Hawaii always takes pride in its most successful homegrown products, even if they’re now a world away. So it provided a shot of local-boy-does-good glee to see Steve Case, AOL entrepreneur and Punahou alum extraordinaire, successfully take on the wily funnyman Stephen Colbert Thursday night.

Case was there to talk about his latest interest, ventures that help to develop the “sharing economy” — companies like the auto-sharing enterprise Zip car in which Case has invested.

A lot of Colbert’s guests are flummoxed by the comic’s impertinent vibe, but not Case. Colbert pressed him for $25 million to start up his own innovation, a toastersharing company. Case laughed and shook hands. Hey, he likes jokes but he’s no fool.

A whale of a tale in Honolulu Harbor

Hawaii goes to great lengths to protect its favorite cetacean visitors, the humpback whales — remember Superferry, anybody? — so it was a bit of a shock to see them right at Honolulu’s front door on Thursday.

Tourists rejoiced at the chance to get such a close shot in an urban area (there was that scene with whales in San Francisco Bay in “Star Trek IV,” but that was a movie). They seemed to be having a lark, swimming back and forth between the ships, but it may not have been all fun. A couple witnesses noted a gash and what appeared to be propeller marks on the larger animal. That’s why they need protection, people. Safe travels, humpbacks.