I always cringe when the media quotes a local resident saying something like "it's got to be at least a 6.0 or I don't even bother getting out of bed."

I do not think people understand the importance of distance when it comes to earthquakes. There were people in the San Fernando Valley who after going through the Northridge quake insist that it was stronger than a 7.3. They based this on the fact that the Northridge quake shook harder than the Landers quake, therefore it had to be stronger. Even though they know that they were less than 10 miles from the epicenter of Northridge, and 80+ miles away from Landers, what they don't understand is how much energy is lost in the distance.

So in reply to Glens observations about new residents.... I think a lot of people who live in the city feel these quakes out in the desert (like the Anza quake), and then say, "That was 5.3? That was nothing."

I am convinced that when that 5.3 occurs right under their house they will be singing a different tune, and within 2 hours they will be out shopping for new underpants.

of course there will be those who will insist that the quake was much larger but downplayed by USGS for the purposes of calming the public.... but thats a whole different box of crayons.