Duck, Cover, Kiss Your Butt Goodbye. Really!

“All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” - Ronald Reagan

Yesterday, there were a couple news articles that caught my attention. The first was about residents from Fukushima nuclear disaster area who have radioactive urine. I don't know about you, but that makes my hair stand on end. It's just one more reason why I'm happy I don't have a microwave oven and am trying to limit my mobile phone use. Really.

The other troubling news item was an article suggesting that US nuclear evacuation plans haven't been updated to account for population growth. It seems that according to statistics based on the US Census information, urban populations around nuclear power plant facilities have ballooned 450 percent. So what that means is that if you live in an area near a nuclear power plant and your regular drive home from work is a slow, painful and maddening exercise of slowly crawling along with bumper to bumper 'stop and go' congested rush hour traffic … well, then you already know what your evacuation route driving conditions will be in the event of a nuclear accident, such as a meltdown. Seriously. Really.

If you are one of those types that like to wave off 'doom and gloom' scenarios dismissing them as 'what if' fantasies, then I guess I need to remind you of the disasters at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima disasters. Yes, nuclear power plants are not the fool-proof safe facilities that governments and industries purport them to be. Really.

Let's turn up the 'worry wart' factor just a few notches. Have you heard about all those airplanes that airlines routinely fly past their original life expectancy? It's the same thing with nuclear power plants. Today, in the United States alone, there are 104 nuclear power plants. The older ones still in operation today and built in the 50's, 60s' and 70's have, or maybe I should say had, an operational life of 30 years. The statistical probabilities for something mechanical to go wrong with them, let alone human error, increases significantly with each passing day of prolonged operation. They are disasters waiting to happen. Really.

Oh yes, I mentioned human error. Yes, humans are bound to get it wrong, maybe not every time, but obviously, we are not machines. Yes, we have computers to help us out these days, yet many often forget that humans also program and design those computers. And, as any computer programmer or hacker might tell you 'garbage in-garbage out'. Really.

Governments and 'Big Business' are certainly human creations. So is the oxymoron, military intelligence. And, in this respect I'm always amazed by how some people are able to speak in absolute terms about things they know very little about ... or more insidiously, don't want you to know about. For example, beginning in early 1950s, United States children were taught to “Duck and Cover” in the event of a nuclear weapon detonation. As if lying face-down, assuming a fetal position and covering their heads with their hands, would actually save them from being irradiated. Really.

History can teach us many things to prevent us from repeating the same bone-head mistakes again and again and again, ad nauseum. The history is atomic energy yields many examples. I would start at the beginning but we all basically we know what kind of devastation an atomic bomb can wreak. We've seen it's destructive power in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most of the fathers of atomic energy eventually condemned its development and use, especially for military purposes. Nevertheless, the 'powers that be' and those who would profit from the development of nuclear power said 'we can do better', especially in the face of international competition. And so the creation of the thermonuclear bomb, also known as the hydrogen bomb, was commissioned, carrying with it the strength of almost 60 atomic bombs. Really.

Harnessing nuclear energy was bad enough mainly for purposes of military muscle flexing, but eventually, wouldn't you know it, the powers that be said, “hey we can actually sell this stuff!” And, before you knew it, nuclear power stations were popping up all over the place. Moreover, regular people wanted the ability to nuke things, too. So microwave ovens were created for us all to nuke our food and to vent our frustrations on very small objects. Really.

Ever microwave a potato in the oven a bit too long? It becomes so dried out and hard it can break your teeth if you aren't careful. Similarly, it's been my opinion for many years that nuclear power is just too dangerous. I base this opinion not only the great potential it has to … um … put it lightly … kill people, but also on the fact that most of of people who would manage or regulate it are bone-heads. Really.

What concerns me also is how much of the public really want to stick their heads in the sand in denial because nuclear energy might save them some money on their monthly electric bill, and so they 'want to believe' that nuclear power is safe. They don't want to hear about the victims of Chernobyl or read about radioactive urine. These types just assume that in the case of an accidental nuclear meltdown in their area, they will probably be told to take some boric acid and a few extra vitamins, and their lives will go on their merry way. By the way, did you know that boric acid is a pretty good roach killer and that roaches are probably the only living species that will survive a nuclear holocaust? Really.

Wisdom suggests that if you play with fire, you will get burned. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but at some point in the future. I worry that whether it's the laws of probability or just 'Murphy's Law', nuclear power's destructive energy will eventually burn us all. Big Business is just too willing to cut corners on safety to protect their 'bottom-line', and regulatory governmental agencies are just too slow moving, lackadaisical and imbecilic to really protect the public. If you need proof, look no further than the 'Duck and Cover'* campaign and the fact that the former United States president, George W. Bush, Jr, couldn't even pronounce the word 'nuclear' correctly. Really.

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Links For Your Consideration:

Resources related to the 2011 Japan Crisis - How To Help:
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

If you think nuclear power plans are safe:
http://www.stopfplnow.org/

Pros and cons of nuclear power:
http://timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-nuclear-power-and-sustainability

Nuclear Power: Dangerous, Dirty & Expensive- 20 Key Facts
http://peaceandjusticeonline.org/2011/05/19/nuclear-power-dangerous-dirty-expensive-20-key-facts/


Wikipedia page on nuclear and radiation accidents
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_and_radiation_accidents

PS. Thanks for reading. Are you worried that the mismanagement of nuclear power will kill us all, or do you think a bigger worry is the radiation from our mobile/cell phones? Who are you scared more of 'Big Business', inept government or Godzilla? Let me know. Really!

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*Yes, I know that part of the ideology of the 'Duck and Cover' mantra was to protect children from flying shrapnel should they stand up and look towards the source of the 'flash'. A better preventative measure would have been to not develop nuclear weapons and jump start an arms race with other countries, in the first place.

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Multidimensional Multitasking For Multifaceted Malcontents

"Write without pay until somebody offers to pay"
- Mark Twain

Preamble:

These days, I'm in the middle of a big project. Well, more specifically, it's several projects that are all interrelated. OK, actually I'll be honest, the the only thing these projects have in common is that they are blog related and part of my overall scheme to see some profit from blogging in a 'professional' and very focused manner. Sounds good except for one problem: my creativity does not afford my mind the luxury of being able to 'stay the course' and focus on one thing at a time.

Regardless of the above, a wise man, expert in the ways of blogging, told me to focus on 1 thing at a time. He suggested I give 100% of my effort and attention to one blog, as opposed to 20% of my energy to 5 different projects. Easily enough said, and of course in all my born years I’ve heard that many times over. In fact, you’d think that by now, I'd know better. Apparently not! Yet, I do believe I have 'just cause' for dismissing such well-intentioned advice. Let me explain:

Ramble:

I have an active mind. Sometimes too overactive for my own good! I get 'ideas' for topics to write about that don't just 'occur to me', they actually possess me to spill them out into the corporeal world. Some of these ideas are silly, others are rational, sane and professional oriented. On this blog for example, I like to mix psychology with surrealism, health and neurosis, current affairs with the absurd, humanism with chaos theory, and Woody Allen with Henry Miller. On another blog I have, I write as an EFL teacher trainer. I  dispense humanistic advice, tips and tricks for the personal and professional development of language teachers. On yet another blog, I offer blogging advice to would be bloggers, albeit with a fair amount of self-deprecating humor. On still another blog … well, let's just say, I'm not me.

These blogs, like the music I write, are all extensions of my creativity. And, being creative not only means allowing ones thoughts to dictate ones 'art' but also refraining from self-censorship and self-repression. Regardless of whether I have an idea for integrating cross-curricular teaching approaches with critical thinking skills (pregnant pause) or free associating Sarah Palin with Genghis Khan and a power-tool, I most certainly do take full poetic license in expressing myself and revel in exercising my freedom of speech. I consider that engaging in self-censorship and conforming my thoughts and expression to meet the expectations of others is pretty much nihilistic.

Bearing this mind, you can understand why I need various outlets for my creativity, ideas, notions, ramblings, rants, and so forth. There is a place for everything, even brain-fart musings. However, since I'm not only interested in speaking, but also being heard, and hopefully commented to, having several 'store fronts', if you will, also helps foster discussion. Having different channels of communication makes it easier for people to practice their freedom of choice in at least a semi-coherent fashion.

For example, if you want to read about developing 'second language reading skills' at proficiency level, I doubt you'd also be interested in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or pseudo-intellectual babble about 'Dr. Boudreaux Butt-Paste'. You would prefer a steady stream of targeted programming. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is why we, as a society, created cable-television; 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Dancing With The Stars' just don't work back to back. Know what I mean? I think you do.

Off-Road Digressive Rambling:

That being said, there is always the danger of going to extremes. In this respect, I'm not sure why so many are hell-bent on pigeon-holding everything and everyone they come into contact with. It's almost as if there's a certain insecurity many possess due to their not having control over all they experience in life.

One possible consequence of this is our society's systems of education. Today, possibly for nefarious commercial reasons, we preach to children that specialists are more valued than well-rounded individuals. Students desiring to major in 'Liberal Arts' are branded 'under-achievers' or 'artsy fartsy wooly types'. Psychology majors must be able to fit very neatly into one of the thousands of splinter disciplines for licensing purposes. Mental health counselors must not practice family counseling, etc. It's no wonder I know several people with doctorate degrees who work at Starbucks and Pizza Hut!

As a person, I'm multitalented and multiskilled. And, I am so because I have many different interests and have pursued those interests. I'm certainly not a one dimensional person. I doubt that many people are. And, as such there is no reason to assume that that my writing or writing/creative projects would not be multidimensional, as well.

Moreover, in my working experience, I've yet to find one talent or skill set that I possess that I've really been able to make a 'go' of and to enable me to bring home some significant 'bacon'. Over the years, I've kept my 'head above the water' to some extent (translation: barely) by being able to apply my different skills and talents to a variety of occupations, projects, opportunities, etc. For better or worse, that's the way it's been. It's not what I planned on, but it is what it is.

Epilogue (Post Ramble):

Having written all of the above, I must confess I have a certain melancholy feeling. Tripping your way through life is hard enough without others stepping on your toes and commenting in kind. While on one hand I'm happy with who I am, but on the other hand I am unhappy with my life's circumstances. I'm left to wonder who I am, where I came from, and most importantly where I might be going. Actually, it sounds like the status qou of just another ordinary day in the life of (fill-in the blank here). Crap! Now I'm thoroughly depressed. Anyone know any good Sarah Palin jokes, you know, just for the 'lulz'?

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PS: Thanks for reading! By the way, another man, also wise in the ways of blogging, suggested that a blog isn't just about 'writing'. He then asked what other 'jobs' a blogger needs to be good at. I replied: “multitasking: typing with one hand, eating pizza with the other, and watching TV with at least one eye!” I welcome you to share your thoughts with me. Please!

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Tomatoes, Weiners, and Horses: Three Lessons

Over and over, the crow cries, uncover the cornfield.

- Cabinessense: Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks

Here are three lessons to be learned from stories in real life and the news.

Lesson #1: Rotten Tomatoes
I live in a big city, on a main street that leads to the 'centre' of town. There are currently 3 supermarkets within an eighth of a mile radius from my apartment. Yesterday, I went into the closest one, the one in which I usually prefer NOT to go to. It's small, the cashiers don't smile, and the store's inventory is more suited for senior citizens. Well yesterday, only because it's across the street from me, I popped in quickly because we were out of milk. When I was checking out, one of the usually sour-puss cashiers offered me a package of cherry tomatoes … for free!

I was impressed, to say the least. I said thanks and left. When I got home, I mentioned to my 'significant other' the amazing circumstance that had transpired. Now she likes cherry tomatoes and so I wanted to show her this wonderful bounty that had fallen to me. She also was surprised I had got them for free. I joked, “yeah, they're probably from Spain or Germany and teeming with that new strain of E. Coli”. I laughed. She laughed. Then I looked at the label; it read “product of Spain”.

Lesson to be learned: Never look a gift horse in the mouth, unless it has Mad Cow Disease, or has brought you produce from Germany or Spain.

Lesson #2: Sarah Palin Rides Again
Sarah Palin, gun nut and potential candidate for the President of the 'United Stated of Central America' was in the news again this week. In case you haven't heard, she mangled the story of Paul Revere and his ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. Most first graders know the story. You like to assume that most presidential hopefuls do, too.

During a visit to Paul Revere's house she was asked about his famous ride. She replied with that 'deer caught in the headlight' meets Miss South Carolina meets 'we're not in Kansas anymore' look and then offered that Paul Revere “warned the British that they weren't going to be taking away our arms, by ringing those bells and making sure as he was riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.”

So Paul Revere warned the British, huh? He stood up to those Red Coats by ringing bells and firing warning shots telling them something like “you ain't gonna git my guns, you media lovin' liberals!”. I'm fairly certain if Sarah Palin's revisionist version of history was correct, the British would have shot him on the spot claiming 'What a silly sod'.

In a related episode, Wikipedia's page in Paul Revere was so inundated with Palin supporters trying to change history in her defense, it was locked. And, a day later or so, Sarah was asked on a TV talk show if she realized that she had screwed the pooch in her comments on Paul Revere? She attempted to re-revise her revisionist account, but also basically said the media was out to get her by cornering her with a “gotcha” question.

Lesson to be learned: When in doubt, some questions are better left unanswered, even if a 6-year old can answer them.

Lesson #3: Weinergate
Anthony David 'Weiner', U.S. Representative for New York's 9th congressional district, screwed his own pooch, and possibly his web-cam, by first denying and then admitting having sent sexually explicit photographs of himself to several women on Twitter. One of the photos, sent via yfrog, was of his erect sex-related 'namesake' bulging in his boxer shorts.

At first, he lied straight-faced to the media and blamed unspecified 'hackers' for the photo. I doubt he was referring to 'Lulz Security', the infamous hacker group that has been in the news lately for their raucous attacks on Sony, and whose logo is 'the Lulz Boat' (ala TV's Love Boat). I don't know, maybe he was thinking about his 'mast' and made the connection in his mind. Anyway, you can imagine that since the public leak, his Jim Beam must surely be flying at 'half mast'.

Lesson to be learned: If you're going to keep your family name 'Weiner', make sure your son's not a dick, or a politician.

Bonus Math Lesson:
And by the way, after reading lessons two and three above, I'm sure most anyone can understand who the rotten tomatoes from lesson one should be thrown at.
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PS. Thanks for reading! Do you think Anthony Weiner should give up his seat in the Senate, or is it probably a better idea for him to stay seated until the swelling goes down?

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