Surviving the Hurricane...

I have to say that I was quite disappointed in Hurricane Irene.  I was all ready to be hunkered down in my house with bowls of popcorn and loads of old movies.  But after an hour or so of cleaning my house, something that I've been avoiding for weeks now, I realized how incredibly bored I was and went out for lunch.

It was mostly light rain and wind until about some time after I went to bed.  I was seriously hoping for lightning or something that would make me glad I stayed home most of the day.

The negative aspect of this hurricane was that our vacation place in NC seems to be cut-off from the mainland.  (Every year, the dads rent a place on the Outer Banks for the week after Labor Day.)  I've already had a major vacation this year so I really shouldn't complain.  But I was so looking forward to some relaxing beach time.  It's all up in the air right now, but hopefully it all works out.

Earthquake!

I have lived 30 years in Maryland and never has the thought of a possible Earthquake entered my mind.  Now this is the second one I've experienced in the space of a year.  (Last year's I had just started dating my now ex and it woke me up at 5:00am.  I wasn't sure what it was and woke him up, he calmed me down and told me it was probably a dream.  I sort of wonder now if I should have taken this as some sort of sign.)

This year's I was sitting at my desk and the lights started flickering.  My boss came out of her office and yelled at us to get under our desks - she lived on the West Coast for several years.  The nearest thing I can compare it to would be a large truck driving by your house.  Or like when you were little and some asshole kid would grab whatever you were standing on and yell "earthquake!" while shaking it.  Except, this isn't some asshole kid and you can't step off the ladder, or chair, and find stable ground.  It's the whole building and all the ground outside. 

FACTS:
5.9 Earthquake
1:51pm est
Center - Virginia

I called my mother to let her know that I was perfectly fine, just a little shaken.  And she started talking about the end of times and how we'll know because of earthquakes and rumors of wars, etc.  a) there are always rumors of wars.  b) I found this handy article that was written after last year's earthquake that confirms east coast quakes are not as infrequent as we would like to believe.  Honestly, this could always be the end of the world as we know it.  Ten years ago, after the 9/11 attacks, the world as we knew it changed but it wasn't the end of the world.

This is like the Texas Sharp Shooter Fallacy I read about the other day.  Where there are completely unrelated events that are being used to support a single idea.

A Positive View of Japan

I can't help but keep reading the news and blogs about what's happening in Japan right now.  NPR keeps frightening me with their reports about the Nuclear Reactor in Fukushima and then I run back to Barry Brook's blog to check his updates and see how accurate the news really is.  While he does state in his post that the information coming out of Japan isn't complete and he doesn't have 100% accurate data, his entries do help to explain the science behind what's going on.

from Darrell Nelson's post
"Life in Chiba, Japan Goes On"

But then I also came across a post like this: Trends in Japan.  It has pictures from areas outside of the affected areas and shows that life is still going on as normal as possible for most people on the island.  A lot of the media reports make it seem that the entire country is dealing with this crisis in the same way.  Obviously people nearest the earthquake are going to have the hardest time.  But I have to agree Darrell Nelson and Michael Keferi, the authors of the two posts on Trends in Japan, it's important to see that the whole country isn't devastated.  Yes there is some damage, the heart of the country, the people, and their culture is still beating and Japan will recover given time. 

More on the Earthquake in Japan

All weekend, I've been hearing about the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.  It's frightening news, even here in the United States.  I did read an interesting blog this morning that put my mind at ease a bit.  In the post, Barry Brook gives what he calls a "simple and accurate explanation" of the situation in Fukushima.  I would have to agree that it is a simple explanation of how a Nuclear Power Plant works and the design that goes into preventing a meltdown.  As for accuracy, I can't judge as I have no background in this.  But I've done a little more searching on the interwebs and found several articles that back him up. 



Example of Brook's Imagesfrom his blog
 http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/

 The radio, television, and internet media outlets seem to be over-hyping this part of the disaster.  Though I understand it is a serious thing and should be reported.  I know that it's the trend in news these days to report the sensational, or to report the real news in a sensational manor, so Brook's post was a welcome change.  I didn't feel that he talked down to his audience but rather explained things in a calm manner as a parent would to a young adult.  His use of images and diagrams were especially helpful as I could see exactly what he was talking about in his explanation.  I also appreciate his point that the architecture that went into this power plant lived up to and exceeded its design in the face of an 8.9 earthquake as it was only designed to sustain an 8.2. 

My sister wrote a blog about the earthquake in Japan and in it, she discussed the economic impact of this disaster and the recent revolutions around the globe.  As I said in an earlier post, my mother and her side of the family have an idea that these are signs of the end of times.  My sister goes into an explanation of why this simply isn't the case.  Though she is not as technical as Brook's she is equally as comforting for me to read.

Earthquake in Japan

If you haven't been living in a cave for the last 24 hours, you are undoubtedly aware of the earthquake that took place off the shore of Japan earlier today.  This is the link to the Google Crisis Response Page.  And there are some really interesting and moving images on the Huffington Post Website that show before and after shots of the area.  A couple of the girls at work today couldn't help but cry when they saw videos of the Tsunami.  I don't know anyone there, so I wasn't as emotional about the events but I couldn't help but watch the footage with a bit of morbid awe.

The shear force of nature in this case is amazing.  The destruction and death is truly horrible, but I can't get over the size of the waves or how easily it wiped out entire fields and crops.  I feel badly for the people in that situation and I can't imagine how frightening it must have been in real life.  The after effects will be large and numerous.  I don't know how people will eat or where they will live and I am sending every one of my positive thoughts and prayers in their direction.  I'll make sure to schedule my regular blood donation with the Red Cross and I'll try and give a little extra out of this coming paycheck to the relief efforts. 

But you have to wonder in the game of Man vs. Nature who is ultimately going to win?