macpro hawaii

Anyone around here on Skype? Perhaps someday we can download this thing (if you don't have it) and hook up with FREE audio long distance calling. I had this software loaded in my iBook 700 for a few months but never bothered with it until today.

My friend from the Big Island of Hawaii (about 200 miles southeast of Oahu) called me up and asked me about the Skype software he downloaded. Well I led him through some of the basics and then hung up. I got his username and a few minutes later typed that username into the software and hit the green dial icon. In about a minute the Skype software connected to his Skype software on the eMac that he owns.

We were talking to each other. The sound reproduction is very clear, especially if you use headphones (don't rely on the crappy built in speakers on your Mac or PC)... clearer to me than anything the traditional long distance carrier can offer us. And all for FREE!

So we talked on "the phone" through our computers. How marvelous. A free long distance call, which I assume we'll be doing regularly.

So fellow BuzzNetters, are any of you using Skype? If so try and SKYPE ME at the following ID:

macpro75

I can't guarantee I'll be online but it may be worth trying.

Oh yeah, Skype is not for Macs only. I believe they do have a version for various flavors of Windows.

You can get Skype from this website:SKYPE.COM

Hear from you soon!

Has BuzzNet slowed down in recent days? I notice it takes a while longer for picture pages to show up including my own and those that I visit on my friends list and elsewhere on BuzzNet. Even the journal seems to be slow.

I have a broadband connection to the internet and it still seems slow at times. Sometimes the entire page does not load... I get only the top title bar, no pictures or sidebars. Hitting reload usually solves the problem but I have to do it a couple of times within a session.

Anyone else notice slowness here?

A sea of red filled the streets of Honolulu and the neighbor islands yesterday as thousands of Hawaiian people from all walks of life came out in support of Kamehameha Schools and their 117 year old Hawaiians only admissions policy. Media reports indicate that this was one of the strongest showing of Hawaiian unity in recent years. The Honolulu rally and march attracted an estimated crowd of around 10,000 to 15,000 protestors.

I attended the Iolani Palace rally to get pictures for my photo stock collection, publication to my website and for HawaiiReporter.com. It was my first time to attend such a rally. I was impressed by the crowd's turnout. I told one of my friends, if anyone can put together a successful rally at the last minute, it is the Hawaiian community. They have passionate issues which bring out a lot of emotion. You cannot attend one of these events without getting caught up in some of the emotional fervor.

I have mixed feelings on the issue of the Kamehameha Schools' admission policy. On one side, I can see the logic in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court's decision which will overturn the school's longstanding policy. On the other side, this policy has been in place for 117 years and is considered a tradition if not a birthright for the Hawaiian community. The policy is based on the will and intent of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The school was set up as a gift by the princess to the Hawaiian children. It is a private institution that as far as I know, takes no government subsidies (they don't need it).

This ruling will probably have an impact on other privately held religious and gender preferred institutions.

One thing for sure, the Hawaiian community and the Kamehameha Schools in particular will not let this issue go away without fighting it. They plan to contest the court's ruling and take the issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

More photos at this link: macprohawaii.buzznet.com

A detailed account of the day's events can be read at Blaine's weblog.

I can't say that this was a good month for pictures. I did not take as many photos for publication here on BuzzNet. Perhaps it is the lack of activities and the sameness of the city I live in. More so I've been busy doing other things and haven't made time to go out and take pictures. We'll see what happens next month.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments you have all made to my various BuzzNet photos. I enjoy all of your photos too. Have a wonderful August!

Thanks Artsysf.... Safari is now working! Macintosh users are redeemed. Thanks BuzzNet for figuring out what the Safari bug was around here. Aloha!

My version of Safari for Mac OSX refuses to display the text entry block. It is a good thing I have Firefox here. OK, so this is my first journal entry. Other than it not working with Safari, it seems to be a nice feature added to BuzzNet.

Oh look to the right of your BuzzNets... they are trying to get us to buy books and posters of our pictures. Someone tell me about that... What if all my pictures here are low res? I guess they'll all be printed as low res.

Anyway, thanks for the new features BuzzNet. Hope this lasts.