Absolutely, Roger. Anecdotes are important for finding new ideas. But in and of themselves they are not evidence, unless they can be properly substantiated. But then, they're no longer anecdotes, are they?

Unless the anecdote can lead to hard data, it's nothing more than a good story.

Here's a personal anecdote. Just days prior to the Northridge earthquake I myself commented to my coworkers on the earthquake weather. I had also been waking up around the 4:30 am mark every morning for several days before hand. I even woke up minutes before the quake. Mind you, I'm reluctant to get out of bed when the alarm goes off, so why would I want to wake up hours before? I often had to rush to work because I couldn't wake up in time.

So, did I sense (or predict) the oncoming quake? Did the weather portend the quake? Maybe. Maybe not. The story alone cannot determine the answer.

Brian