The US Army: Flooding Your Town by the Book (Trees And Things)

JimmyHavok: Re: The US Army: Flooding Your Town by the Book

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:00:41 EST

One of my co-workers just got back from vacationing in his hometown in Missouri. He said the first two weeks were great, and he spent the rest of the time slinging sandbags. I'm going to pass this URL on to him.

Shy Elf: Re: Upper Mississippi Levees (Errata)

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:24:45 EST

Obviously, the probability should be written as 13!(98-6)!/(13-6)!98!

And I would have the agricultural levees' spillways at about the current height at which they break, and the rest of the levee about 2' higher.

Shy Elf: Upper Mississippi Levees

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:52:59 EST

First of all, I would like to compliment Illinois and Iowa for a very well run sandbagging campaign. By now, they've had enough practice to know how to do it right.

Your link has a very good interview.

"apparently the levees that collapsed d

wayhip: Re: The US Army: Flooding Your Town by the Book

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:20:34 EST
In looking at the levee problems, apparently the levees that collapsed during Katrina and the latest midwest floods were designed in the Reagen administration, when standards were lowered to cut costs. Levees designed before then held. One could argue that

JimmyHavok: empathy is never wasted

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:54:58 EST
On the one hand, you are right, if you live in a flood-prone area, you must expect to be flooded. On the other hand, Shy Elf's writeup indicates that there was negligence, and people have suffered harm that was preventable, using the resources that a

wetkarma: don't mistake residency for patriotism

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:41:17 EST
Willie Sutton, a somewhat famous bank robber, once said "because thats where the money is" in answer to why he robbed banks. I don't live in the UK because I believe it offers a libertarian form of government, I live in the UK because in the long term its

port1080: Re: I sympathize, but I don't empathize

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:33:15 EST
This story is a prime example of creeping state dependency in american culture-- you rely on the government to stop crime, educate you, keep you healthy...why take any responsibility for your own personal safety? "The government will save you".
I

wetkarma: I sympathize, but I don't empathize

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:58:39 EST
Losing your home to a disaster sucks giant balls. It seems appalling to me however that one would rationally own a home in a disaster zone and not buy readily available insurance.
To me, its the height of negligence to own a home in a flood plain and t

Shy Elf: Re: One thing to clarify...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:55:34 EST
Military contracting is in general even more prone to corruption and graft than civilian contracting. I haven't really addressed corruption and graft in the writeup, but you might check according to Wikipedia, there are about 34,600 civilians, but on