While scrolling through my unpublished content here, there seems to be quite the list of partially completed posts just waiting to be finished and shared with the world. Apparently I’m either a) long winded, b) meticulous, c) easily distracted, or d) squirrel. No, wait, d) all of the above.
Author Archives: johnbravender
Misplaced Petulance in Chinatown
In today’s Star-Advertiser, there was an article about complete streets in Chinatown. Unbelievably, some businesses want to make it more dangerous for people who walk so that people who drive can break the law.
NWS Honolulu a Bicycle Friendly Business
National Weather Service Honolulu and Central Pacific Hurricane Center being presented a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Business Award. From left, Bob Ballard, John Bravender, Chris Brenchley, Daniel Alexander (HBL), and Matt Foster. (May 18, 2017)
Earlier this month, National Weather Service Honolulu and Central Pacific Hurricane Center received a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly BusinessSM award from the League of American Bicyclists. We are the first BFB in Hawaii, and even received a special mention in the League’s national press release since they now have businesses in all 50 states. Hawaii Bicycling League presented the award at our office during Bike to Work Week.
The BFB designation is a great recognition of an office culture that encourages active commuting, but is it part of a larger plan? It actually ties into an idea that’s been percolating for a while concerning bicycles and emergency preparedness. Continue reading
Mindset in Everyday Life
I was just thinking about some of the books I’ve read and how they fall into different categories. Some are interesting but not particularly useful/applicable and some are useful but aren’t particularly interesting. One book that was actually a little of both was Mindset by Carol Dweck. There are interesting stories that highlight key points regarding fixed and growth mindsets that she covers early in the book, but it gets repetitive as you look at them in every possible situation (school, work, etc). Looking back, I’m thankful to have read Mindset before a media training class last year.
Other Sources of Weather Information
One of the reasons I like staffing a NOAA/National Weather Service booth at aviation-related events (such as the recent Hawaii Aviation Day at the Hawaii State Capitol) is because of the questions that pilots ask. If one person asks a question, chances are there are others out there wondering the same thing. This article will highlight a few sources of weather information available on the NWS Honolulu website that may be useful but not well known, and also introduce an initiative that’s designed to improve communication between our office and community groups interested in improving weather safety and preparedness.
Reliving SpaceShipOne’s Historic Flight
White Knight and SpaceShipOne taxiing for takeoff.
I just finished reading Julian Guthrie’s book “How to Make a Spaceship“. When I picked it up, I knew it was going to be about the Ansari XPRIZE and the start of private manned spaceflight, but I didn’t expect so many different inspirational tales to be seamlessly woven throughout the larger story. The prologue jumped right into the cockpit of SpaceShipOne with Mike Melvill’s historic first flight to space on June 21st, 2004. It was particularly special to learn about that flight, because we were part of the 25,000 people on the ground in Mojave watching it live. Continue reading
Example of Radar Beam Ducting
Reflectivity image from the Kohala radar showing trade wind showers much farther away than it should. (Animated radar loop)
Yesterday afternoon something strange showed up on the Kohala radar–a bunch of trade wind showers north of the Big Island. Showers were to be expected, as we were watching an area of open-cell cumulus clouds approach from the east. The strange part is that they extended to the extreme edge of the radar range, about 285 miles away. At that point, the radar beam could be sampling up to 50,000 feet, quite a bit higher than these showers. What gives? Since we weren’t looking at cumulonimbus clouds on satellite, we were looking at a nice example of radar beam ducting.
Why I Want Bikeshare…
…Even When I Ride My Own Bike
I just read the “Our Year In Review” message that Bikeshare Hawaii sent out yesterday and it got me thinking. We’ve enjoyed the benefits of bikeshare systems in many different cities during our travels and know that it will be a great thing for visitors to Honolulu. However, what about our residents? I already have a couple bikes that I use to get around town; is there a benefit to me? The answer is most definitely yes.
McCully Street Bike Lanes
At the beginning of the month, the City and County Department of Transportation Services gave a presentation at the McCully-Moiliili Neighborhood Board meeting concerning their plan to install bike lanes along McCully Street. (The minutes will be available here.) This is a plan that has been discussed for a while, going back at least to January. Most news stories highlighted the removal of parking spots, such as Hawaii News Now (“McCully Street to get bike lanes, lose parking“) or the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (“McCully Street bike lanes to eliminate up to 30 parking spots“) [You may notice in the Star-Advertiser URL that their original headline read “up to 80 parking spots”; the headline was corrected but not the sharable link.]
What’s unfortunate about these stories is that they missed an important aspect–that parking along McCully Street is unsafe and that the City and County would consider removing it whether or not bike lanes were added. Continue reading
Life In The Slow Lane
I recently had a new experience that opened my eyes to the way novice cyclists must feel when they first start out. Traffic can be scary, especially when it’s fast moving and you’re in the middle of it.
Honolulu has several nice bike paths and many roads with bike lanes. However, they are completely disjointed, with a couple miles here or there and stretches of unfriendly roads in between. I normally can hold my own keeping up with traffic through these stretches (a fast Schwinn Paramount as a commuter certainly helps). However, a couple things came together this fall that put me in the slow lane.