Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
I know it's in bad taste to make light of a tragedy, but sometimes I have a strange sense of (dark) humor.
And now, the news.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/14/europe/i ... index.html
And now, the news.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/14/europe/i ... index.html
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
That certainly is dark. I was thinking it's in the wrong forum but I don't think there's a right forum for it.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
To be fair, the evidence is not yet in and it’s rather premature to excoriate the engineers.
In recent months I’ve had occasion to drive a great deal underneath Boston, through the tunnel system including the Big Dig. I’ve really had to work on my anxiety while driving through these structures - and over plenty of bridges and overpasses too - because while these types of structures once fascinated me as a younger person, that was before I worked in government.
Now that I have seen up close and personal the way the sausage is made, it really puts my teeth on edge to rely on the many people involved in building those bridges and tunnels and what have you. I’d much prefer to stay on flat roads out in Hicksville that are pretty hard to fuck up.
My sympathies are with the people devastated by this bridge collapse, including the many people whose anxiety will be nearly uncontrollable next time they must traverse such feats of engineering - and lowest/corrupt bidding.
In recent months I’ve had occasion to drive a great deal underneath Boston, through the tunnel system including the Big Dig. I’ve really had to work on my anxiety while driving through these structures - and over plenty of bridges and overpasses too - because while these types of structures once fascinated me as a younger person, that was before I worked in government.
Now that I have seen up close and personal the way the sausage is made, it really puts my teeth on edge to rely on the many people involved in building those bridges and tunnels and what have you. I’d much prefer to stay on flat roads out in Hicksville that are pretty hard to fuck up.
My sympathies are with the people devastated by this bridge collapse, including the many people whose anxiety will be nearly uncontrollable next time they must traverse such feats of engineering - and lowest/corrupt bidding.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Respect to the engineer who attempted to rescue the dog abandoned by his owner; bad owner! Poor doggie.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
It does remind me of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse, but only because they are both suspension bridges. I wonder why someone was filming that one. 1937 was waaay before everyone carried a cell phone. Was that its grand opening?
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
It fell in 1940, 4 months after opening opening to use. Here’s a wiki quote:
No human life was lost in the collapse of the bridge. The only fatality was a Cocker Spaniel named Tubby, who perished after he was abandoned in a car on the bridge by his owner, Leonard Coatsworth. Professor Frederick Burt Farquharson, an engineer from the University of Washington who had been involved in the design of the bridge, tried to rescue Tubby but was bitten by the terrified dog when he attempted to remove him. The collapse of the bridge was recorded on 16 mm film by Barney Elliott, owner of a local camera shop, and shows Farquharson leaving the bridge after trying to rescue Tubby and making observations in the middle of the bridge. In 1998, The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4] This footage is still shown to engineering, architecture, and physics students as a cautionary tale.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
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Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Strictly speaking it's not a suspension bridge but cable stayed. Suspension bridges like the Tacoma Narrows have cables from which vertical cables support the deck. Cable stayed bridges have multiple cables direct from the support to the deck which radiate from the top of the support.
And BTW I've owned two Fiats (127) and loved them both. In North Africa where I owned the first, the roads were terrible and often non-existent, and the only cars around were either the legendary Peugeot 404 or various Fiats and sundry Toyotas. Tough little car and of course (like all Italian cars) prone to rust - not really a problem in that dry atmosphere.
And BTW I've owned two Fiats (127) and loved them both. In North Africa where I owned the first, the roads were terrible and often non-existent, and the only cars around were either the legendary Peugeot 404 or various Fiats and sundry Toyotas. Tough little car and of course (like all Italian cars) prone to rust - not really a problem in that dry atmosphere.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Joe Guy wrote:That certainly is dark. I was thinking it's in the wrong forum but I don't think there's a right forum for it.
"General stuff..."
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
The Big Dig is the worst...already killed one person. And yet...the Callahan Tunnel is 56 years old...the Sumner is 84 years old! (Opened 1934.) Both are more watertight than the Big Dig.BoSoxGal wrote:To be fair, the evidence is not yet in and it’s rather premature to excoriate the engineers.
In recent months I’ve had occasion to drive a great deal underneath Boston, through the tunnel system including the Big Dig. I’ve really had to work on my anxiety while driving through these structures - and over plenty of bridges and overpasses too - because while these types of structures once fascinated me as a younger person, that was before I worked in government.
Now that I have seen up close and personal the way the sausage is made, it really puts my teeth on edge to rely on the many people involved in building those bridges and tunnels and what have you. I’d much prefer to stay on flat roads out in Hicksville that are pretty hard to fuck up.
My sympathies are with the people devastated by this bridge collapse, including the many people whose anxiety will be nearly uncontrollable next time they must traverse such feats of engineering - and lowest/corrupt bidding.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Cable-stay seems unusual in the USA, for whatever reason. Only one that comes to my mind immediately is the 10-lane (!) Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston.ex-khobar Andy wrote:Strictly speaking it's not a suspension bridge but cable stayed. Suspension bridges like the Tacoma Narrows have cables from which vertical cables support the deck. Cable stayed bridges have multiple cables direct from the support to the deck which radiate from the top of the support.
Useless trivia: also in Boston, the Tobin Bridge is longer (11,900') than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
I hate the Tobin bridge.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
I just spent some time reading the Wiki entry on the Big Dig, and a number of the referenced source materials.
Now I REALLY don’t want to drive through it anymore!
Now I REALLY don’t want to drive through it anymore!
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
I have to every week.
Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
Jarl--
If I'm not mistaken, the Brooklyn Bridge is a combination of cable stay/suspension bridge, where the stays run from the two towers as do the suspension cables.Cable-stay seems unusual in the USA, for whatever reason. Only one that comes to my mind immediately is the 10-lane (!) Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston.
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Re: Built by the same engineers who gave us the FIAT
The Brooylyn Bridge is considered today to be a hybrid suspension/cable stayed bridge. The cable stays are for stability, rather than load.
We have several cable stayed bridges here in Washington.
The East 21st St Bridge in Tacoma, and the Cable Bridge between Pasco and Kennewick, which claims to be the first true Cable Stayed design bridge in the US.
We have several cable stayed bridges here in Washington.
The East 21st St Bridge in Tacoma, and the Cable Bridge between Pasco and Kennewick, which claims to be the first true Cable Stayed design bridge in the US.
Death is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.