Hawaii under tsunami advisory

Hawaii is under a tsunami advisory after a massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, generating at least one 10-foot wave in the South American region.

If a tsunami were to reach Hawaii's shores, the first waves would hit at about 11:19 a.m. Saturday, according to Pacific Tsunami Warning Center officials.

That's surfing the Internet.

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I moved my 2 motorbikes to higher ground at 5am this morning. Parked them on the street by what's da name of the church on Monsarrat Ave. It's beyond the outline of the inundation zone I think. At least it's at a higher elevation than our basement garage which was built below sea level and across the street from the Ala Wai canal. I passed the Waikiki zoo walking back to Waikiki and wondered just what's keeping the wild animals from swimming out of their cages should a tsunami actually hit. The zoo is a stone's throw from the beach and barely above sea level and all that. The thought of wild animals roaming the streets. Noah's Ark??

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The fucking local tv news...."please check your phone books for the inundation zone in your neighborhoods." Imbeciles. Alrighty, perhaps it's just early in the morning. They tv anchors are stressed and utter things that aren't the brightest. If you live a few hundred yards from the ocean on flat land, you'd don't need no stinking inundation zone map, would you?

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The tv news is showing long lines at gas stations around town. A tidal wave is not like a hurricane which shuts off power island-wide disabling gas pumps. So, dunno the urgency of the drivers. The beach camera is also showing some people surfing off Waikiki beach. Wouldn't want to put that off, you knows, real surfing. An ambulance just screamed by on the Ala Wai Blvd. Maybe somebody been get heart attack from all the commotion.

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I've been noticing that the municipal ducks are conspicuously missing from the Ala Wai canal this morning. Instinct? Not even a single quake to be heard. The Ala Wai canal is a tidal pool and ebbs and flows with the ambient sea level. There are a lot of tourists staying on beach front that will be having an experience to remember if a high enough tidal surge does materialize. Tahiti had a 6-feet wave so far. I entertained the thought of renting one hotel room right on the ocean to record the force majeure. But, eh, too expensive. They'll probably jack up the rates. Btw, hotel guests are safe where they're at. Conventional strategy is that you evade a tsunami by high tailing vertically. Climb up the nearest coconut tree. Guests get moved to a higher floor. Waikiki hotels are supposedly built on concrete stilts to allow a tidal surge to pass underneath. Meanwhile I have no idea what the itinerary is for arriving visitors. Earlier this morning I thought of evacuating my two motorbikes to a hotel parking complex at least on the second floor level. The expense wasn't as much a problem as the prospect of not being able to ride the bikes out if the street became littered with debris.


This wahine sound asleep a few feet away from the Ala Wai canal, oblivious to it all. I don't have the heart to wake her up.

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I'm following the Hilo Bay cam, and the water in the bay appears to be receding. The first wave was suppose to hit Hilo at 11:05pm, but still no show. Hawaiian time. Uh-oh, the water is now surging in to complete the cycle, but nothing spectacular. Now the current recedes back again in the opposite direction which signifies the end of the surge. Does that mean the much feared first wave was a humongous 2-inches tall? A resounding thumbs down. In a good way, mind you.

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Forget it....

Obama's Health Care Summit Meeting

Untitled

Mayor's State of the City

In yesterday's State of the City address, da mayor decreed:

"The city must put employees on furlough two days a month saving the city 4.5 percent in payroll." (to address a $140 million budget shortfall)

Then in what seems like a direct contradiction, da mayor goes on to announce....

"plans to stimulate the economy by moving on 100 new construction projects, valued at $220 million, in the next six months."

The prospect of 100 new construction projects sprouting up around town is music to my ears because that' s my trade and the unemployment rate in the island's construction industry stands at a whopping 50 percent. Myself, I make more per hour working on my own then I would on a union job, but union work is steady and the net effect is earning thousands of dollar more for the same few month's period. Apparently though the new projects will be funded by furloughing city workers twice a month which means my gain will come at the expense of the city workers. It's tantamount to economic cannibalism. Some might term it crocodile tears, but no. Meanwhile, the mayor might be positioning the new projects to be eligible for Obama's federal stimulus money designated for public work projects, but if the gamble falls through, he'll be in deep kukai following through fiscally with his loaf of bread to the construction trades.

To begin with, no Honolulu mayor has ever been elected to governor even though that would seem like the logical progression being that 80 percent of the state's population reside within the boundaries of the City and County of Honolulu. Irregardless, just about every Honolulu mayor has tried to make the leap to governor as if it were their entitlement. That said, construction unions have always endorsed Hannemann in past political campaigns and that might have played a role in the way things were dished out at yesterday's State of the City especially in light that Mayor Hannemann plans to serve two-years of his four-year term than run for governor. That's not to say it's always been easy to support Hannemann mainly because Hannemann has displayed a penchant to run for every higher political office that he laid his eyes upon. 

Suspected bra thief arrested at Waikiki hotel

A 29-year-old man was arrested at a Waikiki hotel Monday morning after security guards reported finding drugs, drug paraphernalia and two stolen brassieres in the man's hotel room.

....security guards, who work at the hotel on Seaside Avenue, entered the man's room after receiving numerous noise complaints.

The guards reported finding illicit drugs on top of the dresser and a man sleeping on the bed.

The guards also found two bras on the floor next to the bed, both of which were identified as having been taken during a burglary from the hotel room next door,

....it was determined that the man had climbed over the balcony railing to the adjoining room and entered it through an unlocked sliding door.

Honolulu Advertiser

....the moral of the story is, don't be a bra theft, if you're into illicit drugs. That's not to say, that if you are not into illicit drugs, it's then perfectly alrighty to steal your neighbor's bras. Buy your own. Oh, yeah, forgot about reaction of the store clerks. Buy online, then, and request the seller gift wrap the moral contraband because it's obviously intended for somebody else.

Fashion Tuesday

I found these "jeep style army caps" online, which I'll be ordering later today. I've looked and looked for this style of caps in local stores, but it seems that the only variety that the stores stock on their racks are the baseball style caps. These Internet caps just happen to be inexpensive too. If the same caps came with a brand name logo embroidered on, or a designer graffiti printed on the them, the caps would retail for $25 or more, and you'd only end up wearing them with the brim pointed off to an angle and acknowledged as a rapper. That said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with wearing plain unadorned generic caps. Among other things, bum-bye no mo money to buy gasoline. As it's been said in Texas, all hat and no cattle. Stetson I surmise. You might have noticed that the cap above is purposely frayed to match your best pair of puka-puka pants.



The most prized fabric for a cap in terms of comfort is corduroy, but it's also difficult to find. The corduroy material on this particular cap isn't the familiar ribbed type of corduroy, but it'll do.

Hawaii sits at the top for federal earmarks

Hawaii is the top per capita state this year.... The vast majority of the $412.2 million for Hawaii came because [Hawaii senator] Inouye, now the chairman of the Senate *Appropriations* Committee, sponsored or co-sponsored the earmarks.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

"$412.2 million?" .... sure doesn't sound like very much, does it. Especially in light that Obama is the President and CEO. Take for example the $787 Billion stimulus package Obama signed into law, or for that matter, the TARP bailout lavished upon the banks. By that metric, da $412.2 million Hawaii earmark seem a paltry sum in comparison. Actually, pork barrel earmarks amount to only 1 percent of the total federal budget, and since some of the same money would have been allocated to the individual states anyways, earmarks don't amount to much percentage wise. Don't get me wrong, if I stumbled upon a million dollars, not a billion, stashed in an abandoned federal building, I would.

Tea Party

More Tiger

JOHN KING (CNN): ....let's bring in someone who knows and has written extensively about the life, the challenges and the temptations of pro athletes, sportswriter and nationally syndicated radio host Stephen A. Smith, sports columnist at the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER....

Stephen, you're around professional sports all the time. Take us inside that world.... What is life like for these wealthy, famous athletes, always on the road and always surrounded by fans and groupies?

STEPHEN A. SMITH: There's a whole bunch of flesh pointing in these guys' faces every single day, everywhere they go, every hour of every day..... And I'm not talking about what you would call hoochies or anything like that, just girls that are on a roll looking to get in bed with a guy. I'm talking about doctors, lawyers, nurses, accountants, women who have their own money, have achieved their own level of success. It does not stop them.

And the younger you, the more of a target you are, because the more naive you're perceived as being, which makes you an easier target and easier prey for a lot of these women. I'm talking about every city, every state, every small town. I don't care if they [sports figures] go to the bus stop, for crying out loud. There is a woman somewhere there that wants to get ahold of them, because they're very reputable figures. And the women know this.

KING: That's quite the picture you paint there.

Tiger Woods

Dear Tiger,

You do not have to apologize to me for your past infidelities. It's all fine with me as long as you play well in future golf tournaments, as what happened between you and Erin was a private matter and should have stayed that way, save the neighbor of yours that took it upon himself to dial 911, without giving it a second thought of the media debacle that would surely ensue. The PGA needs you. Erin doesn't. Simply inform that pupule Erin to take her $55 million prenuptial bonanza with her, and that she should get the heck out of your life, forever. With a fist pump. Foremost, had you been a lowly caddie on the PGA Tour, instead of a super star in the sporting world, Erin would never have spoken to you, much less married you. Before you married Erin, you were screwing every female that begged you on bended knees to autograph their butts. That's the life for you, and sex therapy won't cure your addiction, with perhaps, the exception that all your therapists are females in observance of doctor-patient privileges. It's only a matter of time before you'll revert back to the cheater that you always were. Look at it this way, if Erin didn't realize that you were screwing other women behind her back well before your 200th extramarital affair, she's one real stupid woman and a sure sign that you'll only end up having stupid kids to boot.

Yours truly,

RONW

Bacon Cheese Turtleburgers

"Ground beef pattie topped with cheese, wrapped in a bacon weave shell, with hot dog for head, legs and tail."

via This is why you're fat.

Stalled Traffic

the fire department was attending to a car crash up the street....which caused the usual backup.


And no, they didn't post traffic alert signs for motorists before that point, nor thought of diverting traffic until a block away.

Maui Potato Chips Night

$5.00 at Long's Drugs (CVS). The past few nights, it's been freezing. (more later)

Happy Mardi Gras

I was watching the municipal ducks paddling their way on the Ala Wai canal, when I happened to notice this coconut tree, half in shadow, half in sun light. The low angle of the afternoon sun casting a building's shadow onto the right side of the coconut tree. If you click on the pic to enlarge it, then right-click on the larger pic, a drop down list should appear. Clicking on "Properties" at the very bottom of list will show you the date that the photo was taken, along with the brand of camera used and so forth. If you post old photos, as opposed to "today's" photos, you might want to be aware of this. I don't think there's anything wrong with using older photos instead of never showing them at all. It's just that you wouldn't want to give the impression that dated photos were snapped just a few moments earlier.

Tennis courts at Kapiolani Park

Today and the Year of

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Saturday Upshifting

*toe shifter.



What you do is rest your heel on the motorbike's foot peg and in the same motion step down on the toe shifter to klunk the transmission into first gear. That's done with the sole of the shoe. However to up-shift, because you don't want to be riding around all day at 5mph, you finagle your toe "under" the toe shifter and lift up on the toe shifter.



Therein lies the rub. As the photo attests, work shoes don't fair well used as riding shoes. After a few thousand up-shifts, the toe shifter has gashed the leather hide layered over the steel toe. The question is whether I should pay to have the tear in the leather stitched up, or just buy a brand new pair of work shoes. It needs a resole also. But oh da comfortable.



I bought this neoprene "sock" today specifically designed to slip over a motobike's toe shifter. It's similar to a body glove that skin divers wear.

Sarah Palin Opproved This Message

Yesterday's Post

Happy Aloha Friday .... 11:27 pm, as it is. The reason that yesterday's post was left unfinished [more later] was dat I forgot all about it. I also have a bridge to sell you. Plus, a beleaguer the point. Would you direct your attention to the empty tin can of spaghetti sauce in the photo above. Usually when you open the lid of a can of canned goods, there's something in there. Yesterday there wasn't, metaphorically speaking.

(more later)

Toyota Recall

Some experts are claiming that the culprit behind the problems that Toyota has been experiencing with their gas pedals and brakes is electro-magnetic interference upon the computer chips and software that control these devices. It makes me wonder why then aren't other devices effected as well like rolling down windows and shutting off driving lights by the same stray electronic interferences. They're all controlled electronically somewhere down the line. Also, why wouldn't there be an onboard indicator whose only function is to detect the presence of rouge electro-magnetic interference. Once electro-magnetic interference is detected the watchdog indicator would signal the computer chips to over ride standard electronic operations and revert to a safe mode.

They built cars today with so much electronics controlling everything under the hood that it's not possible anymore to fix your own car without having to buy expensive electronic equipment whereas a simple wrench and a can of beer would make do in the past. At least to me, there's a lot of mystery surrounding the electronic controls in modern cars. Specifically, as to how well they were adapted to the conditions that a vehicle must endure from everyday driving like vibrations and temperature extremes. And the mental state of these miniature black boxes when they do stop working for whatever reasons. For example, I've done my own wiring on my motorbikes which often involves splicing in a relay onto the wires. There are equivalent electronic relays available from the automotive industry, however I always use a tried and true mechanical relay. If an electronic relay burns out it would stop working in the "on" state and whatever device it was relaying electricity to would stay on. Whereas, a mechanical relay would usually expire in an "off" state such that the specific device that the mechanical relay is wired to would stop getting electricity and cease operating without having to shift into neutral.

Walk Signs

I was cleaning out my photo files and I came across this photo that I took last month. The inspiration behind this particular photo was at that moment I had realized that count-down walk signs had been installed at just about every intersection around Waikiki without me being aware of it. Nothing of significance beyond dat. Did you get to see those news clips of Sarah Palin reading notes that she had pre-written on the palm of her hand while in the middle of her speech this weekend at the Tea Party convention? I believe she was denouncing Obama for over-relying on the teleprompter when he gave his speeches. Betcha. Who else would do a thing like dis but Sarah Palin. It's tantamount to a political on-side kick that didn't work. Excuse me dear reader, while I check my own palm. From now on, if I should run across ideas worth blogging about throughout my day, I'll be sure to scribble them down on my palm. Then, when I'm at the keyboards, I won't ever again forget what it was that I was trying to remember.

This Saturday

So much for Snowmageddon, the blizzard hitting the mid-atlantic states. Who dat, whoo, or something of that nature. Ain't a thing I can do about it. For the record, I've never even been in snow myself. Tomorrow the Super Bowl.  Be watching for the Tiger Woods' tv advertisement in which he makes an apology to his pupule wife.



Mostly you see people riding their rinky dinky mopeds. This is a pleasant change of scenery. Especially since newer mopeds like these don't produce loud annoying sounds from their exhaust pipes. Also, when I'm on my motorbike riding behind a moped, I cannot begin to tell you how much unburned fuel is emitted from the older model mopeds just from the smell of things. Essentially raw pollution. Imagine the situation in countries where mopeds are the vehicle of choice. Something about 2-stroke engines won't be allowed on brand new mopeds in the US after this year. I think it was this year. Mopeds will be required to have more energy efficient and quieter 4-stroke engines.



If you look closely, there are two parakeets in the picture. When I asked permission from the sidewalk vender to take their photo, she reluctantly agreed. She doesn't have any idea who the heck I am. Does she? But dear reader, you do. Me, the world renowned photographer. I wasn't going bite the parakeets or talk to them. At any rate, apparently they are her biggest salesmen on the floor.



I simply can't say enough about these people.



Nice shady spot on the grassed-in area on the beach.



I've been meaning to mention that this may be the best internet cafe in Waikiki. It's located in a sorta-satellite post office in the International Market Place in the middle of everything. The odds are that you wouldn't find it unless you knew of it. It's on the second floor above the tourist shops.



The hourly rates are reasonable and their chairs are plush.



As I was saying, the internet cafe is located on the second floor. Kitty corner and upstairs from the Waikiki retail outlet of Hank's Haute chicago-style hot dogs, which you can see through the window.



You walk up the stairs shown in the right of the photo to get there. End of tour. 



P.S., the home stretch on Waikiki's glorious Ala Wai canal. Actually, a moat excavated to keep the tourists from wreaking havoc on da rest of Honolulu.