Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 26 – Feb. 11, 2009

After the headlines, Sabrina Velazquez from the Academy of Arts will tell us about “Wikipedia Loves Art.” Then, Ted Liu from the Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and Bill Parks from the US Department of Energy will join us to talk about Hawaii’s energy future, and the role the Clean Energy Initiative plays in shaping it.

In the News this week

  • The U.S. Department of Education has granted nearly $192,000 for a project to help native Hawaiian elders (or kupuna) to record their personal histories and have them endure in digital form.
  • After 10 years of development here in Hawaii, an Australian-based drug company says it’s confident that a dengue fever vaccine it’s developing will protect people against all four strains of the mosquito-borne disease.
  • For a large data processing company like Island Insurance Company, disaster recovery is an important business consideration. To address this need Island Insurance has selected Houston, TX INX’s Virtual Infrastructure Recovery Service (VRS) as their DR solution.
  • As commercial aquaculture grows, the need for fish food grows as well, and catching wild fish to feed to farmed fish presents obvious problems — not the least of them being the impact on the environment.

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Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 24 – Jan. 28, 2009

After the headlines, Caroline Kim from the Small Business Development Center will join us to tell us about an upcoming workshop for small businesses. Then, we’ll speak with Frank Schowengerdt, from the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, and Jim Crisafulli from the Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism on Hawaii’s Space Industry.

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Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 23 – Jan. 21, 2009

After the headlines, Rob Farrow from Chi.mp joins us to tell us about some big upgrades to the company’s “identity management” service. Then, we’ll speak with Richard Brill from Honolulu Community College and Robert Paull from UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture about Genomics and advances in plant genetic engineering.

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Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 22 – Jan. 14, 2009

After the headlines, Mike Stollar joins us to tell us about a new telehealth service called HMSA’s Online Care. Then, we talk to Susan Jackson from the Hawaii State Dept. of Health and Lou Darnell from Comtel about the 4-day work week and alternatives to working from the office. Our song pick of the week, Burning Bush with “Honest Days Work.”

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Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 21 – Jan. 7, 2009

After the headlines, we learn about “Star Parties” and sidewalk astronomy with Barry Peckham. Then, we’re joined by Sen. Carol Fukunaga and David Watumull of Cardax Pharmaceuticals to discuss Act 221 and the challenges it faces in the current legislative and economic landscape.

  • A new study of pygmy killer whales shows that those living off Hawaii tend to stay close to the islands and don’t swim out to the open ocean. There are very few of the whales, probably less than 200 individuals, in this distinct pygmy killer whale population off the islands.
  • Astrophysicists have used neutrino telescopes for decades to study neutrinos originating in the sun and elsewhere in the cosmos. Now earth scientists are taking a neutrino telescope and looking down, to illuminate the Earth’s interior by detecting “geoneutrinos.”
  • Hawaii might have a head start on the federal shortfall because of its early digital TV transition on Jan. 15. The first-in-the-nation transition date has prompted residents to order their redemption coupons early.
  • President Bush will create three new marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean, spanning 195,280 square miles and protect some of the most ecologically rich areas of the world’s oceans.

Our song pick of the week is “These Dreams,” the opening track off the new album from Kenneth Makuakane.

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Bytemarks Cafe on 2-week hiatus

Bytemarks Cafe is on a 2-week hiatus and will be back live on January 7, 2009. Ryan and I got 12/24 and 12/31 off for obvious reasons. I am glad to have the break especially during this busy time of the year. We are wishing that all of you have a great holiday season and all the best for 2009! If you have any suggestions for show topics in 2009 feel free to contact us at feedback [at] bytemarkscafe (dot) org.

Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 20 – Dec. 17, 2008

After the headlines, Russel Cheng from Oceanit will join us to tell us about a very cool iPhone app. Then, we’ll talk to Dan Zelikman and Sid Savara about privacy and transparency in the brave new world of social media.

In the News this week:

  • Puna Geothermal Ventures is celebrating it’s 15th anniversary, and Bytemarks Cafe got at chance to talk with Mike Kaleikini, the company’s general manager, about reaching the milestone. Kaleikini said, “it was a tough start in the beginning, but we’re still here after 15 years and needed now more than ever.”
  • In the search for extraterrestrial life, some astronomers are on the hunt for “Super-Earths,” and specifically, planets in other solar systems that may have liquid oceans.
  • The Air Force’s Pacific Air Command is getting into blogging, and is going outside conventional military channels to do it. Acknowledging that their audience no longer turns to mainstream media, officials at Hickam Air Force Base recently rolled out the PACAF Pixels blog.
  • Construction began in earnest last week on a 65-foot research vessel that will help a Hawaii-based ship design company develop and test new technologies for port security, including “unmanned surface vessels” or USVs.
  • Event update: The Pacific Telecommunications Council will be holding its 31st Annual International Conference from January 18th to the 21st at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

The song pick of the week is “I Love Nerdy Boys” by Emi Hart.

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Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 19 – Dec. 10, 2008 (Updated)

This week we’re joined by Sandy Park of the HTDC to talk about the Holiday Science and Tech Fair. Then, Ian Lind of iLind.net and Jerry Burris of The Honolulu Advertiser discuss blogging, citizen journalism, and “new media” in the face of industry cutbacks.

  • Governor Lingle Presents Innovation Awards: Governor Linda Lingle today recognized six recipients of the Governor’s Innovation Awards for their ingenuity and commitment to developing creative ways for Hawai‘i to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
  • Fish and Wildlife Service Designates Critical Habitat for Hawaii’s Endemic Picture-wing Flies: The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act for 12 species of Hawaii’s endemic picture-wing flies — small insects in the Drosophilidae family known as the “birds of paradise” of the insect world.
  • Researchers begin Keahole offshore study: University of Hawaii is creating an underwater coastal observatory off Keahole Point, which will soon allow researchers to study the deep in ways unlike before.
  • First Hawaiian signs seawater air conditioning contract: First Hawaiian Bank will be the first customer to use a new seawater air-conditioning system. Hawaii’s largest bank announced Monday in a joint press release with Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning that it has signed a multiyear contract to use the new renewable energy system.

This weeks song pick of the week is “I Started a Blog” by Sprites.

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Bytemarks Cafe – Episode 18 – Dec. 3, 2008

This week we’re joined by Miraz Jordan, who tells us about her upcoming WordPress workshops. Then, Jerry Chun from Humdinger joins us to talk about wind power and the revolutionary new Wind Belt.

This week in the News:

  • Astronomers have successfully combined three telescopes located on Mauna Kea to create the largest “virtual telescope” for short wavelengths. The Extended SubMillimeter Array (eSMA) connects the signals of eight 6-meter dishes with those from the 15-meter James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the 10-meter Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO).
  • The Hawaii Department of Agriculture is taking a bold step in its battle against an invasive species… with another foreign species. Over the past few years, Hawaii’s endangered wiliwili trees have been under attack by “gall wasps.” Now, state scientists have released a different kind of wasp from Africa in the hopes of stopping the “gall wasp” infestation.
  • By using existing electric car technologies, coupled with an Internet-connected web of tens of thousands of recharging stations, Better Place L.L.C. of Palo Alto, Calif. believes it will make all-electric vehicles feasible.
  • The Big Island is the best place to base America’s future space projects, especially plans to settle the Moon and Mars. That’s the bold objective of the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, or PISCES. And Director Frank Schowengerdt says PISCES has already been instrumental in bringing key NASA projects to Hawaii.

The song pick of the week is Porter Block with “Second Wind.”

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