MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
So on Friday morning I overslept. Badly. By over an hour. So as I made my way to work, I was acutely aware of the time.

At 7:56 I pulled out of the garage and onto 79th st. I turned onto 1st avenue at 7:57 and passed 91st st at 8:02. At 8:03 I made it to 96th St. and made the right turn to get onto the FDR. At 8:15 I arrived at work, one hour and fifteen minutes late. And it was all over the news.

See, while I was making that turn at 96th st. at 8:03, back at 91st. st, where I had been less than a minute before, a construction crane collapsed, killing two construction workers and seriously damaging the apartment building next to it, where a few hundred New Yorkers were showering, shaving, brushing their teeth, drinking their coffee, sitting on the toilet, and otherwise starting their days when suddenly debris from the crane blew in their windows, sheared off their balconies, and destroyed their living rooms.

It was the second major crane collapse in New York City in two months.

And I'm furious. 60 seconds. Less than 60 seconds. And that could have been my car sitting under that crane because I was most certainly in the left lane, right under that building, and probably, unbeknownst to me, the crane was already starting to wobble while I was right under it.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of corruption. I'm sick of incompetence. I'm sick of people putting money ahead of doing their jobs to the point where people die. I'm sick of steam pipes blowing up and sewage leaking on my head in subway stations. I'm sick of people refusing to do their jobs. I'm sick of people taking pride in their work. I'm sick of cops who stand there and look at a woman collapsed on the ground and don't make a move to help her. I'm sick of brownouts and black outs and not having enough hot water.

You can defend it. But the fact of the matter is that New York City just had two crane collapses in two months. And that's unprecedented. And this one came entirely too close to collapsing right on top of me.

So not only am I sick of this place, I fear for my safety. Why? Because I can prepare for an earthquake. But human idiocy is far more difficult to predict.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


PyroWillGOLD Member
HoP's Barman. Trapped aged 6 months
4,437 posts
Location: Staines, United Kingdom


Posted:
How long till SF??

Glad your alright hug

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian


PeleBRONZE Member
the henna lady
6,193 posts
Location: WNY, USA


Posted:
 Written by :Doc Lightning


I'm sick of people taking pride in their work.



Surely you mean *NOT* taking pride in their work?

And it isn't just NYC love. It's an urban epidemic that can be seen in the violence rates and the squallor in most cities, you just have to live there or look for it, or both as I've found most people are content turning a blind eye to it all, no matter the occupation or where they are from.

It's sad.

I am so very, very glad you are ok hug
That will teach you to be on time! wink

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK


roarfireSILVER Member
comfortably numb
2,676 posts
Location: The countryside, Australia


Posted:
I don't really know what to say on NY city front because I don't know anything about NY....but I'm glad you are okay hug

.All things are beautiful if we take the time to look.


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by :Pele



Surely you mean *NOT* taking pride in their work?



Yeah... sorry.

 Written by


And it isn't just NYC love.



No. Stop right there. That's exactly the "defending" I'm talking about. I get it from New Yorkers and it's disgusting. It is only NYC.

Please name one other first world city that has had two cranes collapse in two months AND has had a steam pipe explosion AND has sewage dripping out of subways AND has greater than 70% of its bridges labeled as "structurally deficient." You can't. So no, Pele. I love you but it is only NYC. You can name other cities with similar problems, but not one city with all of them.

In fact, one day before it happened, the NY Times ran an article on how the City was slackening its crane inspection rules.

I don't know where the infrastructure is going to try to kill me next.

In the last 10 years, this city has been home to an uncomfortably large number of crowds running screaming into the street while clouds of debris billowed over their heads.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


PyrolificBRONZE Member
Returning to a unique state of Equilibrium
3,289 posts
Location: Adelaide, South Australia


Posted:
glad to hear you are ok dude! dont worry, I bet there was a bunch of people who were much closer to being squished than you! smile

--
Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!


GnorBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia


Posted:
Get out of there hug hug hug hug hug

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu


LazyAngelGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,895 posts
Location: Cambridge UK


Posted:
come back to the UK.. we don't even have earthquakes! (well, earthquakes that do more damage than dislodging rooftiles and tipping over garden furniture) wink

hug

Because ActiveAngel sounds like a feminine deodorant

Like sex, I'm much more interesting in real life than online.

'Be the change you want to see in the world around you' - Ghandi


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
Glad you were not too late to survive hug

Yepp, it's New York City - I fully side that. It's a rotten city, with a funny history. Loads of hopeful people betrayed of their fortune - in exchange for the American nightmare.

Get out of there spank before it's too late wink

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


natasqiaddict
489 posts
Location: Perth


Posted:
On one hand, i'm glad you're alright etc etc..

But then you say "People aren't doing their jobs" but you nearly died because you OVERSLEPT AND WERE LATE FOR WORK...

:P

Well, at least I found it funny...

Anyway, maybe lots of other people oversleep too and in these precious hours of work that are lost, because they're rushed, they do things not as 100% completely as they would had if they had not slept in... and therefore patients die and cranes fall on peoples heads.

Sorry, in a morbid mood. frown

MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by :Gnor


Get out of there hug hug hug hug hug



36 days. Just 36 days.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


PeleBRONZE Member
the henna lady
6,193 posts
Location: WNY, USA


Posted:
Rochester Mike. 85% of the bridges didn't pass inspection.
Several of the houses in the "city" have been condemned and still have people living in them.
The subway was closed due to structural integrity but they can't flood them due to it being concidered genocide for the amount of homeless in them.

Chicago has had 4 major construction accidents due to a lack of proper inspections. I also read of an entire street of homes that had their sewers back up into their homes.

Buffalo, the public sewer line burst in my friends front yard and it took over a week for a clean up crew and fix it crew...and when they showed up, they dropped a power line poll due to incompetence. The *city* employees.

After the multiple bridge collapses in the midwest last year research was done that said that a staggeringly high percentage (over 80%) of *national* bridges were being passed for inspections when they shouldn't and were not up to code. It was excused as an "acceptable risk margin". I'm sure a google search will bring it up, but I'm being lazy right now. I find the fact that every day millions of people pass over those bridges and their lives fall into an "acceptable risk margin" is staggering.

My point, alot of problems don't make national news, but they *are* there. I know you can't stand NYC but, as much as I love you, it really isn't just NYC. I'm not defending NYC at all, I'm saying it's wider spread than that which makes it an even bigger problem.

Honestly, for the perfect example of the reprocussions of a cities outdated policies, lack of upkeep and people turning a blind eye, just look at New Orleans. Their levies, their sewers, their systems were screaming for update. The city turned a blind eye long before Katrina.
Long before Katrina they were suffering massive sewer issues because their system dates back to the 1800's.
Long before Katrina they were all over the news for the inadequate/corrupt police/justice system.
Long before Katrina reports were put out about the levies and how inadequate they are because of being effected by erosion and their outdated support structure.
Long before Katrina many of the residential buildings didn't pass safety codes but fines were paid and inspections were waived.
And it wasn't until Katrina that anyone paid attention.

NYC gets media attention because of the hub that it is, while other cities have the issues and get away with it by sliding under the media-at-large radar.

I will respectfully and completely disagree with you, it isn't just NYC and honestly, as much as you think I am defending NYC, I feel you are turning a blind eye to a larger national issue.

So...how packed are you? wink

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK


Silk_the_ElfGOLD Member
Member
37 posts
Location: USA


Posted:
I'm working in the construction industry and from what I'm told this is the 4th crane collapse in the country just this year! Two of which as was already pointed out were in NYC. A crane collapse is supposed to be a fluke, a rarity, even an oddity, not a regularly occuring catastrophy!
Theories abound around here as to the root of the problem. Aside from people just not doing their jobs. Here in the VA, DC, MD area we've noticed a drop in available jobs, the jobs that are available are being worked by overworked under paid laborers who rarely understand eachother let alone what their formen says to them. Improperly trained and maintained staff is at the root of the quality contol issues we see here and with these crane collapses we're wondering if it is indeed a national 'Tower of Babel' epidemic.
some say that it doesn't matter how well they understand if they aren't paid well they aren't going to do a good job. My theory on that though is if you're willing to accept the job at that pay then you should do your best at it, not your minimum wage's worth.

MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Then perhaps, Pele, it's the entire Eastern half of the U.S.

San Francisco has had its issues, but nothing like this. New infrastructure is being built. People are proud of their work and they are doing their jobs well. They're friendly and they're happy and they're hardworking.

But as much problems as the other cities have, New York has all of them at once. In fact, it ranked the #4 most miserable city in the country in last year's Forbes ratings. It fell behind 1) Detroit (duh, lived there) 2) Stockton, CA and 3) Flint, MI (funny, two of the top three are in MI).

There's something about this place that's like the Chinese water torture.

And I'm counting the days. Because every time a rude nurse snaps at me, every time I have to wait 5 minutes to cross a meter of concrete to get in my door, every time I have to take an ice-cold shower first thing in the morning, every time the electricity browns out, every time a train doesn't come and I can't get where I wanted to go... ...is one insult closer to the day that I leave.

It just fascinates me that millions of people live like this and accept it as a way of life.

As for me, I am dreading the day I hear that the Brooklyn Bridge collapsed. I'm dreading the day a major subway station collapses. I'm dreading the day one of the massive billboards in Times Square slips its fittings and crashes into the crowd in a shower of razor-sharp glass fragments. Or worse, some unforseen event like Katrina that a prepared city could shrug off could totally decimate New York City. And a city like this could never be rebuilt.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


WildThingmiss beelzeboss
41 posts
Location: Zagreb , Croatia =)


Posted:
 Written by :Doc Lightning


I'm sick of it. I'm sick of corruption. I'm sick of incompetence. I'm sick of people putting money ahead of doing their jobs to the point where people die.



...i understand you completely... im come from croatia , which is in transition ..and corruption is still here a big problem.. saftey of our citizens is often in question.. for example :
there was a project in one street for a buissines building or smth like that ..the people who invested wanted to save money and in the 'report' they said that its safe and that they made extra saftey measurement , and that the UNDERGROUND WATERS are no threath.. = some time after the construction began ..half of one street collapsed !!!! several houses were destroyed and almost somebody got killed... my frend had to be evacuated from that street and live in a hostel for a month or so... CORRUPTION SUCKS .... -.-

You make my heart sing..you make everything..GROOVEY .. yeah =) xD


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
It does make me very worried. I see California as still functional, active, and generally well-run. I see the East as corrupt, shabby, and loaded with incompetence.

It feels to me like we've become a third world country that sits where a first world nation used to be. We have the advantage of their infrastructure, but as we fail to repair, maintain, and upgrade it, we suffer more and more damage.

I hear about third world countries and water rationing, people having to get up at 4AM to get the hot water, and electricity rationing. Well it's not yet at that scale, but it's started. We've had brown-outs, black-outs, and now water pressure reductions. I very often have to take cold showers in the morning. We even had an old-fashioned run on a bank (Bear-Stearns) recently.

And then it's started with the rice rationing. My mother, raised in Fascist Spain, was horrified. She said "This was how it started with Franco!" But at least Franco made the trains run on time; ours don't, when there are even trains to run.

I feel like we're in China lately, what with all their infrastructure failure. The difference is that they're trying to build new infrastructure and they're doing it carelessly and sloppily while we aren't building any infrastructure and just allowing what exists to rot and collapse.

The U.S. was once a great nation of great works. The New York City Subway was built in less than 30 years. That's the entire system as it is today. Not a single line has been added in the last 60. Now they say it will take at least 20 to build one more (poorly-designed) line. The U.S. that I remember from my childhood would have responded to the tragedy of 9/11 with a new tower being built within a few years. But here it is 7 years later and they're only just reaching street level.

There are other signs that the U.S. is falling to dust. The US Dollar, once the international standard of currency, is increasingly being supplanted by the Euro. It now trades on par with the Canadian Dollar.

A lot of it is Bush's doing. But I'm afraid that the damage is so deep that the country is now rotten in its very core. I fear complete collapse of the union. And if not complete collapse, then at least irrelevance.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
I'm sorry but I have to say it -

A run on a bank is so Mary Poppins ubblove

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


WildThingmiss beelzeboss
41 posts
Location: Zagreb , Croatia =)


Posted:
well.. im sorry to hear the conditions you have to live in.. in croatia we dont have water problems (jet) .. but were are going through such a hard faze : we are trying to join the EU ...and now we have to work on standars...the change is enormous.. everything is geting more expensive.. education is in development and we are the 'testing animals' .. i reaally dont understand WHY we are in such a hurry.. why do we want to be america.. everything was fine..know.. were rotting.. i blame the war.. frown

You make my heart sing..you make everything..GROOVEY .. yeah =) xD


FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
Mike, that's what China traded your jobs for wink

Does it help to get upset about it? Nope. People choose where they live and how. It's not "only" New York, it definitely is not "only" the US. Corruption is great for those who get paid (and away with it).

36 days and you'll move to the 'golden' West - hoping for you that the lawn really is greener on the other side smile

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


faith enfireBRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
It's not just the East. We had a crane collapse, MN had that bridge. We do a lot of construction and there have been crane issues, thankfully no collapses.

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by :faithinfire


It's not just the East. We had a crane collapse, MN had that bridge. We do a lot of construction and there have been crane issues, thankfully no collapses.



Yeah, but you haven't had it with the sheer volume that we have had it. How many mornings this week have YOU had to take an ice cold shower? And apparently the problem is that ConEdison is having trouble supplying gas to our block, not our boiler.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


BansheeCatBRONZE Member
veteran
1,247 posts
Location: lost, Canada


Posted:
well, this does not have the political social implications your situation does,and not so big as a crane, still really really scary!!! The rural version :

A big tree just fell, inches from my room in our house! I heard something, went to the window, but it was too late and happenning fast, and it just fell, so close everything shook. Yikes. I have no idea if the roof would have been strong enough to stop it or not. I know the one that fell at our cabin a few years ago in the big windstorm completely took out the roof, and destroyed half of what was inside...

The sound of a tree cracking and toppling is weird and amazing!

Feeling very very lucky it was a miss!

Also curious at the timing, there is hardly any wind today, just rain. And the arborist is already scheduled(before this!) to come next week to check all the trees near the house. How ironic!

"God *was* my co-pilot, but then we crashed, and I had to eat him..."


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
So I got off the train today (I avoid the trains here because they're so unreliable) and the station *stank*. Like feces.

And then I noticed the brown smear running down the wall. It was a sewage leak. And it was definitely the source of the smell. Said the station attendant, "honey, that's been that way for DAYS. They're working on it!" There was no evidence of any sort of "work" in the station or aboveground. You would imagine that would be considered a serious public health risk and would be dealt with as an emergency.

But no, all cities have that problem.

Ew. Just... Ew.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Yay! It's a really hot day in New York and...

...the brown-outs have begun. It's sweltering in my apartment and there isn't enough current to run my A/C's compressor.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


Adya MiriyanaGOLD Member
*slou?
6,554 posts
Location: Adelaide, Australia


Posted:
if you're going to san francisco... peace

hug

MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Gotta live through 29 more days of this. That's a *long* time when you hate where you live and you hate where you work.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
Grip Mike. Get a grip. It's a small amount of time. Some people are in prison for years. Or in crap situations they are seriously trapped in You are going SOON to somewhere you feel you can breathe again. You are young. You will be OUT OF THERE really soon; fit and spunky and smart and employable and loved. WIth a passport and money, health and even a chance of perspective and fresh joy SOON!!!

YAY for you!

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by :newgabe


Grip Mike. Get a grip. It's a small amount of time. Some people are in prison for years.



Yes, but my only crime was to study my ass off and go to medical school. And for this, I have been severely punished. rolleyes

Anyway, I'm having to restrain myself from going to SF next weekend. I won't. I want to, but it's not worth flying out there to be there less than 36 hours. And I can't stand to leave it again.

No, no more visits to SF. Not ever again. smile

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


AmanitaSILVER Member
member
157 posts
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada


Posted:
Heh..I'll be going to San Francisco this september:)
I'll be sure to give the Golden Gate Bridge a big kiss for you:)

As for NYC, I've been following the crane accidents there, being a wannabe crane operator myself. Shameful, absolutely shameful.

On another message board, I once mentioned that I practice an unusual form of Urban Paganism. I believe that not only do we need to love and care for the world of nature, but we also need to show love and care for the world we've built.
Once we create something, it is our responsibility to care for it as best we are able. Public officials in NYC who have contributed to the city's state of rot need to hang their heads in shame.

As for Brooklyn Bridge, I think the big guy is healthy smile
High profile structures tend to recieve better care than their lower profile (but still vital) smaller cousins.

"Do not meddle in the affairs of Tower Cranes, for you are soft and would look better when squashed by a full concrete bucket"


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by :Amanita


As for Brooklyn Bridge, I think the big guy is healthy smile



Think what you want to think: ArticleArticle

I had another frustrating New York morning. My car is on the fritz and needed to go to the dealership. So it took me an hour and a half to go the 10 miles to get down there. Drop the car off and had to walk a half mile to get to the rental place.

Now I rented a compact. All they have left is a Jeep CommanderJeep Commander with a quarter of a tank of fuel. Yeah, the thing is a ship. And I need a car to get to work because if I use public transport, my 20 minute at 6:40AM becomes a one hour and 20 minute trip starting at 5:20 AM.

Now in most cities, you get a car that is maybe a size greater than what you requested and you ALWAYS get a full tank of gas. So I'm filling up the car tomorrow and going in with the reciept and asking them to credit me for that and to give me a smaller car. I mean what is wrong with this place that even a simple car rental is fraught with errors and failure to deliver what's promised?

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura



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