Author: Dave

I've always been curious about the world beyond my own backyard. While many people spend their entire lives close to where they were born, I've been fortunate enough to travel across the United States and around the world. Every place I've visited has challenged my assumptions in one way or another and reminded me that, despite our differences, people often have far more in common than they realize. I don't write to tell personal stories for the sake of telling them, and I don't believe every article needs to revolve around me. Instead, I enjoy using my experiences as a starting point for exploring larger ideas. Whether it's something I noticed while walking through a market overseas, a conversation with someone from another culture, or simply observing how different communities solve similar problems, I'm interested in the lessons those moments can teach all of us. Travel has given me perspective, but it has also taught me humility. The more places I visit, the more I realize there is still to learn. Every culture has something worth appreciating, and every journey has a way of expanding how we see the world and our place within it. When I write, my goal is simple: to share thoughtful observations, compare perspectives, and encourage curiosity. I hope readers come away having learned something new—not just about another place, but about the world we all share. If one of my articles inspires someone to look at a familiar idea differently, ask a new question, or venture a little farther than they otherwise might have, then I've accomplished exactly what I set out to do.

University of Southern California football vs the University of Hawaii

Dave

Saturday was the football game where the number 1 University of Southern California played the University of Hawaii. It was well known that the game was not going to be close and that was predicted by a 35 point spread for those gambling people. USC had most of their returning players, while the UH football team lost 30 of it”s players last year. UH did however pick up Jerry Glandville to compliment June Jones coaching.’, ‘The disappointing factor of this game was that there seemed to be no overwhelming dominance by USC. Granted USC scored 63 points by the end of the game, but the spark of excitement in the Aloha stadium just seemed to be lacking. An estimated total of 15,000 USC fans attended the game and the game was televised. The overwhelming size difference between the USC and UH players was definitely a big factor.

All in all the game was fun to go tailgate and watch, but there just seemed to be some lacking excitement. That was probably due to Hawaii knowing they were defeated prior to opening kickoff.

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26 Reasons Why Men Have 2 Dogs and Not 2 Wives:

Dave


1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.
2. Dogs will forgive you for playing with other dogs.
3. If a dog is gorgeous, other dogs don”t hate it.
4. Dogs don”t notice if you call them by another dog”s name.
5. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
6. A dog”s parents never visit.
7. Dogs do not hate their bodies.
8. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.
9. Dogs like to do their snooping outside rather than in your wallet or desk.
10. Dogs seldom outlive you.
11. Dogs can”t talk.
12. You never have to wait for a dog; they”re ready to go 24 hours a day.
13. Dogs find you amusing when you”re drunk.
14. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.
15. Another man will seldom steal your dog.
16. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, “If I died, would you get another dog?”
17. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.
18. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.
19. A dog won”t hold out on you to get a new car.
20. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don”t get mad. They just think it”s interesting.
21. On a car trip, your dog never insists on running the heater.
22. Dogs don”t let magazine articles guide their lives.
23. When your dog gets old, you can have it put to sleep.
24. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pick-up truck.
25. Dogs are not allowed in Bloomingdale”s or Neiman-Marcus.

And, last but not least:
26. If a dog leaves, it won’t take half of your stuff.

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University of Southern California against University of Hawaii Football Game

Dave

Went to the University of Southern California against the University of Hawaii football game today. This was a fun game because USC has Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush with a whole bunch of other good players. The University of Hawaii had Colt Brennan. The game was not even close from the start. The high performance of the artificial turf of the Aloha stadium really helped facilitate the speed of this game. It was a complete romp all in USC’s favor with a final score of 62 to 17. Here are photos of the event.
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Chinese Sick Leave

Dave

Hung Chow called into work and says, “Hey, boss I no come work today, I really sick. Got headache, stomach ache and legs hurt, I no come work.”

The boss says, “You know Hung Chow, I really need you today. When I feel like this I go to my wife and tell her give me sex. That makes everything better and I go to work. You try that.”

Two hours later Hung Chow calls again. “Boss, I do what you say and I feel great. I be at work soon. You got nice house.”

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Few Short Stories of Stupid Events

Dave

Recently, when I went to McDonald”s I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets I asked for a half dozen nuggets. “We don”t have half dozen nuggets,” said the teenager at the counter. “You don”t?” I replied. “We only have six, nine, or twelve,” was the reply. “So I can”t order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?” “That”s right.” So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets.’, ‘I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those “dividers” that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn”t get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the “divider”, looking it all over for t he bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code she said to me, “Do you know how much this is?” I said to her “I”ve changed my mind, I don”t think I”ll buy that today.” She said “OK,” and I paid her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just happened.

A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM “thingy.”

I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car. “Do you need some help?” I asked. She replied, “I knew I should have replaced the battery to this remote door unlocker. Now I can”t get into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would have a battery to fit this?” “Hmmm, I dunno. Do you have an alarm, too?” I asked. “No, just this remote thingy,” she answered, handing it and the car ke! ys to me . As I took the key and manually unlocked the door, I replied, “Why don”t you drive over there and check about the batteries. It”s a long walk.”

Several years ago, we had an Intern who was none too swift. One day she was typing and turned to a secretary and said, “I”m almost out of typing paper. What do I do?” “Just use copier machine paper,” the secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five “blank” copies.

I was in a car dealership a while ago, when a large motor home was towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle was in dire need of repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in “Twister.” I asked the manager what had happened. He told me that the driver had set the “cruise control” and then went in the back to make a sandwich.

My neighbor works in the operations department in the central office of a large bank. Employees in the field call him when they have problems with their computers. One night he got a call from a woman in one of the branch banks who had this question: “I”ve got smoke coming from the back of my terminal. Do you guys have a fire downtown?”

Police in Radnor, Pa., interrogated a suspect by placing a metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. The message “He”s lying” was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy button each time they thought the suspect wasn”t telling the truth. Believing the “lie detector” was working, the suspect confessed.

A mother calls 911 very worried asking the dispatcher if she needs to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid was eating ants. The dispatcher tells her to give the kid some Benadryl and should be fine. The mother says, “I just gave him some ant killer…..” Dispatcher: “Rush him in to emergency!”

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Survivor Southern Style

Dave

Due to the popularity of the Survivor shows, several southern TV stations are joining together and are planning to do their own, entitled “Survivor: Southern Style.” The contestants will start in Alabama; travel over to Georgia and on to South Carolina.‚Äö From there they will head up to North Carolina and over to Tennessee. They will then proceed down to Mississippi and Louisiana.‚Äö Finally ending up back over in Alabama.’, ‘Each will be driving a pink Volvo with New Jersey license plates and large bumper stickers that read: I”m Gay, I’m a Vegetarian, NASCAR Sucks, Go Yankees!‚Äö Smoking is for Idiots, Hillary in 2004, Deer Hunting is Murder, and I’m Here to Confiscate Your Guns!

The first one that makes it back to Montgomery ALIVE wins. Any takers.

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Bond Set for Michael Moffatt Charged With Shooting Wife

Dave

thekumachan_michael_moffatt-1
(photo courtesy of The Kumachan)

Michael Clinton Moffatt, charged at the beginning of the month with attempted murder, has been trying since then to get a judge to set bail, but until Tuesday had no luck.

Following a hearing before Mobile County Circuit Judge Charles Graddick, a bail of $250,000 was ordered for the 15-year Air Force veteran stationed in Biloxi.

This article was written for
http://www.al.com/
By GARY McELROY
Staff Reporter’, ‘According to prosecutors, Moffatt, 35, shot his estranged wife, Toiya Moffatt, 30, at his mother”s Mobile home on Cotton Street on April 1, then fled.

Michael Moffatt, a tech sergeant, surrendered the next day to his commanding officer at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.

Assistant District Attorney John Furman told Graddick on Tuesday that the victim remained in a hospital, her condition still critical following a number of surgeries to address the shotgun blast she suffered.

Outside court, Furman characterized her chances of surviving as “nip and tuck” and “50-50.”

Following his client’s arrest, Mobile attorney Jeff Deen went before two district judges seeking bail; each time he was turned down.

On Tuesday, he argued before Graddick that Moffatt’s rights under the eighth amendment to the Constitution and Alabama law required a bail be set.

According to Deen, Toiya Moffatt lived in Florida after the couple separated.

Deen said he could not explain why a lower court was reluctant to set bail.

Furman said Toiya Moffatt was under a protective court order at the time of the shooting. He said his office was “still greatly concerned” for her safety.

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Atlantis Submarine Tour – Honolulu Hawaii

Dave


Today I took the Atlantis Submarine tour out of the Hawaiian Hilton Hotel. This tour was superb. First you leave from Waikiki and they take you out on a boat to rendezvous with a submarine that is waiting. You want to be sure to get there early and try to take the earliest tour if you can because then you have the best chance to see sharks and other cool fish. Once everybody boards the submarine they take you down to a depth of 100 feet deep. While down there you get to see some of the sea restoration projects they have going on where a couple ships, a plane, and scaffolding were sunk in order to create an artificial reef. Here are a few photos from my experience.

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New Tax Law

Dave

The only thing that the IRS has not yet taxed is the male penis. This is due to the fact that 40% of the time it is hanging around unemployed, 30% of the time it is hard up, 20% of the time it is pissed off and 10% of the time it is in the hole. On top of that, it has two dependents and they are both nuts.’, ‘Effective January 1, 2005, the male penis will be taxed according to size. The brackets are as follows:
12+” Capital Gains $50.00
10-12″ Luxury Tax $30.00
8-10″ Pole Tax $25.00
5-8″ Privilege Tax $15.00
4-5″ Nuisance Tax $3.00
<4″ Elegible for a refund Please do not ask for an extension!

IRS Note: We are still waiting for answers for the following questions:
Are there penalties for early withdrawals?
Are condoms a deductible expense as work clothes?

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“Somebody” Knows Jack About Motherhood

Dave
  • Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you’ve had a baby…somebody doesn’t know that once you’re a mother,”normal” is history.
  • Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct…somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.
  • Somebody said being a mother is boring…somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver’s permit.
  • Somebody said if you’re a “good” mother, your child will “turn out good”…somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.
  • Somebody said “good” mothers never raise their voices…somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor’s kitchen window.
  • Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother….somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.
  • Somebody said you can’t love the fifth child as much as you love the first…somebody doesn’t have five children.
  • Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books…somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.
  • Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery somebody never watched her “baby” get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten…or on a plane headed for
    military “boot camp.”
  • Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back…Somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.
  • Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married…somebody doesn’t know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother’s heartstrings.
  • Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home….somebody never had grandchildren.
  • Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell her….somebody isn’t a mother.
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    Make Time for Loved Ones

    Dave

    After 21 years of marriage, My wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.” The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.’, ‘That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.”What’s wrong, are you well,” she asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.” That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel”s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,” she said, as she got into the car. “They can”t wait to hear about our meeting.”

    We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it”s time that you relax and let me return the favor,” I responded. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other”s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

    “How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered. A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn”t have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn”t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.” At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till “some other time.”

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    Classic Schwartzkopf Quote

    Dave

    In a recent interview, General Norman Schwartzkopf was asked if he thought there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harbored and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks on America.

    His answer was classic Schwartzkopf. The General said, I believe that forgiving them is God’s function. Our job is to arrange the meeting.

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    Happy Easter

    Dave

    We here at The Kumachan want to wish each of you a very happy Easter holiday. Be sure to keep an eye out for what kind of chocolate eggs you are eating. We are yet to find a bunny large enough to lay chocolate eggs and even if there are bunnies that big, we still haven”t found a bunny that lays eggs. Bunnies only seem to leave on thing behind and they”re not eggs. They”re bunny berries! Have a Happy Holiday.

    The Kumachan Staff

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    The Real Health Hazard? Reading Too Much

    Dave

    Fifteen days ago, I read that smoking can kill you; The next day I stopped smoking.

    Twelve days ago, I read that too much red meat can kill you; The next day I stopped eating red meat..

    8 days ago, I read that drinking can kill you; The next day I stopped drinking.

    Yesterday, I read that having sex can kill you; This morning I stopped reading.

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    Toast of the Night

    Dave

    John O’Reilly hoisted his beer & said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life between the legs of me wife!” That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night! He went home and told his wife, Mary, “I won the prize for the best toast of the night.” She said, “Aye, did ye now. And what was your toast?” John said, “Here’s to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife.” Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!” Mary said. The next day Mary ran into one of John’s drinking buddies on the corner. He chuckled and said, “John won the prize last night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary.” She said, “Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised meself. You know, he’s only been there twice in the last four years. Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come.

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    IRS Genie

    Dave

    A modern day cowboy has spent many days crossing the Texas plains without water. His horse has already died of thirst. He”s crawling through the sand, certain that he has breathed his last breath, when all of a sudden; he sees an object sticking out of the sand several yards ahead of him. He crawls to the object, pulls it out of the sand, and discovers what looks to be an old brief case. He opens it and out pops a genie. But this is no ordinary genie. This one is wearing an IRS ID badge and a dull gray dress. There”s a calculator in her pocketbook. She has a pencil tucked behind one ear.
    “Well, cowboy,” says the genie “You know how I work. You have three wishes.”
    “I”m not falling for this.” said the cowboy. “I”m not going to trust an IRS genie.”
    “Whatta got ta lose? You”ve got no transportation , and it looks like you”re a goner anyway!”

    The cowboy thinks about this for a minute, and decides that the genie is right.
    “OK, I wish I were in a lush oasis with plenty of food and drink.”
    ***POOF***
    The cowboy finds himself in the most beautiful oasis he has ever seen and he”s surrounded by jugs of wine and platters of delicacies.
    “OK, cowpoke, what”s your second wish?”
    “My second wish is that I am rich beyond my wildest dreams.”

    ***POOF***
    The cowboy finds himself surrounded by treasure chests filled with rare gold coins and precious gems.
    “OK, cowpuncher, ya got just one more wish. Better make it a good one!”
    After thinking for a few minutes, the cowboy says, “I wish that no matter where I go, beautiful women will want and need me.”

    ***POOF***
    He”s turned into a tampon.

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