I’ve got the shakes

I’ve got the shakes was Originally Posted on May 13, 2005 by lavarock

Isn’t it interesting how one word in the English language can mean so many different things?

Shake(s)

A milk shake
To rattle
A fair deal (a fair shake)
To extort money (shakedown)
To work out problems (shakedown cruise)
Involuntary muscle twitches from too much drinking (the shakes)
Music titles (shake rattle and roll)
Hurry (shake a leg)

More examples at http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=shakes

Which one am I refering to?

Well, I COULD have used a drink last night, but I was awoken at just after midnight by a violent shaking, caused by, you guessed it, a “small” earthquake. The house shook for what might have been 4 or 5 seconds it seemed and this was the biggest quake I remember feeling. The others were small shakings or perhaps like someone threw a baseball againt the side of the house once. This time there was no question that it was a quake.

I waited for it to subside and then said “wow, that was not good” meaning that it was not a slight nugde in the earth but much rock moving.

I went online to my sources but could not find this quake listed and finally and hour later went to bed. This morning the data has been reviewed and is available. It was in fact a 4.8 and located well offshore near our new volcano, 3 miles SSE of the Lo`ihi Seamount, the newest volcano still struggling to appear above sea level off Hilo.

Now I realize that 4.8 is not very large a quake, but this whole island is rock and these quakes or quivers reverberate. That it was 15 miles offshore and 7 miles deep, still add some excitement. It also appears to have been 90 miles from my home. I can image how it felt to people further down the coast. Many of us live in pier and post homes (those built up on stilts as it were because the land is rocky and unlevel here. Many houses, if shaken enough, will head towards the ocean

Current earthquake data for Hawaii is located at: http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/ and if you happen there in the next couple days, you will see the big square above the “H” in the work Hawaii. That was the quake I felt. Clicking on it gives you more information and if you look enough, you can find the waveforms from the detectors: http://130.118.88.100/results/seismic/events/5432007.gif I believe the scientists use these waveforms to see how the vibrations were felt at various locations and you can probably estimate the epicenter by which detectors register in what order.

Anyway, interesting stuff.

As for me, I went down to check on the dog, now officially named “Dog” or “Puppy”. That is about as close to making it a pet as I dare. Pit bulls may make very good pets, but I am concerned that it could be too rough to have on a farm with children visiting, etc. So far the worst it has gotten is he jumps up pretty hard when I go to chain or unchain him and I can see how a small child could easily get knocked down and hurt. He also wants to chase most of the birds on the property.

Since my house is on pier and post, imagine concrete footings (squares of concrete) with metal fasteners on them and beams sticking up and cross members. There is siding along most of the bottom floor but you can see the joists above and there is dirt below. The siding does not touch the ground and as the ground slants away, you can actually duck under parts of the siding.

A good view can be seen at house.itskona.com the second photo marked “The back side of the house”. These photos are a couple years old now and were taken before I moved in. I have to admit, the house is more “lived in” now. I moved what was a full 5 bedroom house and a two car garage to this two bedroom house. The closets are packed high with stored items and one day I hope to sort through the rest. However, over the move I was able to eliminate most of what I had accumulated over the lifetime.

As I was saying, I went under the house and consoled the dog who was shaking and trembling from the quake.

As for my comments two or three blogs ago about having lots of work ahead of me… there is a government program whereby farmers get help installing water conservation items. In my case, the largest items are two or three water catchment tanks to be used for irrigation. It is common here on this island to save rainwater in giant tanks and use that to irrigate crops. This helps to conserve fresh water from the county and insures crops don’t wither during dry spells. I was finally approved for tank and pipes and so on, so NOW the major work on the farm can commence!

I will be documenting work as it progresses. I’ll be clearing 5 acres of existing macadamia nuts and making way for up to 5,000 coffee trees! Oh the shipments I’ll be able to make!

Speaking of shipments, I still have Medium whole been coffee available which was roasted a few days ago. If you go to ItsKona.Com, you can get it at a discount by using TBLOG as the checkout coupon. Checkout is with Visa/Mastercard and shipping is 3 to 5 business days. The coupon is good for 10% anything in the “Roasted Coffee” category and can be used up to 10 times. So 4 ounce, 8 ounce or 1 pound bags can be ordered with the discount. Just remember to enter TBLOG in the checkout coupon box. Note that “whole bean” means the coffee is NOT ground and you will need to do that before brewing.

If some of you are daring and know how to roast coffee, I also have a supply of extra-fancy beans just waiting for you!

What better way is there to read blogs and have a steaming cup of 100 Kona Coffee by your side? Besides, some people who don’t get their caffeine literaly get the “shakes” and we have had our share of them lately, haven’t we?

Until next time, aloha!

Mark