Thank Jesus for a good day in Oahu: 5/4/17 Kuliouou ridge hike!

"In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also." Psalm 95:4 KJV

Thank Jesus I finally got to do this hike.  When you arrive here (google maps), you park in a residential area. Please be courteous and don't block driveways, throw litter everywhere, and don't use the resident's hoses to cause a mess to people's houses. Don't pollute the trail as well. This is the reason why Mariner's ridge is now shut down to the public so if you want Kuliouou available as a trail still, please be courteous and clean up after yourselves in a respectable manner.

 

Well, it's pretty self explanatory here. on the 2nd pic, head to the right otherwise you will enter the Valley trail, but if it's the summit you are after, then you will head to the right. There will be another sign a little after you enter but follow the Ridge trail sign no matter what. From that point on, lots of zig-zagging and some steep climbs, but you should be safe if you take it nice and easy. Follow the pink ribbons too to not get loss.

Calm before the storm

 

 

You know you are almost there when you hit this tree arch, the bench and it's nice valley view, and a whole bunch of stairs! The stairs were created by the Sierra hiking club to prevent erosion. I have yet to hike the sister hikes namely Hawaii Loa Ridge and WiliwiliNui, but I hear they have steps as well. Anyhow once you manage to do all these steps you will reach the summit.

The Summit

 

 

 

Thank you Kevin for the last two pictures in this category. It was very breezy in the top which was a plus but too bad it was fairly cloudy to get a nice blue pic. I reached the top so I guess that was all that mattered. You get views of Hanauma bay, Koko Marina, Rabbit Island, and Koko Head mountain etc... We stayed for a bit before trekking back down. More people started to come but thank God we started early. By the time we got down, a car was waiting for my parking spot.

Tamron Zoom lenses special

 

I took a few shots with my zoom lenses but due to the strong wind, I had trouble getting steady shots. This was the best I did alongside some tinkering in Picasa.

Aftermath

Regained my strength back by eating Greek Marina in Koko Marina shopping center. Delicious! Had a Bubbies Smoothie too afterwards. I guess of all that workout I claimed back all those calories lost. Anyhow, that was the end as I dropped Kevin back home anticipating his return to Spokane in the weekend. Thank You Jesus that nobody got hurt and have a good day folks. 

"I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me" - (Phillipians 4:13, NJKV)

The flowers of Kuliouou

Thank Jesus for a good day in Oahu 4/27-30; Sunrise at Ala Moana Beach and Waikiki Spam Jam 2017

Greetings human beings and TF fans. I am currently finishing up on the Ninsecticon trilogy by Fansproject. But thanks to a demanding work schedule and other interests aside, the shoots will be delayed for sometime. For the time being, enjoy two points of interest/event here in local Oahu. Enjoy!

Ala Moana beach/Magic island sunrise

 

 

 

 

 I'm still practicing on my photography. I tried using shutter selection on the waves but it didn't turn out to my liking. Also, I wish the sun rose over the beach but no problemo.







Waikiki Spam Jam 2017: April 30, 2017

 

Spam Canoe

Um...

 

 

Tempura Spam Fries. Yum!

 

 

 

Pretty much after the rock band EMKE, I went to have dinner with some friends. The weather conditions weren't favorable in taking landscape pictures, but the call for rain was minuscule at best. The Tempura Spam fries was the highlight, imo, of all the booths... ABC stores to be exact. If I didn't had to go eat dinner elsewhere, I probably would had caved in to eating a spam burger. The oddest selection was chocolate dipped Spam... err maybe if we are running out of Spam variety options someday I probably eat it. Overall, Spam Jam was pretty packed and a nice experience.

I thank God for a good outdoor activity experience for these couple days. Thank Jesus too that the rain didn't hit us heavy until the following day which I just completely rested. Thank you folks for tuning in and I'll try see if I can compress the video I shot on EMKE's rendition of Journey's "Don't stop believin" song. The video doesn't do the live experience justice but the video gives you a idea how awesome the entertainment was. Until then, God bless and take care folks.


Here is EMKE'S website: EMKEHawaii

Toy Review: Transformers Fansproject CA-03 Casuality ThunderShred (Not Shrapnel)

Back to the Transformer world we go before I embark on my next adventure. Today we go a little back in time and take a look at Fansproject's version of the insecticons. First up is Thundershred who is a homage to Shrapnel of TF fame. Just a little heads up that some of the pics came out soft looking. I should try to do better again next time. Anyhow, let's get started.

Boxing and contents

 

 

 

I bought the figure used a year or two ago. The figure comes as you see but I realized as I opened the box that ThunderShred's Shuriken weapon is missing. I guess the seller forgot to pack it or lost it. It's also my fault that I forgot to inspect the contents when I received the package. When I got the package I proceeded to store him away for a later future review. I guess this teaches me to carefully examine the contents in the future. Especially if the figure is used. 

Robot mode

 

 

 

 

The first of the three (n)insecticon looks great. He doesn't have a mouth like Shrapnel but his pincers make a good Wolverine/Shredder like weapons. Compared to other figures, he is a little small. He is somewhere between the height of a legends class figure and a deluxe figure. Let's not talk about how the CW/UW figures tower over him. Though I give him credit for attempting to take of Bruticus. Had I got the Shuriken with his figure, I could had done more poses with him plus enable him to wear the weapon as a backpack.

Alt mode

 

 

 

This is probably as G1 as you are going to get. Fansproject did a good job in making the insect mode very similar to Shrapnel's bug mode. You can toggle the legs to make him stand or sit in various degrees. My only problem was getting to this mode was a little tough. His torso is easily transformable while the leg area I had to use the instruction manual to figure that part out. I also don't like how his hands stick out of his back area in this mode. It looks a little eerie that a pair of hands will grab you if you end up on his rear. Just for kicks, I love he tightens his grip on legends figures. 

Conclusion: The first of three insecticons reviewed. He is worth getting if you haven't got the updated Hasbro/Takara Legends class figures whom all are too small for my tastes. Had I received his Shuriken, he would had been totally amazing. Oh well, lesson learned. At least the next two Ninsecticons I bought are new so I should have everything in the box.... I hope.