Temblor 5.0

Nope, never been to California, but I've been here through many big earthquakes including the 7.2 for Viernes Santo 8 years ago yesterday.

Yes, I never want to be in a quake that big again!

It was indeed a most humbling experience. I was surprised our home was still standing, and I was on the rooftop at the time. Knocked me right off my feet.

The Richter Scale is the measuring system that is used for earthquakes. It is a logarithmic scale. This is most unfortunate as most people have no idea how logarithms work. Say you have lived through a level 4.0 earthquake. The room shuddered. Maybe a few things fell to the floor. No biggie. If that was a 4.0, then an 8.0 can't be that bad, right? Uh, uh. An 8.0 is 10,000 times more powerful than a 4.0! Each level is 10 times more powerful. 5 is ten times more powerful than 4. 6 is 100 times more powerful. 7 is 1,000 times more powerful. Earthquakes make you feel really small.

If I were Emperor, I would outlaw logarithmic scales for the general public.