Caws Radio

God to Southeast Asia: "Merry Christmas!"

I hope all my readers holied their holidays. My days were filled with holi. Big boxes full, even.

So how about those tsunamis? Really, there's nothing funny or merry about that whole mess. I would like to give props to Japan for giving half a billion dollars towards helping the victims, and also a shout-out to Coca Cola for their donation of 10 million. I can't say that I've donated anything...but I can buy a coke downstairs for a dollar. And I think I will.

But apparently somebody is excited about the disaster. I read in the paper today that OSU's Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory is thrilled to be getting so much attention:
"As a horrified world tuned in to the tragic aftermath of the Southeast Asia tsunami, OSU found its own place in the international media spotlight."
How nice! It says news reporters, the Discovery Channel and even the Today Show have come to the laboratory to cover the incredible spectacle of a model city getting wet in a big wave pool. I remember when the research lab opened, and how excited OSU was then. I understand that the lab is extremely useful for simulations and experiments in studying the effects of tsunamis, but naturally I gave the story hell. Come see a robot swim around in a pool! This week we added some blocks in the middle to represent a city getting wet! Great date idea!

But boy, they showed me! Now everybody wants to know what really happens in the case of a tsunami hitting an indoor swimming pool. "Well, as you can see some waves start to go around, and then the waves hit these blocks that resemble builings and...there ya go. Shit happens." I used to be a bit of a wave researcher myself, in my bathtub, testing the effects of large waves on little plastic boats. And as an expert, I can tell you the worst part is when the big bar of soap falls into the ocean, and then water starts spilling out onto the floor.