July 29, 2008
Did you feel that 5.4 earthquake?
I was saying I'd like to experience an L.A. earthquake... nothing destructive, but something. So there was this big earthquake today. And I felt nothing! I don't know why? Do you not feel it if you're driving in a car? Do you not feel it if you're eating lobster and truffles at The Four Seasons?
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Normally, if you're in your car you won't feel a thing. I've missed a few earthquakes by driving. :)
Somebody was squeezing the Charmin in the linked pic.
Was it Pamela Anderson?
I didn't feel it either, I was driving at the time, though, and rubber absorbs vibrations, plus it was a shallow, moderate quake, which tends to mean that only near the epicenter, or in taller buildings, would it have been felt as more than a shudder. Tall buildings, cause they are built to sway, so they amplify the ground motion across the entire building, which is why people in San Diego and Las Vegas felt something where you didn't in Beverly Hills (or me in Santa Monica).
I blame Adrian Zmed (and Prof Althouse, too, just for being curious about what the experience would be like), though, shortly before the quake, I unleashed The Zmed, and the earth shook. I don't think it was mere coincidence. If you look at the shake map at the Zmed-link, you can see that west of Downtown, the shake intensity drops off quickly out of even the 'moderate'ly felt zone.
Still, probably 300,000 or so felt it as a serious shake, the biggest in their area in their lifetime. All the other major quakes since Long Beach in '33 have been in the valley or way out in the desert, other than the '87 Whittier quake, but that was also under 6.0, while people in the valley and the westside are thinking 'what's the fuss?' (but back in '94 and '71, it was folks in Chino Hills and Diamond Bar who were thinking, 'what's the fuss?').
Earthquakes are very violent, but generally very local events, unless they are the really big ones (above 7.0), or the buildings are crappily made like in Iran or Pakistan, the Chengdu earthquake combined a large magnitude, with large populations, and substandard buildings, so most likely massive loss of life occured, much more than the Chinese government has let on so far. As a matter of perspective, that quake was about 251 times more violent than this one, and that tsunami producing Indian Ocean quake was 7943 times as energetic as our recent shake (the mind boggles at the power of a 9.3 earthquake, just remember, the entire globe rung like a bell for a few days afterwards).
Log scales always fool people with regards to comparative intensities, but given the relative releases of energy, I guess it's understandable why they chose to measure these events that way.
No, you won't feel it if you're in a car, usually.
Whether you feel it, even not in a car has a lot to do with where you are, and not just by distance.
Different areas have different ground types. In some places, you're (geologically speaking) standing on sand, in others, hard rock. Plus the energy travels as waves, so, in some places you're on the crest, and others a valley.
'94 gave us all this footage of neighborhoods untouched, except for a single house, or side of the street, etc.
How much you're paying attention matters, too.
I was on the seventh floor of a building, and I wouldn't have known it was an earthquake, except for other's reactions.
I'm enough of a nerd that the first thing that comes to mind is the tone of Londo Mollari's response when asked what he saw when Kosh saves Sheridan in Bab5... "Nothing. I saw nothing." Somewhere 'twixt sadness, disappointment and bitterness at missing momentous that happened fore his face. But I'm sure that's not how the post is intended! It just came to mind.
John and Ken (KFI) in the 3PM hour are mocking the news coverage and official reaction.
Podcast will show up heretomorrow, or sometimes around 10pm Eastern time today.
I overlooked an Ohio earthquake that caused a tape write ring to fall off a tape drive mysteriously, once.
First I heard about it was on my IE home page, which called it a Temblor, and could be part of the problem out there. Since they didn't call it a Tremor, a Trembler, or (my preference) a Tremblor, it makes sense that no one knew what to make of it. In CA no one in the media would call it an earthquake unless there were some great visuals
On the other hand, sometimes clarified butter makes my tummy rumble ( a Tummbler), which may be mistaken for one of the above.
I felt it very well at my Pasadena office. i was in a meeting going over emergency procedures. Our phones reset and a couple of the elevators locked open. all in all not a big deal.
As to why you felt nothing, as others have said you usually don't feel an earthquake in a moving car. Also, distance and precise location have a big effect. If you were on the West Side you were 40-50 miles away and where you were may have been very stable. The effect can vary even in a few blocks due to differences in the underlying geology.
-m
There's nothing special about that Four Seasons. Very corporate, standard Four Seasons interchangeable with any other Four Seasons anywhere else.
The distinctive, romantic hotels, are Shutters, and Hotel Bel-Air, which both blow the Four Seasons right out of the water.
More John and Ken in the 5PM hour, to news woman, ``You know the angle we don't have? How the celebrities fared in the earthquake.''
Apparently the news mockery will continue.
23d floor downtown; it was a rollicking roadshow up here!
who is the constricted anus that invented the term "temblor", anyway? even the spelling says "I am a genital wart" about the speaker/writer of that term in conversation.
The foregoing is not intended as an affront to John, but to those journo/reporters he's talking about that use idiotic words like "temblor" in place of understandable words like "earthquake".
Aftershocks continue at veni vidi vici offices, evidenced by repeated striking of the publish button.
Thanks for playing: Shutters is far from exceptional. Pretty standard Vegas-style fare roomswise, and the banquet facilities are awful -- all oxidized wall-mirrors down there.
You're correct about the Bel-Air, though. Gorgeous.
John:
Indeed, it's either that or the strength of the coffee this afternoon...
I don't know, Annie baby, but the earth freaking MOVED for me.
I'll do better next time.
It was a roller for me.
I felt it. It was scary, and then it was fun. I love earthquakes. The media were giving themselves orgasms over it, but the fact still remains that the majority of us don't have earthquake kits prepared, and maybe, hopefully, with all the yammering away today, this will encourage people to put all the shit together that you're supposed to have. Water, flashlights, batteries, radio, canned food, first aid crap, etc.
My first hand account of the quake.
Eating lobster and truffles anywhere makes the earth quake. YUM.
A 5.4 is exactly the threshold necessary for news coverage. But not one iota more. 6 hours later and it's still tops on Drudge. This is a slow news day.
But not one iota more
Don't you mean "less"?
Now John and Ken are mocking the earthquake kit public service announcements.
News goes on a template.
An email from an old man is read; he prepared an earthquake kit after the 1906 SF earthquake, and hasn't had occasion to open it yet.
Apparently the public has had it with news templates executed and public officials declaming.
Simon, I've always wondered if that meant the Centauri or just Molari had no soul.
I once sat in a San Francisco living room with friends who grabbed their chairs and asked, "Did you feel that?" I felt nothing.
Which makes me think of that great song "Nothing " in A Chorus Line (just the first 5 minutes.)
If it's a 5.4 earthquake, does that mean that Justice Kennedy was the swing vote?
Simon, I've always wondered if that meant the Centauri or just Molari had no soul.
I don't think it was meant to indicate anything about his soul -- just his affiliations. The Vorlons weren't really "the good guys", after all.
Speaking as a person who has experienced and survived thus far two 7.x earthquakes, a 5.x (1/100th the shaking) is pretty puny, though it can cause some damage to Calif. structures. The 7.x Loma Prieta ("World Series") earthquake (1989) could be felt (as a momentary "flat-tire" feeling) on the road.
Given the recent devastating Chinese earthquake with its great loss of life, it's worth noting what the U.S. Geological Survey anticipates would be the effects were a like quake to it or the '89 Loma Prieta quake to occur near central districts of a city such as Hayward (right on a branch of the San Andreas — note that this is a 7.x quake, a very far cry from the 8.x that destroyed San Francisco in 1906 and L.A. in the 1850's):
“The Loma Prieta earthquake was one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. The earthquake occurred in the remote Santa Cruz Mountains and caused severe damage in San Francisco and Oakland, 50 miles north of the end of the fault segment that slipped.
“* Deaths: 62
“* Injuries: 3,757
“* Damage: more than $6 billion
“* San Francisco Bay bridge unusable for 1 month
“* Number of homes damaged: 18,306
“* Number of business damaged: 2,575
“* Persons displaced: 12,053
“BUT… What will happen when an earthquake of similar magnitude occurs close to these population centers?
“An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the eastern Bay Area's Hayward fault […], for example, is likely to be far more destructive than the Loma Prieta event. An ‘Earthquake Planning Scenario’ developed by the California Division of Mines and Geology […] and ‘An Assessment of the Consequences and Preparations for a Catastrophic California Earthquake’ by the Federal Emergency Management Agency […] anticipate the following effects:
“* Deaths: 1,500 - 4,500
“* Injuries: 45,000 - 135,000
“* Damage: More than $40 billion
“* One or more hospitals will be destroyed
“* All four bridges to the East Bay will probably be closed for hours to days
“* Access to and travel within the East Bay will be difficult and limited to emergency traffic.
“* Only San Jose International Airport may be available for large aircraft.
“* The damage in San Francisco is likely to be severe — the Embarcadero area is as close to the Hayward fault as it is to the San Andreas fault.”
Folks might like to check out an eye-opening map of earthquakes in the U.S., showing that major quakes can — and have — occurred virtually anywhere.
Notice the broad areas across the eastern U.S. where brick buildings hold sway — which are likely to collapse into murderous rubble much like the recently destroyed Chinese structures at the touch of a significant earthquake. Deathtraps, a Calfornian calls them.
I bet there were quite a few fake titties bouncing during the earthquake and if so that makes me hot.
That Pamela Anderson picture is amazing on here. I can't stop looking at it. Those are definitely a nice pair of tits.
Note the big empty space in the upper midwest! I suppose that just means a really big one is in the offing.
I moved east after the Mt. Hamilton 6.2 quake in May of 1984. Missed the Loma Prieta quake, mercifully.
But I experienced many earthquakes in my decade in Northern California. I had friends who were driving during quakes who reported that they thought the car had a flat or was otherwise malfunctioning. Others never noticed a thing. There are many factors involved, including where you are on the road - a bridge might amplify the motion of the quake. If the bridge is a-rockin', something something something...
The surest sign of an earthquake when you are driving is when the overpass above you falls and crushes your car into a pancake.
I am having my loft painted and am having a really cool striped wall being done on one side of the loft-I want to do one of the painters. He speaks Arabic. He seems really nice and I think we could be a good couple. He is from Morrocco=how hot is that. We will always have Paris.
I love blue collar, subservient Hog-just like Halston he always went for cheap trade.
The surest sign of an earthquake when you are driving is when the overpass above you falls and crushes your car into a pancake.
Or, that could just mean you're driving in the Big Dig ...
I lived in San Francisco in my early 20's and hated it.
California is too fake for me and I need real genuine people like myself.
Which is why I live on the East Coast. Really we are the most down to earth people you will find.
I am watching Auntie Mame now.
Rosalind Russell tour de force.
I missed one because I was jogging. Of course it wasn't a 5.8.
I am totally into the following now:
Spartacus-the music as well as the story
French Canadians
Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for A Dream
Pamela Anderson's tits
East Coast beaches
Maine
Cajun Crab Dip
Drum and Bugle Corps
Things with stripes in them
Seafood fresh from the ocean
And of course my rare clumbers who just had their hair done and they look amazing. Everywhere we go people want to touch them. Moms ask if their cute little spoiled brat can touch and I of course always say no and keep walking-kidding. I let them touch and they get all excited.
What are you all into at this time and this moment? This moment is now.
OH and speaking of jogging mcg I am also into joggers shirtless and bikers shirtless with a backpack on-very hot.
Actually anyone shirtless will do. Shirtless in the park, shirtless walking down the street, shirtless walking dogs, shirtless on the subway, shirtless doing manual labor, just shirtless.
Pasta Salad
Fresh Fruit from a farmers market
vodka
George Michael-25 years in the business
Linda Evangelista
Foreign Hog
My muzzie painter
A few other things I am into right now.
Also, guys shirtless-did I mention that?
No did not feel it here in PA. Maybe in a few hours it will get here - no we are three hours ahead of CA right? Guess I was driving or jogging - comments above suggest that gives you some immunity to feeling it.
Oh and having my juliet balcony door open and seeing the sights, hearing the people, and smelling the aroma of the city pass by as the rubber runs smooth on my passenger seat.
The only earthquake I felt today was seeing Ed Asner at Santa Monica College accompanied by a young man who I presume was his son. They were coming out of the Admission's office. I waved to him and he enthusiastically waved back - not a snob at all. OK, so I'm a sucker for movie/TV stars. So sue me. He's a sterling actor, anyway.
No did not feel it here in PA. Maybe in a few hours it will get here - no we are three hours ahead of CA right? Guess I was driving or jogging - comments above suggest that gives you some immunity to feeling it.
The other big news story out of Los Angeles today, American Apparel's annual garage sale.
"Granted, the 'garage' is their downtown factory at 7th and Alameda, and the sale encompassed a few hundred thousand terrycloth headbands and other slim-fitting haberdashery all set to the erotique sounds of French electro-pop cad Sebastien Tellier."
I recommend the slideshow.
"A shopper holds a white pair of running socks with green stripes that sold for $3."
Also,
"Wearing a wide-brimmed hat to Sunday's event was clutch. The sun beat down on the attendees and there was no shade in sight."
Christy said...
"Simon, I've always wondered if that meant the Centauri or just Molari had no soul."
I think it's because he was tainted by his association with Morden, but I don't know that there's any kind of canon resolution. Surely the explanation would have to focus on Molari, though; it seems to me that the alternative (i.e. focusing on the Centari en bloc) would force the anomalous conclusion that the Centauri - apparently alone among the depicted younger races - had not been manipulated by the Vorlons.
I think you felt nothing because of your policy of cruel neutrality.
(Okay, that's a joke, if it wasn't obvious.)
"Log scales always fool people with regards to comparative intensities, but given the relative releases of energy, I guess it's understandable why they chose to measure these events that way."
Not that it matters, but this comment is a little off:
The Richter amplitude measurements are base-10 logs, and then another exponential relationship is used to relate these amplitude values to the energy release. These exponential relationships (as well as natural logs and other exponential constructs) are not arbitrarily "chosen", they're tools that are used to measure and/or describe the universe as it actually exists.
But, maybe I'm too particular about math stuff. Along with substantial beer consumption, I spent college free time using workstations to churn away at subatomic computational quantum mechanics in order to calculate molecular scale orientations. By the way, this works. When used with known molecules the calculated structures (and energies required for manipulations) matched the known structures. And, it's possible to design energetically stable molecules that exist in the shape of (mostly) anything--even in the shape of one's initials, I have personal experience with 'jb'.
Earthquakes are exciting,
Earthquakes are fun,
Except when the overpass above falls on you
Like a ton.
Molecules of what?
Like a ton …of bricks.
I am, by profession, a gypsy mind reader. Let me guess yours.
"I think you felt nothing because of your policy of cruel neutrality.
(Okay, that's a joke, if it wasn't obvious.)"
OK, wait a second. It's coming to me. Ummm. Ohhhhh.
I've got it. You're a lawyer, aintcha?
"I lived in San Francisco in my early 20's and hated it."
Well to be fair, San Francisco was kind of rough in the 1960s.
The thing about Shutters Hotel is the views. I can't imagine staying in SoCal and missing out on the ocean sunsets. Tonight it was particularly beautiful. The sun was like a giant ball, just sitting on the water. And there are several hotels in Santa Monica that give you a 360 ocean view...and for a lot less than Four Seasons. The Bayshore, the Loews, The Beachouse in Hermosa Beach....
If I were doing this trip..... every night when the sun sets....I'd pull up a chair, with my special D. Kron chocolates, or Solvange butter cookies......and watch the sun set over the ocean from my hotel room. You'd always arrange to be where you could see the sunset. What time is sundown ? You wouldn't want to miss that!
Yes, speaking of truffles-----D. Kron chocolates. You really shouldn't leave before getting some of her truffles. It's called D. Kron...I believe...and she has stores in Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and Malibu. They're really the best chocolates in the world. I don't have the website now. Expensive. 35.00 $ for two ounces.....But on that I would pay. It's her truffles. But her chocolate covered orange peel is sublime. Also, they always have samples. But, I absolutely would spend the money on that.
Be sure to wash all the fecal material off your hog, Titus. Wash thoroughly. Mercilessly even. Remember, a red angry looking hog is better than a chancred hog. A word to the wise.
Ok, I found the website: It's called "K" Chocolatier.
www.dianekronchocolates.com
If Althouse has any sense at all she will high-tail it over there immediately and get some of those truffles.
It's practically the only thing left that could salvage this otherwise disastrous trip !!
I might have a modicum of respect, maybe, if she managed to get her self some of those chocolates.
Didn't I read recently that our senses respond more logarithmically than linearly?
Palladian you know how to stick a shiv in don't you. Now get on your back, spread your legs and tell me you want to fuck you really hard.
It was the early 90's bitch, not the 60's-I don't know anything about the 60's. I was born in 1970-really truly honesty.
Also, I was born in Wisconsin and we missed most of the 60's. My parents were not hippies, they were Leave It To Beaver people.
Those bastards at American Apparel had the nerve to put on a douche sale during an earthquake?
I wish the epicenter would've been right under that parking lot. HERE!
Also, believe me, Palladian, San Francisco in the early 90's was rougher than any time in that city's history. It was a fucking morgue-sad, depressing, paranoid, and deathly.
I think you really kind of like me don't you?
No pic, no dick-always remember.
Ricpic, you are so thoughtful.
Thank you so much for the words of advice.
And again, you are right. You know your shit.
The other night I had a tanky on and after a rump in the bushes I was trying to hail a cap. I looked down on my tanky and it was loaded with shit. Thankfully, the rare clumbers were on hand to do some light laundering of the diesel tanky.
How embarassing.
Aren't you guys glad I am back?
Can't I get any acknowlegement from the supreme being, the diva, the blonde bombshell, the looking good in a tanky, blogress???????
This site was boring without my insightful, intelligent, thoughtful, conservative perspective.
Palladian, I kind of like you and want you.
Let's plan a date where you leave your door open, lights off, ass in the air, and I come in the door, don't talk to you and plow you and leave.
a) Any molecule (real or designed), with enough computer power and time.
b) Hearing does, as I recall. I don't know about the other senses. In a different context an exponential phenomenon can be easily visualized--think about reproducing rabbits (with an unlimited food source.) Rabbit population v. time = exponential.
Also, Palladian if we plan this excursion I will bring the rare clumbers so if you could have some fabulous treats sitting out for the rare clumbers it would be appreciated.
Thanks Doll.
I Am Spartacus.
TitusisSpartacus said...
"[Palladian, l]et's plan a date where ... I come in the door, don't talk to you and plow you and leave."
And they say romance is dead.
"I come in the door"
It seems like a different spelling for 'come' and the insertion of 'back' would be appropriate alterations to this statement.
I was in Orange County today, at a meeting. I had just taken a Vicodin, and I thought, "Damn, I am loopy already!"
But it was just a wobble from the earthquake.
Welcome to California Ann. I can't wait to go back to Dallas on Friday. It's 105 degrees there, but at least the earth doesn't move. Except when it's supposed to.
Sorry, 1jpb, you just can't do classless even remotely as well our good buddy titus.
Christy said..."Which makes me think of that great song "Nothing " in A Chorus Line (just the first 5 minutes.)"
I was thinking of that song as I wrote the post!
Welcome back Titus.
"Oh and having my juliet balcony door open and seeing the sights, hearing the people, and smelling the aroma"
Hmmm... "Juliet balcony door" is a euphemism for ass that I'll admit I haven't heard before, but it sure is elegantly stated.
Yeah, yeah, Titus, we missed you. Funny how we mention Titus at the group hang last night at the Abbey and you show up the next morning. Hella coincidence!
Here in Chicago, I felt the recent earthquake. I live in an older building near downtown and it shook. Except shook isn't really the word. It sort of gently swerved and gyrated, as if it was a thick liquid.
I always thought I wanted to feel an earthquake, too, but I'd just as soon never feel that again.
I would defintely feel an earthquake if Althouse entered my fabulous loft, demanded some special drink and began to evaluate and analyze her surroundings.
Take me master, I am yours.
i bet earthquakes are scary
we don't get earthquakes here in cambridge mass
we do get the college students coming back in the fall
which is about the same
all those feet tromping stomping
just ready to smash me --shudder--
i'll take 5.6 any day
dad here at the house said he was in a boston earthquake once
mom, who's french and thinks earthquakes are exotic
doesn't believe him
dad sez he was sitting in his family dining room in the low-rent suburb he grew up in
sometime in the early 80's
--long before my time--
anyway...b a n g...
it was like something hit the house
they all rushed into the basement
thinking the boiler exploded etc
nothing zip zilch nada
what's going on here they wondered
and turned on the evening news
and natalie jacobsen
--a hot anchorbabe who turned pretty scary
after a zillion years on ch.5--
was telling everyone about the great boston earthquake of '83
or some year like that
no rolling and shaking here
just a clang like the granite got hit
with a sledgehammer
which proves that we have much
more solid foundations
but you can still get anything you want
in boston
Seven Machoes you are still up?
Let's talk dirty.
blogging cock I am in Boston let's talk dirty.
“When we were talking about Iran,” he told me, “it turns out that carrots and sticks in German is sweetbread and whips, which I thought was a little more evocative.”
Oh God, Althouse is going to analzye that Maurren Dowd column for days.
Speaking of Dowd she totally wants to do Obama. Can we all agree on that?
who cares
i'll have you know
i'm not that kind of cockroach
anyway, talking dirty
and anything to do with sex
is sooo out of place in boston
which is just not a sexy venue
unlike where althouse is in la la land
i mean, just ask hester prynne
Earthquakes are fun, you were totally cheated.
Could have been the wine.
I saw a clip of Sid Caesar on one of those "Best of Johnny Carson" thingies. The audience erupted at his impression of an earthquake cancelling out a drunk man's staggering walk.
"This is a drunk man walking." Staggers exaggeratedly.
"This is a man walking during an earthquake." Staggers exaggeratedly.
"This is a drunk man walking during an earthquake." Walks upright normally.
It looks like Apathy and Ennui just barfed all over some night janitor's parking spot. Must be grueling, having to sift through so much future embarrassment and contrived representation of your self-worth.
zps, great description. AA fans have to be the grossesst.
grossest.
most gross
The first time never lives up to expectations
I hope if someone decides to become the "blogging cock" character suggested by titus and disclaimed by blogging cockroach, it's somebody who knows how to do it right — and how to please... me! Of course!
At 8:30pm tonight on the Madison Square Garden Network Archives show they are showing an old westling match starring Andre the Giant and Haiku for the 1980's.
I just thought I mention that after seeing the potential tussle between Titus and Maxine. Now that I would pay to see.
My money is on Titus.
Hey Titus,
Welcome back. It is good that you returned so we can have some light humor, romance, and of course daily stories of your fabulous adventures. Some one besides Trooper has to lighten up the over blown seriousness of some of the esteemed commenters.
Ann Althouse said...
"somebody who knows how to do it right — and how to please... me! Of course!"
A rare but rewarding avocation, I fancy.
The second bout on our all Althouse westling card will be Simon "Little Nino" vs. Meade the Motorcycle Man from parts unknown who will wrestle in a Texas cage Death Match for the attentions of the blog mistress and the coveted title of "Blogging Cock."
I lived in the O.C. for a year and never noticed the quakes that others did, but I was only 8. There was a small one in central Virginia a few years ago which I felt in central NC, but no one else did.
"Welcome back. It is good that you returned so we can have some light humor, romance, and of course daily stories of your fabulous adventures. Some one besides Trooper has to lighten up the over blown seriousness of some of the esteemed commenters."
Of course, the most overblown commenter is the elusive blogging cock.
"Of course, the most overblown commenter is the elusive blogging cock."
I could be wrong on this, but if you were to do a large scale survey amongst the target demographic, I think the overwhelming response, 'there's no such thing as being over-blown'.
i am sooo humiliated by all this
look at what my humble name inspired...
titus didn't have a prick of conscience
but althouse herself is blowing it
being so cocksure her readers
won't be stiffened against this sort of thing
It's not about intelligence. Intelligent people don't get punk'd ??? Oh really ?
Even if you are vigilant and have your antenna up 24-7, there's always someone who was more cunning than you, more clever than you, more conniving...and not afraid to give a go ....
Yes, it can happen anywhere....that's true.
I guess what's even worse, is that there is no place on the planet where you have a higher concentration of people that will....waste your time ! Flakes---wrapped in a pretty package. Irresistable flakes, but flakes nontheless. And, the time, and expense that's wasted having to sift through all that....
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