tropical blogging, beachside

A work trip brings rightreading to Waikiki this week, so posting will be light.

After a short time here I observed that Waikiki is evidently Hawaiian for “place of pink skin.” Weather on arrival was pushing 90, with 80 percent humidity — so humid even the locals were complaining. But the haole to a man (and woman) stripped off most of their clothes and stretched out on beach chairs, amassing in greatest numbers in the hottest part of the day. They looked like pork loins roasting on a grill. You could hear the sizzle. Futile sun screen oozed off of them in greasy puddles.

(On a side note, one of the wires in my laptop screen also seems to have got fried. I’m trying to think of the thin vertical line that now seems permanent as a design element, on the principle that if you can’t fix it, it’s a “feature.”)

Rightreading has logged some time in the tropics over the years, so here’s some good advice (certain to go mostly unheeded). First, from about 12:30 to 2:30 or 3:00, favor the shade. Mornings and evenings, OTOH, are great times for walks on the beach. Second, don’t overdo. Take it slow and easy — in the (not so) long run, slow and easy will beat crash and burn (and I mean burn literally), trust me. Third, every so often stop and have a drink. The experts will tell you that alcohol will just dehydrate you even more, and I’m sure that’s true in some theoretical sense (like, if you’re actually dying in the desert, maybe a shot of vodka isn’t what you really want). But in the real world, based on my years of experience, I can assure you this is false. Screw the scientists. Have a beer. You’ll feel better.

Some photos after the jump . . .

In the heat and humidity the island looks and feels exactly like the tropical house in the Kew Conservatory. Observe:

Finally, some of you may know me through my “Uke Xensen” moniker over at my old blogger blog, The Stuttering Hand (and through comments at other blogs built on blogger). Well, I’ve seriously pumped up the uke part of that appellation, with the purchase of a beautiful KoAloha soprano ukulele. Sweet! This is a top drawer instrument, fit for a queen (Liliuoakalani, who wrote music for the ukulele). I wish I had the equipment here to make a recording and show you how it sounds. Here, anyway, is how it looks:

Now I have to figure out how I’m going to pay for it. I’ve told Mrs. Rightreading I’ll do some free-lance gig toward the cost. So if you hear of something that’s right for me, let me know.