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Just another day in paradise - until 8:08am
01-13-2018, 10:57 PM
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#1
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,914
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Just another day in paradise - until 8:08am
DW had a training session to attend this AM at 6:30 (don't ask.) I had to take her since we had an estate planning seminar to attend right afterward. At 8:08AM, everyone's phone on the Island lit up with this message:
BALLISTIC MISSLE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
If you've ever been to Hawaii, you'll realize there aren't a lot of underground areas to seek shelter (hey, it's a rock!). So we hung out in an interior hallway. Several folks off the street came in and joined us (a group of bike riders and some folks working on the building.) Within minutes, the phone lines on the Island were tied up, so no info was getting through.
Within a couple of minutes, I got bored and went to listen to the radio in the car. KSSK is one of our "official" emergency radio stations, and they were just playing music as were all the others (or sports, talk, etc.). No sirens sounded, so I figured pretty quickly we were looking at a false alarm.
However, KSSK didn't even mention the event until after 8:30AM IIRC. They finally came on and said it was a false alarm. At about 8:42, the same emergency system sent another message that the alert was false. KSSK pointed out that the phone system (including their "special" lines) were down due to all the phone traffic on the Island. They could not get confirmation for quite some time due to this problem of phone traffic.
Lots of stuff on the radio, local media, all the major national news outlets within an hour. I don't much care about the details at this time as I'm sure the story will shift until the full truth rises to the top.
Just thought you'd find this interesting, but YMMV.
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -
Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
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01-13-2018, 11:09 PM
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#2
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Dryer sheet wannabe
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Arvada
Posts: 14
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That was crazy, I just heard about it on my way into work. Checked a little bit, looks like human error at the government office that sent out the message.
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01-13-2018, 11:11 PM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
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You seem pretty calm. This would have scared the hell out of me, given what has been going on with North Korea lately.
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01-14-2018, 01:41 AM
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#4
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Western Maryland
Posts: 926
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DW and I are on the Big Island scouting it for possible retirement. I was on the golf course when the alarm was sounded. DW spent the next several minutes trying to calm the older lady in the downstairs unit and contacting our daughters trying to get a read on the reality of the situation. Not a good way to start the day. Later, when I asked the group of guys I was golfing with, "What is the one thing that you don't like about living on the Big Island?" One guy responded, "it's within North Korean missile range."😁
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01-14-2018, 01:55 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,914
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Not to be too flip about this incident, but my big concern was "What if I survive - then what?" Ground zero seems like a pretty good way to go, but again, YMMV.
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -
Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
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01-14-2018, 04:47 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8,417
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I try not to believe much of anything I see on my phone/internet/TV/newspaper.
Every snowstorm in New England brings warnings of death, destruction and 'end of life as we know it' from the local news folks, so maybe I've just gotten numb.
__________________
Living well is the best revenge!
Retired @ 52 in 2005
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01-14-2018, 06:18 AM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,232
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjquantz
DW and I are on the Big Island scouting it for possible retirement. I was on the golf course when the alarm was sounded. DW spent the next several minutes trying to calm the older lady in the downstairs unit and contacting our daughters trying to get a read on the reality of the situation. Not a good way to start the day. Later, when I asked the group of guys I was golfing with, "What is the one thing that you don't like about living on the Big Island?" One guy responded, "it's within North Korean missile range."😁
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DW and I are heading to the Big Island in 17 days. We are going to spend the month of February there. I was in Kauai for a short week 30+ years ago, and DW has never been to any of the Hawaiian Islands before. Her daughter is jealous that we are going, and was the one to tell us about the alarm. She suggested we cancel our trip. I hope she was joking.
I hope you will share with the FIRE community on a thread, how your time on Hawaii went, what you learned, etc etc.
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01-14-2018, 06:35 AM
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#8
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,232
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Oh my goodness. Immediately after I posted my above post, DW's aforementioned daughter called, and she is serious. She seriously thinks we should cancel our trip because of a false alarm. I'm going to have to have a talk with her. She's a great person, and we have a good relationship. I think we need to talk.(headslap emoji goes here)
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01-14-2018, 06:37 AM
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#9
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,232
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Koolau, I do have a serious question for you. Just wondering, how does one tell the difference between an incoming nuclear missile alarm (which I would ignore) and a tsunami alarm (which I would not ignore)?
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01-14-2018, 07:13 AM
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#10
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gone traveling
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,375
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelover
This would have scared the hell out of me, given what has been going on with North Korea lately.
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Exactly.
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01-14-2018, 07:40 AM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,232
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In 4th grade my teacher at a Catholic Parochial school, during the Cuban Missile Crisis advised us that if we saw a flash in the sky, we should crawl under our desks. We all know that nothing will protect you in a nuclear blast like a 4th grade desk. What she should have said was " if you see a flash in the sky, you will have about 3 seconds to be happy, because you will soon be with God in Heaven"...
Being a member of the Cold War Generation (aka "Baby Boomers"), if I had been smart enough to know what the heck was going on with the sirens and everything, I probably would have thought "son of a bitch. This is really happening. " Maybe I would have had the moment to reflect on the irony of just happening to be in Hawaii, at just the wrong time. And since I have a tendency to think of totally inappropriate things that only I find funny, I probably would have thought about that 4th grade desk, and how nice it would be if I could crawl underneath it.
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01-14-2018, 07:59 AM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,296
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelover
You seem pretty calm. This would have scared the hell out of me, given what has been going on with North Korea lately.
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No shizzz... It seemed like most of the air was gone from my lungs just reading Koolau's post.
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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01-14-2018, 08:06 AM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,659
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That's my plan in the event of attack. Break into the elementary school and crawl under a desk!
Seriously, I'll bet there's a ton of valuable real-world experience to be gained from the Hawaii "experiment." Thanks Koolau, for participating.
Horrible for those involved, but I hope some good does come from it.
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01-14-2018, 08:07 AM
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#14
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,126
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HadEnuff
Koolau, I do have a serious question for you. Just wondering, how does one tell the difference between an incoming nuclear missile alarm (which I would ignore) and a tsunami alarm (which I would not ignore)?
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From what I read the message seemed to be clear, but I don’t really know.
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
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01-14-2018, 08:10 AM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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I have a theory that it was not really a mistake, but a drill.
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01-14-2018, 08:18 AM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh
I have a theory that it was not really a mistake, but a drill.
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Perhaps in a way, but saying it was false afterwards sets people up to ignore it.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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01-14-2018, 08:20 AM
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#17
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,126
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh
I have a theory that it was not really a mistake, but a drill.
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Incompetence is a more likely answer imo
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...e_iOSApp_Other
Quote:
Hawaii governor David Ige told CNN the false alarm was caused by human error. “It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the change over of a shift, and an employee pushed the wrong button,” he said.
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Maybe they will now follow standard practices and have such emergency buttons with a cover so that it takes 2 deliberate actions to push it.
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
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01-14-2018, 08:27 AM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
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Don’t you think it’s weird that this has never happened before Kim Jong Un started making threats?
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01-14-2018, 08:34 AM
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#19
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Santa Paula
Posts: 4,076
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HadEnuff
DW and I are heading to the Big Island in 17 days. We are going to spend the month of February there. I was in Kauai for a short week 30+ years ago, and DW has never been to any of the Hawaiian Islands before. Her daughter is jealous that we are going, and was the one to tell us about the alarm. She suggested we cancel our trip. I hope she was joking.
I hope you will share with the FIRE community on a thread, how your time on Hawaii went, what you learned, etc etc.
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Attached are a couple of stories about what we did on Kauai, Oahu and Maui. We will be cruising to the islands later this year.
We are happy to answer any questions
__________________
Retired Jan 2009 Have not looked back.
AA 60/35/5 considering SS and pensions a SP annuity
WR 2% with 2SS & 2 Pensions
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01-14-2018, 08:35 AM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49
Posts: 7,677
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Well the State Department should send out a travel advisory to immediately discontinue all travel to the US.
(From Keith in Mexico!)
__________________
For the fun of it...Keith
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