Thread: The gulf oil leak is being plugged

  1. #31
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ethic View Post
    Okay. Switch "eyes" with "neck." Long monitors require
    one to move their neck.
    Not if you abstain from touching the screen with your nose.

    It's actually a habit I have developed and is so ingrained
    to my essence that I don't see it changing. However, my
    lines have gotten longer over the years.
    There are worse afflictions than this one. Are you sure that snail was the same snail? Snails tend to look alike. I had one that always appeared appeared on my front stoop after rains -- it would be there all day, whenever I came came and went, somewhere right at the top of the steps. Then, one rainy day, I whimsically smushed it underfoot on the way out.* Imagine my surprise when I came back and another snail was there, scant inches from the mutilated corpse of it's cousin. My conclusion is they are not so much slow as solitary.

    * just kidding. They are no good to eat if you smush them first.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  2. #32
    and the hat of sweating
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    Quote Originally Posted by ethic View Post
    I have calculated that based on the way I format
    my paragraphs, I save the average reader about 3
    calories. I assume each of my posts will average
    about 10 million unique readers over the years;
    which ultimately converts into 30 million calories
    not exerted in shifting one's eyes the entire length
    of a 14" monitor.
    Yeah, that's exactly what we need to do, save calories; since we all know how anorexic computer geeks are. We should conserve our strength and eat a donut.
    "I am probably the laziest programmer on the planet, a fact with which anyone who has ever seen my code will agree." - esbo, 11/15/2008

    "the internet is a scary place to be thats why i dont use it much." - billet, 03/17/2010

  3. #33
    In my head happyclown's Avatar
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    Bob, those are awesome pics. Thanks for sharing.
    OS: Linux Mint 13(Maya) LTS 64 bit.

  4. #34
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    I'm in denial.

    I'm totally appalled that the possibility this thing will keep leaking until August is being considered as a probable outcome. And I'm completely baffled at the apparent fact untested chemicals are being used to try and disperse the oil.

    The first one... I think its unthinkable. The spill itself, as of now, is already the largest in US history. But more worrying than any of that is that, by August, and if certain geologists, oil industry consultants and oceanographers are right in accusing BP of seriously downplaying the actual amount of oil being spilled onto the ocean everyday, we may be talking of the largest oil spill in our history -- second to none, even to the Gulf War spill -- and no one is the wiser. I'm seeing numbers up to 800,000 gallons a day!

    The second one... one of the things I learned is that once the oil reaches the coastline, you stop pumping chemicals. You just stop. You clean up the mess and that's it. But to hear that chemicals are being used both in land and sea, and to hear that some of these chemicals haven't actually been tested for their toxicity and other effects is really worrying. I mean, let's make no mistake... an oil spill is NOT the worst that can happen to an environment. Neither it is the one with the longest environmental impact.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  5. #35
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    BP had another spill in Alaska last week too -- that one's not even getting reported:

    BP's other spill this week

    Kind of an interesting article:

    How does BP get away with it? The same way the Godfather got away with it: bad things happen to folks who blow the whistle. BP has a habit of hunting down and destroying the careers of those who warn of pipeline problems.

    In one case, BP's CEO of Alaskan operations hired a former CIA expert to break into the home of a whistleblower, Chuck Hamel, who had complained of conditions at the pipe's tanker facility. BP tapped his phone calls with a US congressman and ran a surveillance and smear campaign against him. When caught, a US federal judge said BP's acts were "reminiscent of Nazi Germany."
    Not sure exactly what the judge meant there -- but I hope those people went to jail and were not just fined.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  6. #36
    and the hat of sweating
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    Maybe I don't know much about how oil or chemistry works, but couldn't they surround the area that's leaking with some kind of floating wall and just skim the oil off the surface of the water? Oil floats right? So you'd think they could do that, and then just process the oil they sucked up to remove the salt water and use it like normal...
    "I am probably the laziest programmer on the planet, a fact with which anyone who has ever seen my code will agree." - esbo, 11/15/2008

    "the internet is a scary place to be thats why i dont use it much." - billet, 03/17/2010

  7. #37
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cpjust View Post
    Oil floats right?
    Not after it has had detergent dispersants added to it, which they are doing way deep down. At least, it does not float nearly so well (it disperses). Ironically, the use of the dispersant has limited the effectiveness of the booms (which are basically "floating" walls at the surface) -- the dispersant/oil mixture goes underneath them.

    You might find this interesting tho, I posted it yesturday in another thread:
    Quote Originally Posted by MK27 View Post
    Gulf oil spill: Kevin Costner donates 'Ocean Therapy' invention to clean oil from sea; BP OK's tests

    I have no idea how realistic this is, altho since clearly BP and the government have put about the value of a large cappuccino into such research, maybe Costner's project really is on the cutting edge there...

    Costner has 300 of his Ocean Therapy machines in various sizes. The largest, at 21/2 tons, is able to clean water at a rate of 200 gallons a minute - faster than the well is leaking, Houghtaling noted.
    Last edited by MK27; 06-01-2010 at 09:45 AM.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  8. #38
    Registered User lpaulgib's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cpjust View Post
    Yeah, that's exactly what we need to do, save calories; since we all know how anorexic computer geeks are. We should conserve our strength and eat a donut.
    This computer geek works out.... And furthermore I hate that stereotype. If you're a fat computer nerd, spend an hour at the gym a day. You'll then be an in shape computer geek.
    Last edited by lpaulgib; 06-01-2010 at 09:56 AM.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by cpjust View Post
    Maybe I don't know much about how oil or chemistry works, but couldn't they surround the area that's leaking with some kind of floating wall and just skim the oil off the surface of the water? Oil floats right? So you'd think they could do that, and then just process the oil they sucked up to remove the salt water and use it like normal...
    They are doing that, only they're doing it wrong apparently.

    NSFW due to language

    YouTube - BP Fails Booming School 101 Gulf Oil Spill.wmv

    I don't know how accurate the video is, but a lot of websites
    have been linking it. It's pretty awesome, though; the internet,
    I mean. I wonder what sort of information would have come
    out during the Exxon Valdez spill. How much did corporations
    get away with pre-internet?

    However, there's talk of giant plumes underwater, so not all the
    water is reaching the surface.
    Staying away from General.

  10. #40
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    here's a live stream

    Live video link from the ROV monitoring the damaged riser

    here's a technical presentation about what they're going to do

    Kent Wells Technical Update - 31 May 2010
    Staying away from General.

  11. #41
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    I can't listen to Kent Wells for more than 30 seconds without gaining a strong urge to vomit. Sorry, I'm passing on the second video. Not that anything BP has to say about this interests me. No one really believes in them. Neither I can understand why the American people hasn't already demanded that BP answers the numerous scientists goddamn questions in a press event while also releasing proper and credible figures.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  12. #42
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ethic View Post
    I don't know how accurate the video is, but a lot of websites
    have been linking it. It's pretty awesome, though; the internet,
    I mean. I wonder what sort of information would have come
    out during the Exxon Valdez spill. How much did corporations
    get away with pre-internet?
    Exxon got flogged pretty good during and after the Valdez spill. It certainly was not a lack of awareness which has left the oil industry under-regulated*. To the extent that the mainstream press may have glossed things over, there was lots of alternative/independent media around pre-internet. Much independent internet media seems modelled on that IMO. However, I grew up around major cities and frequented bookstores (which small independent bookstores are a less common thing now), etc -- I imagine that stuff was not as easily obvious, but it would still be impossible to not notice even in very isolated areas (which most small towns managed to support a bookstore, and if your's wasn't very interesting, the one in the next town was -- record stores were like this too and the "subcultures" intertwined) . If you were interested you had to make slightly more effort to stay in touch perhaps. And there was the radio, cable TV, etc.

    * and don't be confused: nothing will change this time and more or less the same thing will happen again. I think most people regard this as being like a volcanic eruption -- unfortunate, but it is really no one's fault, it is just a reality of life
    Last edited by MK27; 06-02-2010 at 06:08 AM.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  13. #43

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    I don't know if any of you have already touched upon this but scientists are afraid that much of the oil that's escaped the well won't reach locations where it can be collected. Crude that spills from a tanker is considerably lighter than water, so when it's released under atmospheric pressure most of it will float for a while. But the oil released from the well is under such absurdly high pressure (from above and below) and mixed with so many other exotic chemicals (methane, other natural gas, remnants of the left-over well lining) that it's going into emulsification with the salt water, remaining suspended.

    That will eventually be able to kill the entire ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, maybe more, and there's really no telling how long it would take nature to correct it.
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

  14. #44
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    An that is really part the problem. An independent scientific taskforce really should be organized in my opinion and BP should be forced to let them in. There's too many unknowns on the conditions of this spill and BP has been barring all but their own sanctioned "specialists".

    Why this company can keep doing this is well outside my comprehension-o-meter.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  15. #45

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    Well, it's pretty likely BP's CEO will be pressured/forced out of his seat, but further than that this may be something that could break BP apart. I don't really see BP going away, but, we're BP's biggest market, and the the U.S. Government and Consumers are a tad bit irritated.

    The Federal Government is allowed to execute individuals, and on the same tolken they might basically do the same thing to BP by forcing them out of the U.S. market. Or, we'll try to force them out of the U.S. market but won't be able to because they're "too big to fail."

    I also forgot to mention I didn't actually work for BP in the pictures I added. I was working for the supply company that brought fuel, pipe, mud, cement (etc) to the Deepwater Horizon (amongst a few other rigs, but mostly the DH).
    Last edited by BobMcGee123; 06-02-2010 at 07:49 AM.
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

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