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Anti-Islamist protests flare after British solider butchered near London barracks
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Defiant Hashimoto says U.S. troops abused women during occupation
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Hashimoto says S Korean troops guilty of wartime sex abuse
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Youth arrested for hitting 16-year-old girl with baseball bat
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The secret slang of Japanese cabbies
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- Associate Position with International Assignment Services
- PwC International Assignment Services, 東京都
- Salary: 給与についての記載なし
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- Export/Import Personnel
- Yamato Soysauce Miso Co., Ltd. 株式会社ヤマト醤油味噌, 石川県
- Salary: 月給 23万円 ~ 25万円 相談可
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- Administration Officer
- Destination Asia Japan, 東京都
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- PR／Translator
- 株式会社CMC ( CMC ), 東京都
- Salary: 月給 31万6000円 ~ 35万円 相談可
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- International Account Manager
- Cosmo PR Corporation (株式会社 コスモ・ピーアール), 東京都
- Salary: 年収 500万円 相談可
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cabadaje
Holy cow...really...
TEPCO, you are guilty of incompetence and reckless endangerment. You were, however, pretty spot on about the nature of people. Too bad you decided on willful ignorance instead of education.
Posted in: TEPCO partially restores power to cooling systems at Fukushima plant
-3
cabadaje
@marcelito
So, basically, you passed judgement on the first day, and have based everything on that since.
The only expectations I have of people (and considering how often it is dashed, I wouldn't even call it an expectation) is that they don't take everything they read as gospel prior to checking, and instead just dump it straight into their ammunition pile. And I have NEVER, NOT ONE SINGLE TIME, have I EVER used TEPCO as a source, nor have I ever even hinted that people should believe them without caveat, and I have even referred to them as incompetent on more than one occasion. My record of posts is available for anyone to see.
And yet, the insistence here as that I am a cheerleader for TEPCO. That's what lazy thinking does to you. Makes you so eager to view life simply that you just divide the world into "them" and "us".
There is nothing to be sorry about. However, there is a difference between being skeptical and being cynical. Everyone should be as skeptical as they can be, and there doesn't even need to be any reason for it. Skepticism is good. Skepticism keeps us alive and moving forward. Cynicism is not skepticism. Cynicism may keep us alive, but it also ties us down. Cynicism makes a decision once, and bases everything else on that foundational assumption without external verification; It simply assumes guilt. It is cynicism that destroyed the safety culture of nuclear science to begin with. TEPCO, unfortunately, was very much aware of how people would react to information about nuclear safety, and very unwisely chose the path of ignoring the problem, rather than educating the masses. I blame them, definitely, considering that even posting in a thread is an upstream swim against the willfully ignorant, but I cannot say I don't understand why they did it. These threads are proof that, for better or for worse, people simply do not react well when they know only enough to be dangerous.
Posted in: TEPCO partially restores power to cooling systems at Fukushima plant
-2
cabadaje
@JeffLee
Yes, some has. Which is why TEPCO is indeed guilty of several cover-ups. Those are not what I am referring to. You don't have to be a nuclear engineer to understand that not doing planned maintenance or upgrading safety systems is a good thing. What I am talking about is when people demand information, any information, and keep growling until they get it, and then complain when it is shown to be wrong in the future. That's a little bit like demanding that a baker give you the cake right now, and then complaining because it is half-baked.
It isn't enough to demand information. You have to be rational enough to know what the limits of that information is. Look at some of the responses in this thread: I specifically say that the point is not to trust what others say blindly, and you get someone mockingly claiming I am telling them to trust me blindly. I then clarify that the proper response is to verify information, and I get another poster snidely commenting on how I only trust information from TEPCO. These are not the actions of people looking for information. These are the actions of people looking for any sort of ammunition and anyone to aim it at.
Too much information is just as bad as not enough information, but the reason is the same. People like to make assumptions either way, and rarely bother verifying them first.
@hoserfella
I am not sure how it works in your neck of the woods, but generally speaking, claiming that it would take you an afternoon to read less than a half page actually reflects less well on yourself than on the guy who wrote it.
That's what happens when you don't bother to read what other people write. You end up jumping feet-first into the wrong conclusion.
You ask yourself what the hell that has to do with this article. And I don't mean that snidely. You ask yourself if that information is actually pertinent to this particular event, and whether or not the emotional response from it is coloring your perception of the current event.
I'm not patronizing people for asking questions. I'm scolding them for not asking questions, and instead jumping straight to conclusions.
Posted in: TEPCO partially restores power to cooling systems at Fukushima plant
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cabadaje
@marcelito
What part of "Don't blindly believe everything you are told." are you not getting?
The point isn't to trust me. The point isn't about trust at all. The point is that the proper order of things is to FIRST verify information, THEN pass judgement.
Posted in: TEPCO partially restores power to cooling systems at Fukushima plant
-18
cabadaje
Yes, TEPCO does have emergency power supplies. Yes, the power supply is on and it is circulating the coolant. Yes, it was on a little after 5 hours after the blackout.
No, it was not an emergency, because they have a 4 day window in which they could turn on the emergency backup power without any actual danger. No, they couldn't just replaced the breaker and flip the energy back on because something caused the breaker to break and it would be supremely stupid to hope whatever did that just decided to disappear on its own. Smart engineers actually investigate a possible danger instead of just assuming everything is good.
Out of the three pools that were off, pool number 2 had already been turned off for maintenance, which is precisely why the engineers were not in any big hurry or panic; again, they have a full four days, so taking a few hours to make sure there wasn't anything that would cause even more damage if you just turned everything back on was a very good idea. Similarly, there are 4 other perfectly good working coolant systems for the pools, any of which can be rerouted to perform double-duty, and even if there wasn't, and even if the back-up systems that do exist despite everyone's indignation that they don't, even then it still wouldn't be an emergency because the system is designed so that an external source, usually the local fire truck, can be easily put in place and circulate the coolant in the pool.
It is one thing to run around like Chicken Little over damage that has actually occurred; it is another to go out of your way to panic every time someone as much as stubs their toe. While JapanToday is certainly not helping with these half-assed articles talking about "makeshift systems" for cooling, not mentioning that the pools were without power for a mere 5 hours while talking about the 4 day buffer as if it were some imminent deadline of doom and not a x20 safety margin, and ignoring that the actual blackout only lasted about 3 minutes, still, this sort of ridiculous panic is what makes the more knowledgeable people disregard the general public opinion.
How many times are you going to ask why your opinions are not being taken into consideration when this is the sort of reaction you have over such utterly minor situations? The public demands to be informed, and when they are informed, all they do is start whining and making assumptions that they have absolutely no background to make. It is as if the public assumes that being informed somehow makes them actually knowledgeable about what they are being informed on. If you are going to panic and work yourself up into a lather every time something happens, regardless of the actual danger level, you are better off not being informed.
Claiming you heard it before in the news does not actually mean that you heard it before in the news. Believing that something like this has happened before does not actually mean something like this has happened before. The unfortunate consequence of passionate belief is that you forget that the assumptions you made once upon a time where assumptions and not facts. Additionally, you begin to fancy yourself as more knowledgeable than people who are actually experts in a given field, and arrogantly state that the "obvious" solution is to move highly dangerous material out of a stable containment area, even though the actual process of moving it would pose a much, much, higher threat than not moving it.
It is really getting ridiculous. I certainly cannot agree that TEPCO acted competently in the administration of the nuclear plants, and they are certainly directly at fault both for the failure of the safety systems and for the lack of safety culture within the plants and the field. TEPCO has done a great many thing as wrong as they could, and are responsible for setting back the exploration of nuclear fuels decades, while using the excuse that they didn't want to alarm the general public. Unfortunately, the reaction from the general public does actually support what should have been a very flimsy excuse. As can be seen on this forum, the general public just doesn't care about determining the facts behind a story; as soon as they hear their fears confirmed, they almost gleefully jump into assumption and condemnation.
Way to go, people. You are actually supporting TEPCO's (and the nuclear community in general) reluctance to share information.
Posted in: TEPCO partially restores power to cooling systems at Fukushima plant
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cabadaje
@BarryMcCokkiner
Don't know. Where did you hear that before?
@Magnet
They did and do. And are you saying that this has happened, what, three times?
@Magnet
That's where it gets a little dangerous, actually. Transporting those rods is a risky proposal for a few reasons. Leaving aside the physical security aspect, terrorists, protesters, flat tires, and the other conceivable but highly unlikely Murphisms that could occur, there are the practical aspects, such as providing proper cooling on the way, ensuring that the transport time is short and within safety limits, proper containment not merely in case of an accident, but also simply just to move it, and how to do all of this however many times it requires to move all 8500 rods. When one takes in the scale and effort that moving these rods would require, it is safest to leave them where they are.
Posted in: TEPCO partially restores power to cooling systems at Fukushima plant
11
cabadaje
@Steve Mcgrew
The same big deal as a gun pointed at your face, cocked, and finger on the trigger.
Yes. In war.
Yes, a weapons launch would have been another issue entirely (sometimes referred to as "act of war"). Which in no way diminishes how serious a radar lock is. Just because you had the option to shoot someone in the face, but didn't, will not get you any sympathy for pointing a gun at their face to begin with.
You have absolutely no sense of proportion. You are seriously comparing a nuclear strike to a radar lock? It's foolish enough to pass judgement on something you are not familiar with, but it is downright idiotic to be dismissive or snide about it when you can't even wrap your head around the scale of the issue.
Posted in: Chinese military officials admit ship radar lock on Japanese detroyer
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cabadaje
Oh good, the memo from the PLA finally made it to the PRC.
Posted in: Chinese military officials admit ship radar lock on Japanese detroyer
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cabadaje
@dr8kangas@gmail.com
Solar power is kind of notorious for being the renewable resource that will never make up the energy it takes to create it. For a home it might be useful, but only if the home is already highly energy efficient; it will not pay for itself or offset any net gains.
But overall, the main problem with it is that it is only good for very low levels of energy use, such as energy efficient homes. Solar panels simply do not produce the quantities of energy needed by industry, let alone providing a base load, or even a reliable flow. This is, unfortunately, the main issue with pretty much all renewable resources.
Think of it this way: The energy contained in a given source depends largely on how long the energy has had to concentrate. Fossil fuels have been around for millenia, and have been concentrated into very rich, very dense, sources of energy. Biomass may have only been around for a few months prior to being used, and things like wind and solar have barely touched down on Earth. It is a little like trying to collect water from a dripping tap; the longer the drip, the more water is available. If the drip just started, there just isn't a lot of water there to be had.
Posted in: Japan faces higher fuel bill as nuclear shutdown enters 3rd year
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cabadaje
@Ranger_Miffy2
Sure, who doesn't? The question, however, is about the quantity of power needed.
In what sense is nuclear energy not sustainable?
Posted in: Japan faces higher fuel bill as nuclear shutdown enters 3rd year
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cabadaje
@Frungy
What any reasonable or loving child would do is up to them. It doesn't change the fact that no doctor is going to advance "putting them to sleep" as an option, nor would the neighbors, friend, and family be quite as casual or sympathetic about hearing their choice to do so to their parents, as opposed to their beloved puppies (which is really rather backwards, if you think about it). Would some understand? Of course. But when all is said and done, a pet is a pet, and we love them, and we go through great pain and struggle to make them part of our family...but no matter how much we love them and no matter how much we tell ourselves they are just as valuable as any other member of our family (and in some cases, more), there will always be limits and values placed on their lives that are rarely even considered for humans.
Posted in: Do you think of a pet as a member of the family?
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cabadaje
@Ranger_Miffy
"Unlike those wonderful clean burning fossil fuels, which have no foreseeable economic consequences at all."
"However, to make that judgement, I would rather not actually compare safety and environmental impact records, and simply assume my personal choice is safest and cleanest."
"Free to me, of course, ha ha...everyone knows that fossil fuels can provide power to industrialized nations without causing foreseeable pollution, or affecting the environment in any significant way. There is no way that we will have to spend decades to repair the damage it cause."
Sticking your head in the sand only paints a target on your ass.
Posted in: Japan faces higher fuel bill as nuclear shutdown enters 3rd year
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cabadaje
I wouldn't go that far. "Putting them to sleep" isn't often considered a reasonable medical option for most family members if treatment is too expensive or unproductive.
Posted in: Do you think of a pet as a member of the family?
0
cabadaje
@Greg Yount
Yeah, that happens. Let's keep an eye out for it, shall we?
Well, sure. Obviously. That is, after all, the foundational concept of wind energy to begin with, all the way back to when it occurred to someone to tie a bed-sheet to their boat.
I don't believe anyone has said otherwise. The question has never been whether it works or not. The question is about the efficiency and economic viability of it.
It's also uncontrolled and unreliable as a power source. You are, quite literally, at the mercy of the elements.
Yes, well, while that is theoretically true, over-production has never really been a major problem for wind farms. The problem has always been a lack of sufficient wind, not too much of it.
As long as you're sure. Wouldn't want to spread any misconceptions or misdirection around.
Which is an excellent example of the niche wind power can fill. As opposed to, say, as a substitute or replacement for industry level quantities of production.
Posted in: Huge wind farm turbine snaps near Kyoto
-1
cabadaje
@cleo
Well, I'm not going to pretend that a nuclear disaster isn't as dangerous as a wind turbine disaster, and we've already gone over how exaggerated or emotionally over-dramatic some of the above are, so I won't go into that all over again...
I will, however, point out that comparing the damage a single failed turbine causes compared to that of a nuclear plant is somewhat disingenuous. A single reactor can produce in excess of 500 MW. To get close to that, well, you need a lot more turbines, and they need to be a heck of a lot bigger and a heck of a lot more expensive than this one. Let's look at Meadow Lake Wind Farm, which produces about 500 MW, and yet still falls into one of the top ten largest wind farms in the world.
In this wind farm, 121 modern turbines are spread over 26,000 acres. That's around a 16km x 10km square. Most of this area is farmland, out of necessity really, because these devices generate a lot of noise. So much noise that the EPA has actually had to do a study to determine whether the noise would have long-term detrimental effects of humans (it certainly increases the stress levels of the local wildlife, for those who are interested in that). And we aren't talking occasionally either. As long as these things are moving, they are making noise.
It is, of course, difficult to compare apples and oranges. After all, there is a possibility that a single reactor plant can fail and we lose land, but there is a certainty that a wind farm will require that land to begin with, so even though we haven't actually lost the land, we still had to take it out of our available resources list and assign it as "used". While the area would not be labelled a "no-go" zone, the actual risk and threat of working in that area would not be all that different from working in the no-go zones of a nuclear disaster. As far as pets and other animals go, well, having the animals living in that area long term would actually cause them more stress due to the noise.
Are wind farms safer than nuclear plants? Absolutely. But that safety comes with a corresponding price, and that price is paid is not just higher economically, it is also higher in terms of land, resources, flexibility, and environmental impact. And the price must be paid up front. A reactor, well, the factors we are talking about here only become issues in the event of a failure, whereas they are always continuous issues in the case of a wind farm.
Don't think wind energy is the beloved solution of all: http://stopthesethings.com/ It has as many haters as any other energy resource, the only difference being that most of these people have actually experienced the reason for their opinion personally, as opposed to it being a political cause because they just don't like the idea of it.
Not exactly a great marketing line. When you make an investment in something, you generally want it to actually return on that investment. If things are humming along merrily, and then you go check out your investment and find it wasn't actually turned on, you have to wonder what you spent that money on.
Posted in: Huge wind farm turbine snaps near Kyoto
-1
cabadaje
@Johannes Weber
Did they?
I don't know anything about the situation, and that might well be true, but it seems like a rather random assumption to make.
Alphabetical? Because people tend to remember the last thing they hear better, and JT didn't want to offend the Dutch?
Does there have to be a reason?
Posted in: Huge wind farm turbine snaps near Kyoto
0
cabadaje
Which is not to say the technology couldn't actually be improved. It's just that, well...it just isn't worth the investment. Wind power has one of the higher efficiency potentials of renewable energies (I think it is around 60% potential), but the problem is twofold: 1) You lose a lot of it in conversion to mechanical energy because, 2) wind doesn't have a lot of mass to it, so it is particularly bad at moving heavy things. You run into diminishing returns really quick.
Also, they don't have great environmental records.
Posted in: Huge wind farm turbine snaps near Kyoto
0
cabadaje
@smithin
You didn't notice?
What do you think the rate increase was all about?
Posted in: Huge wind farm turbine snaps near Kyoto
0
cabadaje
@Marcelito
Are there? I can't think of too many off the top of my head. Certainly not enough to even be considered statistically significant (possibly not even noticeable).
I will agree that most people would rather not have nuclear power, however I will not go as far as to say that they would favor a gradual shut-down if it means that they will have to bear extra costs or inconvenience. Notice that neither the survey question nor my question would actually contradict each other.
Okay. Now, think about that a bit: There was already a plan in place which took into account the opinions of the majority. Then, it was decided that a new plan had to be made, one which was guaranteed to affect the public opinion.
Does that sound like something that didn't require consideration? Was the previous plan so conceptually flimsy that the new administration could just casually brush it off the table without even "giving a damn" about the public opinion?
Well, being that you just decided to throw in a new variable, "knowing better", I won't say anything about it other than to say that yes, often by definition, the elites do indeed know better (in fact it is how one often becomes an elite in the first place) and that there is nothing shameful about being more skilled in a particular field than the general public.
In regards to not giving a series of expletive characters about the majority opinion, that is pretty much the same accusation leveled at any member of a controversial topic. The problem is that you are deciding on a personal conclusion, whereas the problem itself is not a personal one. If a group of doctors decide that smoking marijuana is not healthy for people with cancer, referring to them as people who don't give a damn about patients is a non-sequitor. It isn't even a question of whether they are right or wrong; the problem is that by making it personal, you give yourself the excuse to dismiss anything they have to say about it. If it is a situation where the numbers make the final decision, no amount of public opinion will change that reality.
Just because dad won't buy you a car doesn't mean he doesn't give a damn about you. Sometimes, you just can afford to buy your kid a car.
Posted in: Abe says nuclear plants need tighter anti-terrorism measures
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cabadaje
Heck, no one even noticed when it happened. Gives you a pretty good idea of how significant an energy contributor it was to the area.
Posted in: Huge wind farm turbine snaps near Kyoto