March 2005 Archives

Another major earthquake in Southeast Asia has just occurred. According to the USGS:

A great earthquake occurred at 16:09:37 (UTC) on Monday, March 28, 2005. The magnitude 8.2 8.7 event has been located in NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

An earthquake of this magnitude can generate tsunamis. Of interest is the latest Tsunami Bulletin from NOAA which says that there is no threat to countries bordering the Pacific Ocean (since the quake was centered on the western side of Indonesia) but does give interesting information regarding the Indian Ocean areas:

WARNING... THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY. THIS CENTER DOES NOT HAVE SEA LEVEL GAUGES OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC SO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT OR MEASURE A TSUNAMI IF ONE WAS GENERATED. AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE DANGER HAS PASSED IF NO TSUNAMI WAVES ARE OBSERVED IN THE REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER WITHIN THREE HOURS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

The term this center refers to NOAA. You know that you would think after the Christmas disaster that some of those local governments would be hurrying to put the equipment in to operation. I guess not... Within the past few minutes, an aftershock that is approximated to be around magnitude 8.5 has been registered. The best way to keep watch is to go to the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Update: Below is the trace from a seismograph at Columbia University in Palisades, NY:

Yes, that is my feeling these days. I have so much school work, web work, and house work to do. Add to this going on runs with the fire company and I barely have time to bathe (I do) and sleep (every other night). So the blog has been going to hell in a handcart, but I have been furling (not hurling) on a frequent basis since I have been researching several different papers and am trying to keep up on current events, too. I think I need to go back to using Zempt more. At least that way, I could keep a draft entry open and send it up when it got finished. Also, I am looking at upgrading to WP 1.5. The element that I need now is time. Maybe this weekend.

I am again on my continuing mission to seek out old friends, classmates, and family members. This summer, I will again have the dreaded task of being forced to take yet another field geology course. This year's destination: Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. Terrible, but someone has to do it. Our plans are to get to some different states than last summer including my 48th State to visit, North Dakota. This year's trip will be earlier in the summer since the professor is retiring on July 1st. So, with the help of Mary's genealogy research, I am trying to get in touch with relatives from my mother's side of the family. It would be super to stop by and see any and all after so many years. So, if you are reading this and are a member of the Brumond Family from Clay Center, Nebraska (or my father's side of the family - Metzger Family of Arlington, Virginia), please get in touch with me. I am in the process of sending a letter to those I think I have located. It would be a treat for me to rename Road Trip 2005 to Reunion Trip 2005! Also, coming soon to the web site, is a section devoted to this, as well as other reunion efforts I am working on. I just have to say that this is a very rewarding use of the technology. The simple quest I was on four years ago to find a few classmates turned into a full blown alumni web site for my high school. A word to my more youthful readers: don't lose touch with people. It is a lot easier to keep in touch, even if it is just by a christmas card or occasional phone call, than to reach out to them after years and decades have passed.

Yes, I am finally getting around to getting all the photos from the Great Road Trip of 2004 on the web. I am experimenting with the best way to do it (read: the cheapest way) and am now trying Ofoto by Kodak. Just a sample below - the boys at the picnic table outside the RV at the Flagstaff KOA. More to follow! Update: Nix Ofoto - no external linking allowed...

We have been working over the past week on what I think is a mission that Democrats in Pennsylvania need to pursue with great vigor. Over the past week, the governor of Pennsylvania endorsed Bob Casey, Jr as his choice to run against Santorum for the US Senate seat in 2006. In my personal opinion, Casey is not the best choice. Some have told me that since Rendell has given his nod to Casey that it is time to get behind him. Did someone forget that the primaries are still over a year away? Did all of a sudden Pennsylvania become a place where we can't choose who we as voters think is best? Since we still do live in a democracy, I want you to consider another option. Take a moment and go over to the web page that we have set up that tells a little more about why we think Chris Matthews is an excellent choice as the Democratic candidate to defeat Santorum in 2006. Already think it is a great idea? Please sign the petition now and spread the word! Also, please add a note on your blog or web site with a link to the web page to help us publicize this effort.

I am one of those geeks who has perl installed on every computer that I touch. I use perl for just about everything under the sun. Since the machines I use most often are some flavor of Windows, I have the ActiveState variety of perl loaded. All of the web servers I program for, however, are some flavor of UNIX, quite a different and more conducive environment for the perl programmer. I love the wide variety of modules and hack available through CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network). When I am thinking about writing a new or modified piece of software, CPAN is usually my first stop to see what may already be available. In fact, the browsing process alone sometimes give me inspiration to write a new piece of code. I have used the updater process in ActiveState before, but had never ventured into doing it on UNIX. Last night, I took the plunge after ealizing that I needed the same module set on multiple installations and if I didn't do it, I'd have to copy the same libraries a dozen time. The best part was that it was easier than I expected. The one problem I have found with using CPAN modules were the prerequisites, code that needs to be in place to support the new module. It would be a manual nightmare. On UNIX, it was a breeze in one single command at a shell prompt... perl -MCPAN -e 'install Chocolate::Belgian' And if the prerequisite module or modules aren't in place, it asks you if you want to add them to the queue. Best part, after it installs the modules, it runs the test set that comes with most and tells you whether it workes or not. So, after a tiny nap (afternoon political meeting tired me out), I am back to the keyboard and installing an XML parser so I can write a nify little program that... well, I'll surprise you later on. PS: If you fear CPAN, read the FAQ. It made it much easier for me. Another nice thing: my CPAN.pm was out of date and upgrading it was a breeze (since it told you what commands to type it!

Yes, with the remnants of the latest winter blast still on the ground, I can breathe a brief sign of relief because I have no classes next week. I feel like a great burden has been lifted slightly and temporarily. I have much work to do over the holiday, both for school and a wide variety of web-related projects. I also got some great news today. My holiday will be extended a few days because I will be attending the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America's annual meeting. One of my professors is presenting at the conference. In the same session, another paper is being presented about the rock unit that we worked on in Petrology last semester. This work will be a part of the internship that I will be on in the very near future. More about that later, because now it is time to r-e-l-a-x!