Tunnel Vision

The Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge are Northern California's most famous monuments to America's golden century of engineering (bookended roughly from the Civil War to the Apollo missions).

For my money, however, the most important is the Hetch Hetchy system, which furnishes water to the Bay Area. [bold added]

The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. Eighty-five percent of the water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir situated on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from Yosemite to the San Francisco Bay Area.

The system uses gravity until the water reaches its destinations, where pumping stations are required. With its three hydroelectric power plants Hetch Hetchy produces electricity sufficient to power 300,000 households per year.

Groveland access point to Mountain Tunnel (Chron)

Essential to the entire system is the 19-mile Mountain Tunnel, which is undergoing repairs:

Today, the 19-mile-long Mountain Tunnel is critical to San Francisco: It is the only pathway for Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water to travel from one of the powerhouses that generate hydroelectricity to another reservoir downstream.

For two consecutive winters, Mountain Tunnel has been under renovation after it was first red-flagged for major repairs 30 years ago. SFPUC has completed about 40% of the total construction and plans to close the tunnel for five more winters, ending in 2027...

Through pipes above and below ground, water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir flows 150 miles through a series of tunnels, powerhouses and reservoirs before reaching the Bay Area’s local water system 32 hours later. Taking advantage of grade changes from the Sierra Nevada to the Bay Area, the original engineers were able to construct a probable pathway for water to travel entirely via one of the most climate-friendly sources of power available: gravity.

I am glad that we still have enough engineering knowhow to repair the Mountain Tunnel at a cost of $238 million instead of replacing it for $500 million to $1 billion.

Also, the SFPUC is betting that local reservoirs will be sufficient to satisfy the lower seasonal demand when the Tunnel is closed for repairs for the next four winters.

So pray for rain.

STEM + A

(Graphic from poetsandquants)

Your humble blogger has always been in awe of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professions. The feeling started in college; the classmates who majored in these courses were very smart and, frankly, worked harder than I did. They didn't necessarily become scientists or engineers; many became doctors, which requires lots of STEM.

Sufficient aptitude in math and statistics enabled me to enter the fields of accounting and business finance and, as they say, put food on the table. But I never thought that accountancy was as technically demanding as engineering, biochemistry, or computer programming.

However, some politicians do. The House of Representatives bill HR 3855 proposes [bold added]

To amend the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program to promote career awareness in accounting as part of a well-rounded STEM educational experience.117th Congress (2021-2022)

(Image from Mindy Barker Assoc.)

Ever since STEM was identified as a national priority in the early 2000's, STEM education funding has steadily increased regardless of which party controls the White House or Congress.

It's great that accounting has been accorded some respect and that accounting education may soon be eligible for Federal support. There is an acute shortage of accountants relative to open positions.

Respect the green eyeshade!

Texas Eyes Hurricanes

Big swinging gates (WSJ graphic)

One of the overarching themes of history is how humankind battled and overcame the vicissitudes of nature. But some phenomena, like hurricanes, seemed too daunting to be resisted...until now.

Texas is considering a $26 billion barrier system to protect against hurricane storm surge.

The plan calls for 43 miles of new dunes and beaches and man-made fortifications designed to weather storm surges of up to 21 feet, including a gate system across the main entrance to Galveston Bay.

A complex gate system stretching between Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island would reduce storm surge while maintaining about 90% of current water flows when gates are open.

Three newly constructed man-made islands would anchor and house two pairs of large fan-shaped sector gates.

Comments:

The engineering mentality that built much of America--its cities, superhighways, hydroelectric dams, railroads, and the space program--is still alive.

Much of this spirit and skill used to be in California and has moved to Texas.

The above is the type of real infrastructure spending that your humble blogger can support. Note: this is mostly not "infrastructure":

Mr. Biden’s proposal includes $621 billion to modernize transportation infrastructure, $400 billion to help care for the aging and those with disabilities, $300 billion to boost the manufacturing industry, $213 billion on retrofitting and building affordable housing and $100 billion to expand broadband access, among other investments.

While the technology may never exist to stop a hurricane, earthquake, or volcano, the worst damage from these natural phenomena is being reduced through projects like these.

Dog Bites Man

A Moraga man was bitten by a coyote: [bold added]

Kenji Sytz (LinkedIn)

That was until the end of their workout, when [Kenji] Sytz felt a sudden, sharp pain in his left leg. From a push-up position, he quickly rolled over to find a coyote clamped down, hard, on his shin and calf.

In a matter of seconds, Sytz jerked up his knee, wound up and slapped the coyote in the face to convince the animal to release him.

At first, it didn’t budge. It took nearly a minute for Sytz and his two workout partners to shoo the animal back into the Friday morning darkness.

Jack Wakileh, one of Sytz’ friends, said all of his years watching animal documentaries on the Discovery Channel prepared him for that moment. He chased the coyote from the football field’s 20-yard-line to an open gate on the other side. It would run 10 yards, pause, then stare back at Wakileh, he said.

It wasn’t until Sytz rolled up his jogger pants that he saw the deep puncture wounds, and dangling fatty tissue. Wakileh said Sytz tried to play it off as a minor flesh wound.

“I’m like ... ‘you need to go to the hospital,’” Wakileh said. “That’s not broken skin — I see your muscle.”

But Sytz said he was in good condition Friday after getting treatment at a hospital for the puncture wounds left by the coyote’s fangs in his leg — including rabies shots. Sytz said the shots were more scary than the bite. He said he’ll limp for some time, and lamented having to miss a planned 10-mile run this weekend.

“I’m an avid outdoorsman. I was more afraid of the needles,” he said.

Comments:
1) The coyote didn't attack an isolated target but a member of a three-man running group. Both mountain lions and coyotes are becoming more brazen and/or hungrier.

2) Kenji Sytz is an Engineer, Berkeley grad, and family man per his social media profiles. He showed grace under pressure; it's nice to know that macho-ness--not the blustering and boastful kind---is still alive in a few young men.

Proceed with Caution

One of the reasons that a picture is worth a thousand words is because a verbal description often is confusing. Here are the words--with a picture--describing a new traffic design. (Try to read it first, and then look at the picture to see if you got close).

It’s called a diverging diamond. To enter the freeway, the cutting-edge interchange requires drivers to veer at a 45-degree angle across the center divide, switching sides with opposing traffic and briefly motoring across as if they are in England.

By being on the left side, they can then glide left onto the highway without a dangerous 90-degree turn across oncoming cars.

Some traffic planners are smitten with the concept and how, in the name of efficiency and safety, it forces opposing traffic to negotiate an X-shaped, signalized crossover before a bridge or underpass. As freeway-bound drivers drift to the left to an on-ramp, those heading through the interchange to the other side of the freeway follow the road back to the right at another crossover.

The example of the modern roundabout is instructive. While the roundabout is easy to picture, its high efficiency in moving more cars along through an intersection is difficult to apprehend unless one has experienced it a few times.

Without the "divergent diamond" schematic, your humble blogger couldn't envision even how it would work, much less whether it would an improvement. Now I'm guardedly optimistic. Traffic engineers have a good, albeit not perfect, record and have earned our trust.

As for those who are "smitten with the concept", let's pump the brakes. Don't go big until we've seen how it works on a small scale. (I'm looking at you, high-speed rail enthusiasts.)

No "Yes, But's" Allowed

At Northeastern University computer-science majors are required to take a course in theater and improv.

(GIPHY Image)

The course requires public speaking, lecturing on such nontechnical topics as family recipes. Students also learn to speak gibberish—“butuga dubuka manala phuthusa,” for instance.

The class is a way to “robot-proof” computer-science majors, helping them sharpen uniquely human skills, said Joseph E. Aoun, the university president

All the world's a stage, nerds, so you'd better get used to it.

As for liberal arts majors, laugh it up, fuzzballs, but a little science, technology, engineering, and math will get you on the good side of our future robot masters.

S**tstorm

I have long sworn off vulgarity (the occasional "damn" is the worst offense), and most of the people I encounter have likewise done so. I say "most", because there are still individuals, some highly educated and women, even, who sprinkle f- and s-bombs liberally in their speech. I react with a brief silence to process and recalibrate by remembering my college days when everyone swore. Then the words don't bother me and the conversation resumes.

President Trump is coming under fire because of his comment during an immigration discussion, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" (He was referring to El Salvador, Haiti, and some African countries.) Immigration activists are outraged understandably, and accusations of racism (especially since the President mentioned Norway as a preferred alternative) once again fill the air.

Acknowledging that he used language that is out of bounds not only in the business of State but in polite company, your humble blogger, a non-Trump voter, would like you to consider:

Many people from New York and Boston pepper their language with vulgarity. As with hip-hop, listeners get used to it.

It's better that everyone knows where the President stands; one "shithole" is worth a thousand diplomatic words.

Those countries really are terrible places. No American wants to move there. (Should the President have said "terrible places"?)

Look at what the President didn't say. He didn't mention Mexico, his main reason for building the wall, or India, renowned for its poor sanitation ("Open defecation continues to be high") since we're on that subject. Which leads us to the serious topic of

Merit-based immigration. Why admit people with no skills useful to 21st-century America? Let America be as discriminating as Harvard; no one gets in unless they can do the work.

More engineers and doctors from India will put the lie to the claim that the President is against brown-skinned people. I expect that merit-based criteria will result in the majority of immigrants being non-white. Now, if we can just get past the outrage...

Robots Will Resolve This

Recently your humble blogger found himself at a car repair shop where guys were standing around jawing about what the untrained eye would regard as junk auto parts. The issue was whether a Volvo engine could be salvaged, but the conversation ranged far afield.

Differences between the sexes concerning technical prowess have again risen to the top of the national conversation because of a memo written by Google engineer James Damore.

Mr. Damore asserted that the difference in performance in computer engineering between the sexes (in general, in general, ok?) can't all be attributed to sex discrimination and structural barriers. My limited experience does not contradict his thesis; I know some outstanding women in jobs that require hard math and science, but they are rare. Mr. Damore did not polemicize and is being lambasted in part because his piece is not up to professional writing standards. IMHO he didn't deserve to be fired.

No one is complaining about sex discrimination in the low-status profession of auto repair. The guys I know in this business like what they are doing and started at an early age. This Saturday morning I didn't see any women talking about exhaust manifolds or head gaskets.

It's not offensive to attribute innate sex differences to the people who go in to auto repair, but it is for computer science; oh well, when everyone is replaced by robots it won't matter.

Related: every guy in America fell in love with Marisa Tomei when she spouted car speak in the courtroom (and captured the Academy Award because of it). I daresay that scene would be as incongruous today as it was in 1992.

In Praise of Engineers

SF sinkhole: gonna need a bigger patch (NBC Bay Area)

Potholes have ruined a few of my tires---no axle damage yet, thankfully---and it's encouraging that researchers are developing 21st-century solutions to this scourge of the roads [bold added]:

any repairs that do happen are usually a lash-up [blogger's note: British - a makeshift, improvised structure or arrangement]. To save money, the material used for the patch is frequently “worked cold”. This means it is not heated with specialist equipment to make the bitumen in it soft enough to flow into the shape required and meld properly with the edges of the pothole. Instead the stuff is simply shovelled off the back of a lorry and pounded down.

[Univ of Minnesota professor Larry] Zanko and his colleagues built an experimental repair vehicle equipped with a microwave generator on the end of a hydraulic arm. Using this on asphalt that contained between 1% and 2% magnetite, he found he could heat the material in a patch to 100°C in about ten minutes. At that temperature it could be tamped down to produce a more effective repair.

[Leeds professor Phil Purnell's] system would then activate a robotic repair vehicle when it came across a crack that needed fixing. This robot would come to the crack and fill it with a fast-setting bonding material (asphalt would not be needed, since no hole would yet have formed).

Microwaved patches, preventive-maintenance robots, and nanoparticle surfaces that "require no more than driving over them once a year with a special vehicle which generates an appropriate magnetic field" demonstrate that engineering minds remain keenly occupied in solving an important but un-sexy problem.

Thank goodness for engineers; while we talk, they do.