Jack Jack

Fukushima spent fuel has 85 times more cesium than released at Chernobyl In recent times, more information about the spent fuel situation at the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi site has become known. It is my understanding that of the 1,532 spent fuel assemblies in reactor No. 304 assemblies are fresh and unirradiated. This then leaves 1,231 irradiated spent fuel rods in pool No. 4, which contain roughly 37 million curies (~1.4E+18 Becquerel) of long-lived radioactivity. The No. 4 pool is about 100 feet above ground, is structurally damaged and is exposed to the open elements. If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire involving nearly 10 times the amount of Cs-137 released by the Chernobyl accident. The infrastructure to safely remove this material was destroyed as it was at the other three reactors. Spent reactor fuel cannot be simply lifted into the air by a crane as if it were routine cargo. In order to prevent severe radiation exposures, fires and possible explosions, it must be transferred at all times in water and heavily shielded structures into dry casks.. As this has never been done before, the removal of the spent fuel from the pools at the damaged Fukushima-Dai-Ichi reactors will require a major and time-consuming re-construction effort and will be charting in unknown waters. Despite the enormous destruction cased at the Da–Ichi site, dry casks holding a smaller amount of spent fuel appear to be unscathed. Based on U.S. Energy Department data, assuming a total of 11,138 spent fuel assemblies are being stored at the Dai-Ichi site, nearly all, which is in pools. They contain roughly 336 million curies (~1.2 E+19 Bq) of long-lived radioactivity. About 134 million curies is Cesium-137 — roughly 85 times the amount of Cs-137 released at the Chernobyl accident as estimated by the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP). The total spent reactor fuel inventory at the Fukushima-Daichi site contains nearly half of the total amount of Cs-137 estimated by the NCRP to have been released by all atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, Chernobyl, and world-wide reprocessing plants (~270 million curies or ~9.9 E+18 Becquerel). It is important for the public to understand that reactors that have been operating for decades, such as those at the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi site have generated some of the largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet. Many of our readers might find it difficult to appreciate the actual meaning of the figure, yet we can grasp what 85 times more Cesium-137 than the Chernobyl would mean. It would destroy the world environment and our civilization. This is not rocket science, nor does it connect to the pugilistic debate over nuclear power plants. This is an issue of human survival.

Clippers had a great win yesterday. They're now ahead 2-1. Jack Watts and Billy Crystal would be happy men. Thunder wrap up their series with a clean sweep over the Mavs. But I heard that Kendrick Perkins left the game injured, haven't heard how bad it is yet. Chicago was without Noah in their loss to the 76ers. He injured his ankle in the previous game, not sure if he'll be back. The Bulls are now 3-1 down, don't see them being able to come back from this.

A couple of good one's there Macca. Nice. Here's some Acid/ Funk Jazz. Jack Jack's Jazz 2.3 Jack Jack's Jazz 2.4

Honestly, for such a clever guy, I don't understand why Cuban let Tyson Chandler go. I guess part of this is retrospective now that Chandler has won the Defensive Player of the Year. Now that Dwight has opted in to his final year his hopes of getting him and DWill are pretty slim. I'm not sure even why Dwill would go there as a free agent? What do they have to offer? Dirk is getting old and isn't the power he once was. I think he only just made the All Star list on reputation. Now that Rose it out I think the Eastern Conference has really opened up for the Celtics. I'm picking a Heat Celtics Conference final and I reckon the Heat would be worried. Spurs OKC for the Western Conference (although the Lakers have to be a chance). If the spurs get through I think they're a good chance for the championship. Anyone got a subscription to NBA.tv? I'm thinking about going for it, it's only $70 to watch all the playoffs live or on demand on pc's phone etc.

The Mavs are getting smashed. Owner Mark Cuban is "not happy Jan"

Chappelle is great, and Headberg, what a corker. Nice one. Here's an old BBC comedy series, People Like Us (Apologies if I poted this before). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wanA5IBXV_4

Yeah, I don't mind the new Nets logo. But at the same time it is a little dull. The Heat are having a stinker, fortunately for them so are the Knicks. Down 29 - 40 with 1:44 left in the first half finished with a 7 - 0 run 36 - 40. Knicks would be kicking themselves. Office Space sounds good, I'll have to look out for it. Thanks.

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but as soon as the regular season finished there was a quick transition from NJ Nets to the Brooklyn Nets. They've released their new logo which was designed by Jay-Z. Colours are now Black & White. What do you think?

Is Office Space any good? I need something new to watch. And while we're on a lighter note. Here's a Heat photobomb.

More on Amare Some clever bugger has made a dramatisation of the incident.

I blame Jack Watts for Biffen thinking that it's a female. It's a profoundly ugly crossdressing dude pretending to be a profoundly ugly woman. And it's all Jack Watts' fault!

Amare Stoudemire has taken his frustrations of another loss to Miami out on a fire extinguisher. The extinguisher was in a metal case with a glass window, he managed to put his hand through the glass resulting in a severe cut. It's been reported that he's likely to miss game 3 and possibly the remainder of this series. Also I didn't see the first Celtics Hawks game but I believe Rondo was ejected for contact with a referee. He's also been suspended for game 2 as a consequence. The Celtics already have Allen out so it leaves them in a precarious position for game 2 and hence the series.

Haha, that guy's a pissah. Got the facial expressions down pat. Great stuff Macca.

The Grizzlies really dropped the ball in the 4th quarter didn't they. I didn't watch the game but there was mention of Rudy Gay's non existent d that left Young open for back to back to back 3's. That'd have to deflate anyone. I think the biggest surprise was Orlando coming up with the win. Maybe they're not just a one trick pony? Let's see if the Knick can bounce back from a 1st game drubbing Early days.

I don't really see any surprises in the first round. The Clippers v Grizzlies and Hawk v Celtics I think should be the closest series. But the higher seeding Celtics and Grizzlies should get the win. I'd actually like to see the Clippers go deep in the finals. You'd think that would give them a good chance of signing up CP3 on a long term deal, which I would like to see. But the Grizzlies have been hitting form at the right time. And Z-BO was brilliant in the playoffs last year. D Rose has left the court with a knee injury. Not sure how bad it is yet. Could be bad new for the Bulls. Rose has really had a bad year for injuries. If it wasn't for bad luck he wouldn't have had any luck at all. China's NBA playoff promo is a bit different. I guess there is that gladiatorial element in the playoffs. Edit: Update on D Rose, he's torn his ACL, out for the rest of the playoffs. Not good news.

Haha, thanks Macca. But I can't take too much credit, it was just a cut and paste. I should really credit the original source? When I mentioned Patty Mills I don't think I gave him enough credit for his recent form. It's been junk time in the last few games, a lot of players being rested. But credit where credits due, Patty followed up his career top score of 27 against the Suns to top it again and score 34 against the Warriors, along with 12 assists no less. He's now got the record for the highest score for any Aussie in the NBA. Well done Patty.

These rules are in place for the first round compo picks only, ie the compo pick immediately after the first round pick or the mid first round pick. The end of first round picks and 2nd, 3rd etc can don't have to be activated before round one and can be nominated whenever the due date is after the season. The GWS compo rules, as pointed out by maurie, say the first round picks have to be activated before round one of the season. It doesn't explicitly state that it is for their first year only, so it must cover their 2 year window for signing players. It only states that the picks cannot be used before 2012. Likewise with FA the rules should continue so as not to undermine the currently nominated first round picks. Again, any current or new end of first round, 2nd, 3rd etc can be nominated at the end of the season. It's not only us that it would severly disadvantage. If a team expecting to feature in the finals, or someone holding their pick, decided to activate their pick before round one, they could expect an extra pick in and around the teens. It would be unreasonable to then have half a dozen new mid round compo picks enter the draft at the last minute and all of a sudden their pick is pushed out into the 20's.

Originally I thought that it was a bit unfair to lose a FA and not be able to use the pick until the following year. Which is why I assumed that you could use it straight away. But when you take into account the current activation process, any new GWS or FA compo picks should follow the same rules otherwise the current batch of activated picks will be disadvantaged. I think the problem is some of these rules haven't been finalised, particularly with FA.

But if they don't continue those same rules for the GWS and FA compensation this year it will significantly disadvantage and compromise the picks nominated before round one this year. Why should we have to nominate our first round picks before round one if someone was able to use their first round compo pick gained this year?

You've just jinxed them, you know that right? Kobe seems pretty confident, says he expects to win the championship. But they all say that I guess. Patty Mills all the way (although I won't mind if the Heat get there). They've been resting their big 3 the last few games so Patty has had some good minutes, done fairly well too. The regular season is now over. The Charlotte Bobcats now have the dubious honour of having the all time worst regular season percentage. I think that means Jordan has now been involved in the best and worst seasons? Here's the first round schedule for anyone that's interested. WESTERN CONFERENCE - FIRST ROUND San Antonio vs. Utah Game 1 - Sun. April 29, Utah at San Antonio, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN Game 2 - Wed. May 2, Utah at San Antonio, 7 p.m., TNT Game 3 - Sat. May 5, San Antonio at Utah, 10 p.m., TNT Game 4 - Mon. May 7, San Antonio at Utah, TBD Game 5 * Wed. May 9, Utah at San Antonio, TBD Game 6 * Fri. May 11, San Antonio at Utah, TBD Game 7 * Sun. May 13, Utah at San Antonio, TBD Oklahoma City vs. Dallas Game 1 - Sat. April 28, Dallas at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m., ESPN Game 2 - Mon. April 30, Dallas at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m., TNT Game 3 - Thu. May 3, Oklahoma City at Dallas, 9:30 p.m., TNT Game 4 - Sat. May 5, Oklahoma City at Dallas, 7:30 p.m., TNT/R Game 5 * Mon. May 7, Dallas at Oklahoma City, TBD Game 6 * Thu. May 10, Oklahoma City at Dallas, TBD Game 7 * Sat. May 12, Dallas at Oklahoma City ,TBD, TNT L.A. Lakers vs. Denver Game 1 - Sun. April 29, Denver at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m., ABC/R Game 2 - Tue. May 1, Denver at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m., TNT Game 3 - Fri May 4, L.A. Lakers at Denver, 10:30 p.m., ESPN Game 4 - Sun. May 6, L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9:30 p.m., TNT Game 5 * Tue. May 8, Denver at L.A. Lakers, TBD Game 6 * Thu. May 10, L.A. Lakers at Denver, TBD Game 7 * Sat. May 12, Denver at L.A. Lakers, TBD, TNT Memphis vs. L.A. Clippers Game 1 - Sun. April 29, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 9:30 p.m., TNT Game 2 - Wed. May 2, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 9:30 p.m., TNT Game 3 - Sat. May 5, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 4:30 p.m., ESPN Game 4 - Mon. May 7, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, TBD Game 5 * Wed. May 9, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, TBD Game 6 * Fri. May 11, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, TBD Game 7 * Sun. May 13, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, TBD ___________________________________________________ EASTERN CONFERENCE - FIRST ROUND Chicago vs. Philadelphia Game 1 - Sat. April 28, Philadelphia at Chicago, 1 p.m., TNT Game 2 - Tue. May 1, Philadelphia at Chicago, 8 p.m., TNT Game 3 - Fri. May 4, Chicago at Philadelphia, 8 p.m., ESPN Game 4 - Sun. May 6, Chicago at Philadelphia, 1 p.m., ABC Game 5 * Tue. May 8, Philadelphia at Chicago, TBD Game 6 * Thu. May 10, Chicago at Philadelphia, TBD Game 7 * Sat. May 12, Philadelphia at Chicago, TBD, TNT Miami vs. New York Game 1 - Sat. April 28, New York at Miami, 3:30 p.m., ABC/R Game 2 - Mon. April 30, New York at Miami, 7 p.m., TNT Game 3 - Thu. May 3, Miami at New York, 7 p.m., TNT Game 4 - Sun. May 6, Miami at New York, 3:30 p.m., ABC/R Game 5 * Wed. May 9, New York at Miami, TBD Game 6 * Fri. May 11, Miami at New York, TBD Game 7 * Sun. May 13, New York at Miami, TBD Indiana vs. Orlando Game 1 - Sat. April 28, Orlando at Indiana, 7 p.m., ESPN Game 2 - Mon. April 30, Orlando at Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV Game 3 - Wed. May 2, Indiana at Orlando, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV Game 4 - Sat. May 5, Indiana at Orlando, 2 p.m., ESPN Game 5 * Tue. May 8, Orlando at Indiana, TBD Game 6 * Fri. May 11, Indiana at Orlando, TBD Game 7 * Sun. May 13, Orlando at Indiana, TBD Boston vs. Atlanta Game 1 - Sun. April 29, Boston at Atlanta, 7 p.m., TNT Game 2 - Tue. May 1, Boston at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV Game 3 - Fri. May 4, Atlanta at Boston, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 Game 4 - Sun May 6, Atlanta at Boston, 7 p.m., TNT Game 5 * Tue. May 8, Boston at Atlanta, TBD Game 6 * Thu. May 10, Atlanta at Boston, TBD Game 7 * Sat. May 12, Boston at Atlanta, TBD, TNT

Good point maurie. I guess this would continue this year at least for FA compensation. Otherwise it completely undermines the first round compo pick that needed to be activated before round one this year.

I'm not sure all the details are finalised, I can't find any specific info on it. I'd assume it could be used straight away, but that's only my assumption. But this is a good article from The Age outlining the process. One for the Road. Intereststing to note they will hand out net compensation.