The Queen’s Medical Center has witnessed a lot of change since its establishment in 1859. It watched as Honolulu transformed from acres of farm lands to an industrial cityscape. It stood by as sovereign rule was replaced by a democratic government. It has withstood hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and even a few bad fashion fads.
But two things have remained just as they were 150 years ago: the hospital’s location nestled among a garden of trees off of Punchbowl Street and its mission of providing quality healthcare services to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians and all the people of Hawaii.
It is hard to imagine that what is today the largest private hospital in the state, not to mention the entire Pacific Basin, was created by two 20-somethings, Alexander Liholiho ‘Iolani and Emma Rooke.
Both were studious and accomplished children, adept in reading, writing and worldly knowledge. Alexander would grow up to rule Hawaii as King Kamehameha IV, and Emma would be his queen.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
talk to your genes
The best thing that could come out of the debate on health care reform won't be the passage of a bill in Congress. It will be a shift in personal attitudes. Health care happens one person at a time. So let me speak personally to you. If you want the best possible health for yourself, the most important thing you can do today is talk to your genes.
I doubt that any doctor has ever made that recommendation. All of us, including medical students, were led to believe that genes are fixed. The ones we are born with don't change; new ones cannot be added. Those facts remain the same, but there's a huge story being overlooked. Genes have no effect unless they are switched on, and when you switch on beneficial genes, every cell in your body benefits.
Recent research by Dr. Dean Ornish and his colleagues has shown that adopting positive measures including exercise, meditation, and diet creates beneficial changes in five hundred genes.
This single finding could revolutionize your health, because what it means is that every bite of food you eat, every step on the treadmill, every moment of deep relaxation is talking to your genes. And your genes talk back by sending chemical signals to every cell indicating how your life is going.
Genes are alert, and when you change anything in your life, they respond.
Nothing is left out. Your cells are getting chemical signals right now that tell them if you are in a good or bad mood. They know if you ate trans fats at lunch, if you are in love, or if you inhale polluted air.
Now is the time to take advantage of this breakthrough by talking to your genes in a new way. Forty years ago it was an uphill battle to convince Americans that smoking was dangerous, but eventually attitudes shifted and a major health risk was dramatically diminished. At present the big risks are just as controllable. They include obesity, sedentary living, and stress.
Start to talk to your genes about these issues. This isn't just another call to get you to exercise, meditate, and diet. Those are all good things, and yet most people ignore them. Why? Because despite their best intentions, people are conditioned by old habits. Your body can't break those habits on its own, but it can become your ally.
To win your body over, take a walk when it's beautiful outside, devote five minutes to meditation or stress management, nourish yourself with healthy food, and above all, be aware that the power to change rests with you. Small beginnings can lead to major results once you know that each step is like a conversation with your body. Your genes are listening. Tell them something good as often as you can.
I doubt that any doctor has ever made that recommendation. All of us, including medical students, were led to believe that genes are fixed. The ones we are born with don't change; new ones cannot be added. Those facts remain the same, but there's a huge story being overlooked. Genes have no effect unless they are switched on, and when you switch on beneficial genes, every cell in your body benefits.
Recent research by Dr. Dean Ornish and his colleagues has shown that adopting positive measures including exercise, meditation, and diet creates beneficial changes in five hundred genes.
This single finding could revolutionize your health, because what it means is that every bite of food you eat, every step on the treadmill, every moment of deep relaxation is talking to your genes. And your genes talk back by sending chemical signals to every cell indicating how your life is going.
Genes are alert, and when you change anything in your life, they respond.
Nothing is left out. Your cells are getting chemical signals right now that tell them if you are in a good or bad mood. They know if you ate trans fats at lunch, if you are in love, or if you inhale polluted air.
Now is the time to take advantage of this breakthrough by talking to your genes in a new way. Forty years ago it was an uphill battle to convince Americans that smoking was dangerous, but eventually attitudes shifted and a major health risk was dramatically diminished. At present the big risks are just as controllable. They include obesity, sedentary living, and stress.
Start to talk to your genes about these issues. This isn't just another call to get you to exercise, meditate, and diet. Those are all good things, and yet most people ignore them. Why? Because despite their best intentions, people are conditioned by old habits. Your body can't break those habits on its own, but it can become your ally.
To win your body over, take a walk when it's beautiful outside, devote five minutes to meditation or stress management, nourish yourself with healthy food, and above all, be aware that the power to change rests with you. Small beginnings can lead to major results once you know that each step is like a conversation with your body. Your genes are listening. Tell them something good as often as you can.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
how to get rid of ants
We have these little tiny light brown ants that don't want to go away. Though they seem sort of controlled by using Terro.
Here's another formula I might try from Kokua Line.
Question: Is there any low price homemade recipe to put on the kitchen counter to get rid of or kill those pesky black ants found in my sink, counter or trash can?
Answer: Bernarr Kumashiro, insect taxonomist at the state Department of Agriculture, suggests a boric acid mixture that he says works well for most ant species.
A general formula calls for one cup water, 1/3 cup sugar and one teaspoon boric acid powder. Mix well, then put a few drops into small containers, such as something the size of a film canister cover, and place along the ant trail.
Kumashiro warned to keep this away from children and pets.
"If ants do not readily take to the bait, use a toothpick, dab into the mixture, and make a small trail of droplets leading to the container," he said. Refill when the mixture hardens.
"Keep in mind that this is a relatively slow-acting ant poison, and that the worker ants must be allowed to lap it up and take it back to the nest to feed the rest of the colony," he said.
Within a few days, Kumashiro said, "the whole colony will be killed and you should see no ants."
For a few ant species, this concoction won't work. If so, Kumashiro suggests putting a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent in water in a spray bottle, then spray ants as you see them. This will also get rid of ants, "but new ants will re-appear from the same nest, and this process must be repeated several times," he said.
Here's another formula I might try from Kokua Line.
Question: Is there any low price homemade recipe to put on the kitchen counter to get rid of or kill those pesky black ants found in my sink, counter or trash can?
Answer: Bernarr Kumashiro, insect taxonomist at the state Department of Agriculture, suggests a boric acid mixture that he says works well for most ant species.
A general formula calls for one cup water, 1/3 cup sugar and one teaspoon boric acid powder. Mix well, then put a few drops into small containers, such as something the size of a film canister cover, and place along the ant trail.
Kumashiro warned to keep this away from children and pets.
"If ants do not readily take to the bait, use a toothpick, dab into the mixture, and make a small trail of droplets leading to the container," he said. Refill when the mixture hardens.
"Keep in mind that this is a relatively slow-acting ant poison, and that the worker ants must be allowed to lap it up and take it back to the nest to feed the rest of the colony," he said.
Within a few days, Kumashiro said, "the whole colony will be killed and you should see no ants."
For a few ant species, this concoction won't work. If so, Kumashiro suggests putting a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent in water in a spray bottle, then spray ants as you see them. This will also get rid of ants, "but new ants will re-appear from the same nest, and this process must be repeated several times," he said.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
reasons we pray
72% pray for the well-being of others, 60% for forgiveness, 27% for personal success, and 21% for money or other material things.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Letterman scandal
David Letterman, who built his career skewering philandering politicians and show business “weasels” and “boneheads,” finds himself in the middle of his own celebrity scandal, after he admitted having multiple affairs with employees of his production company, Worldwide Pants.
For the intensely private Mr. Letterman, the revelations, which resulted from a bizarre extortion attempt, are sure to be extremely embarrassing, especially as he tries to extend his lead in the late-night contest. ”I have had sex with women who work for me on this show,” he told his audience on Thursday night, calling himself “creepy.” He added that he hoped “to protect my job.”
More seriously, they raised questions for both his company and CBS about whether his actions constituted sexual harassment or at least abuse of a power relationship over employees.
For CBS, the episode is doubly embarrassing. The network has been put in a precarious position of trying to steer clear of fallout from some highly questionable activities engaged in by its biggest star, who is experiencing his biggest surge in popularity (and ratings) in years.
For the intensely private Mr. Letterman, the revelations, which resulted from a bizarre extortion attempt, are sure to be extremely embarrassing, especially as he tries to extend his lead in the late-night contest. ”I have had sex with women who work for me on this show,” he told his audience on Thursday night, calling himself “creepy.” He added that he hoped “to protect my job.”
More seriously, they raised questions for both his company and CBS about whether his actions constituted sexual harassment or at least abuse of a power relationship over employees.
For CBS, the episode is doubly embarrassing. The network has been put in a precarious position of trying to steer clear of fallout from some highly questionable activities engaged in by its biggest star, who is experiencing his biggest surge in popularity (and ratings) in years.
2009 Ig Nobel Awards
Can't get milk from a cow? Try calling her Bessie or Buttercup. A pair of British researchers who found that dairy cows with names yield more milk than unnamed cows are among this year's winners of the Ig Nobel awards, the annual tribute to scientific research that on the surface seems goofy but is often surprisingly practical.
Other winners honored Thursday at Harvard University's Sanders Theater included scientists who found that empty beer bottles are much better weapons in a bar brawl than full bottles; researchers who used bacteria in panda poop to reduce kitchen waste; and in homage to the worldwide financial meltdown, the executives of four Icelandic banks who contributed to the island nation's economic collapse.
The 19th annual event with the theme "Risk," sponsored by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, featured real Nobel laureates handing out the prizes.
Other winners honored Thursday at Harvard University's Sanders Theater included scientists who found that empty beer bottles are much better weapons in a bar brawl than full bottles; researchers who used bacteria in panda poop to reduce kitchen waste; and in homage to the worldwide financial meltdown, the executives of four Icelandic banks who contributed to the island nation's economic collapse.
The 19th annual event with the theme "Risk," sponsored by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, featured real Nobel laureates handing out the prizes.
Kirkland Signature
If you shop smartly, and go for Costco's Kirkland Signature house brand, you can save money.
Costco wants to let consumers know how much they could save by buying its private, in-house Kirkland Signature brand. Some stores recently had a display -- two shopping carts filled with items side by side -- one with national brands amounting to $437.85 and the other one with the Kirkland brand amounting to $229.35. The resulting difference is $208.50, or 47.6 percent in savings.
But what's behind the Kirkland Signature brand?
The Kirkland brand was established 15 years ago, according to Costco, and named after the city in Washington state where the company once had its home base (today's headquarters are in Issaquah).
Kirkland currently makes up about 10 percent of the products you see in a Costco warehouse, and is still growing. You can find Kirkland products in nearly every department -- from olive oil to coffee, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin pie, vanilla ice cream, dog food, vitamins, laundry detergent, cookware, toilet paper, towels, beer and bedsheets.
Costco's goals in developing the brand, said CEO Jim Sinegal, were to develop popular items where the company could control the packaging, and drive down national brand prices. In instances where the right product wasn't available at the right price, Costco decided to create its own.
National brands usually are launched with expensive ad campaigns with the goal of becoming a household name that consumers automatically seek.
House brands, which used to be perceived as a lower-quality version of the national brand, are making a comeback in this economy and gaining a better reputation. Costco insists that its Kirkland products are either better than or equal to the national brands.
Costco wants to let consumers know how much they could save by buying its private, in-house Kirkland Signature brand. Some stores recently had a display -- two shopping carts filled with items side by side -- one with national brands amounting to $437.85 and the other one with the Kirkland brand amounting to $229.35. The resulting difference is $208.50, or 47.6 percent in savings.
But what's behind the Kirkland Signature brand?
The Kirkland brand was established 15 years ago, according to Costco, and named after the city in Washington state where the company once had its home base (today's headquarters are in Issaquah).
Kirkland currently makes up about 10 percent of the products you see in a Costco warehouse, and is still growing. You can find Kirkland products in nearly every department -- from olive oil to coffee, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin pie, vanilla ice cream, dog food, vitamins, laundry detergent, cookware, toilet paper, towels, beer and bedsheets.
Costco's goals in developing the brand, said CEO Jim Sinegal, were to develop popular items where the company could control the packaging, and drive down national brand prices. In instances where the right product wasn't available at the right price, Costco decided to create its own.
National brands usually are launched with expensive ad campaigns with the goal of becoming a household name that consumers automatically seek.
House brands, which used to be perceived as a lower-quality version of the national brand, are making a comeback in this economy and gaining a better reputation. Costco insists that its Kirkland products are either better than or equal to the national brands.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Huckleberry Farms closing shop
Huckleberry Farms, a natural health foods store at Nuuanu Shopping Plaza, is closing after 24 years in business.
"It's a combination of the economic downturn and other factors," said owner Pete Pascua.
Walgreen Co. of Deerfield, Ill., bought the leasehold interest to the plaza last year and plans to redevelop the site and eventually open a store, although no specific timeline has been set.
Huckleberry Farms has agreed to the termination of its lease.
A total of about 25 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs at the store, although some have found other jobs, according to Pascua.
Customers absorbed the news with sadness, some even breaking into tears, according to Pascua. Many longtime customers are used to being greeted on a first-name basis by the store's employees.
"I am very sad and shocked," said Karen Walker of Kailua, who was stopping in to pick up a few items when she learned the news.
Walker has been a regular for three years and comes in for salads and produce, as well as oatcakes.
"The people here are great," she said.
"It's a combination of the economic downturn and other factors," said owner Pete Pascua.
Walgreen Co. of Deerfield, Ill., bought the leasehold interest to the plaza last year and plans to redevelop the site and eventually open a store, although no specific timeline has been set.
Huckleberry Farms has agreed to the termination of its lease.
A total of about 25 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs at the store, although some have found other jobs, according to Pascua.
Customers absorbed the news with sadness, some even breaking into tears, according to Pascua. Many longtime customers are used to being greeted on a first-name basis by the store's employees.
"I am very sad and shocked," said Karen Walker of Kailua, who was stopping in to pick up a few items when she learned the news.
Walker has been a regular for three years and comes in for salads and produce, as well as oatcakes.
"The people here are great," she said.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
world peace?
The state of Hawaii has observed United Nations International Peace Day since 2007.
What can we do, in practical terms, for world peace?
We pray for world peace every day. We, as Buddhist priests, preach to people about compassion and respect. We say that if all people are compassionate and respectful to each other, there will be no war and world peace will be realized. Therefore, we try to be compassionate and respectful to everyone no matter what their religious beliefs.
Although the ultimate goal for all religions might be the same, unfortunately many people who never see eye to eye are religious leaders. Ideally religious leaders should shake hands, cooperate and lead each of our congregations to the same ultimate goal. But realistically it is hard or even impossible to do this because each belongs to a separate organization. If I suggested doing something to realize our ideal with other religions, the headquarters of the organization I belong to would understand and sympathize with the basic concept, but on a practical level they would not be able to accept it.
There are surely some religious leaders who have been trying to realize the harmony of all religions, too, which gives me hope. Recently, interreligion dialogue has been active all over the world and even here in Hawaii. In order to lead each of our congregations toward the same ideal, it would be a good idea to share common issues. World peace surely would be the common issue that we can cooperate on to do something on a practical level. It is important for everyone, all countries in this world, to realize that.
What can we do, in practical terms, for world peace?
We pray for world peace every day. We, as Buddhist priests, preach to people about compassion and respect. We say that if all people are compassionate and respectful to each other, there will be no war and world peace will be realized. Therefore, we try to be compassionate and respectful to everyone no matter what their religious beliefs.
Although the ultimate goal for all religions might be the same, unfortunately many people who never see eye to eye are religious leaders. Ideally religious leaders should shake hands, cooperate and lead each of our congregations to the same ultimate goal. But realistically it is hard or even impossible to do this because each belongs to a separate organization. If I suggested doing something to realize our ideal with other religions, the headquarters of the organization I belong to would understand and sympathize with the basic concept, but on a practical level they would not be able to accept it.
There are surely some religious leaders who have been trying to realize the harmony of all religions, too, which gives me hope. Recently, interreligion dialogue has been active all over the world and even here in Hawaii. In order to lead each of our congregations toward the same ideal, it would be a good idea to share common issues. World peace surely would be the common issue that we can cooperate on to do something on a practical level. It is important for everyone, all countries in this world, to realize that.
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