h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Reading the updated BBC feed, it sounds like the waves are a lot better than was feared.

Bashing out more job apps as I don't get the role at Eon: been tweaking my CV, but I've also got a course on that after the weekend.

An earthquake is not out of the question where I live: there is a large cave system nearby and the geology is on show, of hundreds of magma dykes jutting out of the hills. But it's fire I need to be prepared for, and I guess it's abut time I packed my escape kit.

Don't have a survival kit, as Swedish weather in general doesn't get bad enough to make it absolutely impossible to get to the nearest mini- or supermarket.

Even that Friday when no buses were running and I struggled through the snow to get to the local shopping mall, it was full of people. I remember thinking 'how the did they all manage to get here?' Especially since the roads hadn't been cleared.

I hadn't thought about how being in the chariot will affect your escape plans; do you have a couple of drivers (always plan for a backup!) who can get you out?

Pretty shocking what occoured in Japan this morning.

Yes, I have spent much of today adding my own salt water to the unwanted salt water of the Pacific. The only crumb of consolation I could think of was that at least this was death and destruction *not* caused by humans being mean to each other. And that wasn't much consolation when watching footage of cars and homes being swept away and crushed, probably with people still inside them.

And then an evening spent explaining to the children why a release of radioactive vapour is nothing to worry about, when I'm not wholly convinced of this myself.

A very low sort of day, today.

Mol

If a threat were serious enough to warrant evacuation, I would be one of the first to be kicked out of town -- a sheriff's car or ambulance would remove me, someone trained in the EMT technique for shifting paraplegics. So, knowing that our thinly stretched services need every minute for this sort of thing, the least I can do is have my kit ready to go. And store it somewhere the cats can't p ee on it, like they did last year.

I've spent much of the day at the computer, transfixed by the images from Sendai and environs. A whirlpool!

I've donated some money and got on with life.

I had a friend who is now a zoo vet round for dinner, conversation included artifically inseminating elephants.. and er other things.

Just watched the video BB posted. I can't post my initial reaction without being modded.

It's at times like yesterday morning that I'm glad I don't have a TV anymore. Haven't seen any ads about donating, though, either -- does anyone have a link on that?

Well, there are probably lots and lots, but I have a particular liking for Shelterbox.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-12722367
http://www.shelterbox.org/
They provide instant housing, literally, and I think housing is a big priority just now, on the northeast coast of Japan.

Thanks, Lil. I've just sent a donation to Shelterbox. I've often wondered why the majority of shelters for Haiti were some backyard pavilion type things with no sides on. Wish I'd known about these folks then.

Got *really* inspired to up my quake kit restocking -- the coast from British Columbia to Northern California has an offshore fault frighteningly similar to the one that triggered at Sendai. Last time it went was 300+ years ago -- it was 1700, and the date is known because the Japanese recorded the "ghost waves" that hit there. Ghost waves are what they had called tsunamis that hit them without a quake attached. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1700_Cascadia_earthquake

The nuclear reactor going BOOM is pretty scary, too. The San Onofre Plant on the coast of Orange County? Maybe not such a good spot to put it in retrospect.

evening all

[GDZ]

Watched 'Léon' last night for the umpteenth time, but was bitterly disappointed - it seemed to be the 'sanitized' US version, because huge gaps were missing in the storyline. I hate it when they do that to a movie.

Am looking forward to SVT showing the Millennium series again though, 3 Sunday evenings in a row. Need to plan carefully though since each episode is 2.5 hours long, whihout any commercial breaks at all (hooray for state television, despite the fee!).

Not available online though, due to copyright issues. Guess I'll have some pretty tired Mondays ahead of me since the episodes don't start until 9 pm.

*tosses a random 't' into previous posting*

Somebody please poke me when I'm over-using the word 'though' *sighs*

My new scanner is really nice; I ran through a bunch of dad's war stuff. A friend is going to clean the interior of my tower box tomorrow, which will be a great boon. I hate having to farm out tasks like that, but I just can't crawl around the floor at the moment.

What a weekend.

Lil, which scanner did you get? I've been looking for one lately, but they each seem to be missing one thing or other I wanted.

Morning all.