An existential threat is a danger that threatens the very survival, continued existence, or fundamental identity of a person, group, nation, or species . [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] While most computer models predicted that Hurricane Nolo would make that left turn to the west, and keep sufficiently away from Hawaii to only bring winds and rain, this serious threat was still possible yesterday.  Now : As of 5 a.m., Nolo was a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph maximum sustained winds and higher gusts, and was centered 260 miles southwest of South Point and 355 miles south of Honolulu. It was moving west at 12 mph, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here are two photos I took this morning from my apartment.  The eye of Hurricane Nolo is 355 miles to the south, beyond these shots. So the State of Hawaii was able to escape utter doom.  Yet : Hurricane Nolo yesterday not only stalled and made that 90 degree turn to the west, but also weakened from 105 MPH to 100, then t...

I yesterday began this series with a posting on my family.  For completeness, I'll be going back in time through some of my roots searches in Japan.  The featured individual is Kenjiro Takahashi, my father's father.   For those new to this blog site, start with Part 1 , with a key posting being on 31March2009, providing the background. So anyway, as I said, Kenjiro is from Utashinai, Hokkaido, a place I have now visited twice. So coal was found in Utashinai when the town had 500 people. Kenjiro was sent to the U.S., but there is no info on where or when. He first came to Kauai in 1900 and had an important role in the building of that first hydro plant at Wainiha on Kauai. In the 1920s, Utashinai's population had grown to 30,000. Coal became depleted, and population today around 5000.  Famous to now be the smallest city in Japan. The town has become a boutique village with a winery and ski resorts. To quote : The most exciting part about the potential search is ...

For nostalgia Tuesday this week, I go way back in time to when I was not yet born.   About that graphic to the right : .. .the process of searching for my roots started at a one day workshop held at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. This is where I created the family mon as a composite of two classic versions.     I colorized this official form into the rainbow version shown to the right,   which then became the cover for   SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth . The mon represents a high bridge ( Takahashi means high bridge in Japanese ) to connect countries and people taking the high road to cooperation . My roots are in Japan.  My father's father, Kenjiro Takahashi, must have had an incredible life during the 33 years he lived. Way back in 2009 I posted on  THE SEARCH FOR KENJIRO'S GRANDMOTHERS .   The reason I reached back to "grandmothers" is that one rumor growing up was that one of my father's father's grandmother was a female s...

On this Sunday, in my 17th year of this blog, I thought, my life is now not as exciting as in the past.  While I did last month return from a nearly two-month long trip that took us from Honolulu to Seattle ( by air ); then a very long cruise through the Panama Canal to Southhampton, UK; another flight to Amsterdam, Netherlands; a European Christmas Cruise to Budapest; flight to Zurich for a couple of days; then a 27 hour return by plane to Honolulu; certainly more than virtually every one of you reading this has accomplished the past year, relatively, my earlier experiences were more memorable. So I thought, over the next few months, I would select a few of my past postings to re-share with you, utilizing mostly my nostalgia day, Tuesday, for this purpose.  But I'll begin today with a grand summary. My first blog was published on 29April2008.  How long ago is that? Go back to your first day of kindergarten. Imagine how long it took to get you to become a senior in colleg...