Sometimes it seems like NYC is just a hair away from completely collapsing. Having worked in the infrastructure of the city I can say that some aspects are more resilient than you might think, but the sheer age and complexity of the systems here mean that things will occasionally break -- and usually in a dramatic way.
So, here's yesterday's dramatic breakage!
Maybe you have seen this already... if not, it's a giant steam pipe that exploded under Lexington Ave. The force of the explosion was enough to flip over a tow truck and shatter the surrounding windows, while disabling two city buses and a bunch of other cars.
Steam is critical to NYC's HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning) systems. In Manhattan particularly, it drives nearly all of it -- with that much density it's just much more efficient. Except when the lines blow up, of course.
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I saw it here first, and then on the news when I took my supper break.
When I first started watching it, I thought it was 9/11 footage, and I guess I wasn't the only one--many people terrorized and one dead from a heart attack from what I understand.
Woowee! Life in the city is more dangerous and mysterious than I thought! Good work, King Friday!
p.s. Can anyone tell me how to post videos on this blog? Hopelessly techno-ignorant in Provo. Aunt Baseball
So it turns out that the guy who sits two desks down from me was on that street when it blew. He was just coming out of a doctor's office about a block away. He thought for sure "they" had blown up Grand Central (right around the corner) so he just ran home over the Queensboro Bridge.
To post a video: copy the html text in the youtube video where it says "embed." Then, when you are writing your post, switch the tab to HTML view and paste the text in. You can switch back and write more, but the video doesn't show up on the main writing tab, so be sure to preview your post first.
Yeah, this was crazy. Hopefully this sort of thing won't happen too often. Aunt Laur-You can also click on the icon "Post Video" on Youtube that appears right below where the video is playing. It will ask you to pick which blog, and then just do it automatically. Super easy.
Oh sure, take the easy way... but it's just no fun if you don't get your hands dirty with some real code.
good grief.
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