Massassi Forums Logo

This is the static archive of the Massassi Forums. The forums are closed indefinitely. Thanks for all the memories!

You can also download Super Old Archived Message Boards from when Massassi first started.

"View" counts are as of the day the forums were archived, and will no longer increase.

ForumsDiscussion Forum → BIOSHOCK?! (no caps, no nudity.)
BIOSHOCK?! (no caps, no nudity.)
2008-05-19, 4:32 AM #1
http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/news/2008/05/seasteading

Wow, Andrew Ryan really was right!
2008-05-19, 5:36 AM #2
Living under the ocean I could probably do.

Living ON the ocean? Never. Not only am I afraid of the water, the extra rocking from the waveyness would leave me in a constant state of sickliness.
2008-05-19, 8:00 AM #3
Get back to me when they decide to do undersea platforms.
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2008-05-19, 8:02 AM #4
:colbert:
Attachment: 19347/1190395133209.jpg (147,548 bytes)
"If you watch television news, you will know less about the world than if you just drink gin straight out of the bottle."
--Garrison Keillor
2008-05-19, 8:27 AM #5
Building Rapture under the sea was not impossible... it would be impossible to build it anywhere else!
The cake is a lie... THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!!!
2008-05-19, 11:09 AM #6
I would live there.
2008-05-19, 12:18 PM #7
I would live there - GOOGLELAND! :D
2008-05-19, 1:06 PM #8
and how the hell do you construct a huge concrete tower which would need to be placed in deep water? I don't think theres a dry dock anywhere in the world big enough for that. Beyond that, what keeps these things from drifting into a reef or landmass?

this is a dumb idea

o.0
2008-05-19, 1:08 PM #9
No, it's brilliant.
2008-05-19, 1:58 PM #10
It's important to remember that the visual look of rapture was changed because the 'realistic' version was totally lame. I intend to welcome our new big daddy overlords with open arms. And electric buck.
2008-05-19, 1:59 PM #11
Originally posted by Greenboy:
and how the hell do you construct a huge concrete tower which would need to be placed in deep water? I don't think theres a dry dock anywhere in the world big enough for that. Beyond that, what keeps these things from drifting into a reef or landmass?

this is a dumb idea


You mean one that's smaller than ones already built? The ones mentioned in the article?

that was a dumb post.
2008-05-19, 2:13 PM #12
Ok, so it can be built.

Whats it use for power to keep it from drifting into commercial traffic lanes or land? Offshore supply ships bringing fuel would sort of defeat the purpose of escaping government.

o.0
2008-05-19, 4:41 PM #13
Originally posted by Greenboy:
Ok, so it can be built.

Whats it use for power to keep it from drifting into commercial traffic lanes or land? Offshore supply ships bringing fuel would sort of defeat the purpose of escaping government.
It has no engines; they are anchored to the sea bed with cables. We've been building this exact sort of platform for decades and it's essentially the same design as your ordinary everyday marker buoy.

A couple of years back I unintentionally designed one of these for fun, using binishells for ballast and the platform top. Buoyancy is a function of the pressure gradient, the spindle means there's less cross section against breaking waves and the use of flexible cables means there's less shearing force against the concrete structure. It's easily the most stable vessel possible, but it must be anchored to a fixed location.
2008-05-19, 6:55 PM #14
So, could one of these ride out a hurricane?
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2008-05-19, 7:24 PM #15
Originally posted by Commander 598:
So, could one of these ride out a hurricane?


i somehow doubt that this will be overlooked?
"Well ain't that a merry jelly." - FastGamerr

"You can actually see the waves of me not caring in the air." - fishstickz
2008-05-19, 7:36 PM #16
i can see it working fine as an anchored thing. For some reason I thought they were referring to a mobile thing.

However, I somehow doubt that flying a flag of convenience will keep governments off their backs.

o.0
2008-05-19, 8:11 PM #17
Originally posted by Commander 598:
So, could one of these ride out a hurricane?


Yes, and rogue/tidal waves.
2008-05-19, 8:20 PM #18
Originally posted by Greenboy:
However, I somehow doubt that flying a flag of convenience will keep governments off their backs.
There's a fairly substantial micronation community but as far as I know none of them have been allowed to survive. Every single bit of land in the world is either claimed overtly or protected under international treaty (the antarctic). At one point a particularly well-organized group tried to establish a small island nation by artificially shoring up a shallow reef only to have Tonga (of all countries) send the military in to annex it.

Similar platforms have been attempted several times, such as one that was erected in international waters near Italy that was *destroyed* by the Italian Navy for failing to pay Italian taxes.

This is an interesting idea from a purely residential perspective. If they can figure out how to make the things less of an eyesore and offer more than 300 square feet of living space, anyway.
2008-05-19, 8:25 PM #19
Established nations almost universally react violently to micronations for a lot of reasons, some of which are wise and some of which are villainous in the same stroke as Mr. Burns or Dr. Robotnik. The only way a micronation project can succeed is if that nation has a disproportionately powerful navy.
2008-05-20, 5:40 AM #20
we should build one of these and call it Pen Island.
My girlfriend paid a lot of money for that tv; I want to watch ALL OF IT. - JM
2008-05-20, 5:45 AM #21
Sealand seems to be surviving okay. It manages to hang on simply because it would be a public relations nightmare for Britain to seize it.
2008-05-20, 5:47 AM #22
Incidentally, there's already a Pen Island in Louisiana.
2008-05-20, 6:42 AM #23
Originally posted by JM:
Incidentally, there's already a Pen Island in Louisiana.


Why was I not informed of this?
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2008-05-20, 6:44 AM #24
Originally posted by Commander 598:
Why was I not informed of this?


EDIT: That link now links to porn, not the real Pen Island
2008-05-20, 1:44 PM #25
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=pen+island&sll=-9.189967,-75.015152&sspn=21.353656,31.333008&ie=UTF8&ll=30.541842,-89.840806&spn=0.009148,0.015299&z=16&iwloc=addr

↑ Up to the top!