And now...some fire.

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
Just wondering of you've visited Metro Manila, Philippines?

It's one of the most populous cities in the world and most of the inhabitants (over 12 million of them) live in Third World conditions -IE- a highly contaminated water supply and virtually nonexistent sewage disposal. In fact, most homes and apartment buildings in Metro Manila rely on septic tanks for sewage disposal and they are pumped out by a franchise called "Malabanan Pozo Negro" service. Because sewage treatment is very lacking, Malabanan just dumps the effluent they've collected in Manila Bay or the Pasig River. As a result, the ground water and river water is polluted with raw sewage.

Metro Manila also has many orphanages that are bursting at the seams with children who's parents can't support them. And yet, the people of the Philippines pride themselves on having even more children.
Your medication is next to the sink.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Just wondering of you've visited Metro Manila, Philippines?
Either you already know the answer to that because you've seen me post here about it before, or it's an uncanny coincidence. But yes, I lived in Metro Manila (Quezon City) for a while. I still own a car there. That's the place I had in mind when I was talking about countries of "laid back" (lazy would actually be more accurate) people, having more children than they can support.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
I've seen feral children in the streets of Manila with no parents, no home, no school, no shelter or orphanage at all, no provider at all. They huff glue because it makes them happy and takes away the hunger pains. The world they live in is very similar to the post-apocalyptic world that you envision for major cities around the world, and yet they still survive. The oblivion somehow skips them over.
 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
I've seen feral children in the streets of Manila with no parents, no home, no school, no shelter or orphanage at all, no provider at all. They huff glue because it makes them happy and takes away the hunger pains. The world they live in is very similar to the post-apocalyptic world that you envision for major cities around the world, and yet they still survive. The oblivion somehow skips them over.
Since you've lived in Metro Manila/Quezon City, your building was probably connected to a large septic tank instead of a western style sewer system. If that was the case, you might have seen one of the "Malabanan" companies (that I referred to in a previous post) working outside the building.

Malabanan's specialty is pumping the literally millions of septic tanks in Metro Manila and it's well known for it's "Pozo Negro Divers" or human sewage cleaners. It's a sure bet some of those children you see wandering the streets probably wind up working as pozo negro divers.

Malabanan Diver 2.jpg Malabanan March 21.jpg
 
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Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
I wrote the following article for the editorial section of the San Francisco Examiner:

“Build & Burn” – Episode # 17
The Santa Rosa Fire was the 17th major wild fire in California since the year 2000.

However, the well-established history of wild fires in California shows these monstrous blazes have occurred in an Area Of Repeated Ignition (ARI). These areas are prone to the hot, dry Diablo or Santa Ana Winds and the slightest source of an ignition can trigger a small fire that quickly evolves into blast furnace.

Furthermore, rapid development of open space in ARIs is adding more fuel to a potential blaze. The average home contains at least 5 tons of wood which can quickly ignite and burn at over 2000 degrees. In fact, most of the fuel load in the Santa Rose fire was the 7000 homes and buildings in a vast, but closely spaced neighborhood. When one home caught fire, the flames quickly jumped from one home to another creating a fire storm that eventually engulfed the entire region.

Clearly, building high density neighborhoods in an ARI is a recipe for a mega disaster. However, when residents of burned out neighborhoods are interviewed by the media, they glibly say “We’ll Rebuild”. Yeah right, rebuild another tinderbox home in an ARI and it's a guaranteed certainty that another inferno will occur. This “Build & Burn” syndrome is now costing about $3 Billion per year in government firefighting service and billions more in insurance payouts.

The Santa Rosa Fire is another example of how an economy based on endless population growth and development is literally fueling more and more disasters. Never the less, the trend is for even more “high density” development -especially in cities. The fire storm that took over San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake is a prime example of what will occur when the next severe earthquake hits, so why are we courting another mega disaster?

The mantra of the real estate and construction industry is “Build more”, however the reality is “Build more and burn more”.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,081
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/busine...ard-archives-at-keysight-destroyed?artslide=0
When deadly flames incinerated hundreds of homes in Santa Rosa’s Fountaingrove neighborhood earlier this month, they also destroyed irreplaceable papers and correspondence held nearby and once belonging to the founders of Silicon Valley’s first technology company, Hewlett-Packard.

The Tubbs fire consumed the collected archives of William Hewlett and David Packard, the tech pioneers who in 1938 formed an electronics company in a Palo Alto garage with $538 in cash.
...
Karen Lewis, the former HP staff archivist who first assembled the collections, called it irresponsible to put them in a building without proper protection. Both Hewlett-Packard and Agilent earlier had housed the archives within special vaults inside permanent facilities, complete with foam fire retardant and other safeguards, she said.


“This could easily have been prevented, and it’s a huge loss,” Lewis said.
 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
I heard on the news that For Sale signs are sprouting up on the vacant site of the homes that burned.

Apparently, the insurance doesn't cover the total cost of construction and the owners are opting to just sell off the land rather than try to rebuild. I believe the owners still owe a mortgage and taxes on their home even though it doesn't exist and their insurance doesn't cover the full cost of living in a motel either. It's a classic case of a "Double Whammy".

By the way, we've got the same wind pattern in the S.F. Bay Area that caused the fires. However the temperature is much lower and nothing's igniting - yet..
 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
If these fires keep sprouting up, everyone's insurance rates are going to go up.

It never fails - If the insurance companies have to pay out (instead of keeping the premiums and making huge profits), they're going to make up for their the losses. Even if your home is made of steel and concrete and built like a nuclear power plant, your fire insurance will go up anyway. :(
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
5,234
It never fails - If the insurance companies have to pay out (instead of keeping the premiums and making huge profits), they're going to make up for their the losses.
Boy, everyone really is out to get you, aren't they.

I have no idea how it works in CA, but in Florida, it is illegal for insurance companies to recoup past losses by increasing premium costs. Instead, premiums must reflect what they expect to happen in the future.

Typically, on most years, they make small profits, interspersed with a few single huge loss years (due to hurricanes).
 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
Here in California, insurance companies can do what ever the market will bear and that often means stalling and tying up payouts for as long as possible.

Due to insurance company tactics, many homeowners are not going to be able to rebuild in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the cost meter on their mortgage doesn't stop even though their home may be gone. Insurance doesn't pay the full cost of living in a motel either and people must pay for temporary housing on top of the mortgage for a home that no longer exists.

This is a classic example of the saying that most people are 3 months away from becoming homeless and living in a tent on the street.
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
5,234
Here in California, insurance companies can do what ever the market will bear and that often means stalling and tying up payouts for as long as possible.

Due to insurance company tactics, many homeowners are not going to be able to rebuild in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the cost meter on their mortgage doesn't stop even though their home may be gone. Insurance doesn't pay the full cost of living in a motel either and people must pay for temporary housing on top of the mortgage for a home that no longer exists.

This is a classic example of the saying that most people are 3 months away from becoming homeless and living in a tent on the street.
Are you suggesting the homeowners are not getting the insurance they paid for? Or, you think they should get more than they paid for?

One should understand the coverage they have prior to needing it.
 

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
Are you suggesting the homeowners are not getting the insurance they paid for? Or, you think they should get more than they paid for?

One should understand the coverage they have prior to needing it.
It's not a matter of whether they will get what they paid for. It's when they'll be getting it. Furthermore, the payout may not cover the actual cost of rebuilding to the present code and other "incidentals" that are conveniently not included.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
It's not a matter of whether they will get what they paid for. It's when they'll be getting it. Furthermore, the payout may not cover the actual cost of rebuilding to the present code and other "incidentals" that are conveniently not included.
Here is a piece of advice to everyone, ask your agent for the code upgrades rider on your homeowners policy. It's less than $20/year (even less if your home is newer). If your agent has not offered it, find a new agent. Every agent should get that on your list.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
Here is a piece of advice to everyone, ask your agent for the code upgrades rider on your homeowners policy. It's less than $20/year (even less if your home is newer). If your agent has not offered it, find a new agent. Every agent should get that on your list.

What code upgrade?
 
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