Do you ever wonder why we have laws in this country for what kind of a building you can build where? Well these things really do matter and it turns out such things actually do save quite a few lives.
Of course we do not always listen to our best advice all the time.
For instance the sinking city of New Orleans, built under sea level, but alas there is a really nice sea wall? Great tell that to a Category 5 Hurricane, whatever its name is? Then we build things like airports underwater in EarthQuake Zones.
SFO, San Francisco International, that's right it is underwater too.
Well those are some really dumb things we do.
Imagine living in Tokyo where today they had 3 Earthquakes.
Morning, noon and afternoon, oh that is just great and even scientists have now found a separate tectonic plate underneath; an island on an island? Wonderful you say, but they have building codes for this and the 20 plus Typhoons, which came last year and hit the Japanese Islands? You think you are turning Japanese, you really think so? Well think again screw that.
Hurry up with your hybrid cars so I can get one before y'all fall in the ocean.
Then of course there is China, here in China there was this huge flood.
Everyone said, yes they happen; no kidding mud flowing through a town and wiping it half out.
So I ask this guy' "oh my god, where is everyone" then the translator told him my question and he made all these cool sounds, that is their local version here of Chinese? The man was frantically waving and making a swoosh sound, I thought he worked for Nike.
Turns out that he was answering my questions.
The broken version of his answer was 42 people just got swooshed away, over there? I am like saying to myself; Oh, well that explains it 42 people just got washed away with all the water and mud? In our country this would be a terrible thing and memorials, Presidential visits, donations, memorial? Not here.
They know these things happen.
The guy started to make a bunch more sounds and waved his hands and the interpreter told me in broken English, that the people were running, but they did not run fast enough, to bad.
I said; "yah, ah huh, well, yah, you could say that.
" Maybe when you go down to the planning commission and you complain about the studies and plans and rules.
The 100-year flood and flood control district and all that sort of stuff; you might think to yourself, well thankfully I live in a country where people actually care if a big river of mud washes me away? In fact I cannot wait to get back stateside, just dread that long flight.
Swoosh, you know that is going to haunt me for awhile, swoosh ..
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Think on this.