Yikes! (Multiple Updates)
It appears that the tallest dam in the United States is about to fail. Evacuations have been ordered for 60,000 people. The Weather Channel briefly interrupted its ZOMG! THERE'S A BLIZZARD IN THE NORTHEASTERN U.S. IN FEBRUARY!1!! coverage to mention that there is a major issue with the evacuation due to an issue with the roads, though it is unclear what this issue is. Aside from that brief mention, I see nothing on any of the cable news networks which are running perecorded talking heads shows, prison dramas, The Grammys or Anthony Bourdain.
This could be a true catastrophe. Thousands may be about to die, some because they were watching cable news instead of skimming news feeds before going to bed.
Why do we have these 24 hour cable new networks? This would seem to be news.
UPDATE 2: No dam break yet, and it is looking like if it happens it will not completely drain the lake! still this is a very dangerous situation. Sondra K's site was Instalanched into blogblivion earlier, but she is back up and running and the pictures she has of the dam are worth a look.
Of course, given the general unaccountability of government, it's unlikely we'll ever know any of the people personally responsible for nixing the needed repairs of the spillway...oh wait:
A filing on May 26, 2006, by Thomas Berliner, an attorney for the State Water Contractors, and Douglas Adamson, an attorney for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, discounted the risk. It urged FERC to reject the request to require that the emergency spillway be armored, a job that would have cost tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.
In fairness to these two numbnuts, the many issues with infrastructure maintenance are not limited to unseriousness, corruption and the stupidity of bureaucracies...There's malice too!
For a bit over a decade there has been a movement amongst the environmentalists to remove dams note this article which celebrates the removal of dams throughout the U.S.. Remember, these are the same people who demand that we generate power without burning fossil fuels, so their hostility to the only reliable and scalable non combustible, non fissionable energy source indicates...something...(In fairness it could be madness, malice, a lack of reading comprehension or stupidity)
Note too that the recent drought in California was not helped by a lack of reservoirs.
1
There's no way to blame it on Trump (yet) so it's not newsworthy.
Posted by: Mauser at Sun Feb 12 22:42:23 2017 (5Ktpu)
2
It took three minutes before that comment was made.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Feb 12 22:45:28 2017 (KicmI)
3
...but we've got lots of money for "high-speed" rail!
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sun Feb 12 23:57:40 2017 (tgyIO)
4
On the plus side, the dam itself is not in danger (yet). Just the spillway. So it could drown a few small towns, but it won't wash Sacramento into the ocean.
Speaking as someone whose home was destroyed by floodwaters and government incompetence (but, strangely, mostly by floodwaters), it still sucks mightily. Prayers for the Orovillians & their neighbors.
Posted by: Mikeski at Mon Feb 13 00:15:40 2017 (TXZ1v)
5
If I had to guess, I'd guess "too many people evacuating on roads not designed for that volume."
Also, haven't Californicans been going on for years about how they want to get rid of all the dams? Apparently Mother Nature has decided to help them out.
Posted by: Rick C at Mon Feb 13 09:41:35 2017 (ECH2/)
Posted by: Mikeski at Mon Feb 13 17:07:35 2017 (TXZ1v)
7
My cynical take is that it's late in the evening on a weekend so everyone would rather run the pre-recorded crud rather than actually cover actual news. And they figured "everyone" was watching the Grammys anyway.
I have similar issues with The Weather Channel whenever bad weather is happening in "flyover" country. If it affects me where I live, unless it's truly catastrophic (i.e.: deaths), it's ignored, but when it affects "the people that really matter" (on a coast) then they break in to the re-runs of whatever the heck the "reality" or pseudo-science shows they run in the evening.
It doesn't look quite as bad as it did at first (the first stories I saw), but earthen-core dams are always a worry if they start to weaken....
Posted by: fillyjonk at Mon Feb 13 18:36:22 2017 (8Ov9m)
Posted by: Rick C at Sun Feb 12 19:06:04 2017 (ITnFO)
2
Stone removal, as of a peachstone from a peach, is called "stoning."
So I felicitate you on soon getting stoned.
Likewise, I think we could wish you a happy delapidation day.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Mon Feb 13 21:56:04 2017 (S0Svy)
1
Sadly, most people today would go into a frothing rage over the ethnic features of the villains, and completely overlook Hadjii and every other positive portrayal of people-of-ethnicity in the show.
This is why we can't have nice things.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sun Feb 5 13:37:20 2017 (tgyIO)
2
Ahh, the invisible one-eyed monster. That episode scared the crap out of me as a child. Even watching reruns scared me.
Posted by: Siergen at Sun Feb 5 17:11:24 2017 (fqStN)
3
And what all of the reboot attempts missed was that the adventures weren't centered around Jonny. It was his Dad who brought him along on missions and he found trouble.
Ah, for the days of cartoons with a body count.
Posted by: Mauser at Mon Feb 6 21:37:53 2017 (5Ktpu)
4
OK, 'muppet; it's been five days, now. We need you to wiggle a finger or something.
Posted by: Ben at Fri Feb 10 14:08:11 2017 (1uZgg)
5
He was active on our Billy vs. Snakeman game today. Busy fighting the zombja hordes.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Fri Feb 10 17:54:11 2017 (PiXy!)
We Put The Politics Below the Fold
...not just to avoid the paid thugs swinging the rebar, but because there are other things people might want to argue about in a more civil manner.
1
Damn, man. Why do I get the impression that given the opportunity, you'd upload to a network and have done with the meat once and for all? (Hell, I'd consider it and my flesh mostly works!)
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Wed Feb 1 23:33:44 2017 (/lg1c)
2
That sound wave thing (Lithotrypter?) not an option?
Posted by: Mauser at Thu Feb 2 00:37:58 2017 (5Ktpu)
3
I'm torn between sympathizing with your latest agonizing graduation roadblock and wanting the GPS coordinates of that store. That picture puts me in the mood for some "kit-bashing".
(and reminds me how much I like the artist's wrench-wench/witch/robot-girl crossovers)
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Thu Feb 2 17:40:20 2017 (tgyIO)
4
I guess the semester is not advanced enough for Incompletes (if your school even does that). Where I teach, if you're passing, if you've completed x percent of the stuff (I *think* it's 50% or more), and you have a documented medical issue, you can press "pause" and then come back after you're better and the prof will let you complete the class.
But yeah. Stones in the tubes sounds no bueno and hopefully you can get a tuition refund and finish next year.
Posted by: fillyjonk at Thu Feb 2 18:18:16 2017 (gf8bV)
5
Mauser, I think the lithotripter only works for stones in the kidneys; once they're in the tubes it's not effective.
Also, Brickmuppet, my condolences, all of that sucks.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Thu Feb 2 21:45:12 2017 (PiXy!)
6
That really stinks.
Have you talked to your profs and advisers? I mean, you have completed at least a degree and a half of credits, so they really ought to be getting you graduated by now. Even if they have to visit you in the hospital.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Fri Feb 3 09:36:25 2017 (S0Svy)
7
Talked to the professors, but not the advisors yet. I'm feeling better (thank you antibiotics) but am also exhibiting several symptoms that I was warned about (though not involving my eyes, thankfully). It looks likely that I'll be going in to get cut, perhaps as early as next week.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Feb 4 01:59:06 2017 (KicmI)
8
Mauser, the spines are dug into all sides of the tube, so if they explode it...things could be bad.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Feb 4 02:02:33 2017 (KicmI)
9
J. Greely, Sadly I don't have coordinates, but I do have an actual photograph here of the interior. It appears to be like Kotobukiya was before they moved, with a whole bunch of little shops and kiosks leasing space throughout the larger store.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Feb 4 02:11:22 2017 (KicmI)
This (was)not a Cold Civil War. We were occupied. The Vichy had full control of society, and we were the plucky resistance. We didn’t even have a flight helmet, or an egg beater, but we were doing what we could, in the shadows. Those of us in the arts ported seemingly incongruous bits into our stuff, at great risk of discovery or at least suspicion. Local journalists sometimes broke with the narrative. But none of this had a great deal of effect. We were mostly sidelined, and when someone managed to break through, he or she was immediately demonized.
1
Yeah, not bad for Hoyt. And you know, people here and there predicted that Internet will bypass the gatekeepers one day, and it always seemed that Cubs would win earlier than that would happen.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Sun Jan 29 13:47:19 2017 (XOPVE)
Posted by: Mauser at Mon Jan 30 00:04:10 2017 (5Ktpu)
3
The old gatekeepers are desperate to regain the initiative. I turned on ESPN earlier today, thinking I'd see some discussion on the upcoming Super Bowl. Instead, there was a panel of sportscasters ranting about how evil Trump was to temporarily suspend immigration from 7 countries (they never mentioned Obama's earlier suspension dealing with the same 7 countries).
I am going to tune into the Super Bowl on Sunday, but if I hear even one sportscaster start in on a political rant, I'm switching it off. I can always watch the big plays and new commercials later on YouTube...
Posted by: Siergen at Mon Jan 30 13:56:06 2017 (fqStN)
A review board ultimately identified a number of conditions that led the fire. The sealed cabin had been pressurized with pure oxygen, which fuels fire. There were combustible materials all around the capsule, as well as "vulnerable†wiring and plumbing...
In the lead up to the fire there were ominous signs such as
...an environmental control system that had burst into flames during a test to indications that when the service module’s propellant tanks were pressurized, they might suddenly explode.
This was an actual scandal rather than the hazards one expects when pushing technologies to their limit. Nevertheless, while there were the major shake-ups at NASA and a complete redesign of the spacecraft, in less than 30 months later the Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility.
1
I recall one documentary pointing out that some of the velcro that was used extensively in the cockpit was considered fire retardant in normal atmosphere, but turned out to be extremely flammable in pure oxygen, but it wasn't tested in that environment.
Posted by: Mauser at Sat Jan 28 21:52:47 2017 (5Ktpu)
1
My favourite fridge-logic example of Highly Improbable Geography in fantasy settings are those floating islands in the sky--more often than not with houses, castles, or even entire towns on them. Three questions come to my mind when I see them:
1. How would you get up to and down from the floating islands? You never see rope ladders hanging off of them, there are no helicopters, and winged horses (pegasuses? pegasi?) are not exactly common, even in a fantasy setting.
2. How many people would fall off the islands to their deaths in a given period of time? It's especially grim to think of a small child running off the edge while chasing a ball.
3. What would happen if the magic/ancient technology/whatever that's holding the islands up conked out? (A huge disaster, that's what would happen.)
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at Thu Jan 26 19:10:48 2017 (jS1F0)
In ER
I'm passing blood, feverish, BP is 234 over 130something. They are discussing an ambulance to the big hospital.
If no updates follow, thanks for years of readership.
UPDATE:
2 x 5mm kidney stones and a probable kidney infection. One of the stones hasn't moved much since it made it's presence known during my bout of flu. I'm wiped. It's hard to make it up the stairs.
The blood pressure was alarming, however, it plummeted to something rather less so shortly after they they hit me up with Torodol. Aparrently the pain was causing the BP spike.
I need to make an appointment with a urologist to see if these two stones can be reasonably expected to get passed, but I wasted the day getting the first sleep of more than a few minutes I've gotten in 3 days or so.
Posted by: Rick C at Mon Jan 23 12:40:02 2017 (ECH2/)
4
None of those things are good, so you need to stop doing them. Praying. And looking forward to the update on your condition from the hospital bed.
Posted by: Ben at Mon Jan 23 16:39:55 2017 (1uZgg)
5
Glad you're OK. Also glad the Torodol helped. My wife turned out to be allergic to that--it made her itch like she was on fire, so badly that she scratched herself raw in a bunch of places.
Posted by: RickC at Mon Jan 23 19:25:51 2017 (ITnFO)
Posted by: Wonderduck at Mon Jan 23 21:33:20 2017 (UDOXQ)
10If no updates follow, thanks for years of readership.
Those words gave me the chills when I first read them--they still do, even now when I know you're still with us. I (for one) will be hoping and praying for you to get well again soon, and to stay in the Land of the Living for a good long time to come.
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at Mon Jan 23 21:53:54 2017 (jS1F0)
11
I'm glad you're still with us, so I can point out that exactly one week ago you announced both your graduation and your retirement. Given The Luck Of The Brickmuppet, what were you thinking? :-)
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Mon Jan 23 22:37:09 2017 (tgyIO)
12
Gah! Don't DO that! I just finished reading about a friend spending 8 days in a Toronto Hospital. Frigging blood clots, mild valve problem making clots. I swear to hear how he told it he waited a day and a half, some of it in the hallway, with what could have been a stroke.
And he says Canadian Health care is better....
Posted by: Mauser at Mon Jan 23 23:25:56 2017 (5Ktpu)
Fulfilling Promises He Didn't Technically Make
So I've been under the weather today and turned on the TV to discover that on the second day of Trump's presidency well over 100,000 women with cat ears showed up in D.C. to unlock new frontiers in juvenile vulgarity as they fight against the evil overlord of their pocket universe.
1
No problem. If they get out of hand, we can fight them with STEM.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sun Jan 22 12:12:52 2017 (tgyIO)
2
There is a distinction between catgirls, as found in anime, and cat ladies, such as the crazy specimens on exhibit this weekend. The latter are are best dealt with by ridicule, not physics.
Posted by: Don at Sun Jan 22 20:01:23 2017 (iFXhh)
3
Yeah, most of those were not very cute nekomimi hats, despite the fact I have almost never seen an uncute animal hat. They were ugly, and almost seemed anti-sexy on most of the women protesters. I do not know how they managed it, but it is true that ugly intent can make ugly art and fashion.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Sun Jan 22 22:40:57 2017 (S0Svy)
Trepidations aside, the speech, while it is being remarked upon as being darker than usual, was short, pointed out the correct relationship between citizens and government, and actually ended on an upbeat and nicely inclusive note.
Posted by: Rick C at Fri Jan 20 19:56:47 2017 (ITnFO)
2
I listened to Trump's Inauguration speech while at work, processing claims brought to my computer via the Affordable Care Act, and I found it to be almost isolationist in tone.
I'm not entirely sure that's the best way for us to be leaning. Even hermits have friends...
Posted by: Wonderduck at Fri Jan 20 23:07:37 2017 (UDOXQ)
3
Even the local news Radio station was calling it "Dark", almost as if the word had been spread around as the preferred term to use by some kind of, you know, Journalist mailing list or something....
Posted by: Mauser at Sat Jan 21 00:29:10 2017 (5Ktpu)
1
Glad you're feeling better. Some things just should never be put together and you stumbled on one combination I certainly hadn't thought of
Best wishes that this time you'll be successful in finally finishing!
*back to lurking*
Posted by: StargazerA5 at Sun Jan 15 22:05:57 2017 (5YSpE)
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Mon Jan 16 23:00:19 2017 (S0Svy)
3
I'm late to this party (again), but good luck with your studies--hopefully there'll be no more roadblocks to getting your diploma. Good luck with that whole "growing up" business, too. I still haven't got the hang of it; I've got nephews and nieces who are less than half my age and are way more mature than I am.
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at Thu Jan 19 20:26:22 2017 (jS1F0)
So Today we Try to Reassure Those Who Deal With Paraskevidekatriaphobia (or Friggatriskaidekaphobia, as There Seems to Be Some Debate on the Precise Nomenclature)
In any event, don't worry.
Let us reiterate that there is really nothing to worry about, unless, in the course of this day, you encounter...this...
In such an instance, depending upon the context in which you have encountered this situation, I strongly suggest that you either leave the bedroom without delay...or STOP READING IMMEDIATELY lest you end up feeling queasy, violated, and unclean for the rest of the day.
Aside from such an unlikely happenstance, we assure you that the intersection of Friday and three more than a half-score is no more likely to cause you grief than any other random date.
1...feeling queasy, violated and unclean for the rest of the day.
Dude, you're already dealing with influenza and kidney stones--you don't need cirrhosis of the mind on top of all that, which is exactly what those sorts of fishy manga will give you.
On the topic of health, though--I hope Friday the 13th brings good luck for you, and for your mom.
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at Fri Jan 13 18:53:46 2017 (jS1F0)
2
Catgirl in negligee? And no link? You are a cruel, cruel Brickmuppet.
Posted by: Mauser at Fri Jan 13 20:33:17 2017 (5Ktpu)
3
Google image search is your friend (at least, if you really want to find hentai of a touhou character and her aquatic assailant...). Set your ad-blockers to stun, and search for "touhou maguro".
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jan 13 20:59:52 2017 (CLiR9)
Catgirl in negligee? And no link? You are a cruel, cruel Brickmuppet.
I assure you that my lack of sourcing was an attempt at being kind, not cruel.
Google image search is your friend
Sadly...no.
It took me to exactly the place J. Greely describes... where I thought I wanted to be....but then it showed me the rest of that story, which was not just vile, it was boring, unimaginative, stupid and vile.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jan 13 21:30:37 2017 (KicmI)
5
There needs to be a special word for "lame, mean-spirited porn"; oh, wait, it's "hentai". :-)
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jan 13 22:53:13 2017 (CLiR9)
6
I stand by my statement of cruelty then. A nice Brickmuppet would lead us on to much nicer porn. :-)
Posted by: Mauser at Sun Jan 15 14:03:31 2017 (5Ktpu)
1
So where can I find Star Blazers 2199? Youtube seems to have nothing but short clips, and Crunchyroll doesn't have it, either, unless my searching was bad.
Posted by: RickC at Mon Jan 9 20:55:46 2017 (ITnFO)
Status Update
Although Mom exhibited all the signs of a stroke, they couldn't find one. While she was supposed to be under observation for 4 days they discharged her yesterday after two stress tests due to the flu emergency. (All rooms at the hospital were full and the halls are full of gurneys). One possibility is that this was due to a drug interation, so they put her on her old prescriptions.
She does seem to be doing better now.
As for me, I've contracted the flu and have quarantined myself upstairs.
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