Random moosages as I see fit.

Disclaimer: The following is inspired by a conversation with someone about what happens leading up to an earthquake.  Yes, I had this conversation with someone else.  Yes, that means that there are more people on earth that have such disturbed mental processes than just me.
Also, the links don’t really correspond to anything.  I’m just hoping to trap you in a Wikipedia loop about earthquakes, that’s all.

Earthquakes are like the fights that break out amongst small children (I imagine small, unruly boys, but it doesn’t really matter) jostling for space whilst trapped in the backseat during a long car ride.

For earthquakes caused by dip-slip faults:
Child #1 (C1), generally the taller child, tries to gain more space by simply invading the airspace of Child #2 (C2), generally the much put-upon younger child.  C2 protests and finally snaps and punches C1…or something, I don’t know.  The resulting fight causes an earthquake.

For earthquakes caused by strike-slip faults:
C1 and C2 are jostling for space again.  They try and lean forward or backward in their fight for more room.  Sometimes their shoulders hit each other.  The resulting fight causes in earthquake.

For earthquakes caused by oblique-slip faults:
C1 and C2 are jostling for space again (such unruly children).  C1 tries to invade C2’s airspace.  C2 moves forward or backward to dodge C1.  Shoulders hit, fists fly…the resulting fight causes an earthquake.

I imagine, for those fights as listed above, the conversation before the event go something like this:
C1: I’m so crowded!  (to C2) Give me more space!
C2: Hey!  I’m crowded too!
C1: I need more space! (leans into C2’s area)
C2: Hey stop it!  That’s my space!  (shoves at C1, may be the cause of a foreshock)
C1: Move over!  You have so much room!  (leans forward trying to get ahead of C2)
C2: I do not!  You have plenty of room!  (leans forward to protect space from C1)
C1: Move over! (leans backward trying to get behind C2)
C2: Stop stealing my space! Moooooom!! (leans backward to protect space from C2)
(jostling continues, foreshocks are felt over the region)
(a fight breaks out, a major earthquake occurs)

So, what we see from this is that we can predict earthquakes with a fair amount of accuracy if we can listen to the tell-tale childish bickering that inevitably will take place before the actual fight.  Also, we can see that Mother Earth is unlikely to be a disciplinarian if she lets her kids go on like this all the time.