Doug Copp’s 10 Tips for Earthquake Safety that we posted yesterday caused the earth to open up and spew beg-to-differ email. In fact, we haven’t had so much sudden mail all at once since readers found out James St. James and Michael Alig weren’t speaking. Copp had emphasized the futility of ducking and covering during an earthquake and instead suggested finding a triangular void to curl up into. Bif Brigman seems to have started a round robin among fellow earthquake professionals in answer to Copp’s tips.

Steve:  Drop, Cover and Hold is still the best advice for individual earthquake protection.  It is not just duck and cover, implying that you just need to lie down on the ground or floor with your hands over your head.What Drop, Cover, Hold means is get underneath some overhead protection and hold on until the earth shaking stops. Getting underneath overhead protection also will create the voids that the article discusses.  In the classroom setting, Drop, Cover and Hold means getting underneath desks or tables and hold on.  What is most important is that we must convince people to avoid standing in doorways, running out of buildings or just crouching down in the middle of open work cubicles.

She’ll Hook You Up

Dear Black Girl,
Where’s all this coming from? Are you straight up black or an imposter? We love your column but want to be sure you’re keepin it real.
– Racially Diverse Friends in Louisiana

dear racially diverse friends,
ah hell naw. fo sho i’m black. i keeps it real. i don’t even like yall playing wit my emotions like that. i thought you knew. this is coming straight from the streets of l.a. so don’t trip.

Dear Black Girl,
Don’t get me wrong, I like to move and shake to the latest hip hop music as much as the next guy, but in all honesty, I don’t understand what my favorite rappers are saying half the time. What entails getting “your eagle on”? And how exactly do you do “the Rockaway”? It took me months to fully grasp the word “krunk” and feel confident in using it in a sentence, but apparently you people have moved on. Please help. (The “you people” line is a Chappelle Show reference and is not to be taken offensively.)
– Lost in the Dark

dear krunk 101,
gettin yo eagle on means dropping yo ass down to the flo. spreadin yo legs open and flyin real low. pausin for a second and grindin real slow. if you do it right, rodeo you go! when you be doin the rockaway, you just pull up your pants and lean back. krunk is not just a word. it is a way of life. go to da club and throw some bows. break a bottle.
From: “Bif Brigman”
Date: September 24, 2004 8:21:33 AM PDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: Foolish Earthquake info

Here are the professionals weighing in
with their opinions to the “Triangle of Life” Theory!

A message from the UW Emergency Management Office.
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: Earthquake Safety (fwd)

Lisa:
This is not true. Our office has already seen this and is NOT
supporting it at all for a number of reasons (See below)