I don't have a blog like John does and I'm not sure if I want to air out my thoughts on my web pages about some of the events that take place here, but I think this week here was rather interesting.

First, I was able to demonstrate that Lowell Whiteside's Theory on Far Field Aftershocks does work despite the study that was performed saying it didn't. Is the criteria in the report incorrect? I don't know what to think about that because I've seen it work for years.

And once again I was able to demonstrate there is yet another way to predict earthquakes using concentric circles as Dennis Gentry used to. It's not a hugely valuable way to do so, but the most important thing is that there is a piece of simple equipment I used to make this prediction and it works.

Don made a good prediction and was only .01 off and no one said a thing. It's not very encouraging from a forum which is supposed to be supportive of earthquake prediction.

Sometimes the silence in here is deafening. For years and years no one understood what all of the nuances of ear tone behavior meant and I've given thousands of hours to understand this and do the best I could with trying to use it for earthquake prediction and it almost feels like those years of hard work will never be acknowledged. We used to say we wanted someone to take notice and it happened, but not in a very positive way here and yet out in the world it is warmly received.

Glen was good enough to let me demonstrate how my program works and the silence from our scientists in residence continued. How many demonstrations do you need? A thousand? I think I just happen to have a thousand here at home. I've tried to make a clear distinction that ear tone research is to prove there is a precursory event which comes across as an ear tone and human beings can hear this, not that it is the be all to end all to predict earthquakes.

As to whether or not ear tones will ever be the best vehicle for good earthquake prediction depends on how much I can learn. I've seen some mistakes I've made and being all to human and in a hurry when I'm working, it makes the degree of difficulty quite high. I am such a perfectionist that it drives me crazy when see my mistakes and boy I'm not sure how to deal with feel inadequate, but I'm going to have to learn that being human is just that, plus, minus, good, bad and all that encompasses.

Yesterday I told you that my life as I knew it can continue and I was very excited at some of the new projects I'm going to undertake and it got really quiet again. I'm never sure what to think about that silence; but if no one thinks I haven't worked hard to overcome every obstacle thrown in may way in all of my endeavors, you're wrong.

I worked really hard to learn everything I could about earthquake prediction. I didn't care what it took, I hit the road and put myself out there and decided I was going to find out what was wrong. It seemed to me that there was an answer to this problem and I intended to find it. I did, over and over again. From b-value, mogi donuts, stress, creep, tilt and everything science had to offer I had a look at it all. But the most promising thing is that I learned some of it works. You can't see that in here, though. This place almost spells death when you talk about successful events.

And what does science say, "do not apply." I took a day out of my schedule to go see Tom Jordan and I felt for the first time that there might just be a place inside the halls of science where I could work with others to try and learn more and see if ear tone work might have a place there. I was invited and uninvited. That was so frustrating. A really nice scientist outside of this country appealed to him on my behalf and again that person was told, "no, she can't come here." I've been angry about that, but really I was hurt and I still am. Nothing I've ever done has been for me, but for the people of the world and somehow I feel as though I've failed them.

If anyone was curious as to what my abstract to Ridge 2000 is going to be based upon, it's my coastal shove theory. I think now I can clearly demonstrate ocean floor spreading at the East Pacific Rise is responsible for these events. I'm the only person registered at Ridge 2000 who clearly stated their reason for attendance was to learn more about earthquake prediction in relationship to sea floor spreading. The doors are seldom open to non-scientists, so I thought I would exercise my ability to take this opportunity and say a few words about this interesting phenomena.

One thing is for sure. If you don't say anything and keep the wheels turning toward earthquake safety, prediction and understanding what the earth itself is trying to tell us, what was in 1999 will return and we won't be any closer to seeing people surviving from earthquakes as we did then. I made a commitment in 1999 to see this to a successful conclusion and despite my human frailties, I will.

Seismic Wave was written as a thank you present to all of the scientists who spent time with me teaching me about one aspect of earthquake prediction or the earthquake process, but I thought it would be nice to put it into a story form and give it back to them to demonstrate what I've learned and it's mostly positive. At the same time today I can share a heart warming story with others who enjoy learning about someone who can overcome every obstacle thrown in a persons path and what it's like to be an earthquake predictor. It is the hardest job in the world and the least appreciated. When it's released if anyone here is interested in reading it, you'll find the link of both of my web pages. While I can't write to any particular scientist and say thanks for the education of a lifetime, I can show the world that there are some wonderful people inside the halls of science and I do appreciate everything they've done for me.

I was given the gift of life again this past month and I'm not going to worry anymore about the silence that follows when something good happens. From now on, I'll be saying a lot more out there and less in here. The people of the world do want to know what I have to say and they'll learn from me about everything I know and I'm positive it won't go to waste or fall on deaf ears. I'm not saying I'm leaving here, because I'm not, but I do think supportive words for those who take the time to work on prediction should be said far more often. We should be embracing the good news and not ignoring it.

Today I'm going to Fremont to stand inside of the Hayward fault. It's one of those exhibits that was created as part of the Centennial Alliance. It should be a cool experience and I am very grateful that some people put their heads together and decided to do this project. And moreso, I've grateful I have my life back and I can go there and a thousand other places as the years click by.

One thing is for sure, there are a lot of things that can kill you besides an earthquake, but when you've been really close to dying it changes the way you think about everything. I don't think I told you, but one night when I was in the hospital I did come close when my blood pressure dropped to something like 53/46. They got pretty worried about me. I was so loaded up with the drugs they gave me I didn't even grasp what was going on. This stuff sort of filters back to you later on.

So what did I learn from all of this? There will never be enough love in the world. If you really love people you'll go the distance to see that everyone is taken care of. There's no reason for anyone to have to suffer in this life; but we hold ourselves so close that we forget to spread out our arms and give the people we care about a hug. This past month I went and saw everyone in this area that I knew, both friends and foes and I hugged every one of them. Now we are all friends again.

I can't hug you through the computer, but imagine I'm there with you giving you a big hug and know it comes with a lot of love.

Petra