Daylight Saving Time

As I have mentioned in other posts, somewhere, I've been going to bed later and waking up later here than I used to do when in Japan. Part of this is likely because I am still not working, and therefore have no need to be up at 6 a.m. But part of it is just that, here, people go to bed at 11 p.m., not 9 or 10 like I used to do. And they certainly never EVER get up at 4:30 a.m. on a sunny, Sunday morning.

And now I see why. The sun does not rise here early in the morning, even now in spring. But, I noticed for the first time last night, even though it is still March, the sky was still light even just before 8 p.m. So - when you can ride your bike or go jogging at 7 pm and not be in the dark, it makes sense that you go to bed later and wake up later.

 

Is the Genie out of the Bottle?

Despite the incredible devastation, suffering and loss of the earthquake and resulting tsunami, Japan is in full-steam-ahead mode. People, families, companies and cities are cooperating to share the sacrifices and inconveniences, which are obvious but trivial at the same time when considering the scope of this disaster.

Immediate relief efforts and the anticipated recovery and rebuilding of the affected areas are underway, and there is serious progress in those areas, which is great news.

A frustrating complication, besides the unseasonably cold weather and continuing earthquakes, has everyone on edge: the uncontrolled reactors in Fukushima. The news media is reporting progress and setbacks in real time, creating a palpable emotional roller-coaster for the normally-reserved citizens. I am monitoring the situation as well, trying to make sense of the changing outlook. This isn't a real-time resources, but here is an interesting graphic that shows what is on everyone's mind:

Spring Irony

Today is the first day of spring, and I sit here, gazing out the window, and see... a huge, huge snowfall.

I will admit that I am becoming discouraged by the constant snow and home-bound lifestyle it is leading too. But what can we do about it, really? I mean, short of moving to a more live-able climate? Which, by the way, is what any sane person would do...

But no. I will grin and bear it. I guess I wouldn't mind so much if I hadn't promised a friend that I would use her car to pick up her disabled husband tonight; during rush hour, of course. I am still not at all accustomed to driving in this weather, and if I am going to wreck a car, I'd rather it be my own, not someone else's. But as I still have not bought a car, that is out of the question.

So I either break my promise and cry chicken, or I drive really carefully and try not to fishtail into anything!

Where to find Real News on the Japan Quake

Brian will be blogging soon, describing some of the ways that the earthquake, tsunami and reactor damage is affecting life for normal people even outside of the 'at risk' radius.

From watching CNN here in North America, I find many things frustrating. For example, the reporters always say, "Here in Japan, you can see tsunami washing over the car in this video provided by the driver...". And "Here in Japan, the massive damage is devastating..." Here in Japan. Uh-Huh. I know Japan is a small country, but it's not that small. Luckily, the clips being shown, often from NHK Broadcasting, contain the city name in kanji in the upper-right corner. I was able to better understand the tsunami, as the video was taken in Chiba.

Also, Brian says that CNN has too much hype but few facts. He sent me this link, and this is more real, Japanese reporting:


http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv

It contains live broadcasts from NHK World - Japanese news in English!

Comparing Amazon Kindle2 (old Kindle) and the New Kindle

I have been spending time between being distracted by multi-tasking, job-searching and generally symptoms of cabin fever which I associate with being cooped up indoors. Thankfully, the weather here has warmed up considerably, and the snow finally seems to have stopped falling.

Still, the snowbound months were good for reading! And this is a post I've wanted to write for a while, ever since I received my new Amazon Kindle from Brian.

I first bought a Kindle last year, around May or so, and, despite my earlier misgivings about electronic vs. paper books, I fell in love with it instantly.

A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to get the new Kindle as a birthday gift, and I noticed many improvements over the earlier (white only) model. For one thing, it is a little bit slimmer, and a little bit smaller, but the screen is just as big as the earlier model. Another thing I prefer - the buttons feel much less cheap and plasticky compared with the earlier version. Additionally, the new Kindle seems to turn pages noticeably faster.

This is not to say that I was ever unhappy with the older model - it was and is performing great. The screen is beautifully easy on the eyes, and I love the ability to carry around a hundred (and more!) books in one small package. I also love being able to log in to Amazon and buy something on the fly (like I did from the airport when returning to Canada and I had nothing I felt like reading!).

My old Kindle I kindly passed on to my mother, who surprised me by being so pleased with the device that she has been reading at least three books a week. For her, the best feature is the ability to make the text much bigger than in a regular book, so she doesn't need her glasses or have to squint!

Here's my old Kindle:

And with the cover that I loved because it makes it feel more like a real book:

And my new Kindle:

And while I couldn't find the ideal cover, this one is okay - it lets me prop up the book on a table so I can read hands-free:

Comparing Kindle 2 and the All-New Kindle

I have been spending time between being distracted by multi-tasking, job-searching and generally symptoms of cabin fever which I associate with being cooped up indoors. Thankfully, the weather here has warmed up considerably, and the snow finally seems to have stopped falling.
Still, the snowbound months were good for reading! And this is a post I've wanted to write for a while, ever since I received my new Amazon Kindle from Brian.
I first bought a Kindle last year, around May or so, and, despite my earlier misgivings about electronic vs. paper books, I fell in love with it instantly.
A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to get the new Kindle as a birthday gift, and I noticed many improvements over the earlier (white only) model. For one thing, it is a little bit slimmer, and a little bit smaller, but the screen is just as big as the earlier model. Another thing I prefer - the buttons feel much less cheap and plasticky compared with the earlier version. Additionally, the new Kindle seems to turn pages noticeably faster.
This is not to say that I was ever unhappy with the older model - it was and is performing great. The screen is beautifully easy on the eyes, and I love the ability to carry around a hundred (and more!) books in one small package. I also love being able to log in to Amazon and buy something on the fly (like I did from the airport when returning to Canada and I had nothing I felt like reading!).
My old Kindle I kindly passed on to my mother, who surprised me by being so pleased with the device that she has been reading at least three books a week. For her, the best feature is the ability to make the text much bigger than in a regular book, so she doesn't need her glasses or have to squint!
Here's my old Kindle:

[caption id="attachment_2024" align="alignnone" width="207" caption="Kindle 2 (old Kindle)"]<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/kindle2.jpg"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/kindle2-207x300.jpg" alt="" title="kindle2" width="207" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

And with the cover that I loved because it makes it feel more like a real book:

[caption id="attachment_2027" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="My (now my mother&#039;s) book cover"]<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/photo-2.jpg"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/photo-2-300x229.jpg" alt="" title="photo (2)" width="300" height="229" /></a>[/caption]

And my new Kindle:

[caption id="attachment_2025" align="alignnone" width="201" caption="New Kindle"]<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/kindlenew.jpg"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/kindlenew-201x300.jpg" alt="" title="kindlenew" width="201" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

And while I couldn't find the ideal cover, this one is okay - it lets me prop up the book on a table so I can read hands-free:

[caption id="attachment_2026" align="alignnone" width="231" caption="Propped up"]<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/kindlenewcover.jpg"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/kindlenewcover-231x300.jpg" alt="" title="kindlenewcover" width="231" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Seismic Update from Susono

It is hard under these circumstances to be happy about much, but it is comforting to know that our own friends and acquaintances have not been harmed, even though so many others have, and many are still suffering.

My home-base in Susono is geographically 500km distant from the epicenter and the tragic results, and people around here have kept their 'ganbatteiru' (persevering) attitude in the face of the relatively minor sacrifices and local inconveniences. For example, it might be easy to complain about the train lines being inconsistent or even suspended, but instead people and companies are working together to assess priorities and find alternatives.

The foreign news reports I have seen (in English) don't seem to appreciate the depth and breadth of effort the Japanese people and institutions have put into disaster preparation and response... within hours, my electric company implemented this plan for 'rolling blackouts' in blocks of 3 or so hours each, for 10 million households. I am in Group 2:

These blackouts are to apportion the electric power fairly and to minimize the obvious disruption, while allowing the power company to repair the grid safely and quickly. In addition, people are voluntary heeding the plea to avoid unnecessary usage as noted by dramatic drops in the demand for power. (This city has also turned off street lights, so the night sky is brilliant with stars, for a change.)

Closer to home, this area hosted a large earthquake last night. People are still a little nervous from the big earthquake last Friday and the dozens of quite noticeable aftershocks that have continued since, so the 6.0 really shook folks up. Again there were no injuries among my friends or co-workers, but this one did damage some of our office buildings and sounded alarms across town. The rest of the night included aftershocks strong enough to wake those who could sleep again at all.


After an incredibly busy last few days and sleepless nights, I am actually looking forward to stable sleep tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll again drive co-workers to their offices (trains through this town will not run again for weeks) before getting to my own desk, and then get as much done as possible before the planned daytime blackouts.

As I rest tonight, rescuers continue their search in the tsunami zones, and Tokyo Denryoku does their best to control the reactors in Fukushima. I am confident in the sincerity of their efforts.

The Quake of 2011

Everyone by now has seen on the news the extensive damage caused by the massive earthquake that hit Japan on Friday afternoon (March 11th, 2011). Reports now say that the death toll just in Miyagi may exceed 10,000 people. Thankfully for us, though, our area and the region where most of our friends live, was not badly affected and nobody we know has been hurt.

Here is a photo that Brian took of the Numazu Harbor after the earthquake and tsunami. It is very calm - but of course, as he said, the city had closed the storm doors to protect against waves!

The bigger worry now is the overheating reactors at two nuclear power plants; again, neither is near our home base. However, our city is, indeed, scheduled for rolling blackouts in three-hour periods twice daily

I, however, was very, very far removed from the danger and inconvenience, as I have been snow and ice bound in Montreal since October...

Oddly enough, even with the earthquakes, tsunami, malfunctioning nuclear power plants, and rolling blackouts, I miss my Japan life....

Daylight Saving Time

Last night at midnight marked the beginning of Daylight Saving time here in Montreal (Eastern Time). Since Japan does not have Daylight Saving time, this was the first time in thirteen years that I changed my clocks - everything sprang forward one hour.

And now, at 7:15 p.m., I see that the sky is still reasonably light, and I guess, after all these years of early-onset darkness, I appreciate it!

Out of the Fire...

And not really into the frying pan at all; but still, even with the earthquake, tsunami, failing nuclear power plants and rolling black-outs, I'm a little bit sorry that I am not in Japan still, although my mother has expressed several times how happy she is that I am not there at this time.

Thankfully - Brian is totally fine and only mildly affected (rolling blackouts, non-running trains).

Everyone by now has seen on the news the extensive damage caused by the massive earthquake that hit Japan on Friday afternoon (March 11th, 2011). Reports now say that the death toll just in Miyagi may exceed 10,000 people.  Thankfully for us, though, our area and the region where most of our friends live, was not badly affected and nobody we know has been hurt.

Here is a photo that Brian took of the Numazu Harbor after the earthquake and tsunami. It is very calm - but of course, as he said, the city had closed the storm doors to protect against waves!

<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/izu-marine-harbor-after-quake.jpg"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/izu-marine-harbor-after-quake-300x222.jpg" alt="" title="izu-marine-harbor-after-quake" width="300" height="222" /></a>

The bigger worry now is the overheating reactors at two nuclear power plants; again, neither is near our home base. However, our city is, indeed, scheduled for rolling blackouts in three-hour periods twice daily

I, however, was very, very far removed from the danger and inconvenience, as I have been snow and ice bound in Montreal since October...

Oddly enough, even with the earthquakes, tsunami, malfunctioning nuclear power plants, and rolling blackouts,  I miss my Japan life....

Everyone by now has seen on the news the extensive damage caused by the massive earthquake that hit Japan on Friday afternoon (March 11th, 2011). Reports now say that the death toll just in Miyagi may exceed 10,000 people.  Thankfully for us, though, our area and the region where most of our friends live, was not badly affected and nobody we know has been hurt.
Here is a photo that Brian took of the Numazu Harbor after the earthquake and tsunami. It is very calm - but of course, as he said, the city had closed the storm doors to protect against waves!
<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/izu-marine-harbor-after-quake.jpg"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8641912/uploads/2011/03/izu-marine-harbor-after-quake-300x222.jpg" alt="" title="izu-marine-harbor-after-quake" width="300" height="222" /></a>
The bigger worry now is the overheating reactors at two nuclear power plants; again, neither is near our home base. However, our city is, indeed, scheduled for rolling blackouts in three-hour periods twice daily

I, however, was very, very far removed from the danger and inconvenience, as I have been snow and ice bound in Montreal since October...