Bottle Prep

Today I went to the Safe Drinking Water Branch but we did not do water quality sampling. The other MRC volunteers were Suzanne & her nephew Eric; this was their 1st time here since the training. Jon from Solid Hazardous Waste was also there. We labeled sample bottles; there were 3 types. All were 1 liter amber glass bottles; each was in a bubble wrap sleeve, 11 per large padded cooler. The 525s & 625s already had a label attached, but the sample type was in about 2 point font so we were adding a larger (about 20 point font) label so it was easily readable when it came time to do the lab tests. The 525s had a little vial of hydrochloric acid attached; it must be the reagent for that particular test but they would be removed before it got to the lab. The 625s were plain; no reagents needed. Then there were the 8015s; no labels, no tiny vial attached. 

Some 625s ready to be returned to a cooler.

Originally, each cooler had two or three 525s; the remaining were 625s. We had to sort them out as well as attach the labels; Suzanne & Jon sorted while Eric labelled the 625s & I did the 525s. When we were done we also labelled each of the coolers so people could tell what was in them; we just attached a bottle label to the cooler lid near the notch to open the lid. We stacked 3 of each in the prep room that we have been meeting in to get ready for the sampling for the day. We put the rest of the coolers back in Room 161 where we started with everything. All total we were there for just shy of 2&1/2 hours; it probably took us 1&1/2 hours to attach all the labels. Melvin & David really appreciated the help; they said it would have taken them a couple of days to get all that done.  

There are 143-625s, 187-8015s, & 99-525s here.

The now empty storage room; we put all the coolers back in here.

Out on the lānai where we were stacking the coolers there are some tables & benches. Upon closer inspection they looked like repurposed pallets to me; so I asked Dave about them. He said Melvin built them! I will have to find out if he had plans for them or if he designed them himself.

The table legs fold up but not the benches.

On the way home I stopped at Times to pick up more soy milk as well as some Furikake Salmon. I also stopped at Otto Cake & picked up 4 pieces of cheese cake for a celebration tonight! We are celebrating The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes' freedom from supervising a subordinate who just did not get it that she really did need to do her job & do it without making excuses for why she was unable to do her job. We were also celebrating The Potential Most Favorite Roommate's freedom from working in an unsupportive environment while being the unofficial person designated to deal with people with mental health issues; all the other employees including the manager would disappear or be "busy" when certain people entered the credit union.

L to R: Kona Mac Nut, Raspberry, Chocolate, & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

I decided to make a proothie for lunch. It was another plain one.

I had a piece of Furikake Salmon from Times as well as some of the cauliflower for dinner.

Today was my friend Terri's last day of work. We were both field biologists with the Environmental Services Section of the Public Works Department. Here's a little bit of what she posted on her blog, Terri Hawke Talk.  

I like this photo, too.

I found something else I am interested in volunteering for: whale counting. But I don't know if I can do it this year. They do 3 counts per year, on the last Saturday of January, February, & March. On the 1st day of counting I will be on Oʻahu; on the other 2 days I will be on Hawaiʻi Island. I will have to contact them & see whether I can still assist with the count this year. 

The volume of lava coming out of Kīlauea seems somewhat erratic; it appeared to be putting out more lava this morning but it seemed to slow later in the day.

At 6:48 a.m.

At 4:22 p.m.

At 6:48 a.m.

At 4:22 p.m.

At 6:48 a.m.

At 4:22 p.m.

No new snow fell on Mauna Kea last night. There was none today either, though it looked like it might snow a couple of times. The average monthly low temperatures for Mauna Kea are always below freezing. When I was a child living on Hawai'i Island I remember that Mauna Kea was almost always covered with snow; I am not sure if that was just my imagination as a child or if climate change is causing there to actually be less snow falling on Mauna Kea.

Looks like some snow coming in.

But it was just fog, nothing happened.

There was no new snow overnight in Marysville either. And there was none during the day but in the late evening there was a couple hours of snow. 

It started to snow.

It went for a couple of hours.

The Aix weather app forecast rain in the early morning & late afternoon & evening in Honolulu, with drizzles in between. We actually had occasional light drizzles in the morning, then partly cloudy skies for the remainder of the day. For Kapaʻau, Aix forecast rain all day, getting heavier in the evening; Big Island Now forecast mostly cloudy with scattered showers & a 40% chance of rain. The Honomū weather station measured 0.02 inches by 4:15 p.m. For Marysville, Aix forecast temperatures below freezing all day with snow starting about 10 p.m.; as seen above, that seemed to be accurate!

Kaimukī looking westerly at 6:42 a.m.

Waikīkī looking easterly at 6:47 a.m.

Kaimukī looking northerly at 7:11 a.m.

Nā Koʻolau in the drizzle at 7:15 a.m.

Drizzle in Pearl City looking easterly at 10:47 a.m.

Kaimukī looking westerly at 4:17 p.m.

Honomū looking northerly at 4:17 p.m.

Waikīkī looking easterly at 4:21 p.m.

The surf on the north & east facing shores are the largest today, though the west facing shores seem less windy. The waves on the south shores are fairly small.

Laniakea (N) at 6:48 a.m.

Hilo Bay (E) at 6:44 a.m.

Waikīkī (S) at 6:47 a.m.

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

Laniakea (N) at 4:20 p.m.

Hilo Bay (E) at 4:19 p.m.

Waikīkī (S) at 4:21 p.m.

Banyans (W) at 4:21 p.m.

There was a magnitude 5.6 earthquake about 160 miles northwesterly of Attu Island. The earthquake was 16 miles deep & did not generate a tsunami.

There were 1561 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, bringing the total known cases up to 106,158. There were also 3 new deaths reported, increasing the number of fatalities to 1085; currently there are 15,781 cases considered active. As of today there have been 2,529,574 doses of vaccine administered providing 74.1% of the State population with full vaccination & 79.6% with at least one dose. There are now 127 cases that are currently hospitalized with 18 in the ICU & 9 on ventilators. The 7-day new case average for the State is 1485 with a positivity rate of 13.0%. The 7-day new case average for Oʻahu is 1269 with a positivity rate of 15.3%.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Jesse, Lynne, Eric, Sarah, & Ava!