Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We can rebuild it.
We have the technology.
*

Oh-- wait!
Ixnay atthay.

Despite the outlay of millions for repairs, a leaking levee in New Orleans is causing some concerns. In fact, the article states that this seepage is due to the mushy soil upon which the very city is built.

Hmmm.

Whyzzit so easy to call people who build houses near volcanoes "dipshits" but we accept with unblinking veracity the sanity of all those asshats who stalwartly demand to go on living in New Orleans, calling it a national treasure and all that?

Why did ancient civilizations abandon some cities? Maybe because they weren't working out? Maybe the ancients were smarter than we are. We'll bang our heads bloody against a wall before we concede that *ahem* perhaps we can not overcome nature in all instances. Perhaps if one builds one's house on sinking sands, one deserves one's house to sink.


*extreme sarcasm mode

17 comments:

Buck said...

Get ready for the onslaught. I put up a post with similar comment last year and got the living dog-sh!t beat out of me by N'Awlins googlers. They came out of the freakin' woodwork, lemmee tell ya.

But: I agree.

g bro said...

As I understand it, the only reason the river still goes through New Orleans is because the Army Corps of Engineers keeps it that way.
Anybody who rebuilds in a flood zone does not have my sympathy.

phlegmfatale said...

buck - Okay. I'll come to you for support. But I'm not afraid! I LURVE your lil' cowpoke avatar, by the way - is that you? Little cutie!

g bro - it's annoying, ain't it?

Anonymous said...

Sanity is indicated by taking correct action to keep your ass alive and unharmed. Livin' in a bog doesn't indicate much sanity to me.

Christina RN LMT said...

It's because of human arrogance. We just can't admit defeat in the face of mother nature.

In this case, arrogance=stupidity.

Aaron said...

The best part is the inevitable demands that the government 'Do Something' backed up with the absolute conviction that the government is there to make sure they don't suffer for the bad decisions.

Just look at the sub-prime bail out.

No wonder no one learns any damn thing.

breda said...

Amen.

Tam said...

There are certain cities in which it might be fun to build a house, but one should never plan to build a dynasty.

Phoenix or Fairbanks? If Gaia turns off the water or the heat, we're all done there.

Nawrlins? Katrina should have been a reminder that Nature bats last.

Rabbit said...

Buck,

I thought all those Katrina cards went to buy strippers, tattoos, and liquor. You mean that a Katrinacard computer exists, let alone is functional at this late date?

P., I read the article. Sticking big metal plates into that soil seems to me to be a fine way to add iron oxide into the water table in a short period of time. I don't see that it'd keep water infiltration out. Of course, spending money on useless projects is the second most popular pasttime for Nawlins pols, behind personal graft.

I say we cut the levees and make a crawfish farm. It'd be a lot more profitable in terms of per-square mile use than it currently is. Welfare recipients, like government, only consumes resources without a return.

Regards,
Rabbit.

phlegmfatale said...

myron - I'm with you on this one

christina - also known as "hubris"

aaron - the whole concept "insurance" is inane. There are no guarantees here, so deal with it. Pick up your marbles and go elsewhere

breda - *nodding vigorously*

tam - ...and Nature bats best.

rabbit - I love you.

Zelda said...

Living in a bog is okay if you know that's what you are doing. Living in a bog under the delusion that you aren't - and making yourself dependant on others for continuing that delusion isn't so wise.

Buck said...

I LURVE your lil' cowpoke avatar, by the way - is that you? Little cutie!

Yep... that's me, at age five (or so). Thanks for the kind words!

Rabbit: Dunno just who's computer my googlers were using, but I DO know they were unanimously liberal-lefties. Funny, that, eh?

JPG said...

Myron said...
Sanity is indicated by taking correct action to keep your ass alive and unharmed. Livin' in a bog doesn't indicate much sanity to me.

So true. And the converse is equally true: INsanity is taking the same course of action time after time and expecting different results.

But many who figure to outsmart Mother Nature WILL return and rebuild, and eventually, Hurricane Hubris will arrive . . . and so it goes.

JPG

HollyB said...

So many intelligent and articulate comments already...what can I say but..."Yeah, what they all said!"

Kelly said...

No sympathy here. What do they expect when they put an entire city on land below sea level? The sea will reclaim it's territory.

Reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies:

FATHER: Listen, lad. I've built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. All the kings said I was daft to build a castle in a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. An' that's what your gonna get, lad -- the strongest castle in these islands.
HERBERT: But I don't want any of that -- I'd rather--
FATHER: Rather what?!
HERBERT: I'd rather... just...
[music]...sing!

MadRocketScientist said...

The sad thing is, the technology to build houses that can survive massive flooding already exists, but people would rather spend the money to build a McMansion than a smaller house that will be there after the next flood. It's more fun to whine about how the fed.gov is not doing enough to help the poor man out than it is to be smart with your investment.

Anonymous said...

madrocketscientist is on to something. Came from Kim du Toit's and left a long counter-rant there, so won't belabor your comments except to say, yeah, the levees are federal works and have a substantial purpose as critical national infrastructure, apart from makin' sure the Funky Butt bar doesn't flood. Them that can are building higher and smarter here in NOLA and them that can't are mostly doing what they can. All that big federal money you keep reading about isn't getting to the locals--in fact lots is still tied up in federal red tape and local government incompetence. Since it's my tax dollars, too, I'm OK with it staying tied up til more of the useless folks leave or give up on coming back. NOLA's becoming a better place. Sure there are no guarantees, but 40 years between significant hurricane incidents isn't much worse odds than living out on the plains where tornadoes drop in to visit from time to time or on the left coast, with the fires, mudslides, and quakes. Where's the fun, if there's no risk. We just prefer our town stirred, rather than shaken. BTW, there were pre-historic settlements and commercial routes around the core area of New Orleans. Some other ancients built Pompeii--and stayed in rather grotesque form. It's about using all the information we have, not just the little bit that suits an agenda, particularly an MSM-touted political agenda.