http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj176/rsjem23/HomerWaterslide.jpg
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:01 (eleven years ago) link
homerloop
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:14 (eleven years ago) link
i don't understand why this would be a good alternative to commuter flights
I'd rather see the money spent on suburb-to-city trolley lines
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:18 (eleven years ago) link
commuter flights are very carbon-intensive, for one thing
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:23 (eleven years ago) link
There are ways.
http://opinion-forum.com/index/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/airplane_hybrid.jpg
― Here's the storify, of a lovely ladify (Phil D.), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
wouldn't even a dependable normal rail line be comparable to commuter flights by the time you figure in airport screening and boarding times and shit?
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:33 (eleven years ago) link
n/m, I am being way optimistic about rail speeds
there is a rail line that runs the California coast, it's called Amtrak
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:34 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.amtrak.com/coast-starlight-train
― joe schmoladoo from 7-11 (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:35 (eleven years ago) link
best described as "leisurely"
kind of forget the massive size of California, from now on I'll think of the distance from LA to SF being about the same as the distance from me to Chicago
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:38 (eleven years ago) link
about distance from the border to austin! i didn't realize it was that far.
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:40 (eleven years ago) link
now we've got some common terms here
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
mostly slow because they have to give freight trains the right of way or something like that iirc
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
yep. it's an enjoyable ride, but not for commuters, it's way too slow. granted I haven't ridden it in 25 years
― OH MY GOD HE'S GOOGLY (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
so the freight lines are pretty congested, you're saying
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
they're full of hobos
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:44 (eleven years ago) link
if planes are carbon intensive why not build solar planes? about as doable as a solar rail vacuum tube
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:46 (eleven years ago) link
I agree that the major problems with implementing his proposal are political, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea!
― schwantz, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:47 (eleven years ago) link
Invent a solar plane that generates as much thrust as burning a bunch of jet fuel and you'll have everything solved. xp
― cops on horse (WilliamC), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:50 (eleven years ago) link
why not build wind powered planes with propellers that are also windmills?
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
http://trollscience.com/image/f/full/3778286b17bf40dc45d98c31c99ba016.jpg
― Here's the storify, of a lovely ladify (Phil D.), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:54 (eleven years ago) link
Guys we'll have nuclear fusion by 2025 chillax
― darraghmac, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:55 (eleven years ago) link
http://trollscience.com/image/f/full/8dff6ab64e09451e30476175170f9ec0.jpg
― Here's the storify, of a lovely ladify (Phil D.), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:56 (eleven years ago) link
i've always lived the idea of giant solar-power helium dirigibles for freight transport
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:56 (eleven years ago) link
LOLLLLLL
uh whut
i think there's the major technical hurdle of building the giant vacuum tube
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:57 (eleven years ago) link
stick all of these ideas in a pdf and send them to the cologne tycoon
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 18:57 (eleven years ago) link
anybody who is over the age of 25, has lived in a city for any length of time, and paid a modicum of attention to the world around them knows that these kinds of massive public works projects tend to be underbid by shady contractors and then they go wildly over the original schedule and budget. so the fact that he's coming in saying he can do it so much cheaper with a totally new and untested technology is a huge red flag. to me it immediately suggests that the whole thing is not serious.
I can't find the specific economist or businessweek article that talked about this but in the US consultants who put the bid together for the state/county/city are not barred from bidding and often end up on the winning bid team.
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:01 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-superfast-transport-system-powered-by-passenge,33468/
― socki (s1ocki), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:09 (eleven years ago) link
I'm pretty sure ross perot was trying to warn us about this giant vacuum tube 20 years ago
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:13 (eleven years ago) link
what's that giant sucking sound?
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:15 (eleven years ago) link
This sounds neat. Anyone speculating as to whether it will work or not right now is completely full of shit -- you have nothing to base your opinion on yet.
One thing I do wonder is whether it will have stops along the way or just be a bullet shot from LA to SF -- there's a big difference in the effect and in the target demographic of a train that's just LA to SF vs one that has intermediate suburban stops. True "commuter" transportation is normally built on a suburbs-to-city model, where people can save money on living expenses and/or have more land by living outside the city and use the transit to get to their jobs. The kind of person who would "commute" from LA to SF or vice versa is more likely someone in a high-powered job travelling back and forth for business meetings and the like -- I don't really see a lot of people living in one city and making a daily commute to an office in the other.
― HOOS next aka won't get steened again (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:17 (eleven years ago) link
you have nothing to base your opinion on yet
I mean, outside of scientific studies, existing forms of similar transport, use patterns of public transport in that region and regions with high-speed rail, and studies on the efficiency of public project implementation
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:19 (eleven years ago) link
what I want to know is if they can team this Musk guy up with that Dyson dude so we can make sure this new rail system never loses suction
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:20 (eleven years ago) link
i have a plan for affordable teleportation. anyone who says otherwise is basing their opinion on nothing and is therefore full of shit
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:25 (eleven years ago) link
you mean buzz bissinger? xp
― MAAVENN (Matt P), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:26 (eleven years ago) link
high powered boozenass
― BIG HOOS aka the denigrated boogeyman (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:26 (eleven years ago) link
why everybody want use internet why nobody read deh booehk
― the late great, Tuesday, August 13, 2013 1:57 PM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
it doesn't involve a giant vacuum tube, tho, is the thing
― well if it isn't old 11 cameras simon (gbx), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:29 (eleven years ago) link
I thought we all switched to transistors
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
no? i thought that's how they got around the air resistance.
― the late great, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
it doesn't need to be airtight though. something to do with fans & pumps
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:32 (eleven years ago) link
I mean, outside of scientific studies, existing forms of similar transport, ― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, August 13, 2013 7:19 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
plz elaborate
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:32 (eleven years ago) link
see: Simpsons s04e12 and Futurama opening titles
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:34 (eleven years ago) link
yeah, it's a low pressure tube, not a no pressure tube.
― you're better off in a supersonic jet (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:40 (eleven years ago) link
I don't think the majority of our skepticism is in the particular technology, only that this particular technology might have implementation issues, having not been used in this type of situation before, and there are existing high speed trains we can study for the rest -- passenger usage, patterns of usage, etc.
New technologies need to go into effect and their costs may vary, but the costs of implementing for the first time are fairly predictable based on past ramp-up and production of technologies? If that makes any sense.
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:52 (eleven years ago) link
still some pressure in elon musk's tube
― MAAVENN (Matt P), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:53 (eleven years ago) link
so basically take the costs of a monorail, the costs of a vacuum system to keep it at low pressure, and the fudge factor of it being something new
― carlos danger zone (mh), Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:53 (eleven years ago) link
it has to be kept up artificially though from what I hear
― wk, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 19:55 (eleven years ago) link