Uncle Hiroshi

28 May 2011 - A Day in the Life, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

I started this blog in January 2010 and the very first of my relatives to be featured was Auntie Pearl. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I don't think I've featured another relative since.

Well, I'm writing here to honor Uncle Hiroshi, who's funeral was on 28 May 2011. Governor Neil Abercrombie ordered all Hawai’i flags at State offices be be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, May 28, 2011.

Hiroshi Kato was a "nisei" (second generation Japanese-American) and served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. After the war, he earned a degree from the University of Hawaii-Manoa and used the GI Bill to go to law school at the University of Minnesota. He was first elected to the State House of Representatives in 1959 and served for seven terms. He retired from the State Legislature in 1974 and was appointed by Governor John Burns to the Circuit Court bench where he served as judge for eight years. More about his life in this newspaper article.

I never knew he was a member of the 442nd RCT. He was very soft-spoken and never talked about it. The unit became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the United States armed forces.

Now for the rest of the relatives, I hope I'm not writing about you any time soon!

All Gave Some, Some Gave All

241/365 - US Air Force Medal of Honor Recipients, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

Thank you to the men and women who serve in the armed forces. Without your service, we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today.

On this Memorial Day, let's remember our military members across the country and those deployed overseas, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Starting off Strong

In the Batter's Box, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

Due to a league miscalculation, the Thunder were the number two seed in the playoffs instead of the top seed. Nonetheless, the girls know it doesn't matter...all they need to do is win games in the playoffs and they will be the champions.

The Thunder played a strong Giant's team and pulled out a win, 4-1. Today's win came down to great pitching and tough defense.

Kami started the game at pitcher and threw two scoreless innings. She finished the game at shortstop and caught a nice line drive.

Game two is next week. Good luck Thunder!

Playoffs

Waiting for a Chance (B&W), a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

The Thunder are going to the playoffs! They are the number one seed in the Teal Minor Division.

Their first playoff game is tomorrow. A win puts them in the championship game, next week Wednesday.

Good luck, team! Tomorrow's weather forecast calls for some THUNDER!

First Place

Low, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

The Thunder were tied for first place in the PGSL Teal Minor Division and needed a win today to take sole possession of the lead.

The girls played an incredible game! Defensively, they were solid and held the other team scoreless. Kami started the game at pitcher and threw a wonderful game. She also played flawless defense at shortstop, catching everything that came her way and throwing perfect strikes to first base.

The other team played tough defense, but the Thunder scraped up five runs over five innings, through aggressive base running and timely base hits.

Great game, Thunder! Saturday is the last game of the season, then the Thunder will head into the playoffs.

Family

8 May 2011 - A Day in the Life, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

Happy belated Mother's Day! We spent the day at my cousin Tom's house. He and his wife just welcomed their third son into the world, so it was a special Mother's Day in the family this year.

I love getting together as a family. The guys usually find their way outside to the patio, to grill the food, drink some beer, relax, and drink more beer. The best part is talking story....just catching up on old times.

Our family get-togethers are always relaxed and low-key. You can usually identify the non-family members....they are the ones wearing nice clothes and shoes. The rest of us will be wearing shorts and t-shirts. If we need to dress up for an evening get-together, I'll throw on a nice t-shirt and jeans.

Above is a picture of Tom and his dad, Uncle Tom, hanging out on the patio. Our kids call Tom Sr. "Big Uncle Tom" and Tom Jr. "Little Uncle Tom."

Below is a picture of Kami's softball team, doing calisthenics before their game. They are doing an exercise called "picking up pineapples." That's what we called it in Hawaii, but I'm not sure what they call it up here on the mainland.

Nice Game

"This is Gonna Hurt...", a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

The Thunder played a really nice game today. The pitching and defense were tough and the bats came alive. The team won, 7-1.

Kami was the starting pitcher and threw two great innings. She also made some awesome defensive plays at pitcher and shortstop. At shortstop, she snagged a line drive out of the air and made a heads-up play to complete a game ending double play.

Practice Makes Patience

24 April 2011 - A Day in the Life, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

My 365 photo project gave me a lot of experience with my Nikon D80 digital SLR and I feel very comfortable shooting it. Now that I am shooting B&W film in my "new" Nikon FM-2 manual camera, I have a new learning curve to overcome.

I'm gaining experience with the camera and film ever so slowly. I am learning that this film seems to do better slightly over-exposed rather than slightly under-exposed. Obtaining the "perfect" exposure is a little more challenging than on my D80 because the FM-2 only allows exposure changes in one stop increments. The D80 allowed changes in 1/3 stops. I am feeling a bit more comfortable with the FM-2, although my manual focusing abilities are still a tad slow.

The learning curve on film is much more challenging than on digital. With digital, I can shoot several frames a day and gain instant feedback via the LCD screen. With film, the feedback loop could take days or weeks. For example, my last roll of 24 exposures took two weeks from the day I loaded the film in the camera to the day I received the final results. However, I love when I snap what I think is a winner, but having the uncertainty of not knowing for sure until the film is developed.

I probably need to shoot a dozen more rolls of film before I really start to feel comfortable and confident with the FM-2. It's going to be a slow process, but one I will enjoy.