Federal Jury Duty

Yesterday I received a Federal Juror Qualification Questionnaire; it said to complete the questionnaire online. I did that today. The 1st thing I noticed is that the questionnaire link listed in the document was not using secure communications; it was using http not https. I would think since they are asking you to provide personal information to a Federal entity it would be done securely. My fears were allayed when I actually got to the site; it was using https. 

My experience on their website was less than ideal; there is no way to temporarily save what I entered while I wait for a response to my question to the court about one confusing question on the questionnaire. The county section of the questionnaire was autofilled with "THE SAME COUNTY" & I was unable to change it to say "City & County of Honolulu". That information then autofilled another portion of the form so now it was asking if I lived in "THE SAME COUNTY county of Hawaii". I responded "No" since I am not living in Hawaiʻi County now. Fortunately there was a place where I could write in an explanation for my answer to this confusing question. And when I tried to get more information I found the links for Juror Information and Court Site were broken.

I wasn't sure what they meant by the 3rd question.

This is what I got when I clicked on "Court Site" & "Juror Information".

For lunch I had a combination of leftovers from Halloween & salad from Kokua Market.

I got an email from Grey tonight; he spent about a month in Kohala in April 2020 when Arka Kinari was stuck in limbo because of COVID-19. The email was actually, from the Arka Kinari Patreon account. Grey provided an update on what they have been doing during 2021. He wrote, "A wrap-up post of our 2021 is long overdue, and at this point it can only take the form of a listicle. ... Arka Kinari circled Bali before ranging across Indonesia's wild east from May through September. Most of our elaborate plans and invitations for this year collapsed when the Delta variant began shutting down all major ports. We managed to hold fast, again, by shifting programming to remote villages and tiny islands. Arka operated without the backing of government this year, and of course all our activities are free, so the support of you Patreons was extra crucial. Your donations plus the gifts of fish and fruit from local villagers has kept the wind in our sails. ... In early September the crew mothballed the ship for monsoon season and scattered to the winds. After nearly three years of constant challenges, we are finally taking a break. Nova is taking care of the ship, performing, and recording. Grey (that’s me) just spent the last forty days telling the story of Arka Kinari in the form of a live lecture, with ten stops across the United States. While not really a break from the project, this is a pause from the rigors of sea life. ... Preparation will begin soon for the 2022 voyage, sailing from May 1st along the coasts of the larger and more populated islands of Sulawesi, Java and Sumatra, which have been impossible until now. Then, if worldwide covid restrictions ease enough for wider travels, 2023 will see us crossing seas and international borders again... details confirmed by the end of this year." Here are some of the photos with captions that Grey also posted.

The first day of the voyage east. Literally chasing rainbows. (Photo courtesy Arka Kinari)

Docked for a performance in the village of Koja Doi. (Photo courtesy of Arka Kinari)

There is always an audience. (Photo courtesy of Arka Kinari)

Dream Village, Arka on anchor nearby. (Photo courtesy of Arka Kinari)

For dinner I had the last 2 ribs from our Halloween leftovers along with the fern salad from Kokua Market.

Oh, oh ... The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes came home feeling sick. He lasted through most of the work day but around 3 p.m. began to feel sick; he now has sniffles & a slight fever. I gave him one of the COVID-19 rapid tests; he is currently negative so he might just have caught the cold that DT had. He will test again in 3 days. (The kit says 24 to 36 hours; we have been doing 3 days to allow a longer incubation time.)

The Kilauea eruption continues to draw visitors; the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park estimates they are getting 2500 visitors a day.

At 4:45 p.m.

At 4:46 p.m.

The Gov will be at the Glasgow climate conference; he will be leading a delegation of state & county leaders. I did not know it, but Hawaiʻi was the 1st state to commit to a 100% clean energy goal. But it makes sense; island communities were the 1st ones that were experiencing problems & will be the 1st to be completely destroyed if we don't do something. The village of Koja Doi seen above will surely disappear as the island is flooded by the rising sea level if we do not act fast enough.

The Aix weather app forecast partly cloudy skies until mid-afternoon when rain would negin & go through the evening. We actually only had a couple of brief drizzles in the afternoon & nothing in the evening. For Kapaʻau, Aix forecast partly cloudy skies until about mid-afternoon when drizzled would begin, turning into rain in the evening; Big Island Now forecast sunny skies with only a 20% chance of rain. The Honomū weather station recorded no precipitation for the day. For Marysville, Aix forecast rain beginning just before noon & becoming heavier in the evening.

Kaimukī looking westerly at 6:36 a.m.

Honomū looking northerly at 6:37 a.m.

Marysville looking southerly at 6:37 a.m.

Drizzle Kaimukī looking easterly at 3:55 p.m.

The surf on the north facing shores of Oʻahu remained at advisory levels throughout the day; it is expected to drop overnight. The high surf exacerbates damage already caused by rising sea levels that cause normal surf heights to overtop areas previously above the surf zone. All other shorelines are at much lower levels.

Laniakea (N) at 6:38 a.m.

HIlo Bay (E) at 6:39 a.m.

Waikīkī (S) at 6:42 a.m.

Banyans (W) at 6:42 a.m.

Laniakea (N) at 4:42 p.m.

Waikīkī (S) at 4:45 p.m.

Banyans (W) at 6:43 p.m.

There was a magnitude 4 earthquake 30 miles south of Eureka, CA; it did not generate a tsunami.

There were 38 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, bringing the total known cases up to 84,402; this number is from Sunday testing so is artificially low. There were no new deaths reported so the death toll remains at 916; currently there are 1641 cases considered active. As of yesterday, there was a total of  2,201,580 doses of vaccine administered, providing 71.4% of the population with fully vaccination & 81.3% with at least 1 dose. As of today 70 cases are currently hospitalized with 16 in the ICU & 13 on ventilators. The 7-day new case average for the State is 112 with a positivity rate of 1.7%; for Oʻahu the 7-day average is 57 with a positivity rate of 1.5%.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Thi!