What have we learned from this storm. (Iselle)

[okedokey]

99 cent solar lights from Walmart can light the house all night! Need a propane BBQ! With a side burner for hot water for coffee and tea. Freezing blocks of ice in preparation can keep the freezer and fridge cold for days. It's time for me to get a smart phone

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by David M

"how many people obviously spent hundreds or thousands of dollars jacking up their truck and now drive it to the aid station..."

Wonder if they or any vehicle could be outfitted with a small inverter, enough to be of benefit?

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We ran our fridge and TV off an inverter connected to a deep cycle battery when we got sick of listening to the generator, and when we fired up the generator we recharged the battery, but if you don't have a deep cycle you can you use your regular car battery so long as the vehicle is running.

A good inverter that can be hooked to a car is a lot cheaper than a generator (and easier to lug around), but will probably not start a catchment pump.

[kalakoa]

A good inverter ... will probably not start a catchment pump

A backup 12V water pump seems like an obvious solution...

The storm teaches us that albizzia are dangerously unstable in high wind, and that the power grid is fragile. Given that these facts were known before the storm, and nothing was done about them, I suggest that we have learned nothing.

[Rob Tucker]

Kalakoa, I continue to be impressed with how your cynicism is actually matched by facts on the ground.

My guess is that our local government will make every effort to gain every possible dollar from the feds with some degree of success at which time we will see the failure of the Trickle Down Theory in action. For every $5 in federal aid 50 cents will land in Puna in a somewhat useful way.... and nothing much will be appreciably different ten years from now.

[Royall]

I agree with that Rob... They will get a bunch of money from the feds and then use most of it up doing "studies" More money is wasted that way... Just keeps the county payroll up and funded with nothing gained.

[amf217]

Sad statement Rob but a true one. I am sure there will be numberous committees formed to study the problems, which will result in pages of reports and zero action.

I like it here in the shallow end of the gene pool

[Kelena]

I've learned:

1. That beautiful, peaceful ocean that I just can't take my eyes off of has another side to it.
2. Who my island friends are.
3. Trouble comes in threes.
4. A hurricane is what they say it is and we don't know for sure what this was because all of the local meteorologists are kinda islandy if you know what I mean and I think you do.
5. HELCO hates the people that live on my stretch of Paradise Ala Kai, although they should be sending us flowers. Pools fund HELCO retirements.
6. Oceanic Time Warner Cable is very serious about customer service.
7. You can never have too much water or containers to store it in. We all need those things that they used to put on the back of Jeeps.
8. I'm having an interesting life but I am starting to crave boredom.
9. If I am unplugged from the Matrix, I tend to do very useful things that require skill and concentration which I don't usually enjoy because when I retired I was a little burnt out and overloaded, like a generator that is trying to do just a little too much.
10. Mighty Mouse won't actually save you. He will just text you to to make sure you aren't dead.
11. Generators are good, but solar yard lights and candles and hurricane lamps (thank you, Carey) are nice if you don't have a generator and even if you do, because generators can only handle so much.
12. Playing an out-of-tune piano by candlelight at the end of a virtually vacant peninsula is very spooky and not particularly good for your mental health, which is an important priority in Puna.
13. I have great neighbors and so do most of you.
14. People are not very sanitation-minded when they thrust their filthy receptacles into the spigots of Wai Puna. Get a friggin' hose.
15. There should be an organized, concerted effort to eliminate all albizias and ironwoods. Anyone with these on the property that abuts a powerline should be ordered to abate them within a reasonable period of time or should lose it through eminent domain, exercise for the safety of the public.
16. I ain't ascared.
17. Part of me misses my ex-partner who, although quite imperfect, is the guy most likely to save you when the water comes up to your beveled glass French doors.
18. Billy Kenoi is a workhorse, and not a showhorse.
19. The guy who owns Ali'i Ice should be shunned for the rest of his natural born days.
20. Had this been a storm on the level of Katrina, I would not be writing this.
21. My utter inability or desire to cook has an upside.

[Lee M-S]

1) you are not alone
2) misery loves company

I learned both of these a couple days after the storm. I'd been feeling sorry for myself for having no power AND being powerless, convinced everyone else was having a better time of it. Then I went out and talked to people and discovered that everybody else was struggling, too--and that, perversely, made me feel better.

Oh, and I also learned that I should clean out my fridge and freezer more often. Yikes, what a load of crud in there!

><(((*> ~~~~ ><(("> ~~~~ ><'> ~~~~ >(>

[malolo]

What have I learned?
I've re-learned what I guess I knew all along:

One can do with Less..
...in fact, one should make a definite point to, always, every single day.

...and 99.999 percent of the population is not only Good...
...they're way beyond incredible.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

If what kalakoa, and Rob, and Royall say is true, that any government money for albezia eradication will go down the proverbial lava tube, then it would be a good time for persons with a moderate interest in government, and a great interest in the environment and ridding Puna of albezia trees, to start planning a run for the two Puna council seats or our state senate seat.

If that candidate were to make it clear that albezia eradication was a priority, they would receive campaign contributions from HELCO, Hawaiian Telcom, Oceanic TIme Warner, as well as environmental groups who would like to see native trees replace the albezia.

It's a rare opportunity when business and the environment have the same interest and priority.

Or, the three elected officials from Puna could work together to see that it gets done. Because they would not only have the backing of business and environmentalists on this issue, but every resident who went without a fan, fridge, or running water this past week as well.