Nerd News: Winter Commencement at the University of Hawaii

A nod to one's heritage.  Congratulations to all the new grads!

A Dolphin Gets By With A Little Help From His Friends

Here's the video.

Molasses Morasses

I knew this headline from Honolulu reminded me of something.  A similar sticky mess happened in Boston in 1919.  Yuck!

Disgustingly Cute: Spin Doctor

If these 23 seconds from Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii don't put a smile on your face, then I just can't help you.

Silly, spinning Hawaiian Monk Seal from Brian V on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day: Naval Exercises in Hawaii

A memorable quote from a recent news story:

"By the time everyone else gets there, the New Zealanders will have drunk all the beer."

Awesome Monday Therapy: Queen on Ukulele

Check out the remarkable Jake Shimabukuro:

Call Me Ishmael: Marine Archaeology Meets Melville's "Moby Dick"

Awesome!  Blurb:

US marine archaeologists have found the sunken whaling ship belonging to the captain who inspired Herman Melville's classic 19th Century novel, Moby Dick. 

The remains of the vessel, the Two Brothers, was found in shallow waters off Hawaii. Captain George Pollard was the skipper when the ship hit a coral reef and sank in 1823. His previous ship, the Essex, had been rammed by a whale and also sank, providing the narrative for the book.

History: August 14, 1945 was V-J Day

Here is some great archival film shot in Honolulu on that day, celebrating victory over imperial Japan. (via Iowahawk.)  And as always, a shoutout to the veterans of the Pacific Theater.

VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945 from Richard Sullivan on Vimeo.

Related post here if you want to read my take, as a history nerd, on the bomb and defeating imperial Japan in WWII.

What Fresh Hell Is This? -- Some States May Delay Tax Refunds

Well, this is just terrific. The following states may be doing this because they're out of money:

• Alabama
• Hawaii
• Idaho
  
• Kansas
• New York
  
• North Carolina
  

Add California too, kids.

What I really love, though, is this paraphrase from Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officer:

Delaying refund checks isn't unprecedented, Pattison said, but it is something virtually no politician wants to do, because taxpayers are owed the money and in most cases want it fast.

Y'THINK??? Imagine that, people want their own money back ASAP!

Awesome Photo of the Day: a Nighttime Rainbow in Hawaii

Click here (or here) and be amazed. The "star" you see is actually Mars. Via Neatorama.

Here comes the science as noted in the news story:

... that band of colours is, in reality, a moonbow. Like a rainbow, its daylight equivalent, a moonbow is produced when light is broken up into its constituent colours as it passes through water droplets. In both cases, the source of light is the same: the Sun. In the case of the rainbow, sunlight produces its effect directly. In the case of the moonbow, however, that sunlight is first reflected off the surface of the moon and then shines back down to Earth.

Gorgeous.

RELATED POST: Previous rainbow awesomeness here.

Forgotten History: 2 Sunken WWII-Era Japanese Submarines Found Off Hawaii

Military history nerds rejoice!