Don't know about it being a cause, but on march 19 I think, the moon will be the closest to earth it's been in 18 years, so it'll look bigger than usual. Apart from affecting tides, I've never read anything about the moon's role on earthquakes.

While I couldn't post earlier from where I was I still checked here to make sure our GOGers in Japan were okay. Even watching this unfold on the news leaves it utterly unimaginable the scale this is on. My thoughts are with those affected by this disaster.

Even if we didn't want to help them out, we're stuck doing it. Some of those installations like the one in Okinawa are on somewhat tenuous footing with the locals, if we failed to help them the chances are good that we wouldn't have any installations there before long.
Every time a quake like this hits, I'm reminded of the 8.0 earthquake that they've been predicting to strike here since the 80s. We still haven't had it and we've not had any strong enough earthquakes to dissipate any of that energy. At this point we're probably just about due for a quake of the magnitude that just struck Japan.

Are you in CA then? Being right on a major fault line can't be much fun.

No, WA, and we also have to worry about volcanoes when that thing hits. We're also due for at least one more major volcanic eruption in the near future. The last one being 6 months before I was born.

Oh damn, yeah I forgot about that thing. From what I've read it has seen more stable days.

pictures
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/massive_earthquake_hits_japan.html

You should know most of those predictions are bogus, that you can't predict either eruptions or earthquakes (at least not yet!). I mean, just in case you don't already know.

At the same time, all those volcanoes up thar are geologically active. :) There's no such thing as a dormant volc. If you're in Seattle, I think your biggest worry are possible lahars hitting town--mostly Tacoma.

I´m watching the BBC and the images are horrific

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698?OCID=twwnabbc

I'm watching the BBC videos too. That's really awful...

And I really hope that the nuclear power plant is cooling down. That would be the last thing that the people need there.

That's not true, they can't pinpoint in any meaningful way when the earthquake or eruption will happen, they definitely know that pressure is building up. The science in that respect is actually quite accurate, it's just that there's no particular way of knowing at what point the pressure will finally overcome the resistance.

Volcanoes are a bit more complex, but with modern imaging techniques and the historical record, we are due for at least one of about a half dozen different volcanoes blowing its top. Mt. St. Helens is the only one that's actually blown it's top in recent memory, but most of the others are active as well.

That'll work, let's hide underground when the ground shakes :P
Maybe I'm just being ignorant, I don't know.

Glad to hear you're alright

Good to hear. I thought about you when I heard about this massive quake.