Hi Canie,

Thanks again for the time and effort involved with running this bulletin board.

As I stated in other notes, there is an effort getting started to try to create another version of this board that has a lot more posting options. I don’t know how rapidly progress will be made or if there will be any progress at all with that effort. It needs some CGI experts.

Regarding the Italy earthquake, the scientist who reportedly predicted it by monitoring argon gas concentrations probably summarized international earthquake forecasting efforts when he reportedly said with regard to his forecast,

“I didn’t know who to turn to, …”

I have running conversations going with earthquake researchers around the world. And perhaps the only things they have in common are an almost total lack of organization and sense of direction. That Italian scientist said it all.

So, you can see why that proposed bulletin board could be so important. It would provide the researchers with a central resource that would enable them to better communicate with one another and attempt to establish some sense of direction.

There was an earthquake forecasting conference in Japan last month. But that is the type of thing I was proposing years ago. The best way to make progress these days is to make use of the extraordinary resources that the Internet can provide. And that proposed bulletin board is in my opinion the type of Internet resource that researchers in many fields around the world need. That would include people who are working on developing buildings that can survive earthquakes.

Finally, this is not a request for anyone to do anything. I am just reporting what I have encountered while talking with researchers around the world.