Sorry, no update today! So many things have been going on due to the nuclear power plant concerns in Fukushima, Japan.
Here’s an update on what’s going on:
My wife and I have decided that it would be best if she and our baby temporarily move further west to stay with a co-worker’s family and that I stay in our city (Yokohama) to take care of our cat and have constant access to the internet to update everyone.
There is no danger from radioactive fallout in Yokohama, where I am. I am taking precautions, just in case, such as wearing a cloth mask when I go out and keeping windows closed. Other than those small precautions, nothing much has changed here. Mail and garbage services are still running and all stores are still open. Domino’s Pizza is still making deliveries, so I may have pizza for dinner. Grocery stores are receiving minimal deliveries of milk, eggs, and bread, so you have to go to the store early to get those items. There is still plenty of meat, fish and pasta on the shelves and I have more than enough food for many days, so food is not a concern. I went to McDonalds yesterday and they were out of Big Macs, which is too bad because I wanted a Big Mac.
TEPCO, our electricity company, has scheduled blackouts, but I haven’t had any blackouts yet. I can tell that our community is wisely conserving energy, so I think that TEPCO is cancelling the blackouts, at least in our area. I still have gas for cooking and running water, hot and cold.
I am still feeling aftershocks, maybe 1-2 per day, sometimes none. However, they are small and I just ignore them. One happened last night while I was sleeping and it didn’t even wake me up.
The nuclear power plant situation is the reason that my wife and baby moved further west, away from the power plant. Yokohoma is very far from Fukushima (where the power plant is) and there is no real concern here. The radiation levels were measured last night in Yokohama, and (according to the report) it was 0.141 microSieverts per hour. Due to this situation, I’ve been doing my research on radiation. If I put my trust in the reading that was reported, it means that Yokohama is experiencing 1.24 milliSieverts per year. That is normal background radiation. We would be getting the same radiation exposure anywhere in the world (more in some parts!). Of course, for this to be true, I have to trust the Japanese news reports. If things escalate and I do feel like I’m in danger, I will leave Yokohama and join my wife, then we will discuss things further and most likely go back to Canada. But, the situation in Yokohama has not reached that level of concern, so I am comfortable staying in Yokohama for the time being.
Please send your support and positive thoughts to the poor people in Northern Japan, who are still devastated by the damage of the earthquake and tsunami and those who live closer to the nuclear power plant. They are the ones who are in real need, while my wife, baby, and I are safe.
Thank you again for all of your thoughts and support. I will keep you updated.
As for the comic, Chapter 3 is still on its way, so stay tuned!
You can follow The Pocalypse on Facebook, Twitter and RSS, too!
And, please continue to vote! :D Arbiter’s sketch is still the incentive!
Sounds like a sensible, cautious decision. I hope things don’t get any worse for you. I should consider myself lucky that the only thing I have to be slightly disappointed about is no comic today (for which I don’t blame you at all).
Wow, good thinking. Don’t worry too much about your comics. Your fans aren’t going anywhere :D. (At least, your real fans aren’t :p)
glad to hear you 3 are doing ok all things considered, seriously though if it starts to even seem slightly risky to stay there, or you just want to be with your family, dont worry about updating for us, go where ya need to go, we will all still be here when you return… Absence makes the heart grow fonder they say…
Im glad to hear you are alright. Maybe now might be a good time to move back to Ontario with your family!
Glad to hear that you are all safe. And I agree with Curator. We can wait, keeping yourself safe can’t.
Aw no update. But fair enough, family comes before internet randoms. A long way before… And on a different but not entirely unrelated topic, that sketch of Arbiter is neat. I stared at it for a while, and realised that i could probably make the helmet from the suit. If i can manage that, I may have a go at the rest of it :) would you mind sketching different views of Arbiter’s helmet, so i can see how the panels fit together? thanks :)
Hey man good to know you guys are safe, I send my respects to family or friends that werent so lucky. Good luck and take care.
family and health above all else! Good luck!
can you tell me what is up in harajuku, i have some friend there.
and i like to go shopping when i get there.
I have the best readers, ever :D
@MorganrBan – A real life Arbiter helmet? That would be AWESOME. I’ll work on those sketches when I have time! :D
@oliver – As far as I know, Harajuku (Tokyo) is unaffected. However, some airlines are diverting/cancelling flights to Tokyo, so you might want to look into that. I’m sure that shops are open in Harajuku and stocks should be normal, unless you’re looking for milk, eggs, and bread, which are not in high stock. If you’re shopping for clothes and souvenirs, you should be fine. Most people are wearing cloth masks as a precautionary measure, so you may not see a lot of mouths when you get here :)
Maybe this site is in your interest. After all, you are an artist, and you are in Japan….
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1932174840/japan-needs-heroes
I’m happy to hear you’re OK Monsieur Joe, my prayers are with you and all the people of Japan, wise decision to get the the wife and kid out of danger, (would do that with my own wife but she not IN danger..she IS the danger) My offer still stands by the way, anytime you’re ready, send me an email. Adieu!
Glad your safe, take care Joe.
Hi, I’m glad you’re okay, and I hope the situation with the power plants will stabilize. But, a word of advice, those cloth masks are kind of useless. They don’t filter out any pollution, and they certainly don’t stop any radiation. The only thing that helps against that is lead. Cloth masks are good for stopping bacteria from spreading when you sneeze, but that’s about it.
Sorry about not getting your BigMac, But dude i wish you may best. I hope you are safe, and stay safe. Take care :)
@UncleBod – Thanks for the link! I hope everyone opens their hearts and this project gets the funding it deserves. As for me, there are relief efforts here that I will support!
@Rovage St Laurent – Thank you! Something to discuss with the wife :D
@NightRaven – I hope so, too! And, yeah, you’re right about the masks, they’re just thin cloths. I think its more of a psychological thing, like drinking alcohol when you’re thirsty. Speaking of which, I plan on buying a beer for St. Patrick’s Day :)
All the best for you and your family, Joe! Take care!
Thank you for staying safe.
good luck and good wishes for you and your family Joe.
Man i love this place! The comic is great, the author is awesome, heck, even the readers are cool. (I love reading the comments, i’ll probably join the forums soon!)
Life is always first, don’t worry about the update!
yay a ne meber welcome ellie to the pocalypse. \m/(x.O)\m/ <— thats my zombie rock on
ah damn a typo hate those (╬ ಠ益ಠ)
A brazillian here wishing to you and you’re family all the best!
Already donated on the Red Cross; I hope my contribution counts as something.