General > General Technical Chat
Long span between power poles
soldar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Generation
The Greatest Generation. They grew up during the Depression. They won WWII. And those who survived returned home and built and rebuilt their countries to prosperity and raised families.
Later generations, all we know is to complain and criticize about how wrong our ancestors were about everything. Of course the world and the culture changes, as they should, but it is useless to focus on our opposition to the old instead of uniting and building the new future.
It seems to me this decadence is general to western countries which are more divided than ever and with a very short term outlook. It is a shame because people would listen to a responsible and inspiring leader but we prefer to bicker and argue irresponsibly without regard for the future. We are wasting our time while our Titanic is sinking.
I am reminded of Paul Simon's Have a Good Time
Yesterday, it was my birthday
I hung one more year on the line
I should be depressed
My life’s a mess
But I’m having a good time
So God bless the goods we was given
And God bless the U. S. of A.
And God bless the standard of livin’
Let’s keep it that way
And we’ll all have a good time
https://www.paulsimon.com/track/have-a-good-time-2/
Someone:
--- Quote from: tom66 on September 25, 2023, 06:51:20 pm ---Also there's these, which I accidentally saw on a trip to Spain, I think about 2km apart:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pylons_of_C%C3%A1diz
--- End quote ---
The tension termination/blocks are frighteningly slender for such a grand span.
tom66:
--- Quote from: soldar on September 26, 2023, 10:32:37 pm ---Later generations, all we know is to complain and criticize about how wrong our ancestors were about everything. Of course the world and the culture changes, as they should, but it is useless to focus on our opposition to the old instead of uniting and building the new future.
It seems to me this decadence is general to western countries which are more divided than ever and with a very short term outlook. It is a shame because people would listen to a responsible and inspiring leader but we prefer to bicker and argue irresponsibly without regard for the future. We are wasting our time while our Titanic is sinking.
--- End quote ---
It's crazy if you think about it isn't it. In the UK we have a project called High Speed 2 which aims to build a rail line from London to Manchester (~200 miles). It's going to cost an estimated £70 billion if it ends up going ahead in full! Meanwhile the French have built similar rail lines for a tenth the price. That's not to say that French engineering is miraculously more cost efficient when some of the rail lines the Victorians built with hitherto-unknown processes were built (in real terms) for even less and are still operational today. There is a big problem in large-scale infrastructure costs where legal bullshit, compliance, environmental paperwork etc. just gets too big and bogs the whole process down completely in the mud. It's almost as if some people's entire job is to generate more work for themselves. There are environmental campaigners who are pushing heavily against the project, they do not seem to be able to see the trees for the forest, the line will have immense environmental benefits by taking a huge number of cars off the road (and even some flights). But oh no we have to tunnel under this ancient woodland because the great spotted newt was once seen here a decade ago. It makes me despair sometimes.
TimFox:
An excellent recent book on what works and what can go wrong with large projects:
B Flyvbjerg & D Gardner: How Big Things Get Done Currency (2023).
themadhippy:
--- Quote ---High Speed 2
--- End quote ---
£50+billion(rolling stock not included ) to save 30 minutes travel time for those fortunate enough to be able to afford a ticket,fantastic value for money,especially compared to the £4.5 billion the 260 miles of railway through laos cost,although it did take them 15 years talking about it before getting the shovels out and 5 years of digging before the trains started running.
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