Earthquake has hit Japan

[Skyknight]

...I am *not* convinced that was called for. It's just that the recent earthquake chain has me feeling a bit worried about how both the short- AND long-term are going to end up. Realizing the parallel between oceanic influence on earthquakes on the one hand, and the Permian/Triassic Event on the other, along with knowledge that Yellowstone by now has enough pressure built up to possibly erupt...Well, the dread IS welling up...I guess you could call it an irruption of my horror of futility.

[trap15]

[Skyknight]

{sigh} Are you even TRYING to be civil about this...?

[trap15]

[Ex-Cyber]

Supposedly they're going to be doing rolling blackouts at least through April. I wonder how long it will take for them to even have a realistic plan to restore full service, given how catastrophic the overall destruction has been.

[Skyknight]

SquidMan: At least explain what you'd have to LOSE by being civil and patient...Nothing deserves incivility, mockery, scorn, or contempt, only correction.

(And for the record, I don't believe in the concept of life force. I was referring to a PASSIVE inimicality, not a targeted antagonism. Meanwhile, I hope you're not like this to everyone who expresses high worry. What happens when you yourself are possessed of worry and concern? Hopefully NOT dismissing it...)

[greg]

That's taking it a bridge too far, methinks: you're treading a bit close to the "9-11 Truther" mindset, if you ask me.

Well, maybe, but I wouldn't draw that comparison. The bloodthirsty nature of the American news media has been proven time and time again. And add to the equation that the majority of journalists are liberals (this really isn't debatable, and I am aware that conservative journalists can be just as annoying), they seem hopping with anticipation that we're going to have a big nuclear catastrophe in Japan. The only real world news we get is when bad stuff is happening in other countries: earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorist attacks, riots, etc. It's embarrassing.

As we speak the opportunist anti-nuclear lobbyist groups are asking Japan to shutdown all its reactors. I guess they'll have to live in mud huts then, huh? Nuclear power can be "inherently safe" if you avoid ancient designs like BWR.

This is exactly my point.

I get the feeling that this sort of warmer world=more powerful seismic activity situation might help explain the disaster that preceded the Triassic era

Oh geeze. See, here's more fearmongering. You know, in the '70s and '80s, everyone was afraid of an impending "ice age." So much of the global warming fearmongering that's been passed off as "fact" has really taken some serious blows in past years. Don't cling so much to it. "We're actually having record low temperatures." "Uh, yeah, well, you see, that's all a part of global warming too! Yeah, that's it!"

Supposedly they're going to be doing rolling blackouts at least through April. I wonder how long it will take for them to even have a realistic plan to restore full service, given how catastrophic the overall destruction has been.

Oh great. April is when I'm going to Japan. I was hoping this all would be sorted out by then.

[Skyknight]

"Fearmongering"...? One isn't exactly supposed to wall off one's worries! Worry dispels sloth, catalyzes action, makes known what needs to be dealt with! To keep this concern unknown would have been sloth in and of itself! (Honestly, where's everyone's perfectionism these days?! It's a virtue, not a vice, the exact same as the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude! *There's no such thing as worrying too much, not even worrying INFINITELY!*)

[GaijinPunch]

According to an English teacher in Japan who was Skyped on the news, folk are already walking around with damp handkerchiefs over their mouths and noses.

Been doing that for decades. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks like (thus far) the western media (and not Japanese) has been sensationalizing the fuck out of this. Of course, I could be wrong and be in total danger.

Supposedly they're going to be doing rolling blackouts at least through April.

Well, it's indefinitely... but yeah, they said perhaps through next month. It's only the outter burrows of Tokyo. The 23-wards will have power. Chiba, Saitama, Kanawagawa, etc? Not so lucky.

[Skykid]

SquidMan: At least explain what you'd have to LOSE by being civil and patient...Nothing deserves incivility, mockery, scorn, or contempt, only correction.

You're forgetting which forum you're on man.

According to an English teacher in Japan who was Skyped on the news, folk are already walking around with damp handkerchiefs over their mouths and noses.

Been doing that for decades. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks like (thus far) the western media (and not Japanese) has been sensationalizing the fuck out of this. Of course, I could be wrong and be in total danger.

Totally possible. Western media loves a bit of sensationalising, even the straight laced BBC and their "let's substitute the original subtitles for this foreigner for ones that we want instead" antics.

On the complete flip-side, the Japanese are surely trying to play down the incident so as not to cause any early panic. There was one Japanese interviewed on TV today who said he had heard what the government was saying about the nuclear situation but doesn't trust it at all. Seemed like a fairly grounded fellow.

All will be explained in time, I'm sure. I really hope there's no major nuclear incident as I wouldn't mind visiting Japan again sometime in the future without having radioactivity on/in my mind.

[power UP]

Seems to be business as usual for the most part. The markets were fucking crazy today, to say the least. Dollar/yen didn't move that much, all things considered.

Are you a trader or something?

[Skykid]

Seems to be business as usual for the most part. The markets were fucking crazy today, to say the least. Dollar/yen didn't move that much, all things considered.

Are you a trader or something?

That would be an understatement. He's practically mafioso.

The Yen Nikkei dropped 6% apparently, but the insurance payouts kept the Yen afloat... for now.

[rancor]

Well, it's indefinitely... but yeah, they said perhaps through next month. It's only the outter burrows of Tokyo. The 23-wards will have power. Chiba, Saitama, Kanawagawa, etc? Not so lucky.

Are you sure about this? I keep getting conflicting info. In one place I heard what you're saying, but then again I hear that the rolling outages in my area begin at 12:20pm today and will end at 4pm daily (I live in Adachi-ku, which is one of the 23 wards). I guess I'll see in 2 hrs. and 15 mins.

oh, and I'm off for the rest of the week, at least. - Apparently my building in Chiba sustained heavy damage. They say I wouldn't even recognize the place.

[austere]

but the insurance payouts kept the Yen afloat... for now.

It's a shame the reactors are not insured against tsunamis and earthquakes though. That's a little over 2GW permanently off the Japanese grid.

Also, there's been an explosion at Unit-2, but it might be minor (still no footage of it) according to TEP Co. who say it is from equipment near or at the suppression pool. We may still see another explosion in the same vein as the others, however.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/specia ... 6021415043

Last night, Japan's chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said a meltdown was "highly likely" at three of the plant's nuclear reactors.

Which is almost schizophrenic when taken together with TEP Co.'s very specific information on the reactor temperature of Unit-1 and Unit-3.

[Blackbird]

The more news I read, the greater dread I feel -_-. I really hope the get the nuclear situation under control soon. The workers operating the plant are extremely brave - they are at great risk of exposure to hazardous levels of radiation, not to mention the explosions.

I plan to donate some money to aid efforts. I was hoping those of you living in Japan might have a better idea regarding the best organization to donate it to. Any opinion on which organization is being the most helpful right now? It seems like the Salvation Army got out there almost immediately to deliver food, water, and blankets.

[tinotormed]

...

WTF?!?! 8.9?!?!

:puke: I can't believe this! I just watched this news at CNN (we have cable, y'know) and it said 1,833 were dead already and about 2k are still missing. It's hard to believe this happened. What's worse, 2 nuclear reactors about to get destroyed! Luckily it's not like the 1986 nuclear reactor destruction at Chernobyl.

Can't believe this... (2X)

Luckily, most of our Filipinos in that country survived! : Phew:

[Skykid]

WTF?!?! 8.9?!?!

:puke: I can't believe this! I just watched this news at CNN (we have cable, y'know) and it said 1,833 were dead already and about 2k are still missing. It's hard to believe this happened. What's worse, 2 nuclear reactors about to get destroyed! Luckily it's not like the 1986 nuclear reactor destruction at Chernobyl.

Can't believe this... (2X)

Where have you been for the last five days?

[GaijinPunch]

Are you a trader or something?

Systems for a hedge fund.

Are you sure about this?

It was somewhat vague, but when asked, they said probable it would run through April.
４月いっぱい to be exact.

[rancor]

12:45pm and I still have power. Not sure I want to post that, because I'm sure its going to go down as soon as I press "submit".. We had another sizeable quake this morning at 5am (not sure of the scale). Of course nothing compared to Friday.. Woke me up real quick, though. The lines to get gasoline are ridiculous. Reminds me of those pictures I see of America in the 70s during the OPEC crisis. Highways are still closed to civilians/non-commercial vehicles and the train lines (excepting the main Yamanote line) are all running between 50% to 70% of their scheduled times. My local line shuts down between 11am and 6pm, so I may as well just stay home. Food is getting more scarce in the supermarkets and convenience stores, although liquids are still plentiful at the moment. Its such a weird feeling - I feel like either things are going to get 100% back to normal by next week, or they're quickly going to spiral out of control. I honestly don't know which way the wind is blowing at this juncture because what I see, hear, and read are so conflicting.

[power UP]

Are you a trader or something?

Systems for a hedge fund.

Fucking cool.

[BryanM]

"This earthquake has caused a containment leak. In my pants."

Bit tired of foreigners only existing when they're dying or someone here is trying to sell me something. If you're on the internet, you're real to me. And I'm glad you're alive.

They have their agenda: to demonize nuclear power and to remove it entirely. They're hoping for another Chernobyl-style meltdown to prove once in for all that nuclear power isn't as safe and clean and efficient as it really is. They want us all to drive solar-powered cars with huge windmills mounted on top or whatever.

That's taking it a bridge too far, methinks: you're treading a bit close to the "9-11 Truther" mindset, if you ask me.

And add to the equation that the majority of journalists are liberals (this really isn't debatable, and I am aware that conservative journalists can be just as annoying)

Ah, that explains why your conclusion done got flipped, turned upside down. Mr.Connery, the correct answer was "they're capitalists".

The anti-nuclear people, the people with actual money and not smelly broke hippies (the sock puppet of the kings of media. Isn't it interesting that every sort of person is a sock puppet in the media, when their opinion on one subject matter happens to coincide with the gate keepers'? Didn't see those "liberal" anti-war hippies on TV during the push to enter Iraq..), are the kings of oil and coal and gas and other. The status quo is very profitable for them, and a "paradigm shift" only means trouble for those in this position: they can lose out and end up a bum, or they'll spend a crap ton of money moving into a business with unproven, probably lesser, returns. That's a lose/lose.

Now, further, we know that the emperor of this sector feeds on the spectral essences of misery. Clearly he delights and guffaws when a coal mine collapses, and would not want that sustenance to end. Remember that book where there was a king of the world, and they put stuff in the drinking water so everyone would see him as normal, but a few people are immune to the stuff and see him for what he really is, but some people see him as like a horrible robot and some as a hideous alien and some as a grotesque lizard and some as a creepy ghost and they decide to send someone to get a look at him in person instead of just on TV to see what he really is and it turns out he's all of those things and more?

Reality is kind of like that. You know it's true. It's too manufactured and fake to be genuine - there has to be a greater power. You can see this as self evident - look at male pattern baldness. Look at it. There is no way natural selection would sire such a handicap. Or note how we're in the decade that solar is supposed to become more efficient than oil, and yet things like the Live Action Smurfs still exist. How can you explain that? How can you resolve that? You can't. This is a torture box built by some elaborate puppet master.

/walks away and gets swallowed by a mudslide

[GaijinPunch]

The lines to get gasoline are ridiculous.

I had to wait 20 minutes to get into my local super market. There was a decent line in front of me..., but I will still in at around 11:20. They had opened at 11:00. I got 1 of the last 3 packages of bread. They were limiting purchases to 1 per customer across the board.

[BryanM]

"We're actually having record low temperatures." "Uh, yeah, well, you see, that's all a part of global warming too! Yeah, that's it!"

Oh. Wow. Just. Wow.

...

Uh. A science experiment:

Take a cup of water. Put some ice into it. As the ice melts, record the temperatures of the water and air 1cm above the waterline. Chart these temperatures for every five minutes over a few hours.

...

[tinotormed]

WTF?!?! 8.9?!?!

:puke: I can't believe this! I just watched this news at CNN (we have cable, y'know) and it said 1,833 were dead already and about 2k are still missing. It's hard to believe this happened. What's worse, 2 nuclear reactors about to get destroyed! Luckily it's not like the 1986 nuclear reactor destruction at Chernobyl.

Can't believe this... (2X)

Where have you been for the last five days?

I was at home in Q.C. Philippines but my internet connection was cut off in a few days. So I watched this news lately at our home (while working on my new videos) and I saw that everything in Japan was destroyed. The only good news in that country is that no OFWs were harmed there. However, according to our local news brand ABS-CBN News, they must leave the country even if they want to leave their work and lives there . THAT has got to be the strongest earthquake we've ever seen since the 9.5 earthquake in Chile. In fact, it's much worse than this. Now because of that earthquake, there is now a Domino effect here:

1) Earthquake shatters Sendai; which leads to
2) a tsunami, also in Sendai; which can create a
3) destruction of one nuclear reactor Fukushima I; which later created a
4) hydrogen explosion at Fukushima II; in which
5) another nuclear reactor might possibly explode near Fukushima.

I dunno, but it's likely another domino chip might possibly fall. So whatever happens, we MUST be prepared.

[rancor]

Luckily, most of our Filipinos in that country survived! : Phew:

You can certainly say that again!

The only good news in that country is that no OFWs were harmed there.

.... Well, I certainly know that as I was watching a kindergarten across the street shaking it's ass like a hot latina salsa dancer and the petro-chemical factories were exploding around me like my ass after a spicy dinuguan stew I was thinking "Dear God, I hope all the Filipino children are safe!" Thankfully both of our prayers were answered!

I dunno, but it's likely another domino chip might possibly fall. So whatever happens, we MUST be prepared.

Or at least the Filipino community - to hell with everyone else, amirite?

[greg]

Take a cup of water. Put some ice into it. As the ice melts, record the temperatures of the water and air 1cm above the waterline. Chart these temperatures for every five minutes over a few hours.

Awesome. I didn't know we were living on a giant ice cube. What's the earth's core made up of again? Snow cones?

In other news, a report from my in-laws in Nagano-ken: stuff like toilet paper and batteries are now scarce. They live in an area where they felt the wall shake, but nothing serious happened there. Unless the nation's toilet paper and battery factories were all located in Sendai, there should be more than enough food and supplies for everyone, especially now that the population just got a sizable decrease along its east coast. Japan is starting to panic. As calmly as they've been taking it, this still is the same country where people didn't want to eat at Mexican restaurants for fear that they could catch the swine flu at the peak of that scare. Silly.

[rancor]

Japan is starting to panic. As calmly as they've been taking it, this still is the same country where people didn't want to eat at Mexican restaurants for fear that they could catch the swine flu at the peak of that scare. Silly.

I honestly wonder whats going on down south (Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka) I've heard absolutely zero news from there. Are they having power shortages or rushes on the supermarkets? Anyone from that area, or know anyone from there? Is life perfectly normal?

[nZero]

I honestly wonder whats going on down south (Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka) I've heard absolutely zero news from there. Are they having power shortages or rushes on the supermarkets? Anyone from that area, or know anyone from there? Is life perfectly normal?

I used to live in Moriguchi city in Osaka prefecture. The people I've talked to since the disaster weren't affected much at the time but they were worried about the next quake being further south. Generally, aside from people worried about the news, things sound pretty normal there for right now. My friend also said something about country-wide power conservation, but I don't know if that was voluntary or actual rationing. Someone else said there was a blackout in Ikeda (Osaka pref.) earlier. I'll ask for more information next time.

[GaijinPunch]

"Dear God, I hope all the Filipino children are safe!" Thankfully both of our prayers were answered!

A friend of mine emailed me the next day to tell me his table hit the bad beat jackpot for $420k when he wasn't there. My heart really went out to him.

I honestly wonder whats going on down south (Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka) I've heard absolutely zero news from there. Are they having power shortages or rushes on the supermarkets? Anyone from that area, or know anyone from there? Is life perfectly normal?

I've got a lot of friends there (fled from here). Most are just playing it by ear, watching the news. I don't think anyone is having a particularly good week.

[Shogun]

This is just me but if I were in Tokyo or anywhere near those reactors I'd be heading south to go on holiday until things calmed down a bit. It sounds like everyone is walking a thin line between being ok and having everything get out of control. I would just get a cheap hotel and chill out somewhere.