Rhodes scholar Lai up in rarefied, stellar company

We always like to give a shout-out to our best and brightest, and being named a Rhodes scholar, as Hawaii student Jennifer Lai has, is truly something to shout about.

She is one of only 32 Americans — and about 80 worldwide — to win the award this year to study at Oxford University.

The statistical odds are impressive enough, but consider at least one particular: Among the previous winners was the late Harlan Cleveland, whose glittering resume encompassed everything from NATO ambassador to president of the University of Hawaii. His term at UH, 1969-74, ushered in big changes: creation of the law school, expansion of the medical school, establishment of UH-Hilo.

If history is a guide, great things can be expected of Hawaii’s latest academic star.

Maybe they can Google themselves — from jail

It was High-Tech 2, Lowlifes 0 last week as a pair of theft suspects were busted.

In one case, police used a GPS signal to track a ripped-off iPad to a vehicle being driven in Waimanalo. In the other, the bad guy outsmarted himself by hawking a stolen camera online, where it was spotted by its rightful owner.

Modern science, timeless ineptitude. The more things change. …