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?

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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

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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:

• Most credit card transaction processors charge a per transaction fee of $0.20 – $0.30.  This is per transaction.
• The “discount rate” for an internet transaction is 2.04% – 2.27%.  So Apple is losing around 2+% percent of the transaction just due to the credit card transaction.
• Bandwidth, I’ll assume it is roughly $0.10 per Gb, based off an estimate from 2008.
• Licensing Fees, certain products (eg. ebooks, films, music, music videos, Television shows, Movies, Movie Rentals, etc)
• Bandwidth cost of this promotional content (eg. Ebook sample chapters, TV previews, Movie Previews, Music Previews, etc)
• Operating costs of the Server Farm  - Unknown, but distributed throughout iTunes Store operating costs
• Operating Costs of the CDN  - Unknown, but distributed throughout iTunes Store operating costs
• Advertising, both Television, and website…  Keep in mind any application, e-book, etc, that has been seen on TV has had a large spike in demand..  Consider this commission for lead generation, or an affiliate program.
• Cost of Labor to review submissions to the iTunes/App/eBook/etc store(s).

These fees and rates are pure estimates, and I have no information on what Apple is actually charged.  I am sure there lawyers can negotiate a better deal than I could…

Something that no one seems to have considered is that the company will be making 100% profit, of their 70%.  Apple absorbs all the transport fees, processing fees, bandwidth cost, and so forth.  Amazon, and Barnes & Noble charge bandwidth charges on the data transfers to the Application publishers, and transaction fees, along with comparable percentages…

Is this too much of a cut for Apple?  I really don’t believe so, Apple is assuming a large portion of the risk for the service, the publisher is getting 100% profit.  Yes, I think that maybe a sliding scale based on subscription cost might have been easier to accept, but pricing is Apple’s right to set.

Do you disagree?  Do you agree?  Please feel free to comment…

Updated on 2/20/2011, as Inquisitr.com has stated:

Donald Melanson at Engadget says “Apple’s new subscription policy has already drawn plenty of criticism — not to mention the eye of the FTC and DOJ” then another Engadget writer Laura June stated “So, what does that mean? Well, these kinds of pre-investigations are pretty common, so it could mean nothing at all. Or, it could lead to a more formal investigation into if the policy violates antitrust laws.” The truth of the matter is, Apple is in NO VIOLATION of any U.S. laws, they provide their own platform in which developers agree to follow Apple’s own Terms Of Service (TOS) when publishing apps. If publishers have a problem with the company’s software they can wait for a new iOS to arrive with even more stringent guidelines that exclude their practices, at which point they will be forced to leave the iOS platform behind, program their apps to meet requirements or move onto a new platform such as Google Android.

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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

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