Image getting a ticket for not biking in the bike lane… I have heard that it’s not illegal to be outside of the bike lane, so how can you get a ticket for it?
Anyone have an answer for that?
Jun 142011
Japan is exceptionally well-prepared to deal with natural disasters: it has spent more on the problem than any other nation, largely as a result of frequently experiencing them. (Have you ever wondered why you use Japanese for “tsunamis” and “typhoons”?) All levels of the government, from the Self Defense Forces to technical translators working at prefectural technology incubators in places you’ve never heard of, spend quite a bit of time writing and drilling on what to do in the event of a disaster.
Some Perspective On The Japan Earthquake: MicroISV on a Shoestring.
Dannychoo discusses food shortages, or the mostly lack of food shortages, in Japan after the earthquake… From his description I would say that everything is mainly on track and running fairly smoothly. The Japanese government appears to be handling this disaster fairly more smoothly than I would have ever believed.
Oh yes, your wondering how I can say that with the image above… ? Click through and see what I mean…
(See the Rest of the Story at Post Earthquake Tokyo – Food & Supplies.)
We all know that Japan is in the middle of recovering from a disaster… And has more issues that they are still dealing with, mainly the Nuclear Power plant issues…
But, what do we know about Nuclear Reactors? And what about the last great nuclear disaster? The Chernobyl disaster? (The Chernobyl link is a great review of all the human and mechanical causes of the Chernobyl disaster.)
The issue in Japan, appears to be related to the Plant’s power requirements. Even when not actively generating power, nuclear power reactors require cooling, typically provided by coolant flow, to remove decay heat. Pressurized water reactors use water flow at high pressure to remove waste heat. Following an emergency shutdown (scram), the core still generates a significant amount of residual heat, which is initially about seven percent of the total thermal output of the plant. If not removed by coolant systems, the heat could lead to core damage. Even following an emergency shutdown, reactor cooling is still required to keep the temperature in the reactor core low enough to avoid fuel damage.
To place this into perspective, Chernobyl required a water flow of 28 metric tons (~7,400 Gallons) per hour to be able to cool the reactor safely. To generate that much water flow, Chernobyl required 5.5 MegaWatts to run one of the main water pumps.
The Japanese issue(s) appear to be completely related to the failure of Cooling system power, or a Coolant related leak… There have been reports of additional coolant being delivered to the plants, which suggest a leak…
Compare this to Chernobyl…
- The roof of the reactor building and turbine hall at Chernobyl were constructed of a combustible material (bitumen)
- The Chernobyl power generation tests were being run at a unsafe power level (far lower than was specified)
The Chernobyl reactor had several unknown design defects:
- The reactor was very unstable at low power levels, and prone to sudden increases in energy production. Often to a dangerous level.
- The control rod system had a significant flaw. The rods fit into a shaft that ended with Hollow channels that were filled with water. As the rods were inserted, the coolant would be displaced, and thus the reactor power output would be momentarily increased.
While at this time, we do not know the exact issues and the final fate of the small number of Japanese nuclear plants that have been damaged… We need to realize that the issues at the Japanese plants offers a chance to review the causes, and to solve these problems in the future.
Recently a motion came up to the Apple Shareholders & the Apple Board on changing the way the Board Members were elected.
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. investors, gathered today at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, passed a measure that would elect board members with a majority vote, rather than a plurality.
So previously the Apple Board members were elected on a Plurality basis. What is a Plurality? Simply stated, the most votes for any choice in an election wins, and the winner does not need a majority vote.
So, in a three-way vote, with 100 people voting:
- Candidate 1, gets 45 votes
- Candidate 2, gets 40 votes
- Candidate 3, gets 15 votes
Who wins? In a majority vote, where the winner needs to have 50% or more of the votes, no one would win. In a plurality vote, Candidate 1 would win, since he has received the most votes.
I presume the Board members prefer the plurality vote, since it reduces the chances of a needing a secondary vote, since you do not need a majority to win the vote. The shareholders presumably prefer the majority vote, since it helps make sure that the majority of the Shareholders agree with the vote.
MacWorld has an interesting analysis about the new subscription pricing for iTunes. Overall, in a nutshell, most competitors are charging between 40-60% plus data transfer charges for their subscription plans…
Here take a look. Analysis: How Apple’s new subscriptions stack up to the competition
But, I was very disappointed about one of the comments to the article:
Think you have missed an important point about this model.
Where Apple or others are finding the customer through their store then the premium rate is accepted as they are doing some of the go to market work. However, where they are not doing the go to market work, why should they command any moe than a credit card company?
This is disappointing looks like they are being greedy.
Apple indeed has costs associated with services, after all the Cult of Mac estimated that iTunes would cost over $225,000,000,000 ($2.25 Billion) to operating by the end of 2011.
The issue here is are we referring to the iBooks? Or a software subscription package, or something else?
Here are some of the costs that might apply: Continue reading »
This is just scary, especially since your legally responsible for the contents of your luggage….
At a small United States Air Force installation in eastern Wyoming, I’m sitting at an electronic console, ready to unleash nuclear hell. In front of me is a strange amalgamation of ’60s-era flip switches and modern digital display screens. It’s the control console for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM.
On an archaic display screen in the center of the console, three large letters blink in rapid succession. “EAM inbound,” says my deputy commander and the second member of the launch crew. An emergency-action message is on its way, maybe from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, maybe from the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, maybe even from the president. We both mechanically pull down our code books, thick binders swollen with pages of alpha-numeric sequences, and swiftly decipher the message.
View the rest of the behind the scenes details, In Nuclear Silos, Death Wears a Snuggie