HAPPY NEW YEAR! G33k1ng 0ut in 2011

This blog has been somewhat neglected over the past several weeks and for that, I apologize to the 2 or 3 of you who actually read it :) I've been working on a couple of 'Outings' galleries for Nonstop Honolulu (@nonstophonolulu). My first submission chronicled a trip to the Honolulu Zoo and can be seen here. The second, a visit to Otsuji Farm in Hawaii Kai, was posted here. Throw in a few Christmas parades, parties, and the usual hustle and bustle of the holidays and, well, you end up with one blog post for all of December.

Today is a new year. Rather than post a bunch of resolutions that will inevitably be discarded sometime next week, I thought I'd take a slightly different look at 2011. Being that math geek that I am, this tweet by Lance Agena (@lance_agena) got me thinking about the unique date/time permutations we will see this year. We've already missed 01:01:11 on 01/01/11, but mark your calendars for:
· 11:02:03 on 03/02/11
· 06:07:08 on 09/10/11
· 09/10/11 at 12:13:14
· 11:11:11 on 11/11/11
Can you think of any others? Post them as a comment!

If you're looking for even more math awesomeness related to 2011, this tweet by Toby Tamaye (@atmarketing), which apparently originated from Math Prof (@mathematicsprof), is pretty darn cool too.

Kapiolani Community College Farmers' Market | Honolulu, Hawaii

This past Friday at the Phởriday tweetup, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting chef Leslie Ashburn (@macrohawaii). We started talking about buying local versus organic. Despite living in Hawaii, it is difficult to find locally grown organic produce in any of the grocery stores. There are places like Whole Foods Kahala (@wfmkahala) that sometimes stock locally grown organic, but generally speaking we, as consumers, must often choose one or the other. Leslie's advice to me: go for what looks freshest and remember that variety is important. Our conversation, coupled with my personal goal to go out and do more with my family, motivated me to get everyone up on Saturday morning and head over to the farmers' market at KCC.

Kapiolani Community College Farmers' Market
4303 Diamond Head Road
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 947-3804
Website

We got there around 10:00 and, as you can see, it was crowded. In fact, some of the vendors were already running out of stuff and packing up when we walked by.


Ma`o Organic Farms (@maoorganicfarms) is one of the few places where you can actually find locally grown organic produce. Look for their signature green tent right smack in the middle of all the action. You need to get there quick, though, because they sometimes sell out.


It was quite warm that day, so the three of us each got a strawberry lemonade. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the shop, but while I was waiting in line, Grace Lee (@gracelee9)came by and chatted with the owner! So naturally, I tweet about the experience, which apparently garnered me some stalker points according to @ryankanno.


Overall, it was a great experience. We didn't buy very much to take home because we spent most of our cash on lunch and lemonade. Next time, we'll know what to expect so we can plan out schedules a little better (and bring more money!).

It is my personal opinion that we should support local businesses by shopping at farmers' markets whenever possible. Where do you buy your produce? Do you usually buy local or organic?

Happy New Year!

Looking back...

For me, 2009 will be remembered as the year of Social Media. I created a twitter account, a Flickr stream, started this blog with a post on social media, and connected Facebook, Twitter, Xbox Live, Netflix, and some of my iPhone apps to each other.

Twitter has proven especially useful. I've made several friends that I actually hang out with IRL (in real life) and I've scored free food, entertainment, and more along the way.

Looking forward...

Now it's time to close the door on 2009. I don't know what 2010 holds, but I confidently look forward with optimism and anticipation, knowing that both the successes and failures to come will help shape me into a better person.

I'm not one to write New Year's resolutions, but this year, I thought I'd at least set some goals for myself:

1) Spend more quality time with my family. I want to laugh more with my son and go on more regular dates with my wife. I'm going to try hard to get us on a regular schedule of taking evening walks together.

2) Help my church establish a social media presence. At the very least, I want to help churches understand the value of social media in engaging people.

3) Learn to appreciate what I have instead of focusing on what I don't. As a technophile, I am always looking for the latest and greatest. As someone living on planet earth, however, I realize there are finite resources.

What about you? Have you started setting goals for 2010? What do you hope to accomplish?