Entries from March 2008 ↓

This morning I walked out the door of our condo and saw an old man using the lawn water faucet near the front of the building. He was an old man with long hair, sandals, a dark shirt and pants so soiled they seemed to shine in the sun. His skin was very dark,  similar to that of men and women who toiled for years in the pineapple fields.

From ‘the look‘ I assumed he was homeless. They have a rather distinct look.

My first inclination was to yell out and tell him to leave before I called the cops. Instead, I watched for a moment. He stood by the water faucet, not bothering to look around to see who might be watching him. He washed his hands in the water, then reached to a back pocket and pulled out a cloth, about hand towel size and held it under the running water.

He wiped his face and hands with the wet towel, leaned over and took a drink of water from the faucet, then he turned around, very slowly, still not looking back in my direction, and he walked away.

He found a cool spot and some momentary refreshment on a hot, dry day. I knew he’d be back.

A language that should be common to most of mankind, and it’s not English or music, is common sense. There’s a move afoot to teach Pidgin in Hawaii’s schools because, after all, Pidgin is a true language, not merely a dialect.

Such subtleties were lost on Joe Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks in Philadelphia. He put up a sign which said, ‘This is America. WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.’ Apparently Joe was concerned that local residents were lapsing into their native tongues when ordering his famous Philly cheesesteaks and he couldn’t understand what they were saying.

Fair enough.  It’s common sense, right?

Not so fast, Will Rogers. Philadelphia’s Commission on Human Relations found Joe’s sign to be a violation of anti-discrimination laws, though he says he did not refuse service to anyone who spoke anything except English. He just wanted them to speak English because that’s what he understands. English. Later, the Commission charged him with posting an ‘offensive’ sign. Common sense prevailed after the U.S. Senate voted to approve a, here it comes, ‘common-sense amendment to a bill which would bar federal employment regulators from suing a business that requires employees to speak English.

Whew. That was close.

Pidgin, like ebonics, and many others, is a delightfully engaging, rhythmic, entertaining, and suitable language, or dialect (I doubt if it matters which) and it has a place in our local society. Those who predominantly speak pidgin or ebonics or any other language just outside of mainstream English add much to our rich and diverse culture and are to be both commended and respected for their contributions.

Let a little common sense prevail on both sides of the linguistic fences.

If you want a good job, mobility in society, and respect from others, it pays to learn and use appropriate English, just as it pays to learn math and science. When our children hit the public school system the first thing they brought home was Pidgin. Our rule was simple. No Pidgin at home. Not ‘no Pidgin. Only ‘no Pidgin at home.’ It was not a rule meant to disrespect Pidgin speakers, but a rule meant to broaden our children’s horizons, their knowledge and their abilities. They learned to speak English and Pidgin and they know when to use both.

It won’t kill anyone if the school systems teach Pidgin. Hopefully, they’ll also teach when to use Pidgin and when not to.

To the outcry of at least one Hawaii resident, and perhaps more, the State House of Representatives recently killed a bill designed to protect pregnant women from attacks and assaults. The bill stemmed from a Big Island murder where an estranged husband attacked his wife and killed her unborn baby. The baby was not his.

The reasons given for killing the bill… somehow that just doesn’t sound acceptable, given the subject matter. The reasons given for terminating the bill… no, that won’t work, either. The reasons given for the bill’s demise… I’m not making progress, am I?

The reasons given seemed a bit looney considering the obvious. It’s already illegal to assault with intent to harm. Whether the intended victim is a mother, a father, or merely an offspring, or offspring from a notoriously stubborn beast of burden, or carrying a child, doesn’t make the assault any more illegal.

If life in jail for attempted murder isn’t sufficient deterrent for attacking a woman with an unborn child, what is? More punishment? Such crimes are usually crimes of passion for which typical deterrent laws don’t provide much, uh, well, deterrent.

Other connotations notwithstanding, Honolulu residents will balk at a steel wheel on steel rail fixed rail mass transit system. Why? Noise.  Honolulu’s city council will look at the proposals with an eye toward politics, not costs, so expect additional consideration for rubber a rubber tire on concrete system.

Why steel? Lower costs and supposedly more mature technology. The subway system in Sapporo, Japan uses rubber tires and has been in use for over 30 years, so it’s not exactly ancient technology. It sure is quiet.

Lower costs? Perhaps, but does it matter since the costs will go well beyond what Honolulu can afford to pay? Just a few years ago the estimate was for a fixed rail system to cost the city about $2-billion. Now it’s $3.6-billion, and that’s in 2006 dollars. What will the price tag be in the next couple of years when the city begins paying up?

Honolulu has a massive traffic problem. To solve it, through the years we’ve developed solutions– an intricate bus system, staggered work hours, bike paths, boats, express lanes, high gasoline prices, high taxes, employer paid bus passes, none of which have helped to curb an enormous appetite for purchasing cars and trucks for personal transportation.

Will a West Oahu to Ala Moana Center fixed rail system curb such an appetite?

What does it cost to send your kids to private school vs. public school? In Hawaii, the difference can be substantial. No, it is substantial. Is there a corresponding difference in the education a private school student receives vs. a public school student?

Assuming day-to-day food and clothing costs for students are about the same, tuition at Punahou School will be almost $17,000 per student for 2008-2009. That’s about $1,400 a month, which means a parent must earn an additional $24,000 or so each year just to pay for the child’s tuition.

By the way, $17,000 does not cover all the costs. Parents must ante up for other optional fees and a few other mandatory fees not included in the tuition. Matson calls that a surcharge. Punahou calls it a privilege.
A good education at Punahou is so expensive that the tuition and mandatory fees still do not cover the school’s entire cost to educate a student. Punahou School says the deficit is covered by the school’s endowment, which appears to be money collected by the school from graduates and donors and parents of graduates as some kind of surcharge on a surcharge.

All that money exchanging hands brings up a couple of questions.

The first is, what is it about Punahou School’s education process and methodology that makes it cost so much more to educate a student than it does in public schools? After all, Hawaii’s DOE manages to educate (I’m stretching this to make a point) students in public schools using about 10-percent of what it costs to educate a student a Punahou School.

The second is, are Punahou’s students 10 times better, smarter, more well educated than public school students? On average, do they earn 10 times as much money?

What price education?

There are fewer college degree classifications than there are job classifications. For example, when a graduating college student gets a degree in, say, Library Sciences, where are they expected to find a job?

At a library, right?

A degree in marketing has many different job options, ranging from sales to advertising to public relations. A degree in political science may prepare a student for a life as a politician at a local, state or federal level. Or, if they’re a very smart student, they find a real job.

Teachers? Same thing. There are a handful of teaching degrees but many different subjects for teachers to teach. Travel Industry Management is big in Hawaii due to our large and robust travel and hospitality industry.

Honolulu Community College now has two new associate degree programs. HCC students can get an associate in science degree for the music business and production, and audio engineering technology.

How many newspaper want ads are there for someone with a degree in the music business, or a degree in audio engineering technology? I’m not say either should not be taught, but the question can be asked, ‘How much are those industries clamoring for more highly educated entry level personnel?”

A degree in History seems to prepare a college grad for watching the History Channel while receiving unemployment. Otherwise, what good is it? I’m not saying anything bad about history as a subject, but other than making money on Jeopardy, what good is all that knowledge?

Honolulu has the third worst roads of any big city in the country, according to some transportation research group in Washington, D.C. 62-percent of our streets are in poor condition.

I believe it.

Eight or nine years ago I did some business in downtown San Francisco for a few days and thought their city streets were the worst I’d ever driven. They’re not. Los Angeles comes in at #1 for the worst roads in the country. San Francisco is #2, followed by ‘lucky you live Hawaii’ streets in Honolulu.

Even worse than making the Top 10 List for bad roads, is the estimated additional cost for more vehicle maintenance, faster vehicle deterioration, and added fuel costs. $760 a year additional. As in $63 a month more than the national average.

What’s interesting is that nationally, according to the report, only about 23-percent of roads are in poor condition. Honolulu is nearly three times the national average. Honolulu politicians and officials were quick to point out that the information is old news and the city has paved many bad roads since then. Of course, many roads have become worse since then, so I evens out. Someone else’s reality negates the reality offered by city officials.

Regardless, I drive on reality in Honolulu and it ain’t a pretty sight or a good ride.

Hawaii has an egg problem. No, it isn’t with mainland eggs, or the price of eggs, or anything to do with the nutritional aspect of eggs. Eggs make great easy throwing and difficult messes to clean up.

Too many teenagers in Hawaii, the kind old enough to drive, because they need a fast getaway, love to throw eggs. These same teenagers tend to find something alcoholic to drink just before they drive and throw eggs at houses in ritzy neighborhoods far from home.

Eggs are great to throw, and just as it is with hand grenades, the thrower merely needs to get close to the intended target, whether it be a house, a car, or a person in the wrong place at the right time. The egg needs to hit anywhere but in the yard or on the streets.

Eggs also cause a huge mess which is difficult to clean up. When eggs dry, they become hard like plastic. In between egg and plastic are various stages of goo, each capable of causing a permanent mess.

It isn’t that Hawaii’s egg-throwing teens are doing something illegal like drinking and driving. That’s been going on since there were drinks and things to drive and is not likely to change. They’re throwing eggs and eggs are expensive and messy.

Whatever happened to water-filled balloons? Water balloons. They’re less expensive than eggs, cause less damage, there’s almost no residue or after effects, and the only negative is that, like eggs, they sometimes break before they get thrown. Oh, and water balloons take a little more effort to handle just before the throw.

Would a drunken rich guy hop in his expensive car and chase a bunch of drunken teenagers up a telephone poll if they had thrown water balloons instead of eggs?

Whatever happened to punishment that fits the crime? Kids who are caught tagging homes and buildings with spray paint should have the same done to their homes. KIds who are caught throwing eggs should have to stand on a firing line with their parents so the victims can throw eggs at them.

It’s only fair. And it would be much more fun to watch the execution of justice on the news than watch news reports of some drunken rich guy get arrested for chasing drunken teenagers.

My wife loves steak. Once a month or so we’ll venture forth to one of her favorite steak places. Some good, some not so much.

A steak house is always an adventure in varied dining. At expensive steak houses, such as Ruth’s Chris or Morton’s Steak House, you get quality meat, elegant dining, attentive service. Most of the time.

Our three most recent steak house experiences were at the new Ruth’s Chris Steak House on the Beachwalk in Waikiki. Food, dining, and service are so good that we no longer frequent the Ruth’s Chris restaurant near downtown Honolulu.

Variety is the spice of life, and it’s been awhile since we dined at Morton’s Steak House at Ala Moana Center, so my wife made reservations for Friday evening. We arrived on time and yet we had to wait. That’s not a good way to start an evening of fine dining. Not at 5:30 when few customers are present.

Once we were seated the evening’s festive dining began. Sort of. I don’t ask much from a restaurant, but I take into consideration that what I pay for is comparable to what I get. Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris are expensive, so I expect every aspect of the dining experience to reflect their attention, not only to the little things, but the basics; food and service. Our recent dining experiences with Ruth’s Chris have been positive. Maybe there was a reason we had not dined at Morton’s for a few years.

Our waiter at Morton’s was attentive and pleasant and explained various items on the menu. My wife always has questions so the extra details are appreciated. We both ordered a filet. I requested that mine come butterflied, medium well, with a touch of pink, and no more. I also ordered a house salad, a potato, and the spinach and mushrooms. The menu selection also came with some kind of shrimp in a sauce. That unexpected add-on turned out to be the best thing about dinner.

Music from Frank Sinatra played lightly in the background. Waiters and staff scurried about, all too often engaged in their own rather noisy conversations in full earshot of customers who, considering the prices they charge at Morton’s, would prefer more Sinatra, less waiter.

First on the table was the salad, very large and chilled. Actually, relative to salads at Ruth’s Chris, it was very, very large. In fact, the salad was so large that I had trouble getting through it (I feel bad if I leave too much food behind) before the entree arrived. My wife did not finish her salad. From there it was all downhill.

I’m certain that the chef accidentally spilled a container of Morton’s Salt into the spinach and mushrooms. Had it not been served to customers that evening the spinach and mushrooms could easily be preserved in a Waikiki time capsule to be dug up, fully edible, in another 100 years.

What about the steak? Steaks that cost as much as they do at such fine dining establishments need to taste better than steaks from Safeway or Foodland. This one did not. First, no butterfly. Second, medium-well was substituted for medium-raw, somewhat steak-like on the outer edges, still pretty much a cow inside. Third, what was edible was rough, the opposite of tender. Meanwhile, our waiter had disappeared, possibly using Morton’s copy machine to run off additional resumes, or to schedule an interview at Ruth’s Chris.

Dessert was Morton’s famous warm chocolate cake. It’s difficult to mess up chocolate cake, though in Morton’s defense, there’s no evidence they tried. There is evidence they worked hard to do just that elsewhere in our dinner. Though I cannot remember the specifics, I’m sure there were a few reasons why we did not dine at Morton’s over the past few years. Now I have plenty of reasons why it will be a few more years before we venture there again.

All in all, I spent $50 for a very large salad that came with a nice dessert, and plenty of steak for my wife to freeze for future lunches. The comparison between the elegant dining, excellent food, and superb service we’ve encountered at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Waikiki puts Morton’s in a whole different category.

Henceforth, they shall be known as Morton’s Salad House.

What better way to motivate high school students than to tell them the diploma they’re chasing isn’t worth much. If you want to do well in life, you’ll need the new and improved ‘College and Career Ready Diploma‘ from the Board of Education.

‘College and Career Ready Diploma?‘ What was wrong with the old diploma? Stigma Alert! Stigma Alert!

Beginning with the Class of 2013, the Board of Edumacation will offer this new-fangled College and Career Ready Diploma for students willing to take higher levels of math and English. That means they’re probably smarter and will have to work harder to prove it.

Did I ask what was wrong with the old diploma? Yes, I did. And the answer is ‘plenty is wrong with the old diploma.’ Too many of Hawaii’s high school graduates, those with the soon-to-be-out-of-date diploma couldn’t read or write or figure. The vast majority of Hawaii’s high school students could not place into 100-level college course on placement exams. Businesses found Hawaii’s high school graduates lacking in basic skills.

What does that say about the value of the current and past high school diploma in Hawaii? What does it say about the education system in Hawaii? It says that Hawaii’s education system is churning out students who don’t know how to read or write or figure. Colleges don’t like that. Businesses don’t like that.

The solution to this little crisis of the future, is to have the same Board of Education that created Hawaii’s diploma mill of the present to create a new class of diploma of the future for students who don’t want to be associated with the original, but now lower class, high school diploma.

Think of this as a private school attitude within a public school. It’s Punahou vs. McKinley without the added tuition.