25 Minutes of Agonizing Helplessness

A recently found and released video of the 2011 Japanese tsunami has got to be seen to be believed. I generally don't watch clips longer than a few minutes, but what this one illustrates is just how unbelievably long the tsunami advances. I can think of no other way to show this than actually seeing that duration. And there are some cuts, so it's not clear if we're actually seeing the whole thing.

The first arrival is about 3 minutes in, and at first it doesn't look all that bad, though the boats being swept up and along are dramatic. Obviously, the onlookers are unimpressed at first, as well; they're remarkably nonchalant. Then it gets worse.

Then it gets much worse.

And by the end, it's catastrophic.

I white-knuckled my way through it, and any geo-inclined readers are advised to do the same. The educational value of this clip is incredible.

Know The Difference

Bif Naked

Bif, furry. Yes it's subtle, but I'm fond of both of them, so I'm obligated to know the differences. Don't know Bif Naked? Your loss.

Saturd80's

The Vapors, Turning Japanese:

B-52's, Rock Lobster:

XTC, Senses Working Overtime:

RIP Spirit

There have been numerous reports over the last couple of days on the fact that after many attempts, NASA is giving up on re-establishing contact with the Spirit Rover. Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy provides what strikes me as a very fitting eulogy. Followup: Another concise but satisfying summary of the life and times of Spirit by Ryan Anderson at The Martian Chronicles.

I got quite a bit of flack, early in Spirit's rovings, for pointing out that it was very slow, primitive, and limited. I stick by those comments, though. With a six-hour source of breathable air, a hammer, hand lens and camera, I could accomplish in that time much of what Spirit took six years to do. What my critics failed to grasp was that this was intended as a slam on neither the rover, its engineers, nor the mission scientists who managed the day-to-day logistics, data acquisition and analysis. The fact is, we do not have the means to put me (or others more competent) onto Mars alive. Spirit was state-of-the-art... ten years ago. My point was simply that compared to technologies of the near future, or (drool) human explorers, it's important to understand just how limited Spirit really was. That should take nothing away from the accomplishments of the plucky little rover that could, but rather provide motivation and inspiration for the next steps in our exploration of Mars and other solid-surfaced planets and moons.

To Paraphrase the X-Files, the truth is out there, and I want to believe we have the determination to find it. I know we have the resources. I know if we choose to, we can figure out how to make it happen. The only thing I'm uncertain about is whether we have the will.

Certainly, taking the next step will help make up for the undignified manner of Spirit's demise:

Saturd80's: Extended Rapturous Apocalypse Edition

Since I gather this may be the last Saturd80's I'll be able to post, I'm gonna double up. Blondie, Rapture:

REM, End of The World as We Know It:

Tom Lehrer, So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III):

Not precisely apocalyptic... but it has always felt that way to me. Kate Bush has done more goose bump-raising pop music than anyone I can think of. (BTW, yes, that is a very young Hugh Laurie.) Kate Bush, Experiment IV:

Not apocalyptic at all, but I can't dodge the title. Motels, Apocalypso:

And I finally thought of the perfect song to end this set with: "This is what you want? This is what you get." Think about it, rapturists. Public Image Ltd., Order of Death:

This Is the Last Night of the World

I started listening to Sarah McLachlan during the summer of 1992, so her music doesn't technically fit the Saturd80's format. But she, like another of my female musical idols, Kate Bush, was one of those teen prodigies. McLachlan signed a contract with (I believe) Nettwork records when she was 16 or 17. I first came upon this song, originally from 1988, on her compilation album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff (1996). As much as I like her solo work, I find the combination of her soaring vocals with the beat-heavy synth-electro-pop of Manufacture impossibly appealing. May not be your cup of tea, but it's sure my cup of coffee! And what with the raptor almost upon us, how can I resist? I can't.

I'm not convinced any of the slinky women in this clip are actually my dear Sarah- first, none of them really look like her (though to be sure, she was much younger then), and second, I'm not convinced she would ever act that undignified. But make up your own mind.

The thing that brought this to mind was another apocalyptic video I came across a few minutes ago. I don't like this song as well, but it's not bad...

...and the mix of movie clips is awesome.

Saturd80's: Figgy Duff Edition

Figgy Duff was a group formed in Newfoundland in the mid 1970's, and who came to my attention about 1981. I grew up with Irish and Celtic music, and it remains one of my favorite genres. Figgy Duff's unique take on a unique folk culture that preserved their own version of Celtic music is a sound for which I have held deep respect and appreciation for about 30 years now.

Woman of Labrador... so beautiful, so sad:

Henry Martin... Pirates were not what we have romanticized them to be:

Geese in the Bog... a very evocative instrumental piece:

Saturd80's

The Cult, She Sells Sanctuary:

Depeche Mode, Dreaming of Me:

Peter Gabriel, Games Without Frontiers:

Saturd80's: Donnie Darko Edition

I've been pretty knocked out with a cold or flu for the last few days, and haven't come into Interzone since Wednesday. I've been told quite a number of times that I should watch Donnie Darko. I had been told the big spoiler, so I went into the movie knowing what was going on- to an extent- and didn't find it as strange or confusing as I would have otherwise. Still, I found it wonderfully bizarre, and bizarrely moving; there were at least four points during the film that I found tears running down my face. I won't give you the spoiler here (you might find some at Wikipedia), though my own feeling is that I enjoyed it more knowing the twist at the end than I would have otherwise. I can also say that it is, without a doubt, a movie I will go back to repeatedly, partly for sheer enjoyment, and partly to try to figure out what are answerable questions, what are differences of perspective, what are red herrings, and what are irreconcilable paradoxes (because life- and this movie- has those too, you know).

One more notable aspect of this film, which is set in 1988, is that it reminded me of quite a bit of 80's music; some was too poppy for my taste then, but is sort of nostalgic now, some had new covers done which I liked to varying degrees, and some I had just forgotten.

This is the original Tears for Fears version of Mad World (with a student-filmed video), which I prefer over the movie cover. I should add the proviso that in my opinion the cover fits the mood of the movie better. (The cover version can be seen here.)

Oingo Boingo, Stay:

Echo and the Bunnymen, Killing Moon:

If you like the surreal, puzzles and ambiguity, I do recommend Donnie Darko. Thanks to all the young friends who told me I'd enjoy it. It was sad and funny and very human... and I did.

Saturd80's: Bagpipes Edition

AC/DC: It's a Long Way to the Top if You Want to Rock and Roll:

Rare Air, Reels:

Steve Earl, Copperhead Road:

My understanding on this one is that the bagpipes are sampled and played digitally via keyboard.

Saturd80's: Shadowfax Edition

see more dog and puppy pictures

I was introduced to Shadowfax by a young woman on my first geology field trip to southern Oregon and northern California. Jad D'Alura from SOSC led the trip, and we spent the night with various geology students from that university. Many were the rocks beaten during the day, and many the beers who gave their lives that night. I nearly forgot the name of the group in the following years, but a later room mate had a couple of their albums, and I was happily reintroduced to their music. I've been in much need lately of plain and simple beauty, what with all the terrible news, and Shadowfax fits the bill. The name comes from Gandalf's horse.

Shadowdance:

Another Country:

New Electric India:

Earthquake and Tsunamis in Japan, Part II

After spending pretty much the whole day yesterday, and making what felt like very little progress through all the information flying through teh innertubz, I promised myself I wouldn't do the same thing today. Yeah, well... promises are made to be broken, right? I'm just finding too many frightening and amazing things this morning to ignore them. For example:

Mary at Geographile found this amazing video of liquifaction and mud volcanoes on reclaimed ground after the quake. I don't think I've ever seen footage of this phenomenon active before; many photos of the aftermath, but it's pretty interesting to see the actual process.

This clip has been all over the place this morning: the nuclear emergency that was widely reported yesterday has culminated (hopefully) in an explosion at the Fukushima power plant:

Many of the usual suspects are treating this as apocalyptic, Chernobyl-level or worse news, and I'm still trying to unravel exactly what happened. My current understanding, which to be clear may be incomplete or incorrect, is that this is a steam explosion. It clearly is not a core explosion. Some radiation has been leaked, but officials are claiming it is not intense. Still, I find the lack of details in official reports troubling. I'll add on additional information as I find it.

So as I did yesterday, I'll add items as I continue reading. The times I post with each represent the time I found it, not the time it was originally posted... there's still an enormous backlog from yesterday, some of which may be dated at this point, but some of which will undoubtedly provide some important background.

12:27 PM, PDT (UTC minus 8 hours)- Oregon Live lists seven reputable organizations that are accepting donations to aid the victims of the quake. In another article, the same source notes that the FBI is warning the public to be wary of scam artists posing as aid organizations.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Friday that con artists often prey on donors responding to charity calls in the wake of natural disasters. The warning comes as charities begin reaching out for contributions to help deal with the damage caused by Friday's tsunami.

12:37- Commenter CJR points out an interview by Evelyn at Georneys with her father, a nuclear engineer, on the unfolding Fukushima reactor crisis. Due to noise here inside the Interzone, I haven't been able to listen to it yet, and I'm hoping Evelyn finds time to transcribe it. However, I've been reading so many positive comments on how her father explains the situation that I'm just going to pass it on to readers, even though I haven't listened to it yet.

12:46- OregonLive catches an AP story that reiterates some of what I've read elsewhere, and clarifies some points on the Fukushima story:

The blast destroyed the building housing the reactor, but not the reactor itself, which is enveloped by stainless steel 6 inches thick.

Inside that superheated steel vessel, water being poured over the fuel rods to cool them formed hydrogen. When officials released some of the hydrogen gas to relieve pressure inside the reactor, the hydrogen apparently reacted with oxygen, either in the air or the cooling water, and caused the explosion.

So it was hydrogen exploding (chemically, not fusion) that caused the blast, and the inner steel containment vessel was not breached. The article also confirms my unease with the lack of information and transparency: "But authorities did not say why, and the precise cause of the explosion and the extent of the ongoing danger were not clear."

1:01- Susan at Geology in Motion works toward an order of magnitude estimate for the amount of energy the tsunami imparted on the Japanese coast, concluding that the value is somewhere in the range of 1 to 100 times that of (sum total of) the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She concludes with the comment, "My 'gut feeling' from looking at the number of completely devastated cities is that these higher numbers are very likely."

1:09- In Focus has a gallery of 48 large-format photos. There is some overlap with images from yesterday's Big Picture post, but a number I haven't seen before, as well.

1:17- SciAm:

GENEVA, March 12 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that the public health risk from Japan's radiation leak appeared to be "quite low" but the WHO network of medical experts was ready to assist if requested.

So is WHO making this judgment based on their own observations and data, or upon evasive statements by public relations officers? 'Cause, you know, that kind of matters.

1:38- Callan has a good piece on so-called "secondary effects," or follow-on consequences of earthquakes, which often kill many more people than the quake itself. As he points out, few people die directly from the quake. Have you ever heard of quake-induced whiplash?

1:43- Elli Goeke at Life in Plane Light extends her post from yesterday of links for her students with today's links.

1:46- Yesterday we saw aerial footage of the tsunami sweeping through the Sendai Airport. Today Bits and Pieces finds footage shot from inside the terminal:

2:08-OregonLive: $10 million in damages to Port of Brookings alone. I've read of serious damage to harbors and ports in Coos Bay, Port Orford, Depoe Bay and Gold Beach in Oregon, and Crescent City and Santa Barbara in California. I'll keep an eye out for sources and links as I go- those are just from memory, which is most certainly not flawless. 3:18- here's the article I read last night discussing the some of the tsunamis' impacts on the OR coast.
2:15- Whew! That's a relief! (What Would Jack Do?) In a non-ironic vein, it's too early to make any serious observations or predictions, but this may have negative consequences for the nascent economic recovery. So to say "no impact on Ohio" may be a bit premature... at least in terms of "secondary effects."

2:20- Oregon Expat:

My email inbox has continued to flood with earthquake notifications, more than doubling yesterday’s tally. As of right now (15:00 GMT), Japan has experienced a total of 171 earthquakes greater than M 5.0.

Of those, 26 were stronger than M 6.0, including a 6.8 that occurred at 1:47 this morning and a 6.4 less than two hours ago. Incredible.

I'm having a really hard time getting my head around 171 M 5+ quakes, with 26 equal or greater than M 6, in less than 48 hours. Criminy.

2:36- A very helpful post from Swans on Tea discussing the issues with the Fukushima reactor (with the amusing title, which at first I didn't get, "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night"):

The reactor is shut down, so what’s the danger? The products of a fission reaction are typically radioactive, and subsequent decays also release energy. Shutting down the reactor reduces the fission rate by many orders of magnitude, so it’s effectively zero in terms of heat output, but the radioactive fission products still release up to 6-7% of the plant’s power output. The actual value depends on the operating history; the fission products with long half-lives take longer to build up to steady-state values. This value will drop fairly quickly as the short-lived isotopes decay, but it’s still significant — a reactor rated at 1000 MW will still be producing tens of MW of decay heat. The reactors in question at Fukushima Daiichi are rated at 460 or 784 MW.

2:41-@argillic RT @ejgertz: "Personnel have flooded Fukushima reactor 1 w/ seawater & boric acid: 'throw in the towel' strategy that perm. damages reactor." So hopefully, that's that.

2:47- Chris Rowan at Highly Allochthonous put up some background information in a post from yesterday. For me, the most helpful bit was on some of the reasons that modern moment magnitudes (estimates of total energy released, as opposed to Richter magnitudes, based on ground motion) frequently get revised upwards in the hours and days following very large quakes. I haven't seen any resolution to this yet, but while the MSM news sources are still reporting this as an 8.9, the geoblogosphere was reporting fairly early yesterday that USGS had upgraded it to a 9, and some other agency (which one?) to a 9.1. Again, Chris titled his piece with an eye to humorous tongue-in-cheek recognition of this.

3:26- I, Cringely gives a good rundown on "How Flea Powder May Be Saving Lives in Japan," highlighting a use of boron (in the form of borates, or more likely, sodium polyborate) that I mentioned just ten days ago. As I noted at 2:41, there are now reports that the borate coolant has been injected into the reactor, which is apparently a permanent killer.

3:40- If you've spent any time reading this blog at all, you know I don't have much use for religion or prayer. That doesn't mean I don't entertain benevolent thoughts and wishes for those suffering and endangered, just that I don't have any belief that there's a great sky wizard waiting around pensively to find out what I'm going to blow out the candles and wish for today. I like hope, and I like this (Sober in a Nightclub):3:49- Ben Travato, The Wulfshead: "We are all Springfielders now."

3:52- I sometimes forget why I subscribe to The Telegraph (UK). Then they remind me. They print some of the stupidest, overblown, sensationalistic headlines this side of the Weekly World News: "Earthquake like 'dropping boulder the size of the Isle of Wight into the ocean.'" All of it from sea level up, or from the ocean floor up? Maybe including the whole of the crust, or the mantle as well? And, uh, dropping it from how high? Sigh... nitwits.

4:12- NASA provides side-by-side before and after images (2/26/11 & 3/12/11) of the flooding near Sendai, Japan:4:37- Jessica Ball at Magma Cum Laude has a post that does a good job of getting at the complexities inherent in establishing a causal relationship between an earthquake and a subsequent volcanic eruption. I'd add that both subduction quakes and volcanic arcs result from (are caused by) subduction zones, so they are related, but as Jessica points out, only rarely will a quake actually trigger an eruption. The details of how a quake might trigger an eruption, though, are interesting.

4:41- Silver Fox at Looking For Detachment has added many, many more links to her post from yesterday, so if you're wondering how the geoblogosphere is responding to the news, this remains the most comprehensive list of Japanese quake/tsunami posts that I'm aware of.

4:50- More on the Fukushima reactor crisis: NYT:

A radiation leak and explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Saturday prompted the government to expand an evacuation order to affect 170,000 people in the plant’s vicinity. And the plant’s operator issued an emergency notice early Sunday morning that a second reactor at the same aging plant was also experiencing critical failures of its cooling system, and that a way to inject water into the reactor to cool it was urgently being sought.

Al Jazeera's liveblog:

6:29am [local time, UTC plus 9 hours]

Fukushima nuclear plant - where a huge explosion yesterday blew the outer walls and roof off the No.1 reactor building - faces a new problem.

The emergency cooling system of No.3 reactor has now also stopped working, the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has announced.

Sea water is being pumped into the No.1 reactor chamber to cool its fuel rods - and officials are scrambling to secure a means of of supplying water to the No.3 reactor.

Also from the Al Jazeera liveblog, this eerie photo:5:06- great discussion at Boing Boing of what's happening in Fukushima's "black box," and what we can expect going forward. (spoiler: if it doesn't get worse, it'll get better.)

Also, a friend of mine left some data on the energy released in the comments... too big to comprehend.

Earthquake and Tsunamis in Japan

The Big Picture, #6
The Big Picture, #7

Above, two stunning photos from The Big Picture show a Tsunami sweeping into Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. This set of (currently) 43 pictures is mind boggling.

I caught word of this just before I went to bed last night. I'm really just getting started today, but I've already received a couple of e-mail requests from readers and relatives to chime in. Looking at the enormous amount of stuff that's rolling in today, I think the way I'll approach it is simply to link and comment briefly on items that strike me as particularly worthwhile. Various news agencies are going to have better resources for reporting, and other geobloggers are going to offer better interpretations. I think I can best serve by picking out what I think is most informative. I'm just going to post updates as I find useful links, rather than try to get all the cats in a row before posting. I think it may be months before this gets straightened out.

(All times PST, UTC minus 8 hours) 11:41- Dave Bressan at History of Geology provides some historical background on earthquakes in Japan.

11:46- Via NYT's Dot Earth blog and @callanbently, the first video I've seen so far, and some commentary on the risk to Oregon's schools. To be clear, Oregon is moving to retrofit or replace schools with high seismic risk- two have been closed and replaced in Corvallis alone over the last 20 years. This issues are that it isn't happening quickly enough, and anti-government, anti-tax interests make funding very difficult for these expensive undertakings. Furthermore, the risk awareness in the general population is low. Many of us fear that what it's going to take is an enormous disaster, with thousands or tens of thousands of casualties, before voters take it seriously. And then, of course, it's too late.

11:55- callanbentley Awesome RT @rockbandit: Tsunami surge arriving in San Francisco Bay http://bit.ly/hNcBJs /via @cosentino. Awesome photo at the "http" link. Also, News10_CA News10 - California KDRV, ABC Oregon affiliate, has confirmed that 4 people in Crescent City have been swept out to sea. One of the victims is a fatality. RT by GeoSocietyOR. OregonLive reports on the Tsunami reaching SW Oregon; it hit at low tide, and troopers had been out since the wee hours evacuating low-lying areas, so it wouldn't be a problem if not for people who can't read or follow instructions. Hint: If there are tsunami warnings, stay the hell off the beach. Natural selection doesn't care about your excuses... or your literacy.

12:06 PM- A report on the damage in N. California.

12:14- From Wil Wheaton's Tumblr, skyscrapers in Shinjuku. Yay! Science, technology and engineering work! Or maybe everyone was just praying really hard.

12:21- Oregon Expat:

In the seven years I’ve been subscribing to the U.S. Geological Survey’s email alert system, I have never seen anything like what happened today. Between 5:46 GMT and the moment I’m writing this (twelve hours later), there have been 86 earthquakes stronger than M 5.0 off the northeast coast of Japan.

Holy moley!

12:23- OregonLive reports tsunami tsiren tsounds again in Curry County at 11:15. Four people rescued south of Gold Beach, one nearly drowns. Fer chrissakes, stay the hell away from the water until an official all-clear is given. It's not just your life at risk.

1:09- NYT on how Japan's shaky history has created a culture of seismic awareness and preparedness.

1:13- KATU: "PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gov. John Kitzhaber said Oregon coast residents should be able to return to their homes by noon Friday after an evacuation prompted by a tsunami warning that resulted from an 8.9 magnitude earthquake just off the coast of Japan." But stay off the beach, dammit. 1:28- Also, OregonLive is reporting much the same, with some more detail. Lucky it was low tide

1:20- Via Pharyngula, a video clip from The Guardian. I'm overwhelmed.

1:40- OregonLive is reporting major damage in Brookings, the southernmost town on the OR coast. Brookings is where I taught, and the house I lived in looked directly across the Chetco River at the port. Most of the fleet moved out to sea to avoid damage, but many in port have been damaged or destroyed. One body found, but not clear the victim died during the tsunami. More on damage to US west coast and Hawaii from OregonLive here. 1:59- Aerial photo of Port of Brookings.

1:48- NYT: Cooling crisis at Japanese nuclear power plant, nearby residents evacuated. Plant engineers "planning to release slightly radioactive vapor to reduce pressure inside a reactor." Define "slightly," please.

1:55- Silver Fox has posted an exhaustive list of other geobloggers' posts on the events. I haven't worked back to most of them in my RSS feed yet, and I may very well link some of those posts later. But in the meantime, If you want geologists' perspectives, this is the go-to post.

2:05- I always feel a little futile and repetitive when I start banging this drum yet again, but perhaps in the aftermath of such a disaster, people may be more receptive to the message. Or not. I don't know. The PNW and Oregon in particular are not ready for an event like this, and we will have one at some time in the future. Preparing is cheaper, in terms of money, pain, and lives, than repairing.

2:15- Der Spiegel has a gallery of photos as well. They look to be largely screen captures from Japanese television, so they're not as high resolution as the leading set from the big picture. Still, jaw dropping.

2:21- In the "not-all-press-releases-are-awful" department, OSU has a couple of quick responses: West Coast tsunami warnings shouldn’t lull Oregonians to sleep. Money quote:

Robert Yeats, a professor emeritus of geology at OSU, agrees that Oregon is in better shape now than in 2005, when one of the last major tsunami warnings took place. “Then you had a bunch of people running down to the beach to take pictures, acting like idiots,” Yeats said. “It was sort of a fiasco. Oregon coastal communities seem to be better prepared now, even though there’s still work to do. Our building codes for new structures are much better than they used to be.

I had Yeats for a number of classes... good guy. Speaking of which, he also leads the second piece, Pacific Northwest faces nearly identical risks to Japanese quake:

Yeats, a professor emeritus of geology at Oregon State University, said that if people didn’t already get the message from recent disasters in Sumatra and Chile, they should pay attention now. “This is an earthquake of the same type, with about the same magnitude and proximity that we face here in the Pacific Northwest from the Cascadia Subduction Zone,” Yeats said. “What you are seeing in Japan today is what you will also see in our future. Except they are better prepared than we are.”

3:22- A gallery of coastal damage in southern Oregon and northern California at OregonLive.

3:49- Breaking news! The moon caused the earthquake! Umm... no, it didn't. (Erik Klemetti, Eruptions)

3:53- OregonLive. Hmm... I'm not sure I like the way this is being reported: geophysicist Robert Gellar says "I don't think those hazard assessments are meaningful" with respect to predicted 7.5 EQ, which turned out to be a (now revised) 9-9.1. I guess my thinking is "this is the minimum we need to be prepared for" should not necessarily be taken to mean "this is the maximum we can expect."

4:06- In yet more "News for Nitwits," in addition to beachcombing, surfing is another activity best avoided during tsunami warnings.

4:10- Wasting gazillions on something called tsunami monitoring. You just know the Republicans aren't going to tolerate that kind of waste.

4:17- Callan at Mountain Beltway has a post that offers not only a good summary (and lots of links), but illustrates one of the real strengths of blogging. After making a major error, and getting a correction in the comments, he strikes out the erroneous material and writes a corrected version. The error (and correction) are thus highlighted, not printed on different days, on page 1 one day and and page 37 two days later. The ability of bloggers to do this increases my trust in their good faith, due diligence, and credibility. It's a technique I've used from time to time, and I really appreciate it. Also, check out his Art Imitates Art post- if this isn't purposeful, it's almost certainly a subconcious imitation.

4:28- Clouds and Tsunamis: what do they have in common? Von Karmen vortices! (Steve Gough, Riparian Rap)

4:37- Evelyn at Georneys posts some more mind boggling footage of the disaster, and links to organizations that will channel donations to aid the victims.

4:53- From GeoCosas (Spanish), an animation I saw earlier as a QuickTime clip. This computer and QT don' t play well together, so I'm pleased to see a YouTube version.

5:13- OregonLive: Oregon Coast tsunami: Warning downgraded to tsunami advisory; state parks reopen.

"Basically, (the downgrade) means that we're still seeing wave energy from the tsunami, it's still affecting our coast, but it has less impact from before and there is not considered to be a major threat of damage," said Meteorologist Jeremiah Pyle.

5:16- I'm getting mixed messages from this report on the ongoing emergency at the endangered nuclear reactor five (!) nuclear reactors.

5:41- OregonLive has more coverage on damage to Oregon ports, and this video clip from Brookings. I've been out on that jetty a number of times- my house was about a block from there. The people who filmed this were very lucky nothing bigger hit. One of the things I've internalized about the coast is that you always need to be aware of your path for retreat in an uphill direction. I can't tell how far out on the jetty they were, but it's very rough and bouldery- you can't exactly run on it.

5:58- Despite some problems in some areas, OR coastal residents seem to feel the tsunami alert system worked pretty well. However, as Yeats pointed out in one of the OSU press releases, when our megathrust quake hits, warning windows are going to be on the order of minutes, not ten hours. On the other hand, a distant quake like this provides an opportunity to shake bugs out of the system.

6:02- My brain is full. Headin' home. Later all.

(Part II is here)

Mmm... Food!

Though he's better known for Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, I listened to one of Allan Sherman's albums on my MP3 player a couple of days ago, and was reminded of how much I enjoy this song. I looked up the lyrics a moment ago, and was pleased to resolve a puzzle that has stumped me for... well, nearly 45 years, I guess... the location of Columbee, China. Well, actually, it's column B (on a Chinese menu).

Hey! I tried to find this a year or more ago. Another great song that was in the playlist, You Went the Wrong Way Old King Louis:

Saturd80's

The Ramones, The KKK Took My Baby Away:

I think I've posted this one before, but I like it. Fad Gadget, Collapsing New People:

And a hat tip to Tengrain, who reminded me of this one yesterday: Freur, Doot Doot:

Saturd80's

Blancmange, Living on the Ceiling:

Public Image, Ltd, Order of Death:

Divinyls, Science Fiction:

If You Don't Care For 80's, How About Some 90's?

1690's, that is. I went out for a smoke, and Nick was in a conversation about music theory, and pointed out that a lot of pop music is "Louie, Louie." This guy says most pop music is Pachelbel's Cannon in D. Very funny stuff.

Saturd80's

The Cars, Bye Bye Love:

Joan Armatrading, I'm Lucky:

Dead Milkmen, Punk Rock Girl:

The Dead Milkmen - New Music - More Music Videos

Five Years Ago Today

Cheney got a gun, from the Bob Rivers Show. There is some uncertainty regarding the exact date of this incident- unsurprising given our former VP's unwillingness to respond honestly to questions of any kind, or to take responsibility for any of his fubars. According to Wikipedia,

The shooting was widely reported to have taken place on Saturday February 11, 2006, based on the public statements of Katharine Armstrong, owner of the 50,000-acre (200 km2) Armstrong Ranch. However, in her written statement to the Sheriff, she said that the shooting happened on February 12.

Harry Whittington, in his only public statement, said that "accidents do and will happen – and that’s what happened last Friday" (February 10). Whittington has not made another statement or issued a written statement about the shooting.

The shooting wasn't publicized for at least a day or two after it occurred, and many of us have assumed that was to give Darth an opportunity to sober up. That accusation has, of course, been strongly denied, with everyone involved insisting there was no alcohol.

Armstrong, the ranch owner, claimed that all in the hunting party were wearing blaze-orange safety gear and none had been drinking, and that at lunch they drank beer, which contradicts her later statement that "there may (have been) a beer or two in there [the coolers at lunch], but remember not everyone in the party was shooting." Cheney has acknowledged that he had one beer four or five hours prior to the shooting. Armstrong said she never saw Cheney or Wittington drink until later at the house, when Cheney had a cocktail. Armstrong did not actually see the incident happen, believing that the reason Cheney's security detail was running was that Cheney had a heart problem, although Cheney described her as an eyewitness in his Fox interview.

So there is standard Cheney operating procedure: multiple conflicting stories, denial of responsibility, no consequences, and a heartfelt apology. No, not from Cheney, you silly person, you: Whittington later apologized to Cheney for getting shot.

Followup: Also, as it happens, Sarah Palin turns 47, and Thomas Edison turns 164. Edison has, of course, been dead for nearly half that time, instead of brain-dead for most of it.

Oh'Really?

Apparently, a new meme is circulating through the ol' innertubz, and I have to say, I love it.These and many more are at GeekoSystem.
Followup: more examples and some actual Oh'Really statements here.

"We're pinheads all"

They tell us that
We lost our tails
Evolving up
From little snails
I say it's all
Just wind in sails
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O

We're pinheads now
We are not whole
We're pinheads all
Jocko homo
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
Are we not pins?
We are Devo!

Monkey men all
In business suits
Teachers and critics
All dance the poot
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
Are we not pins?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O

I got a rhyme that comes with a riddle
O-HI-O
What's round on the ends and high in the middle?
O-HI-O

God made man
But he used the monkey to do it
Apes in the plan
We're all here to prove it
I can walk like an ape
Talk like an ape
Do what a monkey can do
God made man
But a monkey supplied the glue

Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
We are Devo!

We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
O.K. let's go!