November 2011
2 posts
A brief Akutagawa interlude →
Nice haiku quoted in this Asahi article, from a recently discovered letter by Akutagawa Ryunosuke:
もの言はぬ研ぎ屋の業や梅雨入空
梅雨入空 is read “ついりぞら” here. It seems to be an invention of Akutagawa’s, and the elided reading seems clever but slightly unfair until you try saying it and the “proper” reading back to back a few times and realise that they’re nearly...
October 2011
2 posts
EFF: "We are generally satisfied with the... →
Gratifying to hear that Amazon seems to have taken the non-evil route, despite initial comments suggesting they would have access to Kindle Fire users’ browsing habits. Let’s hope this is indeed the case.
Disgraced scientist clones coyote →
…and will continue cloning them until he has a coyote army.
September 2011
3 posts
Up to 16 die from listeria in US →
“Contaminated cantaloupes from Colorado” is positively Gilbert and Sullivan.
It’s official: Apple will announce one new iPhone,... →
Dan Lyons in inimitable form, on the new iPhone(s).
Virtual monkeys write Shakespeare →
Slightly disingenuous bit of headline-writing, but a fun article, particularly the last paragraph.
August 2011
2 posts
Holiday reading list
『虐殺器官』伊藤計劃
『ハーモニー』伊藤計劃
“The Windup Girl,” Paolo Bacigalupi
“Perdido Street Station,” China Mieville
伊藤計劃さんは僕の3週間前に生まれ、2009年に亡くなっていたことを知って悲しくなった。
June 2011
1 post
May 2011
5 posts
April 2011
14 posts
My attempts to work on the #quakebook website are being obstructed. http://twitpic.com/4imt2b
RT @Shogannai: Still need a reason to buy #Quakebook? Read this excellent work by Daisuke Wakabayashi and realize why. http://on.wsj.com …
And now the truth. RT @japantimes: Lacking facts, U.S. played it safe with 80-km evacuation zone http://ow.ly/4wciW
RT @masason: やりましょう。恐ろしい。川辺君、キタノ君、リンク頼む。RT @sonofagun0619 英国の気象サイトでセシウム拡散予報出してます。こういうのって掲載出来ませんかね？http://t.co/rlztkDV
RT @digitaldales: Wow! Thx 2 @audioboo #quakebook has a channel. Let’s hear yr quakebook voices! http://audioboo.fm/channel/quakebook-voices
RT @jgtokyo: RT @Remmid What did you tweet on March 11, just before and after the quake? http://sembo.jp/zengo/ (j) v @tokyoreporter
RT @quakebook: “Ganbaro” is a word that is sometimes overused. But not now. #246 #quakebook http://ow.ly/4s8P3
RT @jakeadelstein: @sandrajapandra @OurManInAbiko #Quakebook Here’s a way to take hoarding & harness it for good! http://twitpic.com/4g82nu
RT @quakebook: “We survivors are left to consider what makes us who we are.” #246 #quakebook http://ow.ly/4r0Wo
Quakebook banner
That’s it, I’m making a gangsta rap album based on these damn AC commercials: “Motherfucka say ポポポポーン / I pop a cap in his ass”
RT @quakebook: Please put a banner on your website to support #quakebook. http://ow.ly/4qUED
March 2011
30 posts
RT @ProxyMark: Hacking a geiger counter with #Processing by #Tokyo’s @freaklabs http://bit.ly/ieI7i1 from @pachube’s effort to map fallo …
RT @pachube: iPhone app, crowd-sourced realtime Japan radiation data RT @schukin: iPhone app using Pachube API is live http://t.co/m04mQ …
RT @digitaldales: @quakebook #quakebook ppl, we’ve made the Huffington Post!!! http://huff.to/eG1AuT
RT @jljzen: Disaster in Japan: Come back in ten years’ time | The Economist http://t.co/WvWcc2j via @theeconomist
RT @ourwomaninabiko: RT 今話題のチャリティー本@quakebook に携わったアートデザイナーたち。目が離せない感動の作品です @signalnoise @lnakanishi http://ow.ly/4nGfC
RT @tokyoreporter: RT @W7VOA WaPo has one of the best & simplest explanations of what has happened at & ramifications of #Fukushima-1: h …
#quakebook contributors, please add your photos to the flickr quakebook group at http://bit.ly/fRMyMC — thanks!
All right, now I *am* going to bed. Overseas #quakebook cohorts, be productive.
Would-be #quakebook volunteers: make sure you reply or DM me to say so, don’t just follow me. Thanks.
2:46 Quakebook →
Blog for Twitter-sourced book to benefit quake victims. Includes new original piece from none other than William Gibson. Also on Facebook here — go forth and like!
My ¥5 on the petrol situation: was able to fill up with hi-oc at the Nakame crossroads @ 9am; station closed @ 6.30pm, presumably sold out.
RT @kantokuma: Something handy from the beeb - guide to radioactivity and how to interpret the various units: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h …
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18 March British Embassy Tokyo briefing →
“Q: Why is the French [embassy] giving different advice?
Sir John: Their advice is not based on science.”
7 tags
Shit quake reporting Wall of Shame →
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A work of evil genius →
First, may I draw your attention to the photo of the probably-fictitious source for the article? Be sure to close the window when you finish reading, or she’ll crawl out of your screen and come and get you.
For me, the peak of this JG-Ballard-edits-The Onion tour de force is the statement that Japanese TV has for the last week been showing mostly “a test card with gentle music and...
RT @natsumiitoh: ラジオ福島@radio_rfc_japanを聞いている。リスナーからの意見が沁みる。テレビ局の報道は偏っているから、地元のラジオを聞く方が被災地の現状把握に役立つと思う。このままでは福島県がなくなる。
http://www.ustream …
Per NHK, fire service have begun hosing reactor 3 again. Best wishes to them for success and their safety.
RT @milomilocher: @ayunews RT @syokojiro 知り合いの福島の方が、「被ばくで怖いのは、健康被害じゃなくて、差別」と仰っています。彼女は現在も福島にいます。どうか「自分は差別しない！」と胸を張って言って下さる方、RTを下さい。偽善 …
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Some estimates of radiation exposure (2)
I have prepared a translation of the article mentioned in my previous post, with notes here and there.
To recap, the article is by a Chubu University professor and offers some thoughts on how you would calculate a safe level of radiation, not in momentary terms but if you’re staying where you are for the next month. I’ve noted this in the document itself, but bear in mind that...
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Some estimates of radiation exposure
This article in Japanese offers some estimates of the potential impact of radiation exposure, in Japanese, in the event of various scenarios involving the Fukushima plant. The assumptions are all listed and explained and have apparently been widely vetted.
The conclusion appears to be that a month’s exposure for an adult in Tokyo following a core meltdown at Fukushima could be between 0.2x...
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UK govt. opinion on Fukushima, in more detail →