Here is my post from Facebook the other day:

So the NYT wrote an article last year regarding Kalifornia's unending drought. I guess the Kalifornia politicians thought that this article told the truth because they decided to spend more money than they take in on things like harboring illegal alien criminals instead of fixing the main water release way on the Oroville Damn. The politicians have known about the damage to the main waterway for the last 10 years. In doing this they risked the lives of literally 100's of thousands of people. Can you imagine if anyone was killed due to this lack of repair and maintenance. That would make the politicians directly responsible for those deaths. Oh wait, they are allowing everyone to go back into their homes when they are expecting heavy rains this week again. Wake up Kalifornia!

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/us/california-drought-water-restrictions-permanent.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal+Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=411&pgtype=collection

Here is my post from Facebook the other day:

So the NYT wrote an article last year regarding Kalifornia's unending drought. I guess the Kalifornia politicians thought that this article told the truth because they decided to spend more money than they take in on things like harboring illegal alien criminals instead of fixing the main water release way on the Oroville Damn. The politicians have known about the damage to the main waterway for the last 10 years. In doing this they risked the lives of literally 100's of thousands of people. Can you imagine if anyone was killed due to this lack of repair and maintenance. That would make the politicians directly responsible for those deaths. Oh wait, they are allowing everyone to go back into their homes when they are expecting heavy rains this week again. Wake up Kalifornia!

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/us/california-drought-water-restrictions-permanent.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal+Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=411&pgtype=collection

My mother used to live in Oroville, very near the dam, and I used to hike across that spillway many years ago. I have no absolutely no background in engineering, but I still pondered why so many dams seemed to be made of concrete and this one was "earth". I hoped that was some damned dense earth. When I saw the first news of the historic first-time-ever release over the emergency spillway it was filled with statements of "There is absolutely no danger to the public. Totally safe. Engineered to handle precisely this situation. Been inspected regularly. Etc.". I actually laughed out loud when less than 12 hours later I saw the headlines "Evacuate!". People (especially government people) are so full of shit.

Looked up the Oroville dam and this image came up.


I'm not a dam engineer (I get a chuckle from this) as well, but it does have an "impervious" core, which consists of a concrete dam liner when the river was diverted.

My old company did reports on when the dam failed in Kauai.  I think it was Koloa.  When we talked about it in the manager's meetings, it was referred to as "The Dam Report".  But more like "damn report".   

Looked up the Oroville dam and this image came up.


I'm not a dam engineer (I get a chuckle from this) as well, but it does have an "impervious" core, which consists of a concrete dam liner when the river was diverted.

My old company did reports on when the dam failed in Kauai.  I think it was Koloa.  When we talked about it in the manager's meetings, it was referred to as "The Dam Report".  But more like "damn report".   

i didn't know "pervious" was a word

The rail is ridiculous, I said it from the start, if people still have to drive their cars or bus it to the stations just to get on the rail, it is useless.  In major cities where rail has been successful (i.e. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Toronto) the rail serves a densely populated area within the heart of the city, where passengers would benefit most from having stops and stations near their destinations.  But no, Hawaii's rail does not do that, it only serves to transport a certain region of people (central and westside) to town, and that's it, there is no added utility other than that. 

Furthermore, nobody suggested to incorporate sustainable energy (i.e. pv panels or hybrid technology like you would find in toyota camry hybrids) into the rail system.  They could have, at the very least, incorporated a pv system on the roof of the train cars, or on the roofs on the stop-station structures.  But no, we love to think INSIDE the box, innovation is NOT in our blood, and there is ZERO determination to set a global standard, we love to think locally, and that is not a solution, it's a problem. 

The rail is, was, and will be a fiasco.  The past, present, and future of Hawaii folks.

Furthermore, THE RAIL SERVES TO BENEFIT ONLY A CERTAIN REGION OF PEOPLE, and for a trivial cause: to relieve TRAFFIC.  What I mean by this is, for example, folks in Waimanalo, Kaneohe, East Honolulu, North Shore, Laie, and I can venture to say Maui, Kauai, Big Island, simply do not and will not ever need to use the rail, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT SERVE THEIR LOCATIONS.  SO WHY WOULD THEY PAY FOR SOMETHING THEY WOULD NEVER UTILIZE?   I call babooze alert on the a-holes that pushed the rail through......  it's a scam, a sham, corruption, and Kiewit and all the other contractors are the only ones gaining financially.......   

You do know that the other islands don't pay for the rail right??!?

The 0.5% charge is county based.

Let me just take a wild guess... 97% of internists and psychiatrists and psychologists agree the booze is good in moderation? Wonder if that claim will generate 191 replies and 2,583 views like the same percentage claim for AGW? 

Nope neither agree that its good.  This is just conjecture but I believe in moderation alcohol inst really that bad for you.  A large consensus of humans on earth who enjoy it. 

Don't leave out "I'm 100% for the rail".

is that 100% regardless of total cost, including construction, maintenance and improvements?  Even if it does nothing to alleviate traffic on island?  Even if the rest of our infrastructure is going to hell (ala California's dam)??

Yes for the total cost, including construction, maintenance and improvements.   It should help the traffic and I want more rail if it doesn't.  As for our infrastructure that should be kept up or actually funded more.   If taxes need raising it should be raised on gas,  and certain luxury goods like cigarettes. 

Looked up the Oroville dam and this image came up.


I'm not a dam engineer (I get a chuckle from this) as well, but it does have an "impervious" core, which consists of a concrete dam liner when the river was diverted.

My old company did reports on when the dam failed in Kauai.  I think it was Koloa.  When we talked about it in the manager's meetings, it was referred to as "The Dam Report".  But more like "damn report".   

Interesting the way it is constructed. It is also interesting that there are no problems with the dam itself. The dam appears well constructed. Even the main concrete spillway appears well constructed.

The only problems were with the two spillways. The main spillway is concrete and it had a previous massive failure that got progressively worse during the draining of the dam. Material from the huge hole in the main concrete spillway went down river and killed a bunch of fish in a fish farm down the river. So they slowed down the rate of water draining from the main concrete spillway and allowed the water to spill over the earthen emergency spillway. But the emergency spillway was never designed to have that much water to spill over it for that long. And so it started to erode and that is what they were afraid of failing.

Wikipedia has an interesting time line of events leading up to the evacuation.

i didn't know "pervious" was a word

Look up pervious concrete. Concrete that water can drain right through. Interesting stuff.

Sorry, I am an old concrete inspector and kinda nerdy about these things.

Look up pervious concrete. Concrete that water can drain right through. Interesting stuff.

Sorry, I am an old concrete inspector and kinda nerdy about these things.

Ok show off. What's tremie concrete? :p


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Ok show off. What's tremie concrete? :p


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A tremie is used in the placement of concrete in deep shafts in order to not drop concrete a great distance. But tremie concrete? Never heard of it.

BTW, the maximum allowable drop of concrete was removed from the building code. It was in the UBC when I left construction and when I came back in 2008 we are using the IBC/ACI 318. Not sure when it was removed but I tried looking it up and it's gone. 

Ok show off. What's tremie concrete? :p


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Okay I googled it and I have to say I have never used a tremie to place concrete under water. I have only used a pump for placement under water or to displace water/slurry. I have only used a tremie so as to not allow the free fall of concrete.

Ok show off. What's tremie concrete? :p


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OK I have one for you.

Why is the term "Concrete Pour" incorrect?

OK I have one for you.

Why is the term "Concrete Pour" incorrect?

Ahhh, you're one of those "concrete is placed not poured" zealots. Haha

My college professor was super sensitive to use of cement. If you said something like a "cement wall", he'd almost go ballistic. I still kinda laugh when people say stuff like that.

With this inevitable rail circus growing, maybe there's a silver lining.  I can picture DJT dangling a "green" carrot in front of Ige and playing him and the rest of the blue state and city like a cheap fiddle.

Nope neither agree that its good.  This is just conjecture but I believe in moderation alcohol inst really that bad for you.  A large consensus of humans on earth who enjoy it.   

I see. I thought your first claim was something different than "conjecture" and "isn't really bad for you". I must have misread it. No, wait. Here it is:

Quote from: omnigun on Today at 01:20:27 PM

    "Booze is good in moderation."

I  don't see any qualifiers in there about that claim being your opinion/conjecture, nor that it  "isn't really bad for you". I think there is a difference between "good for you" and "isn't really bad for you". You then non sequitur to the claim that there is "a large consensus of humans on earth who enjoy it". Is that supposed to have some connection to the claim(s) that it is, firstly, good for you or, secondly, not bad for you? There is an even larger consensus of humans on earth who enjoy inhaling the smoke of burning tobacco, but that is not evidence that it "isn't really bad for you", nor that it is "good [for you] in moderation". I'm not arguing for banning any substances, on the contrary, it's none of the government's business what people ingest... until they harm someone else because of it (impaired driving, theft, assault, etc.) and we already have laws against impaired/negligent driving, theft, assault, etc. I'm just questioning the basis of your (changing) opinions about the health consequences of consuming alcohol and what majority and significant use has to do with any of those issues. Next thing you know someone will be arguing for an "assault weapons" ban because most people favor it (and that at least has a connection to a right, which alcohol and tobacco certainly don't). 

Ahhh, you're one of those "concrete is placed not poured" zealots. Haha

My college professor was super sensitive to use of cement. If you said something like a "cement wall", he'd almost go ballistic. I still kinda laugh when people say stuff like that.

Yeah, I'm one of those. And I'm like your college professor as well. Drives me nuts when I hear the news report things like a cement truck broken down on the freeway and they show a ready mixed truck.

BTW, I used to teach in California for a state sponsored adult reeducation program. Carpenters, pump operators, rod busters, etc. who were hurt on the job and collecting disability were put into our reeducation classes. I taught Reinforced Concrete, Post Tensioned Concrete and Structural Masonry. I taught both engineering and inspection practices. I also taught plan reading and I volunteered for the ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician testing and education programs. It was only a part time gig for me but I enjoyed it immensely. I missed my real calling of teaching.

I see. I thought your first claim was something different than "conjecture" and "isn't really bad for you". I must have misread it. No, wait. Here it is:

Quote from: omnigun on Today at 01:20:27 PM

    "Booze is good in moderation."

I  don't see any qualifiers in there about that claim being your opinion/conjecture, nor that it  "isn't really bad for you". I think there is a difference between "good for you" and "isn't really bad for you". You then non sequitur to the claim that there is "a large consensus of humans on earth who enjoy it". Is that supposed to have some connection to the claim(s) that it is, firstly, good for you or, secondly, not bad for you? There is an even larger consensus of humans on earth who enjoy inhaling the smoke of burning tobacco, but that is not evidence that it "isn't really bad for you", nor that it is "good [for you] in moderation". I'm not arguing for banning any substances, on the contrary, it's none of the government's business what people ingest... until they harm someone else because of it (impaired driving, theft, assault, etc.) and we already have laws against impaired/negligent driving, theft, assault, etc. I'm just questioning the basis of your (changing) opinions about the health consequences of consuming alcohol and what majority and significant use has to do with any of those issues. Next thing you know someone will be arguing for an "assault weapons" ban because most people favor it (and that at least has a connection to a right, which alcohol and tobacco certainly don't).

Okay booze is good emotionally for you in moderation.  Physically in most cases there is no lasting damage if done in moderation. Smoking has proven to be bad for you even in moderation.

Okay booze is good emotionally for you in moderation.  Physically in most cases there is no lasting damage if done in moderation. Smoking has proven to be bad for you even in moderation.

So what's your take on why so many people seem unable to "moderate" their consumption of alcohol (and thus exhibit "poor judgment", such as getting behind the wheel of an automobile)? I can't recall the hypothesized projections of how many drunk drivers there are every day, but it is some fairly large multiple of the number of citations issued. Oh, never mind.  How 'bout that rail?! Can't wait for my chance to pay more taxes so we can have one here on the Big Island.

Okay I googled it and I have to say I have never used a tremie to place concrete under water. I have only used a pump for placement under water or to displace water/slurry. I have only used a tremie so as to not allow the free fall of concrete.

It's a somewhat specialized method and usually somewhat specialized mix due to environmental conditions, which is usually salt water.  I guess I kinda cheated there because it's not often new private waterfront structures are built. 

Yeah, I'm one of those. And I'm like your college professor as well. Drives me nuts when I hear the news report things like a cement truck broken down on the freeway and they show a ready mixed truck.

BTW, I used to teach in California for a state sponsored adult reeducation program. Carpenters, pump operators, rod busters, etc. who were hurt on the job and collecting disability were put into our reeducation classes. I taught Reinforced Concrete, Post Tensioned Concrete and Structural Masonry. I taught both engineering and inspection practices. I also taught plan reading and I volunteered for the ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician testing and education programs. It was only a part time gig for me but I enjoyed it immensely. I missed my real calling of teaching.

Cement to the construction world is kind of like clip in the firearms world.  One of the most misused words and one that can make those familiar in that field/world cringe.  Clip doesn't affect me much anymore to be honest, but I know many to will literally go red in the face.  Another one is earthquake proof. 

You mean you taught "masonary".   

When I worked in Seattle, I started right out of college.  So by 30, I had a good amount of experience, but still looked young (Asian blood).  I would get all sorts of old timers trying to tell me all sorts of "we've always done it that way" BS, thinking I was some 1-2 year engineer.  One popular one was that they only need to vibrate masonry grout once. . . uh, no.  Sometimes the older guys in my office would joke that sometimes being a "gray haired" engineer has it's benefits, in that they look older and usually don't get that kind of stuff.  Hell, I still get that now and I've been doing this for 20 years.   

PT was my specialty when I work in Seattle.  It was the up and coming method at that time and not that many were trained in design.  Good stuff if used properly. 

HNN had a segment this morning about how the legislature did not come with funding to continue rail.  Caldwell was interviewed and said we need another $3B to finish this project.  Wonder what happens after current funds run out this summer.