Perigee Moon Session

My kids were pretty excited to see the "supermoon" rising above the ridge behind our house the other night. The moon was closer to us then than it has been for about 19 years. I'm not surprised, I remember a similar feeling back in 1995. At least I think it was then. We have perigee moons every year, they just aren't as close as last week's was. So probably during the Dec 22, 1995 perigee moon I went out to surf Boilers with Christian, Jesse and a couple others (sorry others, I could guess that Jake was there, not sure if Iz was there or on BI). It was a gorgeous night. Not many clouds, just those floating along the horizon right where the moon was to come up. Christian had calculated the moon would rise soon after sunset, so we paddled out early to catch some waves at dusk. It was about shoulder high and pretty fun on longboards and once it was dark we tried to catch a few waves. It was doable but not very fun in the darkness. So we ended up sitting and talking in the pitch black for about 40 minutes until we began wondering where the waves went. Turns out we had drifted halfway out to Peanut Rock and had to paddle back to the peak. The moon finally came up and we had another hour or so of surf. I remember the reef being totally exposed when we came in. It was sticking up about 6 inches out of the water. It never does that. But I guess a close moon makes a shallower tide. Anyway, that's my memory.

Nuuuli Falls

We've had Spring Break this week, and it's been WONDERFUL! To maximize our last day of the break, we went to Nuuuli Falls on Saturday. (I know, that's a lot of u's. It's got Hauula beat. But it's tied with Kaaawa.)

The hike only takes about 10 minutes (for us; 5 min for "normal people"). Its accessibility is good, but also bad because other people go there and leave lots of rubbish. Ephraim the eco-hero picked up everything he could find, and we had it hauled out. (Why are people so inconsiderate?)

It was my first time, but Ephraim had gone for the first time the weekend before with some other folks. While we were there some of our friends showed up! The Ili's, the Siamau's, the Peter's, and the Semo's made it a party. Great minds think alike.

Bag Ban

So I go to KS Mart the other day (no, not Kmart, don't be confused). My cart is LOADED with kids and groceries. I get up to the checkout and I notice that the lady scans the groceries, sets them aside, and doesn't bag them. Something is different. Then she says, "No more plastic bags. Get a box." Hmmm. So I grab two big boxes from the "box bin" and pile my groceries in them.

And I was so happy!

We are now implementing the Plastic Bag ban in American Samoa. It's great! A bit inconvenient at first, because I don't know what I'll put my trash in anymore, but I'm sure we'll find a solution.

I'd heard about the bag ban and sort of doubted anyone would take it seriously. Like the solar panels that are supposed to be installed in government offices, or the hybrid government cars we have yet to see to replace the Nissan Armadas and Toyota Tundras driving around "on department business". Riiiight.

I'm very pleased. I've always liked bringing my own bags to shop with, but I never carry enough with me. So I'll have to stock up. This box idea is pretty good.

The stores are really doing it! Yay for us! I hope it makes a big difference on our island.

Tsunami Warning=School Closed

Because of that massive earthquake in Japan, American Samoa is under the tsunami warning with the rest of the Pacific.

Our schools have been closed today, although actually threat of damage to us, our school, or any of our students is not likely. Almost all of our families live on higher ground, and our school is up a mountain. But because of that, there will probably be heavy traffic from people wanting to stay safe.

Spring Break is next week, so this is an added bonus. But we're praying for the victims in Japan, and hope that the rest of the Pacific stays safe as well.

Mel in the Moon

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This was from the first few months that we lived in American Samoa. There was a nice full moon and we were playing with long exposures using the moon and a street light to write our names.

American Samoa's QUEST

Coordinated training in underwater surveying techniques has not been conducted in AS before. I got this grant for around $25,000 to buy some equipment organize local expertise, and bring down some folks from HI for this 6-day class. It was a hard, but fun, start and we'll be doing it again. The plan is to have it become an annual course offering for credit at ASCC, similar to the one at UH-Hilo.

Samoa News has an article that I wrote with Kelley Anderson, the marine science coordinator at ASCC. I forgot to send a caption with the picture. It's me in the blue shirt and Francis Leiato in white. All in my self promotional spree.

Web Presence

My friend Benny Ron has been kindly helping me improve my "online image". Seems weird that a lot of jobs require this type of self-promotion. But in the spirit of marketing and social networking, I'd like to share with you all a little url.

www.aquaculturehub.org

I guess this isn't purely self-promotional because I'm promoting this website simultaneously. What I really like about it is right now, I'm the cover story! AND, I have a great caption: "Ephraim Teaching how to sex tilapia at the 1st Aquaponics Workshop in American Samoa 16feb11"

Do you need to promote yourself in your work? How do you keep up with this activity? (hint: the more hits this post gets, the more web presence I get.)