I passed a convoy of armored personnel carriers headed into Seattle

[niceypoo]

...about 40 minutes ago on my way to vote at lunch time. They were coming in from fort Lewis. They were fully manned, in full gear with packs, equipment, etc loaded on the sides of their vehicles.

Has anyone from Seattle seen where they headed? I passed them about 5 miles South of Seattle on I-5. I see convoys all the time, but never just APCs and battle ready.

WTF are they expecting?

[gateley]

1. kicking - hoping someone who knows something will come along and answer you. nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. I forwarded to my brothers in Seattle...

I will post their replies when I get them.

[gateley]

66. I see on the Seattle Times site that there were thousands of people in the

streets of Seattle celebrating, so maybe that's what they were gearing up for, in case it got ugly. But as far as I can tell, everything went well, just happy, hopeful people celebrating together!

[Mike 03]

38. Gateley

I love that photograph of Joe Biden and Barack Obama in your post. Any idea where I could find a full size (or larger) version of it? I'd really appreciate it.

[gateley]

65. No -- I'd like a full size one, too. I just pulled this one off a DUer's post.

if i do happen to run across it somewhere, I;ll for sure let you know!

[Howardx]

2. could be heading to yakima on the i-90

firing range out there.

[niceypoo]

10. But all APCs, fully loaded?

Im telling you this really gave me a knot in my stomach. Hopefully someone saw where they headed.

[Howardx]

31. are we talking strykers?

those could easily make it over the pass on the freeway. i lived on the eastside for 30+ years, saw plenty of convoys on i-90. i wouldnt worry.

[crikkett]

43. how can you tell from the outside if an APC is fully loaded?

I've been in one.

[niceypoo]

55. They had tons of equipment all over the outside, bulging tarps on the top

lots of guys riding on them with headgear and headsets and goggles.

Hmmmmm, if nobody saw where they went lets hope they are going to the firing center.

I do not trust our commander in chief and would put nothing past him.

[MrCoffee]

19. Dude, I hope not...the pass looked like crap this morning

they're getting some serious early snow up there.

[TrogL]

3. civil war

[cliffordu]

4. They could be taking ammo to the facility at rat island, across from port Townsend

[uppityperson]

16. Indian Island is where they store things that go boom. Not sure if they ferry over, think they drive

around via Tacoma narrows bridge though.

[cliffordu]

28. Right - Indian island....we always referred to that whole thing as rat island...

They don't ferry in en masse...I've been stuck on my bicycle in the rain for 20 minutes in Chimacum while they blocked all the roads on their way towards the base....


Could be they are taking the Burkas to Seattle, or heading to the Yakima firing range...

[uppityperson]

36. Rat is the little one sort of between Indian and Marrowstone.

Have we met? I live over here. Maybe you just bike here? Drop me a note and we can have coffee or some such.

[cliffordu]

39. I'm the great big nasty son of a bitch (in traffic) on the Xtracycle cargo bike.

I have a beard.

I sure am good looking, though....


:rofl:

Coffee would be great as long as you don't mind having it with a 57 year old crabass.

[uppityperson]

40. No problem so long as you don't mind

having it with a 54 yr old uppityb*. I went with "person" since, 4 yrs ago, wanted to be taken just as a person.

[cliffordu]

42. Cool.

I'll bring my wife or she'll throw me out of the trailer.

[uppityperson]

44. Aw, gosh dern it, we've an extra, you can move right in!

:rofl: Yeah, bring the lil' woman also.

Actually, if you guys are ever over here, drop a line, for real. It would be nice to meet some more DUers.

[cliffordu]

47. No - I live in port townsend....actually,

I was one of the last kids born at Fort Worden...


My previous post was a little weird...cause you can never tell online....

[uppityperson]

48. I think we've had this conversation before, about Ft Worden.

Off to pm land.

[TrogL]

35. I thought the Tacoma narrows bridge fell down

Somebody forgot about low frequency resonance.

[uppityperson]

37. They rebuilt it, and now have the second one open also.

Old one is east to west, new one is a toll one for west to east.

[Leftist Agitator]

41. Galloping Gertie is the old Tacoma Narrows bridge.

They rebuilt it a few years later and made sure to account for aeroelastic flutter, which was the technical cause of the collapse of the original bridge. Oh, and the new bridge is nicknamed "Sturdy Gertie".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroelasticity#Flutter

From Wikipedia:

Flutter is a self-starting and potentially destructive vibration where aerodynamic forces on an object couple with a structure's natural mode of vibration to produce rapid periodic motion. Flutter can occur in any object within a strong fluid flow, under the conditions that a positive feedback occurs between the structure's natural vibration and the aerodynamic forces. That is, that the vibrational movement of the object increases an aerodynamic load which in turn drives the object to move further. If the energy during the period of aerodynamic excitation is larger than the natural damping of the system, the level of vibration will increase. The vibration levels can thus build up and are only limited when the aerodynamic or mechanical damping of the object match the energy input, this often results in large amplitudes and can lead to rapid failure. Because of this, structures exposed to aerodynamic forces - including wings, aerofoils, but also chimneys and bridges - are designed carefully within known parameters to avoid flutter. It is however not always a destructive force; recent progress has been made in small scale (table top) wind generators, for the third world designed specifically to take advantage of this effect <1>, <2>, .

In complex structures where both the aerodynamics and the mechanical properties of the structure are not fully understood flutter can only be discounted through detailed testing. Even changing the mass distribution of an aircraft or the stiffness of one component can induce flutter in an apparently unrelated aerodynamic component. At its mildest this can appear as a "buzz" in the aircraft structure, but at its most violent it can develop uncontrollably with great speed and cause serious damage to or the destruction of the aircraft. The following link <3> shows a visual demonstration of flutter which destroys an RC aircraft.

Flutter can be prevented by using an automatic control system to limit structural vibration.

Flutter can also occur on structures other than aircraft. One famous example of flutter phenomena is the collapse of Galloping Gertie, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

[conscious evolution]

49. Flutter drove me nuts in aerodynamics lab.

Especially in the hyper sonic tunnel.Many an airfoil in that lab had a spectacular fail.

APCs being driven on the highway? That's unusual.Every military convoy I have ever seen with APCs on the Interstate were on flatbeds.

[Leftist Agitator]

63. Here's a cool video of an RC aircraft that gets destrpyed by flutter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRit6tcNT4s

There's even a nice slow motion sequence that shows the buildup of the positive resonance feedback.

[havocmom]

46. A couple years ago, I had a dream: Huge crowd of people marching on a bridge

Military personnel trying to keep them from moving. VERY tense. Beautiful gorge, large evergreen trees, hilly/mountainous terrain. VERY high charged situation. Marchers not sure if they would be mowed down, but they would not back down. Clouds in the sky.

Then, blue sky broke and people moved forward. Cheers, relief, great joy. Military backed down, command having been changed or rendered sane again. Confrontation avoided. People moving, chanting, gleeful, hopeful.

Dream came at a very low spot for America. At the end of my dream, I was visiting a modest, odd home on a hill. It was peaceful and I was looking forward to meeting the residents. It was a calm thing after so much turmoil.

Never been to the Pacific Northwest. No idea where the bridge was, but it looked likely to be WA or OR. Deep river gorge, so many trees.

So many people all going the same way. A flood of people who would not be stopped.

That dream gave me strength to keep believing ... in change.

[Generic Other]

61. wOW. I live near this bridge and I can visualize your scene

totally.

[havocmom]

62. thanks for the picture. Yep, that looks like the bridge, 'cept it was cloudy

until the stand-off turned for the marchers. It was a BIG suspension bridge with a high center. People marching could not see what was going on beyond the center; knew military was there, but just kept walking. Great dream. Thanks for the picture.

[PVnRT]

58. Nope, the engineering firm I work for rebuilt it

[Uben]

5. Probably on drill......

...so they can't vote. Orders from the top!

LOL

[nilram]

26. heh

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[classof56]

8. Curious indeed.

Please let us know if you find out anything!

[951-Riverside]

9. I saw a large convoy of APCs on the freeway right after the Iraq war

They could be moving equipment.

[MrCoffee]

11. I'm in downtown Seattle, and the shooting has died down some, but the explosions continue

[TahitiNut]

14. That's what happens when Seattlites are deprived of their 3rd cup of coffee.

:silly:

[MrCoffee]

15. You haven't seen hell until you've seen them try to take away my 3rd cup

[TahitiNut]

20. I went through a ritual yesterday morning in remembrance of my 5 years as a Washingtonian.

I went through the local Starbucks drive-through and got my "quad vente mocha, no foam, no whip." It was woonderrfulll.

:silly:

[MrCoffee]

23. You're on my list

quad vente mocha...have you no shame?

[TahitiNut]

25. Nope. None.

I usually make my own in the morning these days ... but it was nice doing the Starbucks. In the Dry-Shitties, I'd usually do my daily fix at the unaffiliated caffeine kiosk drive-through ... and only once a week at the Starbucks. Coffee without chocolate is like rain without a rainbow.
:dunce:

[PatGund]

52. *laugh*

I keep joking they're going to throw me out of Seattle when they find out I hate coffee.......

[smoogatz]

17. We're still taking fire here in Wisconsin.

Armed mobs of looters are moving up and down the streets, exchanging fire with police and what looks like part of a National Guard unit. Oh no, wait--that's some wingnut's fantasy life. Nothing going on here but the peaceful exchange of power.

[MrCoffee]

21. Keep your head down, smoogatz

I don't know if we can get tactical air support to your location in time.

[nancyr]

27. Ha! Thanks for the laugh. I need it.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

64. That's because you're all pumpkin latte drinking liberals

[arcadian]

12. Were they tracked vehicles under their own power?

Or were they on trains/flat cars?

[niceypoo]

18. They were being driven under their own power

The sides of them had combat packs arrayed, all loaded up. Soldiers heads sticking out all over, with helmets, goggles, etc. They had other equipment loaded on the tops. Looked like those you see on TV patroling in Iraq.

[arcadian]

24. Next time get pictures.

n/t

[Johnyawl]

13. I see them all the time on I-5...

...heading for/returning from the Yakima firing range. North on I-5 to I-90, then east.

[leftofthedial]

22. not to worry! they are no the way to the part of town where the dark-skinned people live

so when the voting machines are flipped tonight to give mcsame a miraculous trumanesque "win" and the riots start, they can shoot the civilian looters and get the best stuff for themselves.

[NeedleCast]

29. Exercise, I imagine.

[NeedleCast]

30. What are you calling an APC?

These guys were in Bradleys or M-113's?

[Howardx]

34. strykers i bet

stationed at ft lewis.

[mrbarber]

32. Zombie invasion.

Destroy the brain, destroy the ghoul.

[davepc]

33. Did they have tracks or wheels?

[Turbineguy]

45. I've seen that before

it may simply be coincidence that they are moving today.

[Poll_Blind]

50. The troops are headed to British Columbia to pick up more weed for Eugene and Portland.

Sorry about the fuss but we started celebrating early and went through our stocks more quickly than expected. We're down to a single silo and things are getting necessarily desperate. Also, heads-up to California DUers: please pull to the side of the road and let the tortilla chip convoys have the right of way. Things are getting dire and people are starting to dip bread into the salsa.

PB

[BoneDaddy]

51. I would take a hot bath

followed by an all body massage, some meditation and a good comedy while sipping your favorite cocktail.

JK

Not that I don't think it is possible that the right wing would do something drastic, I just doubt they would not have the guts to do it now. I doubt American soldiers would particpate in it and if they did there would be mass defections and intrafighting. Just not probable in my book.

[Poll_Blind]

53. Also, the troops would turn on anyone ordering such nonsense.

PB

[BoneDaddy]

59. I would think so

[BrightKnight]

54. We do not need to see troop movements or military exercises on election day.

It's nothing but reports of dumb Sh!# like that could cause problems.

[Dukkha]

56. Maybe it's a freeper convoy escaping to Alaska

good riddance.

[lonestarnot]

57. Not afraid they are my brothers who donated 6:1 for Obama!

[Generic Other]

60. Dino Rossi plans to stage a coup?

:rofl: