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The Boring Company [video]

boringcompany.com

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Re: The Boring Company [video]

#221

Post by jbooth »

tptacek wrote: post #151

Since this is a thread about Elon Musk, transportation infrastructure, public transportation, and urban design, and because HN has a sort of affinity for the Robert Moses story (The Power Broker was one of 'aaronsw's favorite books), this seems like a particularly on-point Twitter thread to read after the video: https://twitter.com/EmilyGorcenski/status/858022699112824832 You might not agree with all/any of it but I…

It's not thought provoking, it's a series of thought terminating cliches.

I'm as liberal as they come, I'm very sensitive to disguised racism, but the tweets' entire basis of comparison between Musk and Moses is "both are/were ambitious men and now musk is talking about infrastructure". It's free-association garbage.

The Moses story is fascinating because he accomplished great things that built NYC but was also a horrible person. The tweeter you linked is like, "hey, Musk is trying to accomplish great things, he must be just like Moses".

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#222

Post by [deleted] »

tptacek wrote: post #151

Since this is a thread about Elon Musk, transportation infrastructure, public transportation, and urban design, and because HN has a sort of affinity for the Robert Moses story (The Power Broker was one of 'aaronsw's favorite books), this seems like a particularly on-point Twitter thread to read after the video: https://twitter.com/EmilyGorcenski/status/858022699112824832 You might not agree with all/any of it but I…

[deleted]

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#223

Post by baq »

ShannonAlther wrote: post #214
cbisnett wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Elon's response to a Twitter users similar comment about earthquakes. I don't know enough about physics to say if he's just throwing things out there or if he already did some research. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/824300186834898945

Mmm, so I spoke too soon on that front. In my defense, I've said this a lot to people who are advocates of Hyperloop construction (vacuum tubes are far too easily ruptured to be used in conjunction with transportation), but Musk is correct. Are subways targets for terrorism the same way that airports are?

All public transportation is.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#224

Post by Matt3o12_ »

avn2109 wrote: post #178
phamilton wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the entire point of The Boring Company. It's way more expensive than anyone expects. That's the problem they are trying to solve. The entire goal is "serious advances in rock boring techniques". That may be a lofty goal, but at least the message I got is that it is the one they want to reach.

>> "(personal opinion: there are none coming)" Former tunnel boring engineer here. There is a ton of room for innovation around tunnel boring machines built by the major manufacturers (primarily Herrenknecht and Robbins), around reliability, durability, ease of serviceability etc. I cannot emphasize enough how modern TBM's require an unbelievable amount of engineering attention, repair labor, spare parts infrastructu…

So they are somewhat similar to the problems Elon tries to solve with rockets. Rockets are not normally reused, which makes them expensive to use.

They are often custom built (at least partly) and thus not mass produced. While we won't see that for rockets any time soon, it believe he managed to bring down the cost of building rockets and continues to do so (he uses his own money after all and does not have the support of every tax-paying citizen like NASA used to during the Apollo missions).

Sure the engineering challenges are probably different for the most part but the economics are the same. Rockets are more expensive then they should be. Boring is also more expensive then it needs to be.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#225

Post by MattRix »

sanswork wrote: post #160
hourislate wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Toronto is one of the most dysfunctional cities in NA. They can't even add a new subway line or additional stops. They have no problem closing down every major high way in the City for a marathon every weekend during the summer or the Molson Indy causing massive traffic issues. The City Council is inept so good luck hoping they could ever have the insight to agree to something like this. , so I really doubt they will…

Toronto has enough space that LRT makes way more sense financially than subways but Ford ruined LRT in the minds of almost everyone. Even GO could cut down a lot of traffic if they'd just add more parking lots on the edge of the city and make it all day two way. When I use to live north of the city there were 3 trains into Toronto in the morning on the Stouffville line and 3 trains back at the end of the day and if y…

GO Transit has done exactly what you said over the past few years, they've been adding way more trains and way more parking lots.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#226

Post by Houshalter »

hk__2 wrote: post #180
webreac wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Degradation of infrastructure is caused by heavy vehicules (trucks), weather and bad driving. Tunnels solve these 3 issues.

How do tunnels solve bad driving? Tunnel accidents are even worse than those on the surface.

It doesn't look like you get to drive in the tunnels. You get put on a car that is on fixed tracks.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#227

Post by namesbc »

This is a solved problem. It's called trains.

Visit Switzerland and you'll see that it is superfluous to build all this expensive infrastructure just to stick your personal car on a train.

Riding in a train is bigger, way more comfortable, and much cheaper.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#228

Post by ziikutv »

tuacker wrote: post #117

I feel like everything Elon Musk undertakes with his companies is just one huge Mars Beta Test. - SpaceX: Obvious, got to get to space somehow - Tesla: Build cars/machines to run on something that is guaranteed to exist on Mars (the sun) vs. Oil - Gigafactory: How to build batteries 101 - Solar roof: While Earths environment may not be as harsh as Mars you still learn something, and improve solar panel production in…

This is exactly my thoughts

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#229

Post by eru »

placeybordeaux wrote: post #155
tuacker wrote: post #117

I feel like everything Elon Musk undertakes with his companies is just one huge Mars Beta Test. - SpaceX: Obvious, got to get to space somehow - Tesla: Build cars/machines to run on something that is guaranteed to exist on Mars (the sun) vs. Oil - Gigafactory: How to build batteries 101 - Solar roof: While Earths environment may not be as harsh as Mars you still learn something, and improve solar panel production in…

We'll have to look seriously at living underground on mars. It won't protect us from solar rays on the surface. One of the cheaper ways to protect yourself is to put a layer of rock inbetween you and the sun.

Underground living on Mercury is much more interesting than Mars. (There's a band close to the poles and a few meters down that has very stable and comfortable temperatures.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#230

Post by eru »

BurningFrog wrote: post #217
placeybordeaux wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We'll have to look seriously at living underground on mars. It won't protect us from solar rays on the surface. One of the cheaper ways to protect yourself is to put a layer of rock inbetween you and the sun.

Is the main radiation danger the Sun or the background "cosmic" radiation? I've been assuming the latter, but I realize now that I don't actually know.

Doesn't matter too much for the rocks: if a few metre of rock won't absorb the radiation, neither will your body.
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