Article
They mentioned grout! No mention yet of pumping, but they do say they'll blast their way down. I hope somebody follows up on that, since buying tons of grout does have an environmental impact. You just have to look at that cement plant on the 401 by Bowmanville. Doesn't it have the most beautiful plume? It burns coal.
PS I'm only mentioning the blasting because it is impossible to pre-grout the shaft area, and then blast through. The blasting loosens the grout and the water comes in.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Cottage Report - Colours Changing
Very nice weekend, sunny with cool nights. The maples are starting to turn orange and red. The new puppy is hilarious at the cottage, she discovered she likes water. She's a working dog so she 'helps' us with everything, even dragging pine branches. There was no place I could go, up and down the rocks, that I didn't find the fuzz-ball at my feet. :)
Friday, September 27, 2013
Montreal and earthquakes again
I'm just back from another trip to Montreal. As you recall, I used to cringe going under all those bridges that looked like they would fall down any minute. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. Now they are fixing them all up, and the construction is terrible!
It's interesting trying to get around with gps. The car one has no hope trying to keep up with the construction, but it does dead reckoning in the massive tunnel system. So, I looked up my route on Google first, and then tried to follow it with the car gps.
Going around, I found my worse ever construction for an earthquake zone. As we know, the insurance guys have estimated the 1 in 500 earthquake to be an M7.1 somewhere in Quebec. I like to think of it as under Hamilton, but it could anywhere along the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence structures. Now, Montreal is mostly on that volcanic rock which makes up the mountain, but I was zooming along the river. Yep, that will be total destruction. But near there they have soft-storey brick Monteal walk-ups. That is the worst! Good-bye to them. I think the standard brownstones up the hill will be okay, but there is going to be a mess near the Olympic stadium. Lest anyone think I'm picking on Montreal, we got our landslides up in Ottawa, and our lifelines around Toronto.
It's interesting trying to get around with gps. The car one has no hope trying to keep up with the construction, but it does dead reckoning in the massive tunnel system. So, I looked up my route on Google first, and then tried to follow it with the car gps.
Going around, I found my worse ever construction for an earthquake zone. As we know, the insurance guys have estimated the 1 in 500 earthquake to be an M7.1 somewhere in Quebec. I like to think of it as under Hamilton, but it could anywhere along the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence structures. Now, Montreal is mostly on that volcanic rock which makes up the mountain, but I was zooming along the river. Yep, that will be total destruction. But near there they have soft-storey brick Monteal walk-ups. That is the worst! Good-bye to them. I think the standard brownstones up the hill will be okay, but there is going to be a mess near the Olympic stadium. Lest anyone think I'm picking on Montreal, we got our landslides up in Ottawa, and our lifelines around Toronto.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Pakistan earthquake - M7.7
This looks fairly isolated, but I bet it is a 'superquake'. You can see it's a hybrid, between a thrust and strike-slip. It will be difficult to get to the epicentre, and more difficult to estimate a PGV. Hopefully, the isolation limits the number of casualties.
Update: Very isolated, no cities hit.
Major earthquake scenarios
Article
Yeah I'm not the only one with a perverse mind. Wonder if the silly emergency people are going to do anything about it.
Yeah I'm not the only one with a perverse mind. Wonder if the silly emergency people are going to do anything about it.
Monday, September 23, 2013
The reference designs for nuclear waste - Part 4
Final Part.
When they first designed a granite repository, they made every mistake in the book. They wanted narrow tunnels, with the waste being set in boreholes. This design was tested at the play-school in Manitoba. Doesn't work for high stresses!
What you need is a large elliptical opening aligned with the stresses. Then place the waste within, in a suitable conductive matrix. Once everything is in place, jack the matrix up with some water. This will easily last a million years, and will be immune to glaciation. Unfortunately, we will never see this design.
So that's it for the series, now back to the reality of the depressing hearings. Have fun!
When they first designed a granite repository, they made every mistake in the book. They wanted narrow tunnels, with the waste being set in boreholes. This design was tested at the play-school in Manitoba. Doesn't work for high stresses!
What you need is a large elliptical opening aligned with the stresses. Then place the waste within, in a suitable conductive matrix. Once everything is in place, jack the matrix up with some water. This will easily last a million years, and will be immune to glaciation. Unfortunately, we will never see this design.
So that's it for the series, now back to the reality of the depressing hearings. Have fun!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The reference designs for nuclear waste - Part 3
We have established that a low-level repository could be constructed at reasonable cost, provide you have tight rock. Going to Paleocollapse rock, will cost you billions more. One of the best places to locate this would be Waterloo, where you could also bury the radioactive remains of RIM. :)
High level waste requires granite because of the heat. Only loonies would try to put this in soft rock, but I expect this attempt soon. As a result of my studies, it has become clear that you cannot use exposed Precambrian granite (or even the older stuff). This rock has been exposed to numerous glaciations, and hydrofracking has nothing on the water pressures associated with kilometres of ice. This water has been injected into the rock, causing huge sub-horizontal fractures that are as open as Miley's dress.
The best rock is granite that has been overlain by tight, impermeable limestones and shales. This is the type of rock that we drilled at Darlington, but it can be found anywhere, even Waterloo! It is important not to be right on the hanging wall of the megathrusts. I think London, Ontario would be perfect, as I could never figure out why anybody would want to live there. :)
Strong, tight granites most likely have enormous horizontal stresses. When they were playing around with a mock-up repository up in Manitoba, they encountered this type of rock, which explosively fractures into disks when you drill it. Normally you might think to stay away from this rock, but there is sufficient mining experience to know how to handle it.
-to be continued.
High level waste requires granite because of the heat. Only loonies would try to put this in soft rock, but I expect this attempt soon. As a result of my studies, it has become clear that you cannot use exposed Precambrian granite (or even the older stuff). This rock has been exposed to numerous glaciations, and hydrofracking has nothing on the water pressures associated with kilometres of ice. This water has been injected into the rock, causing huge sub-horizontal fractures that are as open as Miley's dress.
The best rock is granite that has been overlain by tight, impermeable limestones and shales. This is the type of rock that we drilled at Darlington, but it can be found anywhere, even Waterloo! It is important not to be right on the hanging wall of the megathrusts. I think London, Ontario would be perfect, as I could never figure out why anybody would want to live there. :)
Strong, tight granites most likely have enormous horizontal stresses. When they were playing around with a mock-up repository up in Manitoba, they encountered this type of rock, which explosively fractures into disks when you drill it. Normally you might think to stay away from this rock, but there is sufficient mining experience to know how to handle it.
-to be continued.
The reference designs for nuclear waste - Part 2
Low and Intermediate Level Waste
I have noted that there seems to be a vast misunderstanding on what this is. Low level waste can go in plastic barrels. The radiation doesn't go through the plastic or the skin. Intermediate level waste has to go in shielded concrete barrels. Things like old pressure tubes. But the radioactive nucleotides are tightly bound in the material. That metal what Bruce wanted to ship out through the lakes is this stuff.
Since nobody wants to ship it around, it has to be put in a dump. You could just throw it in landfill, but it needs to be protected for a long time, and maybe somebody would put up a luxury condo there. So, the consensus of reasonable people (not those who read the Star) is that it has to be in rock caverns.
You have to understand that 'where' this facility is located has no technical relevance. It's all in that first few metres of rock around the waste. My number one principle is that it must be 'Diffusion Only', that is, no water-filled cracks. Then we are assured that a million years from now the nasty stuff could have only gotten a few inches into the rock. It is not Superman, able to shimmer through solid walls.
My reference examples for this are the old storage caverns at Wesleyville. That rock is solid and tight, the only transport of water molecules is through diffusion. Thus, they would be dusty-dry during operation, when there is ventilation. I would seal the whole thing up afterwards with a clay slurry. You could stand on top for a million years and nothing would get out.
-to be continued.
I have noted that there seems to be a vast misunderstanding on what this is. Low level waste can go in plastic barrels. The radiation doesn't go through the plastic or the skin. Intermediate level waste has to go in shielded concrete barrels. Things like old pressure tubes. But the radioactive nucleotides are tightly bound in the material. That metal what Bruce wanted to ship out through the lakes is this stuff.
Since nobody wants to ship it around, it has to be put in a dump. You could just throw it in landfill, but it needs to be protected for a long time, and maybe somebody would put up a luxury condo there. So, the consensus of reasonable people (not those who read the Star) is that it has to be in rock caverns.
You have to understand that 'where' this facility is located has no technical relevance. It's all in that first few metres of rock around the waste. My number one principle is that it must be 'Diffusion Only', that is, no water-filled cracks. Then we are assured that a million years from now the nasty stuff could have only gotten a few inches into the rock. It is not Superman, able to shimmer through solid walls.
My reference examples for this are the old storage caverns at Wesleyville. That rock is solid and tight, the only transport of water molecules is through diffusion. Thus, they would be dusty-dry during operation, when there is ventilation. I would seal the whole thing up afterwards with a clay slurry. You could stand on top for a million years and nothing would get out.
-to be continued.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
The reference designs for nuclear waste - Part 1
My philosophy is to come up with a reference 'clean' design that will succeed. I estimate the cost and state the probability of success is 100%. When I was with the old company, people would then scream and demand changes. For every political change, I estimated how much more it would cost, how much more time, and the change in probability of success. Most hated that! But I will always remember the fun times when they let me run with it, and bring the project in. My breakdowns were associated with massive interference. :)
I did a lot of work on a repository, mainly in the area of seismic stability. For that, we needed a good concept of the stresses, and what an ice age could do. I discovered that our basement rock was at a state of maximum stress, it was being crunched by the settling on a cold mantle. If there were low horizontal stresses, then there was a reason for it (lots of faults). No faults on deep rock meant extreme stresses.
So ideally you wanted a large chunk of rock that was stress-relieved along distant boundaries. Unfortunately, you never got that.
-to be continued, maybe
I did a lot of work on a repository, mainly in the area of seismic stability. For that, we needed a good concept of the stresses, and what an ice age could do. I discovered that our basement rock was at a state of maximum stress, it was being crunched by the settling on a cold mantle. If there were low horizontal stresses, then there was a reason for it (lots of faults). No faults on deep rock meant extreme stresses.
So ideally you wanted a large chunk of rock that was stress-relieved along distant boundaries. Unfortunately, you never got that.
-to be continued, maybe
New puppy
We couldn't last long without a puppy. Mixed Mutt puppies are nearly impossible to get in Toronto. We finally saw a Kijiji ad for a place up near Bruce. That was fun driving, reminded me of the old days going to Bruce, but without the snow. She's a mixed Australian cattle dog and collie, and belonged to Mennonites. But they don't have Internet, so another girl did the ad.
We had 4 to choose from and that was difficult!
We had 4 to choose from and that was difficult!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Floppy buildings fine for earthquakes
Article
Everywhere I go, I see floppy buildings going up. Any condo or office building has virtually no lateral stiffness. As long as the joints are ductile, it is good to go. Every new earthquake brings painful lessons, and I expect a lot out of the next one. In this experiment giant concrete blocks were thrown around. Could you survive this?
The great rush to floppiness is caused by these shake tables. You could not put a stiff building here and submit it to a broad frequency range. That's because the shake table does not allow radiative damping, and they scale the motions by acceleration. We are all doomed! :)
So, if you live and work in a floppy building, make sure the tables are sturdy. Do not run out into the street with your $80 million dollar 30 second warning (California). Do not hang around the giant stacks of TV's in Costco. Floppiness rules!
Everywhere I go, I see floppy buildings going up. Any condo or office building has virtually no lateral stiffness. As long as the joints are ductile, it is good to go. Every new earthquake brings painful lessons, and I expect a lot out of the next one. In this experiment giant concrete blocks were thrown around. Could you survive this?
The great rush to floppiness is caused by these shake tables. You could not put a stiff building here and submit it to a broad frequency range. That's because the shake table does not allow radiative damping, and they scale the motions by acceleration. We are all doomed! :)
So, if you live and work in a floppy building, make sure the tables are sturdy. Do not run out into the street with your $80 million dollar 30 second warning (California). Do not hang around the giant stacks of TV's in Costco. Floppiness rules!
Week 1 of Bruce nuclear waste hearings - all political
The hearings are hostile to anything technical. It's a legal thing, so credentials are all important, and you won't find anybody with credentials drinking beer at the Legion.
I'll keep looking for anything funny. My biggest hope is that somebody will raise the issue of grout and pumping. For all previous rock work there, they used trainloads of grout, and pumped a huge amount of rock water back into the lake. Obviously you can't do this now, since this is a billion times worse than dumping your fracking water in the local creek. They will have to re-inject this water and cause earthquakes.
So it all hinges on their misuse of the word 'stable'. Their definition is like a stagnant pond in Africa. Still, beautiful and undisturbed, until an elephant jumps into it. And excavating this thing is an elephant!
The proper definition of stable is that of a pond frozen solid, and the polar bear bounces off it. In other words, it can take a hit.
Like I've said before, I don't worry about this thing because they won't be able to get down 50 feet. It's like when Bruce said they were going to put a nuclear plant on Lake Erie. I said to my worried friends not to worry because the lake virtually freezes solid. They mentioned that to the pushers, and they spun a song and dance on how they don't need water. Everybody lies when big money is involved.
And never think that sedimentary rock will be a site for used fuel. That stuff puts out heat, and can only be in granite. I spent years analyzing and designing these things, and I know my reference design. We'll all have fun later when they try to put The Big One into shitty rock.
I'll keep looking for anything funny. My biggest hope is that somebody will raise the issue of grout and pumping. For all previous rock work there, they used trainloads of grout, and pumped a huge amount of rock water back into the lake. Obviously you can't do this now, since this is a billion times worse than dumping your fracking water in the local creek. They will have to re-inject this water and cause earthquakes.
So it all hinges on their misuse of the word 'stable'. Their definition is like a stagnant pond in Africa. Still, beautiful and undisturbed, until an elephant jumps into it. And excavating this thing is an elephant!
The proper definition of stable is that of a pond frozen solid, and the polar bear bounces off it. In other words, it can take a hit.
Like I've said before, I don't worry about this thing because they won't be able to get down 50 feet. It's like when Bruce said they were going to put a nuclear plant on Lake Erie. I said to my worried friends not to worry because the lake virtually freezes solid. They mentioned that to the pushers, and they spun a song and dance on how they don't need water. Everybody lies when big money is involved.
And never think that sedimentary rock will be a site for used fuel. That stuff puts out heat, and can only be in granite. I spent years analyzing and designing these things, and I know my reference design. We'll all have fun later when they try to put The Big One into shitty rock.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
I need a dog
As you know, Cindy died on the weekend. I am now in Stage Two of doggie-grief. The first stage is denial of a need for a dog, since nothing could replace the last dog. This stage is just depression.
The women want a cute mutt puppy, but these are getting impossible to get in Toronto, since that whole neuter campaign must be working. I would be happy with a young mutt that won't go over 40 pounds, since I have a medium dog door. :)
If you have a handle on puppies please let me know. I estimate that the anti-depressant effect of a dog is equal to 100 mg/day of Trazodone, and I'm suffering.
The women want a cute mutt puppy, but these are getting impossible to get in Toronto, since that whole neuter campaign must be working. I would be happy with a young mutt that won't go over 40 pounds, since I have a medium dog door. :)
If you have a handle on puppies please let me know. I estimate that the anti-depressant effect of a dog is equal to 100 mg/day of Trazodone, and I'm suffering.
Big aquariums and earthquakes
Article
Live stream
I have no faith in the stability of these links, but they should show a live feed of the Toronto aquarium.
Earthquakes
We have no experience on what happens to a big aquarium when the PGV rises. I think they are probably like large oil tanks. We might expect cracks at 20 cm/s, and seam rupture at 50 cm/s.
Of all the big aquariums, Boston is at highest risk. It is probably on a typical raft foundation over Blue Clay, and the design is a big cylindrical oil tank. I don't think people are at any more risk than a nearby Costco on the same stuff.
Chicago has the least risk, and Toronto is somewhere in between. I'm interested in Toronto because of the quasi-rock it is on. When the CN tower was being designed, they drilled 3 exploration holes, large enough to lower a junior geotechnical engineer. It was in badly mangled shale. In fact, there was no bedding similarity with all three holes. They ended up pouring the foundation on the least-bad rock layer, above another clay seam. The aquarium is on the same stuff. So, is it rock or soft soil? We'll never know.
*Note that any earthquake strong enough to bust an aquarium will be such that we don't care. :)
Live stream
I have no faith in the stability of these links, but they should show a live feed of the Toronto aquarium.
Earthquakes
We have no experience on what happens to a big aquarium when the PGV rises. I think they are probably like large oil tanks. We might expect cracks at 20 cm/s, and seam rupture at 50 cm/s.
Of all the big aquariums, Boston is at highest risk. It is probably on a typical raft foundation over Blue Clay, and the design is a big cylindrical oil tank. I don't think people are at any more risk than a nearby Costco on the same stuff.
Chicago has the least risk, and Toronto is somewhere in between. I'm interested in Toronto because of the quasi-rock it is on. When the CN tower was being designed, they drilled 3 exploration holes, large enough to lower a junior geotechnical engineer. It was in badly mangled shale. In fact, there was no bedding similarity with all three holes. They ended up pouring the foundation on the least-bad rock layer, above another clay seam. The aquarium is on the same stuff. So, is it rock or soft soil? We'll never know.
*Note that any earthquake strong enough to bust an aquarium will be such that we don't care. :)
Bell Internet Scam
Did you know you can't forward any of this crap to Bell? They don't have an email address.
Now, don't tell me that sounds perfectly legit. But none of the account numbers are real, and bellnet is not legit. So this is an open letter to Bell to shut this down right away.
Now, don't tell me that sounds perfectly legit. But none of the account numbers are real, and bellnet is not legit. So this is an open letter to Bell to shut this down right away.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The elephants in the room - monster earthquakes
Article
Very interesting methodology. When we did geophysics in Lake Ontario, we saw massively disturbed sediments. The earthquake has to be about M7 and above to do this, simply because you need a high PGV.
An M7 under Hamilton may have a return period of 1000 or 10000 years. Uncertainties here are a factor of 10, just like climate modelling. :) I tend to think in terms of 1000 years for an M7, and maybe 10000 years for M7.5. An M6 is almost 'every day', and they have popped off quite frequently in the neighbourhood. They don't do much, except to tall towers on swamp, a la Washington.
And yet, we are all happy to do nothing. La La I can't hear you! I don't want to be around to say 'I told you so' in the middle of an earthquake, just like I don't want to say that about 'climate science' when I am freezing to death. :)
Very interesting methodology. When we did geophysics in Lake Ontario, we saw massively disturbed sediments. The earthquake has to be about M7 and above to do this, simply because you need a high PGV.
An M7 under Hamilton may have a return period of 1000 or 10000 years. Uncertainties here are a factor of 10, just like climate modelling. :) I tend to think in terms of 1000 years for an M7, and maybe 10000 years for M7.5. An M6 is almost 'every day', and they have popped off quite frequently in the neighbourhood. They don't do much, except to tall towers on swamp, a la Washington.
And yet, we are all happy to do nothing. La La I can't hear you! I don't want to be around to say 'I told you so' in the middle of an earthquake, just like I don't want to say that about 'climate science' when I am freezing to death. :)
Bruce Dump Hearings - Wonderful irrelevant stuff
Article
What a wonderful way these guys have of spending the money they got. Hello! Radioactive concrete from an old reactor is intermediate waste! Only used fuel is high-level waste, unless we happen to have some leftovers from the atomic bombs we made - which we didn't!
I like the bottom more. Bruce was picked because of a happy population, and its 'stable' geology. Other sites were considered in a dream.
I'm still waiting for something intelligent to blurp out of this, but I'm not holding my breath. :)
Update: Read the comments here. I did not write that about the geology. I know these people that hate engineers, but a lot of geologists got paid off for this project. :)
What a wonderful way these guys have of spending the money they got. Hello! Radioactive concrete from an old reactor is intermediate waste! Only used fuel is high-level waste, unless we happen to have some leftovers from the atomic bombs we made - which we didn't!
I like the bottom more. Bruce was picked because of a happy population, and its 'stable' geology. Other sites were considered in a dream.
I'm still waiting for something intelligent to blurp out of this, but I'm not holding my breath. :)
Update: Read the comments here. I did not write that about the geology. I know these people that hate engineers, but a lot of geologists got paid off for this project. :)
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Should we have Public Science?
Article
“People are shocked at the reduction in public science.”
This is an interesting discussion. Personally, in all my years, I haven't seen much from public science. When did it all start? I think it was in the 60's when the Russians spurted ahead, that we started the public 'Cold war with Science'. After that, everybody went nuts with public science for the 'Greater Good'.
Now public science is very old and tired, much like old companies such as Apple. Shouldn't we just put them out of their misery?
“People are shocked at the reduction in public science.”
This is an interesting discussion. Personally, in all my years, I haven't seen much from public science. When did it all start? I think it was in the 60's when the Russians spurted ahead, that we started the public 'Cold war with Science'. After that, everybody went nuts with public science for the 'Greater Good'.
Now public science is very old and tired, much like old companies such as Apple. Shouldn't we just put them out of their misery?
Monday, September 16, 2013
Selling beer at the DGR hearings
Hey, if you can't sleep record some of this webcast. Right now we have the public stupid questions, which are answered even stupider. :)
Ooma IP phone not for Toronto
It's all going back to Costco. I hate returning things! Although this phone worked great for a while it started experiencing disconnects until the point where you can't make a call. Part of the problem is that although I have fantastic Internet speed from Bell, there is an integrated modem/router, so the Ooma has to be behind the router. And I'm sure Bell puts in its little digs.
The reference design for Ooma is between the modem and router. I have made every effort and tweak, and the support was great but ineffective. As well, many services in Canada block IP calls. Another problem is that everybody and their dog have poor IP phones. You mix that with your own IP phone, and it is the last straw. It's like two people talking on speaker phone on a cell!
Update:
Letter sent:
As you can see by my popular blog post, we have given up on our Ooma.
http://ontario-geofish.blogspot.ca/2013/09/ooma-ip-phone-not-for-toronto.html
After a tremendous amount of effort on my part, it simply does not work with our Bell Internet setup.
Perhaps after you have more exposure to Toronto, there will be more success.
I am returning it all to Costco. I regret that I cannot change my shining Costco review.
There remains the matter of my 1 year deluxe subscription and my 2 telephone numbers. If you wish to retrieve those numbers I am sure you have a method for a pro-rated return.
--
Harold W. Asmis, P.Eng.
Geotechnical Engineer
Update: I got everything cancelled. Next year when I try this again, I'm going to take out the Bell router by putting it in bridge mode. Hopefully, a company will emerge that knows Canada.
The reference design for Ooma is between the modem and router. I have made every effort and tweak, and the support was great but ineffective. As well, many services in Canada block IP calls. Another problem is that everybody and their dog have poor IP phones. You mix that with your own IP phone, and it is the last straw. It's like two people talking on speaker phone on a cell!
Update:
Letter sent:
As you can see by my popular blog post, we have given up on our Ooma.
http://ontario-geofish.blogspot.ca/2013/09/ooma-ip-phone-not-for-toronto.html
After a tremendous amount of effort on my part, it simply does not work with our Bell Internet setup.
Perhaps after you have more exposure to Toronto, there will be more success.
I am returning it all to Costco. I regret that I cannot change my shining Costco review.
There remains the matter of my 1 year deluxe subscription and my 2 telephone numbers. If you wish to retrieve those numbers I am sure you have a method for a pro-rated return.
--
Harold W. Asmis, P.Eng.
Geotechnical Engineer
Update: I got everything cancelled. Next year when I try this again, I'm going to take out the Bell router by putting it in bridge mode. Hopefully, a company will emerge that knows Canada.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Debian Linux - Dealing with the nasty multiarch
So, all of us who have amd64 machines have suffered heavily in the past few years. That goes for all 64 bit systems, but we were the first. :) The big problem is that everybody and their dog only release drivers for 32 bit systems, at least the cheap junk we always buy.
So when I did a 'full upgrade' to my big machine, I found I couldn't print to my laser printer. It only had an old 32 bit driver and no chance for a 64 bit one. That was a total nightmare and I solved it by a total new install. Thus, my older machine waited forever for an upgrade, and I finally had to do it.
So, when you do a full upgrade, the printer driver (filter program) won't work. This is Debian Multiarch. You used to be able to just load the 32 bit libraries, but you can't do that any more.
In root, type dpkg -i --add-architecture i386
NOT ENOUGH! as I found out.
Immediately do an aptitude update. Then when you reinstall your driver, it will tell you what 386 libraries are missing, and you can actually load them. Install the driver again, and it works.
So when I did a 'full upgrade' to my big machine, I found I couldn't print to my laser printer. It only had an old 32 bit driver and no chance for a 64 bit one. That was a total nightmare and I solved it by a total new install. Thus, my older machine waited forever for an upgrade, and I finally had to do it.
So, when you do a full upgrade, the printer driver (filter program) won't work. This is Debian Multiarch. You used to be able to just load the 32 bit libraries, but you can't do that any more.
In root, type dpkg -i --add-architecture i386
NOT ENOUGH! as I found out.
Immediately do an aptitude update. Then when you reinstall your driver, it will tell you what 386 libraries are missing, and you can actually load them. Install the driver again, and it works.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Linux - the latest in 1080p videos
My machine for the big screen is a tiny Zotac, running XBMC. The max it does is 720p, which is virtually 'retina' for a living room setting. Monster screens need full 1080p, but don't put them in a small room if you have old eyes like mine, and never sat in the very front of a movie theatre.
But my camera does 1080p, and so do the 'other sources'. In fact, I now only use 1080p for the 'others'. The latest thing is ultra-compression which puts these things under 2 gigs. I find that amazing. My little machine can't de-compress and downscale on the fly, so I pre-digest these things with Handbrake.
I use the Apple2 setting which is 720p. If you work from the high-res, I find it much better than using a direct 720p. The new compression must add highlights when working from higher resolution. The result is fantastic, and is probably the best I can ever get.
But my camera does 1080p, and so do the 'other sources'. In fact, I now only use 1080p for the 'others'. The latest thing is ultra-compression which puts these things under 2 gigs. I find that amazing. My little machine can't de-compress and downscale on the fly, so I pre-digest these things with Handbrake.
I use the Apple2 setting which is 720p. If you work from the high-res, I find it much better than using a direct 720p. The new compression must add highlights when working from higher resolution. The result is fantastic, and is probably the best I can ever get.
Solar panels, earthquakes, fire, tornadoes
Article
Now that nobody wants wind power, it is time to work on solar panels. As you know, they are paying people to chop the wings off their windmills. Wind only blows when nobody wants the power. We in Ontario know that a sunny summer is rare, normally it is very hazy and hot, with lots of thunderstorms.
Okay, so what is wrong with this picture? A very shitty house has had its roof load doubled, adding extra wind, and snow loads. Would I approve this as an engineer? Even if I was the guy with the Elliot Lake mall? :)
All of these ridiculous solar installations are probably the result of a silly government program. Soon they will be paying people to take these things down. In the event of an earthquake, this asymmetrical load is coming down on the bedroom. Good luck people!
Now that nobody wants wind power, it is time to work on solar panels. As you know, they are paying people to chop the wings off their windmills. Wind only blows when nobody wants the power. We in Ontario know that a sunny summer is rare, normally it is very hazy and hot, with lots of thunderstorms.
Okay, so what is wrong with this picture? A very shitty house has had its roof load doubled, adding extra wind, and snow loads. Would I approve this as an engineer? Even if I was the guy with the Elliot Lake mall? :)
All of these ridiculous solar installations are probably the result of a silly government program. Soon they will be paying people to take these things down. In the event of an earthquake, this asymmetrical load is coming down on the bedroom. Good luck people!
California serious about seismic early warning system
Article
Well, I put all my objections in g+ Geoscience. It goes well with my thing about Star Trek geophysics. I tend to put the little things there, since there are over 20,000 members. Expect to see this sort of proposal everywhere, since it is the only way to pry money out of the politicians for seismic monitoring.
Well, I put all my objections in g+ Geoscience. It goes well with my thing about Star Trek geophysics. I tend to put the little things there, since there are over 20,000 members. Expect to see this sort of proposal everywhere, since it is the only way to pry money out of the politicians for seismic monitoring.
Press gets active for Nuclear Big Hole
Article
The feeding frenzy has started. I'm shutting down all my thoughts, since the wackies are now wandering the streets. What will happen now would happen for any site, even one in real rock. Have fun!
The feeding frenzy has started. I'm shutting down all my thoughts, since the wackies are now wandering the streets. What will happen now would happen for any site, even one in real rock. Have fun!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Hilarious public hearings coming up - Bruce Deep Nuclear Thing
Next week the fun begins.
http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/p17520/94174E.pdf
As usual, there is one totally out to lunch person (I'm sure he's a nice guy).
http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/p17520/94250E.pdf
My favourite Northwatch will be there (hey, they emailed me!), along with some really funnily-named organizations.
I can't find Greenpiece anywhere, but I'm sure they'll chain themselves to the portable tables.
Update - Toronto Star got in on the act. I thought everything they said cost money. Any, the Duniker report was all about trees. No mention of pumping or grouting. I don't think you'll see any of that during the week.
http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/p17520/94174E.pdf
As usual, there is one totally out to lunch person (I'm sure he's a nice guy).
http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/p17520/94250E.pdf
My favourite Northwatch will be there (hey, they emailed me!), along with some really funnily-named organizations.
I can't find Greenpiece anywhere, but I'm sure they'll chain themselves to the portable tables.
Update - Toronto Star got in on the act. I thought everything they said cost money. Any, the Duniker report was all about trees. No mention of pumping or grouting. I don't think you'll see any of that during the week.
Cottage Report - Fall Paradise
So, to prove me wrong about global cooling, we have had a late 2-day heat wave (wavelet?). I stayed up at the cottage and it was wonderful! I had to jump into the ice water every 30 minutes just to survive, and the nights were cool. No fish.
Lightning at the Cottage
Back in the ice-age 70's we always had the most horrendous lightning storms. The whole area is on non-conductive Precambrian gneiss (where all the earthquakes are), so the only conductive zones are the lakes. Our electrical box would regularly sizzle, and light bulbs would blow even if they were turned off. Since the warming cycle, we have never had such storms, we get tornadoes and micro-bursts instead. :(
I was once stuck at the marina during one of these storms. The trees and metal boat sheds were getting constantly hit. There is no thunder if you are right beside a strike, perhaps because your brain doesn't register it.
I saying all this because you know I bought a cell-phone amplifier from Costco. It was a Wilson desk-top, and when I got it unpacked I found it was all plastic, with no main grounding. It involves putting an antenna 50 feet up a tree. I was glad I got it at Costco, since I didn't think it would last a month. As it was, it did admirable service for most of the summer, but we got hit by a freak storm the other day. Normally I've been paranoid, and disconnected everything when we went home, but this storm wasn't even predicted. We got 4 inches of rain, and one really loud crack, which woke me up, and sent the dog under the bed (it was difficult to get her out again). The amplifier didn't survive, although nothing else was affected.
So, next year, when I get a newer model, I will use one of those huge Costco power protectors with co-axial protection. Maybe it will last all summer.
Lightning at the Cottage
Back in the ice-age 70's we always had the most horrendous lightning storms. The whole area is on non-conductive Precambrian gneiss (where all the earthquakes are), so the only conductive zones are the lakes. Our electrical box would regularly sizzle, and light bulbs would blow even if they were turned off. Since the warming cycle, we have never had such storms, we get tornadoes and micro-bursts instead. :(
I was once stuck at the marina during one of these storms. The trees and metal boat sheds were getting constantly hit. There is no thunder if you are right beside a strike, perhaps because your brain doesn't register it.
I saying all this because you know I bought a cell-phone amplifier from Costco. It was a Wilson desk-top, and when I got it unpacked I found it was all plastic, with no main grounding. It involves putting an antenna 50 feet up a tree. I was glad I got it at Costco, since I didn't think it would last a month. As it was, it did admirable service for most of the summer, but we got hit by a freak storm the other day. Normally I've been paranoid, and disconnected everything when we went home, but this storm wasn't even predicted. We got 4 inches of rain, and one really loud crack, which woke me up, and sent the dog under the bed (it was difficult to get her out again). The amplifier didn't survive, although nothing else was affected.
So, next year, when I get a newer model, I will use one of those huge Costco power protectors with co-axial protection. Maybe it will last all summer.
Monday, September 9, 2013
The hot response to global cooling
Article
Well, it has happened. Some scientists were brave enough to present global cooling. Naturally they were subject to ridicule. For fun, I put up this article in our geological community. I do weird things like that just to stimulate discussion. Otherwise, it is very boring. Most comments decried the lack of hard data, and still supported warming. But what is the central thesis of warming?
In pre-warming land, it was acknowledged that temperature went up and down as a sinusoid consisting of many sub-cycles which acted together. I contend that these cycles interact non-linearly, thus making it impossible to even figure out what caused the ice ages. These sub-cycles are solar, ocean currents, water vapour, dust, volcanic elements, etc.
Warming crashed on the scene denying all these cycles, and stating that co2 dominated over all others. Thus, temperature broke out of the sinusoid and became exponential, because co2 was a thermal blanket and increasing linearly. This must be enshrined as the Global Warming Hypothesis (GWH). They are constantly modifying it and we shouldn't let them.
The difference was that GWH was drastic. There was talk of crispy grandchildren. Furthermore, it was beyond first order exponential because of positive feedback, and inter-linked tip buckets, such as Arctic methane. Thus, many drastic measures were taken that all back-fired.
Had we just focussed on co2 alone, this could have been taken care of by taxes, but some countries didn't want to do anything, and this invoked a strong opposite voice. We should always try to reduce carbon burning.
Of course, temperatures never went exponential, they are now curving in the traditional sinusoidal manner. The GWH has been modified to merely linear, but this is breaking as well. Now 'other factors' are being brought in, such as ocean currents. What is the future of the GWH?
My understanding is that a hypothesis should stand or fail, based on observations. It should not be constantly modified. That is why I say there is no physics in it. My experience is based on the constant hopeless attempts to predict earthquakes. That being said, I am enjoying my last days of summer at the cottage, where it is very hot. As a Canadian, I know it will be winter soon. :)
Well, it has happened. Some scientists were brave enough to present global cooling. Naturally they were subject to ridicule. For fun, I put up this article in our geological community. I do weird things like that just to stimulate discussion. Otherwise, it is very boring. Most comments decried the lack of hard data, and still supported warming. But what is the central thesis of warming?
In pre-warming land, it was acknowledged that temperature went up and down as a sinusoid consisting of many sub-cycles which acted together. I contend that these cycles interact non-linearly, thus making it impossible to even figure out what caused the ice ages. These sub-cycles are solar, ocean currents, water vapour, dust, volcanic elements, etc.
Warming crashed on the scene denying all these cycles, and stating that co2 dominated over all others. Thus, temperature broke out of the sinusoid and became exponential, because co2 was a thermal blanket and increasing linearly. This must be enshrined as the Global Warming Hypothesis (GWH). They are constantly modifying it and we shouldn't let them.
The difference was that GWH was drastic. There was talk of crispy grandchildren. Furthermore, it was beyond first order exponential because of positive feedback, and inter-linked tip buckets, such as Arctic methane. Thus, many drastic measures were taken that all back-fired.
Had we just focussed on co2 alone, this could have been taken care of by taxes, but some countries didn't want to do anything, and this invoked a strong opposite voice. We should always try to reduce carbon burning.
Of course, temperatures never went exponential, they are now curving in the traditional sinusoidal manner. The GWH has been modified to merely linear, but this is breaking as well. Now 'other factors' are being brought in, such as ocean currents. What is the future of the GWH?
My understanding is that a hypothesis should stand or fail, based on observations. It should not be constantly modified. That is why I say there is no physics in it. My experience is based on the constant hopeless attempts to predict earthquakes. That being said, I am enjoying my last days of summer at the cottage, where it is very hot. As a Canadian, I know it will be winter soon. :)
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Cottage Report - glorious fall
Going to be hot this week. I kicked out the women and its just me and the dog. Staining the deck. Amazing this week that some scientists had the nerve to declare global cooling. Next year there will be more, or not.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Old Montreal in an earthquake
On the surface it looks as bad as Italy but there isn't a settlement crack anywhere. So it is most likely on rock and therefore immune.
Collingwood Earthquake
Article
This was in the news. As we can see there are a lot of earthquakes around there. Who cares? Obviously the deep waste thing doesn't. As we can see in the other lakes, our earthquakes follow both the water and the Precambrian structure. Thus the earthquakes in Georgian bay are in the hanging wall of the Grenville Front. This is an unstable area and cannot tolerate either injection or extraction.
This was in the news. As we can see there are a lot of earthquakes around there. Who cares? Obviously the deep waste thing doesn't. As we can see in the other lakes, our earthquakes follow both the water and the Precambrian structure. Thus the earthquakes in Georgian bay are in the hanging wall of the Grenville Front. This is an unstable area and cannot tolerate either injection or extraction.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Extension into Seattle and Vancouver
Deep Geological Thing Hearings
They are going to start soon and I was quite amazed that somebody there had looked at my stuff. Normally I don't expect any reality at these things. If anybody wants to kabosh this whole thing just put a legal limit on any pumping or injection. Right now they have left this out so you might think the limit is zero but it is really infinite.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Aftershocks define M6 Vancouver fault zone
Very pretty. This is a very small zone right at the tip of the last M7ish just to the North. An M7 would be 10 of these little splotches, and would fill the last of the strike-slip fault. Then if we have our M7 at the very top of the fault, we are clear for our M9+.
Don't worry, an M9.2 earthquake won't do a thing! No tsunami for a strike-slip, and the ground motions aren't any worse than a series of M7's, provided you aren't on a big soft soil basin. I don't think there are too many of those things around. This type of earthquake would destroy Mexico City, but most of Vancouver is on rock. Just sit back and enjoy!
M6.0 earthquake Vancouver area
Very interesting. This is a walk down from the previous M7 earthquake just north of there. I was interested in the walk up, but earthquakes can walk in any direction along a strike-slip zone. You've got a smooth fault, and quite a distance before it becomes a very oblique subduction zone. So I give it a teeny fraction of increased chance that we'll have an M7+ earthquake completing the section very soon. If it happens, make me a hero, if it doesn't please forget about it. :)
Linux and VCR capture
This wasn't that difficult. The hard part was in picking the right capture clone. I used to have a capture card, and that was difficult to get working. But old cards don't work with new machines, so I went the USB route. I eventually got a Sabrent USB-AVCPT USB 2.0 which was $25 on Amazon. The STK1160 driver picked it up immediately, but you have to use the latest kernel for best results. The driver says that the audio is fully working, and it all appeared perfectly in ALSA, but I couldn't get it working. I didn't try that hard, since it is easier just to plug in the audio leads right into your built-in sound card.
I used VLC since you have a lot of filters to improve saturation, sound, etc. Just play the vcr, and record the parts you want. This produces a huge file, but can be reduced by over a factor of 10 by using Handbrake.
Youtube put on their shaky filter. This was done by the kids in 1999.
I used VLC since you have a lot of filters to improve saturation, sound, etc. Just play the vcr, and record the parts you want. This produces a huge file, but can be reduced by over a factor of 10 by using Handbrake.
Youtube put on their shaky filter. This was done by the kids in 1999.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Exciting twin earthquakes in Texas
M4.3 and 4.1. I have never seen an earthquake in this area. It has to be injection, knowing Texas. This is exciting for me since it is a prime area to start a New-New Madrid, provided that they keep injecting. Who cares in that part of the world anyway?
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Cottage Report - July in September
I'm going with the opinion that we are in for volatile weather. This could be just the ocean currents turning over. Now we have the most lovely days of the cottage, with no bugs,cool nights, and warm water. Just the female hummingbirds remain, but they like to fight. Neighbours got a new puppy, and old Cindy just keeps snarling at it, to keep it in line.
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