I like the vibe.
The Beer Can (2023)
21–30 of 56 posts
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#22brr.fyi - perfect domain name
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#23Wait, why are things getting buried to the extent that the ground level seems to rise? Does the snow level just gradually increase there? Does the station sink?
Given that sea levels are rising, it seems that mean snow and ice levels should fall. So on average, foundations should get more exposed rather than buildings getting buried.
Varies by location, it seems the south pole isn't warmed up enough yet for that to happen. Big chunks are melting and drifting off though.
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#24Once the elevated station becomes buried, will they build another one on top? When will the madness end!? It's south pole stations all the way down!
From a quick look at the construction, it seems that is the case. The British and German stations (and perhaps others) use a different approach, standing on mobile legs that can be raised, allowing the snow foundation underneath to be built up: https://youtu.be/LSCCi9ZhnZs?si=_nsyN5qfFeT-dCUa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6AfUJLtPcA The British one can also be towed around if it needs to be somewhere else: https:/…
I suspect this one can be raised and lowered too, given it's on piles.
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#25Interesting article just for how the structures tell stories about history of the place, under such unique constraints.
Browsing the site made me find the "Engineering for slow internet" article too, which appears to have been a big thing here lol. Very interesting! Dunno if Elon's Starlink already one-shotted that whole issue, but I imagined a whole remote access piece of software that could avoid a lot of the related pains ... Something across lines of remote sending low bitdepth very compressed images back, and only on user interaction, clicks / typing in the input fields working in "turns" instead of realtime-by-default. Constraining the bitrate even more, the returned data could be just rects with AI labeling them either "some graphic" or "text" with the text content of the image only being transmitted. The remote could also send basic updates based on reading the screen like "page loaded and visual of it has been static for x seconds" to avoid wasting any data.
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#26Can't view this in any other context than John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#27The title is correct, but it obscures the fact that it's discussing life in Antarctica! Living in antarctica is one of our closest analogues to long-term space habitation.
Agreed. Wasn't interested in the article at all based on the zero-context title. Glanced at the comments anyway and ... Antarctica?
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#28This is so cool. I think South/North pole expeditions/stations are up there with space science in terms of the awe and wonder they evoke.
Really feels like old internet too.
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#29That's a sick job. I had been wondering if there's roles for IT in Antarctica, but I fear my wife may be angry if I dip off to an isolated continent for a year.
I have a friend who's worked in Antarctica as IT support (US) for...ever. Decades.
He may or may not have been one of the last two people to ever set foot in the original McMurdo Station, before the weight of snow crushed it. Cool stories.
Re: The Beer Can (2023)
#30So, from what I read, it's not that the bar can structure is special - it's more about the author's infatuation with. I resonate with that. I often find some structures (especially technical ones, occasionally - ruins) causing this kind of sensation. (Is there a word it?) Metal grid staircases, pipes often invoke it for me. To some extend, I like these feelings also in some games (notably: Half Life, including Alyx a…
The beer can feels a bit like stacks I’ve worked on. Connects everything together, is cheaply made, often requires Herculean effort to keep functional at ground level, has a utility elevator only for special things, and becomes an object of cult-like obsession by anyone who has to labor under its cover.
Could say that pretty much all of my projects have some kind of beer can or other.