Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
5.4 Richter Scale earthquake hit Southern California at 11:42 AM.
Fortunately for me and Doug, it was a non-event. Neither one of us experienced any damage where we live. I think Doug was about twenty miles and I was closer to forty miles from the epicenter.
The earthquake motion was limited to an up and down sensation at my flat. There have been news images of some unreinforced masonry buildings with partial wall collapses. There are not too many of these buildings left in Southern California. Earthquakes have culled the weaker buildings over the years.
The rest of the day has followed the usual post earthquake pattern. The local television stations have covered the earthquake continuously since it happened. They have broadcast the viewer calls that usually include mostly older people who can add nothing to the news. Of course, there are the always requisite images from the liquor store with lots of broken bottles that have fallen from the shelves.
Dr. Kate Hutton from the California Institute of Technology’s Earthquake Laboratory gave the first news conference. She was poised and calm and treated the event as an every day event. It is true that we live in earthquake. We have earthquakes all of the time here according to Dr. Hutton.
While this is a moderate earthquake, it did nothing to reduce the overall stress on the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is a giant fault system that starts in Northern Mexico and then runs almost the length of California before plunging into the Pacific Ocean north of San Francisco. The last really big earthquake on the San Andreas Fault was in 1857 so we are due to have a really big earthquake in the next hundred years.
A hundred years; that’s a long time.
I am personally prepared. I have my emergency first aid kit, my water for a couple of days, and food for about two weeks, if I make it last and skip breakfasts. Next month, I have to replace my food and water. I hope there is a sale on at the market.
I have avoided using the elevator in the building for now; no sense getting stuck in the elevator in an aftershock.
One of the nice things, if you can call it that, is that earthquakes can happen at any time of the year unlike hurricanes. So, this earthquake has about a five per cent chance of being a precursor to a much larger earthquake.
Oh joy.
The television news reported that epicenter was between the third and ninth holes on a golf course in the Chino Hills. I suppose the Golfer would find this fascinating.
The mayor of Los Angeles has never met a television camera that he didn’t like. This would have been a perfect opportunity for him to get unlimited television coverage. Unfortunately, he was on vacation in London; too bad Mr. Mayor.
The Princess returned my phone call today. I called her to let her know that both Doug and I were fine. She saw a feature on her office building’s CNN lobby when she went out to lunch. She turned to her coworker and I said that her Dad had probably called her. She was right.
We talked about other things like Sharon and the earthquake epicenter being on a golf course; something to share with the Golfer. The Princess asked how the high school reunion worked out for me. I said that I went and had a good time but the prospects were not all that good for me. The princess pointed out that I could try an online dating service like match.com or chemistry.com. I think I will stick to the old fashioned method of finding a female companion.
Other Drama, or not, in My Life
I phoned my friend Sharon to wish her a happy birthday. I know that Sharon is sensitive to her aged and left her a message that asked if the earthquake could be traced back to her birthday and her age. I also told that I was fine.
Sharon was probably at work when the earthquake struck and has been busy with corporate communications and public relations.
I had another student in one of my classes ask me for a letter of recommendation for his graduation portfolio. I have had only one class with the student. I explained that my letter was not going to have as much weight as one from one of his major field of study instructors. He said he knew that but still would like to have one from me.
I’ll write a letter for him.
The student who first asked me for a letter of recommendation really liked the one I wrote for her. Obviously, I felt very good about that.
My Brother called this morning. He wasn’t calling about the earthquake. He wanted to know the origin of the 21 gun salute at a military funeral. He had been talking to his friend George and the question of where the salute came from came up. He told George that he would call me because he was certain that I knew the answer.
I did, being a history major in college and self taught military history student.
The Science Fiction Channel’s series, EUREKA, returns to television tonight. I am looking forward to the series starting up again.
Dinner with Merit
I went to El Gringo for dinner as usual.
Merit greeted as usual when I walked in. some of the other customers looked at me because she didn’t greet anyone else who entered while I was there. El Gringo, on Tuesday nights for me, is like Norm walking into Cheers.
I decided to try something new tonight. I ordered a bar-be-qued chicken quesadilla with cilantro, onions, cheese, and black beans. I really liked the quesadilla; it was light and not a really big filling meal like some of the dishes at El Gringo.
I will probably have it again next week. This assumes, of course, that my colon will be up to normal food including el Gringo’s spicy Mexican style foods.
Be well and stay happy.
5.4 Richter Scale earthquake hit Southern California at 11:42 AM.
Fortunately for me and Doug, it was a non-event. Neither one of us experienced any damage where we live. I think Doug was about twenty miles and I was closer to forty miles from the epicenter.
The earthquake motion was limited to an up and down sensation at my flat. There have been news images of some unreinforced masonry buildings with partial wall collapses. There are not too many of these buildings left in Southern California. Earthquakes have culled the weaker buildings over the years.
The rest of the day has followed the usual post earthquake pattern. The local television stations have covered the earthquake continuously since it happened. They have broadcast the viewer calls that usually include mostly older people who can add nothing to the news. Of course, there are the always requisite images from the liquor store with lots of broken bottles that have fallen from the shelves.
Dr. Kate Hutton from the California Institute of Technology’s Earthquake Laboratory gave the first news conference. She was poised and calm and treated the event as an every day event. It is true that we live in earthquake. We have earthquakes all of the time here according to Dr. Hutton.
While this is a moderate earthquake, it did nothing to reduce the overall stress on the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is a giant fault system that starts in Northern Mexico and then runs almost the length of California before plunging into the Pacific Ocean north of San Francisco. The last really big earthquake on the San Andreas Fault was in 1857 so we are due to have a really big earthquake in the next hundred years.
A hundred years; that’s a long time.
I am personally prepared. I have my emergency first aid kit, my water for a couple of days, and food for about two weeks, if I make it last and skip breakfasts. Next month, I have to replace my food and water. I hope there is a sale on at the market.
I have avoided using the elevator in the building for now; no sense getting stuck in the elevator in an aftershock.
One of the nice things, if you can call it that, is that earthquakes can happen at any time of the year unlike hurricanes. So, this earthquake has about a five per cent chance of being a precursor to a much larger earthquake.
Oh joy.
The television news reported that epicenter was between the third and ninth holes on a golf course in the Chino Hills. I suppose the Golfer would find this fascinating.
The mayor of Los Angeles has never met a television camera that he didn’t like. This would have been a perfect opportunity for him to get unlimited television coverage. Unfortunately, he was on vacation in London; too bad Mr. Mayor.
The Princess returned my phone call today. I called her to let her know that both Doug and I were fine. She saw a feature on her office building’s CNN lobby when she went out to lunch. She turned to her coworker and I said that her Dad had probably called her. She was right.
We talked about other things like Sharon and the earthquake epicenter being on a golf course; something to share with the Golfer. The Princess asked how the high school reunion worked out for me. I said that I went and had a good time but the prospects were not all that good for me. The princess pointed out that I could try an online dating service like match.com or chemistry.com. I think I will stick to the old fashioned method of finding a female companion.
Other Drama, or not, in My Life
I phoned my friend Sharon to wish her a happy birthday. I know that Sharon is sensitive to her aged and left her a message that asked if the earthquake could be traced back to her birthday and her age. I also told that I was fine.
Sharon was probably at work when the earthquake struck and has been busy with corporate communications and public relations.
I had another student in one of my classes ask me for a letter of recommendation for his graduation portfolio. I have had only one class with the student. I explained that my letter was not going to have as much weight as one from one of his major field of study instructors. He said he knew that but still would like to have one from me.
I’ll write a letter for him.
The student who first asked me for a letter of recommendation really liked the one I wrote for her. Obviously, I felt very good about that.
My Brother called this morning. He wasn’t calling about the earthquake. He wanted to know the origin of the 21 gun salute at a military funeral. He had been talking to his friend George and the question of where the salute came from came up. He told George that he would call me because he was certain that I knew the answer.
I did, being a history major in college and self taught military history student.
The Science Fiction Channel’s series, EUREKA, returns to television tonight. I am looking forward to the series starting up again.
Dinner with Merit
I went to El Gringo for dinner as usual.
Merit greeted as usual when I walked in. some of the other customers looked at me because she didn’t greet anyone else who entered while I was there. El Gringo, on Tuesday nights for me, is like Norm walking into Cheers.
I decided to try something new tonight. I ordered a bar-be-qued chicken quesadilla with cilantro, onions, cheese, and black beans. I really liked the quesadilla; it was light and not a really big filling meal like some of the dishes at El Gringo.
I will probably have it again next week. This assumes, of course, that my colon will be up to normal food including el Gringo’s spicy Mexican style foods.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 7:19 PM
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