I was hoping to give the guy some shelter from the sun and have a place I could lay out the irrigation parts where they are protected from the sun. Granted, most are PVC and probably all are outdoor rated, but still, it seemed a simple thing to do to have a place where everything was laid out.

I don't know what or how, but I seem to have injured myself within the past couple of days. I think it is the iliopsoas muscle or something quite close to it. In the area below my hip and on the front of my leg, whenever I move in just the wrong way, I get a searing pain and the area turns numb for a while. At first I thought I was stung by a bee because I was near the hives, but seems not. I've done a bit of reading on this and cold compresses may help (much as I hate cold vrs hot compresses). I should see the doctor but I have so much going on in the next week or so, that it makes it difficult.

I have to get ready for work today up in town. I'll post more tonight perhaps. Next week is a killer for projects!

In the course of our lives, we strive to be good and honorable and fair but often fall short. Mankind is gauged by how we act in various circumstances.

On October 11th, an award of sorts will be given to a man with humble beginning, yet who inspired others to go good works. Two movies come to mind of his life, there is a play, and many news stories. Buildings have been named in his honor. Here, April 15th is a celebration of his life and work.

Mahatma Gandhi claimed this man to have been an inspiration for his social campaigns in India that led to the freedom of his people and secured aid for those that needed it. Gandhi was quoted as saying, "The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with {him}. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism."

There are those who say this man worked miracles. Some dispute it, but what is undisputable is that this Belgium came to the far reaches of the world, to Hawaii, to help his brothers and sisters. He, against common thinking and advice, traveled to the outcast community of Kalapana to tend to the ill, when no one else would.

He subsequently became ill and died with a disease that we now know is not a death sentence, but at the time was not treated properly. Those diagnosed with hansens Disease were quaranteend to Molokai Island where many never saw their families again. Until this Belgium priest came to lead them, many had lost hope.

In 2005, he was voted "The Greatest Belgium" in a poll of all Belgiums who had come before. That is a great honor, but on October 11th this year, this man, Father Damien will become Hawaii's first Saint!

Whether you are a Catholic or not, whether you believe in Sainthood or not, you must agree that this man did what others would not, in a place the rest of us would never go.

I am certainly not a saint, but he inspires me to be a better person.

You can read more about father Damien here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

http://www.honoluluadvertiser...

In the course of our lives, we strive to be good and honorable and fair but often fall short. Mankind is gauged by how we act in various circumstances.

On October 11th, an award of sorts will be given to a man with humble beginning, yet who inspired others to go good works. Two movies come to mind of his life, there is a play, and many news stories. Buildings have been named in his honor. Here, April 15th is a celebration of his life and work.

Mahatma Gandhi claimed this man to have been an inspiration for his social campaigns in India that led to the freedom of his people and secured aid for those that needed it. Gandhi was quoted as saying, "The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with {him}. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism."

There are those who say this man worked miracles. Some dispute it, but what is undisputable is that this Belgium came to the far reaches of the world, to Hawaii, to help his brothers and sisters. He, against common thinking and advice, traveled to the outcast community of Kalapana to tend to the ill, when no one else would.

He subsequently became ill and died with a disease that we now know is not a death sentence, but at the time was not treated properly. Those diagnosed with hansens Disease were quaranteend to Molokai Island where many never saw their families again. Until this Belgium priest came to lead them, many had lost hope.

In 2005, he was voted "The Greatest Belgium" in a poll of all Belgiums who had come before. That is a great honor, but on October 11th this year, this man, Father Damien will become Hawaii's first Saint!

Whether you are a Catholic or not, whether you believe in Sainthood or not, you must agree that this man did what others would not, in a place the rest of us would never go.

I am certainly not a saint, but he inspires me to be a better person.

You can read more about father Damien here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

It is bad enough that cities have put cameras on every street corner. In Atlanta I used to commute about 20 to 30 minutes to work and one day I got concerned about the sheer number of video camers pointed toward the roads I took. In that 30 minute drive I counted about 175 cameras that were pointed towards my travel. There were plenty more, but pointed a different direction. 175 cameras. 175...

Here is a proposal to gather taxes based upon how long you drive. I want you to read this very carefully, and think for a minute about it...

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The system would require all cars and trucks be equipped with global satellite positioning technology, a transponder, a clock and other equipment to record how many miles a vehicle was driven, whether it was driven on highways or secondary roads, and even whether it was driven during peak traffic periods or off-peak hours.

---

The idea is to tax people based upon the miles driven, but you know, that same GPS could also determine your speed and location at the time. It could also be used to tell where you drove, how fast, how long you were at a particular location, etc.

VERY SCARY when you consider that our government implements things for one reason, then finds other uses.

Thank goodness something like this is not in use.

YET!

The rest of the real news item posted today states:

A blue-ribbon national transportation commission is expected to release a report next week recommending a VMT tax.

This is a way to determine how many miles you have driven. So the panel is expected to propose such a tax next week.

The President says "No", but I wonder for how long as the US tries to find more ways to gather money.

The complete news item is here..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20...

That would be a scary situation if it ever came to pass, wouldn't it?

To control my water vales, I visited Home Depot and Lowes, evaluated PVC pipe sizes, number of couplers and wire sizes and finally decided on 1 and 1/4 inch PVC. The pipe will extend from the pump to the top of the property where the other three awter tanks are. Along the way, I will break out wires to control vales for each acre of coffee.

I ended up with one hundred pieces of 10 foot pipe, which I have already laid out along the trench tonight. It was too late to start joining them together yet. Also, a friend told me a neat way to break the wires out. It seems the white PVC is the same size and material as the grey pipe used for electricity. However, the grey pipes have a nice 90 degree curved albow, while the white PVC for water has a very sharp turn. I'll run the white PVC pipe along the trench and then attach a gradual elbow to come above the ground. Then I'll attach a junction box for the wires. Then the wires will go back down another elbow to the next run of pipe. I'm not sure how I'll join the junction box t othe second elbow, if that is possible. Still, I liked the look of the junction boxes and may find a use for them anyway.

I still need to get the control valve wire, but already have prices and where to get it. I'm going to see if a friend can build me a simple controller based upon my design. I finally decided that if I can change 1 valve from normally closed to one that is normally open, that I can eliminate 1 wire!

I'm still on schedule to have crops in the ground by the end of March!

I am for reasonable regulations like traffic lights and paying a fair share of taxes, but some taxes and regulations are beyond my comprehension. Take school taxes. I don't have children, so why do I have to pay for school taxes? Proponents say that everyone should pay because we want our children to be literate, that it is good for the community. Humbug! I say if you have children, you pay for their education. Families with children already get a better deal than singles, tax breaks, the ability to get the trash taken out without the parents having to move off the couch, and so on. Why if I had kids, this farm would have been finished years ago.

Regulations that we stop at stop lights is important to save lives. However, forcing people to wear seat belts is not. If a driver wants to risk his life, so be it. Why do we have to control every part of a person's life? I personally wear a seat belt, but it seems to me that forcing people to wear one is wrong. A seat belt doen not put others at risk, just the driver.

Smoking. I know, I used to smoke but stopped. They have passed bans so people can't smoke in restaurants. Stupid. If a restaurant wants to offer smoking, they should be able to do it. Patrons and workers beware and agree to the rule of smoking. If you are a waiter or worker who does not smoke, don't work there if you are concerned with second-hand smoke. Speaking of second-hand smoke, I still say it has not been proven. It seems obvious to be a hzard but not as big as opponents state. When you looked at the numbers closely, you saw that yes, people exposed to second-hand smoke had higher rates of cancer, but by a very small and relatively insignificant amount. Everyone quoted the same report, which is said to be flawed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I work in a complex where most of the units are owner occupied. They can smoke in those units becaus eit is their home. Yet the unit next door may be a timeshare unit, and smoking is prohibited becaus eit is considered a rental unit!

I mention the above because the state of Hawaii is trying or has passed a "No Smoking on the Beach" law that is pushed for public health and safety. http://pacific.bizjournals.co... yet the small amount of cigarette smoke pale in comparison to the VOG created by the Big Islands volaco. http://www.kitv.com/news/1627... the massive amounts of smoke, particulates and sulpher dioxide generated recently makes Los Angeles smog look like a clear day. So is this ban really necessary, at least here in Hawaii? We don't even smog-test our vehicles because that emission pales in comparison to the volcano. Come on!

In Georgia I wanted to buy a house. Many of the communities had covenants that precluded you from having things like satellite dishes. many years ago we fought and won being able to have radio antennas for Ham Radio operators, because we performed community services in emergencies. Still, many communities restrict you from having an antenna for TV. Years ago that was pushed by the cable companies that they could hide those unsightly dishes and antennas for an underground wire. I personally don't see any problem with small or big dishes. They certainly look better than some of those car I see up on blocks in driveways.

Also here in Hawaii, yet not restricted to this state, there are laws saying you cannot have a clothesline in your yard! A CLOSELINE! because it looks bad. http://pacific.bizjournals.co... You know, isn't this a bit much?

I keep hearing people jump up and down in glee when the politicians talk about giving you a TAX CREDIT. A tax credit is nothing more than giving you a small amount of money back that they took from you up front What would be better for you is for them to reduce your taxes, not give you a credit. The politicians are afraid to cut your taxes because they can't get them back on the book again. It is easier to bribe you a bit after the fact, then to let you have te money up front and they have to plead with you to get it.

It works the same with rebates. You bought a computer directly from a company, then get some of the money back later. You fill out the forms only to find that you didn't dot every I or cross every T and have to fight to get the rebate. Why could they not just drop the price up front? One reason is that most people forget to submit the rebate and others get denied just for the fun of it. There have been reports of rebate forms just being thrown in the trash. http://consumerist.com/consum...

To review, I DO feel some laws are rules are necessary, but I have a problem when we allow them to be put into place without our review or approval. Not all rules and regulations are meant to protect us. Take the anti-telemarketing law that keeps callers from harassing us. The only exception is public surveys, politicians, charities, and any business with which you have an existing relationship (I.E you have purchased products or services from them).

We are being over-regulated and some of it is just plain wrong.

The trench is finished and the holes in the upper half of the farm are almost done. They will be finished in a day or so. They left early yesterday to surf near Kealakekua Bay.

I had a guy give me a quote on fusing my 2" water pipe and connecting all of the valves, the pump and so on. He can start in a week from Monday or so.

I have two competing people trying to sell me coffee trees to plant. One guys trees are smaller than the other guys, but cost less. They are in tubes and would plant fine in the lower half of the farm where many of the holes have started to close up from lack of planting soon after they were punched. The other guys trees, some have buds appearing on them and would likely bloom easily and might have coffee on the next year (although a less than full blooming). The smaller plants will take at least an extra year to bloom. I could mix and match (so to speak) but it would complicate pruning somewhat.

Since I am needing about 2000 trees at the moment, the difference in cost is considerable. The budding trees would cost me $10,000. The not so far along trees are $7,000. Although $3,000 might sound a small amount to quibble over, my cash flow is very tight and I still have roofing and some gutters to get done before I am done with the project. Granted, some of the money will be returned to me with my cost-sharing conservation contract, none of the plants or the planting cost or hole punching is included.

So when can I say that I finally have the trees in the ground?

The earliest would be about 3 week. I am pushing for a March planting and that works out just about right. That is, if the money holds out. Then it is just a waiting game for blossoms.

I ventured into this coffee business as a way to get some land in Hawaii and retire permanently. I didn't seek out the coffee business, but have been able to change gears from the computer industry to farming. I knew it was a lot of work to convert the farm frommostly macadamia nut trees to all coffee, but went ahead anyway. That is a good thing, because the mac nut side of farming here has started on a downward spiral again. I got out in time. The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut company box I saw last week said "Mfg in Mexico". Their website says they can ship to Hawaii, but it must be express mail, so they are not even shipping from Hilo anymore, but from outside the state of Hawaii. I hear their mac nuts come from New Zealand and I can believe that. I pass a farm where they bagged up their nuts a year ago and they still sit in bags under the trees unsold.

There is no federal law that says coffe marketed under the title "Kona Coffee" must come from Kona or even Hawaii. That is a STATE LAW of Hawaii, so if it is sold in the state or imported into the state with a disclaimer of "100% Kona Coffee", it had better say so and mean it! But on the mainland, they could sell Yuban as Kona Coffee. Someone could try to sue, but the company would counter that Kona Coffee does not need to come from Kona, the same as French Toast doesn't have to come from France.

Another little gotcha. There is a push for companies to use the new marketing tag "Made in Hawaii". It means that more than 50% of the value was added in Hawaii. That is all. So in the example of mac nuts, you could ship already cracked open nuts here to Hawaii, roast them and bag them here and call them "Made in Hawaii", yet the nuts came from New Zealand. The value is greatly enhanced by roasting and salting them and bagging them, not from growing them.

This truth in labeling is being stretched by the middlemen and large companies. Farmers and ranchers take great pride in their products. Companies who only look at the bottom line are the problem. You can see this everyday in the stores. Juices that contain 10% juice and 90% sugar water. They call it juice or fruit drink. but it's water, mostly water. Although I think for other reasons, maple syrup goes the same route. Most syrup comes from trees in Quebec and Vermont. Coming from maple trees, it has a limited crop and is greatly reduced from the original sap, thus they often add sucrose to it to spread it out. It takes 10 gal of sap to make a quart of syrup. Still, you have to look carefully to see if the product is 100% syrup or a mix.

At least my coffee will all be produced here in Hawaii, in the Kona District and will carry a "100% Kona" sticker on it.

So stay tuned over the next few weeks and you can see this part of the saga close and the new one open.

Koa has toys, some of which squeek.

I called the first one "Squeeky" and Kona and I played with him often. He looks like a purple alien (Squeeky, not Koa :-). A few months ago, Sandra gave Koa a new squeeky toy, which I named "Squeeky Two" or "Squeeky Too". I got the pun, I am not sure Koa did.

A couple of days ago I got Koa another squeeky toy which I called "The Squeekster". It is alot like Squeeky, but different. He seems to like The Squeekster the most at the moment, but of course, that might change. Dogs are like that.

I also got Kona a bone shaped toy with is two tennis balls shaped like a bone. He likes it, but not as much as the other squeeky toys.

So I am on the bed and Koa comes with The Squeekster. We play for a while and I hide The Squeekster and Koa frantically looks for him. In one game I decided not to give The Squeekster back right away. Koa waited and tried, to no avail. He finally ran into the livingroom and I heard him turn and head back to the bedroom. He jumped on the bed and layed down next to me. HE chewed a bit on the toy but then I noticed he was pushing it towards me. As I reached to move the bone I released my grip on The Squeekster. In seconds Koa grabbed The Squeekster and tore off with it.

This is one creative dog. Too bad his Master isn't as creative (at least with names of toys).

On a different topic, I finally started putting some photos online that are related to some of my previous blogs. I will create an album when I get more time, but at least I have the photos up for now. Also, I will start linking directly to them. You can see them at http://blog.itskona.com

On yet another topic, I have the trench on the farm dug and the bed of sand in the bottom. I have the "dozer" guy punching holes for coffee trees. I also am trying to get the pipes fused together and the concrete base laid for the water pump. I'll get more photos posted soon!

I wanted to plant parchment to save money, but may buy plants instead for speed. I am afraid that after spending money to plant parchment, I may end up with non-productive holes with dirt in them. I would then have to dig the dirt from the holes and insert plants anyway. I am waiting on 2 price quotes to see if plantable trees are in my future.

I still need to buy PVC for the wires and to determine the vavle wiring to ensure I have sufficient wires in the bundle.

The weather here has been crazy lately. We recently had a tornado on Oahu and flooding in Kohala on this island. We also have more snow up on Mauna Kea.

This afternoon I was involved in a near miss. I was standing next to the guy digging the trench. I had heard a peal of thunder and was not sure he had heard it. He was wearing ear protection because of machi nery noise. He came down from the bulldozer and we talked about cost to dig holes and truck in dirt. As we finished talking I felt a very odd sensation. I saw no flash of light, but definately felt a charge of static electricity come from behind us, pass over and head north. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise but did not have time to drop to the ground. I definately felt this "thing" go from the south to the north and not traight up.

Very strange! Koa ran from where he was, and made a beeline directly t othe lanai. Later in the evening I could not get him to go outside without lots of coaxing.

I am also contracting with some local workers to lay out the new 1500 holes so the guy can punch (drill) them. The guy punching the holes wants to lay them out too, and I'm sure would love the extra money, but his cost was a lot higher than the workers and they can send 3 or 4 people here to quickly lay out the grid; a lot faster than the guy and I can and right now, time is of the essence.

One thing that a computer programming background helped me on the farm, was creating a truth table of which valves need to be on and off at what times. The valves are a lot like transistors in that they are either on or off. If a valve is normally closed (like for a sprinkler system) then putting a voltage across the wires of the valve makes it open and water flows through it. Remove the voltage and the valve closes again, shutting off the water. I found that I only needed a few wires and a few positions of a set of switches to make things work. In my design, some valves need to be open while other valves need to be closed. Normally that would take a wire to each set. However, if I find that some valves are always open when the others are always closed, I can use a mix of normally open valves and normally closed vales. When I supply a voltage on the wire, the normally open valves will close and the normally closed valves will open. Naturally you want the system designed that if the electricity fails, the valves go to the position that does the least damage, such as closing the correct valves so that all of your water does not drain out and flood things. You may notice this same type of failsafe in everyday use. Take traffic lights for example. If the controller fails but there is still electricity, the main road gets a flashing yellow light while the smaller cross street gets a flashing red light.

I need to finalize the truth table and buy the wires. I also need to hire someone to fuse the many pieces of pipe together so it can be laid in the trench. The PVC and with my wires inside will sit neat the water pipe in the trench. In about 5 places the PVC has to exit the trench and be connected to a wiring strip so I can attach it to the valves. Valves will control each acre, thus a connection each location. The PVC is an added cost and I have been asked why use it? Why not just bury outdoor wire? That was asked by someone who has never had to dig up a wire that has shorted. In a PVC pipe wires can be added or removed with ease.

I need to go cut some grass and I'll start taking more photos, soon to be displayed on the farm page at http://ItsKona.Com, along with my Pele's Passion Coffee.