<p>Hayden, I think that the TSA agent should have confiscated the bottle - misery loves company. :)</p>
<p>Mootmom - LOL!!! Best of luck to them. What an adventure! 
No, it’s for the old. 
(Aries runs for cover.)</p>
<p>Hayden,
I wouldn’t worry about earthquakes, but I will make sure my kid is prepared. My son will be in Pasadena come Sept 17 and , I’m sending him with a small backpack with emergency supplies: flashlight that doesn’t need batteries, a bit of food, a crowbar (yes, a crow bar), etc. Earthquakes aren’t common in California but all the experts say the big one is coming, we just don’t know when. Our neighborhood emergency preparedness group suggests that we all be able to survive 5 days on our own. I want my son to be prepared as well. I would have thought Hurricane Katrina would have taught us all a lesson. I know, we’re all like teenagers who think “it could never happen to me, I’m invincible”. Earthquakes don’t have a season like hurricanes and they don’t appear on a weather map and give us time to evacuate. Be prepared if you’re in CA. Anyway, sorry to hijack the thread with my own rant. </p>
<p>But I do love this thread. I read it everyday…in preparation for Sept 17 when my world is going to get shaken as I drop my DS off in Pasadena.</p>
<p>“The readiness is all.” That goes for college, earthquakes, and hurricanes. I hadn’t thought about crowbars, and the Boston-area is supposed to be vulnerable to earthquakes, too. And parts of Cambridge and the whole of Back Bay are landfill. Oy.</p>
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<p>I’d also remind them of common-sense things like don’t put a bookshelf right above your bed and keep a pair of shoes (and a pair of pants, if he sleeps in the buff) and a flashlight right under your bed. Shoes useful if there is a lot of broken glass on the floor–pants and flashlight self-explanatory.</p>
<p>Yeah, the flashlights that don’t need batteries are a deal–only $20 for 2 at Costco, but it’s good to buy ahead of time & be sure they work properly. We’ve already purchased several that didn’t hold the charge & while Costco is good about refunding, it’s easier for me to get to Costco than my college student that doesn’t have a car. I slipped one into his luggage as he was packing for college & he has added it to his college gear without mentioning that he had forgotten to include it originally. Come to think of it, I may stick another into his care package I’m preparing for him right now, since we have a two-pack sitting in the living room. He’s likely to have more use of it than we are.
Haven’t packed son a crowbar & don’t think it would be all that handy to have in his 7th floor dorm room at this point. Do see the point about earthquakes–have left him with lots of edibles in his desk drawer, including beverages (juices, gatorade, etc.)</p>
<p>something else to do</p>
<p>find a person not in either city- home or college that people can call to say where they are etc in case of a disator, etc</p>
<p>write down important #s from cell phone, people don’t memorize anymmmo so having those family #s - office etc someplace besides phone is imperative</p>
<p>battery radio</p>
<p>and $100 in tens in cash in case power is gone an get get to an atm</p>
<p>Those are good suggestions, especially the $100 cash (which we often DON’T have lying around). Actually, not sure how far $100 would go, but it would definitely be good to have.</p>
<p>Citigirlsmom,
The contact info from cell phones is an excellent one for all of us. My daughter fried her cell phone in Peru and lost of all of her contact info. A friends son had his cell phone run over by a car in Wyoming and smashed the screen on his phone. While the phone still worked, he couldn’t see the contact list.</p>
<p>marite, where you have read/heard that the Boston area is vulnerable to earthquakes? I’m just curious, as I hadn’t heard that one before. Though I guess EVERYWHERE is vulnerable, technically. </p>
<p>If an earthquake DOES hit, it’d be awful because so many buildings are brick, which holds up poorly.</p>
<p>There was a really big one in the 1700s, and supposedly another one could happen in 500 to 900 years, and yes, the city is mostly brick and built on landfill…but you’d have to be a real nervous Nellie to worry about something like that. The San Andreas fault is a surer bet, not to mention hurricanes on the coasts & tornadoes in the Midwest.</p>
<p>Irene, </p>
<p>I hope that I did not give you sleeples nights! Mommusic is right. The earthquake prone story is trotted out every so often to discuss whether Boston is disaster-ready or not. we’re not investing in crowbars. We do have flashlights and candles, however, in case we lose power as we occasionally do.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Look at a historical earthquake map for North America (about a year back will do) and you will see that there have been numerous earthquakes in along the St. Lawerence River. </p>
<p>Most of the earthquakes in the Appalachians are due to weaknesses along ancient boundaries where island arcs have collided with ancient North America. The earthquakes along these boundaries are rare and normally very weak (too weak to feel). Growing up in PA there was a weak (~3.0) earthquake nearby and I didn’t even feel it one bit. The larger ones are quite rare.</p>
<p>The New England area is nowhere near as vulnerable as the west coast (of course) or even the New Madrid area (near St. Louis/Memphis).</p>
<p>Here are some resources to look through at your leisure:
<a href=“http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/seismicity/[/url]”>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/seismicity/</a> (20 year earthquake map)
<a href=“http://www2.bc.edu/~kafka/Why_Quakes/why_quakes.html[/url]”>http://www2.bc.edu/~kafka/Why_Quakes/why_quakes.html</a> (source explaining New England earthquakes and earthquakes in general)</p>
<p>The least vulnerable area in the country for earthquakes, surprisingly enough, is Florida.</p>
<p>Let’s do a reprise of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.
I want to know, where in the USA is Mootson’s van?</p>
<p>The first earthquake I ever felt was in Boston, actually–a 3-something that I never would have noticed if I hadn’t had my hand on the wall at the time. It blew apart a friend’s brick chimney though. Since then, I’ve rocked-and-rolled through a 6.9 here in the Seattle area (that was scary) and a few 5-ish ones. </p>
<p>As far as earthquake risk maps go, you can also look at historical ground acceleration, which helps to indicate what’s likely to happen to particular buildings. THis USGS source has all kinds of cool maps: <a href=“http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/hazmaps/[/url]”>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/hazmaps/</a></p>
<p>and this is a national acceleration map: <a href=“http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/hazmaps/products_data/2002/2002April03/US/USpga500v4.pdf[/url]”>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/hazmaps/products_data/2002/2002April03/US/USpga500v4.pdf</a></p>
<p>When assessing earthquake risk, don’t forget that the building you work in may have different risks than your home. If you’re in a zone with natural disaster potential (flood/earthquake/tornado/hurricane/etc.–i.e., pretty much everywhere), you should have at least a minimal hazard kit in the car. I like to carry a case of bottled water in the back and a $100 bill in the glove compartment. I figure I’ve got plenty of body fat to live off of if I have enough water, and there’s not that many problems you can’t solve with a $100 bill.</p>
<p>Mootmom, when my husband was worrying this AM about my son and friend who are driving across the country in her brand-new car (doesn’t even have a plate yet), I told him about your son’s van and planned trip. It made my husband feel a LOT better, so thanks! </p>
<p>Seriously, how’s the trip going?</p>
<p>I am sorry to have to report this to the thread, but mootson’s van is in the driveway again near San Jose, CA. It will not be making the trip across the USA this summer.</p>
<p>It would not start Mon. morning when they got up in their campground near Reno, NV. After working on it for a long time, he had it towed to a garage where they got it started. In phone conversations with a VW van specialty garage, it was determined that they could repair the main known problem on Tues., but that wouldn’t leave enough time to get across by registration day and it wasn’t guaranteed that this was the only problem. So they elected to drive it back here (oh joy a van in my driveway until Christmas or maybe spring break). In the process of driving it back, it broke down twice more on interstates, including one further tow and one push-across-the-street in which two skinny but determined college students elicited sympathy from three burly guys in a pickup who pushed it and fixed another problem with it while it was being pushed (!). (The tinkerer repeatedly assured the gf that “I am a mechanic, don’t worry, I’m a mechanic,” which she reports did not reassure her.) He fixed the third problem himself on a different interstate, and they did make it back intact.</p>
<p>They are disappointed, but not crushed. They are demonstrating their resilience and finding nuggets of the positive in this with good humor. They had an adventure, no doubt about it, and if you don’t aim for your dreams you aren’t likely to realize them (just as we tell people that if they don’t apply, it’s guaranteed they won’t be accepted somewhere). They are working today on fixing things up further, and deciding whether to fly back east or maybe take the train for a few days, which would be an adventure of a different sort.</p>
<p>It was better they broke down early, and near here, rather than midway through the trip in Kansas or Utah where they knew no one and would have to either junk or sell the van, and find a way to ship all their goods from inside. We can give the van a home for now, and he can plan how to get it repaired so it’s reliable and plan another trip back east. I am so proud of my son for working so hard on this project and for achieving the success he has had. Although I didn’t say it before, this is even more amazing in that he has never owned a car before, and has never done any auto mechanics before now. He is, in fact, considering offering an informal VW mechanics course at school, as someone suggested on the SA thread, and knows the beauty of grease under his nails, the efficacy of Fast Orange cleaner, and the thrill of disassembling and restoring an engine that actually RUNS (mostly ) when he turns the key at the end. It’s a mixed accomplishment in his mind, but I see it all as having turned out well. </p>
<p>Thanks for asking, and thanks for following the saga as far as it’s gone.</p>
<p>Oh, Mootmom, I’m sad for your son, but relieved that he’s safe and not stuck in the middle of the desert somewhere (or on Donner Pass!)…</p>
<p>Mootmom,
Print out this thread for posterity.</p>
<p>Mootmom:</p>
<p>I’m glad that all this happened near enough home! But I agree, your S and GF had a grand adventure. And if they could keep their sense of humor and their sang-froid intact, that’s more important than a functioning van. It’s definitely in the MIT spirit.</p>
<p>I don’t know…having it die in Kansas or having it in the drive way for eternity…hmmm</p>
<p>Well I am glad everyone got home okay, so now you have to pack it all up, an ship it and get plane flights, etc</p>
<p>AND, it would be o hard for me to not go, in a very sweet way, gee honey maybe next time get started a bit earlier, that might be an idea so you can test the van BEFORE you are in the middle of nowhere…I would have to bite my tongue big time, but it would be fodder for future thanksgiving dinner stories</p>