Comments on: Satellite to be rerouted in James Kim search

Company is rerouting one of its satellites to fly over where rescue crews are searching for CNET editor James Kim.

[Phil-IT]

I guess it's nice

I guess it's nice

[vensub]

Its another advertisement for CNET

satellite company to prove that cnet is a hitech company. But real humans are searching and they will find kim for sure. Enough of IT brags. EOM

[devans00]

Heartless - Use Any Means

What a heartless thing to say.

I, for one, am happy CNET and who ever else wants to help is using every tool and trick they can think of to find James Kim alive. Even if somebody thinks hiring wizards or psychics will help find Mr. Kim, it's OK by me. I'm sure his wife and daughters would agree.

Hoping for the best.

[m.meister]

Wow..

To the anti-social posters, pray that you are never in need of
society's help in any way. To take a noble gesture and attack it in
such a way is truly a sad statement about the posters.

Is it a possible play for publicity? Who cares. If this helps, fantastic.
I hope and pray that James is found safe.

As the guy said, it's the right thing to do.

[OregonNative]

Stunning! :-) Is it a first?

Is this possibly the first time that this has been done, to use a satellite in SAR operations? It's very cool and I don't care why they're doing it! It's interesting and innovative, and it doesn't hurt anything. I'm sure there are plenty of volunteers to look at the photos, including me. I have no idea what one's qualifications would need to be however to analyse these photos. Kudos to the company and to the person that called them. Gutsy move and creative.

[OregonRaindog]

Bravo...

I applaud the move, and pray that it is successful. However, next time some shelf-stacker backpacker goes missing that the company also still thinks re-routing their satellite is still the "right thing to do", then I'll believe in their integrity.

[shunchu]

Great for Kim, Bad for Me

This is good news! Never hurts to have fans, I guess... :)

But it makes me sad that something like this prob. wouldn't
happen to me if **I** were gone missing in the wild? Or maybe it
would?

[assman]

correct.

A satellite would not be redirected in order to find you. Being well-connected to the industry has its benefits.

[jc94107]

Great for James, great for us

Is it always about keeping score? That if one benefits it takes something away from me? Think about it man. Do you know how many lives will be saved in the future because of this? If we saw it this way it changes the perspective now, doesn't it? I just don't agree that if others benefit it somehow misbenefits me.

[pooka0360]

He was well liked and loved

I think the reason this was considered was b/c he was who he was-a well liked-loved person who seems to have made an impression on a lot of the people with whom he worked and played. And that is the reason all these people were thinking of any way they could to help. He happened to have IT connections, and be a good contact himself. I'm sure if people love you that way, they would go the distance for you also!

[MistressRoninS]

Friends

The focus and attention given to this family is a result of the wonderful people they are and the kindness that they have demonstrated in their lives. This kind of respect is returned from loved ones and friends. If you want others to remember you, start being kind to everyone who is kind to you too, I am sure they will return it to you should anything happen to you and I hope it does not.
MRS

[helpfindjames]

Post Imagery Online For The Public

This may be a case where the quantity of eyes is better than the quality. There are thousands who are too far to help out with the search physically but would gladly help if given the opportunity.

[EvFlap]

good idea, do it.

There are a lot of ethical problems with publicly posting hi-res (semi-) live satellite imagery and with putting much more effort in one case than in another, but if there ever was a time to do it, this is it. A man lost while trying to get help for his freezing family 'appeals'/ gets to everyone with any trace of a heart. The cold and exposure gives you the urgency. The people with the means and skills to get it done, feel/are involved personally because they live in the same e-techy-world and even know(?) the missing man so there don't have to be any excessive costs for the general public. If there where people on the ground there who's privacy we should be concerned about, mr. Kim wouldn't have this problem in the first place, so that's no issue. Because there are a LOT of people around the world who fill the larger part of their work-day with reading cnet and playing with google earth/ virtual earth, not very many professional analists need to be involved. Take the picture, post it only, maybe even as a g.e. or v.e. overlay and let the world send in coordinates of possibly relevant places, a lot of hits will come in for the same places, so not every post has to be looked at and only the most 'interesting' have to be forwarded to a professional, looking at the images.
Won't hurt anybody, might help someone and makes the 'bystanders' feel less powerless. If its technically possible, Do it.

[kathkeane]

Skies of dreams

The idea of a satellite flying over...sending info to techies computers...all techies searching...sending in possibilities...to find one lost human ... it mixes technology ...and everything good ... call it God...call it answered prayer... call it the best of the best ...what a great story to tell the grandkids..the stuff legends are made of... history in the making - impressive.

[bozeman]

Too much

The public would love to help, but in this case I think it would be too much. I program GIS all day at work and have worked with IKONOS imagery. We're talking gigs and gigs of data here. Some pictures are bigger then movie files. To put them up would involved a ton of bandwidth and a strain on servers which would probably make them crash.

It's not a matter of letting the public to help, it's a matter of logistics and what your machine can really do.

My coworker here has a small IKONOS imagery she is working with and I mean its small compared to the regular stuff. Her computer is near top of the line, 4gig memory, 2TB in hard disk and ton of horsepower and she still runs tasks overnight and on the weekend. This stuff is really big.

They could crop it out and try to distribute it, but it almost seems more work then to just let their computers do the job.

[sa920189]

Satellite to be rerouted in James Kim search

Satellite company should use hi-res synthetic aperture radar system on satellite if they are worried about weather constraints.

[jc94107]

Americans at it's finest

This is what we're good at - compassion and innovation. There will be so many blessings to come out of this for years to come. I really think that many more lives will be saved in the future because of the innovations and ideas that are coming out of this highly visible situation. God bless you all and pray for James' safe return.

[jc94107]

selfish

Is it always about keeping score? That if one benefits it takes something away from me? Think about it man. Do you know how many lives will be saved in the future because of this? If we saw it this way it changes the perspective now, doesn't it? I just don't agree that if others benefit it somehow misbenefits me.

[sheba94601]

Thank u c/net & Mark!

I recently lost my only son who was just a teenager & all offers of help from family, friends & strangers helped tremendously to ease the shock & overwhelming pain. I commend Mark "Brender", whom is the Vice President for the GeoEye, for doing the right thing & was so moved that I emailed him to let him know. Doing the right thing, making sacrifices is the largest part of being a 'decent human being'. Also, Thank u c/net for keeping everyone 'who truly cares' updated & many of us following this story in the bay area prays that they find your fellow co-worker alive & safe!

[R Me]

to late

While it is commendable that a company would allocate the resources for a high-tech search it is already far to late to help.

With the news that his pants were found, if they are his pants, he is already dead. In the later stages of hypothermia a person becomes for all practical purposes an idiot. You lose coordination and reasoning and will stumble around like a happy drunk while shedding most of your clothes. The notion that this man shed his pants to use a a marker is just plain stupid and made only to somehow mollify the fact he is no longer alive and give the family and searchers false hope.

While the event is a tragedy it is time to face reality, he did a foolish thing in leaving the vehicle and heading out on foot improperly dressed and paid the ultimate price for that foolishness.

[sheba94601]

re: to late

i think u missed the message here...the point is to find him 'period'

[ghosford]

Says who?

You may be right - it may be too late for him. However, that is not for us to say. What I heard is that the pants they found were *not* the ones he was wearing when he left, but may belong to him. I'm still unclear on where these pants came from and why they think they are his.

But that's the whole point! We are not directly involved in the search and rescue, so it's not for us to say whether or not it is too late, nor whether or not this satellite will be helpful. But I applaud the company that made this equipment available, in the hopes that it may help in some way.

Yes, it may be too late, or the weather may not cooperate, or the location may not be conducive to finding him from above, or a hundred other maybes. But when we start making judgements from afar, especially discouraging and insulting ones, that's going too far.

[slim-1]

How about being a little more possitive

Your "realism" is sending negative energy James is not able to use.

[CentralianV]

R Me: You are offensive

You are also just sad.

[pooka0360]

Hope, perserverance and love CAN work wonders

At this time I know you are correct-he didn't make it. But when there seems to be no other alternative to saving your familiy's lives you do whatever it takes, even if it seems hopeless or as you seem to think, foolish. This man loved his family so much that he would try anything, and I think that makes him a hero-not stupid. I hate to bring JC and the cross and our sins into this, but isn't there a saying that goes "no man has a greater love than... He just had to try.

[R Me]

didnt miss a thing

I did not miss a thing. I simply stated the facts as any person competent in SAR knows. The odds are that he is within a mile of where his pants were found. But not out in the open, he will be curled up behind/under/in something that resembles shelter thus making it all but impossible for the images to do much good. Not that he was seeking shelter, he wasn't. He was seeking to hide, thats what happens many times in the last stage of hypothermia as paranoia grips the brain and you hide, even from the searchers trying to find you.

Of course the ultimate goal is to find his remains, a first grader could make that assumption. Heck, even you picked up on that.

[the7gerbers]

Question about developing hypothermia

I only know what I know about this from my hunters safety course (which is not much), but I wondered about something. Could James have developed hypothermia *already* by the time he reached that spot on the road where he went down into the creek area? Isn't that unlikely?

It was only 3 miles from where he started at around 8 in the morning...wouldn't it have been around 35-40 degrees by then? If I imagine taking a walk in 40 degree weather, even with no gloves or hat, 3 miles would be about an hour,it's hard to imagine that this would be enough to cause hypothermia? Does this question make sense?

And so, I know hypothermia causes disorientation and confusion and he may have gone down there because of that...but it seems like it might have been too soon for that advanced stage of hypothermia...maybe he went down into the gorge for some other reason...to get a drink? Or thought he saw something?

I'll look forward to hearing from those of you who know more about this. Our whole family has been thinking & praying about the Kim's since we heard about it.

[bozeman]

Hypothermia

Lots of factors to consider. I live in Northern Ontario so hypothermia is common up here, but in relation to this story, when do you think it most common? In the dead of winter? or early fall or late spring?

If you answered winter you are wrong.

Most people catch hypothermia because there is a profound disbelief that you are getting it because it can be so warm out. Most cases up here tend to be just above freezing, +1 to +5 Celscius or about 40 for Americans.

You don't realize you are slipping away and simply do. Whereas in winter it is cold and you know it and are more mentally prepared for it.

As for his 3 mile walk, yes I believe he could have developed it already, but to be honest, I have no idea. I need to know how fast he was moving, the exact temperature, how much he ate and so on.

[RescuePara]

Hypothermia

I have personally suffered from hypothermia, and the speed with
which it can occur is only dependent on how fast your body
loses heat. That could take only minutes (water immersion) or
could take longer. Core temperature is the key factor, and so
how fast you lose heat and drop your core temperature is
dependent on factors like how you dress, whether you are wet,
exposed to wind, your exertion level, your energy reserves, and
other factors. Predicting when someone reaches a point of
disorientation is almost impossible. However, if you find
yourself shivering violently, and with extremities (hands, feet)
that seemingly have stiffened up and become almost useless,
you are into early hypothermia. Tunnel vision, disorientation,
listlessness, are later symptoms. Hypothermia is possible even
in 10-degree Celsius (50 degree Fahrenheit) temperatures, but
can be accelerated greatly by colder temperatures, dampness,
winds, and lack of suitable insulation around critical heat loss
areas (head and neck, under arms, inner thighs and groin.
Really, if you are dressed lightly for car travel, you are not likely
well protected for a protracted hike in the wilderness. Often,
people perish when they leave their abandoned vehicle at the
side of a highway in a storm, instead of sheltering from the
winds in the relative safety of their vehicle, which will always be
be bigger and easier to spot than them.

[cambre]

hypothermia

not long ago, sometimes this year they found a mountain climber sat at his final destination (peak of the mountain). his was almost naked wearing just a boxer. He was lucky that other climbers found him before it was too late. Hypothermia sometimes gives you a false vision. Just like people traveling in the desert, they see ocean from the far distance or some other sources of water. In the case of James he probably had false vision such as seeing cars or water, something in his mind he was wishing to reach. Ten days in the cold with no foods and drink, in a stage of depression and worries, it's not consider too soon, plus he was a skinny guy, petite size as asian people (I am asian)his strenght cannot last too long like tall and well built caucasian (or other races). Before James accident, many others got lost and died at about the same spot, but they survived longer (several weeks, 2months+.....)just because they were caucasian, they body was built stronger with more reserve.

[Christopher Hall]

I hope for the best

I will continue to keep Mr. Kim and all those who are close to him in my thoughts and prayers.

[JoeDuck1]

Post the images at CNET ASAP

Dear CNET -

This is a great opportunity to use the collective intelligence of the huge number of people following the story and hoping for a safe return.

Please post the images online and have a forum where users can take on sections to analyze and report back.

[John.Wilkinson]

You may want to visit BOL...

The Cnet Buzz Out Loud forum (http://forums.cnet.com/5204-10152_102-0.html?forumID=97&tag=forum.fd) is being updated regularly in regards to the search for James Kim, with links to maps, 'missing person' posters, etc being given. It's not dedicated to finding him and I don't know if the satellite photos will be posted, but you may want to check it out.

John

[RocRizzo]

How???

Do I become a tech reporter/editor for CNET, so that I can garner so much respect?

Seriously, I hope they find him, but if he's in a cave, which is the best place he could be, and someone here thinks, no satellite will find him.

[SonoraKay]

Doing the Right thing

It is refreshing to know that people will still "do the right thing because it is the right thing to do"

[iHuman]

The Right Thing

Of course this is the right thing to do. How silly to argue. Here in the Puget Sound area the sky is relatively clear now (noon, Wednesday Dec 6).

I am adding prayers for clear skies over western Oregon and a quick rescue for James Kim. This is totally selfish of me because I enjoy his reviews and want to see more!

[haeber]

Fog

News conference at 10AM indicated fog, at least until Noon. That will make the satellite photos unreliable, sadly.

[FIREBOY09]

RIP JAMES

I WAS HOPING FOR THE BEST

[meyersm]

How to help the James Kim family

For more information on how to help the Kim family click the link below:
http://news.com.com/2100-1028-6142209.html