I'm laying in bed watching TV and checking out a few things on the web with my laptop before going to sleep.
On TV is a program on the Tsunami which hit a year ago. Its an Australian program so I guess a lot of you wont get to see it and its seems mostly on Aceh and Somatra.
There is still so much damage to repair and so many people are still living in tents through Indonesia.
I find it amazing that interviewing people about the earthquake before the tsunami was nearly 10 minutes long and one girl in Aceh thought it was the end of the world as she described falling over and landing about a meter(3 feet) from where she tried to stand up during that 10 minutes.
I understand that most earthquakes only last for less than a minute.
The wall of water that hit must have been terrifying. A reporter was standing next to a 20 meter tower and the water knocked the beacon off the top. They estimated that the wave was about 30 meters at that location.
I am utterly amazed looking at at the damage this wave caused and these pictures are a year after the event.
The look of fear of the water on the kids faces is very real.
They mentioned something about 180,000 homes to rebuild, but I cant recall the exact statement.

When the Tsunami hit, I was driving through the streets of Adelaide, I had my eTrex GPS on the dash, and it went crazy. The maximum speed went up over 300km per hour. When I got back to my brothers house where I was staying about 2 hours later I learned about the tsunami. I cant logically explain why my GPS went crazy when this earthquake hit, the distance away should have provided a huge buffer, but that is the only time the GPS has done that.

There are several theories about the near universal flood myth. Some speculate it was a catastrophic flooding that created the Black Sea, others the impact of the last ice ages end and the mesopotamian account of a family cast adrift that inspired the story of Noah. I personally believe the wooden structure on Mount Ararat is an ancient ETS member gone berserk with a bronze version of the big knife advocates. Our 'news' services have largely moved on to the next car chase, celebrity scandal and world record asparagus. On the more ancient and time honored level though; The Tsunami, Katrina, the earthquake in Pakistan have changed many individual's outlook and those of their decendants.

Yes, -this was one of those rare Megaquakes. Such as Chile,1960, Alaska, 1964, and only a few others, -over the last few centuries. This one, as you may have heard, -actually displaced the Earth's axis, -by an inch (2.5 cm) or so. And changed the speed of Earth's rotation, -by some fraction of a second. Sorry that I am now rusty on precise figures. I am and was Awed and Full of Respect! At such Natural Power. I fondly remember once reading, -that the Chile 1960 quake, -set the entire Earth ringing like a bell ! our Tsunami Quake probably did such too. Only such rare Megaquakes are powerful enuff to do that. And this again was one of them! No megaquake, -and there would have been no such Tsunami !

Perhaps it's slightly changeing the Earth's rotation, -may have had something to do, -with your GPS going wild on you! But here I'm only surmising.

Trouble is, -that even with a Chilean and Alaskan style megaquake *in itself*, -the following Tsunami, -is what hogged the news! I heard quite little on the Megaquake itself! Of which I was just as Awed, Respectful, and Curious about.

The Devastation and Aftereffects continue, -No matter that the news and attention concerning it, -has long since quieted down so. Despite this particular disaster affecting a sizeable portion of our Planet's surface and population.

We must have the same Caring and "Never Forgetting" now, -and in times to come, -as we had back then! Not only out of Altruism toward our Fellow Man, -but also in our own Better Interests. Revolutions and other political and social instability can brew, -from such poverty and aftereffects. We cannot forget because it did not directly affect us / U.S., -We cannot forget because "It was so last year"! Besides, some Mega-Disaster could conceivably and someday directly affect us, -and it is we who would then want the World's generally Lasting care and Attention.

In sum, its a matter of it being not only "Such a Tsunami !", -which it certainly was! But also, -"Such a Quake!" The precipitating, Mega, Earthquake!, -in and of itself!

By the way, -I'm on the lookout for a book on this Quake / Tsunami, -perhaps one's come out, -but I havn't seen it yet. it might also be good to check with back issues of Science magazines, -for particulars to changes to Earth's rotation, etc.

(Also, by the way, -in speaking of Earth's Rotation, -it has struck me at how extraordinarily Slow!, -that we, the Sun, and other Planets actually rotate. Think of it in terms of RPM. There are 1440 minutes in a day, -and it takes the Earth all 1440 of them! -Just to Rotate and Revolve once!, -about it's axis! If a ball or other object had only *one* Revolution per Minute, -that would be extraordinarily Slow! *Earth's Rotation is 1'440 times even Slower!* Relative to Man's Scale, -with our Earth moving some 1,000 miles per hour at the Equator, -and some 700 mph at my mid-latitude, -That is Fast. Powerful and Fast! All of that stupendous mass of our entire Earth moving that Fast, -is indeed a lot of Power! But relative to the Ball or Sphere that our Planet actually is, -Looking at things on *that* scale, -only ONE 1'440th of a Revolution per Minute!, -is exceedingly SLOW !!! Thats what strikes me as so Remarkable and Amazing here! At just WHY we spin so slow! When one really gets down to think about it!) [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Biggzie[/email]