Be Afraid! Be very afraid!

[gslack]

To the media, religion, warmers, and all other doomsayers...

You don't scare me.. Got it? No sir, you don't frighten me one bit. Whats more you will not scare me no matter how many times or how hard you try, so give it a rest already!

Had to get that out of the way..

These days if you turn on the news for five minutes you will most likely notice a pattern. The way the news reports tell it we are all one step away from our last one. Seems like everything causes cancer, or will lead us to our premature demise. Every day someone is killed by someone else for simply being there at a bad time or one having a particularly bad day or for any other reason (if they even have one) you can imagine. Whats worse is those are only the possibilities that did happen or at least could happen.

When they run out of things that did happen or could have happened, they go and find more possible scary things to frighten the shit out of us. I can only imagine they must go and tell an intern “go and find something scary to talk about fast!” and away the overly eager intern will go to find fear...

Global warming, 2012, natural disasters, population explosion, WMD's, terrorism, war, et al. Its enough to make some people flat lose their ability to function. If the news can't scare you Hollywood will. “The Day After Tomorrow” , “2012”, “Armageddon”, all of them designed to sell tickets and entertain while keeping you good and scared or at least well aware of possible impending doom. If Hollywood fails to frighten you, your government or the UN will. Starvation, genocide, over population, dwindling resources, and so many other things not even mentioning economic concerns, will take care of any non-frightened who slip through the cracks...

I for one am tired of their BS, and if the rest of you should be. I say so freaking what! We are all here by some mysterious sequence of events that none of us had any say in, and we will stay or go by similar means. You aren't here because you (or your maker/whatever) were carefully planning your appearance at just the right time to maximize safety and minimize possible threats. Even if you are religious you can plainly see that God's plan is not shared with us and since we are at such risk that plan wasn't based primarily on safety. We are all here facing the same threats day in and day out and our mortality is assured, so sitting there wasting time being afraid of possible ends is pointless and a sad waste of energy.

We are all going to die! Its a fact, everyone around you and everyone on this planet will die someday, somehow. Some will die in bed peacefully dreaming of happy times, and some will die not so peacefully, but regardless of when or how we will all die. Best to accept that fate and use the energy wasted on fear of that end to make the most of the time we do have.

Now don't go off thinking I am against being prepared for disaster or not taking steps to protect ourselves. That's not what I am saying at all. What I am saying is know the difference between rational and irrational and treat them accordingly.

If you live in a bad area or a place with a lot of crime, then locking your doors at night is a good idea and comes from a rational fear. You weighed the possible against the probable and came to a proper decision based on the risks involved. A good and proper as well as logical response and action. However if you are preparing for the rapture, or stockpiling weapons and ammo for the impending zombie apocalypse, or even suffering from Eco-phobia and rising sea levels from melting ice caps or a baked planet in the next 100 years, thats pretty much irrational fear coming from poor risk assessment.

Get over it fear mongers. You are mortal just like the rest of us. You will die, as will I and everyone else, someday.. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but highly unlikely it will be in a planet killing event. Even if it were what can ya do about it?

Now stop waiting to die and preparing for the end. Just go out and live a life already. Stop pandering to the fear mongers in the world and you will see they will have to stop scaring you..

 

[blastoff]

Um...in a word, relaaaax.

 

[gslack]

Um...in a word, relaaaax.

I am, I am just tired of all the doomsayer threads.. Earthquakes, solar flares, AGW, you name it.. I am pretty sure the people who need to relax are the ones I was addressing..

 

[waltky]

Is There An Increase In Large Earthquakes?...

Rest Your Fears: Big Earthquakes Not on the Rise
09 December 2011 — While Earth seems to be getting slammed with frequent mega- earthquakes lately, big quakes are not on the rise.

That's the message from two studies presented here this week at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Two research teams using different statistical methods both found that the global risk of big earthquakes is not higher than usual. Neither team found any evidence that big earthquakes can trigger other big earthquakes over long distances. "We tend to see patterns in random processes, that's just something we do," said Andrew Michael, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist who presented his work Wednesday (Dec. 7). "In particular, people expect when something's random for it to be uniformly spread out, but, in fact, really random processes have a lot of clustering in them." That clustering can make it look like there are patterns in the short term, Michael said, even when the long-term statistics don't show any meaningful variation.

The rate of big earthquakes

On a local level, earthquakes do cluster and trigger one another, with a main shock often surrounded by fore- or aftershocks. But whether large earthquakes that occur thousands of miles across the globe from each other are related is a separate question. In research presented Monday (Dec. 5), University of California San Diego geophysicist Peter Shearer and UC Berkeley statistician Philip Stark reported that the recent rate of magnitude-7.5 to magnitude-8 quakes is close to its historical average. Since 2004, magnitude-8 quakes have been more common than usual, the researchers reported, but this blip is consistent with normal variation, the researchers reported. Such giant earthquakes are expected to occur at least once during the 111-year history of the catalogue of quake data, they said.

Random patterns

In a second study, the USGS's Michael used three statistical methods to find out if large earthquakes cluster together or if what looks like clusters is just random variability. A first glance at global earthquakes since 1900 does look very clustered, he said. But as soon as you remove aftershocks from the equation, that pattern disappears. "That tells us that all the clustering we were seeing on the global scale was just an effect of local clustering," Michael told LiveScience. Michael also looked at time periods after a large quake to see if other large quakes peaked in the following months and years. Again after removing direct aftershocks, he found no such evidence. A third test again failed to uncover evidence of clustering.

"Really, if you take any data set and you look for patterns in it and you insist on things happening in a very similar way, things will always look very surprising," he said. "Even in random sequences you can sort of define yourself into a corner where things seem unique." The risk of earthquakes hasn't gone down either, Michael warned, and people living near areas where large quakes have hit should keep their guard up. Aftershocks to giant quakes like the March 2011 Tohuko quake in Japan can be very large themselves, he said. "There is localized higher risk," he said. "There just isn't global higher risk."

Rest Your Fears: Big Earthquakes Not on the Rise | Japan Earthquake & Tsunami | Mega-Earthquakes Not Rising | Earthquake Clusters & Earthquake Triggers | LiveScience

 

[theliq]

Um...in a word, relaaaax.

I am, I am just tired of all the doomsayer threads.. Earthquakes, solar flares, AGW, you name it.. I am pretty sure the people who need to relax are the ones I was addressing..

Get out of the States for a while,come to Australia for a few months,you will feel wonderful.

AS ALWAYS "AUSTRALIA,GREAT ONE DAY,BRILLIANT THE NEXT".......try it,you'll LOVE IT and US........You are always WELCOME AT OUR TABLE.tl

 

[theliq]

Is There An Increase In Large Earthquakes?...

Rest Your Fears: Big Earthquakes Not on the Rise
09 December 2011 — While Earth seems to be getting slammed with frequent mega- earthquakes lately, big quakes are not on the rise.

That's the message from two studies presented here this week at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Two research teams using different statistical methods both found that the global risk of big earthquakes is not higher than usual. Neither team found any evidence that big earthquakes can trigger other big earthquakes over long distances. "We tend to see patterns in random processes, that's just something we do," said Andrew Michael, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist who presented his work Wednesday (Dec. 7). "In particular, people expect when something's random for it to be uniformly spread out, but, in fact, really random processes have a lot of clustering in them." That clustering can make it look like there are patterns in the short term, Michael said, even when the long-term statistics don't show any meaningful variation.

The rate of big earthquakes

On a local level, earthquakes do cluster and trigger one another, with a main shock often surrounded by fore- or aftershocks. But whether large earthquakes that occur thousands of miles across the globe from each other are related is a separate question. In research presented Monday (Dec. 5), University of California San Diego geophysicist Peter Shearer and UC Berkeley statistician Philip Stark reported that the recent rate of magnitude-7.5 to magnitude-8 quakes is close to its historical average. Since 2004, magnitude-8 quakes have been more common than usual, the researchers reported, but this blip is consistent with normal variation, the researchers reported. Such giant earthquakes are expected to occur at least once during the 111-year history of the catalogue of quake data, they said.

Random patterns

In a second study, the USGS's Michael used three statistical methods to find out if large earthquakes cluster together or if what looks like clusters is just random variability. A first glance at global earthquakes since 1900 does look very clustered, he said. But as soon as you remove aftershocks from the equation, that pattern disappears. "That tells us that all the clustering we were seeing on the global scale was just an effect of local clustering," Michael told LiveScience. Michael also looked at time periods after a large quake to see if other large quakes peaked in the following months and years. Again after removing direct aftershocks, he found no such evidence. A third test again failed to uncover evidence of clustering.

"Really, if you take any data set and you look for patterns in it and you insist on things happening in a very similar way, things will always look very surprising," he said. "Even in random sequences you can sort of define yourself into a corner where things seem unique." The risk of earthquakes hasn't gone down either, Michael warned, and people living near areas where large quakes have hit should keep their guard up. Aftershocks to giant quakes like the March 2011 Tohuko quake in Japan can be very large themselves, he said. "There is localized higher risk," he said. "There just isn't global higher risk."

Rest Your Fears: Big Earthquakes Not on the Rise | Japan Earthquake & Tsunami | Mega-Earthquakes Not Rising | Earthquake Clusters & Earthquake Triggers | LiveScience

Waltky Love the Gadaffi ONE LINER....E.X.C.E.L.L.E.N.T tl

 

[waltky]

'Big One' Could Be Bigger Than First Thought...

Quake experts warn next 'big one' could be worse than first thought
Feb 20, 2012 - Experts agree that it's not a matter of if, but when the Pacific Northwest is rocked by an enormous earthquake, but new information shows that the "big one" could be even bigger and badder than first thought.

Scientists say when the next big one hits, it could be something straight out of your nightmares. "Right now, technology is telling us we should be prepared, we should prepare for something like we saw in Japan," said Dr. Eddie Bernard, a Tsunami Expert and former NOAA Director. Like Bernard, University of Washington seismologist Bill Steele said hidden under the Pacific Ocean is a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off. "There will be a lot of destruction," Steele said.

Because Washington, Oregon and California are sitting against a huge subduction zone, the area could see see an earthquake and tsunami similar to the one that hit Japan last year. And now new data just collected from Japan's damaged coastline warns seismologist that the next mega quake to hit the Pacific Northwest could be ever bigger than first thought. "It means we'll probably get a little more shaking the next time there is a great earthquake here," said John Vidale, a UW professor and the state's seismologist.

Vidale said researchers were surprised to learn this week that the strongest shaking in Japan's quake came from the deepest part of the subduction zone and not the shallow region as scientists expected. "That's more of a problem for us than Japan because the deeper part of our fault is under the land, under the cities, in Japan the action was mostly off-shore," he said. Vidale said it's too soon to say how much of an affect that extra shaking will have, but he insists regardless of the strength, our preparation doesn't change.

The "Cascadia Subduction Zone" is about the size of Maine. It's a geological copycat of the zone that ruptured in Japan. Experts believe 90 percent of the damage and 99 percent of the deaths in Japan were caused by the Tsunami. "The consequences of Cascadia will be more than a city, they will be across a region that could potentially affect 10 million people," said DNR geologist Tim Walsh. If power isn't lost in the quake, blaring tsunami sirens might offer a roughly ten-minute warning that a monster wall of water is coming. A tsunami could carve thru the Strait of Juan De Fuca, flooding everything from the Pacific to Bellingham, including rivers that connect to the ocean.

MORE

 

[Baruch Menachem]

That famous tidal wave that hit Japan in 1700? It came from here. the land dropped three feet. It was a very big one

 

[ABikerSailor]

Scientists have said there are subduction plates just off the coast of Oregon that are due to go off sometime soon.

 

[old navy]

I stockpile guns and ammo because I like guns and ammo.

 

[violet]

I have one philosophy, shit happens and then you die.

 

[tinydancer]

I have one philosophy, shit happens and then you die.

I've always liked:

Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug.



So make every day count and to hell with the doom and gloomers.

 

[editec]

Yeah, FATALISM is one philosophical approach to living, that is true.

 

[violet]

Yeah, FATALISM is one philosophical approach to living, that is true.

Once you get past worrying about all the possible ways to die and just say fuck it,you actually start living. I'm not gonna wreck my day about things I have no control over and I;m not gonna walk on eggshells around the stuff I do have control over. Do what you can within reason and get on with life.

 

[waltky]

Granny says is `cause alla dem Indians an' Chinese usin' up alla hot water...

UN: Soaring Demands Will Add More Stress to World Water Supplies
March 11, 2012 - Despite recent good news that millions more people now have access to potable water, a new report finds sharply rising demands for water threaten a myriad of development goals.

Changing consumption patterns, rising food demands, rapid urbanization and climate change are piling pressure on our planet's water supplies. These are among the main findings of a report released Monday (March 12) by the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The findings will be debated at a major water meeting this week in the French port city of Marseille.

The study is not the first water warning. But Ulcay Unver, who coordinated the report, says water concerns tend to be too narrowly focused. "The crisis about water tends to be more local than global. And many of us, members of the general public, even decision-makers, fail to see the global picture, the global links from the local issues," he said.

Last week, the U.N. announced that nations have met a key millennium goal five years ahead of schedule - to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. "We are talking about a very important component of water use. But it represents approximately 10 percent of water use. The rest is used for activities such as agriculture, industry. And there is also the aspect of dealing with the extremes of water, floods and droughts," said Unver.

The report finds these other water uses are increasingly problematic. Sanitation infrastructure, for example, has failed to keep pace with rapid urbanization. Farmers are using much more water today to grow food crops for our rising population, and new consumption habits like eating more meat. By mid-century, the report says, the world will need 70 percent more water than it uses today. The U.N. predicts these competing pressures will heighten economic disparities and tensions among people and regions.

Each area faces its own set of water challenges. Africa needs to improve its water infrastructure and use its relatively abundant water supplies more efficiently. Climate change will add more pressure to the already water-stressed Arab region. In Asia, the pressure is coming from rapid urbanization, economic development and industrialization. At the same time, a number of communities, from Ankara to Manila, are beginning to use water resources more efficiently. The report's main message, the U.N.'s Unver says, is that water problems, and their solutions, must be looked at holistically.

Source[/ur;l]

http://www.voanews.com/english/news...Stress-to-World-Water-Supplies-142272835.html

 

[Old Rocks]

Two areas in the US that have the potential for a trillion dollar quake. One well understood, the subduction zone off the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California. The other, the New Madrid fault through the center of the nation. Still much to learn about that fault.

In the Pacific Northwest, there are pretty strong earthquake codes concerning buildings. In Central US, all too lax of codes. In 1812, that area had three 8 magnitude quakes in the space of 12 months. It was sparcely settled then. Today, that would be an unimaginable disaster.

Taking known risk factors into account in building codes, and in personal disaster supplies is not paranoia, it is sanity. The same applies for hardening infrastructure concerning known risk factors.

 

[Old Rocks]

I stockpile guns and ammo because I like guns and ammo.

In a survival situation, they make for a damned poor diet.

 

[Care4all]

Humans have the ability to look forward and imagine the future, we are unique in that manner and this is why we have progressed as far as we have....

The space programs, the steamboat, the automobile, the medicines we have, the Earthquake proof buildings, the Dams, electricity....you name it, it came from us looking forward and imagining...what could be....

With that, comes people who look ahead and foresee what could be....regarding natural disasters, cities that may become flooded, tsunamis that may hit, drinking water that may become spoiled, buildings that may fall in a quake, medicines that could harm more than help, etc etc etc etc.....and without these kind of people that look at and study the "what ifs" we would stay stagnant, and never improve upon ourselves.

so, take it for what is is worth....but living without these seers would be denying a God given gift, imho.

 

[Ernie S.]

I stockpile guns and ammo because I like guns and ammo.

In a survival situation, they make for a damned poor diet.

But they will buy more food than currency.

 

[Care4all]

I stockpile guns and ammo because I like guns and ammo.

In a survival situation, they make for a damned poor diet.

But they will buy more food than currency.

so will liquor.... stock pile liquor which will probably be as good as gold to barter with, if our currency ever fell!