Slashdot Mirror
Is This The Big One?
Quivering Coward writes "There has been a marked increase in seismic activity in
southern California in the past several days," pointing to this map from Caltech Earthquake
Net, including a 5.2 and 3.6 this morning (2004/06/15).
"Could this be the big one? Is 'the big one' ever going to happen?
NASA is
doing their part to predict the future of Earthquakes."
Run go to another state. Just RUN. That is all Thank You.
That's from the Caltech quake map link. heehee.
/. starts worrying about the end of the world? Get real.
Anyway. A couple of small quakes and
The latest Slashdot meme.
NASA is "predicting" the earthquakes
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
We simply cannot allow this to happen. Should the ground open up, then the land of the molemen, warlocks, and trolls will release their soldiers! We must defend ourselves!
...Later...
Therefore, I am introducing the MWTDA (Molemen, Warlock, and Troll Defense Act). All citizens are to be in posession of:
* Either a large water gun or a hose
* Trashbags
Military combat units are also under orders to be in posession of the forementioned weaponry.
[Obligatory Simpsons Quote]
[Homer] You're right. I'll deal with those murderous trolls.
[Bart] Huh?
[Homer] I mean - I'll deal with those murderous trolls.
[Homer] (Being chased) Marge! Lisa! Now!
* Marge and Lisa open fire on the jockeys with a watergun and hose - incapacitating them.
[Homer] Bart - Go get me a trashbag.
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
We just need to blow up a small tactical nuke deep within the fault line and we can save the west coast. Trust me I saw it in a movie once. It worked like a charm.
http://Lenny.com
...but a russion scientist actually predicted this would happen.
-- Contradictions only exist in thought - not in reality.
I read a really cool sci-fi story once where there was a big earthquake coming, everybody believed it and moved east of the line (into Nevada) and waited.
The big day came, the earthquake happened, and
Maybe those of us in Chicago ought to have life rafts, too (grin).
-- Kevin Rice
Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
Shhh...my wife thought it was me.
"Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
I mean, come on, people, are we expecting The Big One to cause the entire state of California to break away at its borders, and we start floating around the Pacific Ocean in some sort of bad remake of Space:1999, with Arnold Schwarzenneger in charge of Earth Base California or something?
This sig no verb.
Many researchers believe the next major earthquake will be in northern California, not southern California. One reason is that the San Andreas fault 'creeps' in the south, slowly releasing energy (so the theory goes). In the north, the San Andreas is locked and last moved in 1906, when it released all its energy at once, devastating San Francisco.
It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
...How the bleep did this get by the editors. All this is is links to a couple of generic sites on earthquakes and some vague and unsubstantiated assertion about increasing frequency.
The first link points to a recent earthquake map that has been available for ages. It's on my bookmarks to look at when there is an interesting event.
The other is an article on NASA earthquake research.
Nothing in either points to an increase in frequency and indeed typing "earthquake" and "increase" into Google news turns up no interesting articles.
I guess those top-secret black government agencies have done a great job of keeping this monumental (non) story out of the news.
~~~~~~~
"You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis
What about the New Madrid fault? It's overdue for a 7+ magnitude earthquake, and it's in the middle of America.
Umm ... .it floats on magma .. not on the ocean.
In fact, the earthquake patterns on the map show that today is a pretty ho-hum day.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
So if California floats... like wood. And wood burns... like a witch... it's a witch!
Burn it! Burn it! Burn it! Burn! Burn!...
Let's go Hurricanes!!! 2006 Stanley Cup Champions!!!
I've an idea to keep you all occupied:
Learn to swim
Karma: It's not just a good idea. It's the law.
I'll see you down in Arizona Bay.
If you keep making predictions, eventually one of them will come true.
What?
I'm sorry, but since when is a tiny 5.2 earthquake followed by an aftershock at the same location even notable?
5.2's are nothing in Southern California, and you can see a map that looks exactly like that maybe once every month or two.
I imagine that what probably threw people off is the extra earthquake that was originally reported by the USGS. That one was supposed to be centered near Lancaster, or some such, but it wasn't long before they took back the claim on grounds of instrument error.
Those "earthquakes" are actually just the collective sobbing and shaking of the Los Angeles Lakers fans.
Get off my lawn.
There was a small earthquake near New Madrid, MO just yesterday. It was only 3.7 (I think), but it still serves as a reminder that its there and active. Interesting that there was a small quake there while all these quakes have been occuring on the West Coast.
Recent US Earthquake Activity
There's a trigger there, see. Their server si co-linked to several underground sets of renewable explosives and a gargantuan rocket turbine buried in the moon, the combination of which allows Quake Control to within a few square miles.
Oh, come ON. NONE of you have ever wondered why the moon only shows us one face? What're the odds?
Not yet available for Q3.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
That 5.2 was my first earthquake, and it wasn't much. Building kind of shook a bit. Everyone went on with work like nothing. Some people didn't even notice.
And that is also wrong.
You forgot the real scenario:
California | or / or \ Rest of US...doesn't matter
It's a strike slip fault...California is moving north relative to the rest of the continent at a rate of a cm or two per year, so give it a while (millions and millions of years) and California will border Alaska.
Of course that's a massivly simplified view, but it adequately descibes the situation.
There is absolutely no danger of California ever sinking into the Pacific (sadly), the best we can hope for is global warming melting the icecaps and raising sea level...that would cover most of CA's population with water.
If God had had a computer it would have taken him 7 months to create the earth...if he even bothered to do it at all.
Maybe if you left coast people unrolled some big rolls of duct tape from the coast up to the mountains you could hold it together and avert the worst of the disaster. If you have some extra, cover over the primary fault lines really well as well ....
O=='=++
Be sure to put on your foil hat, as Jim Berkland is a frequent coast to coast guest
I am outraged that neither political party is doing anything about plate tectonics! How many earthquakes must occur before something is done about it?
Proverbs 21:19