GALFROMDOWNUNDER UPOVER

I think I've been duped by a fake Turbotax site, so consider this a public service ... and not an ad for the grannies at H&R Block, really: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog-post/work-life-will-real-turbotax-please-stand if you see someone called Lynette Chiang who doesn't look like me, driving a slew of kids in an SUV to the soccer field, it ain't me ...

... that means I've been busy as a botox kiosk in Beverley Hills. Doing what, you might ask? Take a look: San Francisco/Berkeley Hawaii Arizona Desert Camp making like Charles Atlas as you can see at the right ( Lon Haldeman took that shot) And now I'm off to Australia for all of April and May '08, carousing with customers here . My FastCompany blog slowed right down when they ported it over to a new system which didn't quite work at first. But now it's up and running as is my latest post (which says March 3 but it was actually March 15). One thing I tried in Hawaii, was to get a Hawaii driver's license. I thought it would be the coolest thing to hip out and brandish when the weather drops below freezing in other parts of the country. I haven't needed a car, or to drive, for 15 years. But apart from the envy factor, something tells me it might be useful to have one, especially in an emergency, and not be a burden to others. In a nutshell I passed the wri...

The latest addition to Wayne Takazono's 'Famous Paintings On Vacation' series. Buy a cool print of this original for $29 from the man himself, email wtakazono at hawaii dot rr dot com Ah, my Hawaii sojourn is drawing to a close. Before I jet off to Arizona for the annual Bike Friday Desert Camp I'm making a quick trip over to check on my postage-stamp-sized piece of Hawaii and dream about what I can do with it. I was thinking of investing in a condo of some sort (using coconuts and bike parts for currency) but this is one alternative to consider - build your own shack, rather than pay dearly for someone else's shack. Especially when the sun and rain are free and plentiful in Hawaii. No insulation needed, no heating or airconditioning if you build it right. Land has dropped down to around 10-15k a lot, but you don't buy there to make a killing. You buy because it's just one killer place to live. Take a look at my photos from '05-06. The lava is slow ...

- Cal-Earth UPDATE Jan 2009: It's being lived in! - thanks to Donna Stratman for keeping me in the loop. Email her: donna@island-trust.com +++ I nearly fell off my chair. In Hawaii, I was surfing, er, the internet that is, looking for ideas for my little piece of land on the Big Island. I stumbled upon this man planning to build a 'SuperAdobe' house designed by the famed Cal Earth architect Nader Khalili - in the Nanawale Estates subdivision, right where my land is! The only problem is, on closer investigation it appears the permits were rejected twice back in January 2007 - but the owner is going ahead anyway. I am feverishly hoping there's been an update. It makes sense, especially in Hawaii where the sun and rain are free, sustainability should be the default and yet, 92% of the state's energy consumption is fossil fuel based. If it was volcano-based it would be perfect, but Chevron et al don't seem to be sticking their long snakey hos...

How does a bike lane warrior do on a Valentine's Day? Especially when fortuitously marooned in Hawaii?  Certainly keep a nice, safe distance from any chance of catching a communicable something! The closest I got to anything "coupley" was to watch people in furry animal costumes engage in foreplay ... As this year's day of "will you's?" and little square tables with a chair on either side, draws to a close at 11.45pm Blue Hawaii time, I offer a blow by blow account of how I spent it. So if you had an even less romantic day than me, read my itinerary and claim it as your own. Think of it as a companion volume to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' or more likely, 'Independence Day'. 8am: I woke with eyes like two hyphens having spent the last two nights working til 3am on the Bike Friday quarterly newsletter. In the spirit of conquering oil addiction, I was directed to make it a new, 'low emissions' publication, with half the number...

Yesterday, the Grand Wiki of bicycle bells, whistles and everything below the saddle passed away. My humble tribute to Sheldon Brown on the Bike Friday website. I never met the man, but we used his gear inch calculator every day ... Where am I? Currently staying in a 1-coconut town called Ka'a'awa, which means "where the mountains meet the sea" - they sure do. There is a very large and majestic, mossy lump of planet breathing down my neck ... See photos of my Hawaii loiterings with a laptop here

Picketing against illegal picket fences ... PHOTO GALLERY | MOVIE CLIP | GALFROMDOWNUNDER IN HAWAII I've just attended my first rally in a long time - the placard waving, chanting and foot-stomping kind. For bicycling? No, for beachcombing! Well actually, we're talking the full monty of ocean worshipping activities, like surfing, swimming, walking, sunbathing, beach-barbecuing, and kiddie favorites like jellyfish-poking and limpet harassing ... The rally was organized by Beach Access Hawaii , Surfrider Foundation and other citizen advocacy groups, collectively incensed at the increasing gall of "rich landowners" who've been surreptitiously gating and blocking off beach access paths for quite some time - and no one is stopping them. Often, the gates are torn down only to be put right back up again, with fake signs saying "Private Access" and "Trespassers will be stoned with coconuts" or words to that effect. Some even hire security guards to ...