........................Updated: 1-6-07...........................................................154c.

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Artmail 154c

January 2, 2007 ...HAPPY NEW YEAR

Artmail 154's: a, b , c, d,

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Aloha all...

The main projects at this stage of my life are scanning old slides and photos, doing some painting on cocofiber and some other things that don't lend themselves to putting photos in my Artmails. The primary exceptions will be when I'm hosting couchsurfers. (couchsurfing.com) That's when I'll be doing something different and interesting. I'm going to be doing some couchsurfing in Australia this spring, myself. I am very happy that the couchsurfing concept was given birth and is growing. If I were quite a bit younger, I would actively be using the CS system and working with the CS team. But, I'm a retired senior with a different kind of time schedule, now.

Winter is the time many couchsurfers want to surf a couch in Hawaii, it seems. I had decided that I would limit hosting at 15B to once a month. Several couchsurfers were looking for couches during the holidays and I had more requests than I could handle. I think Kekaha Ha'aheo 15B will become a CouchStation (for later). I can give information and share some of the camping supplies available at 15B. (Here's an information page that I made for couchsurfers visiting Kaua'i).

I hosted Birgit as my couchsurfer for December. Shortly after Birgit left for Maui, I received a request from the couchsurfer who hosted Brigit on Oahu. Tony and his two friends, Yvonne and Steve, were planning to camp at Polihale for the weekend and borrowed a few things including camp chairs as Birgit informed them they could.

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Yvonne, Steve and Tony.

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Tony is the couchsufer and is originally from India.

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It was a pleasure meeting them and hope to again. They enjoyed their Polihale weekend very much. "Awesome." (And I enjoyed some surprise leftover goodies...mahalo).

Greg M. stopped by on his way to Polihale and we drank a few beers and talked story...

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Some of our 'ohana were spending Christmas Day in the Cubby Hole camping place at Polihale. I was going out and Betsi asked if she could go with me. Sure. The road is terribly bumpy and I had to drive slow because of her back...we made it ok.

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Greg, Kirk, Betsi and Dean.

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Patrick

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Betsi and Kirk.

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Terrence.

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Ni'ihau and Lehua.

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Back at 15B, I took some photos of The Nook and its views...

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On the 27th, I received an email from a couchsurfer and his girlfriend who were already on Kauai and asked for some information and to borrow a tent for camping at Polihale. I didn't read the email until the 28th. We made contact and they arrived at 15B later that day.

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Allan and Anelya...he's originally from Ukraine and she's from Kazakhstan.

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The Menehune Ditch and the Waimea Swinging Bridge.

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Allan Grant received that shirt as a gift from a relative. But it's true...At 23 years of age, he is CEO of Webmasters International, a successful business based in Atlanta, Georgia that he started in 2005 while a student in the College of Computing (CoC) at Georgia Tech. The CoC interviewed him last summer...from that interview, one learns that Allan is indeed "kind of a big deal."

"CoC: What is the coolest thing you are doing / have done in your studies at CoC?

Allan Grant: The CoC education assisted me in founding a successful web development business. I established Webmasters International in 2005, after competing in MBA-level business plan competitions around North America. The plan was to consolidate the world-wide web development (design & applications) outsourcing market. Currently (as of August 2006), Webmasters International has 19 employees located in both Ukraine and Atlanta. The company is profitable and growing rapidly. My goal is to employ 2500 offshore developers within the next three years."

The last question was:

"CoC: Anything else to brag about? Don't be shy - tell us everything...

Allan Grant: In 2005, I became the chairman of WebChallenge, a high school web development competition sponsored by the Technology Association of Georgia. This is an exciting opportunity for me to give back to an event that shaped my career. After competing for two years in high school (2000, 2001), I ventured into the professional web development field. For the first time in the eight years of the competition, WebChallenge 2005 was held at Georgia Tech and officially sponsored by the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. More than 30 schools participated and winners received scholarships towards their college education in Georgia. In 2006, my goal is to increase the scholarship amounts, as well as the number of schools participating. I strongly believe that this competition is helping encourage technology education in Georgia high schools, while positively impacting the lives of the participants."

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The average age of couchsurfers is in the 20's. There is half a century between our ages, but a good rapport has been easily established with the couchsurfers I have hosted. Creative travelers, those who are determined to travel and do, are different from regular people. Couchsurfing.com enables creative travelers to meet other travelers (the kind of people they meet only while traveling), at home...between their journeys.

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Off to the Luau.

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I'd say they are off to a flying start in their young lives. Aloha.

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After the CouchSurfing 1 website crashed big time last spring, it was later resurrected with the help of talented couchsurfers like Allan, who participated in the Montreal Collective. Couchsurfing.com 2 lives on...over 150,000 couchsurfers and growing.

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I had planned to drive out to Polihale for the last sunset of 2006. Betsi asked to ride along which was fine with me. Polihale had a different crowd...not many Westsiders. We stopped in the Day Area to look around...

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