Thursday, February 18, 2010

Standards Body Suffers Intellectual Attrition

This is straight insider gossip! Do not pay any attention to this!

Rumour has it that one (being polite here) of the last bright people have ditched out of the seismic (nuclear) standards body. I was one of the first bright persons to run screaming!

At one time it was thought we should have new seismic standards if we are to build a new nuclear plant. It was even well-funded by the old boys! I bravely marched as to war! Worse than Canada folding to the Swiss! (not watching the 3rd period!). They have no intention of paying any attention to seismic with the next nuclear plant, which most likely won't happen, so Calm Down Harold!

Anyway, I had the bright idea of reconciling Seismic Physics with Engineering Design. As we know, engineering has strayed far from physics with its use of some crappy standard spectrum scaled to Scummy Old PGA. It has left physics entirely, and thus finds it cannot handle a modern seismic hazard assessment.

I could go into my plan to do this, but who cares? The old-boy engineers just called on Engineering Tradition, and decided to do it by old book, and totally ignore anything done in the last 30 years! I ran away!

The last scientist stuck with it for a while and has now run away, as well.

But it doesn't matter, they can go on forever, and whistle the old tunes in their whiskey. No seismic considerations up here, nor anywhere. :(

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