tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post1381683414536264890..comments2024-03-19T21:14:01.007-07:00Comments on The Compass Rose: Vive Les GirlsCurtis Favillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-10337220698769951302014-08-26T08:29:58.092-07:002014-08-26T08:29:58.092-07:00T.S. Eliot was definitely onto cat culture.
I enj...T.S. Eliot was definitely onto cat culture.<br /><br />I enjoyed his Practical Book of cats.<br /><br />For my take on geologic events (and the mitigations we're always nagged about), read my blog of December 22, 2011, here--<br /><br />http://compassrosebooks.blogspot.com/2011/12/earthquakes-mirage-of-preparedness.html<br /><br />--in which I go about debunking the mirage of "preparedness."<br /><br />We were woken up by the quake in the early morning hours, but it wasn't severe here. <br /><br />People tend to exaggerate the effect that relatively mild earthquakes cause. A few trailer houses burned, because their gas hook-ups broke, starting a fire. A few old masonry facades crumbled a bit. But for the most part, the damage was more picturesque than catastrophic. More curiosity than destruction. <br /><br />I was in Peter Howard's Serendipity Bookstore when the Loma Prieta Quake happened, and that really scared me. I was about 60 miles from the epicenter, and I had the distinct intuition at that moment that we were all on the verge of terrific damage and danger, but it stopped just short of that. Things fell down, but didn't break apart. Of course, some buildings slid off their foundations, which had been built over sand mounds on the San Francisco waterfront. Unreinforced concrete overpasses collapsed. All this was very predictable., but nothing like what happens in a severe tornado, or a hurricane, or a man-made event like 9/11. <br /><br />Earthquakes make great conversation, but the majority of them aren't serious events. Vast tracts of underground matter moving minutely cause shivers at the surface. The very worst of them can cause damage, usually to structures that are expressions of human vanity about gravity, or permanence. <br /><br />We know that building on unstable ground is wrong. We know that building perimeter wall foundations in earthquake country is stupid. We know that unreinforced masonry is unstable in earthquakes or mudslide areas. We know these things, but often pretend we can ignore them. More's the pity.<br /><br />I don't worry about these things. We built our house in a slide zone on a hill. We built it well enough to withstand a 9.5 earthquake. 3 1/2 foot slab foundation with four ranks of criss-crossed steel rod courses. 29 holddowns. 2x6 exterior framing, plywood facing on all interior walls. Steel bracing at all key joints. If the ground moves, we'll move with it. The water, sewer, electric and gas lines will all sever, but nothing can be done to prevent them from doing so. I planned ahead, my neighbors didn't. When and if the big one ever comes, I'll be way ahead of them. <br /><br />But on the other hand, I'm not a believer in over-engineering against distant eventualities. Earthquakes are just nature's way of reminding us of the impermanence of our dreams. Nothing is forever.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-63080560487158714082014-08-26T07:17:46.710-07:002014-08-26T07:17:46.710-07:00Your cats round the dish pic brings to mind someth...Your cats round the dish pic brings to mind something from T.S. Eliot's <i>Old Possum</i>:<br /><br />"Before a Cat will condescend<br /> To treat you as a trusted friend,<br /> Some little token of esteem<br /> Is needed, like a dish of cream"<br /><br />I hope, Curtis, you and family have not been affected by the earthquake in Napa.Conrad DiDiodatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18312831623791642286noreply@blogger.com