Editing 2219: Earthquake Early Warnings

{{comic
| number    = 2219
| date      = October 23, 2019
| title     = Earthquake Early Warnings
| image     = earthquake_early_warnings.png
| titletext = I was fired by the National Weather Service five minutes after they hired me for going into their code base and renaming all the tornado warnings to "tornado spoiler alerts."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SPOILED EARTHQUAKE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A week before this comic, on October 17th, California introduced an earthquake warning system in the form of an [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-16/california-to-launch-statewide-earthquake-early-warning-system app for smartphones called MyShake].
The system works through a network of sensors across the state that can detect {{w|P-waves}} from an earthquake, which move faster than the {{w|S-waves}} which cause most of the damage.  Because of this difference in speed, the network can send warnings through the app about 5-20 seconds before major shaking occurs, enough time for people to take cover under tables, etc.  The farther away you are the more warning you get.

In the comic [[Megan]] talks about the app, suggesting how cool it is, but [[Cueball]] is upset.  He seems to think that prediction of the earthquake coming is like a spoiler that ruins the experience of how an earthquake should be felt.  He states specifically trying to recognize the P-waves before they hit, however, people cannot feel the P-waves the way they do the S-waves. 

He also personifies the tectonic plates (whose shifting positions causes the quake) saying that we should all feel the shaking the way the tectonic plate intended.

In the title text Cueballs mentions that he was fired from the National Weather Service five minutes after they hired him. Because the first thing he did was to rename tornado warnings as tornado spoiler alerts. Spoiler alerts is something used when for instance talking about a plot twist of a new movie, so people who haven't seen the movie but still wish to read something about it, can avoid the reading the most important details that would ruin (spoil) the experience of getting surprised. Cueball seems to genuinely wish to be surprised by these potentially lethal phenomenon, where just minutes warning may make the difference between life and death.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Megan is looking at a phone while standing next to Cueball]

Megan: Ooh, California has a new earthquake early warning app.

Cueball: Yeah, I'm so mad about it.

[Cueball throws his arms up, Megan puts her phone down]

Megan: What, why?

Cueball: It ruins the experience of trying to recognize the p-waves before the obvious main waves hit.

[Cueball puts his arms down]

Megan: So you're mad about earthquake ''spoilers''?

Cueball: I just want to experience the shaking the way the tectonic plate ''intended''!

{{comic discussion}}
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-A week before this comic, on October 17th, California introduced an {{w|earthquake warning system}} in the form of an [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-16/california-to-launch-statewide-earthquake-early-warning-system app for smartphones called MyShake].
+{{incomplete|Created by a SPOILED EARTHQUAKE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
-The system works through a network of sensors across the state that can detect {{w|P-waves}} from an {{w|earthquake}}, {{w|P-wave#As_an_earthquake_warning|which move faster}} than the {{w|S-waves}}, which cause most of the damage. In addition, the sensors send the warning electronically - at a significant fraction of the speed of light - much faster than either P-waves or S-waves. Because of these differences in speed, the network can send warnings through the app about 5-20 seconds before major shaking occurs, enough time for people to take cover under tables, run outside, etc. The farther you are away from the epicenter, the more warning time you have.
-In the comic [[Megan]] talks about the app, suggesting how cool it is, but [[Cueball]] is upset. He seems to think that prediction of the earthquake coming is like a spoiler that ruins the experience of how an earthquake should be experienced. Apparently he prefers to simply be taken by surprise like most people are when an earthquake large enough to feel hits.
+A week before this comic, on October 17th, California introduced an earthquake warning system in the form of an [https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-16/california-to-launch-statewide-earthquake-early-warning-system app for smartphones called MyShake].
+The system works through a network of sensors across the state that can detect {{w|P-waves}} from an earthquake, which move faster than the {{w|S-waves}} which cause most of the damage.  Because of this difference in speed, the network can send warnings through the app about 5-20 seconds before major shaking occurs, enough time for people to take cover under tables, etc.  The farther away you are the more warning you get.
-He also personifies the {{w|tectonic plates}} (whose shifting positions causes the quake), saying that we should all feel the shaking the way the tectonic plate intended. The statement is usually one regarding to arts, such as a music lover might prefer to listen to older music from vinyl (including cracking sounds, etc.) instead of a remastered digital version, as it is, as the artist intended.
+In the comic [[Megan]] talks about the app, suggesting how cool it is, but [[Cueball]] is upset.  He seems to think that prediction of the earthquake coming is like a spoiler that ruins the experience of how an earthquake should be felt.  He states specifically trying to recognize the P-waves before they hit, however, people cannot feel the P-waves the way they do the S-waves.
-In the title text Cueball mentions that he was fired from the {{w|National Weather Service}} five minutes after they hired him because the first thing he did was to rename {{w|tornado warnings}} as {{w|tornado}} spoiler alerts. A {{w|Spoiler (media)|spoiler alert}} is something used, for instance, when talking about a plot twist of a new movie, so that people who haven't seen the movie can avoid learning important details that would spoil the experience of seeing the movie. Cueball seems to genuinely wish to be surprised by these potentially lethal phenomena for which just minutes of warning may make the difference between life and death.
+He also personifies the tectonic plates (whose shifting positions causes the quake) saying that we should all feel the shaking the way the tectonic plate intended.
-Earthquake warnings, on a smartphone but not as an app, were the topic of [[723: Seismic Waves]], and shortly before that a [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/protip protip] for an alternative seismograph was mentioned in [[711: Seismograph]]. An app for warning about tornadoes was the topic of [[937: TornadoGuard]]. Warnings in general by the NWS were the subject in [[2179: NWS Warnings]], which mentioned tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and many other hazards. Tsunamis are often caused by earthquakes, though earthquakes were not specifically mentioned.
+In the title text Cueballs mentions that he was fired from the National Weather Service five minutes after they hired him. Because the first thing he did was to rename tornado warnings as tornado spoiler alerts. Spoiler alerts is something used when for instance talking about a plot twist of a new movie, so people who haven't seen the movie but still wish to read something about it, can avoid the reading the most important details that would ruin (spoil) the experience of getting surprised. Cueball seems to genuinely wish to be surprised by these potentially lethal phenomenon, where just minutes warning may make the difference between life and death.
 ==Transcript==
-:[Megan is looking at her phone while standing next to Cueball]
+{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
-:Megan: Ooh, California has a new earthquake early warning app.
-:Cueball: Yeah, I'm so mad about it.
-:[Megan puts her phone down and looks at Cueball who throws his arms up in the air.]
+[Megan is looking at a phone while standing next to Cueball]
-:Megan: What, why?
-:Cueball: It ruins the experience of trying to recognize the p-waves before the obvious main waves hit.
-:[Megan still looks at Cueball who has taken his arms down.]
+Megan: Ooh, California has a new earthquake early warning app.
-:Megan: So you're mad about earthquake ''spoilers?''
-:Cueball: I just want to experience the shaking the way the tectonic plate ''intended!''
+Cueball: Yeah, I'm so mad about it.
+[Cueball throws his arms up, Megan puts her phone down]
+Megan: What, why?
+Cueball: It ruins the experience of trying to recognize the p-waves before the obvious main waves hit.
+[Cueball puts his arms down]
+Megan: So you're mad about earthquake ''spoilers''?
+Cueball: I just want to experience the shaking the way the tectonic plate ''intended''!
 {{comic discussion}}
-[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
-[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
-[[Category:Tornadoes]]
-[[Category:Smartphones]]
-[[Category:Geology]]