Check out these before and after photos of the Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Whole cities flattened into a kind of post-apocalyptic rubble - hard to stomach.
A domestic consequence to the impending nuclear fallout is the fate of our own nuclear reactors, and prospective nuclear projects. Increasing nuclear power output is something Obama and the Republicans agree about, but anytime there's a nuclear scare it seems to set back the industry years, if not decades. With the price of foreign oil skyrocketing amidst Middle East turmoil, and climate change a very real danger, nuclear power is an attractive alternative. It will be interesting to see if the political will can be maintained to make it happen. Because if Japan can't make a fail-safe nuclear reactor, what with their technological know-how and acknowledged history dealing with nuclear radiation, who can?
An 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan this morning, and aftershocks are rumbling the northeast part of the country, near Toyko. The quake is the 5th strongest recorded since 1900. Waves are expected to reach Hawaii and even across the Pacific to Oregon. It's said that the waves in the footage above are traveling near 500 mph. I can imagine nothing scarier.
On Friday night, after spending the day at Animal Kingdom, we went to the Orlando Magic vs. Chicago Bulls game in downtown Orlando. Thanks to a dear friend who will remain anonymous lest he get hit up for tickets 24/7, Mac and I sat courtside. I'm talking, on the actual basketball court.
Here's proof:
And here's the view from our seats. It's a unique experience being so close. For one thing, the court looks very small, and the players very large. It gives you an increased respect for the quickness and agility needed to drive the ball to the rim, because the space available amongst the giants is so miniscule.
Oh, and our seats were directly in front of that of Karl 'The Mailman' Malone, the second leading scorer in NBA history.
Also in the vicinity was LaDanian Tomlinson, of the New York Jets, and NBA legend Dr. J, aka Julius Erving. A thousand thanks to Mackenzie and his awesome camera for the creepy, paparazzi-esque shots.
Yannick Noah, 1983 French Open champion, was there too, to watch his son Joakim for the Bulls. Celebrities come out in droves on a Friday night in Orlando, it appears.
Here's my first report from our trip. Apologies for the shoddy camera work (some serious operator error) and the cheesy narration from our bus driver Bryce, but hey, it's the best I got. Highlights from our day at Animal Kingdom:
- 'Flights of Wonder', the bird show. Featuring the Andean condor and its 7 foot wingspan, and a bald eagle, it was fun to see exotic creatures up close.
- Porcupine!
- The Everest Expedition ride. As you can tell, Mac was by far the most enthusiastic explorer. (That's him in the navy shirt.)
After a layoff of over 7 weeks, on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I returned to the gym to resume my exercise training. Whew...it felt good to be back. I can't lie, a part of me enjoyed sleeping in and reading and watching television to my hearts desire - but it got old, really quick. Especially because the time I was sitting around doing nothing, I was feeling pretty crappy. The spontaneous sweats are nearly gone, as is the fatigue and the moodiness. Hold on - nope, moodiness still around. It's winter, whattya want from me?!
Here's a contest: Closest person to guessing the total cost of my surgical operation (including room and board @ $1300/night - didn't know I was staying at the Ritz), without going over wins a seriously awesome prize. Ok, I'll just tell: over $57,000! When I heard that, I was flabbergasted. 3 cheers for health insurance! (It seriously makes me feel for people without insurance though; how can anyone afford to have a big operation, if you're not one of the lucky ones with insurance? I feel very fortunate to be able to have had this done, as much as the aftermath has righteously sucked; it's very eye-opening to think that 1/6 of the country is without insurance, and with an operation like this costing 1.5 times the average annual salary of this country's workers...Geez. Bladder surgery shouldn't make you have to sell your house.)
On a happier note - Florida in 3 days! On Sunday we disembark for 7 days of fun in the sun. The current itinerary calls for one day at the new Harry Potter park at Universal (good thing we watched all 7 movies in the past month and a half) and a day at Disney's Animal Kingdom, with a few afternoons poolside thrown in as well. Can't wait!
Have we entered a new era of governmental responsibility? Maybe, but probably not. The newly remade House, now heavily lopsided in the GOP's favor, has so far demonstrated a more open and democratic manner of legislating, allowing actual debate to occur, a far cry from the secrecy and parliamentary shenanigans favored by the Pelosi-led House. This is great. But the thing that gives me pause are the bills themselves being brought up for debate. Riding a wave of Tea Party fury, an overwhelming electoral mandate, and the enthusiasm of 87 freshmen representatives, the GOP seized control and promised to shake up the Washington establishment. But I fear they perhaps have overestimated their mandate yet again, just as they did '95, and as the Dems did the past two years.
Upon assuming leadership, they immediately reached into their social issue bag of tricks, voting to remove funding from Planned Parenthood, ostensibly to prevent federal funds from paying for abortions. Well, alert the Department of Redundancy Department: federal law already does prevent that. This defunding will simply take away pre-cancer screening and medical services from low income families. This funding cut and other cuts that eat away at our budget deficit cent by cent are their solutions to our $1.6 trillion deficit? Small potatoes. The President and the Republican House leadership are immersed in a political staring contest, with the first to blink being blamed with taking Social Security away from Grandma, and quite frankly, someone needs to grow a pair, step up and propose some entitlement cuts. I'm looking at you, Mr. President. Your hands-off strategy may end up working, but it would it kill ya to use some of that political capital and that charming smile and get out in front of this issue?
I love a good prank.
Any guesses as to what that is? An award-winning, 3-D representation of the AIDS virus. From National Geographic, "The two-tone color scheme shows HIV (orange) attacking and fusing with an immune cell (gray). The triangular cut-away shows how the virus integrates itself to turn the cell into a virus factory". Vicious.
$100 million and ambitious government programs can get you a lot of crazy things. Introducing...mind-controlled robotic limbs!
This could be possible in 4 or 5 years? Wow. And we can't build more fuel efficient cars? CMON MAN.
After reading this about Saudi Arabia's impending peak oil crisis, I'd say energy efficiency should be every genius' number one priority, but robotic arms are cool too.
Welcome to my life. I broke my neck at the C-5/6 level in July of 2007 while abroad in Spain. I have since graduated from the University of Michigan and am now engrossed in regaining the ability to walk. Come with me on my journey!
