June 24, 2012

There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on You can receive a free sensor to monitor for earthquakes if your computer is within one of the regional arrays for the Quake Catcher Network. If you have an internet-connected computer with a free USB port, why not participate?
  • I'm looking forward to the international regions...but in the meantime I monitor my own earthquakes. We have quite a good system now. 0-3.5 Don't feel it 3.5-3.9 Only feel it if I'm lying down and awake 3.9-4.2 Can feel it if I'm sitting still 4.2-4.4 Wakes you up just enough to wonder if there was an earthquake 4.5-4.9 Wakes you up properly; feel it if standing up 4.9-5.2 Noticeable even when walking around; not enough to be worth getting under cover 5.2-5.9 You might think about getting under a table, but it would be done before you get there. Be prepared to clean up some glass, though 6.0 and up: A proper earthquake; you'll probably have a panic attack and maybe swear a lot (Because our quakes are so localised and shallow, this scale only applies in my house. At work on the other side of town it's a whole different thing.)
  • Amazing! You went all the way to 6.0 and up without a single OH SHIT!!
  • That's what happens when you're surrounded by small children in your work and home...
  • Surprised I didn't qualify, but the infamous San Andreas Fault is further inland from me than I thought. Still, the assumption is that a big enough quake on that line would dump everything west of it (including me) into the Pacific, but with all the hills and stuff, I'd think it'd take at least a 14 on the Richter Scale.