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So Hey! My First Earthquake!
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On the plus side, nothing was damaged at all, just a bunch of shaking (and sort of strange humming sound). It was over relatively quickly and I can't expect it was very powerful at all. That makes three natural disasters I have personally experienced. Can't say I'm looking forward to collecting more of the set.
--------------- Epsilon 
It was an interesting experience for sure, although I spent most of it hoping the supposedly sturdy table with the heavy stuff on it wouldn't collapse onto the fragile stuff underneath. I may have to rethink how this room is put together.
At least it was only a 5.0. -- The micromole/kiloparsec^3 should probably be avoided, though. For several reasons. -- Arvid in the SDM 
I remember my first earthquake -- Spring or Summer of 1986, I was sharing an apartment in Jersey City with my college friend Gabriela, I was awakened just after dawn one morning by, as Epsilon described it, shaking and humming. Still more than 50% asleep, I wondered for a moment, then murmured to myself, "oh, an earthquake" and went back to sleep. To this day I still marvel at the matter-of-fact way in which I reacted.
Hmm. Quick lookup suggests I'm remembering the Boonton earthquake of 6/29/1986, which had a Magnitude of 1.5. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
I have slept through, worked through, and had sex through earthquakes. Alaska gets more quakes than any other state, I am 100% blase about them anymore.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger." From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies  Quote:At least it was only a 5.0.A 5.0 slightly over 40 km away - EDIT: I was misinformed; it was closer to 60 km - from where I was sitting at the time. We get these roughly once a decade; at 12 years since the last one, we were due. It ruined my afternoon, though - somebody panicked and pulled the fire alarm, and I'm on the emergency organization so I had to make sure everyone on my floor was out. My thought process during the 'quake: Why are we shaking? Why are we still shaking? Oh; earthquake. That's an emergency situation. I'd better do what I've been trained to do. Thus, five seconds into the quake, I loudly said "Everyone Remain Calm", letting folks know that Somebody Is In Charge And There Is No Reason To Panic. (It worked - the building evacuation went smoothly after that, at least from my floor.) -- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012 Quote:and had sex through earthquakesDid you ask "Did the earth move for you, too?" -- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012 Quote:Did you ask "Did the earth move for you, too?" Unfortunately, no, I was busy at the time... "No can brain today. Want cheezeburger." From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies 
Silly non-Californians, getting excited over a 5.0...
 --Sam (lives within sight of Loma Prieta epicenter)  Wiredgeek Wrote:*FACEPALM LOL*Quote:Did you ask "Did the earth move for you, too?" -Logan (for real! That was an actual reaction looking at the screen...) ----------------- "Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!" -Adam Savage ----------------- Evil Midnight Lurker Wrote:Silly non-Californians, getting excited over a 5.0...Really? When you say "within sight of" do you mean you can spot the mountain from Santa Cruz? Or do you live up closer to it than down in town?
I actually live in unincorporated Live Oak, just north of the Capitola Mall. So I can see the mountain from my front window.
The house came through the quake undamaged save for a broken chimney, and that didn't even fall off. --Sam "Is this a warm moment or should we be disturbed?" Evil Midnight Lurker Wrote:Silly non-Californians, getting excited over a 5.0...Hey, I'm not the one who panicked... -- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012 Evil Midnight Lurker Wrote:Silly non-Californians, getting excited over a 5.0...This is because we live in a location that sane human beings would want to inhabit. ;p ------------ Epsilon Evil Midnight Lurker Wrote:I actually live in unincorporated Live Oak, just north of the Capitola Mall. So I can see the mountain from my front window.Oh right, you'd mentioned that before - duh. They say the memory is the first thing to go...
My experiences with earthquakes, to me, seem a little lack-luster...
The last one I remember was when I was working at Xerox Corporate center in El Segundo, Los Angeles and it felt like when you're walking across a bridge and a 18-wheeler drives over it at the same time. I looked at a fellow worker and asked 'That was an earthquake?' he nodded and I asked 'That's it?' and he laughed. Found out later that it was a 7.2 _____ DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain... Quote:Epsilon wrote:Amen to that. Now if we could just do something about this 'summer' thing, maybe expand spring and fall a bit... ^_^ Quote:Kurisu wrote:This is, I think, actually a good thing. It wasn't really bad here, at least not for me. Interesting though, especially the deep sort of hum that ran all through it. I thought the contractors working on the building had done something stupid for the first few seconds, and spent the rest wondering if some not very expensive, but not exactly cheap electronics was going to get pancaked (it didn't). -- A large number of installed systems work by fiat. That is, they work by being declared to work. -- Anatol Holt Epsilon Wrote:Beats tornadoes, flooding and hurricanes. As a veteran of numerous 6.5-7.0 magnitude quakes both in Southern California and the Philippines, a 5.0 rates an eyebrow.Evil Midnight Lurker Wrote:Silly non-Californians, getting excited over a 5.0...This is because we live in a location that sane human beings would want to inhabit. ;p __________________ Into terror!, Into valour! Charge ahead! No! Never turn Yes, it's into the fire we fly And the devil will burn! - Scarlett Pimpernell
In case anyone's interested, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2 ... quake.html]here's what the old-fashioned media have to say about the silly thing.
This one's a bit more interesting: %[link=http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/hFPMFa8xWhc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1]http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/hFPMF ... 0&border=1] -- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Is that you narrating, Rob?
Quote:They say the memory is the first thing to go...They do? I don't remember that... -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. Quote:Is that you narrating, Rob?No. That's just a video that's making the rounds. -- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Cheh! I'd rather have the Tornado! At least those can be predicted with today's technology. Earthquakes... not so much. Absolutely no warning, and no clue as to magnitude or duration until it's all over.
Do you know why the term "It cannot be helped" is popular among the Japanese? Because an Earthquake can strike and level everything at any moment. At least they leveled everything back before they learned how to make buildings more resistant to earthquakes. But that just means that the building don't all come tumbling down anymore - you still gotta earthquake-proof your interior space. I know, I should be used to that sort of thing, given that I spend a good deal of my time on a moving platform. Doesn't mean I shouldn't have a healthy fear of the only Natural Disaster that comes with no prior warning.
I've always thought if I had to pick my disasters, I'd go with the earthquake. Even if your house gets wrecked, at least all your stuff is still there. It may be damaged. But much may be recoverable or dug out (assuming no fires). In a tornado, your stuff may be scattered over several counties. And you'll never see any of it again even if it wasn't destroyed.
Plus... there's just something anthropomorphic about a tornado. It seems like a living thing. Almost like a kaiju. An earthquake seems like it would be more "impersonal"? *shrug* Plus - most earthquakes are small stuff (statistically speaking). Like was said above, anything below a 5.0 in an area with up-to-date building codes is going to generally be a non-issue. blackaeronaut Wrote:Cheh! I'd rather have the Tornado! At least those can be predicted with today's technology. Earthquakes... not so much. Absolutely no warning, and no clue as to magnitude or duration until it's all over.I think I'd rather the quake. Almost lost my brother to a tornado in 02. |
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