# Tsunami Coverage **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 27, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693 "2010-02-27T22:14:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/61 "2010-03-02T22:20:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Because it was Saturday morning and all of the mainstream networks were showing fucking cartoons, which, of course, can’t be interrupted for anything like breaking news. The NYT had a breaking headline and nothing else. Any other suggestions? Turn off the fucking tv for a start. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/62 "2010-03-02T22:58:44Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > Turn off the fucking tv for a start. But I turned it on to find out more. . .ah, fuck it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/63 "2010-03-03T14:59:04Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Post #44. My bad. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Because it was Saturday morning and all of the mainstream networks were showing fucking cartoons, which, of course, can’t be interrupted for anything like breaking news. The NYT had a breaking headline and nothing else. Any other suggestions? If you get your news online, you don’t have to wait for them to interrupt the cartoons. (Although this makes me wonder if you have cable.) Between this board, the Times, CNN, and regular use of Google, there’s no need to wait around for the TV news to catch up. TV news usually looks like it’s ahead at first when the Web just has those breaking headlines, but a lot of that is just anchors repeating “if you’re just joining us” and adding speculation and “no, we don’t know yet…” on top. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/64 "2010-03-03T15:28:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > My bad. > If you get your news online, you don’t have to wait for them to interrupt the cartoons. (Although this makes me wonder if you have cable.) Between this board, the Times, CNN, and regular use of Google, there’s no need to wait around for the TV news to catch up. TV news usually looks like it’s ahead at first when the Web just has those breaking headlines, but a lot of that is just anchors repeating “if you’re just joining us” and adding speculation and “no, we don’t know yet…” on top. The key words here are _breaking news._ Nobody had nothin’ yet. I managed to listen to about ten minutes of CNN before remembering why I haven’t watched their crap for the last ten years, hurling the toaster at the TV and turning it off. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/65 "2010-03-03T16:21:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Because it was Saturday morning and all of the mainstream networks were showing fucking cartoons, which, of course, can’t be interrupted for anything like breaking news. The NYT had a breaking headline and nothing else. Any other suggestions? If there _were_ a major tsunami, there would be stories about it on all the news sites. There certainly were in 2004. The fact that there aren’t any such stories can be taken as evidence that there is no major tsunami. Tsunamis happening right now (historical tsunamis may be another matter) are a case where absence of evidence really is evidence of absence. Unless you’re on the coast and think you might need to evacuate, why do you need to know _right now_ if there is a tsunami, anyway? Why not just check your favorite news sites every so often when you think about it? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/66 "2010-03-04T02:51:54Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > If there _were_ a major tsunami, there would be stories about it on all the news sites. There certainly were in 2004. The fact that there aren’t any such stories can be taken as evidence that there is no major tsunami. Tsunamis happening right now (historical tsunamis may be another matter) are a case where absence of evidence really is evidence of absence. > > Unless you’re on the coast and think you might need to evacuate, why do you need to know _right now_ if there is a tsunami, anyway? Why not just check your favorite news sites every so often when you think about it? Miss the point much? There was an 8.8 earthquake, which is of interest to many people, including me. I was looking for more information and found idiots who seemed obsessed with a tsunami. End of story. I can’t believe I have to explain myself to half a dozen knuckleheads and am finished with this conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/67 "2010-03-04T14:21:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Miss the point much? There was an 8.8 earthquake, which is of interest to many people, including me. I was looking for more information and found idiots who seemed obsessed with a tsunami. End of story. I can’t believe I have to explain myself to half a dozen knuckleheads and am finished with this conversation. I stopped watching TV news after 9/11. I found that I was less tense and anxious about something else bad happening once I did. I never went back to watching TV news- I found I liked the control I have over reading online news a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/68 "2010-05-12T16:51:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > No, actually, “English” really is the official name of that family of units, whether they’re still used in England or not. It’s not a “stretch”, it’s the actual name. This term is going out of style, particularly for engineers in the U.S. > [@mhendo](#): > > Actually, those non-metric units are referred to in England, and in most places outside of North America, as the Imperial System of measurement. It’s a more accurate term, as it reflects the changes to the old English system made by the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In the U.S., the system of units is now generally referred to as the [U.S. Customary System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_customary_units). It is similar but not identical to the old British Imperial System. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/69 "2010-05-12T16:53:15Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And that is why during the outwards leg of our Caribbean cruise 5 FEB - 14 FEB when we were transiting in 122 mile per hour winds, we had 3-5 meter [yard] seas with an occasional 7 meter/yard ‘7th wave’ that barely inconvenienced us [well we don’t get seasick… can’t vouch for others] I think the ship [Explorer of the Seas] had more issue with the wind pressure against the side of the vessel than the actual waves. She is a very stable vessel and designed to be that way. I do know they di have the stabilizers deployed at one point in time, which slowed her down from 20 knots to 18 knots for a few hours. it was fun when the Captain had her cranking at 23 knots to make up time after dawn. Wheeee! [though I am glad we did not have one or the forward facing balcony staterooms!] Funny coincidence. We were on a Caribbean cruise from February 14-18 (just getting the tail end of the bad weather), and of course, we only live about 25 miles from you. I don’t know about your husband, but it’s taken this long for me to actually want to go on a cruise. Back when I was in the Navy (on the _San Juan_), the big joke was a spouse wanting to go on a cruise after you got back from a six-month deployment. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/70 "2010-05-12T17:12:13Z")
Jesus christ, can we not bump zombie threads about natural disasters? I just about had a heart attack when I saw this. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693/71 "2010-05-12T20:52:42Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Jesus christ, can we not bump zombie threads about natural disasters? I just about had a heart attack when I saw this. Sorry. :smack: But jeez, it’s not _that_ old. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-coverage/530693.md?page=3)