and what a change. Still in the same apartment, but classes have started and both work and extra-curricular projects have increased by several times over. to be honest, I really don’t have time to update this website anymore–I will try to, but if you don’t hear from me and see no updates, please understand I really have very little-to-no-time left at all.
Long time no post. Had an interesting experience today– went on a field trip for my Geotechnical class to the jobsite of the new W Hotel going up on Collins and 23rd in South Beach, and took some photos with my iPhone:
This is a shot of workers placing forms to which concrete will later be poured into to form the hotels underground garage (which is connected to by a tunnel–see next photo). The really crazy thing about this photo: see those two concrete columns on the left of the picture? Those are support piles which will actually hold the building up (as the sand on the beach is a poor material). They are around 75-80 feet underground, and there are around 1,130 of them on site (the size of the site is approximately 70 x 120 m, or just about 2 acres.
Here is a photo of part of the tunnel that is almost complete:
The cloth on top is a material to protect the concrete from the water when they backfill the site.
And finally a shot of workers excavating soil to continue the tunnel (it will rise up to meet 22nd st):
You can see all the water they have to pump out until they can get a cofferdam up to stop inflow.
“[Turgenev] was a very serious fellow but he could make me laugh because a
truth first encountered can be very funny. When someone else’s truth is the
same as your truth, and he seems to be saying it just for you, that’s great.”
Not that I have read Turgenev, but this is a very accurate sentiment of quite a few works I think. This particular quote is from Ham on Rye by Bukowski.
I’ve been having a very absurdist point of view of things lately–been reading more Camus and Sartre than normal. Camus makes some very interesting points in The Myth of Sisyphus, its something quite worth looking into. Essentially, the absurd is a construct between each person’s nostalgia for order and the world’s complete lack of it; as such the absurd is merely a temporary thing that is specific to each person; as such we must experience as much of life as possible to make meaning for ourselves.
To quote:
“To accept the absurd: Nothing is possible but everything is given.”
huzzah free concerts! Went out last night to see Stephen and Damien Marley through a free show being put on by some myspace crap. Terrible, terrible waiting–got there a few minutes before 7, and then had to stand and wait until 10 (!) listening to a terrible DJ spin bad radio/club crap, then listen to this crazy rapper who had turned himself retarded ramble on for about 15 minutes. On top of that, the people around us were absolute retards who kept swinging their arms into us and were unable to understand the concept of not repeatedly hitting people, plus all the smoke. We were all getting a bit pissed, but then Stephen Marley came out; and to quote Erica: “I have never become happier quicker.” Stephen Marley has worked hard to look and sound exactly like his dad, and its quite cool, plus he has some really good original songs. Damien Marley is crazy awesome, and its quite a sight to see them together. In addition, there was this awesome old reggae guy who the entire set (easily almost 1.5 hrs) just waved an Ethiopian flag on stage, never stopping. Amazing.
now with poor quality camera-phone pictures!
Also, I just got an email from Khalan Weaponry:
“I’ve got you a new lower. The other one couldn’t be corrected any further without making the threads to loose. I’ll be getting back to you about Thursday or Friday on the final note. Got to get this one Coyote Tan now.”
I kind of had written it off, but at least I will have a new paperweight!