Flametoad

First, an account from someone living in Japan.  The moral of the story is that disaster is something Japan has trained for, and in many ways they are better prepared for crisis management than most of us here in the US.

Next, the person above links to an explanation of how Japan’s nuclear reactors work and the safeguards in place. This is well worth your time to read. Even in the face of absolutely catastrophic disaster, the danger presented by the these reactors is pretty small. Educate yourself, then the next time you read a sensational headline ponder this:

I have been reading every news release on the incident since the earthquake. There has not been one single (!) report that was accurate and free of errors (and part of that problem is also a weakness in the Japanese crisis communication). By “not free of errors” I do not refer to tendentious anti-nuclear journalism – that is quite normal these days. By “not free of errors” I mean blatant errors regarding physics and natural law, as well as gross misinterpretation of facts, due to an obvious lack of fundamental and basic understanding of the way nuclear reactors are build and operated. I have read a 3 page report on CNN where every single paragraph contained an error.

Now let’s pray for the recovery of those affected in Japan, and if you’re so moved donate to the Red Cross.

Okay, for the record, let me say that I luuuv Netflix. (In a totally manly, platonic way, of course. Like how I luuuuv my Colt 1911 or my XBox.)  However, this morning while checking my feed reader I found out that Netflix didn’t love me back. Imagine my how crushed I felt when I learned that Netflix was treating me like just another cheap trick. How else do you explain this?

A screen shot of Netflix's RSS flood of more than 1000 dummy entries in their New Streaming Movies feed.

See, Netflix was kind enough to offer up RSS feeds (here) for things like New Releases, Top 100, and yes “New Choices  to Watch Instantly” aka new movies added to their streaming movie collection. However, now this morning they dumped more than 1,000 entries into the feed. And when I say more than 1,000, let’s just say I’ve been keeping my finger on the “page down” button a while now and that “1,000+” indicator you see on the left hasn’t budged. I could (and probably will) just tell Google Reader to mark all as read. The problem is that I have no way of knowing whether or not the last 500 in the list are legitimate movies or more dummies.

Also, WTH are these movies doing in the feed to begin with? For that matter, WTH is Netflix doing with them at all? Can you imagine someone getting paid to make these entries?

Really, Netflix get with the program and clean up your mess.

This week’s election left a lot of people frothing at the mouth, and their poor attitude put me in a foul mood in turn. I wanted to rant and rave… but there’s enough of that out in the world. The media does a great job of telling us what’s wrong with each other, but it sucks at spreading good news. I guess that means it’s up to me. Here are some good things happening in the world.

With all the angst over heath care (the government isn’t doing enough/the government is doing too much), doesn’t it feel good to know that Shriners Hospitals have been providing 100% free hospital care for children in need since 1922. These hospitals are funded entirely through donations and fundraising efforts (such as their circus) of Shriners International, a fraternal outgrowth of Freemasonry.

War is indeed terrible, if sometimes necessary. Our soldiers today can take small comfort that their predecessors in WWII and Vietnam were 3 times more likely to get killed in combat than today. Medical advances, such as the heart & lung in a suitcase and quick-clotting bandages mean that even grave injuries don’t have to be deadly.

The Great State Chinese Circus employs their own unique interpretation of Swan Lake.

Right here in Brazos Valley, my local Masonic lodge is sponsoring a free community pancake breakfast on December 4 at the Wellborn Community Center. We’re also accepting toy donations as part of a local toy drive.

Billy Coffey is like an alternate universe version of me. We’re about the same age, both come from rural areas, both work for universities, and both write fiction. Whereas I fell into writing RPGs in my early 30s, Billy wrote a novel. Snow Day: A Novel was released a few weeks ago to excellent reviews. I’m taking the e-book with me on an upcoming business trip. It’s uplifting to see dreams come true.

Very early in my marriage, my wife and I read Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. Laugh if you want, but it got us through that first year. One of the take-away messages was that you can’t dictate your partner’s feelings. No matter how irrational or misapplied, you just can’t tell your loved one “You shouldn’t feel neglected/offended/angry/sad/whatever. You should actually feel ‘X’ because I’m actually doing/not-doing ‘Y’.” It doesn’t work like that. People feel the way they feel, rightly or wrongly. At best, you can help them work through their negative emotion and come out the other side. You don’t do that by telling them how they’re supposed to feel, you do it by guiding them to a resolution. Or, other times, the best thing to do is leave them alone and let them work it out on their own.

I’m reminded of this as I see discussions about the “mosque” near Ground Zero. Whether community center or religious shrine, it has the right to be there. It’s as simple as that. Our constitution protects us all equally and I’d have it no other way. However, I’m alarmed by the people who frame the protest strictly in terms of religious intolerance, ignorance, or bigotry. I realize that the media thrives on controversy and a certain amount of this frenzy has been whipped up to sell air time or ad space. I’m sure politicians love it because it deflects, for however briefly, the real injustice in how partisan politics is tearing this country apart. However, don’t forget that some–maybe many–people are genuinely hurt and deeply offended by the presence of this center. I find it grossly insensitive when I see people write “Oh, you shouldn’t feel that way.” Try saying that to your significant other the next time you have a disagreement and see how well that goes over. That one sentence marginalizes one’s feelings in a way that would lead a couple to divorce. No wonder this country is so divided! Rather than berating people for feeling hurt or betrayed, maybe we need to help one another deal with the anger and hurt that still hasn’t healed. Maybe we need to accept that for some, it is simply too soon.

Even though this isn’t really Bruce Lee (it’s apparently part of a Nokia commercial), it’s still a neat video.

I became aware of Bruce Lee when I was in junior high, which is probably when a lot of boys realize that karate is really cool. My best friend, my cousin, and I would buy and devour martial arts magazines featuring articles on Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. I have a lot of fond memories of hanging out with my friends and watching Bruce Lee movies.