Exciting news. Jo got a text message last night from a friend in Thailand saying that a tsunami was on it's way to Japan. Which is, naturally, a disturbing thought. Though not so much after two beers. And knowing that you're on the second floor. And Yaba-cho is a down-hill walk.
But according to the BBC, the tsunami was a baby - only 16 inches high in northern Hokkaido - and did little or no appreciable damage. The Japanese Meteorological Agency caught it quick and issued warnings. Oh, the joys of living in a seismically-unstable country!
Other news recently, courtesy of
CNN and my English-enabled TV, was of a new island springing up in the Pacific. Reports by a mysterious sailor named "Haken" via blog (
yay!) noted "pumice rafts" (
"very small rocks") floating between Tonga and Fiji. (
This is a very cool blog with some very cool pictures. Check it out.)
**
In a completely unrelated tangent, I shall now attempt to "cut down" on my use of "quotation marks" and (possibly) parenthetical asides. Sorry; it was annoying me, too.**
Anyway, back to the...point? Okay, Point 1: So there's this new island in the Pacific, which probably indicates some very "interesting" (
damn!) [
double damn!] seismic activity happening, both north and south of Japan. Better restock the earthquake kit... Good thing we're not staying here very much longer.
Point 2: How
cool is it that a new island is announced to the world via blog? And from a yacht! While sailing to Fiji from Tonga! Victory to the new journalism. A big
arigato gozaimasu to the crew of the Maiken for sharing some amazing
photos. You rock the blogosphere.
Point 3: I want an island. Maybe not to keep, but discovering one would be sweet as. Anne, what are you and Mark doing next summer? Alwyn, bro, you ever read this? Fancy a little nautical exploration? You'll be in charge of the rum.
I'm gonna have to run this by the girl first...
That is all.
thom-in-the-clouds
But according to the BBC, the tsunami was a baby - only 16 inches high in northern Hokkaido - and did little or no appreciable damage. The Japanese Meteorological Agency caught it quick and issued warnings. Oh, the joys of living in a seismically-unstable country!
