Hi Lowell,

Being away from a computer at lunchtime yesterday I was listening to a radio news interview about yesterday's 6.1 quake. The person being interviewed worked with a group that helped after quakes in getting water and necessary supplies to the victims.

The news reporter said to the woman something like, "well, there aren't any high rise buildings in the area, so how to do you explain so many casualties." The respondent then explained what life was like in an unreinforced masonry building and how during the night the walls of these homes just collapsed in and fell on their victims.

Today my thoughts are again focused back to the question of how in the future it might be possible to provide these people with a simple whistle.

They are also focused on Earthscope. Here's a project which involves digging a hole near the base of Middle Mountain to install some equipment. But Middle Mountain is on the move. So what if they get their money and take a year to get the hole dug only to have it moved if the rest of the mountain decides to shift?

How many whistles could you buy with that much money? How many preparedness audio & video's could you produce and distribute with the same?

We live in earthquake country and one day the folks in CA or the west coast in general are going to find a real and present danger right here. Should we support a new science experiment or work on another kind of experiment, the one that says safety comes first and planting experimental equipment second?

The answer has already been decided. Funding for science projects comes first and funding for safety comes last behind everything they can fit in the middle. People are the losers. That's reality in a nut shell.

Don't wait to prepare, the clock is at ten minutes to midnight and our fate is before us. Act like it was going to happen tomorrow, because it may. Though I sincerely hope not.

Petra