I'm 10-15 hours into the Witcher 2, and I'm loving it. Awesome setting and story, very impressed. Reminds me of A Game of Thrones which I love as well.

One thing that's bothering me is that I can't find a timer for how long I've played. Is there any way to find out? I have the retail version, not Steam.

I actually bought the Witcher during a Steam sale awhile back. I'm just wondering if it's worth it to invest the time into it or move onto the second. It came in the mail yesterday, actually.

How do you guys feel about playing the Witcher 2 without playing the original?

Siliconera Fund For The Japan Earthquake And Tsunami Relief Raffle
Siliconera set up a Red Cross fund and are giving away a "Cecil figure from Dissidia: Final Fantasy signed by Final Fantasy IV designer Takashi Tokita". You can buy as many raffle tickets as you want for $5. Problem is, the fund ends March 31. It would be nice if they sent it out sooner but it's still very helpful I'm sure.

Now the fourth reactor is on fire and leaking radiation. This is getting worse.

[10:12 p.m. ET Monday, 11:12 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] A fire has erupted in a fourth reactor at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a top adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced Tuesday.

Government is admitting it's not looking good. High radiation detected outside third nuclear reactor.

Sorry I posted it a few times earlier in the thread - it's from their live blog.

Death toll rises to 2,414. Wasn't expecting that much of a jump. Horrible.

CNN
[8:13 p.m. ET Monday, 9:13 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] The death toll in Japan from Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami has risen to 2,414, authorities said Tuesday.  At least 3,118 people were missing and 1,885 injured, according to the National Police Agency Emergency Disaster Headquarters. The number of dead is expected to go up as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/14/japan-quake-live-blog-rescuers-from-all-over-pitch-in-to-help/?hpt=T1

Bad news: another blast at the second reactor of Fukushima No.



CNN
[7:47 p.m. ET Monday, 8:47 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] Yukio Edano, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary, said he could not rule out the possibility of a meltdown at all three troubled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

While sea water was being pumped into the reactors in an effort to prevent further damage, "It cannot necessarily be called a stable situation," Edano said early Tuesday.

Kenneth Bergeron, a physicist who used to work at the U.S. Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, said that "the release of hydrogen and the fission products (suggests) these reactors have probably had fuel rods exposed for significant periods of time."

Edano's comments come amid news about an "explosive impact" that happened Tuesday morning at the No. 2 reactor.

Cooling has been a problem for days at reactors No. 1 and 3, because the earthquake and the tsunami damaged those reactors' cooling systems. But cooling problems at No. 2 began Monday, when a blast at the building that contains No. 3 - said to be caused by a buildup of hydrogen - damaged No. 2's cooling system.

[7:17 p.m. ET Monday, 8:17 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] More information about the new blast at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan: An "explosive impact" occurred Tuesday morning at the No. 2 reactor, a day after a hydrogen explosion rocked reactor No. 3, the plant's owner announced.

[7:09 p.m. ET Monday, 8:09 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] A blast has been heard at the site of the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Kyodo
2320: A spokesperson from Tokyo Electric says said some staff have been evacuated from the site.
2316: Kyodo now says that the suppression pool may have been damaged at reactor 2.

Engineers explaining situation live on NHK: http://www.livestation.com/channels/123-nhk-world-english

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The suppression pool is what was damaged. Because of high pressure, there could be cracks that allow radiation to escape. The Japanese engineers are saynig that the contamination isn't strong enough cause harm to humans - but correcting the situation from here is "critical".

Yoritomo.

I ended up giving $25 to http://www.globalgiving.org/

Parn posted an excellent video of a lecture on nuclear meltdowns by a Physicist from UC Berkeley. Watch that to really get an understanding of boiling water nuclear plants.

I'm thinking of giving $50 to http://www.globalgiving.org/

I read a recommendation for it over on the AnimeNation forums. Do you think that is a good route? They email you with info on how your money was used.

Al Jazeera
1:31pm

The Japan Meteorological Agency has revised the magnitude of Friday's earthquake to 9.0, up from 8.9.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/neic_c0001xgp_wmt.php

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
TEPCO saying that rise in radiation level above limit at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant not an immediate threat to people
TEPCO informs government of emergency situation at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after radiation levels rise: Kyodo

CNN
[7:40 p.m. ET, 9:40 a.m. Tokyo] Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday that another reactor of its Fukushima nuclear power plants had lost its cooling functions, Kyodo News reports. The utility supplier notified the government Sunday morning that the No. 3 reactor at the No. 1 Fukushima plant had lost the ability to cool the reactor core. The reactor is now in the process of releasing radioactive steam, top government spokesman Yukio Edano said, according to Kyodo News.

It was the sixth reactor overall at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants to undergo cooling failure since the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck Japan on Friday.

Excellent, excellent video. I'm going to watch the whole lecture tonight.

Some good and bad news.

CNN
[6:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 a.m. Tokyo] At the moment, there is no evidence of a nuclear meltdown at one of Fukushima Daiichi's nuclear power reactors in northern Japan, Japan's ambassador to the United States said.

"There was a concern about this reactor. We have confirmed that there was a blowup but it was not a blowup of reactor nor container. It was a blowup of the outer building so there was no leakage of the radioactive material," Ichiro Fujisaki told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

"We are now trying to cope with the situation by putting salt water into the reactor," he said. "There are some other issues with other reactors as well, which need also injection of water or taking out vapor because of increasing pressure into the container and we are now working on it."

When asked if there may be a nuclear meltdown, Fujisaki said, "we do not see any evidence of that at this time."

Engineers have been unable to get close enough to the core to know what's going on, an official with Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency told CNN Sunday. He based his conclusion on the fact that they measured radioactive cesium and radioactive iodine in the air Saturday night.

"We see the possibility of a meltdown," Toshihiro Bannai, director of the agency's international affairs office, told CNN. "At this point, we have still not confirmed that there is an actual meltdown, but there is a possibility."