So you want to build a tunnel

138 points - today at 4:59 PM

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dangoodmanUT today at 11:34 PM
Was hoping this was about network tunnels…
ngvrnd today at 6:40 PM
Seymour Cray down in the tunnels, communing with the Machine Elves.
isubkhankulov today at 6:44 PM
Great content for the upcoming drone wars and the inevitable tunnels that will be built for troop and matériel movements
dyauspitr today at 10:22 PM
I can’t wait till world models are good enough that you can ask robots to work autonomously to geo transform spaces.
poszlem today at 5:17 PM
When my wife was diagnosed with cancer and eventually went into remission, I didn’t really process what was happening at first. I was completely focused on getting her through it. The grief hit me later.

What helped me more than anything was going out into the garden and digging. I made sure to do it safely, since I know it can be risky, so I dug wide and with wooden supports, but there was something about just digging and digging down that let me work through all the darkness that had built up in my head. It gave those feelings somewhere to go.

This is unrelated, but I wonder if I did actually hit on something primal in myself.

gyudin today at 9:47 PM
At this point we have too much free time on our hands x_x
greggsy today at 5:18 PM
Article really needs some sub headings or images - just anything to help situate where you are in case you navigate away from where you were reading.
btbuildem today at 7:55 PM
Obligatory shoutout to Engineer Kala
gostsamo today at 5:34 PM
Completely offtopic, but my first reaction was this song.

Enjoy for those who would enjoy such things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CZjsEI1yU

cucumber3732842 today at 5:52 PM
This article/video really rubs me the wrong way. These strawmen who are being torn down for the most part aren't building "tunnels". They're building glorified 8-10ft foundations and basements with dirt over the top instead of structures, 1970s hippie "underground homes" basically. They're calling them tunnels and bunkers for clicks and views.

To then take that naming at face value and pontificate about code and engineering is very much a two slights of hand not making a right situation. Furthermore, a civil engineer doing so is deep into "man won't understand what his salary depends on him not understanding" territory.

I know that the many HNers from the seismically active portions of the US will have no frame of reference for this but there are portions of the world where for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years basements were built with less than scant engineering. The sort of "just barely below dirt" construction most of these amateurs are engaging in is on that order of complexity. Based on my observations via Youtube, these amateurs should be more scared of their own temporary construction rigging and material handling solutions than the forces their structures must hold back.

The primary practical engineering challenge and hazard these structures face is that there's nothing stopping someone from driving a point load of undefined size over the top and that has serious implications for roof strength.

pstuart today at 5:19 PM
Brings to mind this woman's efforts -- very impressive indeed:

https://www.youtube.com/@engineerkala/

Edit: reading is hard -- I only skimmed and did not realize she was mentioned.

kleiba today at 5:18 PM
Colin Furze ftw!
KGC3D today at 8:40 PM
i thought for a second this referred to building a tunnel for openclaw haha. I need to get off Twitter