the_harper said...

the_harper at 10:32 AM JST - 26th February

Good grief! Is there really such a life-threatening risk to any of these kids? I'm sure all the men involved are taking as much care as they possibly can. There's other matsuri that have a much higher risk of injury (although admittedly not of babies). I went to the Spring…

Posted in Mud festival at 10:32 AM JST - 26th February
the_harper at 11:16 AM JST - 24th February

So Australia is wrong if it's enforcing it's whale sanctuary in Antarctica. Those around it's own territory I'm fine with them enforcing.

You fail to recognise that millions of tourist dollars in Australia depend on whales. Those whales feed in the Antarctic in summer, not in continental Australian waters. I…

Posted in Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes at 11:16 AM JST - 24th February
the_harper at 10:23 PM JST - 22nd February

True. But you did fail to mention that what Japan does not recognize is actually Australia's sovereignty claim to the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). The AAT is recognized by only four countries, namely, New Zealand, France, Norway and Great Britain. That antarctic part of Australia's exclusive economic zone and Australia's…

Posted in Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes at 10:23 PM JST - 22nd February
the_harper at 01:38 PM JST - 22nd February

What Australian law did the Japanese ships break? None, so even if they were in an Australian port the authorities would have had no cause to do anything.

Actually, the Japanese are fishing in waters which are part of an Australian whale sanctuary (which the Japanese do not recognise).

http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/pubs/sanctuary-map.pdf…

Posted in Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes at 01:38 PM JST - 22nd February
the_harper at 08:13 AM JST - 22nd February

But the Japanese ships don't dock at Australian ports. The "Steve Irwin" did. It's sad that the only direct action by Australian authorities has been against anti-whaling activists. Presumably it demonstrates the economic leverage that Australia's biggest trading partner has.

Posted in Anti-whaling group says Australian police seized video of clashes at 08:13 AM JST - 22nd February
the_harper at 11:07 AM JST - 18th February

But what do the systems actually do? From the image it looks like they may allow the car to warn about pedestrians.

Posted in Mazda to participate in 'ITS-Safety 2010' trials at 11:07 AM JST - 18th February
the_harper at 11:05 AM JST - 18th February

nandakandamanda - thanks. I assumed that it was a mistranslation. I was hoping JT might correct it. :) This sort of thing demonstrates how hard translation can be, especially into English where there may be many synonyms but the nuances in meaning are important!

Posted in Small satellite Maido No. 1 succeeds in observing thunder at 11:05 AM JST - 18th February
the_harper at 11:08 AM JST - 17th February

Surely the satellite is measuring electromagnetic radiation produced by lightning strikes? It would be impossible for sound to travel outside the atmosphere, hence no sound of "thunder". Funny - I've been able to hear EMF from lightning on my radio for years. You'd think simple triangulation using radio receivers on…

Posted in Small satellite Maido No. 1 succeeds in observing thunder at 11:08 AM JST - 17th February
the_harper at 06:53 PM JST - 19th January

What is there to see? If scenery and nature don't interest you, maybe not much. But if they do, how about the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu, the Bungle Bungles, Fraser Island, the Tasmanian forests, whale watching at Hervey Bay, the 4000 year old Antarctic Beech trees in the MacPherson Ranges...…

Posted in Sydney's best at bargain prices at 06:53 PM JST - 19th January
the_harper at 05:21 PM JST - 4th January

Modern PV cells have far better efficiency than 8%. Most are over 20% and some are significantly higher than that. e.g. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=49483

Quotes over 40% efficiency. Having said that, I think it's more likely to have a solar array on your roof which splits water to generate hydrogen which you…

Posted in Toyota secretly developing solar-powered green car: Nikkei at 05:21 PM JST - 4th January