Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Mount St. Helens

The volcano blew up again yesterday, emitting clouds of gas, steam and smoke up to 35,000 feet in the air. It was accompanied by some small earthquakes and there was even some orange lava flow seen inside the crater.
The scientists had no idea it was going to blow. They've been studying it intensely since May 18, 1980 when it last blew. The scientists have NO friggin idea when volcanoes are going to blow. They even LOST 3 seismographs in the process! They put a new one on the rim today. Should we keep funding these guys? They're no further ahead than when Vesuvius buried Pompeii!
Scientists have easy work. Sort of like weather forecasters who say there's a 40% chance of rain. Is it going to rain or isn't it? Where can I go to be in the 60% chance that it won't rain? I was on Kilauea once, right on the edge of the pahoehoe flow where the red hot lava streams into the sea. You can't do that anymore because it broke off and sent some people into that moving magma! The volcano guys didn't know what Pele was pissed off at.
Is Mount St Helens going to blow or not? What did the volcanologists tell the Italians on Aug 23, 79 AD? Go to sleep everyone, it's only a 40% chance that it'll blow?
I figure if we stop paying and funding these seismologist/geologists/vulcanologist types they'll tend to hang out around the craters anyway, all we need are some cheap microphones up there so we can hear their screams.
Either that or ask a dog what's gonna happen.

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