Oh, for goodness sake, Joe, you're talking to educated people here. I have a schooled layman's knowledge of how the science of earthquake measurement works. I was all over the Northridge Quake site (actually the Reseda centered quake which covered all of the San Fernando Valley and beyond), producing documentary footage, interviewing the scientists at Cal Tech, shooting footage of the earthquake effects from the ground and from helicopters . I saw that most of the chimney bricks on the roofs of many Reseda houses were all over the place. If the Richter measurement were 9+ the houses would all be in smashed ruins as a 9+ quake would be THOUSANDS of times more powerful than a 6+ earthquake. Don't try BS'ing the people who do know the subject.
