h a l f b a k e r yPoint of hors d'oevre
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Here on the Eastern seaboard of the US, it is currently 1
million degrees and 1 million percent humid. This was not
always so, in fact, 6-8 months ago there was snow. Lots of
it. Now, when the snow appears the city sends out snow
ploughs. They take the snow on the roads and push it off to
the
side. Similarly, motivated individuals take a variety of
tools and move the snow off their paths and sidewalk. So,
we now have the snow from 15 ft of road and 10 ft of
sidewalk condensed into a 2 ft strip between the two, or
possibly on your car. This forms big piles. If it snows
repeatedly, this gets to be a big problem. Especially as
massive piles melt slowly.
We need a solution. Mine, is a hole. Holes are simple
devices, and have been used by many cultures over long
periods of time for diverse purposes. Simply put a plough-
width hole in the sidewalk-street interface region. Snow
ploughs can then put the snow in the hole, using gravity.
"What happens to the snow once it gets into the hole?" I
hear you cry. Well, if you dig it deep enough, 15-20 ft say,
then the residual geothermal heat will melt it. Put a drain
in the bottom. If the water table's too high, consider
moving the city to a more sensible location or invest in a
pump.
[link]
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Cyclists and children would fall in .... |
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... so really, there's no downside. [+] |
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I suppose some form of grating could be designed and
incorporated into the plans. If it gets dropped for cost
reasons later on, then noone can say we didn't try. |
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So a roadside ditch then? |
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It has to be quite a bit deeper than a regular ditch, and it's
not really practical to have continuous ditches in an urban
environment. |
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Why not go shallower and cover it in straw come spring? During the summer, the melting snow stock might shave a couple of degrees off those million. |
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They could just fix the drainage a bit, after a massive
thunderstorm there's about 1 million puddles that hang
around contributing to the 1 million percent humidity. |
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In my hometown, which is coastal, they bring the piles in
dumptrucks and dump them into the water. |
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That works, obviously, but it seems a bit of a faff to have to
load it up. Why not use a hole? I think holes are cheaper
than trucks. Apart from the Channel Tunnel, that was an
expensive hole, you wouldn't want to pack that with snow, if
it got too packed, you might inadvertently isolate Europe. |
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// if you dig it deep enough, 15-20 ft say, then the residual geothermal
heat will melt it // |
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Why not insulate it, and use it as a source of cooling and water for
garden irrigation in the summer ? |
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you're proposing MORE hole? It's just crazy enough to work. |
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You wouldn't need to insulate it much: just cover it over for the summer. |
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Ironically, the .su addresses still exist and work. Possibilities of off-reality bank accounts. |
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Holes are excellent, there should be more of them. |
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Oddly enough, as a US Army medic I fill holes both on duty,
and off... |
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//I fill holes both on duty, and off... |
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Having gophers must be vexing. |
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//it is currently 1 million degrees |
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Thermometer on the wall in the big meeting room at work, the scale goes up to 140 degrees C. Is there something they're not telling me? |
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Fall? Children would jump in. |
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I don't see why we need a hole-based infrastructure project. Humans are already equipped with a large number of holes, at least one of which can happily contain snow, pass it through a system of tubes and then out into the world as hot snow-melting piss. |
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// Children would jump in // |
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Best put some nice sharp spikes in the
bottom, then. |
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