jr conlin's ink stained banana

Sorry, just finished a discussion with a few folks about this.

Here's an experiment you can do at home to show how weather effects earthquakes.
You will need:

1 brick
1 blowtorch
(optional) one spaceheater

Turn the spaceheater on full blast. Hold the brick in your hand lengthwise, brick pointed up, above the space heater. Now, using the blowtorch, blast the top of the brick for about 30 seconds.

Which did you feel first and more intensely the temperature from the space heater or the brick warming from the blowtorch?

Yeah, well, that's the effect that weather has on 6miles of fragmented rock drifting above a molten core. Granted said crust extends another 6 or so miles before hitting the semi-molten goodness that is the mantel of the planet, and unlike what's going on in the highly variable state of the atmosphere isn't quite so subject to rapid cooling and heating (thus explaining why caves reaching only a few hundred feet into the ground have fairly constant temperatures).

Now, do i think that earthquakes have an effect on weather? Yes, a bit. Since they do alter the above ground which is in a highly relative liquid medium, they can cause things like sonic disturbances and variances in pressure grades. (Think air tsunami, as well as the "boom" and "rumble" that folks hear during earthquakes.) Mind you, such variances are fairly minor and while the do effect some individuals, those folks are very small minority. (The same sorts of folks that get sinus headaches before thunderstorms.)

Mind you, this does explain the various conspiracy nuts who say that the 9/11 was a "controlled demolition job". You know what? i swear i'm going to get a stamp that says "Big Things do not act like Little Things!" and slap folks in the head with that.

i love Holloween.

Tonight, i plan on duct-taping a parrot to my shoulder (he's seen better days), strapping on an eyepatch, and handing out candy and lightsticks to the children of the neighborhood. It's the one night a year where you're given free reign to be unapologetically stupid.

Right now, i could certainly use that.

That was pretty cool.

Just had a (preliminary) 5.6 quake here. Only things rattled were a few dishes, the framework, and Anne Marie.

It was the strongest i'd felt since i've moved out to California, and at about 10 seconds, too short for me to bring up a Ventures track, grab a boogie board and ride this one to Gilroy!

There are certain thoughts that one has at 3 AM while the preceding night's meals make a hasty retreat via any and all orifices:

1. dining off the hot food bar at Whole Food's may result in unwanted experiences.
2. it's experiences like these that make me really wish there were adjoining flushable facilities.

Still, there's a weird realization that relief generally comes about the next day when consuming:

1. Saltine Crackers
2. Gatorade (original flavor)
3. Hamburger, small fry, and a coke from McDonald's.

It's as if my body has told me, in no uncertain terms, "Bother me not with your all-natural, organic, obviously spoiled hippy food! i demand to be nourished by products not touched by human hands and generally fairly hostile toward life in any form!"

Bodies are weird.

Some folks set up a trailer and were taking collections to be distributed to fire victims down south. Considering that California is known as the saute state for a reason (what doesn't shake gets fried), i figured it was my obligation to stop by target, get a bunch of stuff folks fleeing from their homes in the middle of the night wouldn't think to grab, and send it south. This is because it's just a matter of time before it's our turn for some earth surfin'.

We show up, and sure enough, there's a news crew there filming drop offs. Camera guy asks, "So, why are you dropping off stuff?" Which, is kind of a stupid question and was only matched by the stupid answer i gave him.

Minutes after i gave my answer and walked off, the eloquent part of my brain got off it's coffee break and started screaming. "No, tell me you didn't say 'Because i know they'd do the same for us.', say things like 'It's a chance to make someone's day a little better.' or 'It's what neighbors do.', or crack a joke about how 'It's a gift to the Land In Flames from the Land of Flames'."

But no, i know full well that the news will probably run my stupid, company logoed mug on the local news tonight saying the sort of inane crap you hear spouted from every stupid company logoed mug you see on those sorts of reports and who doesn't have the time afforded to spend on coming up with something clever and witty. You know, like the 30 minutes i just spent putting this post together full of clever and witty statements of a faux-earnest nature, when yeah, i did it mostly because i'd hope that when it's our turn, folks do the same for us.

Ah well, maybe the sports report will go long tonight.