Hawaii - Day 1 - "Look with your eyes, Listen with your ears, and Don't Talk"

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First day in Honolulu, and I've already realized a couple mistakes: I forgot a wide-brimmed hat, and a minor error on my poster (I neglected to cite a map source correctly). I also didn't bring by digital camera, since I left my battery charger and spare battery in Toronto during my last visit and haven't had a chance to get it back yet. According to Tracey, I'm the biggest geek she knows ;-)
Fortunately, most of the conference I'm here for is inside (the conference centre). Unfortunately, the conference is a lot less interesting than Honolulu and environs.
In my very first Travel Blog, I mentioned some friends who were supposed to meet me at a particular island in B.C., but never showed up! Anyway, they are now both here with me in Honolulu, and are sharing accommodations and food (and wine).
Today, we visited the Honolulu Zoo. Thankfully, the Asiatic Elephants are getting a new enclosure built that will be 4 times the size of the current one. Sadly, the visitors are still obnoxious (yes, you are too, Tracey). Okay, not all of them, but as is typical with most urban and touristy zoos, there were a lot of people displaying what struck me as disrespectful and demeaning behaviour - especially towards the animals. I found the boxes displaying the objects found in the gharail pool amusing and ironic. According to the well-ignored sign in front of the Chimpanzee habitat:
"Look with your eyes, Listen with your ears, and Don't Talk"
I wish more people heeded this and other friendly reminders around the zoo. Ah well, kids will be kids, and all people are dumb (myself included). Many neat birds and plants at the zoo, and an otherwise pleasant walk.

By the way, I'm rather intoxicated while writing this. Some lab-mates and I made some sweet salad and roast chicken with fruit salad for desert with red wine, all purchased at a local grocery store in an attempt to save a few bucks, and a change from the usual eat-out fare. Mmmmm.... vino tinto ..... $6/bottle Yellowtail ...
We have had to settle on U.S. Olympic coverage (mostly NBC, MSNBC, and TSN). I think I've seen the Canadian Ice-Dancers fall about 20 times today. Very sad. In a lucky twist of events, there is an intermittent wireless network being broadcast from somewhere near our rental condo, so I can check CBC.ca and get all the latest Canadian Olympic results. Yaaay!
The flight down was rather disappointing. We lucked out with a 1 in 3 chance of getting the WestJet flight with screens in the back of the seats. No one told us the satellite reception would cut out 1 hour into the flight :-(

We are looking forward to an exciting conference day on Wednesday - when Biodiversity and Biocomplexity will feature heavily on the conference program. And, I get to present my poster in the afternoon, hoping people actually stop by to read it and, more importantly, talk to me about it. Until then - and after then, there are beaches, and hikes, and shopping nearby.
O'ahu is hot and humid, at least more so than Vancouver, and reminiscent of some areas of future Cascadia (B.C., Washington, Oregon, northern California, etc). Lots of skin, which is sometimes both a blessing and a curse, surf, and culture. I don't think I'll be able to afford a visit to the Polynesian Cultural Centre, but I'm hoping to get away from the tourist mecca of Waikiki. Even if it's just for a good hike. I'm liking the relaxing atmosphere so far. Everything seems to happen a little slower than the rest of the world, and many fewer worries. It probably helps convince most tourists to drop so much money at the stores in the area ;-)

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