Another little earthquake just gone by. 3.69, epicentred at Halswell, weight 5 tonnes, but I think the magnitude might get upgraded, it felt like more to me. Repeated quakes have left citizens of Canterbury finely calibrated; we can now guess within .5 of what the force was. We'll be able to rent ourselves out to third world countries who can't afford a seismologist, sort of bare-foot seismology, para-seismologists. (God, I do talk rubbish sometimes).
Isn't it amazing how quickly all this data is collected now. Once upon a time there would be no way of knowing, just have to judge it by how much fell down. I use a website called Christchurch Quake Live, it's almost instant with good maps.
So it's Halloween tonight. Such a silly idea, like Guy Fawkes Night, but even less relevant to New Zealanders. It's never been part of our culture here, but like all things American it has infiltrated through American TV and films. The kids see it and think its cool, and the merchandisers see that they can make money in a traditionally dead time retail-wise (if you'll excuse the pun). When I was in France many years ago, I was amazed at how the French really went for the Halloween thing, it doesn't seem at all chic, but I guess because it's American it's the thing to do. Dress your kids up as ghouls and send them door to door to beg from strangers - it's meaningless. And potentially dangerous too. I don't understand.
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