Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Gold Beach is in Oregon. You not being able to read has nothing to do with my supposed lack of credibility.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan My dad is in Tokyo for business but we just heard from him this morning. He was on the 11th floor of the hotel when the first earthquake hit and the building was evacuated. He said that he never realized a building could sway that far! Thankfully Japan is built to handle these sort of 'quakes but it was still scary!
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan I just saw on the teevee that parts of Japan literally sank far beneath sea level, and are now large bodies of water. Maps may have to be withdrawn, or so they reported.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan A wave that is caused by the displacement of enormous volumes of water is a Tsunami, whether it travels 1 mile or 4000 miles. But since you use the term "tidal wave," the dictionary definition is a hoot. tsunami [tsʊˈnæmɪ] n pl -mis, -mi 1. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) a large, often destructive, sea wave produced by a submarine earthquake, subsidence, or volcanic eruption. Sometimes incorrectly called a tidal wave.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Geez. They have half the population of the US living in an area the size of California, and that was before all this.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Watching the live helicopter video now, and the miles and miles of underwater areas, and I feel very small and in complete awe of our planet. Things look much, much worse now than I thought they would. What's ironic about this is while Japan was as modern as a society can be in being constructed to tolerate earthquakes, now that their capabilities were surpassed, the clean-up will be much, much more costly than the resorts and small villages wiped out in the '05 tsunami in Indonesia. I'm stunned. My Mom called my brother and me telling us to move out of the NW, so that was kind of funny and reactionary. She relocated to Montana years ago. What's going on in CA? What's the vibe? We're heading to Disneyland next week with the kiddos.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan There was a difference in definitions, so I anticipated that a dictionary would be mentioned, so I answered the objection before anyone brought up dictionaries. Always on your toes, this gave you the bright idea to think about dictionaries and raise the objection that I had answered. For my response, see the beginning of the post you are now reading.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan It has always had the definition I posted. The science behind what a Tsunami is is well documented, and nothing newer than the 1960s or even 1860s.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan This was posted on Wednesday: [video=youtube;r7QAZPb-IEQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7QAZPb-IEQ&feature=player_embedded#at=298[/video]
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan You must be old enough to be Minstrel's father. Well, her older brother at least. Well, 1860s, you could be her younger brother. This makes you an authority on forensic diachronic etymology.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan I'll say, to break off from the meteorology and oceanography track, that my particular vantage point has reinforced some stereotypes about the Japanese. At the worker-bee level, the people in security, customer service, janitorial staff, etc. couldn't have been nicer, and seemed to be quite orderly in how they were working last night and this morning. But they were hamstrung when asked questions about things that entail a modicum of flexibility or problem-solving. They were waiting on orders for common-sense (in my opinion) things--which I understand, from living here for a year--but the decision-makers weren't at the airport and weren't going to be at the airport. They needed (for lack of a better word) an on-scene commander. And then today, planes are ready to go (some have taken off), and the crews are about to load up, and we get word from Japanese gov't ATC that they can't tell us when our departures will be or from what gates. But the operations folks at each airline says they're ready to go. I know, small potatoes compared to some of the devastation elsewhere, but it's an interesting study in culture.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan and btw, I didn't check this out before I left (since I was just passing through Narita on the way back), but I looked it up today and the yen's trading at 79 Y to the dollar. I can't ever remember it that low. McD's burgers at the airport are costing guys 12 bucks. (they're making off like bandits, though...they were the first restaurant to let the employees open up last night/this morning and there are lines throughout the terminal. I refuse to pay $12 for a "Big American", though) How bad is the dollar going to get?
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Are they always robotic, or just during this confusing emergency? It's an interesting cultural difference if the former, understandable if the latter. CNBC said today that the yen remains strong as the dollar declines. Their logic: Less oil from Libya and maybe Saudi Arabia will hurt us, but Japan will now use less oil because of this earthquake, so they won't be hurt, so the yen isn't down. I really questioned their logic. Seems like Japan will use more oil to recover, not less. Brian, do American military and families still have to bow when anywhere close to the emperor? I remember my mother almost hitting his motorcade while driving and nodding her head in apology profusely while sitting in our car. She kept repeating, "Very sorry." Early 1950s. Japanese were amazed at McArthur's politeness orders after what they had done to China.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan it's not a 'have to" (anymore?), but it's a sign of respect. I was able to get a lot further with my questions/requests last night when speaking softly, asking clear questions, bowing when differing (to show that I wasn't trying to make them lose face, but that I disagreed respectfully), and saying "sir" and "thank you". Unlike people who were getting angry, raising their voice...those people seemed to become invisible to some of the people in "charge". It's not that much of a stretch from what I normally do (bowing my head aside), but it has major implications in Japanese culture, especially speaking to someone with a bit of authority and especially in front of his/her subordinates.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan "This Earthquake for Dummies" [video]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42039197#42038898[/video]
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan You miss my point, that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Millions of people could die in the following weeks, months, and years due to radiation poisoning and cancers caused by exposure from man's stupidity and greed for power as these nuke plants crumble and fail. Where do these people live? http://www.stelzriede.com/ms/html/mshwfugo.htm
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan I have a good friend who is a professor at Kanagawa University. Trying to get in touch but so far no luck.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Velly interesting. I like your description of how brusque people become invisible to them. Now that I think of it, I've often seen even Japanese here on the mainland turn their heads away from people talking to them and walk away, as if too busy to be bored with their boorishness. Anyway, we were under orders to treat Hirohito as our superior. That meant servicemen saluting and dependents bowing to his motorcade. Maris, you once read my account of Japan in a biography I wrote.
Re: 8.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Japan Yes. I lost it when my laptop died on me last summer. I didn't backup anything. Send me another copy? How close is Yokohama to the danger?
