Shakin' it up a bit!

Hey guys,

7:07 local time on a sunday morning, 6.6 eathquake (my first) shook the entire island chain. the Epicenter was 10-12 miles northwest of the Kona airport, near a beach I was at last weekend (see pictures of that beach and my new truck at www.bigislandsioux.blogspot.com). It was followed a few minutes later by a 5.4 or something wich I also felt. None of the quakes were strong enough to produce Tsunamis, but I guess there what some receding water in a few bays off Maui-indicating some pretty huge swell cooking.

To me, in Hilo, it felt like nothing more than standing near a train rumbling through GF near the Police station. The brunt of the damage and trouble caused by the quakes was on the west side of the Big Island and also in Honolulu. The roads on the west side are cut through the jagged lava fields, called a'a', and have many steep enbankments where the roads are cut through high rises left from past lava flows. Many of these crumbled as they shook, sending big boulders onto the roads. These are what the pictures of destruction on CNN and shitty Fox news were of. In Honolulu, on Oahu, the problem is more of too many people and the need for too much power and transportation, bathrooms and water that depend on electricity for pumps, etc.

My workday went on as normal (for a weekend) and the Hospital here did not have to go in to "disaster mode" but we did call our social workers in (uncharacteristic for a Sunday) to discharge many stable patients to make room for the 'emergent possibilities'. The Kona hospital (west Hawaii) suffered some internal cosmetic damage like ceiling tiles falling, so the moved patients to our hospital this afternoon with the help of the Coast Guard. This was only precautionary as the worst injuries from the quakes so far are minor cuts and some broken bones. It's amazing how quickly and effectively the civil defense department has reacted to this natural "disaster" by cleaning up road but still keeping them open and securing safe places in case of further quakes or land slides.

I met someone at 7-eleven who was at south point, the southernmost point in the US (on the south of Hawaii Island) and saw an entire seaside cliff fall into the ocean during the quake. Pretty cool to hear about but pretty scary to see I imagine. There are some roads that are closed so bridges can be assessed for any damage, but for the most part, the island is safe. There have been no deaths.

Most schools on the island of Hawaii are closed tomorrow for students but staff is on to assess damage. Life is pretty normal in Hilo, as we never lost power, but we are prepared to help any other parts of the state in need.

I'm sure there are a few nervous triathletes contemplating the possibility of another quake during a grueling bike ride or run along the coast where the quake was. The Ironman World Championships are this Saturday. I'm planning to drive up to Hawi (pronounced Havee) to see and cheer on the bike turnaround.

In conclusion, I'm in Hawaii, I'm alive, and life is good.

daytrip (weekend) to kona

Long time no blog

Sorry to those checking this blog more often than I do...since my last post (over a month ago now) I've done a lot. I traveled to Honolulu, the big city on Oahu where almost 3/4 of the people in the state, and most of the the tourists call home base. I went to the American Dietetic Association's annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo to hear the latest in nutrition research and learn more about the traditional Hawaiian diet. I also got to surf at Waikiki beach for about an hour and visited with one of my instructors from UND.

It was amazing to hear that traditionally Hawaiians ate nearly 3000-and sometimes as much as 8000-calories a day primarily from poi(taro root pounded into a purple paste) and coconuts. Their current lifes are much less active but they still are eating at least 3000 calories a day moslty from white rice, spam, portugese sausage, and othere adapted "american" foods. THe 'plate lunch' here is Hawaii's fast food, usually 2 scoops of rice, 3 or 4 servings of different meats(fried chicken wings, shredded kalua pork, spare ribs, spam and sometimes ono-which is a white fatty fish). a favorite rice topper is a hamburger patty, fried eggs, and gravy which is called the loco moco. These lunches are not very filling, especially if you skip breakfast, but can have more than enough fat and calories for a very active person for one day. One restaurant, Ken's house of pancakes, rings a big bell every time someone orders a "sumo Loco" that has 6 scoops of rice, 3 hamburger patties, and three fried eggs all smothered in brown gravy.

They were very fit people with all the canoeing and hiking they did, unfortunately native Hawaiians now have some of the worst type 2 diabetes rates in the world and one of the lowest life expectancies of any population group. Still Hawaii ranked 1st in the "longevity" study published in USA today a while back, beating out Minnesota who was second for average lifespan.

Another topic, I got wheels! I bought a 2003 Nissan Frontier 4 door pickup 4x4 with mud tires! no more walking to work in the rain or hitching rides to the DOctor's dinners I've been getting invited to. I can get anywhere on the island (a lot of the coolest places are accessible only by 4wd. The doc's dinner are put on by drug reps (pharmaceuticals, not the other drug 'reps' on the island) and are free dinner at some of the nicest restaurants on this side of the island. I get some funny looks from some of the reps because I look too young to be a doctor, but they don't mind that I'm just there for the free food! I've attended 3 so far, one on chronic kidney disease and hypertension, one on urinary frequency (ironically that one was very short, to allow for frequent bathroom breaks?), and the last one was on Lipitor at the Hilo yacht club-which has no yachts! Yachts or no yachts, I'll take a free lobster tail any day...I've got 3 more doctors dinners coming up before the end of the month. The picture of the little tree is taken in my backyard and my new truck is in the background. I think the tree is so cool, it grows right out of that rock it is on, kind of like all the trees starten on this island.

I took a drive out the ot Puna District south of Hilo last week on one of my days off to check out some 'beaches' around the area and found that those 'beaches' are really big black rocks with waves thundering against them 40 feet below you! They are pretty amazing but not for swimming. From that area I could see the steam plumes from where there is still lava flowing into the ocean...the newest land on the planet, I've been on the Island longer than that land!

Today I'm heading over to the Kona side to surf and snorkel with a traveling doc from texas and a couple of nurses whove been at the hospital for 10 years or more. it should be a good time, we are going to a beach that is a 4wd and hike in that is usually empty. I can't wait! I gotta get going... more later