why my friends are awesome
We had a dinner party this evening, and the friends in attendance exhibited the following characteristics of awesomeness:
1. There were 6 people at dinner. At the end of the evening, there were 6 dirty dinner plates, 6 used salad bowls, 6 sets of cutlery... and 14 alcohol receptacles... 17 if you count the empty bottles. Note that there were 0 normal glasses.
2. Approximately 2 bites into our salmon, the biggest earthquake I've felt in my 7 year tenure in California (a 5.6) hit a spot fewer than 10 miles from my house. (*) Puzzlement momentarily circled around the table as we mused that this did, indeed, seem to be an earthquake. I made the half-hearted gesture of standing momentarily under a completely non-structural frame (well done!), and then we casually... nay, begrudgingly... made our way out into the front yard. Half of the party was on their iPhones trying to find out the size of the quake, and nearly the entire party still had their wine.
This is not a drill. I repeat: this is not a drill. Take only what you need, including your wine and your iPhone.
(*) From quake.usgs.gov:
A moderate earthquake occurred at 8:04:54 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, October 30, 2007.
The magnitude 5.6 event occurred 8 km (5 miles) NNE of Alum Rock, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 9 km ( 6 miles).
| Magnitude | 5.6 - regional moment magnitude (Mw) |
|---|---|
| Time | Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 8:04:54 PM (PDT) Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 3:04:54 (UTC) |
| Distance from | Alum Rock, CA - 8 km (5 miles) NNE (31 degrees) Milpitas, CA - 11 km (7 miles) E (91 degrees) San Jose City Hall, CA - 15 km (9 miles) NE (45 degrees) Sunol-Midtown, CA - 17 km (10 miles) NE (45 degrees) |
| Coordinates | 37 deg. 25.9 min. N (37.432N), 121 deg. 46.5 min. W (121.776W) |
| Depth | 9.2 km (5.7 miles) |
| Location Quality | Excellent |
| Location Quality Parameters | Nst=250, Nph=250, Dmin=3 km, Rmss=0.07 sec, Erho=0.1 km, Erzz=0.3 km, Gp=32.4 degrees |
| Event ID# | nc40204628 |
Comments
I think i love your friends.
I was excited for my first (and only) earthquake experience--although I guess if it hadn't been tiny and not so threatening, I probably would've peed myself a little.