First the good news: The fire at the Fukushima Dai-ichi #4 reactor has been extinguished. The southerly winds bringing radioactive contaminants to the Tokyo area have slowed somewhat. Cooling on reactors #1 and #3 has stabilized. And cooling on reactor #2 continues.
Second, the good news: Reactors #5 and #6 at the Dai-ichi plant have not done anything special. Yes, the operators are having some difficulties keeping the temperatures in line, but they’ve been successful, so far. So, let’s not fall into the realm of news spectaculars and just say that I’m happy to say that there’s not much to report there. I wish the operators continued success in their task.
And now for the bad news …
I take that back. Forget the bad news. I’ve had enough news for a while. I’ve got a rolling blackout coming through here in less than 90 min. and I’ll be sitting in the dark for ~3 hours. I actually intend to enjoy a movie with my wife. That’s one of the joys of having a laptop. 🙂
And as a bit more joy, I encourage you all to click on the photo above and just enjoy a moment of looking at the cherry blossoms. I took this photo during a walk a couple of years ago. It was a great walk and a warm and beautiful evening. I’m somewhat of a flower junkie and even with a crappy cell phone, I can’t stop myself from taking lots of photos of them.
Stop and smell the flowers. Take a moment to find something beautiful – inside or out – to appreciate. Tell your kids you love them. Hug your spouse. Meditate and find your stillness.
Be Love.
In the end, our expected “Group 2” rolling blackout didn’t happen at all. This is the second day that we’ve expected to be off the grid and had it not occur. The news hasn’t given us any indications as to why this might be. One can only surmise that TEPCO is having logistical difficulties. It’s always a tricky business taking areas off the grid and putting them back on. If you don’t do it right, you can take out whole regions in a cascade.