OT: My experience in Japan

Nak · Mon Mar 14, 11 2:16 pm **OT: My experience in Japan**

I have to admit, I thought about calling in sick for this trip. But we're carrying needed supplies as well as passengers and somebody has to fly this stuff in. Not really a big deal where we're staying, except for the thoughts of what could happen...

Not bad where I'm at now... Rolling blackouts last a few hours. Got woke up multiple times last night by the the building shaking from aftershocks. Weird because you lie there wondering if it's going to get worse; they're predicting a big aftershock soon. Tsunami sirens in the distance add an eerie effect. The winds have shifted and we're downwind of the stricken nuke plant now. I used to be an ardent Nuke supporter before yesterday, but being downwind of a plant that might meltdown makes you think...

The Power company officials and the Japanese government are of course both lying about the situation. The only question is to what degree. What really is going on 138 miles North of here? To them it's not lying; you have to understand the Japanese. "Saving Face" is not some archaic term, it's a real and important part of this culture. It's not just their own face, they'll lie to you to save your face if you ask the wrong question. It's not like they're trying to deceive you, they expect you to be smart enough to hear what they're really saying. As Americans we're not good at this. Either you lie and try to deceive or you tell the truth. I'll tell you this, the locals are damned scared about this plant. They hear what the government is saying. They're interpretation is that things are really, really bad. Part of that is a cultural paranoia when it comes to radiation, for obvious reasons. But most of it is that they believe that the government is telling them that the situation is dire, far more dire than an American reading Japanese government press releases would understand. It plainly scares the crap out of the locals, but you wouldn't know it to look at them. It scares the crap out of me too.

I wonder where I can get a Geiger counter?

broadbandito · Since 26 Apr 2005 342 Posts CSO headwaters WheatHead

Sounds sketchy. Hoping the plant cools...

genek · Since 21 Jul 2006 2165 Posts East Po KGB

Good on ya for helping out. Much respect for that. I used to live in Fukushima prefecture for a few years when I was younger. Crazy to think it could be in such turmoil now. Hope it all ends well soon.

PS I totally get what you mean about the Japanese culture. It's the same with receiving complements. You're supposed to disagree to be polite, where as in Western culture it's OK to just say thanks and move on.

Nak · Mon Mar 14, 11 4:22 pm

It's amazing how stupid some smart people are. I Just read this:

DesertWinds · Since 01 May 2009 80 Posts

Huge props for being there when needed most and have always enjoyed the stopover in Japan visiting Bali and know what you mean about their culture and traditions.

Domo arigato and sending blessings abroad ~*~

Nak · Mon Mar 14, 11 4:38 pm

Thanks for the props guys, but I really don't deserve any. Just doing my job instead of chickening out... Where I am there's no danger really unless that plant has a un-contained failure. (Which some government official here on TV just admitted was a possibility...) The folks that deserve props are the guys and gals who are heading up in to the danger zone to help the survivors, knowing that it's almost certain they'll get some amount of radiation exposure. Not knowing how much, or if they're condemning themselves to an early death by some horrid form of cancer. That takes balls.

Windian · Since 28 Apr 2008 901 Posts Newport, OR NEWPORT OG

The situation sounds heavy over there.

Surreal images and videos give me a small sliver of the magnitude of the reality of the destruction and devastation of the earthquake and the tsunami. And then to have the nuclear threat looming in the near future is too scary to believe.

This certainly puts a new light on how safe nuclear power is with all our high end, state of the art, futuristic technology. All it takes is for the Earth (nature) to do a common geological hick-up to get the tech experts coming up with bright ideas like "throw a bunch of water on it, quick!!"

By the way Pac NW is due for a big slip every 300 years...

argos · Since 07 Apr 2010 66 Posts

Thanks for the update!

That sounds like a hell of an overnight, not as fun as kiting in Kailua, but perhaps more memorable.

Pepi · Mon Mar 14, 11 11:02 pm

Hey Mike :

Good karma shall befall you for your work.

Thank you very much for the enlightening post. Very good info for us to incorporate into our nightly news viewing.
I actually used to do a decent amount of business in Japan back in my wakeboard days and I have to admit that I had a bit of a hard time understanding nuances that you just described. Excellent description, wish I knew you 10 years ago back when I used to attend the Tokyo Boat Show.

Anyways, please be careful over their and get back safe and sound. The only nuclear exposure we want to hear about you getting is the good stuff that only comes from a nuking session at Rooster.

Get back safe and we'll make sure to leave the light on for you.

Joshiebaby · Since 14 Oct 2007 569 Posts Vancouver, WA Addicted

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/12/nuclear-energy-insid.html

specialk · Guest

Thanks for posting Nuclear 101 Jbaby. Every speck of understanding we can pull from it both frightens and relieves to some degree.

And Mike no matter how much you downplay it, your job and role are VITAL and APPRECIATED IMMENSELY by all of us!!!! Thank you, for the report, and your insight!! And like Pepi said:

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

Hope you are headed home soon Mike!

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1489 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

Nak - thanks for sharing!

Chooch · Tue Mar 15, 11 10:41 am

Good on ya Nak! Hope you stay safe during your travels.

toddjb · Since 16 Oct 2007 271 Posts MD Obsessed

jasonq · Since 12 Jan 2009 246 Posts hood river Stoked

http://mitnse.com/

nuke expert's take on how that plant is designed, what has happened, what might happen, and how bad it could be.

read the first post at the bottom first.

its an interesting read. VERY different from the mainstream press's view of things. No way to know what the real situation is, but i would tend to go with this guy over all the journalism majors.

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

Brave work

Thoughts and prayers are with you