What you did today

[Trenitay]

I figured out that Orting is pretty much the worst city ever built, because of its location. Seriously, who builds a town next to two flooding rivers and in the shadow of a volcanoe. Were these people suicidal or something?

[taks]

uh, new orleans. most of the city, or a very large portion of it, is actually built below the sea level.

 

taks

[Trenitay]

Well, New Orleans is a shipping city. Orting is a nothing city. And I dont like being So close to Mt. Rainier. If it decides to explode or hit us with a lahar, we're goin down first. I probably just worry too much, but mountains scare me.

[Calax]

Interesting Factoid, Sacramento was origionally built on the banks of the American river. However the origional town was built in such a way that the ground was HORRIBLE to walk, ride, or otherwise move upon. So what they did was they simply added a story to each building and raised the ground level a story, so now Old Town stores always have 3 stories, the basement (which is often occupied by a different business) the street level and the upper floors. Also the buildings interconnect because what used to be alleyways became indoor courtyards. Also I think Sac and about 1/2 of it's surrounding suburbs are built on a 100 year floodplain. and that sucker hit in 96.

[Tigranes]

What, they couldn't just use concrete?

[Walsingham]

Floods ain't hard if you build up on stilts. But a volcano? Maybe your city was built by fire-spitting death lizards? You should put that in your advertising.

[Enoch]

I have always found settlement patterns interesting, in terms of where cities grow. The key factor in most cases is a break in means of transportation. New Orleans, for example, had to arise where it did, because that's really the only place where you can switch cargo between Mississippi River-going vessels and sea-going vessels. In many ways, the economic development of much of the central U.S. depended on New Orleans being where it is. Another common location for cities is at the "fall line" of major rivers-- the point where falls or rapids or whatever make the river non-navigable to boats of any reasonable size. Thus, goods could be shipped up the river on boats, but had to transition to land transportation (or different boats on canals) at that point. Washington, DC is at such a location on the Potomac, as is Albany on the Hudson, and Philadelphia on the Delaware.

[Gfted1]

Look awesomeness, your town's in the news:

 

Rain and melting snow bring floods to Washington

 

Jan 8, 9:54 AM (ET)

 

By GENE JOHNSON

 

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) - More than 30,000 people were urged to leave their flood-endangered western Washington homes as snowmelt and rain swelled rivers and caused mudslides and avalanches that engulfed neighborhoods and roadways.

 

Warmer temperatures and heavy rains were rapidly melting the deep snow that dumped on the Cascade mountains over the weekend. Ten inches of snow melted in a 12-hour period at Snoqualmie Pass, according to Meteorologist Andy Haner.

 

Nearly 7 inches of rain fell in one 24-hour period at Marblemount in the Cascade foothills. A record 2.29 inches of rain fell Wednesday at Sea-Tac Airport and a record 4.82 inches at Olympia.

 

Rising waters led state highway crews to close a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 around Chehalis on Wednesday evening. The state's three major east-west routes across the Cascade mountains also were closed by avalanches and the threat of more slides.

 

 

Authorities feared Interstate 5, which carries 10,000 trucks a day, could be closed for days. But they hoped to reopen one of the east-west routes sometime Thursday "to get people moving and freight moving," said Transportation Department spokeswoman Alice Fiman.

 

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for about two dozen rivers in western Washington, and Amtrak passenger train service out of Seattle was suspended because of mudslides.

 

Drier weather is due Friday, forecasters said, but flooding will remain a problem as overflowing rivers drain. The storm also produced heavy rain and strong winds in northwest Oregon, but at least on Wednesday, the area managed to avoid the mudslides and severe flooding that battered Washington.

 

Fire trucks rolled through Orting, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, with loudspeakers Wednesday, advising everyone to leave the town and surrounding valley, home to about 26,000 people. Sandbags were placed around many downtown homes and businesses as the Puyallup River neared record levels.

 

Kim and Carl Scanson closed their Around the Corner restaurant when Orting police told them of the recommended evacuation. They sent employees home to care for their families.

 

"It's scary, but everybody works together in this town," Kim Scanson told The News Tribune as she helped pack sandbags around the city's water treatment plant.

 

Some residents also left their homes in the nearby towns of Puyallup and Sumner. Fife Mayor Barry Johnson suggested roughly 6,000 people voluntarily leave their homes in that city near Tacoma and Interstate 5.

 

Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma declared a civil emergency for his city of about 200,000, south of Seattle, largely because of Puyallup River flooding risks to the city's wastewater treatment plant.

 

State emergency officials said voluntary evacuations were recommended for Snoqualmie, a riverside town 25 miles east of Seattle, and for the southwest Washington cities of Naselle, Packwood and Randle.

 

The Snoqualmie River at Carnation, in the rural Snoqualmie Valley, was measured at 61.3 feet Wednesday night, 7.3 feet above flood stage and a record for measurements kept since 1932, weather service meteorologist Jay Albrecht said.

 

In Orting, several dozen people and a number of pets were rescued by boat Wednesday morning, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

 

Diane Knowles of Eatonville said those rescued included her 81-year-old father-in-law and her brother- and sister-in law, who in past flooding arranged for the family to bring rescue boats.

 

"It came up so fast this time, there wasn't really time to think about it," she said.

 

An avalanche of snow and mud about 100 yards wide damaged some weekend recreation homes in the Hyak area east of Snoqualmie Pass. All homes at Hyak and condominium complexes at the base of the ski area were evacuated.

 

The debris field spanned eight houses, including one that was severely damaged, and two occupants of that home were treated for minor injuries, said Matt Cowan, chief of Snoqualmie Pass Fire and Rescue.

 

Chris Caviezel, who has lived at Snoqualmie Pass for about seven years, said conditions were the worst he has seen. "We're getting avalanches and we're being flooded," Caviezel said.

 

In Snoqualmie, kayakers paddled in the street as city officials urged residents in the flood plain of the Snoqualmie River to leave before they became trapped.

 

Rachel Myers stood across a flooded parking lot from her home and waited for her father to pick her up in a boat. She said her family has lived in the house since her great-grandmother built it, but they've decided this will be their last winter there.

 

"With flood after flood, it just gets more ruined every time," Myers said.

 

In the east, Spokane, already beset by more than 6 feet of snow in the past three weeks, was hit with rain and temperatures in the mid-40s, triggering a flood warning for the area. The city's schools were closed Thursday, giving its 29,000 students a third unscheduled day off this week.

 

In Oregon, high wind toppled trees along U.S. 26, forcing the highway's closure and stranding some motorists while crews worked to clear the road. The weather service posted flood warnings for areas along several rivers and a flood watch for all of northwest Oregon.

 

In Alaska, extreme temperatures - 60 below zero in Stevens Village, which is about 90 miles northwest of Fairbanks - have grounded planes, disabled cars, frozen water pipes and even canceled several championship cross country ski races.

[Daaave]

Today I had an exam. Tonight I begin revising for another 3 hour one on Monday.

 

Fun times right there boys and girls. Doesn't get much better.

[taks]

interesting day... stomach has been bugging me a lot lately (functional dyspepsia) so i decided to eat a full lunch. mistake. went over to the school to change a student's grade from last spring (he had an incomplete) and was near one of the walgreens that was supposed to carry a probiotic supplement called Align GI, which is supposed to help with intestinal issues (my doc recommended it because there is otherwise no treatment for this diagnosis). they had some and i took one. hopefully after a few weeks my belly feels better. in the mean time, it is causing some changes and i haven't determined if they are for the better or not. i also took a xanax. made the tinnitus worse, but i'm rather relaxed now. i'm thinking about taking my son up to indigo joe's to watch the BCS championship tonight with a friend of mine, well, a couple hours of it while my wifey-pooh is still at the office. i can't drink, however, since i don't do that with the squirt around, particularly if i'm driving.

 

taks

[Walsingham]

I have always found settlement patterns interesting, in terms of where cities grow. The key factor in most cases is a break in means of transportation. New Orleans, for example, had to arise where it did, because that's really the only place where you can switch cargo between Mississippi River-going vessels and sea-going vessels. In many ways, the economic development of much of the central U.S. depended on New Orleans being where it is. Another common location for cities is at the "fall line" of major rivers-- the point where falls or rapids or whatever make the river non-navigable to boats of any reasonable size. Thus, goods could be shipped up the river on boats, but had to transition to land transportation (or different boats on canals) at that point. Washington, DC is at such a location on the Potomac, as is Albany on the Hudson, and Philadelphia on the Delaware.

 

That's bloody interesting. At least to me. I was working on a logistics problem last year and I got SO CLOSE to this realisation. But of course it's obvious. You stockpile where transportation changes. You change transportation where transport mediums change. I said as much, but didn't make the connections. I'd feel more stupid, but I'm not a logistics expert.

[taks]

neither am i, but my first logistical instinct would be "if you want to live below sea level, buy a submarine, not a house." the next would be "or compromise and buy a boat and live on the sea."

 

i've never really been in a submarine so i cannot comment, though i'm guessing a boat would be really, really cool to live on.

 

taks

[Guard Dog]

Good news folks! I won't have to sell my organs, eat my dogs, or give up drinking the good stuff. I have a real job waiting for me once the end finally arrives. I just cannot express how relived I am because I have a huge mortgage, a lot of bills, and an expensive drinking problem/ computer game addiction, and I was getting a little nervous. I just want to say, thanks to all of you for your comments and encouragement.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Nice news GD, glad to hear it!

[Shryke]

i am currently trying to figure out where i can get a sailor suit

this weekend i'm going to a "sexy party" (ala Family Guy) and i certainly don't feel like going in womens lingerie, so sailor suit it is

 

no luck finding one so far, it's not looking good

 

may very well have to go in my underwear or something

[I want teh kotor 3]

i am currently trying to figure out where i can get a sailor suit

this weekend i'm going to a "sexy party" (ala Family Guy) and i certainly don't feel like going in womens lingerie, so sailor suit it is

 

no luck finding one so far, it's not looking good

 

may very well have to go in my underwear or something

 

Did you try google?

[Deadly_Nightshade]

i am currently trying to figure out where i can get a sailor suit

this weekend i'm going to a "sexy party" (ala Family Guy) and i certainly don't feel like going in womens lingerie, so sailor suit it is

 

no luck finding one so far, it's not looking good

 

may very well have to go in my underwear or something

 

Well, I'm sure you'll think of something.

[Shryke]

i am currently trying to figure out where i can get a sailor suit

this weekend i'm going to a "sexy party" (ala Family Guy) and i certainly don't feel like going in womens lingerie, so sailor suit it is

 

no luck finding one so far, it's not looking good

 

may very well have to go in my underwear or something

 

Well, I'm sure you'll think of something.

 

borrow a corset?

[theslug]

wear a brightly colored banana hammock filled with socks or a very large cucumber

 

and finish the look off with a wool sweater with a cat knitted on the front

 

perhaps consider rolling it up or just cutting it so your midriff is showing so the hammock isn't overwhelmed

[Dark_Raven]

I dont remember what I did today. that is totally ****ed up. LOLZ

[Shryke]

I dont remember what I did today. that is totally ****ed up. LOLZ

 

and i get told i drink too much

[Tigranes]

Great to hear GD, nice to jump straight into it.

[Dark_Raven]

ha good one. Shouldnt be doing some that i anint suppose to be doin.

[Bokishi]

Getting ready for an epic weekend

[Deraldin]

I spent half the evening wandering around campus. Got to my afternoon class a couple minutes late and ended up taking one of about 5 empty seats in the room. Damn buses were 20 minutes behind schedule today. Class only ended up being 30 minutes instead of the two hours that is scheduled for leaving me with 2.5 hours to waste before me evening class. Ended up taking the bus downtown and grabbing a bite to eat before heading back to campus and going to class. Showed up at wrong class room with about 50 other people because for some reason they mixed up the two buildings when putting up our individual timetables. Someone eventually figured out that we were in the wrong room so the whole group showed up to the right class 30 minutes late.