Pachyderm Presentation Day

Today we presented on pachyderm, and most of the day was spent either in preparation for the presentation, or in giving it. I was hung over for the greater part of the day, and I mostly just tried to keep it together. I think the presentation went over moderately well, and while there wasn't a standing ovation, there was some interest in the project.

Later in the evening, we went out to a Luau held by the University of Hawaii, at a local community college. It was a very beautiful campus, that is for sure. The food was pretty good, and the entertainment was family-style. At one point a bunch of hula dancers in their fifties through eighties came out and gave us some traditional dance followed with an interpretive dance set to 'God Bless America' or something just as patriotic. This turned off a good deal of the mostly liberal education staff in the audience, but I just felt bad that we are so cynical that we can't just take a patriotic statement at face value anymore. Everything is so laden with meaning and agenda, that just saying 'I love being an American' is somehow a political endorsement for the war in Iraq and anti-abortion rallies.

Anyhow, we went back and ended up at Sarento's up at the top of the Ilikai tower, riding the glass elevator up to the top, where we had a rousing political conversation with a fellow attendee.

A few bits of trivia:

The harbor in back of the Ilikai tower is where they filmed the harbor for 'Gilligan's Island'. The Coconut island, where they filmed the wide shots for the show is... get this... three hours away.

The glass elevator at the Ilikai is the first of its kind, built in the sixties, and the opening scene of Hawaii Five-O has footage shot there. Book 'em, Dan-o.