The Energon Pub

Wow! I spend a couple days in getting settled in to my new place and miss one of the biggest natural disasters of the year!

I'm very saddened by the devastation, but I'm glad that the loss of life is (so far) not all that high considering the area that was hit. I had a friend who was flying back home to japan to visit family. I hope she and her family are all right.

Damn.

Update from HobbyLink Japan

Seibertron wrote:I updated the site's header to help direct people to the news post about ways you can donate to the Red Cross to help with the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami.

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... ami/21039/

The Red cross seems like the best option so far the only other way I've found to donate money is to buy one of Lady GaGa's Pray for Japan bracelets. Credit to the San Jose Earthquakes football team who have said that for every fan who attends their game next weekend they'll donate $1 to Japan.

My cousin's friend and another friend's brother work for the BBC and asked for my account of what happened so I sent it to them, if you're interested to hear what it was like in Tokyo then just use the link :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-h ... s-12715629

For the record, I closed the various reported posts in this thread. Several mods have posted since those were made and in the spirit of getting on with what's important, a lot of dick-ish stuff in this thread will get ignored.

People, donate where you can and where you feel appropriate.

Well wishes are welcome as well.

These people are facing the possibility of a nuclear meltdown in two different reactors. There's really no reason for anyone here to get their ire up.

Hey Everyone!

I just came across a charitable organization by the name Convoy for Hope. They rate very well on the CharityNavigator website (http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.c ... orgid=7276) and specialize in "disaster relief, local outreach events, and long-term empowerment programs." According to their site, they are currently mobilizing a relief effort from their center in the Phillipines to provide food relief in Japan.

Given their proximity to the Japan, their ranking on charitynavigator, their mission statement, and of course, their name, I think this might be a good organization that we can get behind. Imagine a group of Transformers fans giving to a group sharing a name with the Japanese version of one of the most famous toys of all time - the press release practically writes itself.

If someone out there with more artistic skills than me can mock up an image of Convoy shipping in a Trailer full of aid for a relief effort, we can use it as a logo. We can start with some custom Convoys too.

In the meantime, if you want to donate to them directly, you can text TSUNAMI to 50555 and a $10 donation will be made to Convoy of Hope's Disaster Response efforts.

TheBigToyAuction wrote:Seeing all of the devastation, my best wishes go out to everyone affected, espeically our Japanese members. I hope all is well for you and yours now and in the coming months.

As a community focusing primarily on a Japanese toyline, I think we have a unique connection to the tragedy and a unique ability to help out. Over at the Allspark board the community there was just recently able to raise over $6000 for the Hasbro Children's hospital.

I think as a group we might be able to do something similar right here. Seeing the images on the news, I know that might be just a drop in the ocean, but it's something nevertheless.

There is a guide up at http://swmo.bbb.org/article/donor-alert ... tims-25969 offering advice on choosing a chariable organization to work with. I think with a combined effort we

As an auctioneer, I am involved with a number of charity/benefit auctions locally. I am relatively new to this forum, but if anyone here is interested in taking point on this and choosing a charity we can focus our efforts on, I would be more than happy to volunteer my services for a fundraiser auction.

We can set up links on the site to donate money directly in any amount they can spare. Even those who don't have the money have something they can contribute - toys, customs, artwork, anything. In the past we've found this a great way for everyone to get involved and help out in a real meaningful way. In this case, it ends up being a way for the community to share it's gifts with each other too, so everyone wins.

If anyone is interested in getting this organized, let me know either here, by PM, and we can work on getting this accomplished.

I think together we have an opportunity to do some real good here.

Burn wrote:Alright guys, let's roll things back a bit here.

It's a persons individual decision whether they donate or not. No one needs to know, nor does anyone have a right to judge another on whether they donated or not.

Let's remember what this thread is about, a great tragedy that has affected thousands of people. Seriously guys, these people are suffering and you bicker over this?

Enough of it. That's not what this thread was about. Spare us the bickering and let's get back to the topic of this thread.

Thanks for your post.

I agree that people should give what they can in their own way rather than feel pressured or bullied into it. That's why I suggested doing the charity auction thing.

The folks here are already in the habit of sharing, creating, and enjoying cool figures with one another, and it's great when something good can come from it as a bonus.

It's cool that we can create something here that helps people half a world away. I've sold plenty of artwork at charity auctions before and it's always amazing how someone can take a few minutes or hours to add value to a piece of paper that ends up generating hundreds of dollars for a worthy cause.

I posted this a little earlier, but I just found the Convoy for Hope Charity and it looks like they might be a great fit, both in their mission and in the coincidence of their name.

I sent a PM, but I'm a little new here and I don't yet have the hang of using this system yet, so I don't know if it went through or not. Nevertheless, if you'd be willing to mock up a logo or something using a "Convoy" figure delivering aid, that would be awesome, and could be a first step in getting this thing rolling.

Please let me know, and if anyone else is reading this and has any thoughts, please feel free to message me as well.

Thanks!

Lady GaGa's Pray for Japan bracelets?

Are you freaking kidding me??? Something bad happens in Japan all she thinks about is a way to make money off someones misfortune.... how much percentage is she not getting from the bracelets for using her name to advertise them!!! **** why don't we just make Optimus Prime and Megatron bracelets too while there at it!!!

"I was being sarcastic bout the TF bracelets"

Living in Chch currently, I can tell you the mess in Japan puts what's happening here in perspective. Hopefully the world community steps up for Japan as they have for us.

Granted, the planet is just doing what it's always done, we're just more globally connected that these events become common knowledge in a matter of minutes.

Events like this cause you to pay attention to what's really important in this life, family and friends - hunks of plastic be damned.

Jazz-1982 wrote:

First-Aid wrote:If I may interject...

JAzz-1982 is obviously in Japan right now. I don't know how many other of our forums members are over there, but can I suggest that- if he is willing- he be a liaison for those of us who may want to donate/help in other ways? I would assume that he could tell us more about who really needs help and where we could direct our resources. I also suggest that Ryan or another staffer contact the HLJ folks and see if they can give us some information. Perhaps we as a fandom can "adopt" a family and help them to the best of our ability...

Just some ideas i had in my head suddenly...maybe it's the whiskey I've been drinking or the healthcare provider in me that yearns to help in more "hands on" ways than simply donating to the Red Cross. This really is a disaster on the equivalent with Katrina and 9/11 (please, i know this is different than 9/11, but the devastation really is an equivalent) and it would be great to put our collective fingerprints into this moment in history and really leave our marks in a very personal and definitive way.

At this stage what I would recommend is the same as Ryan what has already been suggested; if you want to donate some money to help the people in Japan then I think a donation to the Red Cross via the link that Ryan has kindly set up would be the best thing. if you donate to the Red Cross that will be a big help. There will probably be various special funds set up to send aid to Japan by international websites/organizations/charities so you could send money to them instead once they have been set up.

The idea to sponsor a family is a good one but as Japan is a developed country with a strong economy I don't think it will be an option. I don't mean to be disrespectful in any way to developing countries where this kind of thing is common or to criticize your idea but the Japanese government (hopefully) will be able to take care of the homeless people if Prime Minister Kan's emergency budget receives approval in the Diet.

If Seibertron members send help in whatever way they feel is best then we can all make a contribution whether it be prayers, donations of money or in other ways then that will give them support they need.

Thanks for your post. I'm glad to hear things are okay for you (relatively speaking, of course), and I hope things get better quickly. Thanks for keeping us updated on the situation.

Yes, the easiest and most immediate thing to do is to text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross automatically. There is also another great Charity that is currently "on the ground" getting food supplies to the affected areas and who's name should resonate with transfans called Convoy of Hope. Texting TSUNAMI to 50555 will automatically donate $10 to their Disaster Response efforts.



As for First-Aid's comment about being "hands on," I agree. I always prefer to get involved with organizations where I can volunteer my time rather than just donate funds, although sometimes that's the only option. I've had the great opportunity to volunteer with our local Musikfest organization for nearly 15 years now, and my Alma Mater for nearly 20. For me, personally, it always makes me feel better after working than just writing out a check.

That's one of the reasons I am working at setting up a benefit relief auction. It lets me feel like I've contributed, and have a great time while doing it. It also lets those who can't afford the money donate in other ways as well. First-Aid, please let me know if you want to help out. I'll post the links there to donate money, but anything other things you want to donate I can turn into funds for the relief effort.

Even for those of us out there that don't have the funds or anything else to offer at this time, it should still be a good show of support. I stream all of my auctions live, so that those who can't participate for one reason or another can still listen in and offer their moral support to the community. As was said before, maybe some of those actually affected will have the opportunity to listen in as well and hear how much support there is for them here. There's a lot of ways to give, and I try to make it a reality for everyone.

Thanks again to Jazz-1982 for keeping us updated. Please let us know if there are any changes, or if there's anything I or any of us can do in the meantime.quote]

DARKTHUNDER wrote:Lady GaGa's Pray for Japan bracelets?

Are you freaking kidding me??? Something bad happens in Japan all she thinks about is a way to make money off someones misfortune.... how much percentage is she not getting from the bracelets for using her name to advertise them!!! **** why don't we just make Optimus Prime and Megatron bracelets too while there at it!!!

"I was being sarcastic bout the TF bracelets"

Uh...ALL of the proceeds are going to charity from GaGa's bracelets.

Autobot032 wrote:

DARKTHUNDER wrote:Lady GaGa's Pray for Japan bracelets?

Are you freaking kidding me??? Something bad happens in Japan all she thinks about is a way to make money off someones misfortune.... how much percentage is she not getting from the bracelets for using her name to advertise them!!! **** why don't we just make Optimus Prime and Megatron bracelets too while there at it!!!

"I was being sarcastic bout the TF bracelets"

Uh...ALL of the proceeds are going to charity from GaGa's bracelets.

She would have killed her career if she had done something as callous as trying to make money from a disaster like this.
I like her and her music and think it's good that she's using her fame and popularity to try to help.

Hey guys, I wanted to post something here earlier, but being I'm on the west coast I had alot of things to attend to.

Anyways just a run down, the entire Pacific coast got Tsunami warnings in light of the quake in Japan, we did have landfall in Cresent city in Cal roughly around 9am where an entire harbor was destroyed, and four people were washed out to sea. There was one fatality. The tsunami wave reached as far down south as Marina Del Rey, no serious damage of injuries thankfully.

The estimated victims of the quake in Japan are estimated to be in the thousands and expected to rise.

On top of this, there was a melt down and an explosion at one of 4 nuclear plants effected by the quake. Radiation did escape, how much has yet to be known.

A second reactor is now in a dangerous state and Japan is looking at yet another possible melt down.

Everyone on the Pacific Coast is on watch being if there is a serious radiation fall out it could reach the US pacific coast due to the air currents. Other nations on watch are Russia, Canada, as well as Mexico. I'm not sure about New Zealand, Australia, Guam, and the rest of the southern pacific hemisphere.

Here is some additional footage of the damage done to Cresent City, Santa Cruz, and Hawaii:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FizI7iv-pg

Raw footage, watch with volume off:
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Ra ... 11528.html

My prayers go out to everyone effected, and all the victims which continue to be effected by this event. I'll try to keep you guys updated as things progress here on the pacific coast.
Stay Safe guys,
Josh

Joshua Vallse wrote:My prayers go out to everyone effected, and all the victims which continue to be effected by this event. I'll try to keep you guys updated as things progress here on the pacific coast.
Stay Safe guys,
Josh

You too, and best of luck.

TheBigToyAuction wrote:

Joshua Vallse wrote:My prayers go out to everyone effected, and all the victims which continue to be effected by this event. I'll try to keep you guys updated as things progress here on the pacific coast.
Stay Safe guys,
Josh

You too, and best of luck.

Thanks.

Just goes to show that no matter how advanced we are as a society...Mother Nature still runs the show.

Be nice if, someday, we could predict such events and have some kind of early warning system in place. Although, I doubt it would do much help due to the randomness of the destruction and whatnot. I mean how the heck do you prepare for the environment to whoop you like a ragdoll?

I hope they can get through this and get back to normal as soon as possible. I only wish we could learn from such events and try to lessen the blow somewhat...

Random wrote:Just goes to show that no matter how advanced we are as a society...Mother Nature still runs the show.

Be nice if, someday, we could predict such events and have some kind of early warning system in place. Although, I doubt it would do much help due to the randomness of the destruction and whatnot. I mean how the heck do you prepare for the environment to whoop you like a ragdoll?

I hope they can get through this and get back to normal as soon as possible. I only wish we could learn from such events and try to lessen the blow somewhat...

Actually, I think we do have somewhat of a warning system. If I remember correctly, they have computer models based off of past events that help them forecast possible future earthquakes. I don't know if they're capable of implementing it beyond scenario stage and into reality.

Autobot032 wrote:

Random wrote:Just goes to show that no matter how advanced we are as a society...Mother Nature still runs the show.

Be nice if, someday, we could predict such events and have some kind of early warning system in place. Although, I doubt it would do much help due to the randomness of the destruction and whatnot. I mean how the heck do you prepare for the environment to whoop you like a ragdoll?

I hope they can get through this and get back to normal as soon as possible. I only wish we could learn from such events and try to lessen the blow somewhat...

Actually, I think we do have somewhat of a warning system. If I remember correctly, they have computer models based off of past events that help them forecast possible future earthquakes. I don't know if they're capable of implementing it beyond scenario stage and into reality.

I wasn't aware of such a thing. In my mind I relate such a thing with predicting the weather. I always laugh when the weatherperson states we have a "50/50 chance of this and that". It's like, even in 2011, we're still guessing at best.

Here's to hoping something good comes from ANY of this...

The thing is, we CAN predict when certain events are going to happens. It's just that, by the time we know it's going to happen, it's typically already too late to do anything about it. And if we can predict them far enough in advance to do anything about it, it's before we know for certain the event will happen, and no one likes to waste all that effort on evacuating for a false alarm.

Short version: Mother Nature is a moody bitch who doesn't want anyone to be happy.

Random wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:

Random wrote:Just goes to show that no matter how advanced we are as a society...Mother Nature still runs the show.

Be nice if, someday, we could predict such events and have some kind of early warning system in place. Although, I doubt it would do much help due to the randomness of the destruction and whatnot. I mean how the heck do you prepare for the environment to whoop you like a ragdoll?

I hope they can get through this and get back to normal as soon as possible. I only wish we could learn from such events and try to lessen the blow somewhat...

Actually, I think we do have somewhat of a warning system. If I remember correctly, they have computer models based off of past events that help them forecast possible future earthquakes. I don't know if they're capable of implementing it beyond scenario stage and into reality.

I wasn't aware of such a thing. In my mind I relate such a thing with predicting the weather. I always laugh when the weatherperson states we have a "50/50 chance of this and that". It's like, even in 2011, we're still guessing at best.

Here's to hoping something good comes from ANY of this...

ugh ... weather people. Not some of my favourite people at the moment as they give us in the cyclone hit region nothing but bad news.

"Heavy rain is expected this weekend and will last until Wednesday" ... Tuesday came ... "Rain will last until Thursday" ... Thursday came "Rain is expected to last into the weekend".

GAH!

But at least rain and cyclones/hurricanes can be predicted somewhat. Even if they did have an early warning system for earthquakes (Japan has a very advanced system for tsunami's) how the hell do you prepare for that?

Are you guys following the latest news? Apparently there was a 2nd explosion at one of the Nuclear plants. It just seems like things keep going from bad to worse for these folks.

Some before and after shots

Here's an update on whats going on at this moment.

Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/jap ... d=13126081

To Summerize, two reactors have exploded in the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, Units 1 and 3. In a last ditch efford to prevent a full scale meltdown, they have begun pumping sea water into the reactor to cool the rods.

The Onagawa Power Plant is also facing a state of emergency, which is located in Miyagi, the hardest hit area from the epicenter of the original Earthquake.

And the Tokai Dai-Ni power plant has also suffered from a system failure, no news if a meltdown is expected.

The total victims reported in just Miyagi have reached an estimate 10,000. A secondary earthquake of 7.0 is also now being predicted to surface in the days to come.

It is important to note however, a warning system was issued after the earthquake struck which gave people 30min to evac before the first Tsunami waves hit. On top of that, Tokyo recieved a 10 sec warning as the earthquake hit before it reached them, this is enough time mind you to turn off pressure valves or pull the knife from someone in surgery. So a warning system was in effect, reason as to why there were still people in the Myagi region when the Tsunami hit is accredited to land claims. In that region, from what was reported, land is claimed by occupancy. To leave the land unoccupied is to give up ones claim. Hence why there were still people on the sites that were hit. However, the magnitude of the Tsunami can also claim blame, being a larger evac radius might have kept casualties at a low. Simply put, no one really knew how bad things would get.

I'll try to post more updates as they come. As always, everyone has my prayers
Josh

Joshua Vallse wrote:Here's an update on whats going on at this moment.

Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/jap ... d=13126081

To Summerize, two reactors have exploded in the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, Units 1 and 3. In a last ditch efford to prevent a full scale meltdown, they have begun pumping sea water into the reactor to cool the rods.

The Onagawa Power Plant is also facing a state of emergency, which is located in Miyagi, the hardest hit area from the epicenter of the original Earthquake.

And the Tokai Dai-Ni power plant has also suffered from a system failure, no news if a meltdown is expected.

The total victims reported in just Miyagi have reached an estimate 10,000. A secondary earthquake of 7.0 is also now being predicted to surface in the days to come.

It is important to note however, a warning system was issued after the earthquake struck which gave people 30min to evac before the first Tsunami waves hit. On top of that, Tokyo recieved a 10 sec warning as the earthquake hit before it reached them, this is enough time mind you to turn off pressure valves or pull the knife from someone in surgery. So a warning system was in effect, reason as to why there were still people in the Myagi region when the Tsunami hit is accredited to land claims. In that region, from what was reported, land is claimed by occupancy. To leave the land unoccupied is to give up ones claim. Hence why there were still people on the sites that were hit. However, the magnitude of the Tsunami can also claim blame, being a larger evac radius might have kept casualties at a low. Simply put, no one really knew how bad things would get.

I'll try to post more updates as they come. As always, everyone has my prayers
Josh

Thanks for the update. I just read a little bit from Yahoo, but you had a bit more info that they did. Nice to know they had a bit of a warning, although 10 secs isn't much for a population of that size.

That land claim thing is just crazy. Sounds like a Squatter System instead of real ownership. Well, if you look back, there are always people who want to weather out a disaster in their homes.

Then the problems with the nuclear reactor. Japan can't cut a break right now for anything. My prayers go out to them.

Here's some encouraging or positive news, which I can appreciate even more now that I'm a father.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ounds.html

FYI this is probably the best, most accurate news regarding the reactors. This provides a running feed of the popular media coverage.

As I understand it, none of the reactors have exploded - the explosions that have occurred have been in the reactor buildings, but not the reactors - kind of like when there's always explosions on the bridge of the Enterprise regardless of where the Klingons shoot the ship.

That's not to say that those structures weren't important to the functioning of the reactor, but if the reactors themselves exploded, the accident would have reached or bypassed the severity of Chernobyl, so it's a very important distinction! And of course, the reactors aren't actually designed the same as Chernobyl, so it's actually impossible for the Japanese reactors to explode in that fashion - it would be rather like a submarine exploding like the Hindenburg.

Currently, if I understand correctly, all the radiation that's been released is in the steam released due to the water-cooling system no longer being a closed system, and is put out in such low quantity vs. the rate of diffusion that it's not building up anywhere.



Also, from a long term perspective, resorting to the use of sea water to cool the reactors means they are now irreparable, which presents a major blow to Japan's infrastructure. I think it's safe to say that it's a loss they'll be really feeling when they finally reach the point of rebuilding the area.

With respect to that, people may want to read this:
http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/librar ... ndex.shtml
http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/librar ... apan.shtml

The info is somewhat outdated, and written rather confusingly for non-energy people (does nuclear energy provide 15% or 30% of their power) but it gives the impression that Nuclear power is a major part of their infrastructure.