11:55 pm, sitting on the couch, getting ready to find something else of interest on Netflix when it happened:  the couch tried to toss me onto the floor.  Like a cat, though, I was too agile and too quick, successfully grabbing onto the cushions, to be tossed more than an inch or two.  I saw the shock wave pass through my house while I was keeping myself firmly reclined, and wondered “Is that a big one in LA, or a little one in Mammoth?”  Turns out it was a moderate one, 5.3, squarely on the San Andreas fault, east-north-east of King City.

I immediately did what any sef-respecting computer nerd would do, and made a Facebook and Twitter post.  I then started checking the United States Geological Survey‘s website for information.  The ground in the area has been twitching for some time, and there have been a few aftershocks at more than 3.0 since the 5.3 hit.  Hopefully these are not ‘foreshocks’ to something more dangerous.

After conversing with the other computer nerds online at midnight, or woken up by their beds attempting to toss them onto the floor, I decided it would be a good idea to go find some dark sky, and watch for meteors.  My second whammy would come at 3am, but it had nothing to do with the ground moving.

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