Answering Myself

I found the answer to my questions posed by...myself. With regard to the series of earthquakes in and off the shores of California, it seems that it IS just a lot of media hype. Check this link to MSN's Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3217961/ which explains that the four earthquakes were not the prelude to "The Big One." So, the media will just have to lick their lips on another juicy tale, and mapmakers will have to wait for another day.