Remember the HIC? No, not the surf shop

Among all the uses of the Neal Blaisdell Center over the half-century of its life, its role as a generational touchstone doesn’t top the list.

Specifically: Whether or not you remember its original name is a measure of kamaaina-ness for people of a certain age.

Old-timers surely recall how long it took to quit calling it the Honolulu International Center (or, more commonly, HIC for short) once it was renamed in honor of the former mayor.

If the phrase "concerts at the HIC Arena" draws blank stares, usually they’re from a newcomer to the islands — or someone who’s too young to remember when that acronym stood for something other than the Hawaiian Island Creations brand of surf gear.

Whatever happens to the NBC in its next half-century, let it not be another name change, please.

If you can text in your sleep, look out

Yet another sign of our attachment to technology: the rise in sleep- texting. The condition afflicts mainly adolescents and young adults, classified among sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, night terrors and bedwetting. Sleeptexting can be just as embarrassing as the latter for some, who send unconscious messages they don’t recall upon waking.

One researcher’s recommendation for sufferers: Turn off all electronic devices at least a half-hour before bedtime to give your brain time to wind down, and never fall asleep with your phone in your hand.