So, shortly before 9:30 PM last night I was sitting in the living room chatting with the Hobbit and the Kat when I felt my chair move slightly.
“Earthquake,” I said to the ladies, who looked down at me in surprise.
“What?” the Kat asked.
And then came the real deal.
A 5.7 down by the border, apparently.
It lasted a few moments, and after the shaking was done the ladies’ surprise turned to amazement.
“How did you know?” they both asked, looking at me with wonder and – dare I say it – a kind of awe.
“I felt the pre-shock,” I answered truthfully.
“Oh,” came their reply, and I was back to being the old guy in the chair again.
Which is too bad, for a man in his own house could use the occasional bit of wonder and awe.
LOL! Leave it to Lex to make writing about an earthquake even more interesting than it already is…
I don’t know if it felt the same up here, but I felt those early rumblings, too. Weird thing was, it seemed almost like two earthquakes–a slow build to the movement and sound of a modest thump before it almost subsided completely and then built again. The second build ended in a much bigger thump and then it slowly faded away. One of the longer earthquakes I’ve experienced…
Disconcerting.
Earthquakes: Mother Nature’s reminder that even in a paradise of balmy weather she can still find a way to kill you if she wants to.
And this was the second earthquake I’ve felt here in a week. The 1st was much milder, but still noticeable. As was often heard on the radio last night, better to have lots of small ones than The Big One (small earthquakes relieve pressure on the fault lines).
“…a man in his own house could use the occasional bit of wonder and awe.”
Truer words were ne’er spake.
Felt that one all the way up in Anaheim, we did.
I get that reaction from the ladies in the house when there is a creepy crawly that needs excuting, a small rodental issue or when the thingee-mabob is not working….
Since I am away in AFGHN, the Missus has become acquainted with the workings of the mower & weed-whacker (1st time in 15 years), walking the 4 legged oafs (also 1st time in life of said K-9s) and even fixed the clothes dryer when it went astray…of course, she managed to try to work on it BEFORE unplugging it from the wall and found out quickly why that was a bad idea…AC voltage being somewhat unforgiving of errors in judgement and/or placement of tools when they connect two things that should not be connected.
From what I get via the calls home, I am sorely missed.
One of these days, Escondido will be prime ocean-front property.
But it will be the east side of Escondido – when The Big One hits, everything east of the San Andreas will sink into the Atlantic.
Do you have a front porch to put a chair on? Maybe a rocker?
PS: And don’t forget the fly-swatter!
OK, Virgil… where the Hell did you put the spy-cam? I’ll NOT tolerate being looked in upon.
“Pre-shock?” Oh! You mean the p-wave! P for either primary or secondary. Usually felt as a bump. Then, if it is far enough away, you feel the “shake” of the S-wave, which will usually be of longer duration.
If you notice from which direction the “bump” comes, you know the (rough) bearing to the epicenter (or the reciprocal). If you know the time between the arrival of the P- and S-waves, you can get a rough distance. P-waves move at about 5km/sec, and S-waves at about 3km/sec.
You missed your chance. Could have told the women folk “I’ve just had a feeling we were due…” Probably wouldn’t have worked, but the truth never keeps that wonder and awe going.
Amen, or just say nuttin as you share a twinkle in yer eye.
I don’t believe ladies are impressed by explanations – they do enough of that themselves – 30,000 words a day, with gusts up to 60.
So play the ‘still waters run deep’ card. And smile – drives ‘em nuts.
Bill – not sure whether I should give you the ole stink-eye…or laugh along with you.
Kris, why not both?
Who says I didn’t?
Familiarity breeds contempt.
VX’s rocker and porch sound pretty good to me! Wanna join me VX? Iced Tea with Lemon included.
I won’t trade hurricanes and noreasters for not so firm terra-firma.
I would. No anxiety as it makes its way up the coast, no staying awake as the wind roars for hours, etc. An earthquake comes out of nowhere and is over in seconds. Nice!
Yer perfectly safe in a trailer in earthquake country, as long as you leave it on the wheels and springs. Now, in hurricane country, you want just the opposite, that is, massive.
I’m with you SC. At least with hurricanse and noreasters you get some warning, some chance to prepare.
It was a moderate quake .. nothing “earth shaking.”
You just need to come here for your dose of wonder and awe
At first i thought the dog had jumped up on the bed. I looked around and no dog. Then it hit, meh, I said, probably a 3 or a 4, but felt just like the Easter quake, but smaller and shorter. I did get out of bed in reaction, but later thought i should have just rolled off the side, safer that way. idiot newscaster then said that people should find a nice solid piece of furniture to crawl under. Good way to get crushed that is.
Living in Florida, with a plant manager working for me that lived in California, we discussed which was worse – a hurricane or an earthquake. We decided the hurricane was worse – in both you can lose your house, all your belongings, and possibly your life. But at least with an earthquake you did not have to listen to it on the news for three days before it arrived!
I had nothin’ to do with it! Honest!
It was Bush’s fault.
It’s those Iranians, having relations again.
I believe aviators (dare I say especially older Aviators) are predisposed to notice those unexpected events that go bump.
Well, it’s your own fault for not being quicker on the uptake, seizing the moment to fabricate some mystical aura about your earthquake detection prowess.
My dog used to just get the shivers before the temblors in Mexico City could be felt. So there ya go.
Fingerspitzengefuel, is what it was. For a normal person, the Captain is amazing in his possession of autistic sensory super-powers.