Quake Damage, Volcano Bio, Eye Stymie

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/30/26

 

Aloha Guys! 

 

A nice, quiet week here. However, I know it won't last -- the volcano is predicted to erupt any moment, and next week I will spend 4 out of 7 days in a doctor's office (my regular visit to my retina guy plus three Valeda treatments at the same eye clinic -- the staff and I are getting to be close buddies.  Fortunately the clinic is just a few blocks from our house. The Valeda treatments won't be given by my retina doctor but by two optometrists in the same clinic, which I think is reasonable considering the simplicity of the procedure.

 

The damage assessments from last week's 6.0 earthquake are in -- 5 houses down south near the

Home Sweet Home

epicenter were declared destroyed and some structural damage was reported to about 140 other structures.  The houses that were destroyed were all built using the "post and pier" method and were on a hillside.  A vulnerable combination, obviously. Elsewhere, including in our area, there was very minor damage, mostly stuff falling off shelves and out of cabinets -- more of a mess than true damage.  By the way, I was partially wrong last week in describing the nature of earthquakes here.  I was correct in saying that ours aren't caused by tectonic plates colliding or moving apart, but I was incorrect in attributing this particular quake to the island settling under its own weight.  The geologists' assessment was that this one was due to the tectonic plate under the island bending suddenly under the island's weight  -- sort of like a floor board creaking under a heavy footstep.  Interesting, eh?

 

In keeping with the geological theme, an interesting article appeared in our local paper this week about the history of Kilauea's eruptions. There have been several recent instances of recurring fountaining -- 1959, 1969-'70, and 1983-'86.  The current one, which began in December of 2024, just broke the record for the most episodes, 48 with the 49th imminent. The previous record was 47 during the 1983-'86 eruption at a side vent named Pu'u O'o (pronounceable with lots of practice). Compared to Pu'u O'o, the current pace of the episodes has been much quicker, with an average pause between events of just 10 days compared to nearly a month for Pu'u O'o. The real speed demon, however, was a brief eruption in 1959 in the summit crater of Kileaua Iki, with 17 spurts in just two days.  As spectacular and accessible as this was, not many people got to see it because it was over so fast.  Likewise, not many people saw the fountaining at Pu'u O'o -- the vent was remote and difficult to reach.  Our current eruption is by far the biggest crowd-pleaser because its frequent, regular and predictable episodes have been very easy for visitors to view. Keep it up. Pele!!

 

My final news of the week is a Geezer Gazette item that I think reflects badly on U.S. healthcare.  I called the Stein Eye Institute yesterday just to check if they had received my doctor's referral.  The very cordial and competent person I spoke with found some of the documents we faxed, but not the letter yet.  In passing, the representative asked if my insurance was Aetna Medicare. Affirmative. He then informed me that as of May 28 the institute is no longer a provider covered by Aetna!  WTF! Apparently Stein and Aetna couldn't reach an agreement regarding reimbursement levels. The represeentative said that this has left a lot of their regular patients in the lurch, and they have to now find another provider. For me, this means the only way I could get my neuro-opthamolgy evaluation at Stein is by paying for it myself.  I can't just fall back on Medicare itself because Medicare has transferred all processing to Aetna.  By the way, the Aetna Medicare coverage is provided (at a premium) by my teachers' retirement system -- switching to any other insurance would be way more expensive.  So there it is.  In the U.S. healthcare is available to those who can afford it and only in limited ways, if at all, to others.  Bottom line:  I'm now searching for another neuo-opthamology clinic, and this time I have to make sure they take my insurance.

 

I'll close on that happy note.  Enjoy what's left of Spring.  Now more than ever, Carpe Vitam!

Earthquake, World in Kona, Miami "Veyes," Car Mini-Woe

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/23/26

 

Aloha Everybody! 

 

Wow!  Karen and I were watching t.v. last night when about 9:30 the house started to shake violently.  I've felt earthquakes here before, and at first this one seemed about the same intensity, but then it got really honking.  Something in the kitchen crashed and the wall-mounted t.v. was flapping. It wasn't long objectively, but it seemed to go on and on.  Bottom line: a 6.0 earthquake happened, centered about 25 miles south of us.  We checked all around the house and are relieved to say that we could find very little damage.  The crash I heard was one small bowl that had fallen from an open shelf.  I think we were very fortunate -- I don't know yet about damage closer to the epicenter. We have quite a few earthquakes in Hawai'i, none of them caused by the action of tectonic plates, like in the northwest U.S..  Ours result from either magma moving around below us, or from a sudden settling of the island under its own weight.  This was the second type.   Since it just happened last night we'll get more information in the next few days.  I'll let you know next week what the reports are.

 

This week the world came to Kona.  The World cruise ship, that is.  This is no ordinary ship.  For one thing it wasn't repositioning to its summer commercial routes like other ships I've mentioned lately.  Rather, the World follows a year-long itinerary that takes it...well, all over the world.  We've seen it in Bordeaux, France, and it has visited Kona once before. The route varies from year to year and is

Ultimate Cruising

determined by the passengers themselves, who own their cabins and the ship itself.  It was built in 2002 with space and luxury in mind.  There are only about 160 "cabins' (apartments or condos, really). They range in price from $2-15 million, with a yearly additional fee in the 6 figures.  In short, the owners have mega-bucks. The concept is apparently catching on because there are five more ships planned, and one other ship started cruising in 2025.  The owners can live permanently on board, of course, or they can come and go depending on the ship's location and the desirability of the destinations.  They aren't allowed to rent their units, and only family and vetted friends can stay when the owners are absent.  This cuts down on unwanted riffraff. The World stayed here for three days, an unprecedented length of time for a large ship. Strangely, I never got an invitation from one of the residents to go on board.........

 

Last week I forgot to mention a car problem that I triumphantly solved. When Karen was leaving for a meeting and tried to start her Miata she got the dreaded sound of the engine not quite turning over.  Fortunately this happened while she and the car were still in the garage so the inconvenience was minimal.  She took our other car to the meeting while I valiantly drew on my vast store of machine knowledge and diagnosed the problem as a nearly dead battery.  A look at the install date etched on the battery confirmed my suspicion -- just a few days short of four years -- about all you can expect from car batteries these days.  Over the Miata's 23 year life it has gone through about 5 or 6 batteries-- I'm not real sure of the exact number.  This usually happens, as in this case, with no warning, which makes a good argument for preemptive maintenance.  Anyway, I called around to see if any parts stores had a replacement -- not a slam dunk for a car that is 23 years old in a small, isolated island community..  The first place had just run out of that particular model and it would be 2 weeks before more arrived.  Fortunately I found one at NAPA.  I took the old battery with me when I picked up the new one to avoid the "core deposit" and I had the new one installed before the end of the day.  Yup, that solved the problem! As with a lot of my projects, I could have hired someone to do it.  But I still like the mental and physical challenge of solving problems if I can.  Of course, the scale and scope of those problems is getting smaller and smaller.......

 

There are a couple of quick Geezer Gazette items this week.  First, I managed to get an appointment with the eye clinic in Miami for an evaluation and consultation, but not without a frustrating amount of hassle.  The forms that I faxed apparently disappeared into cyberspace. No one I spoke to on the phone had any record of them.  Even getting through to someone on the phone was a hassle, Each time I called the number listed for the eye clinic I was transferred to a general scheduling number and someone who had no idea about eye problems.  Anyway, I made an appointment for the first available slot -- October 26th (!).  I may cancel this if I can find someplace more agreeable.  I'm now thinking of the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.  I quickly got through on the phone to a compassionate and competent person in the Institute itself.  The first step is to fax a letter of referral directly to the clinic requesting a neuro-ophthalmology consultation, then they should contact me to schedule something. Hopefully this will go better but I'm not holding my breath.  The other piece of geezer news is that I will begin treatments with the newly approved Valeda procedure on June 1st. This is a bit of a "Hail Mary" play for me.  The procedure uses repeated exposure of the retina to certain wavelengths of light (3 treatments per week for 3 weeks). It is non-invasive and only takes about 10 minutes per session.  My eye clinic obtained one of the machines and is beginning to offer treatments. The reason it is a bit of a long shot for me is that so far it has only been shown to be effective for people with dry macular degeneration. I don't have have that problem, but the underlying logic of the treatment seems plausibly beneficial in my case.  Since there are no known bad effects, I figure why not?  I'm desperate enough to give it a try. I'll keep you posted.

Ok, that's it for now. Oh by the way, I've come across a way to reduce your angst in these troubled political times.  Keep repeating the following mantra over and over until your brain is fully anesthetized:  "Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fine, Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fine, Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fine, Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fi........."   And as always, Carpe Vitam.

Birthday "Bash," Silver Screen Prada, Easy Breathing

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/16/26

 

Aloha Everyone! 

 

Life lurches on here.  On Monday we celebrated Karen's **nd [censored] birthday with dinner at the Fairmont

Birthday Bonus

Orchid Resort up north.  The restaurant was an upscale place with the disarming name "Brown's Beach House." This was hardly a taco shack on the shore.  It's open air, of course, and beautifully situated on the bay that fronts the hotel.  We timed our arrival so that we could enjoy the sunset over the ocean framed by palm trees and tiki torches.  The weather was ideal.  The meal was top notch.  We shared two appetizers and a main dish, all fish oriented, and all delicious and well-presented. I had advised the restaurant that it was Karen's birthday, so we also got a complimentary dessert.  Great evening!

 

Karen wanted to see a movie as part of her Birthday celebration, so on Tuesday we went to a matinee screening of The Devil Wears Prada 2.  I was a bit skeptical of this, both because of the subject matter (high fashion) and because followup films with big stars tend to be disappointments in my opinion.  We both wound up enjoying it very much.  One of the stars is Meryl Streep, whose performance is one of many in her career that establish her as one of the best actors of our generation.  She's a chameleon who can play any character with ease and naturalness to the point that it is hard to imagine anyone else in the same role.  Wow!  I recommend the movie highly.

 

In addition to the dinner and movie, I gave Karen a very romantic gift --- a hand vacuum cleaner to replace one that crapped out.  What a guy, right?!

 

Not much Geezer Gazette news this week. I haven't heard from the eye clinic in Miami yet.  I''ll give them until Monday and then call to see what's up.  I've now been using my Keurig inhaler for about 2 weeks. and I think it may be helping a bit with my emphysema issues.  The effect is subtle, though, and my blood oxygen level, which was pretty high to begin with hasn't increased noticeably.  I do, however, think I breath easier and with less effort than before, which should be putting less pressure on my heart.  So far I don't notice any significant side effects, which is definitely a good thing.  The drug info says that it can take 4 weeks or more to reach maximum effectiveness, so I'll keep going as long as there aren't any problems.

 

Ok.  That's it for now.  As always, aloha and Carpe Vitam. 

46 and Counting, Medical Travel, Big Whack

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/926

 

Aloha Gangl!

 

A fairly busy week here.  Our good weather has continued, to the delight of locals and tourists alike.  Kileaua's 46th (!) fountaining episode came and went after about 9 hours of spitting.  It was a pretty puny event compared to others, with just one of the two vents shooting up lava and only to about 800 feet.  However, the wind direction again sent tephra onto viewing areas and the park had to be temporarily closed, so the show could only be witnessed online. Two cruise ships (neither had any cases of Hantavirus, thankfully) visited besides our usual weekly ship.  They were repositioning to their northern summer bases, a common springtime sight here.  One even stayed for two nights, which was unusual.

 

On Tuesday I saw my retina doc for a shot in my right eye this time.  I also got him to refer me to a mainland clinic for a thorough neuro-opthamology workup.  My objective is to see if anyone can tell me why my vision is continuing to decline despite regular treatment.  I've chosen a place called Bascom-Springer Institute, reportedly the top-ranked center in the country for ophthalmology. The only downside is that it is in Miami -- as in Florida -- and it will probably require spending several days for all the tests and consultations.  I'm not sure yet when this will be.  I had my clinic here fax the referral to Bascom-Springer on Wednesday.  The next step is for them to contact me to set up an appointment.  It's possible this might be before our August trip, but I don't want it to interfere and I may put it off until October or November.  We'll see.  

 

The big house news this week was that the tree service we contracted to trim back our neighbor's

Before

trees to the property line and to clean up branches from the big storm in February came yesterday and did a major whack-back.  I really admire their skill and strength in doing what they did.  The trees aren't easily accessible and they couldn't use any fancy equipment, plus the branches had to be dragged a long distance over loose volcanic rock to where they could be dumped.  Although in the past I've done a bit of this myself, it is way beyond me now, and I'm happy to pay someone to do it.  Tree trimming here is a very good business because it is never-ending.  Like everything else, trees grow vigorously and continuously, and unless you regularly prune them, they will soon be sending branches into your living room. One of the

After

lessons I learned from managing an apple orchard is that the worst thing you can do is wait until a tree is a problem and then cut it way, way, back.  This stimulates it to send out new branches to try to balance the root system.  This "vegetative" growth is weak and prone to disease and insect damage.  Regular light pruning doesn't do this -- the tree puts its energy into flower, seed, and fruit production instead.

 

Ok friends.  Be good, be wise, behave.  Carpe Vitam. 

Backflips, Geezer-Aids, Keurig for Lungs

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/2/26

 

Aloha All!

 

I mentioned last week that we had tickets to a Sunday afternoon performce in Waimea by an acrobat

Huh?!

troupe from Australia named Humans 2.0. It was absolutely terrific. It was sort of like Circue du Soleil, but without as much hardware. Instead, it was a combination of modern dance and choreography with the human body doing incredible things.  Strength, agility, balance, grace, and artistic sensibility were on full display.  The staging was simple lighting, costumes, and music used to great effect.  Bottom line:  if you ever have a chance to see them perform, do it.

 

Weather here has been sunnier and drier than for the last month or so.  Pool is up to 88d even without covering it at night.  We've enjoyed doing our daily pool workouts most days this week.  This is usually right before lunch, followed by a nap.  Speaking of workouts, we finally managed to get back to Planet Fitness this week for the first time in almost two months. It was a pretty puny session, but we figured it was a good idea to ease back into it.  Our muscles agreed, judging from the soreness the next couple of days.

 

There's a fair amount of Geezer Gazette news this week, much of it good for a change.  First, a couple of "geezer-aids" that I ordered online were delivered, and both have helped me cope with my vision problems.  The first was a pair of magnifying glasses that are often used in craft projects.  The frames have interchangeable lenses that go all the way up the 5x.  They also have a built-in light that has helped greatly with my dimming problem.  They only cost about $25, a real bargain considering how much easier they have made my daily activities.  The second aid was a pair of sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses and have a yellow/brown tint rather than the grey tint I've been using.  The problem with the old ones was that that they cut out so much light that I lost the edges of things. I was to the point of not using them even in bright light because they made things worse, not better.  The new ones do dim things somewhat, but they also sharpen the contrast so I can see the edges of objects much more clearly.  Again, an inexpensive simple chabge that has made things "way mo' betta'." Altogether both geezer-aids cost less than 50 bucks and didn't require any physicians or medical appointments. The other bit of geezer news comes from my routine visit on Tuesday with my internist. I asked if I could switch to a different blood thinner to see if it would lessen my side-effects of bruising and bleeding.  At first he agreed, but then showed his worth by recalling that the new blood thinner medication could interact with the residual heart-rhythm control drug still in my system.  The interaction in this case leads to even greater bruising and bleeding, possibly a serious problem.  Whew! No thanks.  The other outcome from the visit is that I'm trying an inhaler to see if it might help with my emphysema.  The interesting (to me, anyway) aspect of this is that the inhaler is like a Keurig for the lungs.  Each dose is in a pill-like capsule that you insert and then pierce.  The drug is in the form of very fine powder instead of a mist.  Cool, eh?

 

Ok, that's enough for this week.  I hope you all are doing well and having a good Spring. Don't let you-know-who puree your brain. Carpe vitam!