Illin’ & Chillin’ 2026

The first suspicious omen was a rapid series of sneezes during the workout at the gym on Saturday afternoon. Sneezing ten consecutive times is not normal. Later that evening, a sore throat developed. The pain increased steadily such that sleep was impossible. A supply of Up&Up® Severe Throat Drops is always kept on hand. However, the latter barely reduced the pain. Another bout with “COVID” … err, the common cold?

Fatigue was the theme for Sunday. The workout at the gym was laborious. The sore throat continued throughout the day. Once back in Waikiki, the decision was made to purchase Cēpacol® Extra Strength throat lozenges at Target®. During the checkout, the point-of-sale terminal stopped the purchase and requested ID (to be verified by an employee). Since ID was not carried to the store, the employee confiscated the product. ID for cough drops? What kind of bullshit is this? So, another sleepless night ensued with the Up&Up® throat lozenges again offering little relief.

On Monday morning, the fatigue was severe. Nonetheless, the regular itinerary was not cancelled. A reduced workout at the gym was planned. During the morning stopover at Ala Moana Center at 9am, an asshole carelessly drove through the pedestrian crosswalk which was clearly marked by red stop signs. After nearly being run over by the dickhead, an atrial fibrillation (AFib) event was triggered. Peak heart rate was 147bpm.

The duration of the AFib event was exactly six hours. It ended at 3pm while sitting on the Room Essentials® dish chair in the mausoleum in the “old folks home. The AFib events had continued through the extremely reduced workout at the gym, and the early bus ride back to Waikiki. The sore throat had gradually abated throughout the day, although a “runny nose” replaced the latter..

Foolishly, the latest updates for iOS and WatchOS were downloaded and installed using the free wireless networks in Ala Moana Center and the gym (even though the AFib event was raging). The MacOS update for the MacBook Neo was done later on Monday evening in the mausoleum. The ability to update the Neo using the iPhone personal hotspot was a pleasant surprise. Why was it not able to do that for the last few updates?

Tuesday was a normal day. Quality of sleep was better, although nasal congestion and the need to constantly expel the mucus caused multiple disruptions. The Up&Up® throat lozenges are also used as a nasal decongestant because of its active ingredient, menthol. Unfortunately, repeat dosages must be two hours apart. The gym workout returned to normal.

Chronic “runny nose” developed by evening. The nasal mucus had be expelled every ten minutes, which raised concerns about extreme nasal congestion while attempting to sleep. The idea of making a special trip to Longs® in Ala Moana Center was briefly entertained. The purpose? Procure a bottle of Sudafed (pseudoephedrine HCl) decongestant. Instead, the emergency stick of Vicks® VapoInhaler® was located and deployed along with the Up&Up® throat lozenges. The nasal congestion and “runny nose” ceased until Wednesday morning. Then, the next phase, post-nasal drip, and resultant coughing commenced.

Both Wednesday and Thursday were more of the same … “runny nose,” drowsiness, mild post-nasal drip, and coughing. No aches, muscle cramps, or headaches this time. Most likely, the latter symptoms will persist for up to three weeks. The aforementioned mitigations will continue for the duration of the illin’ event. The end of the ordeal will be posted later in Notes for the record.

The weather made an abrupt change on Wednesday with mild precipitation and occasional heavy rain showers. By the way, public transit is even worse during inclement weather, with numerous cancellations on multiple routes. The cancellations are already intolerable on good days.

The Beats® Studio Pro headphones are being deployed almost daily. After each use, the device is folded and put back into its travel case. The Studio Pro headphones are very flimsy. The build quality is mediocre at best. So, folding and unfolding the device is likely to cause cracks in the plastic headband and the hinges. The device will then be discarded.

The Music Player “app” was installed on the iPhone 16 Pro subsequent to auditioning the latter, Foobar2000, and VLC. Music Player was the most simple with the smallest “footprint,” although it uses Liquid Glass elements. The media player incorporated in the Files “app” was sufficient, but file management is not possible when the media player is running.

Addendum: Another symptom of the common cold, phlegm, emerged on Friday. The post-nasal drip has ramped up. At least the rain has passed. Weather is now nice and sunny.

Club Epstein Music Break

Enjoy another mix by Hypnotic Progressions on Club Epstein from the Deep House Cat Show archives. The “Shock to the System” House Party on Club Epstein. Listen through the first week of October.

Flummox 2026

On Sunday, an attempt was made to schedule an appointment for the renewal of the Hawai’i driver’s license before the expiration on Ol’ Lavahead Day. Alas, the earliest appointment is during the second week of January next year. Obviously, the license will have expired by then. What kind of chicanery is this?

Another atrial fibrillation (AFib) event occurred on Thursday at 12:25pm, right in the middle of the first part of the cardio workout at the gym. The chaotic heart rate was almost unnoticeable, so the cardio workout was actually completed. However, the second part of the cardio workout was scuttled. A quick return to Waikiki was made shortly afterward since there were no bus route cancellations. Peak heart rate was 139bpm.

The ordeal ended at 4:25pm, exactly four hours in duration, upon return to the mausoleum in the “old folks home” after the usual brief afternoon shopping outing to Target® in the International Marketplace. A bottle of BodyArmor® Lyte was procured and consumed during the trek. At this point in time, there is no reason to believe that the sport drink caused a return to normal heartbeats. In addition, there is no identifiable trigger. An AFib event is just a pathetic random occurrence.

New HRV Data Plot

Subsequent to the iOS 27 and WatchOS 27 updates, the HRV data in the Health “app” has changed significantly. Compare to the HRV data depicted in the Notes post titled, “Anatomy of Atrial Fibrillation.” How are all of those data points possible? The Watch Series 9 only samples heart rate (hence, HRV) every 15 minutes or so. Only the new Watch models are able to sample every six seconds. Perhaps the data will be resolved differently in the new Health “app” coming in the iOS 27.1 update.

The local bank is undergoing major changes, the majority of which will take effect late next month. The bank is losing its local flavor as evidenced by the fact that it now operates under the State of California legal regime. Many of the perks for the personal checking account are being rescinded. Time to transfer everything to a different bank?

The fire alarm systems in both buildings in the “old folks home” will be completely renovated next Monday. The false alarms that have occurred randomly for years were obviously triggered by faulty equipment.

The new Beats® 360 headphones debuted on Thursday. Many people were able to purchase the $350 headphones for $200 at Target® (allegedly a “glitch” in pricing). Many complaints have surfaced concerning a noticeable background hiss. There is no personal interest in acquiring the new headphones. The Studio Pro headphones in possession are currently getting more use anyway, and there’s no background hiss.

Addendum: The gym workouts, particularly the cardio segment, is proving to be quite fatiguing. Over-exertion may now be an issue.

Miscellany: The deranged Caligula-like performance in the United Nations this week by “Orange Bad Man” was an utter embarrassment. No comments are necessary. The grotesque spectacle is a testament unto itself.

5 Kawak 12 Ch’en

After a seven-week hiatus, a major atrial fibrillation (AFib) event occurred on Wednesday commencing at 5:15pm upon return to the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki after the usual outing to Target® in the International Marketplace. The walk was nearly unbearable because of the current heatwave. Peak heart rate was 138bpm. No trigger has been identified, although dehydration is a distinct possibility. One of the emergency bottles of BodyArmor® Lyte was consumed to no avail. The duration of the event was 5.25 hours. Well, back to “Square One” with this latest setback.

The fire alarms in the building at the “old folks home” has gone rogue. Two instances occurred on Sunday, the latest being 9:30pm. On Monday, the alarm went off at 4am. On Tuesday, 4:30pm was the recorded time. The Fire Department usually arrives about 30 minutes after the alarm first sounds. In the past, the incidents were attributed to residents cooking (read: burning) food with their doors open. However, the latest incidents apparently implicated random residents on the fifth floor who not cooking or smoking cigarettes. Thus, the alarm system itself is malfunctioning. Well, at least the false alarms allowed for chats with neighbor Ignacio.

The mystery of the missing neighbor at the “old folks home” has been solved, but the story is somewhat tragic. According to Ignacio, the neighbor is apparently in the hospital and has been there for almost three months. He will not be returning to the “old folks home” upon release. Instead, he will be transported to an assisted care facility.

The workaround using Always On Display has been successful. The iPhone 16 Pro now responds properly. The problem with Dark Mode for the “app” icons was also solved. The only new issue is that system indexing has stalled at 33% since Tuesday. And, after some research, the discovery was made that most Apple® Intelligence features can be disabled in individual “app” settings. Siri AI features can be curtailed through Screen Time, or by not joining the current waitlist.

Well, the highlight of the week has been the free renewal of the Target® Circle 360® annual membership ($100 value). The offer appeared in the “app” (on-line account) just three days before the expiration. Wheee!

On a dark note, the “shock to the system” seems to be imminent. Diesel and aviation fuel prices have been rising significantly. There’s no telling when the “tipping point” will occur. Just bring it on already!

Miscellany: The only excitement in the mausoleum is surprising the cockroaches at night and shuffling the varmints into the garbage disposal for a grinding demise.

Addendum: The waitlist for Siri AI has been joined for both the iPhone 16 Pro and the MacBook Neo. The AI bullshit is already “baked in,” the decision is essentially moot.

Surprise & Shinola

All of the updates for Apple® products were made available on Monday morning. Needless to say, the whole day was spent downloading and installing iOS, MacOS, WatchOS, and new AirPods firmware. The iOS 27 update was mostly accomplished through iPhone cellular data. The MacOS 27 update for the MacBook Neo was initiated using the free wireless network in the Makai Market food court in Ala Moana Center. After an hour, only one-sixth of the huge file was downloaded. The WatchOS 27 update was partly downloaded there, and the remainder was downloaded during the workout at the gym.

The thought of having to transport the MacBook Neo to Ala Moana Center and carry it around all day for six consecutive days was regarded as foolish. So, a trip was made to the Apple® Store in Ala Moana Center on Monday afternoon. The MacOS update was downloaded within an hour, and the installation was performed upon arrival at the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki. Serious consideration is being given to divest the Neo when the trade-in option becomes available early next year.

The iOS update appeared to be successful. However, later in the evening, a few “bugs” made themselves manifest. The dark mode for “app” icons is no longer functional. And, worse, Tap To Wake became sporadic. About half of the time, the iPhone 16 Pro would not respond. Pressing every button randomly for two or more minutes would finally revive the device. Even putting the device on charge did nothing. The only two possible workarounds were … one, disable the lock screen … or, two, enable Always On Display mode. In other words, the display cannot be allowed to sleep as the iPhone could easily be “bricked.” For security reasons, the latter option was chosen. Overall, a very pathetic situation.

To add insult to injury, the toggle to disable all Apple® Intelligence features was removed. The AI bullshit is now completely “baked in” for all devices. The only feature that can be disabled is Siri AI (for now) by not joining the wait list. Well, that’s the culmination of the Apple® “Surprise and Shine!” event. Very disappointing surprises. No shine.

Addendum: The new three-band equalizer for AirPods was auditioned. The goal was to simulate the “sizzle” of the Beats® Studio Pro headphones. The result? “Close, but no cigar.” Actually, the equalizer is just a more granular version of the Headphone Accommodations pre-set equalizations.

Postscript: The term, “ always on display,” is misleading. The display shuts off under certain conditions. However, some of the sensors remain active continuously. The tradeoff is battery drain of about 2% for every eight hours of inactivity.

Fuck It Friday - 37

Ansarallah

Fuck It Friday! Sporadic news and commentary of no interest to anyone ... September 11th edition. Yes, this is Fuck It Friday!

Well, September 11th is here. All of the alternative Web sites are publishing elaborate content about the deadly hoax that comprised the fateful day. The legacy journal discussed the issue ad nauseam, so there’s no need to rehash any personal opinion. Fuck it!

What is of relevant interest, though, is the strong offensive that was launched a couple of days ago by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF, primarily Ansarallah) against the Saudi-backed proxy government forces (read: mercenaries). Ansarallah has now gained control over the city of Mokha and the Port of Al-Ardhi, effectively nullifying the Saudi naval blockade. The YAF has also seized Zuqar Island (and Mayyun Island amongst others), which means that Ansarallah now has total control over the Strait of Bab al-Mandab. The Saudi East-West oil pipeline has been shut down after the facility was targeted by multiple drone strikes. Currently, the source of those strikes is alleged to be the Iraqi Resistance. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabian oil exports are now close to zero. Fuck it!

The effects of the Ramadan War continue to ripple through the Levant. The foolish and illegal war launched by “Orange Bad Man” and Benzion “Butcher of Gaza” Mileikowsky has redrawn the map of the Levant, and has now effected the closures of the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab. Prior to the war, both were fully open to maritime traffic. What exactly were the two war criminals thinking? They really “fucked up.” Fuck it!

The Apple® “Surprise and Shine!” event has come and gone. There was little personal interest in the event or the new products. The price hikes alone made the event unpalatable. Of course, the iOS and MacOS updates are slated to arrive next Monday. Fuck it!

The heatwave continues in the islands with the trade winds returning on Friday. Humidity has been extremely high since the passing of the two hurricanes. The air conditioner in the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki must be run continuously during occupancy. Fuck it!

All of the laundry rooms in both buildings of the “old folks home” now feature new washers and dryers. The appliances no longer accept coins. Several cashless payment methods will be available. Thus, the personal stash of quarters was deposited in the local bank account on Thursday. Fuck it!

The Cologuard® test results were negative. So, more good health news for now. Hopefully, the reduction in foods containing vegetable oil will yield many more positive health outcomes. Of course, no one believes the claim that vegetable oil is deadly. Discussing the latter with the usual rank-and-file peons will only result in “raised eyebrows.” Fuck it!

On the topic of vegetable oil, Karl Denninger claims that he no longer suffers from sunburn (when outside for an extended period of time) after completely removing vegetable oil from his diet. Although anecdotal, his claim is entirely credible. Fuck it!

Addendum: The best analysis of the extremely successful Ansarallah offensive appeared on the PressTV site. Note that the URL domain is different because the site certificate was revoked by certain “Western” regimes.

Slave Labor Day 2026

Waiting for Hurricane Lowell

The appointment at the dermatology clinic was scheduled for Wednesday last week (on the advice of the attending physician at the Ohua Clinic). Minor rain showers wreaked havoc with public transportation. Nonetheless, the trek was made to town with ample time to drop off the gym bag at the gym and alight the Route 4 bus to the Queen’s Hospital physicians’ office buildings complex at the top of the hill.

After completing the usual paperwork, about 30 minutes elapsed after the scheduled appointment time. The consultation with the dermatologist spanned about four minutes. He examined the (former) skin lesion and declared that it was benign. No full body inspection was offered. Medical “quackery,” you think? The appointment will have an out-of-pocket cost of $40 at the least. The brevity of the appointment did not warrant a dedicated Notes post.

The MacBook Neo was unboxed about a week ago to perform the latest MacOS updates. However, the Neo failed to list any updates and indicated that MacOS was up-to-date. Something was not right. So, on Friday of last week, the Neo was prepared for transport in the Under Armor® backpack (originally procured for the iPad Pro M4). The over at the Makai Market food court in Ala Moana Center was dedicated to exploiting the free wireless network to download the update. And, had the update fail again, a short walk to the Apple® Store to consult the Genius Bar was the planned contingency.

Fortunately, the update and installation was completed, albeit slowly, with no problems. Of course, the situation is quite fluid, given that future MacOS updates may require frequent transporting of the MacBook Neo to Ala Moana Center. There’s no indication about why the tethering to the iPhone 16 Pro no longer functions. Perhaps the divestiture of the iPad was a mistake. Is the time ripe to divest the Neo?

Gym workouts remain consistent. The focus on the cardio portion of the workout has been successful. Time on the elliptical machine has been currently set to a total of a 50 minute ceiling for both parts. An average of 120 strides per minute has been attained. The former lamentation about the inability to “break a sweat” is now moot.

Brief (i.e., 1.5 seconds or less) atrial fibrillation (AFib) and single instance notched T-wave events have been occurring more frequently and randomly. There have been no major AFib events since July 20th. Once again, the only change has been the steep reduction of foods containing vegetable oil.

There has been nothing to do and nowhere to go in the evenings. The idea of dining out was entertained, but reality quickly prevailed. There’s no way of knowing the actual ingredients of any menu selections. Most likely, there’s a lot of sodium, sugar, and vegetable oils. Sadly, the personal restrictions on those particular ingredients rules out dining at all establishments.

Bars, nightclubs, and theaters are of no interest. The associated costs are beyond the personal budget. That only leaves shopping. Well, there’s no more interest in wasting money on useless junk. There’s plenty of useless crap lying around in the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki. Frankly, sitting in the Room Essentials® dish chair all night is akin to a slow death. Well, that’s modern life, eh?

The mausoleum is currently infested with small cockroaches. The roaches migrate from other units on the same floor. That’s why the varmints know the exact layout of the kitchen. The lights in the mausoleum are off all evening. Every hour or so, the light in the range hood is activated to surprise the roaches. The varmints are awkwardly shuffled into the garbage disposal in the sink. Roaches versus garbage disposal … guess who wins? Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

The neighbor directly across the hallway from the mausoleum is still MIA. No one knows his whereabouts. One of the maintenance guys had entered the unit a few weeks ago to troubleshoot the fire alarm. Foul play is now suspected, even if self-inflicted.

The neighbor was a quiet man, a loner. He did not socialize with other tenants, and he was never accompanied by family or friends. Hmm, sounds familiar, eh? Perhaps he was disillusioned by having residence in the middle of a huge shopping mall. He may have chosen a hasty exodus (sans all personal possessions) to a new life in a new land.

Another no-holiday holiday, Slave Labor Day, has come and gone. The Summer season is officially over. Hurricane Lowell is moving Northward and will pass the West end of the Hawai’ian island chain without making landfall. Moderate rain is expected. Otherwise, same itinerary. Same ol’ shit. Could be worse, though.

Addendum: A pint of Häagen-Dazs® strawberry ice cream was purchased on Saturday, the first one in a very long time. Häagen-Dazs® is true ice cream, not a “frozen dessert.” It is also the only ice cream that does not list any vegetable oils in its ingredients. Saturated fat and sugar are not a problem in moderation.

Unexciting Stories - 10

Unexciting stories … sporadic news and commentary of no interest to anyone. Mundanity is always the primary focus. Let the unexcitement begin …

Tropical Storm Moke completely bypassed the islands. No rainfall, and no gusty winds. The heatwave, however, continues unabated. The air conditioner in the mausoleum in the “old folks home” in Waikiki runs continuously upon arrival from town in the afternoon until the next morning,

A new Cologuard® colon cancer screening kit was received on Monday. The samples were taken early Tuesday morning, boxed up, and dispatched to the UPS Store® in town. Will it be rejected again?

The skin cancer candidate has gone through a strange metamorphosis. Over the course of three days (commencing on Tuesday), the scaly aberration fell off in two pieces. Only the old man spot remains. The aberration did not look like a scab. Nor was there any observed injury to cause a scab to form. So, a message was dispatched to the attending physician at the Ohua Climic on Thursday to ask whether the dermatology appointment should be cancelled.

Quality of sleep degraded significantly commencing on Monday. The cause is unknown. However, spending so much time in the mausoleum has probably taken a toll on the psyche. The boredom would drive anyone “nuts.” There’s no real furniture. The decor is similar to a prison cell. Well, it’s a mausoleum.

The original factory box for the Cuisinart® microwave oven is still sitting on the floor next to the Room Essentials® dish chair in the mausoleum, almost a year since the latter was purchased. It serves as an end table of sorts. How much more pathetic can the mausoleum decor get?

All Proton services (VPN, mail, etc.) were down globally on Wednesday morning for several hours. That was a first for Proton. The cause was identified as a cooling failure at its Frankfurt data center. To its credit, Proton had all services operational by the evening.

Filter cleaning for the air conditioner in the mausoleum occurred on Thursday afternoon after the alert indicator lit up on the front panel the night before. The cooling radiator was also cleaned and vacuumed. The flow control grilles for the outflow duct were also removed. Lots of black crap was observed inside the appliance.

Previously, the assumption was that the latter comprised the accumulation of dirt and dust. Only a modest attempt was made to clean it. However, for some reason, this time the assumption was that the latter was actually black mold. So, a spray bottle of Up&Up® Cleaner + Bleach was procured for $3.50 (not on sale) at Target® during the afternoon outing. Sure enough, upon liberally spraying the entire outflow duct, the black crap disappeared. So, dangerous black mold was allowed to fester all this time. Sheesh!

Addendum: The latest time estimate for the inevitable “shock to the system” was upward revised to 30 days from now by reliable sources.

Admissions Day 2026

Another no-holiday holiday has come to pass with the usual minor inconveniences. This is Fuck It Friday (FIF) - Special Statehood Edition. Sporadic news and commentary of no interest to anyone. Fuck it!

The aftermath of Tropical Storm Lala lingers on. Many traffic lights in Waikiki were not functioning for three days. Debris and trash are still scattered everywhere. Public transit is a complete mess with an outrageous number of cancellations on vital routes. Oddly, bus routes that are popular with the tourists are always unaffected. Fuck it!

The elevator in the “old folks home” was out of service since the power outage on Sunday through Tuesday. Apparently, a mysterious part was broken and required replacement. Coming and going required climbing and descending eight flights of stairs. How were the other residents with walkers and motorized chairs being accommodated? The elevators in the other building were fine, by the way. Fuck it!

The annual recertification procedures for the “old folks home” will commence next month. Lots of paperwork. Lots of document submissions. At least two appointments are necessary to complete myriad forms. This is the state-of-art in bureaucracy. Fuck it!

A call was made on Monday to the dermatology clinic on the referral document. The earliest day available was September 2nd. The clinic is located in the furthest office building up a steep hill in the Queen’s Hospital complex. In the meantime, the skin cancer candidate is looking real bad. Fuck it!

The Cologuard® samples that were shipped for processing have been disqualified. A new Cologuard® kit is being dispatched. Fuck it!

The strange nightly dreams continue unabated. One recent dream included Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin in the all-star cast. Is that strange, or what? Fuck it!

The Beats® Studio Pro headphones and the MacBook Neo remain untouched in their original factory boxes. They are now officially classified as useless possessions. Fuck it!

Lifeway® kefir has been added to the approved food product list to substitute for Greek yogurt (when unavailable). Generic beef jerky (no preservatives) has also been added.

Tropical Storm Moke will pass further South of the islands than Hurricane Lala on Sunday. Some moderate rain and gusty winds are forecasted. Fuck it!

Miscellany: The last atrial fibrillation (AFib) event occurred on July 20th. There have been no AFib events since then. The notched t-wave arrhythmia occurs occasionally with a single instance rather than the previous extended sequence of alternating with normal heartbeats. The actual trigger for both afflictions is still undetermined. The only variable that has changed is the reduction of vegetable oil consumption.

Addendum: The possibility of suffering from atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) is questionable. Shortness of breath, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other cardiac symptoms are not showing. Elevated LDL cholesterol may be a symptom of inflammation rather than the cause. The previous bout with hypertension indicated the presence of inflammation. The first dietary modification cured hypertension. Now, will the reduction of vegetable oil consumption reduce “high” cholesterol?

Hurricane Lala

Hurricane Lala

Tropical Storm Lala was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it gained strength on approach to the Big Island. The cone predicted that the eye would pass just slightly South of the Big Island, and it did so by early Saturday afternoon (much earlier than expected. The outside circumference of the hurricane (where the strong winds and rain occur) has enveloped the entirety of the Big Island. Resultant flooding and heavy damage is expected.

Unlike the most recent hurricanes and tropical storms that passed North of the remaining islands, Hurricane Lala is expected to pass to the South and move Westward. Heavy rain and gusty winds are anticipated for the South shores. Honolulu (and Waikiki) on the island of O’ahu will be directly impacted.

On Saturday, gusty winds and minor precipitation was on-going all day and into the evening. Shopping for the necessary food products was accomplished early on Saturday afternoon during a quick outing to the International Marketplace. In case of extremely heavy rain, no outing will be required on Sunday afternoon.

There apparently was a power outage in Waikiki sometime before the return to Waikiki from town at 2:30pm. The duration of the outage was long enough to disable the booster water pump in the “old folks home.” Water pressure was reduced to a trickle. Dinner and the evening chores were expedited in anticipation of another power outage. Better safe than sorry.

Tourists were out in force, enjoying the hurricane weather. At Target®, they were stocking up on all kinds of snacks and beverages, no doubt to truly appreciate the impact of the hurricane when its effects arrive in Waikiki. Then, they will be able to boast to family and friends about surviving through a real hurricane. Wheee!

Ala Wai - Hurricane Lala - Saturday 7pm

The ambient temperature was 83^o F at 7pm. Extremely hot and humid. The gusty winds felt even hotter. Precipitation was mild. The wind and rain intensified with each passing hour, although heavy rain was not expected until after midnight. However, Hurricane Lala was downgraded to a tropical storm.

Another power outage occurred at 10:30pm. The strange part was that the outage only affected the two buildings of the “old folks home” in the entirety of Waikiki. Even more strange … the outage only affected one-half of each building. A call was made to the toll-free emergency maintenance hotline for the “old folks home.” No connection was possible. So, a call was made to Hawai’ian Electric and a report was filed.

Heavy rain commenced at about 3am. The windows in the mausoleum had to remain closed as the gusty winds randomly directed the rain toward the windows. Without air conditioning, the tomb became intolerably hot and stuffy. Sleep was impossible. At 5am, another call was made to the emergency maintenance hotline for the “old folks home.” A useless report about the power outage was filed upon connection.

Public transit service was suspended at 8pm on Saturday and continued through Sunday morning. Many Waikiki employees whose shift ended later were most likely left stranded. Bus service was scheduled to commence after 8am on Sunday.

The power outage forced the purging of refrigerated food products at 7:30am on Sunday, although that was five hours later than food safety regulations. Frozen food products are slated for purging between 10:30am and 12:40am.

The tropical storm officially ended at 7:45am. The rain and gusty winds ceased and left a mostly cloudy sky. A brief trek downstairs was rewarded with an encounter with one of the other residents in the “old folks home.” She mentioned that the earlier power outage ended at 1:30pm on Saturday for a duration of four hours. She had also called Hawai’ian Electric several times. Oddly, she mentioned that the refrigerator in her place is running, even though no other outlet is active.

Both buildings of the “old folks home” went completely dark at 8:30am. So, the outlet outside the mausoleum, which was being used to charge the iPhone 16 Pro, was no longer active. The whole situation was becoming extremely frustrating. So, a call was made to the gym in town at 9:30am. Surprisingly, the gym was open. A quick check of the public transit Web site indicated all bus routes were operational. Rather than discard the frozen food, the trek to the gym in town was the better alternative. The iPhone could be charged, and a nice hot shower would be welcome.

The gym was fairly crowded, much more crowded than the usual Sunday. Even with only 2 hours and 36 minutes of sleep (as logged by the Watch Series 9), a decent workout was accomplished. The iPhone was charged during the cardio cooldown on the recumbent bicycle. Sadly, the residual heavy rain appeared to have commenced again around noon.

The bus ride back to Waikiki was relaxing. Very few passengers were on board. However, upon arrival in Waikiki, the traffic congestion was bad. Why were all of these fools heading to Waikiki after the tropical storm caused so many problems?

The only pleasant surprise was the discovery that electric power was restored at the “old folks home.” No telling what time that occurred, but the latter was well over twelve hours. The elevator was not operational, so a long walk up the fire exit staircase was required. There was much relief. Sitting on the Room Essentials® dish chair with the air conditioner running was the highlight of the day. So, the Hurricane Lala adventure finally came to an end. Sheesh!