I've seen a few attempts to illustrate the size of the Dali container ship that hit the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, and I thought I'd get in on the fun. At least that was the plan a few days ago when I got an idea for this timely post and finished 90% of it. Then I got distracted by real life. I was going to abandon this, but...the images are kind of fun, so here it … [Read more...] about Just How Big is the Dali Container Ship?
Engineering
VAC – A New Beginning
Well, my old nemesis ComEd has reared its head again. Last night, I had another beep hunt. This was a steady, rapid beep, so it only took about 30 seconds to find the problem: The alarm was going off on the UPS protecting the television and TiVo. It's a fairly dumb UPS, so there's no way to tell what the problem is, but I figured it was just the battery. I shut it off and … [Read more...] about VAC – A New Beginning
Fukushima: Waiting For the Magic Bullet
Here's something I'm wondering about. Maybe some of you can help me out, or point out where I'm going wrong... The situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is just continuing to deteriorate, with damage at all three fueled reactors, containment cracks at two of them, and overheating spent fuel pools at one of the shutdown reactors, with more spent fuel problems likely. The … [Read more...] about Fukushima: Waiting For the Magic Bullet
Fukushima Uncerntainty
A lot of people have been saying a lot of things about the nuclear emergency in Japan, much of it conflicting, and therefore much of it wrong. I see no reason why I shouldn't get involved. As with almost everything else I talk about here, I claim no expertise beyond an amateur interest in the subject. Make of that what you will. To start with, Dr Josef Oehmen, a research … [Read more...] about Fukushima Uncerntainty
Elevator of Death…Or Not
When it comes to elevators, our biggest fear is that the cable will snap and the elevator will fall to the bottom of the shaft. People debate whether there is anything you can do to save yourself---jumping just before you hit is the most popular suggestion. A few years ago, Mythbusters did a test, and the result was not pretty. Jumping doesn't help. Elevator engineers … [Read more...] about Elevator of Death…Or Not