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Smartphones May Soon Provide Earthquake Warnings (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: When it comes to an earthquake, just a few seconds' warning could make the difference between life and death. But many earthquake-prone countries lack the seismic networks that would give their citizens the lead time to find cover or shut down critical utilities. Now, a group of enterprising engineers is looking at a substitute network: smartphones. Using smartphones' built-in accelerometers, researchers have invented an app, released today, that they say can detect strong earthquakes seconds before the damaging seismic waves arrive. MyShake, as the app is called, could become the basis for an earthquake warning system for the world's most vulnerable regions.
I actually wouldn't mind buying a usb doohickey that has an accelerometer that sends info to a centralized place to detect and report quakes. I dont, however, think I want to spend battery-life on my phone for it. I mean, wouldn't it need to frequently check the GPS?
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Aren't you glad you're not a nigger?
America's social fabric has been held together by a few simple rules: Don't swear in front of children, say 'thanks,' and don't pee in public.
But in San Francisco, public urination is now being sanctioned by the government. The city's Dolores Park reopened in January, equipped with an open-air urinal following complaints that too few toilets were leading people to relieve themselves ... elsewhere.
Though it was an attempt to make a gross situation just a little bit less so, some locals are not happy and one group is threatening to sue.
“This is a new low even for San Francisco. It is also blatantly illegal,” Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute and a constitutional attorney, said in a statement.
The PJI says the open-air urinal is costing taxpayers $15,000.
The structure itself looks like a warped batting cage -- mesh-wiring and a white screen mounted into a semi-circular concrete block.
The PJI , a conservative-leaning civil liberties nonprofit, has written to the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, calling the object offensive and illegal and threatening a lawsuit if the city does not remove it.
“The City has not even attempted to comply with its own ordinances, much less state or federal law. We intend to hold them accountable,“ Dacus said.
In the letter, the group claims the drainage hole running to the sewer exposes locals to noxious odors, and the structure raises privacy issues.
“Not only are the privacy rights of those having to publically relieve themselves in the sewer hole abridged, but the privacy rights of individuals who happen to come upon the one urinating is also violated,” the letter, dated Feb. 4, says.
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Pacific Justice Institute
They also claim the area is discriminatory against women, as it is designed to be used by men and is consequently more difficult and less private for women to use.
And hitting the ick factor, the group points out there is no facility for washing hands.
“Put simply the open hole place for urination is inconsistent with public health policy in relation to hygiene,” the letter reads.
Dacus told FoxNews.com they have not heard back from the city yet.
“We are not holding our breath for a change in direction but we are hopeful they will look at the law and be responsible for the people they are serving,” Dacus said.
Some residents have expressed support for the urinal.
"Honestly, we were ready to go pee anywhere," San Francisco resident Aaron Cutler told KNTV when it was unveiled. "So any facility is better than none."
Another issue is that like in many cities, public urination is illegal in San Francisco. In 2002, the city increased the possible fine for the offense up to $500 -- but that did little to deter it.
Last summer, the city painted close to 30 walls with a repellant paint that makes urine spray back on the offender, San Francisco Public Works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon told The Associated Press.
Solar-powered toilets roll through city streets several afternoons a week. And city crews have inspected 10,000 light posts to make sure they won't fall over from erosion, after a three-story-tall light post corroded by a likely mix of human and dog urine, and weighted down by a large banner, toppled.
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department did not respond to a request for comment from FoxNews.com. However, in a statement to the Associated Press, a spokeswoman said the move was part of a wider goal to reduce public urination.
"Dolores Park has seen an exponential increase in the number of visitors, on a sunny Saturday it can host between 7,000 and 10,000 people. One of the goals of the renovation was to address the littering and public urination issues that were rampant at the park before the renovation," said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman Sarah Madland.
Dacus was unconvinced.
“Public urination is bad enough; spending taxpayer money to promote it is indefensible,” Dacus said.
Except Amber parents.
Most of the public buildings in Mexico have had "alerta sísmica" for well over five years already (don't remember how long). Last year, a large-scale rollout was made so there are audible alert boxes all over the city. Of course, we are lucky to be ~500Km away from most of the tectonically active locations in our region, while unlucky enough to be sitting atop one of the most "interesting" soils for seismic activity amplification... So it's a very unique combination!
Let's strip a smartphone down and attach it to the animals that go squirrely before an earthquake. Ground motion detection enhanced with animal senses -- bears further investigation, I bet.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/16/02/12/1918207/iphones-bricked-by-setting-date-to-jan-1-1970
obligatory xkcd reference: https://xkcd.com/723/
This is nothing new. There apps that already do this. For instance, this one does it and it's not called MyShake. And I bet there are many more apps that do exactly the same thing if you just look for them.
Every 3 or 4 months
I do my best to avoid places with earthquakes, but if I ever go to an earthquake zone, what the fuck am I gonna do with those "few seconds" warning that this app would provide me? Unless I can somehow use those seconds to board a hot air balloon, what can I possibly do with a few seconds if the earth is about to open up, besides take the opportunity to plant a big wet goodbye kiss on my own ass?
I admit that I've been fortifying myself with spirits in order to work up the courage to go out into the cold to walk the dog, so maybe I'm missing something.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I'd like my smartphone shaken, not stirred :)
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
We get alerts on our cell phones with at most a couple of seconds' warning. In theory that gives you time to duck under a desk or into a doorway. In practice it's always been: Beep! What the fuck is that? Earthquake!
My wife was at the conference where this was unveiled and she came home excited about it. When we went to install it on our phones, though, we discovered it requested a surprising array of permissions that you wouldn't think it would need, like information about your contacts list. I think I'll hold off till they scale that back to something more reasonable.
Stop learning! Only you can prevent esoterrorism.
I can't remember how many times my cube-farm walls have caught and held-up the few floors above me that were collapsing in an earthquake. Those things are a godsend.
Welcome to the 20th century everyone.
Tomorrow at noon, everyone jump up and down.
Have gnu, will travel.
A porngraphy website whose "myShake" and "Ishake" (on ios) apps are quite popular , has filed copywrite infringement suite on a recent seismography app .