Chris,

It's out there. From both outside of the halls of science to inside there are some amazing ideas floating around. But when it gets down the nitty gritty and the earthquake is underway, that's what separates reason and clear thinking from absolute panic. I had that panic feeling one time ages ago. I truly felt like a trapped rat while in a building in SF. The lights were swaying, windows rattling, the floor was like a roller coaster and people trapped in an elevator between floors were screaming. I just wanted to run out of the building. But a nice lady in the office looked me dead in the eyes and said, "it will be over in a minute." Ah, the voice of calm. [the building was red tagged after Loma Prieta]

Kids will always do the right thing, grown ups act on emotion. We have to hope there are more kids around when larger earthquakes occur.

Petra