Saturday, February 27, 2010

Hawaii Tsunami

We're supposed to get a series of tsunamis later this morning. Supposed to hit Hilo on the Big Island around 11:00, here shortly thereafter. Several decades back Hilo was wiped out by a tsunami, so instead of rebuilding the waterfront, it is now a park. Somebody took the long view.

I found out from a neighbor on my way to the swap meet at 5:20. Not many sellers at the swap so I came home, on the way picked up some extra cash at the ATM (we already have an emergency cash reserve so this was likely redundant but it made me feel better) dropped off a couple books at the library, picking up some manapua at the bakery, and was going to top off the gas in the truck but the line was about 30 cars long so not worth the wait as I had almost 3/4 tank.

We are fairy well prepped for earthquakes and hurricanes so a tsunami is pretty well covered as well. We are miles inland and 400 feet up, so no direct effect on us from a big wave. Anyway, we have all the standard already stashed: food & camp stove, water, meds, lights, cash, tools, defensive paraphernalia, tarps, hand cranked radios. With several days warning we would do a few more things, but not likely worth the trouble for this. We're doing laundry and topping off the cell phones in case the power goes off- the power plant is by Pearl Harbor.

UPDATE: It turned out to be no big thing here. There will undoubtedly be vociferous attacks on the civil defense people for getting everyone worried and disrupting siestas and business - the latter quite true-- but this is one of those times being careful is better than not. Some people complained bitterly after the earthquake a few years ago: the electrical grid shut down automaticly to prevent catastrophic damage, and Oahu was without power for about 14 hours. It seems the switches may have tripped too easily, but the flip side was that if they hadn't tripped easily enough, we might have been without power for months.

And the 4 people in the Robinson Crusoe Islands aka Juan Fernandez Islands could have used more warning- at least four people died there today.

Now, about Anthropogenic Global Warming...

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Friday, February 26, 2010

Federal Government "poses an immediate threat "

Fifty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they think the federal government's become so large and powerful that it to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. Forty-four percent of those polled disagree.

The survey indicates a partisan divide on the question: only 37 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Independents and nearly 7 in 10 Republicans say the federal government poses a threat to the rights of Americans.
So why don't Americans vote like they think the federal government is a threat? There seems to be a conceptual disconnect: They keep voting for more government control.

Or maybe they think rights and freedoms should be wiped out...

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