Space Shuttle Landing

One of the neatest things I always love watching is the landing of the space shuttle. Today the shuttle Endeavour landed in Florida after completing a successful 11 day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts added another section to the nearly completed space station. They took more than 4 spacewalks while completing several tasks in the orbiting facility. A crew of 7 astronauts went up on the Shuttle to join 6 other astronauts already staying at the ISS. While the shuttle was docked with the ISS the 13 men and women set a new world record for having the most people in a space station at the same time.

There are not many shuttle missions left. All of the remaining missions will have something to do with completing the assembly of the space station, which is scheduled to end by next year. After that NASA plans to retire the shuttle fleet and concentrate on their new rocket system, which won't be ready for manned launches until 2015 at the earliest.

I think despite its setbacks, the Shuttle program has been mostly good for the United States' man in space efforts and presence. Surely there have been tragedies and cost overruns that eventually spelled the end for the program. But overall the shuttle program has been successful in helping man build the space station, shuttle astronauts to and from the facility as well as the earlier MIR station put into orbit by the Russians. The shuttle was also an important component in the early days for sending satellites into orbit and deep space as well as launching and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope which has been a valuable asset and companion to ground based astronomy.

The exploration of space through manned and unmanned flight should certainly continue. The commercialization of space including space tourism is a good thing. And ground based astronomy, especially here in Hawaii is a welcomed industry that should be fully supported.

Addtional links:

• NASA Space Shuttle Page
• STS 127 Mission Page
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Hubble Space Telescope
• NASA Constellation Project
• Mauna Kea's Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)
  

Partially Lame Solar Eclipse

As far as eclipses go, this partial eclipse in Hawaii was quite lame. The new moon did take a bite out of the old sun, but not as much as I expected. At best this partial eclipse peaked with only about 1/8 of the sun munched away by the traveling new moon (or is the the rotating earth?). Must be a combination of both and all.

I shot the photo series at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park on Tuesday afternoon July 21. It was a bright sunshine filled Hawaii day. Perfect sungazing weather with eye protection of course. The camera I used to get the composite was my trusty old Canon 300D SLR with 70-300 telephoto zoom lens. On top of the lens I mounted a home made sleeve with a reflective mylar patch covering the open end. This is the same stuff used for the sun peeps sold at Bishop Museum.

Fact is I bought a rather large sheet of this material from Bishop Museum in 1991 and created the original sleeves to shoot the total eclipse on the Big Island that year. I have saved all the sleeves and sun peeps since then and have now used them for the 3rd time. The last time I brought these out was for a 2004 partial eclipse that I also shot from Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.

In the photo above, the eclipse images were composited into one frame and color enhanced using Adobe Photoshop. See the original composite here.

Additional Links

• Mel's 1991 Solar Eclipse Photos & Blog Post
• Mel's 2004 Solar Eclipse Photos
• 2007 Total Lunar Eclipse
• 2009 July 21 Solar Eclipse (NASA)
• Solar Eclipse Seen in India and Afghanistan
• Asia Darkens under longest solar eclipse of the century
• Solar eclipse darkens Asia (AP)
  

Good News: Barrel Tax Defeated

It was great to see members of Hawaii's Sierra Club and the Blue Planet organizations express their disappointment on TV after the end of yesterday's special legislative session. Why were they disappointed? The State Senate did not pass the "barrel tax" bill (HB 1271) that Governor Linda Lingle vetoed. The barrel tax would have increased the cost of fuel not only for commuting motorists, but also the airlines, the power company and anyone else who consumes petroleum energy. The environmental wacko Sierra Club and Blue Planet who have a sympathetic ear from many Democrat legislators and would rather force the public to use alternative energies through higher taxation of current, petroleum products. I don't mind alternative energy if it remains as an option, but not forced upon the public by making current oil energy more expensive.

The Sierra Club and Blue Planet are terrorists to our pocketbooks. NO NEW TAXES!

The Streamline Internet Tax (SB 1678) bill that would have taxed internet purchases from places like Amazon.com. was overridden in the Senate but not in the House. The bill is not on the list of overridden bills. This came as another surprising piece of good news. The taxpayers come up with another small win.

The State Legislature did override 38 of the Governor's vetoes at yesterday's special session. Among the worst bills that got overridden is the anti-business, pro-labor union bill (HB 952) called "Card Check". This bill will allow union organizers to come into businesses and even homes to force non-union members to sign union cards to authorize union representation. Up to now, employees who wanted union representation went through a secret ballot, election process.

This session is a "disaster" for Hawaii taxpayers as Hawaii's majority Democrats continue to support raising more taxes. They are a menace to our pocketbooks and one of the main reasons for Hawaii's high cost of living.

A complete list of vetoed bills and those bills that were overridden are available at the Capitol's website: http://capitol.hawaii.gov.

Additional Links

• List of Vetoed Bills
• List of Overridden Bills
• Hawaii Legislature Allows for Veto of Oil Tax

Photo: The above photo was taken at OvertaxedHawaii.com's rally held at the State Capitol on July 14. The object of the rally was to protest against more taxes and the policies of local Democrats and the Obama administration. More photos at this link.

90% of Success in Life is Just Showing Up!!

From OvertaxedHawaii.com:

If you are concerned over rising taxes, prices, and fees in Hawaii; you must show up for the NO MORE TAXES Rally on Tuesday July 14 @ 5 p.m. This is a citizen Rally and all citizens have a chance to speak and voice their concerns. Just like the TEA PARTY; we ask -- NO MORE TAXES, period.

OK, if you really cannot show up; then send this notice to everyone in your address book or re-post it to your blog. Maybe others can carry the burden that will save Hawaii citizens from tax-ruptcy.

Really, taxes are important. Really, cost of living is an emotional issue.

Take a serious look at your pay check, fixed income, grocery receipt, rent or doctor bill and you will see how personal purchasing power is diminished by taxes; a little here - a little there - and soon taxes add up to a BIG amount - over 40% for many middle income folks. Hawaii is #1 in the US with the highest personal income tax rate and the highest sales tax rate (our GE tax is equal to a 14% California sales tax!).

Taxes make up the largest single expense most of us have in our daily lives. And, when those taxes increase while wages or savings do not; devastation awaits.

Without you telling the Hawaii State Legislators NO -- they will keep coming back for more out-of-our pocket money by increasing taxes and fees. Remember, tax and fee increases raise prices on everything you purchase. No one is exempt.

The message from the STORM THE CAPITOL Rally is: thousands of citizens insist - NO MORE TAXES, period.

Of course, if you do not show up at the Rally and the Legislators see only hundreds of citizens (not thousands) well expect Legislators to feel good about adding 0.5 or 1% to your GET next time they are in session later this year. Try wait and end up losing more!!

Our government cannot spend anything that it does not first take from the citizens. It is up to each of us to tell them NO MORE TAXES.

Join us on Tuesday July 14 @ 5 p.m. to send a clear message; NO MORE TAXES.

Link: WWW.OVERTAXEDHAWAII.COM

Independence Day Fireworks Finale

It was the mother of all fireworks shows for this holiday season. Once again the good folks at Ala Moana Shopping Center came through with another spectacular 4th of July fireworks show. An estimated 50,000 people came to the center and nearby Ala Moana Beach Park to watch the 20+ minute fireworks finale that capped off another successful 4th of July weekend.

While North Korea allegedly pointed some missiles at us this weekend and actually fired a few of them off, none reach the Hawaiian Islands. In fact they all fell way short in the Pacific as they were only short range rockets. No thread to Hawaii thank goodness!

So here we all were enjoying tonights fireworks at Ala Moana and elsewhere on the island and throughout the state. It is great knowing that we belong to the greatest nation on earth, the United States of America. It was a great time to enjoy our nation's birthday.

ALA MOANA'S 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS FINALE VIDEO CLIP



Top photo is a capture from the fireworks show. Both it and the above video shot with my hand held Flip Video camera. Enjoy!

Independence Day, Government, Taxes & More

Happy Independence Day. Today is the 4th of July and the United States of America celebrates its 233rd birthday. It's a good time to reflect and remember all of the freedoms we enjoy came at a great price throughout our history. The holiday is a good one to celebrate with friends and family as we take in the parades, celebrations and fireworks displays happening throughout our country.
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.



Photos: Fireworks display at Aloha Tower, Honolulu Harbor 7-3-09, top. Above: U.S. Flags for sale at Downtown Honolulu First Friday event, 7-3-09. More photos at my Flickr pages.

Other News

• I was quite surprised to learn of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's resignation from office yesterday. Is she making a presidential run or what? What are the reasons behind this? This won't look good on her resume.
• A couple of days ago, Governor Linda Lingle lost her case against implementing mandatory furloughs for state workers. A circuit court judge ruled that she did not have the power to implement furloughs until she negotiates with the state's public worker labor unions. She may layoff workers but I think she'll negotiate first. I just hope the Governor does not cave into union demands to raise taxes.
• The State Department of Education may resort to worker furloughs. They are facing a huge budget cut. The same may also apply to the University of Hawaii system.
  
• Governor Lingle vetoed HB 1405, a bill that would have taxed internet affiliate programs. Big websites such as Amazon.com were canceling Hawaii website links to their affiliate program after news of this tax bill became a hot topic.
• SB 1678 still lingers and that would implement a tax on consumer purchases from out of state firms (like Amazon.com) doing business on the internet and mail order. Contact the Governor and urge her to veto this bill. SB 1678 was introduced by Senate Majority (Democrats). They want more of our money!
  
• North Korea has launched a series of missiles this weekend. All short range and none reaching Hawaii so far.
  

Welcome to Black Wednesday - Forever

More cash out of our pockets beginning today. Taxes and various fees go up because most Democrats in the State and City level created and supported bills to "enhance revenue streams" and take more money out of our wallets. Here are some of the taxes and fees that will increase:



Bus fares being hiked from $2 per ride to $2.25 per ride. Monthly bus passes increase to $50 from the previous $40.



The City is increasing property taxes for operational expenses. Hello? Can we cut some of the operations like say, support staff for the proposed rail. Let's just cut the rail. It will be a big black hole for more taxes in the future. Oh yeah, it already is.

The state's conveyance tax on real estate sales is also increasing. Democrats overrode the Governor's veto of this nasty bill in May.

If you smoke pay more for cigarettes. I believe 60 cents a pack more.



The gasoline tax increases by at least 13 cents per gallon thanks to the stupid ethanol they put in it. For several years the ethanol blended gasoline was not subject to the General Excise Tax. Starting today the law that exempted the tax lapsed. So the public has got to pay more taxes for a gallon of gas. So now Hawaii's gas cost more than $3.10 a gallon. Prices will continue to rise. $4 is not very far away, and I think $5 is in our future too. The city is also thinking about increasing its portion of the gas tax by another penny.

The cost to register a vehicle is also going up. Weight taxes, whatever. Someone needs to create a lighter than air vehicle.

By the way, if you use a hand held cell phone and drive your vehicle at the same time, that is now illegal. Will cost you $67 the first time you're busted. I don't do cell phones, but the majority is warned.

The city is increasing the cost to visit the Honolulu Zoo. I haven't been there in ages. Don't think I will be going soon. The city is also increasing the cost to play at municipal golf courses. Parking around the zoo and Kapiolani Park is also increasing. Thank Democrats.

Tourists and people staying at home for a vacation will be impacted with higher hotel room taxes starting today. Thanks to the Democrats in the legislature who overrode the Governor's veto of the hotel room tax bill in May.

And of course if you are in a higher tax bracket, the state will take more money from your income tax return, thanks once again to Democrats who overrode the Governor's veto of the income tax increase bill in May.

OK. I think that covers most of it. I hate having more of my income taken because of taxes and fees. Paying for rail with the 2005 general excise tax increase was already too much. And now we have more taxes. Thanks to most Hawaii Democrats our lives all got more expensive.

And there's still more. On the table, a one dollar per barrel gasoline tax. And two new possible taxes on internet transactions and vendor relationships. Governor Lingle have put these tax increase bills on her potential veto list. Now is the time to urge the Governor to veto these bills and after she does that, call your legislators and tell them not to override the vetoes.



LINKS

• Prepare for Life to Get More Expensive
• City and County Cell Phone Ban
• Governor Lingle Releases Potential Veto List
  
• The Bus Fares and Passes
• Financial Reality Check for the State of Hawaii
• Amazon Dumps Hawaii Affiliates
• Governor Vetoes Tax Increase Bills
• Governor Lingle Vetoes Oil Tax Hike
• Lawmakers Assess Vetoes for Overrides
• more links to be added late today.