Word of the Day
Demarcation (n., dee-mar-KAY-shun)
A dividing line between things, or the act of drawing such a line or distinction. Don't like this definition? Then you're not one of us.
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Link of the Day
Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours - New York Times
There's a movie coming out this weekend about the Deepwater Horizon. That seemed like a good excuse to post this gripping article from the New York Times about the rig's final hours:
Nearly 400 feet long, the Horizon had formidable and redundant defenses against even the worst blowout. It was equipped to divert surging oil and gas safely away from the rig. It had devices to quickly seal off a well blowout or to break free from it. It had systems to prevent gas from exploding and sophisticated alarms that would quickly warn the crew at the slightest trace of gas. The crew itself routinely practiced responding to alarms, fires and blowouts, and it was blessed with experienced leaders who clearly cared about safety.
On paper, experts and investigators agree, the Deepwater Horizon should have weathered this blowout.
This is the story of how and why it didn’t.
Over the next thousands of words, the Times reconstructs the sequence of events from the explosion to the destruction of the rig. It's one of the best articles we've ever read, short or long, and it's worth a read just for the prose alone.
ArticlesDeepwater HorizonDisastersNew York TimesGood journalism
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