🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9APR199208111284@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov> packer@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Charles Packer) writes:
>The New York Times had a story in Wednesday's edition
>headlined "Gas Explosion Tears Through Texas Farmland".
>
>It seems that liquified petroleum gas leaked out of a pipeline
>and, being heavier than air flowed downhill into a valley.
>This "cool, heavy cloud" allegedly exploded with such force
>that it "rattled buildings 70 miles away and was heard
>140 miles away."  And, almost needless to say, it allegedly
>killed "a six-year-old boy," as well as doing some other
>damage.

Would you like to tell that boy's family about his "alleged" death?  It
rattled buildings at least 65 miles away, because I live out in west Houston
about that far from the Brenham Oilfield site where it happened -- and it
was strong enough to wake me up.  Are you going to say that four million
people here imagined they heard an "alleged" explosion?  "Alleged", my ass.

>I've read in books on explosion damage assessment that
>the key to a forceful gas explosion is confinement. Explosion
>force is greatly attenuated the more sources of ventilation
>there are. This "explosion" allegedly occurred in open air.

Which it did, and it's almost a shame that YOU weren't there when it
happened...

>Well, there's a photo that's just as implausible as the story.
>it shows, in the middle of a scene of rubble outdoors in bright
>daylight, a man standing in stark black silhouette, with lots of
>brightly lit objects in front of and behind him. And it looks
>like the folks in the photo lab diddled with the contrast level
>of the trees in the background too, to make one tree stand out
>starkly.
>
>The message in the photo is: this is a hoax. Once again, the
>first page of news designated "National" by the Times looks like
>the "Flaky Page", as it often has in the past. 

Well, why don't you exert some effort for once and come on down here and see
for yourself -- or would that be too much trouble because it just might
conclusively prove that you have no earthly idea what you're talking about?
Be sure and tell those burn victims at Hermann Hospital here that their
injuries are "alleged", too...I'm sure they'll appreciate your concern.

-- 
Patrick L. Humphrey  (patrick@is.rice.edu)  Rice Networking & Computing Systems
  +1 713 528-3626 at Rice. 713 776-1541 at home. 713 527-4056 at Willy's Pub.
    *"The opinions expressed by Patrick do not necessarily represent those
             of Rice staff, management, or any living person."*