Timewaster's Guide Archive
General => Everything Else => Topic started by: stacer on January 12, 2005, 02:16:18 PM
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I took Geology 101 from this guy. He was my MacGyver teacher--not only did he look just like Mac, but he did things that made me think he was really Mac in disguise.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600102319,00.html
But really, what can you do to prepare for a tsunami? They didn't know when it would happen, and could they have made things any more earthquake/tsunami-proof?
Oh. Just read the whole article. Palm trees. Good idea.
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Speaking of which, I have a good friend who was working at SUU, painting dorm rooms during the break between semesters. She accidentally got locked in one of the rooms, when she closed the door to paint behind it. Faced with the knowledge that no one else was in the building, and that she'd be trapped until people started coming back at the beginning of the semester, she panicked.
Normally, you'd expect someone to pray, or to try bashing the door in. Instead, the idea popped into her head: "What would MacGyver do?"
And she got out. I don't remember how exactly, but it had to do with dismantling that spring thing that holds a toilet paper roll in place.
Yeah, the story is pretty unrelated, but I think it's funny.
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Oh fun. Here I am likely to be staying in Utah for the next few years and fresh out of palm trees.
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heh, "As he did in 1997 and again in 2002, Harris still predicts a similar-size earthquake on the eastern side of Indonesia in the Timor region."
and
"the magnitude 7.0 earthquake he and other researchers at BYU and the University of Utah expect could strike at any time along the Wasatch Front"
It seems time to start listening to this guy
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I know. But I've lived in Ohio all my life. Can you Californians tell me - how does one prepare for an earthquake?
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not live near fault lines. Also, pray a lot.
and build buildings that have structural reinforcements and protections against earthquakes.
Last quake I was relatively in was the 1994 quake in California. I was living in Las Vegas at the time, yet there was still enough shaking that all sorts of water was tossed out of our apartment complex's pool and the whole area was soaked.
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I'm in New York and a few years ago we got a small little tremor. I faintly remember feeling the house rattle a bit. But then, we're very close to the train tracks, so every-so-often parts of the house will start rattling then as well.
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Wow, the memories. The 1994 earthquakes scared the crap out of me. June. I was plopped out of bed by one, and the other hit only a little bit after. Northridge wasn't so bad, but that was because I was living farther away. The thing I hated the most about earthquakes was that it used to totally mess up the central air and heating unit that sat right above my sleeping head. It would turn itself on and off, on and off, in time with the swaying. After the Landers quake, there was a crack in the ceiling above my head where the large unit sat in the attic.
Then there was the little one that happened in seventh grade. We were taking a test and I thought the person in the seat behind me was kicking my chairs. I thought about telling him to cut it out, but the person in front of me did it first, telling me to knock it off. We kinda figured it out after that.
I was also in the 8.1 quake in Interior Alaska a few years ago. I never figured exactly how far we were from the epicenter, but it was supposedly 100 miles south of Fairbanks and that's where I was living. It happened while we were at church, and we finally gave up on the Relief Society lesson when we kept having aftershocks.
Preparing for an earthquake is easy. Don't put things in places where they are likely to fall. Bolt your bookshelves to the wall. Keep a supply of fresh water and food on hand (enough for a ew days is usually enough), a flashlight, a change of clothes, and some money. Keep the key to the gas meter close to the gas meter in case you need to shut it off. And make sure you have fresh batteries.
Once an earthquake hits, get uder something sturdy like a table, or a desk. If those aren't available, get in a doorway or a hall. If you panic and run around like a chicken without its head, you are more likely to get mushed. Being outside does not decrease your chances of getting hit by debris.
After the earthquake, check for structural damage. If you see ANY damage, turn off your gas and electricity. Don't light any fires unless you are sure there's no gas leak, gasoline leak, petroleum leak, butane leak, or anything remotely flammable nearby. In a city, that pretty much means not to light a fire at all.
Some people would advise to keep a gun and ammo, but unless everything is destroyed and you're going to rob the local Emergency Prep leader, it probably won't help much.
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It's interesting that the geologists seem to be on the same track. My father in law is a geologist, and he's been predicting a large Wasatch Front quake for a couple of years now. He even took me to see the faultline where it comes near the surface around Panguitch.
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Some people would advise to keep a gun and ammo, but unless everything is destroyed and you're going to rob the local Emergency Prep leader, it probably won't help much.
It would also come in handy if the emergency prep leader tried to rob you. ;)
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Wow, looking around my room, I have way too many things that would fall off if an earthquake hit. Plants on top of bookshelves that aren't fastened, the lamp on the hope chest, glass of water on the filing cabinet. But I think we in Boston are probably more in danger of a noreaster or a hurricane, though, than an earthquake.
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Oh... we're doomed.
Actually I just worry that this house we're in is rather old and probably not earth-quake safe in any way. I'd hate for the second story to come crashing down on our heads one night while we're sleeping. They're saying a 7.0 earthquake is what we're due for?
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Mwuhahaha. 7.0!
Now for a little random association: Fuzzy, I just noticed that you are Level 42.
Level 42 was a great group. I have a few of their albums, a couple are even vinyl. The husband can't stand 'em, though.
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I was in the Loma Prieta (sp?) earthquake, and it terrified me. I was also like eight at the time. Really, earthquakes aren't so scary, and Utah is far enough inland that that would have to be one big Tsunami to hit us.
But honestly? I think the best way to prepare for an earthquake is to make sure your shelves are bolted to the wall so *everything* doesn't fall over, remember to get in a doorway if one does hit, and other than that, forget about it. You'll have no warning, and it will be over in seconds anyway, so there's really nothing to do.
Unless you're an architect or a contractor, which I'm assuming you're not.
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I think I should just move back home where I am not near a river, ocean, there are no Santa Ana winds, fault lines, or anything else to worry about other than the occasional tornado. And tornados DO come with lots of warning signs and you can hide in the basement from them.
*nodself*
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You see, britains earthquakes over the last century add up to about a 7.0 in total. One hurricane. No tornadoes.
Nice and quiet.
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Nice and quiet.
Except for your drunk neighbors in the isle to the West.
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Hey! My family resembles that remark!
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Actually...Ohio gets earthquakes too. Granted, the last fairly big one was in 1952 (near Zanesville), but they've also had others in recent history, both in eastern and western Ohio (1875, 1884, 1926,1930, 1931, 1937 [several, all in March], and 1943). The most recent was on June 30, 2004 (near Cleveland). It was magnitude 3.3.
Most Ohio earthquakes just do things like knock chimneys down and break plaster, knock things off walls. Not too many truly earth-shattering ones. But they do happen.
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/states/ohio/
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Normally, you'd expect someone to pray, or to try bashing the door in. Instead, the idea popped into her head: "What would MacGyver do?"
I think this is intresting and I have actualy said that phrase to myself a few times. I don't think it's so much something you apply from what you saw in the show... I think "What MacGyver would do" has just become a mental "code word" for Creative problem sloving