Oh, for God's sake!

Surely y'all know me better by now than to think I measure the human costs of these things in scientific terms, just because I find the scientific terms inherently interesting!

Surely y'all know me better by now than to think I measure the human costs of these things in scientific terms, just because I find the scientific terms inherently interesting!

Nope, I don't for one minute think you measure it that way.

But the other end of that is true and valid as well; for the people who are either in harm's way or for those who've had to deal with the flesh and blood reality of it, your inherent interest, expressed that way and at that time (when people are worried half out of their minds) is going to cause particular reactions. (edit: analytical and pedantic versus the immediacy of worry for someone involved.)

ND, skip this post.

Katrina was a 5 in the Gulf. There were Camille, Hugo, and Andrew. And I think those were the only 5s (Susan -- I'm thinking at any time, not just over land) in -- ok, the last 36 years.

I think it's more the fact that I wouldn't dream of telling someone who lost everything that it was in fact a 6.2 and not a 6.5. I'm not saying that you would do that, and I know I'm a bit put out by the fact that I have family in the path of the current hurricane. Still, just the fact that it's an issue to do that kind of pendantry with big disasters rubs me wrong.

Deb, for the record, Dylan's best friend lives in Houston, and I really hope he and his wife and kid are on the road north to stay with his family in Tulsa. We're worried about them. But that doesn't turn off my pedantic/scientific side. Nothing ever does, frankly. I probably do need to watch how I use it, especially when I've only been skimming a thread and therefore might not be fully aware of the context and tone of what's gone before.

I probably do need to watch how I use it

I think that's wise, especially at the moment - because the disasters are piling on, one after the other, and a lot of people are likely to lose something or someone, if they haven't already.

I learned how to do a basic storm map read a long time ago, because I was down in NOLA and left the day before Camille hit. I'm not immune to the interest level of the scales.

But if, while I was huddled in the doorway during Loma Prieta, and shelves and appliances were crashing down around me, and I was suddenly remembering that my ten year old daughter was alone across town, someone had walked into my kitchen and told me "hey, it's only a 7.1", I'd have probably throttled them.

So much attention is put on the point of landfall. The storm is several hundred miles away from me, and yet if I look up I see the clouds. The homeowner 150 miles away from the center that gets a tree in the middle of the living room isn't going to care that they didn't see the eye. This storm is some scary shit.

No doubt lives will be saved because of all the media about Katrina.

But if, while I was huddled in the doorway during Loma Prieta, and shelves and appliances were crashing down around me, and I was suddenly remembering that my ten year old daughter was alone across town, someone had walked into my kitchen and told me "hey, it's only a 7.1", I'd have probably throttled them.

But that's not what I'm saying, not at all, and I apologize if it came across that way.

However, if we had an earthquake right now, as soon as I grabbed Annabel, rode it out, and made sure Dylan was OK, the first thing I'd want to know was which fault it'd been on and what the magnitude was, and even while I was trying to work out the structural integrity of the house and decide whether it was safe to stay, my mind would be whirling to put it in some kind of scientific and historical context compared to other quakes in Seattle and around the world. That's just the way I am. And I guess that's my problem. It's so natural to me that despite observational knowledge to the contrary, I have trouble wrapping my brain around the idea that anyone wouldn't be thinking of it on that level.

No doubt lives will be saved because of all the media about Katrina.

Man I hope so. Pity they couldn't have shown any competence for Katrina in the first place. Wonder if FEMA will have to fill out forms in triplicate to the completely inept DoHS overlords on this one?

However, if we had an earthquake right now, as soon as I grabbed Annabel, rode it out, and made sure Dylan was OK, the first thing I'd want to know was which fault it'd been on and the magnitude, and even while I was trying to work out the structural integrity of the house and decide whether it was safe to stay, my mind would be whirling to put it in some kind of scientific and historical context compared to other quakes in Seattle and around the world. That's just the way I am.

Heh. No, I get it. But I do think you're wise to be careful about indulging it out loud without that explanation right now; it's a real-world situation and why court the reaction from those affected if it isn't immediately needed?

I wanted to know what fault Loma Prieta was on, because it helps to gauge the likelihood of aftershocks. The interest there had practical immediacy for me. It was very odd, sitting out in the garden and BBQing because no one who knows SF history would dream of turning on a gas stove after a big quake, the entire city dark, and the sky crimson over the Marina, where fires had broken out.