Monday, March 14, 2011

Feeling better today

It was gorgeous outside today: the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the temperature was just around freezing. I went out walking for about an hour in the neighbourhood so that I could be outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. I'm feeling better than I did yesterday, although the walk tired me out! I ended up having a big nap this afternoon. 

I don't think I'll be able to get out for a walk tomorrow because our basement is being fixed. the guys are supposed to arrive around 9am and they'll be here most of the day. I'm not relishing the idea of having someone jackhammering in the basement. I find loud sounds to be extremely overwhelming: I find myself unable to think because the sound is everything. I think we have earplugs and that should help cut down the sound. If not, I think we have ear-covering headphones that I can wear.

Enough about me. Have you been following what's been going in Japan? The nuclear plants weren't really designed to handle as strong an earthquake as they got and now there are two reactors that might be undergoing a meltdown. That's really scary. I don't know how much of a direct impact a meltdown (partial or full) would have on us here in North America. I suspect that if meltdown does happen, nuclear power programmes around the world will slow down or stop.

They say that this situation is as bad or worse than it was right after WWII and it took decades to recover from that. I hope that since society is more technologically advanced now that it won't take quite as long this time to recover. I feel for all of those people who are homeless, whose towns have been wiped out, and who are without power, food, or gasoline. It's like an end-of-the-world movie but it's really happening.

No matter how long the recovery process takes, I suspect that the long-term economic and cultural impact will be significant. Japanese products and sub-cultures are a big part of our current culture and I wonder what will take their place. 

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