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Blogging Ideas Rants Thoughts

Global Marshall Plan?

Future Construction
Future Construction

Is it time for global Marshall plan?

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, hit Japan overnight, and here on the East Coast, it was breaking headline news, that we all woke up.

My late-night friends on the West Coast, reported and posted, that they were beginning to see the first videos from Japan.

The social networks have been taxed with the spiked increase in usage.

The 24-hour news channels have been showing videos all day long.

It is just amazing to watch the Tsunami waters rolling over the landscapes of Japan, and people caught on the highways and bridges looking at the water heading towards them with no place to go.

It is still far too early to know what the final death toll and financial cost of this earthquake will be, but it is easy to guess that is going to cost billions.

While witnessing the reporting, it occurred to me, that there is going to be a need for a great deal of human power to resurrect what is left in Japan.

I have already read reports indicating that Japan has activated their lobbyists to get money from the United States.

As a human I know we need to give them the money to help them, that is not a question, but are we going to put any constraints on these funds?

Maybe, we should require them to buy US goods, thereby helping to rebuild our manufacturing base and our economy.

Maybe, we should revisit the Marshall plan of World War II, that helped rebuild Europe, updated, and apply it to Japan.

We could also use unemployed Americans, which were willing to travel to Japan, a decent wage to help rebuild the Japanese country, or offer them tax breaks.

The problem that I see with restarting our manufacturing base is that it has been so gutted over the past few years, that it may take time to start producing materials, but this maybe a possible kick start is needed for our economy and may be the world’s.

It would definitely take a massive amount of money to do this, but why not pay Americans?

Local resources in Asia, will most likely get inundated by the immediate needs of such a large scale recovery, but here again, American factories may be able to contribute in some fashion.

Another thing that should be looked at, is making a concerted effort to invest in renewable energy sources such as solar power. The Japanese culture in general, is far more open to earth friendly designs then we are here in the United States. This could also spur a growth in research and development within our own borders.

Initially there is going to be a great deal of need for just people power to clean up all the debris that this event has beset upon Japan.

We should also explore the possibility, of reusing as much of the debris as possible in some recycled fashion or another. Plastic and the such gathered and re-manufactured into new items.

This may also be a perfect time to revisit the ideas of apprenticeships in a more hands-on fashion.

There are many experienced people available that could be used as teachers and mentors, to introduce a whole new generation interested in a new potential career. During this crisis we do not have the time for formal classroom training, but needed knowledge can be absorbed by doing the tasks in the field.

If the Marshall plan is going to be used as a framework for this endeavor, we should also look at it as a framework for the potential rebuilding of the Middle East.

Who should run such an operation?

From the beginning of this effort it needs to be realized that this is an international effort, but at the same time there are local customs and considerations that need to be taken into account.

The United Nations would be a likely candidate, but at the same time, tends to be too political in a time where efficiency and urgency is needed.

Maybe we consider, combining two different organizations for this effort.

Because of the large amount of material that needs to be moved in a timely fashion, the military could be used for getting supplies from here to there, which they are ready do as part of their daily routines. They also have the benefit of having the infrastructure to already do this.

But once the supplies are on site, who would run the efforts from there?

The organization that runs this part of the operation needs to be very much aware of the local environment. Obvious issues include language and cultural barriers.

There also needs to be concern for the potential corruption of local efforts that have been witnessed in the past. Record-keeping and accountability need to be monitored for any possible anomalies that could occur, and if any rules or regulations are broken, there needs to be swift remediation. If too much politics gets involved, there will be needless losses.

These are just some quick thoughts…

– Andrew
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Categories
Blogging Ideas Information Rants Scams Thoughts

Major Overnight 8.9 Earthquake Hits Japan

Bronze Statue of Amita Buddha Daibutsu or Great Buddha
Bronze Statue of Amita Buddha Daibutsu or Great Buddha

Update(s)


3/15/2011 – A new group was started on Facebook that I think needs to be highlighted:

I will open my home to a family from Japan

It is a great idea, and if you think you can NOT afford it, remember, they have NOTHING!

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If you are just waking up, there was a major 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan overnight.

This is one of the largest ever recorded, and from early reports, has caused all sorts of damage, including issues at one of the northern nuclear plants. Many after quakes have also been reported, and many of those are 6.0 and above.

On Facebook, I have gotten notice that friends/neighbors that are in China are safe and sound, I can only wait, hope and wonder for those I know on the main island.

Some of my friends and followers on the west coast, have posted that they watched video of some of the Tsunami reaching Hawaii, live.

I had the chance to go to Japan in 1994, just before the big Kobe earthquake several months late, and while I was there, a small 4.3 shook the house that I was in.

If you have never been in an earthquake, it is a very strange sensation, namely because one has no control of what is going on around you.

Needless to say, in the coming hours, days, weeks and months, there will be much sorrow, pain and suffering.

Also, be aware, that in times like this, some people will try and take advantage of donations. Be very aware of which organizations which you pledge your money.

I do not subscribe to any particular religion, but please take a moment today, to just send your thoughts to those that may have lost a great deal.

– Andrew
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Related Sites and Info

Japanese Quake Person Finder
Earthquakes near Japan – earthquake.usgs.gov

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Categories
Blogging

Photo Contest – Insects [POSTPONED]

With the various feed backs that I have been getting, the Insect Photo Contest will be POSTPONED until a later date, most likely, the end of summer.

Photos that have already been submitted will have the option to re-submit or new images.

All entries should be taken within Chester County (…honor system). – Did I miss something?

– Andrew
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Categories
Chester County Downingtown Nature Photo Journal

Changes in the weather…

Storm Clouds - UHES 266 tm
Storm Clouds - UHES 266 tm

It was another Saturday in the later winter, and there were reports that some rain was on it’s way, but by mid afternoon, the kids were too filled with energy to spent any more time inside.

So we packed up the car with Madison’s scooter and Logan’s bike, and we head up to Uwchlan Hill Elementary School to get some fresh air and exercise.

When we got there, we noticed two other families also had the same idea, and were enjoying the usually warm day.

As we walked around the school, playing on the various pieces of equipment, I was continuously pointing my camera to the sky, to capture all the dark storm clouds that were crossing our area.

At first, I let the camera’s sensors take care of the exposure, but in reviewing the images on the little LCD screen, I decided to switch into manual mode, with some setting as high as 1/4000 at F16 ISO 100, which was definitely underexposing the my captures bu 2-3 stops, but at the same time, giving more depth to the clouds as the flew by.

During the outing, I took around 350 images, and when it came time to edit them, I had to look very carefully, 1) because the images were very dark; 2) there were only subtle differences between some of the frames.

I was really surprised to find so few images with lens flair, especially considering that in many cases, I was shooting directly into the sun. What I found very intriguing, was some of the color halos that I was getting around the sun. It was easy to see that I was pushing the limits of the CCD on my camera!

After making my initial selections, I used basic Lightroom corrections to try and enhance the images, which worked in many cases, but I wanted to get a little more.

I then imported some of the images into Photomatix, where I applied mostly default settings in the enhanced tone-map section, plus added a little color temperature warmth to some of the captures.

Looking forward, I plan to use this underexposure technique again when faced with similar scenes, I only hope, that I will be able to hold the foreground detail…

If you are interested, more images can be found in my Flickr Photostream, under “Uwchlan Hills Elementary School (110305)

Andrew (SDC) - View my 'Uwchlan Hills Elementary School (110305)' set on Flickriver

Thanks for stopping by

– Andrew
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Categories
Blogging Photography

Where is Photography going?

As I was drinking my morning coffee and checking-in with the world on Facebook, Ed Heaton posted an article that he had found on ProNature Photographers entitled: “The Future May Be The Commercial Nature Photographer” by Charlie Borland.

In the article, it is suggested that the professional nature photographer needs to expand and move into the new areas of digital video, especially with the advent of HD dSLR video cameras, and he uses the term “Commercial Nature Photographers”.

Later in the article, Mr. Borland mentions that he has done a search for photographers on USAjobs.com, and was able to find a position called “Visual Information Specialist”, which suggests an all encompassing jack-of-all-trades skill set and knowledge.

In follow-up posts to Ed’s original Facebook entry, have others agree with the basic premise of the article and also suggest a need for writing skills.

I too have to agree with the premise that photographers need to expand.

Back in the days when we spent hours in the darkroom, are now spent learning how to get “eyeballs” on our work, which includes marketing in many different forms, especially in the area of social media.

One question I do have is, if photographers move into video, are still photographers going to learn the video tools? or are they going to farm out the video editing?

In regards to writing, it seems natural that blogging would be an entry point for any photographer, especially if they can document their adventures in interesting fashion.

How are photographers going to handle the technical side of these new endeavors?

Already, with each new revision of software, and computer power, applications are becoming increasingly more time-consuming to learn let alone put into work-flow.

With all the other demands that a photographer must deal with; clients, accounting, marketing, etc., are they going to have the ability to take on these additional tasks?

I have a feeling that a new sub-industry, or redefinition of existing industry is about to occur.

Back in the day when film was king, and everything was done by hand including retouching, can now be done on the computer, but who does this? Is it you? Is it your assistant? Do you have somebody that can do this for you?

Needless to say, there is change coming, and those that can adapt are going to survive.

What do you think??

– Andrew
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