Watch the Incredible Force of a Typhoon Move a Skyscraper's 720-Ton Mass Damper

Mass dampers are designed to counteract the swaying of a skyscraper as it’s buffeted by strong winds or earthquakes. But it’s incredibly rare to see one of these huge devices moving more an a few inches. Unless, of course, there’s a typhoon nearby.

Taiwanese nuclear style firecracker battle

Here Comes Your Food

Meanwhile in Taiwan

A Notoriously Dangerous Fireworks Festival

One of the most dangerous fireworks festivals in the world is held once a year at the end of the Chinese New Year in Tainan City, Taiwan. Here, thousands of bottle rockets are ignited from a "beehive" to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck to those who are in the path of the rockets.

2012 Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival (Taipei,Tawain)

 Celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar, the Lantern Festival, also known as Shang Yuan Festival, is regarded as one of the most important and romantic festivals in Taiwan.

During the festival decorative lanterns depicting birds, beasts and historical figures are carried by children and adorn temples as well as being released into the sky.

This year being Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar, a massive 60-foot paper dragon was displayed in Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the City Hall Square, attracting thousands of visitors.

For Those Who Like 'Snacks'

Girl has more than 30 ants in her ears

(China Daily)

A 16-year-old girl in Taiwan had more than 30 ants in her ears because of her fancy for snacks.

Recently her ears started itching and when her family members said they had seen ants climbing out of her ears she rushed to see a doctor.

The doctor found that there were about six ants in the girl's left ear, and more than 20 in her right ear.

Fortunately the ants had not caused any harm to the girl's eardrum.

The girl said she always likes eating snacks and clearing her ears when lying in bed.

Light The Fuse... And RUN!

Well Now We Know

Flush so we don't blush: Taiwan city

340 tonnes of stinky waste generated daily by toilet paper being thrown into the trash instead of being flushed down. -Reuters

Tue, Jul 08, 2008
Reuters

TAIPEI - A CITY in south Taiwan began training potty users this week to flush toilet paper instead of throwing it in the trash, to reduce 340 tonnes of stinky waste generated daily, local media and officials said on Tuesday.

'An old habit is to throw toilet paper in the trash can beside the toilet, which causes a major stink that's bad for public sanitation,' city Environmental Protection Bureau Director Chang Hwang-jen told Reuters.

'Japanese and Western visitors who come to Taiwan find this Taiwan toilet habit to be quite poor,' she added.

Taiwan's plumbing can now handle toilet paper without clogging the pipes, a break from the past, the city of Tainan told its 764,000 citizens at a news conference on Monday.

Leaders in other Taiwan cities haven't gotten off the pot on the issue, Ms Chang said.

Toilet sitters in Taiwan and China customarily target trash bins instead of the porcelain because of pipe backup worries.

Clogged pipes in Tainan are caused by the flushing of other objects, such as toothbrushes, Ms Chang said.

Sticking non-recyclabe toilet paper in the trash also costs the city T$4,600 (S$206) per tonne, or T$600 million per year, to treat, local media said. -- REUTERS

Glad I I'm Missing Longwang!

Japan Meteological Agency | Tropical Cyclone Information

Moving On...

Good Morning from Taipei! Up at 5:30am so I can get to the airport by 9:30am to arrive in Vietnam by noon. Typhoon is too slow for my liking, so all we have outside this morning is a sky full of dark clouds and no rain yet. Now the test to see if I can actually get everything that came out of my suitcase back into it! Vietnam is a communication challenge at best, so I will probably drop off of the radar for a couple of days. Prepare for a photo flood when I connect again.

Fancy Hotel

This is the first trip to Taiwan where it was not cloudy and rainy! I have gone by this place many times and shot many photos. None have done it justice, until now. When you see this building on the horizon, you know you are not in the United States anymore.

Taiwan Emergency Procedure Drill

It started with a loud wailing siren that went through the whole city. All traffic must come to a stop and pull off of the road, and all people stand in place. Civil Police poured out of office buildings and stood on every street corner in military uniforms. I was told by a local that this is done by the army as practice for defense in the event of an invasion by China!

So for one half hour the city stood still. I shot this video with my camera just as the "All Clear" siren started up.

Street Vendor

This lady is selling flower bulbs? Quite the getup for a hot and humid day in Taipei, Taiwan.

Emergency Procedure Drill?

Found this on my hotel room desk today.

We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that an "Emergency Procedure Drill" will be held in northern Taiwan from 14:00 to 14:30 on Friday, September 9th, 2005.

If you hear the emergency alarms going off during this period of time, Please stay indoors until the drill is completed. If you are driving, please pull over to the side of the road and stay in the car.

I will keep you posted on this also.

[Typhoon Infotmation] KHANUN

[typhoon Infotmation] KHANUN Should be pretty interesting getting out of Taiwan in the morning! Starting to clould over here, (around noon right now) and get very humid. I will of course keep you posted.

Greeting From Taiwan!

Friday morning here in Taiwan! Long flight was made longer by plane troubles in PORTLAND. We left about two hours late and that caused us to miss the connecting flight in Narita, Japan. I am getting ready to head out to the first of many appointments. Sleep came in one hour chunks last night so I think tonight will be the big hard crash!

The man cooking my egg. Note: Meal is greatly enhanced by the cigarette smoke provided by our host and fellow travelers! (far left center of image) I endure at least 20+ cancer sticks a day in very small rooms with no ventilation.

A Rick Pic

This fine dish consists of a raw egg with the top carefully taken off and the yolk removed. A small amount of goose liver is cooked and diced to be sprinkled into the hole in the top of the egg. Water is poured onto the grill and a lid placed on top to steam the egg. After steaming caviar is spooned on top and the egg is served with a small spoon. How does it taste? Like liver, egg whites and salty fish eggs! It is not awful but not something I would have thought of on my own!

A Rick Pic

Greetings From Taiwan!

My first full day in Asia comes to a close as I prepare myself for bed. Saw 3 clients today and looked at plastics, cookware, and acrylic products. All of my systems seem to be working fine and I figure I will feel really good after tonights sleep. Foggy and rainy here with temps in the low 60's. The ride from the airport last night was a wild one with the guy doing 100 mph + for the 30 miles to the hotel, all of this in a driving rain storm! I was so sleepy that all I could do was stare at the gauges on the dash and wonder what the speed was in kilometers. What do you tip a guy that scares the crap out of you? Well, I made it, so that is all that matters.

I have taken some good photos despite the rain and mist. I will upload one or two. Next update will come from Hong Kong.