TR Forums

Vrock wrote:

Alternatively, one could just buy a house with a basement.

There are actually very few basements/cellars in Oklahoma. The reasons I've heard are: 1) the water tables are too high, and/or 2) the hard clay soil makes it difficult to dig. With that being said, there's no shortage of tornado shelters, which are only a few feet beneath the surface versus the depth of a traditional basement/cellar.

just brew it! wrote:

...and have the whole house fall in on your head when the tornado hits.

Trust me, you'd rather be underneath rubble and be relatively safe versus your other options in that situation.

Unless you're building a house completely out of brick, or some other small but cemented together material, the collapse wouldn't necessarily bury you. You might be trapped until a rescue crew digs you out, but the debris wouldn't fill the basement since your frame is made out of relatively long pieces of wood.

superjawes wrote:

Unless you're building a house completely out of brick, or some other small but cemented together material, the collapse wouldn't necessarily bury you. You might be trapped until a rescue crew digs you out, but the debris wouldn't fill the basement since your frame is made out of relatively long pieces of wood.

You could get impaled by a flying 2x4...

just brew it! wrote:

superjawes wrote:

Unless you're building a house completely out of brick, or some other small but cemented together material, the collapse wouldn't necessarily bury you. You might be trapped until a rescue crew digs you out, but the debris wouldn't fill the basement since your frame is made out of relatively long pieces of wood.

You could get impaled by a flying 2x4...

But the angles aren't great for that, and most 2x4's are going to be anchored to other 2x4's and drywall. A strong hit could knock over your walls, or even take them away, but having them fall into your basement is less likely.

Regardless, a basement is much safer than being on the upper or ground floors, even if you do take a direct hit.

superjawes wrote:

Regardless, a basement is much safer than being on the upper or ground floors, even if you do take a direct hit.

Oh, I agree 100% that it is a lot safer than being upstairs. But it's a relative thing -- if the house takes a direct hit, you're still unlikely to escape unscathed.

just brew it! wrote:

superjawes wrote:

Regardless, a basement is much safer than being on the upper or ground floors, even if you do take a direct hit.

Oh, I agree 100% that it is a lot safer than being upstairs. But it's a relative thing -- if the house takes a direct hit, you're still unlikely to escape unscathed.

This entire tornado/natural disaster has been about relative safety. There's a chance that your home could get hit by an asteroid, and even your tornado-proof shelter would do little to save you from that XD

I've lived in KS most my life. Nearly every house I have ever seen in KS has a basement. Besides the aforementioned protection basements provide, I just like having them. Always nice and cool.

I think living in the MidWest has desensitized me to tornadoes. I know they're incredibly powerful and destructive, but I don't freak out when I know one is near. When I was a kid we could go out to grandpa and grandma's farm to sit on the fence and watch them sometimes. Very cool. I don't suggest doing that, but if you want to take a chance it's pretty awesome.

I always think it's a little weird when people not from the Midwest are here for a tornado. They are very uncomfortable and don't know what to do. I'm sure it'd be the same way with me and a hurricane though. I think.

DancinJack wrote:

I always think it's a little weird when people not from the Midwest are here for a tornado. They are very uncomfortable and don't know what to do. I'm sure it'd be the same way with me and a hurricane though. I think.

I'm sure I'd freak out if I ever experienced the sort of earthquakes they get in Cali.

We occasionally (once or twice a decade or so) get little earthquakes here in northern Illinois, but nothing strong enough to cause structural damage. The strongest ones are just barely enough to rattle the plates in the kitchen cabinets. The last one (couple of years ago IIRC) woke me up, but my wife slept right through it.

just brew it! wrote:

We occasionally (once or twice a decade or so) get little earthquakes here in northern Illinois, but nothing strong enough to cause structural damage. The strongest ones are just barely enough to rattle the plates in the kitchen cabinets. The last one (couple of years ago IIRC) woke me up, but my wife slept right through it.

We've had a string of 3.2s to 4.2s over the past couple of years and I've yet to feel one of them.

Yeah we had a couple this year or last, can't remember. The epicenters were in OK if I remember correctly. You could feel them, but nothing to be too worried about. I was pretty confused when the whole concrete basement (~2400 sq. ft) was slowing swaying back and forth. An odd feeling.

just brew it! wrote:

I'm sure I'd freak out if I ever experienced the sort of earthquakes they get in Cali.

Funny you should say so because I was actually in Brawley the weekend when this started, about two miles away from the closest >5.0 epicenter. A couple of the strongest jolts nearly knocked some people over, and took out a section of suspended ceiling tiles on one wall of the church building. The locals were clearly annoyed ("not this again") while I was more in a kid-at-a-carnival mode, since it was my first time.

I think that annoyed them, too...

This cannot end well:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=96524

That's right, The Mouse now owns Lucasfilm.

Star Wars Episode 7 slated for 2015, too. Hopefully it sucks less than the prequel trilogy.

Does anyone know what they plan to do with Episode 7? Are they just going to use some of the novels written in the EU to generate the script, or are they going to turn a lot of the novels written closely following Episode 6 into canon-trash?

Captain Ned wrote:

This cannot end well:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=96524

That's right, The Mouse now owns Lucasfilm.

I don't know. Marvel Entertainment (Marvel comics, etc.) has flourished since they were bought by Disney in 2009, so I don't foresee anything too terrible happening to the Lucas properties. At least, nothing as terrible happening as Jar Jar.

CampinCarl wrote:

Does anyone know what they plan to do with Episode 7? Are they just going to use some of the novels written in the EU to generate the script, or are they going to turn a lot of the novels written closely following Episode 6 into canon-trash?

If they knew what was good for them, they would move on to material that doesn't focus solely on the Skywalker family. If that means EU material, or brand new stuff, then that's fine by me.

Looks like they haven't said anything yet...

But Diznik nailed it. Sure, it won't take a lot to beat Episode I, but there's little Disney could do worse than that.

If Disney wants to start off well with Lucasfilm, give us the one thing we've always asked for, namely the theatrical release Episode 4 in a proper transfer. I guarantee you that Lucas put a clause in the sales contract forbidding Disney from doing just that.

Maybe there's a clause that they can only do so after he dies.

grantmeaname wrote:

Maybe there's a clause that they can only do so after he dies.

Then we know what needs to happen next

idchafee wrote:

grantmeaname wrote:

Maybe there's a clause that they can only do so after he dies.

Then we know what needs to happen next

We're just the guys to do it.

[/Bluto]

Don't get a hernia. despite being "mild" it sucks.

It might help to know how one contracts 'mild' hernia. If it comes with age, we're all doomed.

BiffStroganoffsky wrote:

It might help to know how one contracts 'mild' hernia. If it comes with age, we're all doomed.

I'm 26 :-/

My new sedentary lifestyle along with remembered strength helped on this one. I'm just strong enough to hurt myself.

It's not quite as hard as you might think. Quick, strong movements can tip you off pretty easily.

Use the gray muscle more and the red ones will complain less o padawan.

Note to self: When researching next car purchase, ask the Service Dept about headlight bulb accessibility.

To replace low-beam bulbs on a 2010+ Subaru Legacy:

Jack up the car and place on jackstands
Remove the tire
Pull umpteen stupid plastic pushpins holding the inner fender liner and lower bumper cover in. Swear many times
Bend liner back and stuff it behind brake disk
[Working blind]
Snake hand through hole barely larger than hand and remove waterproof cover
Fiddle with the bulb clamp spring until fingers are bloody and spring finally lets go
Snake old bulb through small hole
Insert new bulb while trying not to touch it to anything
Fiddle with bulb until it's properly seated
Rebloody fingers trying to reseat spring without dislodging bulb. Swear even more times
Replace waterproof cover
[/Working blind]
Swear some more while trying to reinsert plastic pushpins
Strategically guess which pin holes can go without pins due to breaking several upon removal
Replace tire

Time: 2 1/2 hours, and that was just one side. Since one blew it makes sense to replace both, especially with the end of EDT being tonight. This is just the midpoint cheap beer & rant. The full-on Dogfish 90 & Scotch rant will come when I finally let the car off the jackstands.

Geez, you sure the Subaru isn't a German designed car?

Vrock wrote:

Geez, you sure the Subaru isn't a German designed car?

If anything it's Toyota, as they've owned a piece of Fuji Heavy Industries ever since GM sold off the stake in the '90s [/handwave].

I will say, though, that the passenger side was much easier than the driver's side (the one that burned out) as there was much more room in the fender well once the liner was removed. The driver's side had the washer reservoir, big chunks of the wiring harness, and the DRL circuitry to fish through. The only thing on the passenger side is the air box and it wasn't even in the way. I still despise those bloody push pins, though.

And that's bloody in the literal sense, not the British one, right?

grantmeaname wrote:

And that's bloody in the literal sense, not the British one, right?

Both. Fingers are all chopped up and I'm still swearing at the things an hour after being done. What's so hard about tapping the holes and using bolts?