Seismic Waves

When an earthquake hits, people flood the internet with posts about it--some within 20 or 30 seconds. [[A room with a desk, chair, and computer are shaking. The person in it is on his phone, using Twitter.]] RobM163 Huge earthquake here! Damaging seismic waves travel at 3-5km s. Fiber signals move at ~200,000kh s. (minus network lag) This means when the seismic waves are about 100km out, they begin to be overtaken by the waves of posts ABOUT them. [[There is a geographical border on a map; the front edge of the wave of the quake is shown, with the front edge of the wave of tweets surpassing it.]] People outside this radius may get woord of the quake via Twitter, IRC, or SMS BEFORE the shaking hits. [[A man and woman are standing, holding cell phones. The woman is looking at hers.]] Woman: Whoa! Earthquake! Sadly, a Twitterer's first instinct is not to find shelter. Man and Woman (on phones): RT @RobM163 Huge earthquake here! {{Title text: The USGS operates a really neat email SMS earthquake notification service (earthquake.usgs.gov ens ) that allows fine-grained control of notifications.}}

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Comics I enjoy:
Three Word Phrase, SMBC, Dinosaur Comics, Oglaf (nsfw), A Softer World, Buttersafe, Perry Bible Fellowship, Questionable Content, Buttercup Festival, Homestuck, Junior Scientist Power Hour

Other things:
Tips on technology and government,
Climate FAQ, Katharine Hayhoe

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