World news: Anything popular , amazing, or just plain stupid

[Bgoney]

Texas COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to drop, 17 days after it scrapped its mask mandate and allowed businesses to reopen at full capacity
On Saturday, seven-day positivity rate reached an all-time low of 5.27 per cent
The state reported 2,292 new cases, about 500 fewer on average from last week
Hospitalizations, meanwhile, dipped to 3,308, its lowest level since October
Comes after Republican Governor Greg Abbott drew harsh criticism for brushing off warnings to not relax COVID-19 restrictions earlier this month
President Joe Biden at the time slammed the move as a 'Neanderthal thinking' and warned it would be a 'big mistake'

[MVWxObserver]

Prayerfully those stats will continue to remain stable there in TX. Gov Greg Abbott and Lt Gov Dan Patrick are among some of my top favorite leadership teams in the country.

Glad they're some of those battling you know who re the Crisis at the you know where.

[Bgoney]

https://rclutz.com/2021/03/30/media-rac ... s-killers/

[cloudy72]

https://rclutz.com/2021/03/30/media-rac ... s-killers/

Sadly, this is 100% spot on! The media sucks plain and simple.

[Bgoney]

Bidens German shepherd for the second time has bitten someone. If this had been you know who's dog , can you imagine the BS from the MSM that would be going on, the outrage, and the vile would be fierce. But alas, dog ? What dog? Huh? Twice? Poor guy.

[tron777]

Bidens German shepherd for the second time has bitten someone. If this had been you know who's dog , can you imagine the BS from the MSM that would be going on, the outrage, and the vile would be fierce. But alas, dog ? What dog? Huh? Twice? Poor guy.

Completely agree or any normal person's dog for that matter.

[cloudy72]

Bidens German shepherd for the second time has bitten someone. If this had been you know who's dog , can you imagine the BS from the MSM that would be going on, the outrage, and the vile would be fierce. But alas, dog ? What dog? Huh? Twice? Poor guy.

Pelosi would be drawing up articles of impeachment.....for the dog!

[tron777]

Bidens German shepherd for the second time has bitten someone. If this had been you know who's dog , can you imagine the BS from the MSM that would be going on, the outrage, and the vile would be fierce. But alas, dog ? What dog? Huh? Twice? Poor guy.

Pelosi would be drawing up articles of impeachment.....for the dog!

[MVWxObserver]

Joe and Jill should retire their German Shepherds to Delaware and get a Chihuahua for the WH.

[Bgoney]

Some amazing facts about the oppossum. Anything that eats that many ticks is a friend of mine.



https://www.foxrunenvironmentaleducatio ... -marsupial

[tron777]

Some amazing facts about the oppossum. Anything that eats that many ticks is a friend of mine.



https://www.foxrunenvironmentaleducatio ... -marsupial

I see one on my cameras cruise through at night every once and a while.

[Bgoney]

Lol, Bidens dog took a dump in the Whitehouse now, oh the humanity. I think it was really Biden and his handlers are blaming the dog.

[tron777]

Lol, Bidens dog took a dump in the Whitehouse now, oh the humanity. I think it was really Biden and his handlers are blaming the dog.

[WxMom]

Just found this thread! Is anyone else a space exploration geek like me?!! I have been fascinated with everything that is happening with space exploration and the partnership of NASA with SpaceX. And how about Perseverance on Mars and the flight of the helicopter, Ingenuity!!!
Ingenuity took it's first flights this past week and I learned that there is a 1" square piece of cloth either on it or the rover itself. It's cloth from the Wright brothers plane!
Then just yesterday morning, we watched SpaceX launch another crew to dock with the International Space Station. Watched the launch early yesterday morning and watched the Dragon capsule dock with the ISS this morning and the crew join the other 7 astronauts. There are 11 crew members on board right now. Next week, I think 4 will return to earth.
Absolutely love the teamwork between SpaceX, NASA and the other countries involved. I wish I had more time to devout to learning more about it but for now, I just try to monitor the main events! We have NASA tv and it makes it easy to watch everything going on. I still don't keep up with all of it but one of my brothers keeps us up to date with everything that is happening. Yes, I'm old enough to remember watching those first steps on the moon, Appolo launches, space shuttles launches and landings and it never gets old!
You can also see live events streaming online. We use Hulu as our streaming service for live tv and NASA is one of the channels in the lineup. I'll take it any day over the Weather Channel, which we no longer get and haven't missed it in the least!!! Through our Roku we connect with Weather Nation. A good substitute for the mess the Weather Channel has become.

So, if you're into space exploration, check out what's going on with NASA and SpaceX. Amazing stuff. Just watched replay of a post launch panel discussion and Elon Musk said we should be a multi planet species, not a one planet species.

Wow! Keep the government out of it as much as possible and let private partnerships drive innovation!

[MVWxObserver]

https://www.whio.com/news/trending/bomb ... EPDUBDR6M/

MO couple finds WWII era Japanese mortar in yard.

[tron777]

Cool! A collector's item!

[MVWxObserver]

https://www.whio.com/news/trending/man- ... SZC7ST4DQ/

Another collector's item, this time a grenade in KY!

[MVWxObserver]

https://www.whio.com/news/trending/texa ... 6UAH6L6EQ/

TX driver hits 10-foot gator!

[MVWxObserver]

https://www.whio.com/news/trending/army ... ESOMGHOTI/

SC school bus heist via Army trainee!

[Bgoney]

Worlds longest suspension bridge open for tourists.

Those nervous of heights should probably steer clear of the newly completed 516 Arouca bridge in Portugal. As its name suggests, the tourist attraction runs high above a river for 516 m (1,692 ft) and is hailed as the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge by Portuguese officials.


The bridge sits 175 m (574 ft) above a rushing river in the UNESCO-recognized Arouca Geopark, which is an area of outstanding natural beauty. The 516 Arouca bridge is significantly longer than the previous world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the Alps, which measures 494 m (1,620 ft).


The bridge's construction was led by Itecons, Conduril - Engenharia SA, and the Portugal National Laboratory of Civil Engineering. Structurally, it consists of two large V-shaped concrete towers at either side of a valley, which support the bridge proper. This includes 127 steel sections that are held in place by steel cables.

[Bgoney]

Inflation anyone?

Soaring demand has strained the availability of a number of key materials, with some experiencing double-digit inflation.


Earlier this year, the UK Government asked the Construction Leadership Council to monitor the situation, which saw it set up the Products Availability taskforce. In the months since it was founded, it has added more and more items to its list of products facing constraints.


Construction News looks at how some key materials have been affected and how the situation could develop in the coming months.


Timber


Last month’s CLC construction product availability statement said timber remained among the “worst affected product areas” for the construction industry.


In its market statement for May, the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) said stock levels were languishing due to high international demand, which had prevented UK-based buyers from rebuilding their stock since the beginning of the pandemic. Demand for timber has skyrocketed in the UK and elsewhere, as housebuilders move to catch up on the progress they missed during the lockdowns, the TTF claims. The ever-larger focus on net-zero construction has added to demand, as timber has large carbon-storage potential, it said.


The federation also said Brexit-related complications are further squeezing UK timber stocks, as 80 per cent of the softwood used in building comes from Europe. In new-build housing, 90 per cent of the softwood comes from the continent. Timber is the third most imported construction item according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), with the industry spending £816m on it last year.


Prices have shot up over the past year, with the cost of sawn wood up 16.6 per cent in March 2021 compared to 12 months ago.


Demand is not forecast to ease any time soon. TTF chief executive David Hopkins told Construction News: “There are no indications demand is about to go down, with housebuilders continuing to ramp up work, and enquiries for repair, maintenance and refurbishment work on the rise.


“The state of demand means that timber is being allocated as quickly as it is being produced and imported into the UK,” he added. The timber market is likely to remain tight “well into 2021 and beyond, with softwood demand being forecast to increase worldwide until at least 2025”.


With sawmills in Europe normally shut during the summer for maintenance work and holidays, this could be “the new normal”, Hopkins added.


Cement


Cement was added to the CLC’s list of items facing shortages back in April. But supply has improved, according to Mineral Products Association (MPA) chief executive Nigel Jackson. Deliveries of bulk cement, which makes up the majority of the UK market (over 80 per cent), are “broadly back to normal”, he told CN. “We’re not aware of any projects impacted by bulk cement shortages,” he said.


For bagged cement (equal to around 18 per cent of all cement sales in the UK), shortages first seen in February continue, partly due to an increase in demand as the industry began to open up following the lockdown.


Supply has also been hit by production constraints, Jackson said. Demand slowed in the fourth quarter of 2020 and many companies opted to carry out kiln maintenance, which requires plants to be shutdown. Producers have also struggled to source hauliers to transport cement around the country, according to Jackson.


Unlike timber, the vast majority of cement used in the UK is produced in the country. Jackson said producers will be able to “flex” to meet demand, and the shortages in bagged cement should be resolved in a few months.


Steel


Global demand for steel is outstripping supply. Earlier this month, the UK manufacturing trade association British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association (BEAMA) reiterated that a dramatic reduction in steel production in early 2020 had caused a worldwide shortage, though output started increasing in mid-2020. The association said that the “availability of steel remains problematic”, which is set to continue for months before it eases.


British Steel stopped taking orders on structural steel sections due to “extreme demand” last week and a director of a steel specialist told Constructions News that he was worried the move will lead to “panic buying”, making the situation worse.


As availability has dropped, prices have increased. According to BEIS, the price of fabricated structural steel was up 17.6 per cent higher by March 2021 since the previous year.


The Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) said this month that demand for cable steel had soared as companies rushed to complete projects they were forced to halt due to the pandemic. ECA chief executive Steve Bratt said: “Our advice is to order the materials you need in good time to ensure you can finish as planned.”


Aggregates


Official data has shown that infrastructure was the first sector to exceed pre-pandemic output levels. This has led to more demand for aggregates. “We have never been so busy,” British Aggregates Association executive officer Richard Bird told CN, adding that the biggest problem was finding enough lorries to transport the material around. For now there is enough supply to meet demand, he added.


Bird warns that shortages could increase as infrastructure projects ramp up. “Once HS2 gets going, there could be shortages because all the aggregates will go on that,” he said.


Meanwhile government legislation to decarbonise the economy and ban red diesel used on excavators and other plant and machinery will see the aggregates industry have to replace a huge proportion of its vehicles, according to Bird. “That means our prices are going to go up,” he says, possibly as much as 150 per cent.


Plastics


A CLC report in April said plastic products were facing supply problems due to increased global demand and factory closures outside of the UK. Raw material shortages have also limited production of polyethylene and polypropylene plastics.


According to a report by the British Plastics Federation (BPF), plastic prices have shot up as stocks are depleted. For polyethylene, commonly used in pipe production, the BPF said “it was producers who dictated the prices, as many inventories were nearly empty”. Meanwhile, the federation said there is “ no end in sight for the price rally” for polypropylene plastics. Polypropylene is used to manufacture roof membranes, which the CLC added to its shortage list at the end of April.

[tron777]

I've seen the price of lumber... it's outrageous!

[cloudy72]

Hmm seems like I see a pattern here - anyone remember Jimmy Peanut man Carter?

185AF128-331D-4130-9259-2EA3EE2867B3.jpeg

[tron777]

Hmm seems like I see a pattern here - anyone remember Jimmy Peanut man Carter?


185AF128-331D-4130-9259-2EA3EE2867B3.jpeg

Bingo!

[Bgoney]

https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/ ... ing-crisis