What now? Should we evacuate?

We know the people responsible are doing everything to avoid a total meltdown. We know the people within 30km of the reactors are evacuated. But what about those who are a little farther away?


Yes, this guy can switch the channels to watch the news. But the sentiment remains there is a lack of what's going right NOW in Fukushima. Things can literally change in a second.

We need more transparency with TEPCO and the government. We need more minute updates now.

saw a test mule tonight

The goods:

-Really really excited about seeing a test mule on my way home from work.
-full zebra prints hiding the design
-it's a hatchback (could be the next gen Suzuki Swift Sport)
-probably a Japanese manufacturer (here in Japan of course)
-my first ever spotting a test mule in full disguise
-the body disguise looked something like this (completely different shape needless to say)



The bads:

-10 at night, didn't get a chance to see it real good
-my guess can be way off, may be a Lexus hatch

The questions:

-We're so far from any car development facilities in this part of Japan (Chiba ken)
-parts manufacturers test their brakes and other safety systems near here, but not a full car
-If a family hatch, absolutely no reasons to use a test mule with full disguise
-guy driving the mule gave me a good long look because I revved and went real slow past him, wishing him good luck
-please give us something good!

2010 title (F1)

Who deserves it more this year? Alonso, Webber, or Vettel? Short answer: They all do.

Personally I'd say Webber most deserves the championship because he's worked so hard for so many years, stayed with a start-up through the worst, and finally sees a fruitful season. If he doesn't get this one he may very well never have another shot.

BUT, in this business there is no such thing as who deserves it more, only who's more dominant, more consistent, and more....... lucky. Yes it's better to be lucky than good sometimes, umm... all the times. Any of those on top now will need all three qualities to claim the most sought after prize in all of motor racing.

Good luck to them all!

First snow 初雪

First snowfall this winter (is it winter yet?) in northern Japan comes earlier than usual. First time in 6 years Oct sees any snow. It looks to be a tough one this year.



purple: snow
blue: rain
(latest weather map 10/26/2010 4pm Japan time)

Oct means the smell of kinmokusei

kinmokusei (キンモクセイ／金木犀) (Eng: Osmanthus fragrans a.k.a. Sweet Olive, Tea Olive and Fragrant Olive)

There is one of those trees in our backyard. At the end of summer it releases a subtle first scent one can detect with a keen sense of smell. Increasingly the subtleness is replaced by a sure but elegant aroma. It fills the chilled air with signs of fall, a constant and steady flow of nature's perfume.

someone's youtube video

F1's last 4 races

Or 3 remaining if not counting Korea.

The closest driver's championship race since, err, since forever. How can Button, the underdog champion, make a run for it? Personally I think he should go for all or nothing. With what's he's been doing the last 4 races, his current strategies aren't going to put him on top, so why bother?

Current ranking after Singapore before Japan, drivers - points
Mark Webber 202
Fernadno Alonso 191
Lewis Hamilton 182
Sebastian Vettel 181
Jenson Button 177

25 points up for grasp with each remaining race (25 * 4 = 100), it's really everyone's guess. One crash, strategic misstep, that's all it takes, but it won't happen to all 4 of them above Button. So all or nothing.

Aggression, more, thanks

If the Brits don't make it this year, PLEASE let Webber take the crown. PLEASE! Vettel will have his (many) championships when he's finally ready. While Alonso does deserve credit where it's due, he's stopped being amazing.

racing games

There are at least 4 racing games that look incredible on PlayStation 3 coming out near end of this year. It's a car enthusiast's heaven but with so little time, how am I going to play all these games?




The no-brainer: Gran Turismo 5
(place holder for vid)
merits: best simulation series for a decade




The look-at-me: NFS Hot Pursuit
(place holder for vid)
Merits: all the new super/hyper cars. Veyron, 918 Spyder, Zonda F




The free-world roamer: Test Drive Unlimited
(place holder for vid)
Merits: roam the island of Hawaii and drive the best cars in the world




The F1 lover: F1 2010
(place holder for vid)
Merits: the latest F1 season with all drivers and all tracks

feel good youtube

I hope, in the future my children will restore my S2000, before I die. Brought a tear to my eye. Could this be a viral ad? Who cares, it's so well done.

new earthquake warning system

There seems to be a new earthquake warning system in place lately in Japan. It must have come into effect in these few days.

Here is how it works:
1) sizable earthquake happens somewhere in this area (Kanto regions)
2) a loud warning beeps and vibrants for a few seconds on your cellphone (despite silence setting)
3) impact expected 5 - 10 seconds from time of warning
4) brace

We had our first warning this afternoon at around 5pm. We were in class so I got the students ready to dodge under the table if/when it'd happen. But it didn't, turned out a fairly regional quake didn't make itself felt over here. Still, a bit of a scare. We thought it was "the Big One".

Norwegian Wood, the movie

only trailer I can find now:


Tran presents 'Norwegian Wood' at Venice film festival

VENICE, Italy — The pacing, the blowing wind, the music and other atmospherics all helped create the tension in "Norwegian Wood," says Tran Anh Hung, presenting the haunting movie at the Venice film festival.
Based on a best-selling novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, the story of love, sexuality and loss -- mainly through suicide -- is set in Japan in the volatile 1960s.
"The film is rich in physical variation," the Vietnamese-born Tran told AFP, discussing scenes in which the lead character Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) paces around an apartment with the troubled Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), and later tries to keep up with her in a green field.

Senna, the movie

It looks like Senna, the Movie is being released in Japan first. Japanese title:
アイルトン・セナ　音速の彼方へ

Go to the official movie website to see a clearer trailer:
http://senna-movie.jp/

There is a trailer posted to youtube here


It's being released on Oct 8th in very limited theaters in Japan. I'll probably go see it in Odaiba Cinema Mediage in Tokyo.

driving Honda CRZ

Car: Honda CR-Z Alpha auto-manual (pedal shift)
Price (in Japan): 2.5 million yen (roughly USD 29k)


from my experience, here are two ways to look at it:

1) from a sports car point of view
It really is disappointing. It feels bulky, despite its best effort to keep the weight down. The steering input and feedback is a major let down. I don't know in that aspect it's better than Honda Fit - a family compact.

2) from a hybrid car point of view
This is way more fun than your run-of-mill Prius or Honda's own Insight. The preset modes are actually useful too. Sport/Normal/Econ. I was on Sport mode 99% of my test drive. The Econ mode is really snail-like, but it gets the job done - saving gas.

The good:
dash, dials, general interior feel very modern, easy to see, although there are way too many buttons to fiddle with
the pedal shift feels pretty textile, can't say I like it but general public probably do

The bad:
no punch behind the push, if the battery is fully charged, in Sport mode, and pedal to the metal, it gets up to speed, but no torque, at all

The ugly:
the sheer size it feels... it feels empty, especially with the so-called auto-manual pedal shift. VERY LITTLE FEEDBACK.

Verdict:
Until I can drive it a little harder for real, for now it lacks what makes a car sporty - information from the road conveyed back to the driver. It fails as a sporty car. It fails as an all-out hybrid in mileage. It's pitched toward the casual driver, somewhat environmentally minded, interested in sporty looking car, with no children (teeny tiny backseats).

extremely well done short animation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_(film)

The film was drawn in an unusual animation technique called photographica that consists of two celluloid layers for each character with special color schemes and with one of the layers out of focus to imitate the three-dimensional space rendering. The animation then actively moves the virtual camera to change perspective dynamically for each scene and give a sense of realism, without the use of any CGI methods (which weren't available at the time).
The characters in this animated film were designed with faces very similar to those of several famous movie actors and celebrities of the time, including Ringo Starr, Jean Gabin, Paul Newman, Yul Brynner and Mel Ferrer (The scientist) among others.

crises of global capitalism

This animated video illustrates David Harvey's speech that looks at how the current economic problems came to be.

WARNING: volume


The speech:
http://fora.tv/2010/04/26/David_Harvey_The_Crises_of_Capitalism

the new widow-maker?

...introducing Ferrari 458 Italia

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/41513/

The Ferrari 458 Italia, the Italian car manufacturer's latest model, might just be cursed. Ten of the exceedingly expensive vehicles have crashed in the past month, according to reports on Tuesday.

Six Ferrari 458 Italias have been involved in accidents, three caught on fire, and one was destroyed in a fire while it was being stored innocently in a warehouse.

Aug 23 2010

high 33C (while thermometer shows 35.8C)
overnight low 25C
humidity 88%
south wind 5m/s

Happy Birthday to my girl!
The heat of this summer is something. We had a relatively cool summer last year. The year before that was pretty brutal; we saw 40C weather in several prefectures. The nights are cooler this late into Aug but no breeze. The humidity is thick in the air through out the night you can cut it with a knife. We want to turn on the A/C but catching a cold is no fun.

Man VS Wild
I've been watching Man VS Wild. I'm usually pretty OK with the "delicacy" but this morning with some wine and overly sweet chocolate cake being digested down my stomach it almost turned. I had to stop the video to take a long breather.

I'm very surprised this group of people keep calling Bear Grylls fake. First of all, it's a TV show. One that shows survival situations, worst case scenarios, and ways to get out of them. How else can a TV show do it without setting things up? Bottom line, to me, it's entertaining, keeps my pulse racing, is far removed from what I can ever hope I can do, other words - a fantasy. On top of that, there are some real gems on survival techniques, however unlikely.

August updates

Summer summer hot hot hot. high 33C, overnight low 23C, humidity 88%

work:
moving forward... ever so slowly, need a new manager right now

life:
middle of summer, lots of festivals, another one this Sat
kid doing great, another one on his/her way
real physical signs of getting old(er)

car:
serious need of a pro wax job
car detailing is hard
as paint ages

population growth

Well one aspect of it, visualized.

what to listen to?

These have strangely been the days I listen to music often. Let's put it this way, "no music no life" has always been the furthest from my truth. I'd rather listen to a good engine scream to be honest. But with the drive I have now (good open top motoring, not so busy country roads) and the extra speakers right around my neck I finally got myself wanting to look for that missing piece of puzzle.

Here is what I've come up with in my journey to a second music discovery.

Indie

Everything that has indie in its names, indie rock, indie alternative, alternative rock, indie pop. I can't listen to anything else. For 3 years, I have tried everything on the horizon, well besides death metals. I find indie music a breath of fresh air, the only thing that goes into my ears through to my entire being without the cynicism.

But soon after my decision to stick with indie music I was hit with a dilemma. As I find out more about a particular band, I start to lose interest in them. I don't want to know who they are. I don't want them to become widely popular (main stream-ish), case in point, The Black Keys.

So the most sane thing to do is I get what I can from Internet indie outlets that bring in the unknowns and the lesser knowns. Still the damage is there. When I'm 50 years old, I'll look back to this decade seeing a blank sheet of music history when I chased the invisible. (I don't pay attention to who they are. The chances of them being played on the radio, now or ever, is a whopping zero.)

I'd rather have that than current pop, hip hop, pop rock, please god no. And I'll have the occasional opera tracks. Thanks.

manly romance

The most romantic thing I can think of, in toying with human emotions, the respect, glory, stupid manliness, death, cold machines, etc, etc, etc...



Forget this being a commercial. Forget this being a video. Forget this being two champions reminiscing about the past. Forget this is about Prost as much as Senna.

In the olden days these would have been battle machines, where generals had fought and lost their lives for all the glory to the people they served. In a sense completely meaningless. This is the same battle, without massive loss of lives except a handful.

The most romantic thing I can imagine, by a mile. Genuinely stupid.