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Jim Stewart

lid wrote:
On Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:39:54 -0400, "Joe AutoDrill"
wrote:

That would indicate a reactor vessel breach and a resultant steam
explosion as the seawater they have pumped into the containment vessel
around the reactor superheated. I do not believe the Japanese
government's story of a hydrogen explosion. They would have been able
to vent much of the hydrogen before such a massive explosion
occurred.....assuming they have at least some fundamental control over
any systems whatsoever at the facility.
Dave

Interesting assessment, Dave.

Ending with an implied question of do they have control of anything?

Actually, I was wondering what the motivation for misleading the world would
be at this point. I mean, if you're hurt that badly, screaming for help
seems to be the best option, not denying the injury ala the Black Knight...
("It's merely a fleshwound" guy from Monty Python's... Oh never mind. If you
didn't know it, that won't help either.)

That is an interesting question. I worked for a Japanese auto parts
supplier for a couple of years. If you can devise the workings of the
Asiatic mind, please illuminate me. After close working with these
people, I still find it to be a mystery. They seem to make a policy
decision, and then right or wrong, stick tenaciously to it to the
bitter end. Banzai style. Unless you've seen it up close, as a Western
individual, you will not even be aware that this mode of thinking even
exists. It involves a concept called "face". Loss of face is a huge
thing in Japanese society. If you loss sufficient face, you must kill
yourself. Obviously, the nuke plant operators must maintain face. It
is a matter of life and death to them. Right or wrong, they will
attempt to maintain "face". Does this make sense from a Western
perspective? No.....but....they're Japanese. You cannot possibly
fathom that from a Western perspective.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and the subject
indirectly went back to that. He was ranting about
the fact that emergency generators were brought in
to run the pumps, but they couldn't be used because
the cable connectors were incompatible.

I told him that this was an excellent example of the
difference in mindset between US and Japanese engineers.
Japanese engineers, when faced with something not
explained in the documentation or outside of their
scope of work will, invariably, kick the problem up
the chain of command. In no case will an old guy
step up and say "get me some 3/8 bolts, nuts, drill
and some flat bar and we'll make something that will
work". It is absolutely not in their mindset.