Completely unrelated to politics of any kind, shape, colour, or marital status...

I have a new obsession, it would seem. Perhaps it would be more apt to refer to it as a fascination. An intense haunting that has entered the peripheral of my consciousness and refuses to leave.

I've wanted to travel many places, some of which I've gotten around to and some of which I never will, but I never expected I'd want so desperately to travel to this place...

Chernobyl.


At 01:23AM in the northern reaches of Ukraine near the border of Belarus, reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explodes. Those in the nearby towns of Chernobyl and Pripyat quickly evacuate, but not after staring awestruck at the huge glowing ball of radiation slowly ascending into the heavens. The forest next to the plant is said to have actually glowed red with radiation. Every tree had to be cut down and buried beneath one metre of soil to avoid the spread of radiation.

3500 people returned to their homes some time later, ignoring the many warnings. They said they would rather die at home the live elsewhere. Only 400 of those people are alive today, the rest dead from accumulated radiation in their bodies.

Now the area is considered cursed. Everywhere within 3,000km of ground zero has been called the "exclusion area" and has been closed off to the general public. It is not impossible to attain entry, however, but you must bring with you a geiger counter.

Reactor #4

The worst part? On that day only 10% of the radioactive nuclear fuel exploded. The other 90% remains inside that cement tomb dubbed "the sarcophagus", hastily built to trap the radiation. But the cement walls are quickly collapsing, were they to implode another sizable dose of radiation would sweep Europe. Or worse, the nuclear fuels could continue to seep into the earth and enter Europe's water supply through aquifers. Imagine... one disaster and all of Europe is without drinkable water.

But it's not the dangers or terror of what has happened that draws me to long for a drive through the exclusion zone... It's the mystery of what's been left behind. The haunting memories left in houses, the photos that no one came back to claim, the pre-school with writing still on the chalkboard.

I don't know why, but this place is simply beautiful. And I will see it some day.

(For further reading, I highly recommend Elena Filatova's writings on her trips through Chernobyl and Pripyat. http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/index.html)

(Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_catastrophe)

Gas prices? Not within my sphere of knowledge...

Gas prices hit $1.135/litre early this week. Am I annoyed? Of course, my car isn't the most fuel-efficient vehicle on the road. But am I concerned? No. Am I going to complain about it? No. Why? Because I don't have a clue how the gas and fuel economy works.

This is a perfect example of something that is far beyond my knowledge or expertise, and I'd be a fool to start talking about it as if I knew more than I did. Most people like to bring it up and talk about how so-and-so shouldn't have brought in such-and-such bill or that the war in wherever-it-is-now is causing conflict in some-foreign-country.

But why bother? Unless one of us is in the industry or has done any research at all (let alone adequately extensive research) we really can't comment. All we can do is sigh and hope that someone is trying their best to make things better for all the other people.

People have a tendency to confuse discussion with action. Telling the gas attendant how terrible prices are isn't going to change anything (and I'm sure he's already heard the same thing several times earlier that day). If you actually care enough to change things, you have to put in the effort, do some research, talk to some people who are experienced in this field, and then find some way to make your point effective and legitimate.

This applies to pretty much any field. Are computers too unreliable? Do we disagree with the government's latest budget? Don't ask me. Er, actually you can ask me about computers, because I *am* experienced in that field...

Case in point. Come to me about computers, go to Texas to research the gas industry.

VANOC, hippies, and your seventeeth birthday cake...

Last night at 5:15pm protesters gathered at City Hall to remind us what a pestilence they can be when they try very hard.

What are they protesting? Why, what else but the complaint-trend of the year, the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. That night was the scheduled "lighting" of the Olympic and Paralympic flags -- by this they mean floodlights, not matches and lighters, as many in the crowd undoubtedly hoped.

We must also remember that it was only a few days back that a small group of aboriginal (do I have to capitalize that?) activists actually stole the Olympic flag from city hall in downtown Vancouver. Nearby taxpayers began looking in their wallets to find the money to replace it.

Parents out there should be able to relate to the behavior exhibited by these neo-hippies, not just because of the sheer immaturity of their actions, but because Vancouver is acting like a spoiled teen who has just had a surprise birthday thrown for him, but insists on complaining the whole time.

The Olympics are that party, and the Vancouver mob isn't interested in eating any cake. No, they'd rather be complaining to their mother -- or in this case our city's politicians -- that they "didn't ask for a party" and "it's more effort than it's worth".

These teens obviously don't realize that the party wasn't really for them. It was for the mother who enjoys seeing her son happy on his birthday, and for her sons friends who want to wish him well (and eat junk food).

The city's leadership and intellectual elite know the value of the Olympics. They can see the good it will do for our city, but only if we stop whining long enough to enjoy it. And those "corporate bastards" that the hippies claim to be "the only ones benefiting" are myself and a great deal of other business-owners who keep food on our table because our city supports our enterprising activities.

So, like the teen who spoils the fun for everyone, Vancouver's ever-present protesters are ensuring that the 2010 Olympics won't be any fun for anyone involved. Forget greedy corporations, nothing is as selfish as the group-mentality that honestly believes no one else's opinion matters.