Basic Engineering Error which shook the World

I mean Fukushima nuclear plant catastrophe. It was going like this:

Friday 11 March
14:46 ...power plant's nuclear reactors 1, 2, and 3 are automatically shut down by the shake...Power plant is cut off from the Japanese electricity grid, however, backup diesel generators kick in to continue cooling...

15:01 The tsunami unleashed by the earthquake strikes the Fukushima facility damaging the backup generators required to cool the reactors... Details HERE

And this is all, the rest is CHAOS.

All problems the World has and will have for a long time, are the direct result of cooling system failure. Cooling system failed because backup generators were hit by tsunami. They were hit by tsunami because "..fuel tanks for the generators, positioned at ground level just metres from the sea, were among the first parts of the facility to be destroyed ..". Details HERE.

That means the backup system was located in more vulnerable position than the object which was to be backed up. It is absolutely against the logic and engineering practice. Something like hanging the keys to the safe on the wall just above it.

And it shook the world. Many countries have to revise their energy programs. It puts in danger plans of reducing carbon emissions. Consequences are difficult to predict. Only because of one error, placement of backup generators, which has nothing to do with nuclear technology.

On one hand we can say - why all that panic? We learned a lesson, the error will not be repeated. But on the other hand .. If it was an error in the old, traditional engineering art, how can we trust engineers at all? We must not implement technologies which failure can cause such enormous damage. Because humans will always make basic and fundamental errors.

I dedicate above statement to enthusiasts of genetic engineering.

Paderewski's tree

At the end of January, I reported here my search for a tree planted by Ignace Paderewski in Royal Botanic Garden in Melbourne.

As Autumn arrived, I visited it to see if it produced any chestnuts, buckeye chestnuts. I found the tree, but it looked very, very poorly....

Leaves yellowing at the edges, and just a single fruit, which looked dry, empty and dead. I hurried to the visitor's centre and explained my concern to the same lady, who helped me so patiently and kindly in January. She called a horticulturalist for assistance.

He checked some botanical data and explained to me, that this type of chestnut, does not produce actual chestnuts. Chestnuts, which you could eat - he said.

It amused me a bit. I do not come to botanic garden to feed myself. For this purpose, my little secret forest full of mushrooms, will do quite nicely.

But I did not mention it to the horticulturalist. He might have called the ambulance :))))

Mushrooms

Autumn, means in Poland mushrooms. I remember from many years ago, excursions to forest and coming back with bags full of mushrooms. Actually, I did not like these events. Many hours of careful walking with head hanging down and eyes looking for brown hats in the grass.

We did not expect to find mushrooms in Australia. Couple of years after settling down here, we learned, that there are good mushroom fields around Daylesford. That was true. Another good place was found at the Red Hill. For me it was too far to drive and I was right. In December last year I found a mushroom field just 10 minutes walk from our home. It is in the bushes at the back of children playground. It produces just one type of mushrooms, like this...

At home they looked like this...

The recipe is simple:

- take heads only,

- mix one egg with 3 tablespoons of milk,

- put some salt or herbamare on the mushrooms,

- dip mushroom head in the egg with milk,

- toss in bran,

- drop on hot frying pan...

Delicious!!!

I wrote, that mushroom season is in Autumn. But these ones are crazy. I spotted them first time in December and since then I regularly brought home a dozen per fortnight.

Our only worry is, that it is so close to the playground. One day they may be noticed by council workers maintaining vegetation around the playground and I am sure, these guys will treat them as a dangerous pest and eradicate them with some killer of all growing things. So I check our secret forest every second morning to prevent the strike.

Children speak

 At the beginning of Febuary we drove grandchildren home.

- What will you be doing at home? - I asked.
Felix thought a while and then answered:

- I will draw a birthday card for my Mum.

- Me too, me too - shouted Matilda - I will draw many, many cards for my Mum.

- Yes, we will make gigantic number of birthday cards - confirmed Felix.

- Felix, and can you write - Sarah? - asked Matilda.

- No - answered carelessly Felix.

- So what shall we write?

- We'll write - I love you - and instead of writing Sarah, we'll draw Mum's portrait.

- Yes! And I, instead of portrait, will draw a piglet.

- Yes, and I, instead of portrait, will draw a pirate ship! - announces Felix. Then, after a short considerations, he corrects - actually, I will draw crossed bones and a skull.

- Yes! We both will draw crossbones and skulls. Mum will be so happy!!

Paderewski in Melbourne

I have known for a long time, that one of most distinguished Polish citizens - Ignacy J. Paderewski visited Australia and gave concerts in Melbourne and Sydney. No wonder, I looked for some Australian memories of this visit. I found quite a few.

Firstly, there was a story of a postcard mailed from Melbourne to Guernsey Island on 12 July 1904. It contains a report from Paderewski's performances in Melbourne and Sydney and an interesting cartoon showing I.J. Paderewski shaking hand with some representative of "Socialist Melbourne". This person was much, much later identified as Sir Malcolm Donald McEacharn, who in 1904 was Mayor of Melbourne.

Quoted report from The Bulletin is quite interesting too. It describes quite different reaction of Melbourne and Sydney audience. In Melbourne it was: "... crowds which thronged the building, applauding till their hands were sore and shrieking until they were hoarse".

In Sydney: "..the artist left the platform in a towering rage...During the performance some non-musical members of the audience drifted out of the hall as soon as their curiosity was satisfied. ... M. Paderewski played, as he stated later, with genuine pleasure to those whose appreciation had led them to remain. But he resented the lack of honour shown to a visiting artist by something like 500 people in hurrying away at such juncture. They are nothing but savages - said the irate artist. In Melbourne no one went out, and I played a longer programme. I have never had an audience behave like that - even in the Wild West”.

Here you are.

Secondly, I found a number of newspaper reports in The Argus ( here is a later one about a concert in October ) and in The Age.

Thirdly, I learned about some diplomatic scandal, which happened during second visit of Paderewski in Melbourne in 1927.

Luckily, I.J. Paderewski left in Melbourne a tangible sign of his visit. Wikipedia says, He planted a tree in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Garden. What tree? Where?

From the biography of the founder of Royal Botanic Garden, William Robert Guilfoyle, I learned, that it was an American red chestnut.

Equipped with such knowledge, I came on Australia Day 2011 to RBM Visitor Centre to find an exact location of the tree. The person at information desk searched diligently through some files and catalogues but in vain. Lastly, she looked at some printed document, which listed in alphabetical order all plants growing in the Garden. And there it was - at the very first position - aesculus x hybrida, planted by Ignace Paderewski!!!

Aesculus x hybrida?? What is it? What's it English name? It was not so easy to find. In the meantime we found, that it belonged to sub-family of chestnuts, namely horse chestnuts - hippocastaneae. And finally, we got it's English name - buckeye!! And it came from the state of Ohio, USA. So it was an American chestnut.

I received a map with a marking of the tree location ...




.. and here it was...





.. the tree is quite majestic..





I will have to visit it in Autumn to see it's fruits, whether they are red, or whether they remind buck eyes.

Saint Jose Silva?

There is no such a saint? Maybe should be.

Not so long ago, I heard about Silva Method, a method enabling people to utilise hidden powers of human brain.

Personally, I am a sceptic quite critical about all supernatural powers. But this method can fit into my rational point of view. In a nutshell it works like this...

It is based on assumption, that brain controls all functions of human body including our immune system. That means, brain can defend the body against any sickness. In some cases, it can also accelerate a destruction of the body producing toxins - e.g in a depressed person, who lost any drive to live.

According to Jose Silva, we can program our brain. To do this one should reach alpha state (look also here), state externally similar to meditation. After reaching this state, one can program his brain to perform specific job. Here a couple of examples: a person with blocked arteries imagined a vacuum cleaner sucking all the rubbish from his arteries. Another one, with arthritis, imagined a pneumatic hammer crushing rocks on his joints. Both were healed within few weeks.

So far, I do not see anything illogical or supernatural.

Why am I writing this under a banner of sainthood? Because the church monopolised the domain of miraculous cures. It even requests minimum two miracles to award the title of a Saint. Our Australian Mary Mac Killop had to wait 101 years to jump over this hurdle.

What is interesting to me, is the fact that two sides most interested in this area, do not even want to hear about this method. These sides are the Church and "official" medicine. About the church I already wrote, it would undermine the whole idea of sainthood. As of medicine - it would be a blow for omnipotent surgery and pharmacology.

Just lately, I heard a story of a doctor, who could not convince a patient to agree for some surgery. Then, one morning, the patient said:

- I saw Jesus in my dream, he told me the surgery will go OK. Now I give my consent to it.

The doctor joked with his colleague, that there was another candidate to psychiatric department.

Quite inappropriate joke. Why the doctor was unable to convince the patient? Maybe it was he, who needed help from a psychologist?

Looking closer on miracles recognised by the church, I see lots of similarity to Silva method. Firstly, sick person prays, repeating over and over simple prayers. This is a way to achieve an alpha status. In their prayers, sick people call a Saint to heal their body. The signal goes to brain. For the brain it is immaterial whether it was St Francis of Assisi or a tradesman with pneumatic hammer. The brain does the job.

Grand Final 2010

I am not a fan of footy but I am trying to feel the pulse of Melbourne. So on Saturday morning, I rode on bike towards MCG. It was 4 hours before the start of the game, but the crowd was already building up.

Fans of Saints...

And of Magpies..

After returning home, I showed my colours..

Yes, black and white, no wonder Magpies won the trophy.