<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Hey cool, the earthquake alert system works.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/09/14/shakealerts-big-test-in-santa-rosa-earthquake/">https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/09/14/shakealerts-big-test-in-santa-rosa-earthquake/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Back over 30 yrs ago when we had that 89 quake along the Loma Prieta, I got to thinking there aughta be a way to give proles at least a few seconds advance warning, which could really help save lives. Set up a network of seismometers with some kind of communication system figure out immediately where the epicenter is, send out something like an amber alert, since the signal to the satellite travels at the speed of light but the earthquake shock wave travels at the speed of sound in rock, which is about 4.5 km/sec.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So… you wouldn’t get much warning, but maybe a little. I was about 37 km from the Loma Prieta epicenter in 89, so about 8 seconds warming minus the latency to relay the signal, so maybe 5 seconds? That would give me time to slam the filing cabinet (which fell over when the drawers rattled out) then get my ass underneath a desk.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tuesday when I was climbing in the Sierras I saw this in the distance and wondered if some goof had carried all this junk this far up the slope, so I climbed down and back up (which was damn hard to get to) and discovered it was a seismograph (my apologies USGS, my blasted curiosity caused an artificial earthquake (but not much of one (I don’t weigh much))) along with a solar panel and a satellite dish.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=675 height=307 style='width:7.0312in;height:3.1979in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D8C8D9.B6ED40D0"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So the USGS is apparently doing exactly what I had envisioned: set up a network of these seismos, give the proles a few seconds to repent of their sins, perhaps scream or grab the urn with grandma’s ashes, that sorta thing. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We already have amber alerts for missing endangered children and silver alerts for missing endangered geezers. They could call the earthquake system brown alerts, for … em… well, yellow was already taken and … <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>