• dkf (unregistered) in reply to rfsmit
    rfsmit:
    With regard to the GP: unlike in the US, a "house" in the UK is something that won't collapse in on itself when the big bad wolf comes huffing and puffing along.
    It has to. At current replacement rates, houses will have to last at least 100 years (on average) before there's any chance of replacing them. But that's a different type of WTF...
  • (cs) in reply to hikari
    hikari:
    Franz Kafka:
    MechanicJay:
    Maybe its a European vs American thing. When I drive by Picatinny Arsenal, I see tons of abandoned buildings and facilities left to rot and decay because the project they were built for is now over.
    That's kind of ironic, seeing as how we in the US have piles and piles of land compared to england.
    Well, not really. It's entirely the way round I'd expect it. If you have lots of land, you're going to care less about re-using it. Having first double checked Picatinny Arsenal was in the US (it's in NJ apparently).
    I think you two (plus I) agree on which way round to expect. But like Franz, I figured that Picatinny Arsenal was in England since A) I've never heard of it and B) it sounds like Piccadilly Circus. So he thought it was ironic that a small, European country was wasteful with land.
  • (cs) in reply to rfsmit
    rfsmit:
    In the real world, we have such things as conduits, trunking, and paneling.

    However, in building contractor land, such things do not exist: pretend I never said anything.

    If you know better, then your exaggeration isn't helping you make a point. If you don't know better, dinna be messin' wi' things ye kin nowt aboot.
    rfsmit:
    When I design my own house, it will have recessed conduits for wiring and plumbing in the load-bearing walls.
    And this differs from jay's "wiring or plumbing that cannot be reached without tearing out walls" in what respect? ...understanding that when jay says "tearing out walls" he means removing the sheetrock (that'd be "paneling" to you).
    rfsmit:
    When something needs to be routed away from them, they'll be concealed in conduit proud of the wall.
    This differs from "wires and pipe run on the room side of the wall" in what respect?
    rfsmit:
    With regard to the GP: unlike in the US, a "house" in the UK is something that won't collapse in on itself when the big bad wolf comes huffing and puffing along.
    I doubt you have any idea what the huffing and puffing of a big bad wolf is like. Get tornados or hurricanes over there, do you?

  • Not logged in today (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    rfsmit:
    With regard to the GP: unlike in the US, a "house" in the UK is something that won't collapse in on itself when the big bad wolf comes huffing and puffing along.
    I doubt you have any idea what the huffing and puffing of a big bad wolf is like. Get tornados or hurricanes over there, do you?
    Rarely. But it would take a really extraordinary hurricane to bring a solid state-of-the-art brick and mortar house down. Those always seem to be basically sound on the post-hurricane pictures from the USA, too.
  • m0ffx (unregistered) in reply to dkf

    [quote user="dkf"][/quote]It has to. At current replacement rates, houses will have to last at least 100 years (on average) before there's any chance of replacing them. But that's a different type of WTF...[/quote]

    A non-WTF. 100 years is if anything too short for a house. The basic structure of a masonry building should last that comfortably. There are many Victorian and Edwardian houses of that age in the UK - and chances are they'll last another 100 years.

    I wouldn't be best pleased if I bought a new house at the age of 30 and it had to be knocked down when I was 60. I'd only just have finished paying my mortgage by then!

  • JohnFx (unregistered)

    [Twent]

  • jmzrbnsn (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent

    Yes, weather is different in different parts of the world.

  • jmzrbnsn (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    Interesting. Your temperature must not fluctuate like ours. I'm in Texas, where it's currently 91 degrees F outside with an expected high of 97. In a matter of days we'll be up in the triple digits. And yet it freezes here in winter, at least a couple of times a year.
    Yes, weather is different in different parts of the world.
  • (cs) in reply to webhamster
    webhamster:

    It is indeed apocryphal. I won't get into the other errors in it, but the shuttle addendum states the design was because it had to pass through a tunnel (unidentified tunnel, by the way) that was only "slightly wider than the track". This is impossible as no tunnel is built "just slightly wider" than 4 feet 8 inches. Besides, the SRB's are much bigger than that anyway (just slightly more than 12 feet in diameter). Even if a tunnel was a problem on one route to KSC, there are a number of other overland routes they could have used that wouldn't have required using a tunnel.

    Even if a tunnel proved unavoidable on a cross-continental trip, they could have gone straight south to the Gulf and dropped them on barges to be taken to Florida.

    Perhaps you should get into the other errors. Let us see what the article says "A tunnel that was based off of the railroad width. This tunnel is just barely bigger than the railroad cars used." Doesn't say it is slightly wider than the track, but it does say it is barely bigger than the railroad cars... I'd say a lot of tunnels fall into this category. While the track width is just over 4 foot 8, the cars themselves are about 11 foot.

    I'm not saying the size of the boosters on the space shuttle are based on the width of an ox/horses ass, but you haven't given any evidence to disprove it.

  • RandomUser423652 (unregistered) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    rfsmit:
    When I design my own house, it will have recessed conduits for wiring and plumbing in the load-bearing walls.
    And this differs from jay's "wiring or plumbing that cannot be reached without tearing out walls" in what respect? ...understanding that when jay says "tearing out walls" he means removing the sheetrock (that'd be "paneling" to you).
    I suspect (I could be wrong) that you each are discussing a different type of paneling. There is interior-decorating paneling, usually plastic or wood, which can be made removable. Alternatively, I have heard people call drywall "paneling", but usually I hear wallboard or plasterboard.
  • Mate (unregistered) in reply to kastein
    kastein:
    Amusingly, some purpose-built facilities/standards remain... the 19 inch server rack is directly descended from the 19 inch wide relay racks originally used in the late 1800s for railroad track signaling systems. Most of that equipment would probably still mount in modern racks without issue. They definitely outlasted the punchcard, another late-1800s IT invention.

    And, of course, the width of the mounting on the fuel tanks on rockets is based on the size of a horse's arse in Roman times (true story).

  • nobody (unregistered) in reply to Duke of New York
    Duke of New York:
    Dim lighting.. deep shelves... latex glove dispenser...

    Am I the only one who expected to find out that the room used to be a morgue?

    One of my first jobs out of high school was working at Pizza Hut. Several years later, that particular store closed. Can you guess who bought it? Guess the walk-in was great for temporarily storing dead bodies.

  • Dul (unregistered) in reply to hikari
    hikari:
    Franz Kafka:
    MechanicJay:
    Maybe its a European vs American thing. When I drive by Picatinny Arsenal, I see tons of abandoned buildings and facilities left to rot and decay because the project they were built for is now over....Though the "Railgun Testing Facility" does look kinda cool from the road.

    That's kind of ironic, seeing as how we in the US have piles and piles of land compared to england.

    Well, not really. It's entirely the way round I'd expect it. If you have lots of land, you're going to care less about re-using it. Having first double checked Picatinny Arsenal was in the US (it's in NJ apparently).

    It should be noted Waltham Abbey looks a lot like that now, it's been closed since the late 90s. Part of it is a museum and the other part of it is a SSI (some of the more interesting bits really, considering very few people are allowed back there and it's largely overgrown).

    That is an awesome name!!! Picatinny - I'll have the VB, thanks!!

    Reminds me of Didjabringyagrogalong....

  • acid (unregistered) in reply to Duke of New York
    Duke of New York:
    Dim lighting.. deep shelves... latex glove dispenser...

    Am I the only one who expected to find out that the room used to be a morgue?

    Used for holding punch cards - isn't that the same thing?

  • Trainz (unregistered) in reply to rfsmit
    rfsmit:
    <snip>

    It's "12 foot". The plural is in the "12" bit.

    <snip>

    Well, that explains the American language!!

    I have two leg. The plural is in the two.

  • Joe (unregistered) in reply to nobody
    nobody:
    Duke of New York:
    Dim lighting.. deep shelves... latex glove dispenser...

    Am I the only one who expected to find out that the room used to be a morgue?

    One of my first jobs out of high school was working at Pizza Hut. Several years later, that particular store closed. Can you guess who bought it? Guess the walk-in was great for temporarily storing dead bodies.

    The Mafia?

  • iToad (unregistered)

    We still have the VAX room. And the VAX.

  • jim (unregistered)

    Maybe I misunderstood something, but how was it solitary confinement if he shared the room with another intern (social anxiety or not)? It sounds like someone was upset that he couldn't gaze out a window and chat all day instead of working. And WTF's the big deal about the shelves? Couldn't the company just remove some of them if shelf space were ever needed?

  • Duke of New York (unregistered) in reply to Joe
    Joe:
    nobody:
    Duke of New York:
    Dim lighting.. deep shelves... latex glove dispenser...

    Am I the only one who expected to find out that the room used to be a morgue?

    One of my first jobs out of high school was working at Pizza Hut. Several years later, that particular store closed. Can you guess who bought it? Guess the walk-in was great for temporarily storing dead bodies.

    The Mafia?

    Protip: Never put anchovies on the Don's pizza.

  • Clev (unregistered) in reply to hikari
    hikari:
    But then, that's the point. Things can generally be re-purposed; you have a site that was originally for making cloth for an Abbey in the C12th ending up being used for military research.
    So they went from material to materiel--only had to change that one letter. :-)
  • Duke of New York (unregistered) in reply to acid
    acid:
    Duke of New York:
    Dim lighting.. deep shelves... latex glove dispenser...

    Am I the only one who expected to find out that the room used to be a morgue?

    Used for holding punch cards - isn't that the same thing?

    Before my time and not my application domain, so I never really made the connection until now.

    http://www.observer.com/2007/times-morgue-packs-and-ships-out

  • Jonathan Wilson (unregistered) in reply to Not logged in today

    I cant understand why ANYONE would build a house in a cyclone/hurricane/tornado/wildfire prone area with a wooden frame. And that building authorities in these areas continue to allow these houses to be built (and rebuilt) instead of insisting on stronger houses that wont blow over the next time there is a little bit of wind.

  • GreenGecko (unregistered)

    c'mon kids. A VAX isn't a mainframe. It's a minicomputer.

  • (cs) in reply to Code Dependent
    Code Dependent:
    I doubt you have any idea what the huffing and puffing of a big bad wolf is like. Get tornados or hurricanes over there, do you?
    Not hurricanes, no.

    Tornadoes are surprisingly common in England. I've seen quotes that we have more tornadoes per square kilometre than the US does, with some areas having the same density as OK. (I expect Alaska pulls the US average down).

    What's different is the severity: whereas the only tornado I've seen (at sea) was a curiosity, and the only friend I have whose house got hit by a tornado merely lost some tiles from the roof, we don't have the big ones that are visible from ten miles away, and which turn the landscape to shreds. Such things are the product of continental weather systems.

  • boris_m (unregistered) in reply to BrooklynBruisa
    BrooklynBruisa:
    Code Dependent:
    Franz Kafka:
    It's England - the Thames hasn't frozen over in 100 years or so.
    Interesting. Your temperature must not fluctuate like ours. I'm in Texas, where it's currently 91 degrees F outside with an expected high of 97. In a matter of days we'll be up in the triple digits. And yet it freezes here in winter, at least a couple of times a year.

    Still, Jay was on about plumbing and wiring inside the walls, unreachable. I hope he's not planning to run his wiring outside his house.

    I'm not sure that the Hudson has ever frozen either (not recently), but my pipes certainly have. I can't imagine that it's much different in the UK.

    It's totally different. The UK use metric which is a way more comfortable temperature.

  • quis (unregistered) in reply to nobody

    Latex gloves?! WTF were they supposed to be doing in there?

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    As for the "solitary confinement" I would absolutely love it!!! The chance to have an area all to myself, bar some random kid who never speaks, sounds absolutely divine.

    Exactly my thoughts. If I could get people to quit interrupting my day and leave me to my "real work" I think I might call it heaven.

  • OldHand (unregistered) in reply to BrooklynBruisa
    BrooklynBruisa:
    Code Dependent:
    Franz Kafka:
    It's England - the Thames hasn't frozen over in 100 years or so.
    Interesting. Your temperature must not fluctuate like ours. I'm in Texas, where it's currently 91 degrees F outside with an expected high of 97. In a matter of days we'll be up in the triple digits. And yet it freezes here in winter, at least a couple of times a year.

    Still, Jay was on about plumbing and wiring inside the walls, unreachable. I hope he's not planning to run his wiring outside his house.

    I'm not sure that the Hudson has ever frozen either (not recently), but my pipes certainly have. I can't imagine that it's much different in the UK.

    Well, the point of putting the plumbing on the outside is to make it easy to replace if it freezes. Putting it inside the walls makes it more difficult and expensive to replace.

    Makes perfect sense.

  • letatio (unregistered) in reply to bored
    bored:
    Allrighty then I see my true calling in life, to design rooms that are built for future technologies! I can build something and not have to explain why it is the way it is and not have to explain myself because obviously they just do not see far enough ahead!
    If you really are bored, you could use the time productively and proof-read your post before sending it..
  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Bellinghman
    Bellinghman:
    Code Dependent:
    I doubt you have any idea what the huffing and puffing of a big bad wolf is like. Get tornados or hurricanes over there, do you?
    Not hurricanes, no.
    Jesus man, do you not remember 1987? We get hurricanes, just not very often. Of course, thanks to our preference for brick and mortar construction, damage is usually minimal. Back in 1987 we were in one of the worst hit areas, wind speeds reported at 100 knots, yet the only damage we suffered was the loss of three roof tiles. The British know how to build houses.

    Alas, the guy 2 doors down had an oak tree in his garden. When it came down, it took out most of his house. As for us, well, we never did find those three tiles.

  • (cs) in reply to Code Dependent
    rfsmit:
    Code Dependent:
    jay:
    That's why I don't like built-in furniture, wiring or plumbing that cannot be reached without tearing out walls, etc. I know that someday I'll want to turn that bedroom into an extra bathroom, or new technology will require that I install new cabling for the TV, or maybe I just want to add a new light switch. I'd like if it I don't have to burn the house down and start over to do that.
    I can't imagine much you could do to a house to make it uglier than running plumbing and wiring on the room side of the walls. It's well worth it to me to have it hidden. If/when the time comes to remodel, the contractors will deal with removing and replacing the walls. I've lived in my house for eight years now with no need to remodel anything. I've envisioned redoing the master bath, but it's at least a couple of years away. Why stare at wires and pipes?
    In the real world, we have such things as conduits, trunking, and paneling.

    However, in building contractor land, such things do not exist: pretend I never said anything.

    When I design my own house, it will have recessed conduits for wiring and plumbing in the load-bearing walls. When something needs to be routed away from them, they'll be concealed in conduit proud of the wall. It's possible and highly desirable, because it means you don't need to be multiskilled in order to solve the task.

    With regard to the GP: unlike in the US, a "house" in the UK is something that won't collapse in on itself when the big bad wolf comes huffing and puffing along.

    Maybe you should consider the fact that a 4x8 of standad 1/2" drywall costs $7 at home depot, a 5 gallon pail of spackle costs $15, and matched paint is $13 a gallon before ridiculously overengineering your house. If it's going to be brick/stone/other masonry that is difficult to put things in after the fact, more power to you, but if you are simply talking about a standard stick-built house you are building The Complicator's House.

    This whole "infinitely expansible with no skills if you just know how to remove the paneling without fucking it up, carefully fit the plumbing to the pre-built channels, and install the wiring" thing sounds suspiciously like the inner-platform effect applied to home construction... are you building The Expert Expansible Enterprise System House? Any crackhead can learn to install drywall, it's really not that hard... you should try it sometime.

  • (cs) in reply to OldHand
    OldHand:
    Well, the point of putting the plumbing on the outside is to make it easy to replace if it freezes. Putting it inside the walls makes it more difficult and expensive to replace.

    Makes perfect sense.

    Only if you don't insulate your walls. Plumbing inside an insulated wall doesn't freeze (assuming you're keeping your house heated on the inside).

    Your logic calls to mind Animal Farm, wherein the donkey says God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies.

  • John Le'Brecage (unregistered)

    So who bothered to calculate the correct packing space for the punchcards? It's off by a factor 4.5 isn't it?

  • (cs) in reply to Jonathan Wilson
    Jonathan Wilson:
    I cant understand why ANYONE would build a house in a cyclone/hurricane/tornado/wildfire prone area with a wooden frame. And that building authorities in these areas continue to allow these houses to be built (and rebuilt) instead of insisting on stronger houses that wont blow over the next time there is a little bit of wind.

    California gets fires, sure, but it also gets earthquakes. A wood-frame house in an earthquake will just wobble a bit, where a masonry house would be reduced to a pile of rubble. It's why California's "killer earthquakes" only kill a few dozen people at most, while similar earthquakes in the Near East will kill tens of thousands.

  • ballantine (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    Jesus man, do you not remember 1987? We get hurricanes, just not very often.
    No, we do not. We do get hurricane-force winds sometimes. I remember 1987 too.
  • JF (unregistered)

    It wasn't just a generic container for the army, it's design and placement was to keep the rabble in the blue-collar neighbourhood down. Look at all the gun ports (for shotguns use to quell rioting) around the periphery, the clear field of fire (more visible in older photos), and so on. There are armouries in other cities built for similar reasons, e.g. the military HQ in Vienna, which come from the same school of urban fortifications, although they predate the SF one by about 50 years.

  • Your Name * (unregistered)

    impressive

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to ballantine
    ballantine:
    Anonymous:
    Jesus man, do you not remember 1987? We get hurricanes, just not very often.
    No, we do not. We do get hurricane-force winds sometimes.
    Tomato, tomato.
  • author (unregistered)

    Not the worst WTF ever, that was one of Jake's previous ones where it made no sense and turned out to be 99.9% made up. However I do think this is the most boring.

    Someone went to a new job, they worked in a room. End of story.

  • (cs) in reply to ballantine
    ballantine:
    Anonymous:
    Jesus man, do you not remember 1987? We get hurricanes, just not very often.
    No, we do not. We do get hurricane-force winds sometimes. I remember 1987 too.
    As do I: I worked through it.

    A big storm, certainly, but not an actual hurricane. And the 1990 storm was about the same strength.

  • (cs) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    ballantine:
    No, we do not. We do get hurricane-force winds sometimes.
    Tomato, potato.
    FTFY.

    (Hurricanes do a lot of damage with their high rainfall, and I distinctly remember not having to swim home in 1987. Climbing over fallen trees, yes, but not even deep puddles out here in Fenland.)

  • SpamBot (unregistered)

    the real wtf is that in 30 years nobody could be bothered to move the shelves

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (unregistered)

    Nice adaptation from one of Sherlock's tales. While this appears to be only part of the story. It is still intriguing; one might wish to compare the two.

    "... but finally one morning a sign on the locked office door inexplicably announced: "THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED."

    or so we thought.. this incident might be the resurrection of that secret society or rather the employ similar methods for nefarious ends.

    wonders if Jabez Wilson is still about.

    [I apologize for dabbling in necromancy, but boredom got to be too great.]

  • FristName LastName (unregistered) in reply to BrooklynBruisa

    This is an old thread, but just for the record, the Hudson River does regularly freeze north of the salt point, which is usually somewhere near Cold Spring, as I recall. I expect the southern part of the estuary is too salty to freeze, except during exceptionally cold weather, but there is usually ice on the river from below Poughkeepsie north, every winter in my experience.

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