Earthquake Inquiries

www.iris.edu/seismon

Over the last couple weeks it appears that tectonic activity has risen. The three main questions I have are:

o Why are we witnessing more strong earthquakes all of a sudden?
o Does Earth have tectonic cycles?
o Is tectonic activity correlated with the solar/magnetosphere fluxes?

Maybe we will see a bunch of strong earthquakes in the near future. Maybe we will see earthquakes in places that rarely have them. Time will tell. I have been sitting around trying to figure out why this is happening and after weeks of watching seismic monitors it definitely looks like the plates are in motion. What that motion is I really can’t say. My gut feeling was that the Pacific plate was expanding thus causing stress on all the other plates. Why would the Pacific plate expand, well maybe sea-floor spreading is increasing due to changes in earth’s core or a rise in sea level is pushing down on the plate causing it to act different. I’ve always been pondering if the magnetosphere plays a role in the mantle processes, which in turn can cause earthquakes. I.e., a slip in gravity causes matter at the crust to get excited and move about.

Whatever the reason is, they are happening. Haiti, Chile, Taiwan, etc. The power of the Earth is immense and she shows no Mercy. Kali. It’s time we look back down to the Earth and give thanks for what we have. The stars are glorious, don’t get me wrong, heck I’ve been dreaming of being the first chef on Mars, but what is more important is what we walk and live on… the Earth’s blanket. Who cares about climate change when the Earth just split my kitchen floor in half by a 6 foot crack? Karma has its ways and maybe, just like in native prophecy, disrespect leads to human devastation. Natural population control. Those in Haiti have spent days in prayer. Whether in Christian or Voodoo a prayer is a prayer and it radiates our intention. Prayers are a start, but actions are needed.

Adaptation to the Earth is a continual process because Earth is constantly changing. In the past I’ve doodled up sketches of houses that can detach from land and become sea-faring abodes in case of disaster on land. Vice versa those vessels can become grounded on land. Mobile architecture is important for these coming ages. Why do we build stiff, stagnant houses on vibrant, flowing surfaces? A nomadic or backpacker lifestyle is more or less the most efficient and safest means of living.

With destruction comes recreation. I say we turn the demolished gray spaces in Haiti to off-grid green spaces. Companies and nations alike should help fund a green revolution in Haiti as a role model for the rest of the world. It actually wouldn’t be that hard… maybe install renewable energy production facilities in Haiti for the natives to work at with fair wages. Integrate portable architecture in renewable energy power networks; create organic farms and sustainable living. How cool would that be? One of the poorest nations in the world changed into a role model with the help of the world. I’m probably dreaming way too far outside the box.

Energy at the South Pole

In contrast to the beautiful skies we had a couple days ago we now have a whiteout. With the change in weather, the temp. has risen from -100 F to -30 F. It feels like summer again.

Cinnamon twisty things.

French toast... 1 inch thick.

After work I followed boss and Rizzle downstairs to the power plant to get some training on how to monitor the generators.

Thou must check in and check out for emergency purposes.


Kitchen cartel.

Here is Ernz given us the rundown. He says that at 4 in the morning there's a giant spike in the A-Pod energy... that's when I walk into the kitchen and turn everything. So that's how Chef knows I'm late for work eh.

Genie 3 is on. We have four generators and several others outside. In the future I bet we'll have a wind farm if the technology can withstand the winter chill.

Energy use.

The water plant... the freshest water in the world.

The task for volunteers is to fill in Excel log sheets with data found on dials and monitors.

Water tank guage.

To the power plant.

:)
Meow.

Checking the thermal radiance from the pipes.

Then type in the numbers.

Here's one of our horses.

I was amazed at how clean this place was.

Here's the South Pole heating system. Our building and water is heated via radiant heating. Anti-freeze (Glycol) obtains waste heat energy from the generator and is sent around the entire station. The water in our kitchen tap is around 140, enough to overcook yeast, so it's plenty warm for us.

After the power plant tour I went to the Ice Cube lab to hang out. The video below shows a high energy particle coming from outerspace and being picked up by the Ice Cube sensor strands that are hung a couple kilometres beneath the ice. At times the particle (i.e., Neutrino) actually splits off into a daughter particle shower (i.e., Muons and anti-electrons) within the Ice Cube matrix. That would be a sight to see.

The reason why I moved to South Pole...

was to see the magic of the sky. For the next two weeks we will be in our twilight stage in which the sun lingers on the horizon all day long. Depending on cloud cover, the twilight sky is like a sunrise or sunset all day long. I can almost taste the darkness... only a couple more weeks. By the time the equinox hits it will have been nearly 5 months that I haven't seen night.

Don't throw that away.

Pickle it.

One guy told me it tasted just like what his mom used to make way back in the day.

Pickle those too.

The plums are starting to turn, but don't freak because Chef F has master plan. Fresh plum and custard tart.

Why not have seasoned roasted boomers with pizza night?

The three kings...