Just got an earful off the wife on the phone. I only asked about the possibility of buying open-ended tickets off the island in the event of catastrophe, only to be told I was overreacting. Am I? For fuck’s sake! Japan’s nuke reactors ARE heading for meltdown and the only thing saving us right now is prevailing winds. That scares me.
That, and distance. We’re 2,000km away! And what will an open-ended ticket be worth if you really need it? Jeez, man, you know what a riot can breakout when there’s a sale on ladies’ handbags: can you imagine what the airport would be like?
If the nukes go… you know, nuclear… and the jet stream shifts to bring all that crap directly to Taipei, you can always hop on the THSR and camp out in Kenting. That’ll give you another 250 km. If the sunsets grow spectacular, from there you can hitch a ride south on a boat.
2000 km is nothing for a cloud full of light radioactive particles. with enough quantity and the right winds, we might lose our hair as well here in taipei.
see Chernobyl: the cloud travel all Europe, and even in the States they could measure a higher level of radiation directly connected to it (even if less harmful)
[quote=“Jaboney”]That, and distance. We’re 2,000km away! And what will an open-ended ticket be worth if you really need it? Jeez, man, you know what a riot can breakout when there’s a sale on ladies’ handbags: can you imagine what the airport would be like?
If the nukes go… you know, nuclear… and the jet stream shifts to bring all that crap directly to Taipei, you can always hop on the THSR and camp out in Kenting. That’ll give you another 250 km. If the sunsets grow spectacular, from there you can hitch a ride south on a boat.[/quote]
Thanks, Jeff. You know, for a person unrelated to anyone in the English royal family, you sure can put a man’s mind at rest. I KNEW I was overreacting.
about the distance, I checked the chernobyl cloud (which was a bigger one that what we have for now in japan, s we’re not at it yet) (but maybe soon ??)
in two days, the cloud had arrived at the north of Finland, which would be something like 2,700 km
a bit later it arrived in France, which is roughly the same distance.
Definitely not overreacting, but the point is, we are saved by prevailing winds. They don’t afaik blow in a SW direction from Japan to Taiwan. Either from the NW which is where we get the cold fronts or from the south which is where we get the spring and summer breezes (and what makes the purple butterflies able to migrate back up north).
The Japan earthquake has got me seriously developing an emergency kit at home: first aid, clothes, water treatment, cell, flashlight, energy bars. I have all that stuff around but just going to start keeping it in one handy place.
Anyone know where I can get a lead-foil tent?
Japanese in the threatened area have been warned to stay indoors, but I imagine quite a lot of them won’t currently have that option.
Currently buying 25 kilos of Japanese flour -in case prices rise/supplies become scarse.
Anyone know where I can get a lead-foil tent?
[/quote]
I know a few large caves.
I’ve downloaded a ton of porn and bought three spare batteries for my laptop.
[quote=“Jaboney”]That, and distance. We’re 2,000km away! And what will an open-ended ticket be worth if you really need it? Jeez, man, you know what a riot can breakout when there’s a sale on ladies’ handbags: can you imagine what the airport would be like?
If the nukes go… you know, nuclear… and the jet stream shifts to bring all that crap directly to Taipei, you can always hop on the THSR and camp out in Kending. That’ll give you another 250 km. If the sunsets grow spectacular, from there you can hitch a ride south on a boat.[/quote]
Jet stream shifting? I believe that thing goes in 1 direction only … from west to east …
Anyone know where I can get a lead-foil tent?
[/quote]
I know a few large caves.[/quote]
We already live in concrete bunkers … just keep the windows closed … BTW, surgical masks won’t help against radiation 
Yup, our earthquake bag has also started being updated recently.
Yup, our earthquake bag has also started being updated recently.[/quote]
If you are looking for dehydrated meals, the camping shops around the train station have Back Country packages from New Zealand for NT220. Curries, pastas, that sort of stuff. Good to have a few around for an emergency.
In the recently bumped thread from 2009 everyone was making fun of the suggestion by the OP to have a disaster pack under one’s bed. Now all of a sudden people seem to think it’s a good idea. Nothing like nuclear meltdown and a wall of water to make people think “Hey, what if it happened here?”
Yup, our earthquake bag has also started being updated recently.[/quote]
… and what if you’re at work?
Other than a weeks supply of food and water we have little in the way of prep. for a disaster. And we couldn’t leave on short notice if we tried. Doesn’t hurt to be prepared though.
Not sure if this was posted in another thread but you can find more accurate information (vs. the unsubstantiated hyperbolic stories published by the American media machine) at the MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub: http://mitnse.com/. They seem to be updating it as events unfold.
Have two such bags: one for home and one for work.
It could make a good project for the weekend.