About Equiliberate.org

Aloha, E Komo Mai (welcome) -

I'm not in the writing mood right now and was planning on waiting until I could script an eloquent message to update this page, but then I read vista.blorge.com's coverage of the HP Vista Refund post that said:

"The writer’s site appears to be something of a mystery. At the moment it consists solely of one blog post and various as-yet empty pages."

And decided I need to say something. Interestingly, the desire to get the word out that a refund from HP is possible for Windows Vista was just what I needed to get this site up. That's why I'm running the default Drupal skin right now, and the whole site is rough.

About the site

Equiliberate.org was born out of a growing passion for fighting for the environment and human rights. It is literally a portmonteau of "equilibrate", to bring about, come to, or be in balance, and "liberate", to set free. I envision this domain evolving into the cyber home of a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to "equiliberating" the world.

The logo (which has not yet launched) is derived from an ancient Egyptian symbol for Ma'at, goddess of truth, justice, order, and balance. It is said that she would weigh the soul of the deceased against a single ostrich feather; a heavy heart was devoured by the goddess Ammit while pure hearts were sent on to Aaru. We recognize the goddess Ma'at by the ostrich feather that consistently appears with her in hieroglyphs.

For now, this is a one-woman show, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, and home of the wild thoughts and actions of its founder.

About the founder

Uncle_Benji is a 23 year old college graduate who holds a piece of paper, rightfully called a B.S., in mechanical engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She calls Kauai, Hawaii home, and credits her devotion to people and our environment to her experiences as a child there. She currently lives in an air-conditioned cubicle designing some of the fun things engineers get to design. She spends her free time wrestling with the decision of how to best spend it - doing something useful or enjoying the Pacific Ocean at one of her many favorite beaches.

"Uncle Benji" was created as a spontaneous pen name, originally to be used on Yelp.com. The name is a tribute to Benjamin Franklin, with a local Hawaiian spin (we in Hawaii tend to call elder friends of the family "uncle" or "auntie"), who supposedly once said, "Those who would give up a little freedom to get a little security shall soon have neither." This quote is especially fitting now as our civil liberties continue to erode under the pressures of the Bush administration, well-funded corporate interests, and the general apathy of Americans everywhere.

The near future

The "Projects" page will be under development for some time. However, the "Contact" page is up and running, and unlike Mark Hurd's form, you should have no problem sending me a message.

The banner photos
The banner photos rotate by default between six images. Make sure you get to see them all! The current line up is described below, but first a note on sustainability.

Many of the photos were taken while on "safari" in Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru. Seeing the animals up close was an incredible experience. On the other hand, the diesel van/land rover engines were extremely loud against the natural silence in these remote areas. Apparently, research has found the closer boat engines get to whales, the faster their heartbeat - a sign of stress. It is logical to expect similar results from car engines and land mammals. The animals were not tame, but very accustom to being around tours of people like us. We were able to get unbelievably close to them without them caring to take much notice. Litter did not seem to be a problem, but no one spoke of it either. The hotel showers gushed water like there was no shortage. Perhaps there wasn't (I am not sure where they get there water, but it likely varies from place to place), but the surrounding Maasai Park was very dry (in August-September). The Sarova hotel we stayed at in Maasai Mara had solar hot water heating, and they had blackout periods during off-peak hours when everyone was likely out on safari to conserve electricity. They also had a small on-site garden that provided some of the food the cooks used to make meals. Not sure what conclusions to draw about this, we will leave it to you.

1. Flamingos:This photo was taken at Lake Nakuru park in Kenya. The park perimeters are bounded by an electric fence, because of its proximity to the nearby town, which keeps the animals inside. Animals include Rothschild giraffe, white rhinos, spotted hyena, buffalo, and others as well as many other birds (this park is known for its bird watching) especially the famous flamingos. Flamingos migrate here from somewhere (not sure where) and hang out at the lake in the hundreds, maybe thousands. The drama movie Out of Africa was filmed here, and it was clear why. Being there is like being in a fairytale. The entire area is beautifully picturesque, so much in fact that it seems oddly unrealistic: you see no remnant carcasses as was the case in Maasai Mara, animals everywhere, and nothing is out of place. Trees are burnt down to maintain view planes. In the end, the place felt more like a heavenly zoo than the wild.

2. Giraffes: These Rothschild giraffes were spotted in Lake Nakuru. They sway their long necks against other giraffe necks, perhaps as a sign of affection. But they are not always so peaceful. One woman witnessed the Giraffe Fight Club.

3. Leopard: This leopard was the second we saw in the Maasai Mara. We heard it was rare to see so many leopards in such a short amount of time; the Malaysian Indian woman I was with attributed our luck to Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god. Indeed, we saw elephants every morning. Both times, the leopard was high up in a tree. The first was spread out on a branch on a lazy afternoon. This one looked as though s/he was doing the same, until we looked closer and saw the dead impala in the tree below. After resting for a while, the leopard picked up the impala, moved it into a comfortable eating position, ripped off its skin, and starting eating lunch.

4. Lion: We saw many lions in Maasai Mara. This one was one of five young males, about 2 years old we were told, that surprised everyone (including the elephants nearby) by suddenly emerging from an underpass. They kept their eye on the baby elephant struggling to stand up but didn't make a move since the big elephants looked prepared to do some stomping.

5. Sunrise: We woke early in Gazi, Kenya to watch the sunrise at Gazi Bay. The bay leads right out to the Indian Ocean, but the water was calm. Fisherman were out before sunrise readying the boats (one is in the foreground).

6. War protest: The Iraq war has gone on long enough, yet we are once again ignoring it this time because of our economic 'crisis'. These guys were out in tents fronting Big Ben and the House of Parliament in London. Who knows how long they have been there, but right across the street at the House were guards with automated weapons. Yikes.