This. No offense Patrick, you're a great dude, but I'm somewhat put off by that attitude. It's easy to say when you are in Nagoya; do you guys even have the e

This. No offense Patrick, you're a great dude, but I'm somewhat put off by that attitude. It's easy to say when you are in Nagoya; do you guys even have the electricity problem in the 60hz zone of Japan? To clarify, I am still in Tokyo, working in Yokohama at the moment, and I don't think Tokyo has a problem. (I am worried about _long term_ exposure to elevated radiation, but that is neither here nor there.) I do think the foreign media has been blowing things out of proportion (to the point where I told my mom I had relocated to Yamanashi to calm her down). However, these irritatingly smug articles about how everything is "alright", and not to "panic" are ridiculous. I keep getting such sanctimonious messages on my Twitter feed about how nothing's wrong; I suspect quite a few are infowar soundbytes meant for American consumption. With a lack of clear, trustworthy information, it is entirely logical to assume the worst and ride out the tide while waiting for objective sources of information (geiger counters, etc..) to prove things one way or another. I "panicked" and bought 15 kilos of rice, canned foods and lentils. (Not to mention batteries, etc..) I filled up my bathtub with water, and stored as much as I could in safe places. (I also did it before the powerplants blew.) Most likely nothing will happen and I won't have to do food shopping for another 3-6 months. However, in the odd chance that things really do go south (another earthquake, etc...), I have an improved chance of getting out alive. I don't begrudge anyone for feeling that there is more than meets the eye at play, and for leaving. Seeing the "macho posing" on twitter and facebook is stupid; no one is more masculine because you are still here. (I'm here, but only because my company stupidly decided to keep working when its entire staff is demoralized. BTW, if anyone wants a Python/Django engineer and project manager with a B.Sc, I'm willing to relocate. ;) )