METinTokyo comments

Posted in: What would you say are the main differences between the way the Japanese and foreign media are covering the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing nuclear crisis? See in context

Japanese media: Residents within a 30 Km radius of the Fukushima where evacuated as a precaution.

Foreign media: Terrified residents forced to flee for their lives in the middle of the night as deadly radiation descended down on the once peaceful area. As each of them stepped onto the bus that would take them far away to a place unknown and to an uncertain future they tearfully glanced back one last time at their homes of so many years each wondering if they would ever see their beloved land again.

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Posted in: Radiation detected in Fukushima milk, Ibaraki spinach after nuclear accident See in context

Conspiracy theory AKA there's something rotten in Denmark

In thinking about the spinach and milk situation I now wonder if in fact some (perhaps minute) amounts of radiation have been leaking from these old nuclear plants for quite some time. Given that most dairy cows here are not really free range and spend little time grazing naturally it would I believe take quite a long time for them to ingest enough irradiated grass to have an effect on their milk. Much of their food source is from cattle feed often in the form of pellets much like dog food. Could it be that the powers at be have known about the leakage for quite some time but now that the accident at the plants has happened it is an ideal time to create a scapegoat (as it were) and pretend that all of this has occured since the accident.

With the spinach one would think that irradiated ground water would be the logical explanation, yet is it really possible the ground water could become so tainted in such a short time (one week) and that the spinach could absorb enough in that time span to become impregnated with radiation. Again, could it be that the water has been this way long before the accident.

Not saying any of the above is true, just wondering.

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Posted in: Radiation detected in Fukushima milk, Ibaraki spinach after nuclear accident See in context

I wonder if these two items were ever tested for radiation prior to the plant accident and if so what the levels were.

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Posted in: Fukushima No. 3 reactor's container feared damaged See in context

Example:

J-media: 200,000 within a 30km radius of Fukushima evacuated as a precaution.

I-media: 200,000 terrified people forced to flee from their homes in the mid of night as deadly radiation descends down around them bringing thoughts that armageddon is at hand.

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Posted in: TEPCO begins power blackouts See in context

One of the biggest users of electricity here are the aluminum smelters, an hour of what they use could power all the pachinko parlors in Japan for a week. I know that many people here on JT are against this type of distraction, however to many people in Japan it is as much a distraction as TV so why deprive this type of escapism during this time of anxiety. Personally I have no interest in pachinko, but do know quite a few Japanese people and a few non Japanese who play regularly after work. Perhaps better than going to the pub every night and getting half pissed.

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

@Seawolf, I think if you compare home energy usage in Japan to other industrial nations you will find it's actually quite low.

The reason for utilizing electricity is that at least in theory it is quite efficient as it is centrally generated (doesn't necessarily mean nuclear) and then distributed to the final place of use. If that final place of use used other means to generate the same amount of energy by itself multiplied by all other users doing the same then the amount of core materials needed for this generation would be considerably greater.

Japan is actually a world leader in energy conservation as they must be since energy of any kind here is extremely expensive.

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

spucky: Why do they don't use the Off-Time for a Change?

I think they are busy taking care of other more urgent matters during this time.

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

lose = loss

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

spucky, it's quite simple you can't run (feed) 50 and 60 hertz over the same transmission lines. If you wanted to feed power from the west side of Japan into the east side infrastructure you would need to cancel all the feeds from the east first which would result in an even greater lose of power. As stated above by kp123 there are converters available between 50 and 60 hertz but that is on a single usage. To convert the kind of volumes of power we are talking about would be very impractical.

I don't actually think this is a TEPCO issue but more the centuries old rivalry between Kansai and Kanto, this power issue is only a small reflection of the differences between east and west Japan.

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

spucky I don't need to research it, I have lived in Shizuoka-Prefecture for 25 years and am well aware of the two systems. Most appliances work quite happily on either system, it is only those which use pulses for internal timing (example electric clocks) which are cycle specific.

I run many machines that are variously specified at 60 or 50 Hertz and they are quite happy, standard electric motors in particular simply run at a slightly different rpm.

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

Apologies, I meant spucky not spocky

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Posted in: Kan calls quake worst crisis since World War II; OKs power outages See in context

@spocky:Why they cant use the Energy from the West

So you are proposing a very long extension cord from Japan to for example the USA?

FYI most of the world uses 50 Hertz North America being one of the notable exceptions.

Most of the reporting I've seen from the international media has been based on speculation and obfuscation of fact to sensationalize the situation. I will stay with those sources that have boots on the ground.

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Posted in: Oil installations ablaze in Libya as battles rage See in context

It would appear already the gas companies are taking advantage of the situation. Topped up the tank for 150JPY per liter this morning. Just why we need to pay more right now for gasoline that was probably refined and shipped at least three months ago (or more) is beyond me. Holy gouging Batman.

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Posted in: Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter isolate people from reality, according to some sociologists. Do you agree? See in context

Me and my 50,000 close friends on Facebook strongly disagree.

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Posted in: Asia Girls Explosion See in context

Nobody expects that catwalk designs are to be worn on the street, it's primarily to feature the creativity of the designer. Surprisingly I actually like this ensemble though would have preferred some less clunky footwear, but then that might have made the whole thing too stereotypical.

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Posted in: How can universities prevent cheating in exams by students who use cell phones to access sites in search of answers?? See in context

I think that because this is such a national scandal that the government needs to set up a committee to organize some meetings to propose the potential formation of an official board of inquiry which will be comprised of senior members of the MOE who will then fly to all neighboring Asian countries to assess the situation in the different countries then on return further committees and meetings should be set up to discus ways of formalizing a potential planned approach leading to serious discussions of possible methods of organizing further meetings to insure that this type of thing does not happen again.

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Posted in: What do you think of love hotels? See in context

As some people have already said, great way to take a break with your significant other or if without, your not so significant other. Can't beat the unlimited supply of hot water in the bathrooms, the showers and jet baths that would put most health spas to shame. Oh and did I mention the in room saunas? Most of the newer ones allow you to order out for food as well, so depending on your taste it can be pizza or sushi or whatever on demand. Also now in room internet access and of course the cable porn (soft) feeds. Huge beds with clean starched sheets, mirrors on the ceiling and if you want to be adventurous most have one or two "kinky" rooms as well. So what's not to love?

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Posted in: Woman arrested for selling pornographic images of 4-year-old daughter See in context

Although I condem the actions of the woman in question I think the man who made the purchase if known should be publicaly flogged.

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Posted in: Philippines confirms fugitive stripper Minako Komukai arrived in Manila See in context

I feel so much safer here now that I know she's been tracked down, we can't have dangerous people like this going unaccounted for. Besides it's time to renew the licence on my bike and I'd certainly hate to run afoul of the law.

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Posted in: What do you think of school uniforms in Japan? See in context

The problem with uniforms is that they aren't uniform. People, perhaps women more than men at that age will always make adjustments to suit. Some high schools in Japan (private) are famous for their uniforms and women compete fiercely to get accepted so they can wear the prescribed clothing as it as much a status symbol as the designer clothes they will no doubt seek out in later life.

The good thing is that during the "loose socks" phase it did manage to rescue an industrial belt dressing company from bankruptcy.

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Posted in: After the latest scandal on match-fixing, can anything save sumo or is it a dying sport? See in context

Just a small bump in the road for sumo, it has weathered much bigger scandals in the past. I find it interesting that most past scandals have been meticulously cleaned up and now cease to exist. Anyone remember the mysterious deaths of two sumotori from Nagoya who also raised the point of match fixing, was about fifteen years ago yet never came to anything.

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Posted in: More beans please See in context

One of the fondness memories my wife has of years of yore were the times her father abandoned his normal staid self and took part in this tradition. It's not just throwing the tasteless beans but the style with which you do it.

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Posted in: What is one habit that your significant other does or has that you can't stand but put up with anyway? See in context

Now if only I could understand the toilet seat up or down situation I would probably die a happy man. Oh the conflicts we must put up with.

In direct reply to the question asked, I hate it that although we have a reasonable amount of expendable income between us her favorite haunt is still the 100 yen shops were she discerningly still buys everything from pottery, to glassware, that clash with and fight for space with the rather priceless collection of same inherited from both our families.

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Posted in: 5 Somalis brought to S Korea to be tried for piracy See in context

25 years at hard labor on a kimchi diet. On a more serious note good to see a country that defends its own people, just hope this gets some airplay in Somalia, but doubt it will. At present it seems to the pirates the potential gain is worth the risks.

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Posted in: 150 years of dieting fads and still no quick fix See in context

If you want to lose weight so your belt will be loose then a brisk walk in the morning does wonders. I borrow the neighbors' dog each day letting him loose from his yard, he's an English Sheep dog and thinks walkies is play time. However, he does stick close so I don't worry that I might lose him even though once in a while I do release his lead and let him run loose. Worked off 10 kgs of loose fat that way a simple way to lose weight, and am happy at the loss.

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Posted in: Nintendo nine-month net profit tumbles 74% See in context

Sounds like bonuses will be down mixed with lots of through the teeth murmurings of ganbare while the average line worker and tea girl tries to figure out what they did wrong. However in an attempt to turn this around upper management will spend a week in Thailand reorganizing itself.

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Posted in: Nara schoolgirl arrested for drug possession See in context

Very sparse article but at least we know that these dangerous drug using high school girls are being curtailed, further efforts like this will no doubt rid Japan of its almost non existent drug problems.

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Posted in: Facebook to let advertisers republish user posts See in context

Damn, for some reason I can't log into my Facebook account, oh yeah, forgot, I don't have one,

But for those of you interested, I had bacon and eggs for breakfast (beans on the side) and after taking the dog for a shampoo will be meeting friends for lunch at some trendy place still to be decided.

Then after the requisite afternoon nap since it's my turn can't forget to order dinner.

Later we might go for a walk on the beach or talk about the latest romantic novels we've read recently, life is good. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update.

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Posted in: What is one habit that your significant other does or has that you can't stand but put up with anyway? See in context

@Patrick, she's just winding you up mate and believe me is fully cognizant of every step.

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Posted in: What is one habit that your significant other does or has that you can't stand but put up with anyway? See in context

20 years into the marriage and she still sometimes insists on being that semi-nymphomaniac that I fell for all those years ago. Where are my vitamins when I need them?

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