Headnote of the Week

Location of a person's garbage, standing alone, does not establish whether a search of the garbage was reasonable; rather, the analysis must include an examination of whether the person manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in the trash container and whether that expectation of privacy in the garbage is objectively reasonable.
State v. Fisher, 154 P.3d 455 (Kan. 2007)

St. Patrick's Day - Hawaii Style

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day.  As I've written about here and here, Hawaiians like to party.  They don't need a lot of excuses to drink in the streets, but when there is a legitimate reason, they run with it.  Naturally, as an Irishman, I was excited to celebrate my heritage.  Of course, by celebrate my heritage, I mean get excessively and inappropriately drunk while wearing shiny green attire.

Unfortunately, it all started poorly because I came to the block party straight from work.  Murphy's Bar & Grill hosted a huge block party with a dozen beer tents, four live bands, and bbq pits.  I walked over to meet some people, but alas, I wasn't wearing green.  It was cool to walk into the sea of green drunk people, but I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Nonetheless, I met up with some friends and drank some Guinness.  The night itself wasn't anything to write home about, but if you're ever in Hawaii for St. Patrick's Day, I highly recommend going to Murphy's block party.

March Madness

Every March, sports fans and non-sports fans alike participate in a tradition that brings everyone together.  March Madness Tournament Brackets.  This year I organized an office pool, along with people's significant others, in an effort to make this year's tournament a little more exciting.  I was surprised at the reception I received in trying to organize it.  There was a lot of interest, even though the entrance fee was $15.  Overall we got 15 people to enter the pool.

I've written before that I work in a room with 6 clerks.  Sometimes it can get a little loud and talkative making focus difficult.  Add to the mix that 5 of the 6 people in my room entered the pool and that's just a recipe for no work getting done.  All day today everyone has been watching the games/scores religiously.  Every once in a while someone will spontaneously and unexpectedly shout at their computer.  It's actually made it a pretty fun day.  

Cinnamon's Restaurant

Yes, I eat a lot.  However, this time I had an excuse to try a new restaurant...my friends are visiting from out of town.  On Saturday we decided to spend the day in Kailua/Lanikai hanging out on the beach and doing the Lanikai pillbox hike.  Before we got to the beach and pillbox hike, however, we stopped at Cinnamon's in Kailua (315 Uluniu Street, Kailua, HI 96734 - map here).  There is ample meter parking around.

You've heard about those "Mom & Pop" places? hole in the wall? gem of a find? Well, all of those are true in describing Cinnamon's. Friendly, outrageously good food, and so reasonably priced are also true attributes this humble, unassuming, family owned restaurant offers to their many loyal customers.  I had previously looked at their menu online and tried to go here once before, but there was a 45 minute wait and my guest didn't want to stand around that long.  This time, I was determined to go.  As a teaser, you can check out their menu here.  Everything on the menu looks amazing!

So this Saturday we got there around 10:45am.  We thought we'd go for a nice brunch before taking a hike and lounging on the beach.  We showed up and were greeted with a 45 minute wait again.  Undeterred, though, we decided to put our names down and walk around the town for a little while.  When we got back 45 minutes later, we were told that our group of 3 would be next.  At least four or five other groups went before we did (all the while being assured by the hostess that we would be next).  It actually got to a point that we were convinced they were seating people who arrived after we originally did.  Once we were finally seated after about an hour wait, things got better.

Red Velvet Pancakes

To apologize for our delay, they brought us out two fresh cinnamon rolls - macademia cinnamon roll and their signature cinnamon roll - and a plate of DELICIOUS red velvet pancakes covered in white chocolate sauce...all for free.  That put us in a much better mood!  It was clear they were sorry we had to wait forever, but also they clearly want their customers to enjoy themselves.  Together, we ordered the Hawaiian Omelette, Breakfast Meat and Eggs, and the Kalua Pig Eggs Benedict.  I almost want to recommend eating a small snack before going to this place because the wait for food was somewhat long.  It wasn't terrible, but if you're starving then it would be brutal.  Fortunately for us, we had just eaten delicious red velvet pancakes and cinnamon rolls, so we were happy.  Once the food arrived, everything was unbelievable.

I highly recommend going to Kailua and having breakfast at Cinnamon's.  You can easily spend the day in Kailua and Lanikai so try to make a day of it.  Have some breakfast, go kayaking, hike the pillbox, and lounge on the beach.

Lanikai Pillbox Hike

One nice thing about visitors - no matter where you live - is that they encourage you to do "touristy things" or provide you with the motivation to do things you've "been meaning to do."  This week I have two friends in town from Chicago and over the weekend we hiked to the Lanikai Pillboxes.  I had been meaning to do this hike for a while and a number of people recommended it to me, but for some reason I just never made it up there.

Getting there wasn't difficult per se, but it wasn't easy, either.  From Waikiki, it only takes maybe 30 minutes to get here (if you take the Pali Hwy).  First of all, I discovered that everyone knows where the start to the trail head is, but no one can tell you how to get there.  When I asked directions, I was told multiple times, "it's next to the golf course."  Have you ever seen a golf course!?  It's not like, "oh, it's across from McDonald's."  Golf courses are huge and there are a lot of places that can be "across" from a golf course.  So let me explain in very simple terms how to get to the Lanikai Pillbox hike:  From the highway (rt 61) heading into Kailua, bear right when you get to the Shell Gas Station (on your left) onto Kailua road.  Note: Kailua road actually goes straight AND right.  You want to go right.  Continue along Kailua road until you come to a traffic light.  Turn left at the traffic light.  You are still on Kailua road.  Go to the end of the road and turn right onto Kalaheo Road.  You are now headed into the Lanikai Loop (where Mokolua Dr becomes Alapapa Rd).  At your first right on Alapapa Road, turn right onto Kaelepulu Dr.  Park anywhere along that road and the trail head entrance is directly across from the entrance to the Mid-Pacific Country Club parking lot.

The short hike up to the pillboxes (also known as Lanikai bunkers) on Ka'iwa Ridge offers one of the most breathtaking views of the windward side of the island. The hike itself is pretty easy.  It's uphill and there are loose rocks, but the view is definitely worth the hike.  The first part of the hike is steep and very slippery due to the dry dusty ground. There is nothing to hold onto other than tall grass and a few bushes, so it's probably a good idea to wear hiking shoes or be prepared to end up on your bum a couple of times on your way down. There is no shade on this hike until you reach the pillboxes so make sure to bring some water.  It took maybe 45 minutes to get to the top and about the same to get down.  I did not see too many older people on this hike, but it is not nearly as steep as Diamond Head or some of the more difficult (but popular) hikes in Honolulu.  I highly recommend this hike if you have a day to spend in Kailua/Lanikai.

Mardis Gras - Hawaii Style

Nu'uanu Street in Downtown

Do we celebrate Mardis Gras in Hawaii? Absolutely!  Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. As I have written about before, the Hawaiians take any excuse they can to get drunk and party in the streets. Mardis Gras is no different. The "festivities" start first thing in the morning with a tradition I can completely get behind: Malasada Tuesday! At Leonard's Bakery, sales for malasadas are five times greater on Fat Tuesday than any other time of year. A malasada is a Portuguese confection. They were first made by inhabitants of Madeira Island (off the coast of Portugal). Malasadas are made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. A popular variation is where they are hand dropped into the oil and people have to guess what they look like. Traditional malasadas contain neither holes nor fillings, but some varieties of malasadas are filled with flavored cream or other fillings.

Malasada

Later on, Chinatown shuts down the streets, barricades everyone in, and the party begins. From 5:30pm to 10:30pm, the Arts District Merchants Association presented “Mardi Gras Carnival 2011."  The event, billed as “An International Celebration of Indulgence,” showcases authentic Mardi Gras - Carnival culture with unique and exciting food, music and dance from New Orleans, Brazil, Cuba. Live music went from 6pm to 10pm with bands featured on four performance stages spread out along Nu'uanu Avenue, Pauahi Street and Hotel Street.  Last year more than 10,000 people attended downtown Honolulu's Fat Tuesday celebration.

All in all it was a cool event. Everyone was running around in Mardis Gras masks and lots of women were running around in Burlesque outfits.  I would definitely not be surprised if there were more than 10,000 people this year.  It was packed.  I was surprised by the lack of alcohol.  I'm not suggesting that people weren't drunk.  They were.  I'm not suggesting alcohol wasn't served.  It was.  Compared to Octoberfest and Halloween, however, this was relatively tame.  At the other events it seemed like there was a beer or wine tent every few feet.  At Mardis Gras they just didn't have as many vendors.

Girls' Day

Today I walked into the kitchen at work and, unsurprisingly, there was food.  I was disappointed to see that it was not manapua.  Instead, there was a bag of fortune cookies (random, I know, but those asians love their fortunes I guess) and a big box of assorted brownies from Napolean's Bakery (note: Napolean's bakery is located at Zippy's and is delicious).  Anyway, hand-written on the box was "Happy Girls' Day!"

I didn't think much of the note and figured "girl's day" was similar to the "take your daughter to work day" that we used to have in middle school when hippie liberals people were trying to tell women they could be something other than barefoot and pregnant tied to a stove.  It wasn't until I went to lunch that girl's day came up again.  As I was standing in line to get a delicious steak wrap and fries from the corner deli, a creepy guy in front of me was handing out hershey's kisses to any girl who was standing around him saying "happy girl's day" in his nice raspy emphysema voice.  When he got to the front of the line to place his order, he had more hershey kisses for the girl's behind the counter.  Now I was intrigued.

First of all, let me just say that I was under the impression we already had a "girl's day."  You might know it by the name Valentine's Day.  You may have heard about it.  It's a day when every schmuck on earth goes out of his way to buy flowers, candy, and gifts before being forced to skip that evening's TV shows and get unnecessarily dressed up to take a woman to an above-average restaurant...all in the name of making her happy.  So although we had a Girl's Day two weeks ago, apparently they need another one.

This girl's day is a Chinese/Japanese tradition.  The 3rd of March is called "Hina-no-Sekku","Hina-Matsuri" (Doll's Festival) or "Momo-no-Sekku" (Peach blossom's Festival) and used to be one of the important seasonal events of ancient China.  Today it has become a function symbolic of Japanese arts and customs.  It has "been in existence in Japan since the Edo Period (17 - 19 centuries)."  The third day of the third month was a day of purification in the Shinto religion from ancient times. The use of dolls in the purification rites is mentioned in the Tale of Genji, written nearly a thousand years ago. Hina Matsuri has some of its roots in this festival of purification.

As part of the tradition, families with young daughters celebrate this event at home to ensure their daughter's future happiness. So how do they make sure their daughters will be happy in the future?  They decorate "hina-Ningyo" (special dolls which are replicas of an ancient emperor and empress and their subordinates).  That's right, the Japanese teach their daughters that the key to happiness is to be a princess and marry an emperor.  I'm surprised there aren't more Japenese people on Long Island...

Anyway, the Japanese dolls are not the everyday dolls kids usually play with but are ceremonial dolls handed down from generation to generation. They are displayed for a few days in the best room of the house, after which they are boxed and put away until next year. Parents who are able to do so buy new sets of dolls for a girl baby born since the preceding festival, and relatives and friends make gifts of dolls.  A set of Hina-dolls usually consists of at least 15 dolls, all in the ancient costumes. The display also includes miniature household articles which often are major artistic productions. The dolls most highly valued are the Dairi-sama, which represent the Emperor and Empress in resplendent court costumes of silk. They are attended by their two ministers, three kanjo (court ladies), and five court musicians. All are displayed on a tier of steps, usually five, from 3 to 6 ft. long and covered with bright red cloth. This stand is specially set up in the home only on this day.  Basically, think of it as the Japanese version of a nativity set...just without the savior.

In the old days, everyone made crude dolls of paper, and as they made them all their ill fortunes and sickness were transferred to the dolls. Gathering the dolls, they went together to a nearby river and threw their evils into the water.  It was also used as an occasion for a family outing just when the spring season started.  Hina-matsuri used to be one of the very few occasions when little Japanese girls had their own parties. It sounds like it used to be quite the shin-dig.  The kids got drunk on the candy and sweets offered to the dolls. Sometimes they cooked and prepared the food and cakes to be offered to the dolls. They drank Shirozake, a sweet mild rice wine, on the occasion. The main offerings are small cakes - hishi mochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes) fruit-shaped candy, tiny white and red dainties of osekihan (glutinous rice boiled with red beans) and colored wheat gluten.

So there you have it.  The Japenese way of celebrating girls.  But I'm sure the deli guy's hershey kisses are a good substitute.

Golfing and Eating

Apparently, my friends do not understand what a "comments section" on a blog is used for.  I keep getting text messages that say, "all you ever do is eat and play golf" or "stop writing about golf, i want to hear more interesting things."  I appreciate these comments.  Useful feedback is always welcome.  However, text messages do not tell the world that I have readers.  If you have an opinion you would like to express, I encourage your comments IN THE COMMENT SECTION!

Now, to respond to the non-existent comments, yes, I have been doing an exorbitant amount of blogging about golf lately.  However, I'd like to remind you that it was January and February.  For anyone not familiar with the Chicagoland area, there is no golfing in January and February.  It was crucial that I get in a few rounds.  As for eating, I have been trying to go to as many restaurants and bars as I can before I leave.  Since Hawaii is largely a service economy and everyone here seems to be waiters and waitresses, there are hundreds of places to eat on the island.  I want to know which places to send people when they visit as well as which places to advise them to avoid.

But alas, I aim to please the fans.  I will post more interesting stories.

Headnote of the Week

This one is just kind of funny (to law dorks).  Non lawyers probably don't know Rule 11, which may diminish the humor.  Briefly, Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states:

By presenting to the court a pleading, written motion, or other paper — whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it — an attorney or unrepresented party certifies that to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances:

(1) it is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation;

(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law;

(3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and

(4) the denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on belief or a lack of information.

Basically, an attorney is only supposed to file a law suit in good faith and on reasonable belief in the merits of the claim (bullshit slip and fall cases, anyone?).  Anyway, here is the headnote:

Rule 11's admonition that every lawyer do necessary work to find law before filing brief applies even to lawyers who have two varsity letters in a collision sport and who were presidents of their fraternities.  Chambers v. Am. Trans Air, Inc., 17 F.3d 998 (7th Cir. 1994)

Olomana Golf Links

Olomana Golf Links is a pleasant Windward Oahu golf course located on the other side of the Koolau mountain range from downtown Honolulu and is the quintessential local golf course.  What I mean by that is that it's kind of a hidden course far enough away from Honolulu that you won't find any tourists here.  Also, it's not the most talked about course so the tourists typically don't hear about it.  For a Saturday afternoon, there was hardly anyone there, and they were all locals.  Although relatively short for a par-72 layout (5,800 yrds from the white tees), water hazards appear on each hole on the front nine. The back nine starts out with a combination of hilly par-4 and par-3 holes at the 10th through the 13th holes. The prevailing trades play a major factor in scoring well while the well-kept greens make for consistent rolls, a nice touch for any course.

Located closer to the Windward shore than to the towering Ko'olau range where mountain-induced showers can build up quickly, Olomana's typically sunny weather makes this course a reliable option any day of the year.  The views are pretty amazing as well, with the mountains in the distance and rolling fairways throughout the back nine.  It was not the most difficult course I've played here, but it was also not the most challenging.  It also was not the prettiest, but it was certainly in the top 3 or 4.  Overall it was a fun course that made the day enjoyable.  I think I lost one or two balls, but never wanted to rip my hair out. Had I not putted like it was the first time I ever played golf I would have easily shot in the 80s.  Unfortunately, I spent the entire day seemingly trying to figure out how to use a putter.

Pricing Information: (you can make tee-times here)

KAMA`AINA SPECIALS

• Seniors local residents 55 and over $35 weekdays not on holidays
• Afternoon Kama`aina Specials after 12:30pm. Weekday $37/Weekends $45 BOOK ONLINE
• Birthday Special - Play free on your birthday when you bring 3 playing partners. Proof of birthday required.
• GROUP RATES 12 or more $41 Weekday/$49 Weekend

VISITOR SPECIALS

• $95 18 Holes w/cart, $80 2nd visit (save $15), $65 each additional visit (save $30) with card after first visit
• VISITOR TWILIGHT After 1:30 pm $80 Weekday/Weekend
• VISITOR GROUP RATES 8 or more golfers $65 Weekday/Weekend