Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

texasmonthly.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 100 posts

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#81

Post by nyolfen »

KerrAvon wrote: post #79
nyolfen wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

state independence or secession is routinely brought up in relation to california, idaho, and the PNW, at the very least. it has also been a constant since texas was accepted into the union. spare me the handwringing, americans are disagreeable.

There isn't a regular drumbeat of secession from the state's own politicians and political groupies in those other places, and in California when it is discussed it's a worst-case scenario to protect ourselves, not an isolationist fever dream. There was a Russian-sponsored "CalExit" thing a few years ago, but that wasn't organic. It's in the water in Texas. edit: spelling

> and in California when it is discussed it's a worst-case scenario to protect ourselves, not an isolationist fever dream.

I am firm, you are obstinate, he is a pig-headed fool.

I am righteously indignant, you are annoyed, he is making a fuss over nothing.

I have reconsidered the matter, you have changed your mind, he has gone back on his word.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#82

Post by dmix »

nubianwarrior wrote: post #71
achenatx wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there is no one reason why we dont have basements, but it is more likely to do with the fact that up north they have to dig deep (3-4 ft) for the frost line. If you are digging that deep anyway, you might as well go an additional 4-5 ft and build a basement. Excavating limestone isnt that hard. Instead of one day to dig a basement in soil, it would take about 14 days to dig a typical basement in limestone (based on d…

East Austinite since I was a teenager, family has had the same parcel of land since the 1880s. It's all caliche and limestone boss 6 inches down boss.

How do you put down fence posts? A brief googling says they should be 36 inches deep.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#83

Post by seltzered_ »

dmix wrote: post #82
nubianwarrior wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

East Austinite since I was a teenager, family has had the same parcel of land since the 1880s. It's all caliche and limestone boss 6 inches down boss.

How do you put down fence posts? A brief googling says they should be 36 inches deep.

Depends. Some combine the fence posts with concrete (adding weight), some add reinforcing metal posts, some do nothing. Watching fences collapse after a strong wind storm is a common sight.

Its worth noting you can generally still drill a hole into caliche.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#84

Post by dmix »

csours wrote: post #56

Driving through Houston always makes me feel like I'm in Mad Max.

I've always heard Houston was an urban wasteland but when I visited I was surprised at the amount of trees and nice buildings. It was also very clean.

The city center had a really nice large park and the tram that goes across the city looked nice and modern.

Maybe because I wasn't driving through the suburbs, so I missed the ugly parts but otherwise this critique seemed way overrated.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#85

Post by anamax »

jason-phillips wrote: post #19
oneoff786 wrote: post #16

Apocalypse stories don’t often make sense. The energy and fuel situations are usually bonkers. The hordes of people who turn into lunatics is silly. Cooperation is natural and good. My favorite post apocalyptic cult is the one featured in A Quiet Place 2. This world features aliens that will kill anyone who makes a sound. The protagonists are captured by this cult of like 30 people with little intro to who the hell t…

> Cooperation is natural and good. Recently, after seeing people from Dallas haul their trailers to my small Texas town's grocery store so as to pillage our remaining toilet paper stock, my faith in the rational ability of my fellow Man has been somewhat reduced.

How many people? What fraction of Dallas residents engaged in that behavior?

That said, would it have been "Texan" to have turned them back at the city limits?

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#86

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

MS90 wrote: post #45
achenatx wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there is no one reason why we dont have basements, but it is more likely to do with the fact that up north they have to dig deep (3-4 ft) for the frost line. If you are digging that deep anyway, you might as well go an additional 4-5 ft and build a basement. Excavating limestone isnt that hard. Instead of one day to dig a basement in soil, it would take about 14 days to dig a typical basement in limestone (based on d…

It might not be 'that hard' to excavate limestone, but an additional 21,000 dollars added to the cost along with 14x longer work time is not an insignificant difference. East Austin doesn't have them because of the unstable clay that expands and contracts with rains, same reason the track surface at COTA has had so many issues. The ground doesn't stay put. Couple those things with the frost line issue you mentioned,…

The reason you don't have basements is because you don't have to worry about the Frontline.

If you did, land would be worth $21k less per lot - to make up for the cost to dig a basement.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#87

Post by fmakunbound »

dmix wrote: post #82
nubianwarrior wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

East Austinite since I was a teenager, family has had the same parcel of land since the 1880s. It's all caliche and limestone boss 6 inches down boss.

How do you put down fence posts? A brief googling says they should be 36 inches deep.

I use an 8 foot, iron digging bar ahead of the post hole digger.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#88

Post by cestith »

bin_bash wrote: post #55
achenatx wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there is no one reason why we dont have basements, but it is more likely to do with the fact that up north they have to dig deep (3-4 ft) for the frost line. If you are digging that deep anyway, you might as well go an additional 4-5 ft and build a basement. Excavating limestone isnt that hard. Instead of one day to dig a basement in soil, it would take about 14 days to dig a typical basement in limestone (based on d…

It may be different in Hill Country but in Dallas and Houston the water table is just too high in most places to make a basement realistic.

There are basements here in Houston but they're rare and typically have multiple sumps and pumps.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#89

Post by csours »

dmix wrote: post #84
csours wrote: post #56

Driving through Houston always makes me feel like I'm in Mad Max.

I've always heard Houston was an urban wasteland but when I visited I was surprised at the amount of trees and nice buildings. It was also very clean. The city center had a really nice large park and the tram that goes across the city looked nice and modern. Maybe because I wasn't driving through the suburbs, so I missed the ugly parts but otherwise this critique seemed way overrated.

Driving from one edge of the city to the other definitely triggers the feeling in me.

Re: Texas Has Always Been a Great Setting for the Apocalypse

#90

Post by wardedVibe »

mmmpop wrote: post #31
taneq wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first time people got into literal fist fights in supermarkets over toilet paper, my faith in the rational ability of most humans was shaken. The third time around, it was gone. By now my expectations of humans are, sadly, extremely limited.

Hmm I'm bothered by people hauling trailers to horde toilet paper, sure. But I'd absolutely fight you for the last roll on the shelf.

Y'all need some bidets...
Post reply on HN