First the earthquake in Haiti, now today, a more devastating 8.8 earthquake in Chile. In case you didn't know - yesterday, a 6.2 earthquake in southern Japan. This is really devastating!
As a result the whole pacific down to New Zealand is on Tsunami watch today. I just can't imagine how tense our fellow country men in the whole Hawaii islands, Guam, and other territorial islands are feeling right now.
And here I was yesterday, whining cause I have to shovel 16 inches of snow in NJ. I'll take any snow storm over these other calamities.
Natural Disasters!
Yes, it does seem like those of us in the Northeast are living in one of the areas of the country least prone to natural disasters. I don't think I could live anywhere where earthquakes, major hurricanes, tornados, mud slides, fires, or floods are a major concern.
It's remarkable that the death toll in Chile wasn't much higher with a quake of that magnitude. Good thoughts for the people of Hawaii as they wait for the tsunami....thankful they have so much advance warning, though.
Initial reports early this morning didn't really show much. But now the death tolls are rising fast and they are showing major destructions all over. Chile is used to earthquakes and 'trembles' so most of their infrastructures were designed to withstand earthquakes. But this was the most devastating earthquake they have in about 50 years.
Meanwhile in Haiti, it was concentrated in Port-Au-Prince their most populated and should I say way over populated capital with sub-par infrastructures or buildings.
I believe it was centered off the coast - that's probably why the death toll and damage were not worse. That's a monster quake. Really not surprising though - quakes often come in clusters.
Tsunami is expected to reach Hawaii by around 5 PM eastern time.
It's a matter of perspective. I can tell you when we were hit with 911 here in CA they were all counting their blessings that they did not live in the Northeast, (close to NY and DC), being that they are prime nuclear targets. They would rather take their chances with natural disasters as opposed to man made ones...
Imagine living in the tornado belt towards the middle of the country, or Florida/ Gulf coast which is under the real threat of hurricanes yearly. They just take things in stride, just like we do the possibility of Nuclear Fallout or sublimation, (going from a solid to a gas without a transition phase)!
Yes, but you can argue that anyone in a major city is at risk for a terrorist attack...and those attacks are far less frequent than the natural disasters that seem to affect certain areas. It seems like there is always a major fire to worry about in the Southern CA region. I feel that the odds of the gulf coast getting hit by a major hurricane any given season is a much more of a "sure bet" than us getting hit by nuclear fallout.
True but those people who live in areas prone to these occurrences are familiar with the routine and aftermath of these disasters. I doubt that someone who lives in Maui would be easily convinced to move to the NE because it's 'safer'.
(personally I don't like the whole affair, that why I'm climbing into my spaceship and going somewhere else lol!)
I think if you're in Hawaii it's a case of the benefits outweighing the risk! Some would say that's true for CA, too, I suppose.
Remember in the first Superman movie, the villain had two nukes. One was for DC and the other was for Hackensack, NJ - where his MIL lived!
...one was headed for the fault line in the San Andreas fault, the other was for his MIL in NJ! lol!
Oh, okay, but at least I got the punchline right!
That was a funny line! lol!
Earthquake in OK
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587607,00.html
With all the talk of the Chile earthquake, I didn't even see this till this morning
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587619,00.html
Yes, I heard about that too.
BAD NEWS for us gardeners! Less time to garden.
According to scientists, the Chile quake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100302/sc_space/chileearthquakemayhaveshorteneddaysonearth
I felt it.
We all will feel this.
http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/13215
Ooh - they better ship my bulbs then on a Monday instead of a Thursday or Friday. A 3-day priority mail will end up like 5 or 6 days.
I really can't blame USPS for this. With the advancement of the internet, emails, online banking and such, equals to less income for them. Now they just have to choose the lesser of two evils. No Saturday service or increase postage.
No big deal. Five days is enough. Better than raising the rates.
There is a line in that article that the quake of 2004 "should" have shorten the days also, does that mean it didn't? and the comments at the bottom made a good point if..... " Over the course of a year, the length of a day normally changes gradually by one millisecond. It increases in the winter, when the Earth rotates more slowly, and decreases in the summer"
What hemisphere's summer and winter does it go by??? and if it's both, wouldn't it just balance out???
I think they need to do a review of where there funds are going. There was some kind of event(I'm having a senior moment and can't remember right now) that the USPS sponsored and I said to my hubby at the time, so basically our tax $s are funding this event, it is a federal agency.
My friend worked for them as a supervisor was laid off last year, every year they flew everyone down to Puerto Rico for a meeting...HELLO??? Really. What a waste of $.
Regarding the increase/decrease - two different things. The supposed effect of the quakes is on the rotational speed - and thus the length of the full day - 24 hours. The seasonal change is only on the amount of daylight, not the length of the entire day.
last week I was wondering if we were having quakes again... or the blasting on 80 still tricking me.. they don't blast on sunday .. and I know I didn't feel that one ... but that is not too far from me
In the spring/summer I hear (and sometimes feel!) the practice artillery from West Point. Wow!
I hate noisy neighborhoods. ☺
I nominate you to go complain!
LOL!
Our tax money does not support the post office. It is self-supporting. The reason why the post office is having to cut delivery days, which I personally don't think is a bad idea, is because they had to pay in advance for the retirement benefits for all their workers. No other company or agency has to do that. It made a huge hole in their budget.
I have a ten-year-old business that relies on the postal service. They do a great job, IMO. True, sometimes you get slugs working behind the desk in a PO. But the carriers, wow. And priority mail kicks UPS butt.
Ok, The tax $ thing, I did not know. They are making enough $ to be self sustaining.
From their own website
"The Postal Service is the core of the trillion dollar mailing industry and in 2008,brought in the $75 billion revenue"
Trillion dollar industry!!!!! HELLO!!! where exactly are they hurting for money?
Maybe he should stop taking his bonus
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/18/postmaster-general-gets-pay-bonus-agency-falters/
Just found this...
"However, the universal service obligation and six day delivery are upheld by Congressional language within Appropriations legislation, so a reduction in service would require action in the House & Senate."
The USPS is extremely wasteful. Very top-heavy with useless managers. The workers don't get nearly the same perks as other unions. My brother has been a carrier for many years. They keep making their routes longer and don't want to pay overtime!
However, the main reason they're losing money is simple - the internet. The volume of first class mail has plummeted. There has been a nice increase in packages, but there is competition there so it does not make up for it.
All my guys are great - USPS, UPS and FedEx. No complaints at all.
No - this problem did not just start. Deficits have steadily increased as first class mail has dropped. Main reason is the internet, on top of all the mismanagement problems.
This message was edited Mar 3, 2010 2:54 PM
same with my job Victor.. too many chiefs (that are over paid) and not enough Indians...
Sherrie they are hard to get... I tried & tried last year too