Close encounter with Marian.

After my swim, I return home for an afternoon of reading, napping and figuring out what I can do better with the GoPro/iMovie tomorrow.

Come 5 PM, I was starved.  I scrambled eggs. Served with avocado toast.  I was going to make “coffee pot soft boiled eggs”, but that doesn’t always work out and I was hungry. Microwave scrambled eggs always works.

November is pretty laid back at the hotel. Later in the month a bunch of German runners show up. They hang out here for about a week and then go over to Honolulu for the Honolulu Marathon.

It rained rather much last night. Knocked out the wifi, so I couldn’t ask Alexa what time it was. Life is tough.

The rain and today’s wind made the ocean not so very inviting today. So, I walked around the end pier practicing with the GoPro.

;

It is about a minute long and I haven’t a clue what I am doing with the audio.

And I am loving the lazy island life. But, I did break down and do laundry today. Reading, playing with the GroPro and iMovie. Thinking about taking myself out for dinner tonight. Oh and the BIGGEST COCKROACH EVER had taken up residence on my wetsuit. It scuttled off under the bed. Hopefully, it will decide to leave my room. Before it has babies or I encounter it again.

Speaking of babies. I left my pregnant grocery store orchid with a trusted midwife. It bloomed.

Lazy Sunday in exciting Kailua-Kona.

Took a lot of video today. But nothing worth knitting together.

During breakfast this morning, the local biker gang rumbled through town. A standard crematorium remains box wrapped in lei was strapped to the lead bike.

A local musician had a very well attended memorial service today.  The music is reported to have been killer.

Even funerals are island style.

Took the new GoPro out for a nice snorkel run. I am sort of underwhelmed by it’s still photo ability underwater. But, it could just as well be my fault. GoPro actually started out as a 35mm film camera. I was just shooting generic jpgs.

But, I have a little one minute video. Mostly, I just had a good time out in the ocean.

Thanks, Steven for confirming what I suspected. 720p isn’t all that different from 1080p when processed by the YouTube blender. So, from now on I will use 720p. Wifi is pretty slow here.

Not only does it say “Abstinence makes the church grow fondlers”, but it has another sticker that says “Predator” that appears to be advertising some product or service.

How can you not love these guys. And, they are very fat and fluffy looking. They had better be careful as Thanksgiving approaches.

Turtles today. I experimented with 720p vs 1080p for YouTube. The turtle footage was taken this morning with the Pixel 2xl. As for the GoPro. I took pictures of my fingers with it. The videos are about 40 seconds. they are identical. I just rendered them in two “sizes” out of idle curiosity.

This one is 720p

This one is 1080p

Yes, I lasted an entire 2 weeks without an underwater camera. But, why hold out any longer? Sprung for the newest GoPro. Why?

1. I am on this video learning kick. And, GoPro really is a video camera.
2. But, some of the GoPro shoot RAW still photos too. This one included. So, I figure it will be a good wide-angle still camera for travel.
3. What’s not to love about a camera that will almost fit in an Altoids box?
4. Years ago a played with Billy’s GoPro and I was stunned by it’s image quality vs the cheap point and shoot underwater cameras that I have always used.

So, far so good with the new toy. But I *hate* the “new improved” battery door. I can bearly get it open and then closed again. Pretty sure the designers were men with very strong hands and thumbs. They should have asked their Granny to try to get the F-ing door open.

This movie is 1080p and a little over 2 minutes long. Maybe tomorrow I will find more fish. Take a look at it. There is a big dog and the snuba guy. but not many fish. You know, I think that YouTube squashes my stuff so 720p is as good. Lots to learn.

I figured this out today. Don’t know why it took me so long. This is what I figured out. Moving to an old folks asylum – no matter how you tart it up by calling it “Senior Living”, sends a message to the world that you are old and no longer give a shit. Wait – friends at the Asylum – how many times have you heard a younger person talking about “I know this woman, she is 88 and still lives in her house and mows her lawn”.  This is considered a good thing, something to strive for,  a worthy goal. Moving to an old lady’s home doesn’t send a good message.

47 seconds of moonset/sunrise goodness. Old Airport this morning. 720p because the Wifi is slow here tonight.

Billy and I went on road trip this morning. After watching the sun come up, a little walk and a nice full fat breakfast, we headed north because Billy wanted to go for a swim at Mahukona. I decided to bypass the swim. But, I was up for a truck ride.

First stop: Honokohau Harbor. Billy needed to check on a boat that he watches after.

Next stop:  Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor.  Because we had been riding for almost an hour and we were getting creaky.

The destination: Mahukona. It is a great place to swim. But, I wasn’t confident enough in my abilities. I really wish I had gone out. But, had a nice tranquil time in a cell-phone free space. I was smart enough to wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt.

On the way home, another stop at Kawaihae.

Maybe tomorrow, maybe I’ll make a little video about the roadtrip.

 

This one is 45 Seconds. 1080p. Humor me. Watch it. Fullscreen. I am actually getting better at this. Not good, just less bad. What have I learned so far:

1. Less is better. Sort of like deleting still photos. Just because you have the image/footage you don’t have to use it.
2. And, it helps to have a little story. In my case a very little story.

Today’s mental story was “Let’s look at the boats around the pier at about 8:15 am.”

Had a fine swim today. My left arm still doesn’t work very well, but the other three limbs are taking up the slack. I just have to be very careful to not get stuck in any serious current action. And, I have to wear my fins. And my snorkel, because, I haven’t figured out how to breathe with the wimpy left arm.

More about “less is better”. Last year before I left last spring, I apparently got rid of some stuff. The only reason I can tell is my storage box wasn’t crammed shut. There was actually room in it. And, I brought lots less stuff. So, have I missed anything? Well, I maybe might have used a real camera and a telephoto lens one day when the surf was really good. Maybe. But, did I miss it? No. But, I am pretty sure that I will be missing my underwater camera soon. There is a limit to the “less is better”.

Think I deserve a Guinness and maybe a little steak. Time to take me out for dinner.

Then if I am feeling very brave I will update my version of WordPress.

Truth of the matter is, a pair of board shorts and a couple of tee shirts is about all you need here in Kona.

Took some videos today. But, I am totally uninterested in them. So, no movie. Contain your disappointment.

Carlton had a great time playing soldier in college. In the real Army, not so much fun. His favorite thing about the Army was Happy Hour at the Officer’s Club. Oklahoma was the worst thing that happened to him in the Army.

 

But actually this one is the best one so far. It is rendered in 720p so image quality isn’t so great in full screen. But, give it a look anyhow. It is 67 seconds, I figure that 60 seconds is about the max attention span of the average person these days.

Remember those “Alexa” earbuds I got  I2 hours before leaving for Kona?

I am liking them. Like most old ladies, my hearing isn’t that good – and even I can tell that these bad boys aren’t all the greatest at sound quality. But it is more than OK. Plus Bose active noise cancellation, and Alexa. You can also ask Siri or Google questions which is pretty inclusive of Amazon. All this at $129. Put them on your Black Friday list. But, you can not rename it “computer”.

This really isn’t all that fun. But, maybe if I get better it will become more fun. As long as I stick to iMovie, it isn’t costing me anything. Well, except time and disk space.