Category Archives: disaster

Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Posted on by

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore USA was hit by a Singapore based container ship. Experts are saying the collision must have been incredibly hard to bring down the double concrete pillared bridge. I believe on the left side of the top picture above you can see the partially sunken containership.

There were two pilots on board, In charge of stirring the ship, so whatever happened to make the ship lose control must have been catastrophic in itself.

Read the article HERE.

It happened about one in the morning.And there are several cars in the water. I guess we can say it was lucky it didn’t happen during rush hour because then there would have been hundreds of cars in the water. And people.

I used to work for a company in Laurel Maryland and dud a lot of jobs in Baltimore. I’ve been over that bridge many many times.

It seems impossible, surreal.

Titan Sub

Posted on by

I guess you all have heard it already, the sub, named Titan, that was lost on a trip to the Titanic.

Below is a picture of the lost crew/passengers.

It’s a tragedy, the deaths, but they knew there was one helluva rlrisk.

I think I called it accurately from the beginning, the sub descended, it takes two hours to reach depth. 1 hour, 45 minutes into the dive, almost there, contact was lost. I said to my co.worker, “it got almost to the bottom and imploded like a light bulb breaking. Instant, nearly painless death for all. ( I’m pretty sure light bulbs have a vacuum inside to prevent the filament from burning rapidly, that’s why they pop like they do when they break) Well, at that depth, inside the sub was probably comparatively closer to a vacuum than the inside of a light bulb.

I questioned my theory when the news said there was “banging” heard.

Also there is very little, if any, equipment that could recover an object as big as the Titan sub at that depth.

From the beginning, if anything went wrong they were pretty screwed, and I’m sure they knew it.

But what a way to go… Beats dying in a hospital bed.

Happy Friday Yee haw!

Earthquake

Posted on by

There was a massive earthquake in the Turkey – Syria border region. There’s wars and politics and borders messing up the relief efforts. 5000 dead so far, a number sure to rise.

My heart goes out to the people of that area, we’re all the same. Our only differences come from the fact that we all believe the local stuff we are immersed in day in, day out. From childhood to adulthood.

Nightmare Spill. AKA Beanbag Chair Guts

Posted on by

Nightmare’ plastic pellet spill. Brittany, France beaches polluted by waves of beads believed to be from shipping containers lost in Atlantic.

Read the article HERE

See the picture above. When I was a teen in the ’80s, my friends had a beanbag chair break. The styrofoam pellets inside were practically impossible to clean up. Static electricity made them jump away from the broom on a tile floor. Imagine trying to clean a shipping container full and clean them was by hand, one by one. That’s what they’re doing in France and Spain. It’s impossible to do.

In my personal experience from decades past, these pellets are possibly one of humankinds worst creations.

France is taking legal action, but what good will it really do? Plastic pollution is harming sea life and this will affect us all. Humans need to stop manufacturing these pellets and all non biodegradable packing materials. Even the large styrofoam peanuts are difficult to deal with.

I don’t know how to end this post. I remember the strange qualities of the pellets, trying to clean up after that burst chair. I can’t fathom a container full.

A person is smart. People are stupid.

Manrique In Heaven

Posted on by

One year ago today, Manrique died. I wanted to name this post “December 7th 2020, a day that will live in infamy”, but I did that last year.

I didn’t know if it then, but when did Manrique died, It was the beginning of the end of my world. It was the event that set my divorce in motion.

He was a really good friend, and friends are hard to come by for me this day and age. I knew he was sick, but I didn’t think he would die.

I’ll tell you what though, today’s not gonna be some miserable sad day of mourning. I’ve been miserable the past year, and I’m getting over it.

Our Last Few Hours

Posted on by

Today I will probably go sign the petition for divorce submitted to my lawyer by my estranged wife’s lawyer. It has already been signed by her. The documents will then go through the court system where they will probably be processed by some clerk. We won’t know the exact moment we are no longer married, but the moment I sign the document today, both of us have taken all the action we will take for a divorce. So kind of, these are our last few hours married.

In a month or so, we’ll both get called to the courthouse to pick up our documents. Our own document of divorce.

I don’t feel like a divorce was necessary. I don’t think we had any big problems that couldn’t be easily remedied. I feel like I imagine I’d feel having a healthy arm and healthy leg removed just for the fun of it. I still love her and I will always love her.

Today is a sad day indeed.

Ya Know What Grinds My Gears?

Posted on by

YouTube “videos” that are really slideshows. That really gets under my skin. There ought to be a special rule or category so you know it’s not a video before you click it.

The above was in a list of topics to post for when I can’t think of a topic.

Today the wife starts moving out. I’m sure I’ll be shocked when I get home tonight. I want to take pictures of everything so I can remember what it was like. I’m going to miss her and her stuff.

Talk to you tomorrow.

I Now Believe Global Warming Is Real

Posted on by

image

When we were at (and on) the Athabasca Glacier, there were photos that showed the glacier receding over the years. My brother in law in Drake Bay, Costa Rica, last night was telling my wife about his colleague/associate/acquaintance has been measuring the decline in the numbers of frogs and snakes in the rainforests. When I got certified to scuba dive in 1981, we’d see sharks on practically every other dive, often groups of sharks. Now, seeing a shark is rare, one in ten or more dives.

Glacial decline has been measured since the 1850’s, (according to an article on Wikipedia), so I’m not sure it’s all humans fault, but I think humans main power is destructive and we need to change. I remember a book I read years ago, “Mutant Message Down Under”, and ask, Which society is more advanced? One that lives in a place 10,000 years, and you can’t even tell they were ever there? Or a society that practically destroys it’s environment with pollution and war in 250 years?

I think the answer is obvious.

Today is my first day back at work since my vacation. blah. Why do I have to go work to get money to buy a fish for dinner when I could just go out and get the fish myself. Because I also have to pay for my house and the bills. The whole system of money has something inherently wrong with it.