h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The epicenter of the quake is very close to where Krakatoa was. Has anyone read the book about Krakatoa by Simon Winchester? That explosion/eruption had the same international consequences as this Sumatra quake.

A tidal wave would be my worst nightmare...

[GDZ]

I am just starting to catch up on the news about the tidal waves, and news in general for that matter. The last two days have just been so busy.

I need menu help. The couple we are spending New Year's Eve with are preparing chicken curry for dinner. Traditionally, the other couple makes appetizers that complement the main dish. I have no idea what to do for said appetizers.

Suggestions, please?

The death toll has topped 21,000.

I'm not sure anything about me surprises anyone. It would probably when they find out I dabble in poetry.

Witty, are they going to supply anything besides curry and rice?

This may sound weird, but an aperitif of hummus, pita and black olives might be a good accompaniment to curry. Some plain salad veggies like carrot & celery sticks, sliced tomatoes, things that counterbalance the heat and strength of the curry...

I've just been reading the BBC News pages about it, what an awful thing, and so many dead There was an eyewitness report from kamala beach in Phuket, where J and I went two years ago. The whole place has been flattened, so hard to imagine that the family-run restaurants are gone and the lovely friendly people who lived there have lost their homes and livelihoods, or worse their lives.

Samosas are a good starter Witty, but I don't have a recipe I'm afraid. For an easy option popadoms and chutneys are always welcome too

I read Winchester's book last summer, Lil, and I was thinking about it while watching the news about the tsunami on CNN this morning. This disaster could have a major international effect as well--especially if the wrong sort of people step in and offer their own brand of "help" to the victims, like encouraging them to blame outsiders or "infidels" for the destruction. We had something similar happen in the U.S. after 9/11. Mullahs like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson encouraged their followers in the American right wing to blame liberals, feminists and lesbians for the attacks.

If anyone wants to donate to relief efforts, I heard one Indian official on CNN plug this site http://www.care.org

I wonder if U.S. government agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration saw the tsunami on their satellites before it struck the various coastlines. With all the satellites our country has spying on people, you would have thought we saw it coming and could have warned the governments of southern Asia.



I had a big breakfast of Belgian waffles and venison sausage this morning. It's a brisk walk in the woods as well for this fatty-fatty-two-by-four today!

Oh, and my suggestion for the chicken curry debate is to make something like a yogurt and cucumber dahl (a yogurt and cucumber sauce that cools the mouth after a spicy curry) with some flatbreads or poppadoms.

[MTG]

Tsunamis are only big when they get to shallow water; there would have been no time to issue a warning.

[TIM]

Someone say 21K dead? 'kin hell! Merry xmas to them dudes...

Apparently, warning systems alerted seismologists to the fact that there was something going on - about one and a half hours before the tsunami hit southern India. They were unable to alert people as to what was coming becuase there are no systems in place - they said they 'didn't have the phone numbers'. Fifteen minutes warning would have allowed people to walk to safe higher ground.

Lil, dinner will probably be curry and rice along with a number of garnishes like coconut, chutney, peanuts and such.

Samosas are a good idea, but I'd have to buy them already prepared and that just wouldn't do. I really should make something from scratch.

[SG V]

Currently struggling to make my Norton Internet Security work again. Slooooow going - but it seems to yield...

for all the people out around teh Indian Ocean. indeed....

[GDZ]

Famous doggies dissapointed not to see Grey Friars Bobby, Gnasher, or serbius.
Z I'd not think twice about the art work ,lets face it you have seen parts of your mum even your mums gynacologist has not seen.

All those suffering from over indulgences tuff amy

B suprised you did not go greek for mass ,or is it to long, remeber many moons ago going to one sevise that would have benifited from usherettes
half way.
and happy new year to all if i fail to post before.

I realize now, after extensively watching the news all day, that there is no tsunami/earthquake warning system in place anywhere in the Indian Ocean like we have on the west coast of the United States. But I would think that someone in Indonesia could have e-mailed or cabled someone in India that say, we had a pretty big earthquake, there could be big waves coming your way in, oh, three to six hours...so, watch out and have people walk inland to higher ground. But I guess, as they say, hindsight is 20-20. *sigh*

As for international consequences, one news network in the U.S. mentioned tonight that the pressure from the earthquake and the tsunami altered the earth's rotation. They didn't go into how or how they knew, but could that alter out climate for the next few years or longer?

That wasn't Fox News that said that, was it?