Twitter, You Done Did Me Wrong!

I signed up for a Twitter account over a year ago. Check the linked Wikipedia article if you don't know what Twitter is.

I was unsure at first whether it was worth getting into Twitter. I started following other users, including some news services and a handful of celebrities I was interested in. What really got me more into it however were the fellow "Twitterers" that I discovered in Taiwan. I began following a number of people who live and work in Taiwan. Twitter gave me an introduction to friends that I had never met before, but who I might someday. The common connection was our experiences of life on this island, and our unique views on the things we saw and were a part of.

So I was "tweeting" along just fine when a couple weeks ago I noticed that my "Followers" and "Following" counts were listed at "0" (zero). Up till then I was following about 60 people and about 25 were following me (a combination of both real world friends and online acquaintances). I immediately sent an e-mail to Twitter support but only got an automated reply saying that they were aware there was a "bug" (catchphrase for "We don't know what the heck is going on!") in the system.

Then, about a day later, I checked my account and a large notice in bright red across the top of the page said that my account was suspended for "suspicious activity", which they define as basically any kind of "spam" or service abuse, neither of which I was guilty of.

Repeated enquiries to Twitter has resulted in zero response, and at this point my account is still suspended, with no indication when it might be restored, if ever. If you were following me on Twitter and are reading this, you can now follow me on a new account, @tairods, though who knows how long that one will last.

I know Twitter has been a big deal this year, with many people joining, and they have had their share of technical glitches as a result. Being a free service, I guess one shouldn't expect too much in the way of customer service or support. I do hope my original account is restored soon, so I reconnect with the good friends I have met online here in Taiwan. Taiwan is such a unique place to live, that any expat I meet, face to face, or online, is a "good mate".

Typhoon Morakot

The first typhoon to strike Taiwan this season is just leaving. As far as typhoons go, it was predicted to be a moderate one. But as with all weather predictions, the weathermen once again learned they are not gods. The predicted path of the typhoon was to see it come across the island and take a more northerly turn. However, the worst part of the typhoon seemed to hit the southern half of the island. There has been a lot of flood damage. As I write this, the death toll stands at 12, with 56 people unaccounted for, so the death will undoubtedly rise.

One of the more dramatic videos from the storm shows a hotel in the city of Taitung on the east coast toppling over due to the erosion of its foundation by an adjacent stream, gorged with rainwater.

In my limited experience of living in Taiwan, I have come to learn that it is almost impossible to predict the "size", and effect of a typhoon. In the past, typhoons that were in the "super typhoon" category ended up doing little damage with no loss of life. Whereas there have been smaller typhoons (in terms of size and maximum wind speed) that have wreaked all kinds of havoc on the island.

The positive side to the typhoons that come this time of year is that the rainfall provides much needed rain for the reservoirs, which then supply water for the island during the rest of the season. It has also been recently reported that the low pressure system associated with the typhoons somehow trigger small earthquakes, which helps release pressure on the fault lines, thereby reducing the chances of larger more devastating earthquakes occurring with greater frequency. Check out the following for more info:

Typhoons trigger earthquakes on Taiwan: scientists