Sci-fi, comics, humor, photos…it’s all fair game.

Beware of Invisible Cows

Sunday, June 19th, 2005 Posted in Hawaii 2005, Signs of the Times, Travel | 2 Comments »

Up at the visitor’s center for the Mauna Kea observatories, there’s a sign that says, “Beware of Invisible Cows.” It was dark when we were there, and I tried to get this picture without using the flash since there were people with portable telescopes ten feet away, so it’s really blurry:

The actual invisible cows sign (blurry)

Fortunately someone in charge recognized the humor value, and the visitor’s center sells bumper stickers:

Beware of Invisible Cows
Why invisible cows?  It's dark and foggy.

Of course, it turns out other people, visiting during the day, have snapped better pictures of the sign.

Note: Our visit to Mauna Kea was on Saturday, April 9, 2005.

Grass Under Renovation

Thursday, June 2nd, 2005 Posted in Signs of the Times | 9 Comments »

Dry grass... but the sign says it's "under renovation."

Irvine is a strange town.

Donkey Xing

Monday, April 11th, 2005 Posted in Hawaii 2005, Signs of the Times, Strange World, Travel | 1 Comment »

Driving through the lava fields of North Kona, you’ll see signs like these:

Donkey Xing Donkey crossings at dawn and dusk

After coffee companies stopped using donkeys for transportation, they turned them loose, and a herd of wild donkeys roamed the fields. They apparently picked up the nickname “Kona nightingales” from their, uh, “singing.” They’ve since been moved up to greener—and less traveled— pastures on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, but the signs remain.

One can only assume the Kona nightingales were the inspiration for Surfin’ Ass Coffee Company and their signature island confection:

Surfin' Ass Coffee Company: Donkey Balls Factory Outlet

For the record: 1-inch macadamia nuts dipped in chocolate.