Readers:  the above post on the Nextdoor social media site generated an amazing response from Buck Joiner, a community leader and father on Maui with lots of great suggestions for Maui things to do with teenage kids.  Buck is an esteemed retired international troubleshooter on nuclear plants (nuclear engineer) and community activist on Maui since 1983 whose insights are widely respected across the island.   Here are Buck’s lengthy suggestions for the most fun and memorable things to do with your teenage kids on Maui (take at least 10 minutes – not a quick read haha) and Buck has graciously allowed me to post this on my web site for general consumption to the visitor public:

Buck Joiner — Maui Meadows

Check in with Habitat for Humanity.   LEARN something lifetime useful.  Put in some SERIOUS Dad time doing lifetime memory things.  Go hiking, LOTS of options.   Campout at “7 Sacred Pools” (that’s the haole name).  Real name is Oheo Gulch.  There are more than 7 and not sacred.  Hike all the way up and swim in as many pools as possible.  If you don’t have camping gear, contact me.  Go snorkeling and find turtles and sharks.  Learn how to skim or board board.  If you don’t know how, at the beach, find somebody who is good at it and ask for lessons.  WARNING, body boarding can be paralyzing!  Snorkel at Molokini!!!! (This is a MORNING trip! Afternoon trips advertized as “Molokini” actually go to “Coral Gardens” which is 0.8% of Molokini.)  Bake bread together or make cookies.  Grill steaks.  Teach him how to change a tire.  Attend EVERY cultural event that is not your own, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean.   Attend and explore a different religion, something neither of you know anything about.  Try foods neither of you have ever eaten.  Do NOT go to McDonalds or any other chain restaurant EVER!!! Thereis NO memory there.  What event is happening at the Maui Cultural Center? Not exactly your taste? So WHAT!!! (If you find  Kathy Collins performing ANYWHERE, >>>>GO there!!! Gut busting funny lady!) Attend LIVE theater.  Visit a museum, there are several.   Go to LEARN.  What is he interested in? Do some of that.  What does he need to know that he doesn’t? Do LOTS of that.  What have NEITHER of you done?  Do THAT.   Want a MEGA memory maker? Hike the pali trail from Maalaea to  Ukumehame…under a FULL MOON, with headlamps and hikiing poles.  Eat mangos till you burst.  Eat every fruit you or your son has never tried.  The PRIMARY objective is to send your son home with the most INCREDIBLE experience of his lifetime.  It is not about spending money or keeping him occupied.  It is about making exciting memories of bonding LOVE that last forever! …for BOTH of you.

PART TWO.   ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, WITHOUT FAIL, GREET YOUR SON WITH A LEI AND MAKE CERTAIN HE HAS ONE WHEN HE LEAVES!!!!! Sail on a REAL sailboat, one that moves and leans with the wind, not a catamaran with a big motor.  Find the smallest sailboat you can, ideally, something 40 feet or under.  Zip-line is a MUST.  The full island helicopter tour is incredible, but it costs one arm, two legs, one eye, and a kidney.  Obviously you teach him as much about Hawaiian culture as you know.  And, Japanese, and Chinese, and Korean, and Filipino, and Portuguese and Somoan, and  and, and Pidgin English.  If you don’t know enough, learn more! Take him to a luau.  If you don’t know, understand, and love poi, LEARN what it is and why it is INCREDIBLY important and how to eat it.  HINT, it is the first food babies can eat, and the last food the elderly can digest to sustain life.  Listen to an audiobook together, one ear pod for each of you; Harry Potter? (Downloadable for free from the Hawaii Public Library if you have a library card.) Watch sunrise at Haleakala (you need a reservation).  Watch the green flash at sunset.  (If you don’t know how, kicked my butt to get the damn video made.) Go horseback riding at Mendes Ranch or others.  Go ocean fishing with somebody who knows how and when…  from the shore, or in a boat…  with somebody who knows WHEN and HOW.  Paddle a Hawaii canoe with one of the clubs.  Visit a Sunday drum circle with the really weird people ( why am I not there?) Learn to play a musical instrument together, something more difficult than a triangle and easier than a trombone.  Read a book together.  One reads the other listens, switch.  Create something artistic together.  Repair something together; sewing on a button, fixing a bicycle flat, epoxy, nails, staples, glue, electrical, just fix it together.  Something broken that isn’t fixable? Take it apart together before you throw it away.  Learn about identifying fish, or flowers, or trees.  Try smoothies at different locations.  Attend the Makawao parade and rodeo around the 4th of July.  Attend a Bon Dance.  Don’t know what that is? That’s why you’re going! When you get there, ask anybody to please explain.  Did I mention, it is about making exciting memories of bonding LOVE that last forever! …for BOTH of you.

reprinted courtesy Nextdoor social media and Buck Joiner, Maui Meadows 5/15/22

        .                         .

Presidential hackathons strengthen collaboration between people, government and the private sector

Nov 8th 2021

BY AUDREY TANG: DIGITAL MINISTER OF TAIWAN

How technology strengthens democracy

The covid-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on the world. In many countries we have seen the spread of misinformation, rising public anxiety and increasing political polarisation—often inflamed by social media. The challenge of tackling the virus, and the social problems it has caused, is straining the capabilities of governments around the world. In Taiwan, however, we see a silver lining in the dark clouds. The pandemic has strengthened our model of collaboration between people, government and the private sector, deepening what I call “people-public-private” partnerships. This is because we have built digital infrastructure that lets people freely express opinions on policy reforms.

Our contact-tracing system, 1922 sms, is a case in point. It was a solution jointly proposed by civic-tech communities in Taiwan to ensure both privacy protection and efficient contact-tracing. When Taiwan encountered its first wave of covid-19 infections in May 2021, the g0v community (spelt with a zero in place of the “o”, and pronounced “gov-zero”), a decentralised group of “civic hackers” in Taiwan, swung into action. Civic technologists enthusiastically discussed how to improve existing registration systems, which mostly relied on paper and pencil, or primitive web forms, and were often confusing or counter-productive to virus-suppression measures.

People power

Inspired by these discussions, we worked with Taiwan’s five main telecoms firms to develop 1922 sms. By scanning a qr code using a smartphone camera and sending a text message to the toll-free number 1922, check-in records are created and stored—with no need for an app. When necessary, contact-tracers can retrieve data from the system for quick and effective tracing. From discussion to deployment, the 1922 sms system was built in a week. This would not have been possible without a robust partnership between the public and private sectors and the people.

This is just one recent example of Taiwan’s alliance between public servants and civic-techies. Since its establishment in 2012, the g0v community has gradually grown into one of the largest open-source civic-tech communities in the world. In 2017, g0v established a system of grants to reward community proposals that can potentially benefit the public interest. This in turn inspired us to initiate an annual “presidential hackathon” event in 2018, in which civic technologists and public servants form teams and compete to develop innovative ways to upgrade government services.

The pandemic has strengthened our model of collaboration between people, government and the private sector

For instance, in 2019 a group of engineers, designers and ngo advocates noticed limitations in the government’s open-data platform, data.gov.tw. As part of the presidential hackathon, they formed a team called Gov Data Opener and worked with the relevant government agency, the National Development Council, to make it easier to track the progress of information requests. In 2020 a team made up of landscape and geospatial-data experts, called Patch by Planting, proposed a scheme to identify urban areas where trees could be planted, using satellite data to map land use and tree distribution.

Another scheme, the Rescue Action by Youth (ray) project, offers opportunities to students. Since 2017 my office has gathered ray students every summer to review government digital services. The students are divided into groups to focus on upgrading particular departmental websites. Through design and usability studies, they create prototypes that showcase suggested improvements. This approach has been used to upgrade the websites of the Hike Smart Taiwan service, which is used by mountaineers and hikers, and the Youth Development Administration, among others.

There are many other examples. An open platform called vTaiwan, created by volunteers, brings together representatives from the public, private and social sectors to devise and debate policy solutions to problems related to the digital economy, from online alcohol sales to ride-hailing. A related government-maintained platform, called Join, hosts debates and helps create consensus in other policy areas. Since its launch in 2015, Join has been accessed by almost half of Taiwan’s population.

Democracy—the combination of demos (people) and kratos (rule)—means “rule by the people”. The “Taiwan model” demonstrates how the use of digital platforms can strengthen democracy, by giving everyone a voice and enabling a government that works not just for the people but with the people.

Audrey Tang: digital minister of Taiwan ■

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2022 under the headline “How technology can strengthen democracy”

reprinted courtesy Economist magazine 11/8/21

Peter Gelsey
Wailea Makena Real Estate, Inc.
Maui, HI
www.petergelsey.com
direct (808) 344-8000
email peter@petergelsey.com
RB-19156  RB-19157

Peter Gelsey
Wailea Makena Real Estate, Inc.
Maui, HI
www.petergelsey.com
direct (808) 344-8000
email peter@petergelsey.com
RB-19156  RB-19157

The rise of the “illiberal left”, cancel culture;  progressives see laissez-faire as a pretence which powerful vested interests use to preserve the status quo;  progressives of the old school remain champions of free speech, but “illiberal progressives” think that equity requires the field to be tilted against those who are privileged and reactionary. That means restricting their freedom of speech, using a caste system of victimhood in which those on top must defer to those with a greater claim to restorative justice.   Click here to see this fascinating article replete with puns like “The Great Awokening” and “Wokers of the World Unite”!  haha

“The Pack” cancelled by Amazon after PETA condemned season 1

.

The beautiful Ka Ono Ulu Estates community in Kihei continues to set price records as an ocean-view Kaiola St. home sells for just under $1.2 million following two other recent sales in the $1M range. An HOA with covenants assures standards and attractiveness, and Ka Ono Ulu draws recreational walkers to its extensive network of sidewalks throughout the area. It is one of the nicest neighborhoods in North Kihei and is a short walk to white-sand Kalepolepo Beach. Some homes have amazing ocean views. Kenolio Estates is a very similar neighborhood but has a different homeowner’s association. The recent sale at 576 Kaiola St. featured central air, spacious 2 car garage, 28 net metered photovoltaic panels and fresh exterior and interior paint. Ceramic tiled entry creates an open, bright welcome to the sweeping outdoor and ocean views. The front yard has been transformed to a tropical outdoor dining room with soft pergola lighting and sunrise views of Haleakala. Beauty awaits at every corner of this Kihei home. Ka Ono Ulu Estates is located close to the beach and minutes from shopping centers, grocery stores and restaurants. Peter Gelsey, a local realtor active in the Ka Ono Ulu community, commented on the sale: “By and large the vast majority of Ka Ono Ulu Estates (KOU) homes are owner-occupied and demonstrate pride of ownership. All in all a very friendly and welcoming community.” Contact Peter Gelsey at 808-344-8000 or email peter@petergelsey.com for more information on homes available in this family-friendly walkable Kihei community.

Peter Gelsey
Wailea Makena Real Estate, Inc.
Maui, HI
www.petergelsey.com
direct (808) 344-8000
email peter@petergelsey.com
RB-19156 RB-19157