Just found another very useful tool from UH SOEST:

http://oos.soest.hawaii.edu/pa...

http://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/view...

Zoom in on the Hawaiian archipelago; de-selecting multibeam bathymetry surveys and switching the base map to "Shaded Relief (GEBCO_08) will give
you a nice image of what the chain looks like under water. Kaena Pt is the westermost tip of the island of Oahu. Also note that Maui Nui was once a much
larger island, encompassing Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe. Loihi is visible to the the southeast of the island of Hawaii.

So you get paid to go cave diving? Nice!

CFD simulation. Lattice Boltzmann simulations of fluid dynamics is one such application. Folks at the various DOE national laboratories have a pretty keen interest in this kind of simulation.

A pretty good summary of the sad story of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. I was briefly involved with that project in a past life when I worked for a defense contractor.

You bring up a good point.

The MLO is located 34KM WNW from and well above the summit of Kilauea. The primary volcanic emissions plume from Kilauea is driven by trade winds which blow mostly from the NE, and because of the topography of the Big Island most of that plume will bypass the observatory. However, there has to be some effect from it; the question is how much?

FWIW, I live on the Kona side of the Big Island and get to enjoy the effects of Kilauea's vog (volcanic smog) more than would like.

Watches are still useful. I wear a watch from time to time -- I own 4. A dive watch from St Moritz - a Momentum M50; a low-key dress watch from Skagen; a Breitling Old Navitimer; and my grandfather's Breitling Montbrilliant pocket watch. The latter two don't get out of the safe much any more.

I am going to assume that was Mauna Kea and not Mauna Loa. There is a road to the summit of the former, paved part of the way, for the people who work at the observatories up there. There is a 4WD unpaved "road" part way up the slope of Mauna Loa but no vehicular access to the summit.

Rental car companies don't like having to come collect their vehicles from Mauna Kea after people have destroyed the brakes in them riding them all the way down the hill (or having negative interactions with invisible cows at lower elevations).

FWIW when I make trips to the summit I bring oxygen, and spend an hour or so at the Visitor Information Station at 9300 feet before heading up to the summit.

Working at altitude can be deceptively difficult -- an acquaintance who works at the summit describes a conversation he had which went something along the lines of "Well, I've cut it three times and it's still too short". Low PO2 isn't good for higher cognitive function.

Or Zydeco

No waiting - choice of paper or electronic. Most people opting for paper (as I did). Process was pretty painless;
in addition to the federal election there are some choices for local stuff: state senator and representative, trustees
for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, county mayor and prosecuting attorney; some proposed state constitutional
amendments and several Hawaii County charter amendments.

IBM 1620 with punch cards in my case. Oak Ridge High School (Oak Ridge, TN) 1974-1977.

Hitachi does in fact make a 'magic wand', but I doubt that the security folks would be waving it at you

Cray did this decades ago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-2