Sorry Phillip,
Didn't want that distiction to come out as cold- I guess I was drawing a distinction between the helpless, who I want to help (good neighbor rules in effect), and the clueless, who, for example plan to throw a hurricane party instead of getting out of the way of a Cat 5 barreling down on them.
I survived the 89 quake in Fremont with nothing but "distraction" while those on your side of the Bay faced disruption and even disaster. I know the cards you are dealt in an earthquake are the cards you are dealt, and am planning to make some "new friends" on that day should the time come again on the new fault line I live near :-)
The fact of the matter is, I don't have CERT training, so I myself fall into the catagory of clueless in many respects, but you are absolutely right that even my lack of training doesn't prevent me from contributing to the solution rather than the problem.