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Creatures of Habit
12.31.06 (1:27 am)   [edit]
A coworker used to have a plaque on her desk. It read:

If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got”.

Think about it. We humans are creatures of habit. That is we do the same things over and over; sometimes learning from our mistakes and sometimes not.

There also is a famous quote that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

We need to learn from things. We need to pass along the knowledge.

Each year, countless children burn themselves because they don’t know “hot”. WE know hot, but we have not taught the children, thus they get burned.

Someone recently told me that they might be coming into money. They didn’t want to tell me too many details, but it appears that this woman in Africa has all these millions of dollars… I told them that this SCAM has been going on for years! The “bank examination” scam is another one. “Hi, I am a security officer at your bank. A clerk is stealing money and we need YOUR help…”. Sigh!

Each night there are countless Infomercials with get-rich-quick schemes. Whether it is real estate, Internet kiosks, stock programs or websites, there is someone who can make you a millionaire if you will just send them some money. Ok, so think about it. There is a company who wants you to “invest” in vending machines. The “best locations” are still available. They have been selling these things for years and the “Best” locations are still available? Then what did previous buyers get? If the deal is such a money-maker, why does the company need YOU in the middle? They would put their own machines in the “best” locations and pay someone minimum wage to load the machines. Why let YOU make millions when they could? Well, could it be that they make their money selling machines?

It is not much different than a company I saw that sells you a website. You don’t even need to have products to sell, they will provide them and even drop ship them to your customers. So you pay them to rent part of their website and advertise their products and you are supposed to become a millionaire? Nope!

There was a “Millionaire” who had these books that told you how you too could become a millionaire. If that was really the case, that he wanted everyone to share in his good fortune, then why did he charge for the book? Since he was a millionaire he could afford to give it away.

It is not just get-rich-quick schemes I am talking about. What about SPAM? Just today I got 40 emails all slightly different, telling me that I could drop my mortgage rate. Each was sent from a different email account and had different rates in them. Why would I respond to spam? I won’t but somebody MUST be, because if these emails did not bring in any business, they would stop wasting time sending them out.

Here is a thought for those people wanting to check out the rates… The message was sent to you by someone who does not operate a valid business, otherwise they would have your name spelled correctly. They would have a valid email address and a real business address. They would have a toll free telephone number. Since these idiots do not, how stupid do you have to be to send these idiots your social security number and personal information?

Do you really want to buy drugs from people like the above? People MUST be. What in the world would these people sell you when you think you are buying something else. Do I really want to buy drugs from someone in Russia? People do.

Here in Kona, the Safeway cycles through sales on 3 group of frozen dinners. The brands on sale this week will be on sale again in 3 weeks. This has been going on for years. So I buy the items I want every 3 weeks. Why waste money on an off week? So if your store has items on sale, why not buy them and store them. Why buy toilet paper or paper towels every few weeks when you can wait for a sale and stock up. Is your house so small that you can’t store a few things under the bed or in the closet?

A hurricane bears down on a coastal town. Everyone runs out to buy water and candles and so on. People! Water keeps! Candles rarely evaporate! Batteries will keep a year or more! Why wait for a disaster to head your way t o prepare? By the way, there are flashlights that you wind up or shake to make light. The same holds true for radios. There are flashlights with LED’s in the. You may never need to buy another bulb as these LEDs last forever. Over the years you have replaced so many batteries and bulbs that it makes your head spin, so learn by your mistakes!

If you don’t want to learn by your own mistakes, then watch those daytime TV shows and learn from someone else’s mistakes.

You cannot change someone else, thus if they cheated on someone else, they will cheat on you.

Weekly I see shows where women loan money to guys they just met. I may be old school, but I think men should not borrow money from women.

Another thing people have not learned. Never put anyone on your cell phone account! It will NOT work out. Also, there is no reason a personal cell phone bill should exceed $30 or so. It should NEVER cost you hundreds of dollars a month. If it does then you have the wrong plan or need to get a 2 cent a minute calling card and a pocket full of payphone quarters!

You made resolutions last year and then never followed them, so review these mistakes and don’t repeat them. You have a whole year ahead of you to make NEW mistakes!

By the way, I don't proofread these blogs anymore. I found that I was spending hours correcting spelling and making it eary t oread, only to find that nobody reads it anyway. I learned :-)

Hauoli Makahiki hou! (Happy New Year!)

 
Kona Walking Stick (an upright bass)
12.28.06 (11:41 am)   [edit]
A friend of mine runs a website called KonaWeb.com, which is very useful for people visiting, moving or living on the Big Island of Hawaii. Discussions usually include how to ship household belongings, pets and people. Should an earthquake hit, there will be someone posting within minutes "Did you feel it?" messages.

Visitors often ask questions about inexpensive rental cars, what specific hotels are like and where to eat.

Because many of the messages are time dependent, they are not generally archived but flow freely through the forums.

Bob and Shirley have musical backgrounds and Bob also crafts an instrument, a compact, lightweight 3-string upright fretless bass. If you are into music, you should check out Bob's website at http://KonaWalkingStick.Com

Made from koa or koa and mango, this is a really beautiful instrument both visually and acoustically. There is a forum where users rave about the walking sticks.

Check it out!

 
My testimony - Hawaii Island County Concil re Blends
12.28.06 (10:24 am)   [edit]
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I speak in support of legislation that increases the percentage of Kona Coffee in a bag marked “Kona Coffee Blend” and tells of its real origin. By allowing a low concentration of real Kona in the bag, the public is misled and the product is cheapened in the public’s eyes. A 10% blend is NOT Kona Coffee, the same as 1 gallon of gasoline in 9 gallons of water should not be sold as a gasoline blend, its water!

I have approached store customers who have a bag of blend in their hand. Most think they are buying a product that contains all Kona coffee, or a blend of coffee from various Kona farms. Few if any understand that they are actually buying a foreign (NON-US) coffee with a hint of Kona in the bag. When told that, they inevitably place the bag back on the shelf and buy a 100% Kona product. We don’t consider 10% a passing grade in school, yet we allow passing off 10% as Kona Coffee.

Visitors buying coffee from large stores are rarely buying pure Kona Coffee from farmers because stores such Longs, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Hilo Hatties, Safeway, ABC, Whalers Store, Kamagaki Market and ChoiceMart all require UPC Barcodes. First year startup costs for those codes is $750 and then $150 a year thereafter. Thus the farmer is priced out of selling in major retail stores and the public buys what is on the shelves; mostly blends.

One blender keeps telling us he sells more Kona than anyone else. Scanning the shelves at K-Mart recently, I counted 120 bags of his blend and not one bag of his 100% Kona there. How is the public to know the difference when they are inundated with blends?

So small farmers end up selling their coffee on Internet sites, at farmers Markets or out of the back of their pickup trucks. A company can have KONA in their name and yet no Kona in the bag. Outside of Hawaii people can advertise they have 100% Kona in the bag, yet none needs to be there, because these labeling laws, as useful as they are, are Hawaii specific and not Federally regulated.

I am not against blends and some price conscious consumers love them. I am against large companies trying to fool the public by taking coffee from 3rd world countries, sprinkling a bit of Kona in the bag and passing it off with KONA prominently on the label. If the other 90% is so good, why not tell the public that the majority of filler in the bag comes from such “exotic locations” such as India, Vietnam, Central and South America and Asia? Because Kona conjures up the idea of Paradise!

Remember that FARMERS don’t blend, processors do. Farmers take pride in their unique product. It is this coffee “INDUSTRY” who makes and sells blends and continues to use our name to push their potion. They take a few cents worth of foreign coffee, add the minimum amount of Kona required by state law, and sell the product for 40% the cost of 100% Kona. They say that the contents of their blend are “secret” because they don’t want to admit where the majority of the coffee really comes from.

Please fight for the farmers, and support this bill. Thank You!

 
10% Kona Blends vrs 100% Kona Coffee
12.26.06 (3:51 pm)   [edit]
Residents here in Hawaii know the difference between Kona Blends and 100% Kona (at least I hope they do). Visitors do not.

A few days ago over 30 farmers and other interested people spoke to the Hawaii County Council in support of a bill which would have the Council recommend to the State of Hawaii that any coffee sold as a "Kona Blend" contain at least 75% Kona and tell which country the rest comes from.

It is interesting to note that 3 or 4 people who work for large processors spoke against the proposal. They make tremendous profits from blending 10% Kona and 90% other coffee and calling it a Blend and selling it for 1/3 the price of 100% Kona. The farmers contend that the public does not understand that the 90% is usually non-US coffee from 3rd world countries and thus are paying 3 times what the blend should cost, jut because it has Kona on the label. The testimony also showed that even Consumers reports, the national magazine, was fooled into thinking they were testing 100% Kona when it was really blends.

It is also interesting to note that the 30 or more of us were able to come up with thoughtful and insightful testimony, yet these blenders could not. The blenders have been fighting this fight with the farmers for decades, yet hemmed, hawed and pretty much spoke incoherently (my opinion).

One farmer felt so strongly that her voice cracked as she held back tears. Another farmer used wine as a demonstartion of blends in a very enjoyable and memorable display. My passionate speech came during the 1st half hour. It may be obvious that I had 4 minutes of text to get in the 3 minute time period :-)

There can never be a meeting of the minds on blends and 100% Kona. The farmers mostly don't mind blends being in the marketplace, as long as the public knows and understands what they are buying. The blenders feel there is a place for blends as an entry point for customers who want an inexpensive peice of Kona to take home. The debate brings up whether the public can taste and/or has value-added with 10% Kona or if there should be more in the package.

If I can get a written transcript, I'd be happy to post it. It was quite enlightening.

The County Council Meeting where the Resolution to ask State for 75% minimum in anything bearing the Kona name is being broadcast on locally here on Government Access TV.

 
Is It Really Paradise?
12.22.06 (9:34 am)   [edit]
Look up "paradise" in the dictionary and more than likely you will find a definition such as "a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness", however, another definition is "heaven, as the final abode of the righteous".

Many call Hawaii Paradise and it is a great tourist attraction. However, we are a very unique landmass in the middle of nowhere and dare I remind people, "We are NOT a theme park". People tend to forget that. People tend to die because of it.

I can't fully blame tourists but they don't get off Scott-free either.

We warn people not to approach the turtles, yet people snuggle next to them to get heir picture taken. That is it a crime to get close, they seem to ignore.

We encourage people to visit and learn about our volcano and we even guide them out to a lookout to see lava. However, we tell them not to venture further but many do. I did and knew full well that it was dangerous. As I stood watching lava flow into the ocean I realized that I was standing just inches from 2,000 degree molten rock. I quickly moved but could have been quickly injured.

Recently we had someone die because they did not understand the ocean currents.

People get cut on the sharp lava and do not get medical attention. That mistake can lead to dire problems if it gets infected.

Two hikers just dies when they fell from an unmarked or poorly marked trail near some falls on Kauai. It appears they were following information in a travel book.

Who is at fault? It is a bit of all involved. While the state and guidebooks and visitors all focus on the rose, there lying beneath is a sharp thorn!

It is not just Hawaii. I recently read that people are having accidents using voice-guided GPS systems which encourage people to turn their steering wheel and un into guardrails and rivers.

When having my farm cleared, we discovered that in some places on my property there are lava tubes. Just driving over that area with a truck might have been enough weight to collapse the hidden dander and cause a tire to drop many feet into the earth. One of these tubes had a very thin roof and went down 10 feet and was perhaps 6 by 6 feet square! I have smaller holes all over the property. The island has some tubes large enough to drive a bus through!

Our telephone books describe what to do in a tsunami, but until the disaster a few years back overseas, visitors here ignored the information as our last tsunami was decades ago.

People jump into surf without a second thought, yet some of the best surfers in the world are killed or nearly so in the same waters.

I don't have the answer unless it is to be very careful. Know your surroundings and be deliberate with your explorations.

 
Kona Coffee Blend Resolution
12.19.06 (7:44 pm)   [edit]
A proposal will be considered by the County Council for the Island of Hawaii (where Kona resides).

It reads as follows:

RESOLUTION TO THE HAWAI‘I STATE LEGISLATURE TO REVISE AND CLARIFY HAWAI‘I REVISED STATUTES SECTION 486-120.6, RECOMMENDING THAT ANY COFFEE LABELED “KONA COFFEE BLEND” SHALL CONTAIN A MINIMUM OF 75% KONA COFFEE AND SHALL BE LABELED ACCORDINGLY.

WHEREAS, the Districts of North and South Kona on the Island of Hawai‘i produce a premier, specialty coffee known around the world for its unique flavor and aroma; and

WHEREAS, it is critical to retain the character of this unique coffee for the economic survival of Kona’s coffee farmers; and

WHEREAS, the Kona coffee industry is largely comprised of small coffee farmers who depend solely on their coffee harvest for their livelihood; and

WHEREAS, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Section 486-120.6 enables coffee to be labeled as “Kona Coffee Blend” when only 10% of the blend contains pure Kona Coffee; and

WHEREAS, the label "Kona Coffee Blend" often confuses consumers, who mistakenly believe they are buying a blend of several Kona-grown coffees rather than a blend of Kona coffee and other non-Kona coffee(s); and

WHEREAS, 10% of Kona coffee in a “Kona Coffee Blend” is insufficient to allow the unique flavor of Kona coffee to be tasted and appreciated, and therefore damages the value of Kona coffee and the reputation and economic interests of Kona’s coffee farmers; and

WHEREAS, the Market Development Branch of the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism has stated that Kona coffee growers and marketers are missing major opportunities for marketing in Asia, with emphasis on Mainland China (PRC) and Taiwan, because consumers in those countries are confused by “blends” and want to be assured that they are buying 100% Kona coffee; and

WHEREAS, it is essential that the State of Hawai‘i strengthen its statutory requirements to protect the Kona Coffee Industry, with State legislation serving as a basis for Federal legislation to protect the “Kona Coffee” name in consumer outlets on the mainland United States and in foreign countries; and

WHEREAS, other States promote and encourage the geographic identity of their homegrown products (for example, Washington Apples, Florida Oranges, Vidalia Onions, Idaho Potatoes, and Napa Valley Wines).

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I, that it encourages and recommends that the Hawai‘i State Legislature amend Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Section 482-120.6 to include the following provisions:

1) Allow the use of the name "Kona Coffee Blend" only in connection with coffee packaging containing 75% or more Kona coffee by weight; and

2) Require prominent identification on any package of "Kona Coffee Blend” to disclose, in descending order by weight, the percentage of any United States-grown coffee and, in the case of foreign coffee, to also include the country of origin. All identification shall be printed using print equal in size to the largest print on the package label.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the County Clerk shall forward certified copies of this resolution to Mayor Harry Kim, the Hawai‘i County Department of Research and Development, Governor Linda Lingle, the Hawai‘i State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and all members of the Hawai‘i State Legislature.

Dated at ________________, Hawai‘i, this ________ day of ______________, 2006.

INTRODUCED BY:

COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I

 
Captain, the warp engine...
12.15.06 (2:15 am)   [edit]
Sometimes an event or a thought triggers a memory. Funny how that happens.

Every weekday I watch Star Trek episodes and yet they did not trigger the memory. Neither did a flash on TV from the old series the Jefferson’s. Nope, not even from my friends name Grace.

Actually, I can't quite remember just what triggered the memory again tonight but off I went, searching the Internet for the name of someone I met many years ago, Augie Blume. No the name will not be familiar to you and I'm sue that he passed away many years ago, but I always wanted to read a bit about him.

Many many years ago I rented a trailer from a guy who worked for a local radio station. I had done some radio in high school and was aspiring to be a DJ. Back then, a DJ spins records and does "record intros, weather and news-type announcements" I was actually more of a "air personality" who did voices, told stories... think of it as an audio blog with music.

I often visited the station and soon was doing commercials for them, and when a spot opened up, I was then an employee, working for a radio station in Jenkins Kentucky, then named WREM (now renamed and a religious format). At the time we played a mixture of country, easy and rock. We stayed away from most bluegrass or acid rock, but other music was all mixed together.

Steve, the other DJ and I made a few field trips during our employ; the first was to Nashville where we stayed in the Roger Miller King of the Road Motor Inn. The programming conference featured session on how to program music and make your station profitable and entertaining. I should tell you that Steve was the expert in music, I was just a voice with stories.

We were sitting in the bar at the above hotel and a piano player was playing what seemed to be a few songs over and over. Suddenly Steve turned to me and said "Hey, the guy sitting at that table over there is Kris Kristopherson" to which I said "Kris who?". At the time Kris had written a number of very popular songs, but had not really performed many of them himself; at least not to where I would have heard of him. The astute reader here will note that Kris was married to Rita Coolidge. He wrote Me and Bobby McGee, Help Me Make It Through The Night and a host of others.

Somehow Steve got me to go meet him and chat for just a second. Kris was a bit scruffy, but then again weren't we all back then? Steve also got Kris to play a few minutes for the assemblage in the bar.

Later that night I was going up in the elevator and Roger Miller (For The Goodtimes) walked in. We chatted for a few minutes about small town radio stations and playlists.

Then I met Augie. Augie was a record promoter for Grunt records which was a division of RCA. Grunt was the new label for the Jefferson Airplane (also known as the Jefferson Starship and finally the Starship).

Besides being a promoter, Augie was one of the people who helped Steve and I to go back and "crank up the volume", to make the station more professional and exciting. rather than just tell the time and introduce the records, we began arranging playlists, having contests and yes, even timing the records. We began using the "Drake Format" which had us time intros and outros of songs so that we could start talking as one song ended, keep talking and start the next record and stop talking as the vocals began. We were able to actually play more music that way and of course constantly reminded them of that fact :-)

Once I told a friend of my distant association with the Airplane (so distant that in fact my plane was in another airport...). He didn't believe me until I pulled out a scrapbook with a copy of the Grunt Newsletter where I had written an article about radio station automation.

Once I was at the radio station and a car drove up with a very tall gentleman who handed me an album. Not being an expert in country music at the time, I didn't realize that the guy I thought was a record promoter was actually a member on the group on the record, the Statler Brothers.

Another time I had a guy stop by the mountain top trailer where we broadcast. As I remember, he was working for UPS at the time and asked if I ever played music by a group called the Drifters. I said of course and he told me he was one of the members of the group early on. Seems I had met him years ago when they played in Seaside Park New Jersey at the bar owned by a friend’s father. In this case I cut the mike on and did an impromptu interview. I think it made his day and certainly was fun for me.

Not all people promoted by our station were real artists. We got duped by a group called "Dawn" who was NOT the real Tony Orlando and Dawn group. At the time the real group was a studio group and never went on tours. How would we know? Perhaps the fact that the records featured Tony and this group didn't... hmmm, live and learn.

So you see, just a flash of a thought can conjour up all sorts of memories.

One other member of the old station was Randy, who still visits the old area back there as he had family there. He works in the Daytona area for the Post Office. Another coworker went on to become a coach back there and yet another friend and DJ became a writer.

Amazing that none of us stayed in radio isn't it? I can tell you why I didn't. I loved being in the spotlight, but didn't like feel very at home in front of the mike where people could see me. I preferred to be behind the mike. Once Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band came to town and I wanted to interview him. I was told I could if I did the introduction of the band to the audience. Ouch! I did and got the interview but not before being embarrassed by a young girl in the front of the audience who recognized me and squealed "Hey that's Mark, I know him!" as I walked onto the stage.

Being on radio or TV is difficult for many people because they have to be "on" and exciting for hours every day. Imagine how it might be difficult to be creative daily. After a while I found that I was starting to repeat stories and just felt that I was getting boring. The two cures are to either move on to another town where you can start the stories over, or to get out of the business. I did both!

So I still tell the stories, just now I hide behind the keyboard instead of the mike.

Speaking of reading stories, know what goes great with reading? A piping hot cup of 100% Kona and I know where you can get some, at http://ItsKona.Com where I just spent a few hours redesigning the website. Your best deal right now is the FREESHIP coupon at checkout time. If you hurry, you might just get some coffee before Christmas, although time is running out.

Speaking or running out, so too must I but I leave you with this thought, I have more stories than you have time to read them!

Aloha for now!

 
More Doings
12.12.06 (3:20 pm)   [edit]
Was invited to a Christmas party the other night and had a great time! I knew a few of the people there. In typical Hawaiian tradition, there was much more food then people and anyone who wanted could take a plate or two home with them. We had prime rib, teri chicken, kalua pork, seafood and lots of deserts. Although the main courses were supplied by management, many people brought side dishes like the cucumbers in vinegar with a touch of hot pepper.

They had a gift exchange which seemed like fun. Everyone had a present in their hand and the "moderator" reads a scripted story which contains various spellings and meanings of Right and Left, like "Mr. Wright went right outside but before he left...". At each incantation of right or left, the gift exchange participants would pass the present in their hands either to the right or left as the words were spoken. This took about 15 minutes. With my computer experience I would have wanted to hurry things up by scanning the story counting the rights and lefts, subtracted and told participants to pass the gifts the final number of times. But hey, that is just me :-)

A downside to the party was yet another stupid act on my part. I picked up a starlight mint, popped it in my mouth and without thinking, bit down. I cracked a molar and don't have a dental plan, thus an unexpected and unnecessary expense. {sigh}

Recently I have received a number of orders, some for coffee and some for other items like the personal coffee maker. The coffee maker (a device that sits on a coffee cup and makes drip coffee) is an odd size for shipping and I had to find the right sized box for it. It made it difficule for me to set a correct price for shipping, so just bundled shipping into the item until I could find a box and determine actual shipping costs. I hate to list shipping charges on the site until I can determine that I am not overcharging the customer. As an online customer myself, I hate to buy something and then get all of the way through the order system only to then find that the shipping cost is very high or rediculously high. At least I try to avoid doing that to my own customers and have yet to have a complain that items took too long to get there or cost more than the person thought was appropriate.

I have an Ebay sale running for two 8 oz bags of coffee and also have a special on the website offering free shipping. The free shipping discount seems to bring in more business and perhaps I should just convert all of my site to offer free shipping.

I think I posted a blog recently that I created a Coffee Club with scheduled shipment dates. It is a test and I will create and/or modify the idea if people prefer other terms.

I posted a two-day classified ad in the Penn State newspaper to see if the students there had a) Disposable income or b) Access to Dad's credit card... so far, no orders from the University. Well, I had to give it a try. Somewhere there are masses that are spending a boat-load of money in coffee shops when they could be making 100% Kona Coffee (an American product) at home and saving lots of money in the process.

Then again, I'd love to find a couple of coffee shops that would like to offer 100% Kona direct from the farm to their customers. Besides serving it by the cup, the coffee shops could sel bags of it behind the counter and make a few dollars from each sale.

During the holidays, many bars and restaurants offer free soda or coffee to the "designated driver" who agrees to not drink alcohol and rather shuttle their friends around for a safe holiday. What better way to encourage people to be a designated driver than great coffee? :-)

I am trying to get some time to fix up the ItsKona.Com website for my coffee. Along with that I'll also update MyHawaiianSite.Com travel pages. I want to make them a bit more fancy and quicker to load and navigate.

When coffee is harvested, we take the ripe cherry and remove the pulp, wash and dry it and then store the parchment. If fairly recent, you can plant the parchment to create new plants or you open the parchment and reveal and plant the green coffee bean. That is what I have bee ndoing the past few days; opening parchemnt, one bean at a time! It will save 1 week or so on propagation and I should be able to see sooner what yield I have to plant. I am trying to plant 2 acres until I can get the catchment taks installed. In case of dry conditions I can still stretch a hose to those acres to water things. After catchment tanks are installed, rainwater will be the primary watering method.

I just uploaded a panarama view of the farm from the house and looking up mauka (mountain side). The trees in the distance are about 800 feet or more away and the mountain in the distance is a mere hill compared to Mauna Loa which rises out of sight behind it, up to 14,000 feet. This particular photo is at: http://itskona.com/photos/thu... then click on the photo. I'll upload some more photos soon.

 
Farm News
12.05.06 (9:34 am)   [edit]
Well, there are lots of things going on here and bargains galore!

The bulldozer operator has pretty well completed dozing and grading of the property. I ended up clearing about 6 or 7 acres and got rid of almost all of the macadamia nut trees. Now I can start putting in lots and lots of coffee!

While dozing, we found multiple lava tubes and holes, some of which are quite big. They will be fenced off so people can look in them! Actually, I'm thinking I could rent them out as small cottages!

I am in the middle of growing small “keiki” coffee plants, which will fill the first couple of acres of new land. I can’t plant all 5 acres yet because I don’t have the water catchment installed yet and it would be impossible to manually water 5 acres of trees by hand. Thus, I’ll start with a manageable amount of trees and as soon as the water system is in place, I’ll plant the rest.

I have had a few people ask me about starting a “Coffee Club” and have done so. I’ll tweak it a bit and add new options soon. The current setup allows you to schedule coffee shipments each quarter. You choose the starting month and the coffee will show up about the 1st of each quarter, just like magic! At this point, you will pay in advance, because I do not store your credit card numbers. This protects you. The credit card company has a reoccurring billing process, but it adds to the cost and I’m all about trying to keep costs low so you get more coffee for the money.

If you are interested in joining the Coffee Club, go to ItsKona.Com, enter the store and look for the Category “Coffee Club”. Note that the prices include Priority Shipping. I am offering Medium Roast in 8oz, single and two 1lb bags. The coffee is shipped with the “Less Frills” option, which removes some of the retail packaging labels. I set the options to be Whole Bean, but would offer ground, if you prefer.

Speaking of sales, the 2007 Calendars are 28% off and priced currently at $2.88 including shipping (while supplies last). I’ll do my best to keep the online inventory correct. Don’t make me get stuck with lots of calendars :-)

I am not sure I have time to go Gift Baskets this year, but if you have a pressing need for something special, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

For a limited time, the website is offering FREE SHIPPING if you use the discount code FREESHIP at checkout time. It is my Holiday Gift to you!

If you are looking for Hawaiian items besides coffee, you can check out my Hawaiian store at http://astore.amazon.com/lava... . Offered on the separate site are such food items as coconut syrup, macadamia nuts and sea salt. There are Hawaiian music selections, books about Hawaii, Books about Coffee and yes, even Hawaiian flags for sale! Since the site is hosted at Amazon, you will need a separate logon there.

Also, if you have need for website hosting, I would like you to consider http://Planet-Aloha.Info. Yes, another “LavaRock” venture. I have to pay off the bulldozer operator somehow… :-)