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The Beer Can (2023) (brr.fyi) 286 points by Michelangelo11 2 days ago

So, from what I read, it's not that the bar can structure is special - it's more about the author's infatuation with. I resonate with that. I often find some structures (especially technical ones, occasionally - ruins) causing this kind of sensation. (Is there a word it?) Metal grid staircases, pipes often invoke it for me.

To some extend, I like these feelings also in some games (notably: Half Life, including Alyx and the remake Black Mesa).

Also - given current technology, both with both tech for scanning and creating models, and generative one - I would love to turn some real locations into "walking simulator games". As a side note, "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" was based on a real location in Poland. by stared 17 hours ago

When I moved to London I used to love listening to ambient electronic music and taking the tube at night, and many of the quieter lines and back routes up emergency staircases and so on evoke what I suspect is a similar feeling (at least I think it's similar because it too reminds me of the HL aesthetic).

I wonder if growing up with particular kinds of video game experiences produces a particular affinity with certain situations in real life. by cnity 14 hours ago

I think places like these take on totally different feelings for people who actually have to live or work with them (like the author) versus people who are just passing through. They're a lot less... romantic... when they're your daily life, but that by no means makes your connections weaker. Just different, in a way that's really hard to reify. At least for me. by exmadscientist 8 hours ago

I feel like I’ve had this feeling quite often. I’ll say it definitely happens in office buildings pre and post being hired. by Aeolun 4 hours ago

The beer can feels a bit like stacks I’ve worked on. Connects everything together, is cheaply made, often requires Herculean effort to keep functional at ground level, has a utility elevator only for special things, and becomes an object of cult-like obsession by anyone who has to labor under its cover.

Could say that pretty much all of my projects have some kind of beer can or other. by MomsAVoxell 16 hours ago

I wonder how much you would enjoy exploring old mountain bunkers. I bet there is a TON of that aesthetic. Might be worth a look to see if you can find any! by kulahan 10 hours ago

Maybe this is a clue toward understanding my recent inexplicable obsession with shipping containers. by semolino 10 hours ago

Can't view this in any other context than John Carpenter's The Thing (1982). by inanutshellus 16 hours ago

Also the Empire Strikes Back, ‘80. by mixmastamyk 13 hours ago

Great post. I have been intrigued by the life in Antarctica (especially the people living this life) ever since watching Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World. This place seems to attract a fascinating variety of characters, many of which seem to have sprung from a 19th-century adventure novel (or even from one of the expeditions of the Heroic Age). by lqet 20 hours ago

The title is correct, but it obscures the fact that it's discussing life in Antarctica!

Living in antarctica is one of our closest analogues to long-term space habitation. by dswalter 2 days ago

Agreed. Wasn't interested in the article at all based on the zero-context title. Glanced at the comments anyway and ... Antarctica? by inanutshellus 16 hours ago

Note the brrr.fyi, it’s a long running series. by mixmastamyk 13 hours ago

That's a sick job. I had been wondering if there's roles for IT in Antarctica, but I fear my wife may be angry if I dip off to an isolated continent for a year. by a_t48 20 hours ago

I have a friend who's worked in Antarctica as IT support (US) for...ever. Decades.

He may or may not have been one of the last two people to ever set foot in the original McMurdo Station, before the weight of snow crushed it. Cool stories. by IAmBroom 16 hours ago

They have a hard time staffing the IT roles usually. Throw an app in, you can just do a 90ish day ‘summer’ deployment at some stations. by rexarex 10 hours ago

I saw one advertised in 2001. Regret not applying! Bonus is it was only 3 months in Antartica I think and then rest not. by lemonlearnings 18 hours ago

British Antarctic Survey post IT roles every year... by pelagicAustral 17 hours ago

This would be such a great Doom map. by debo_ 17 hours ago

Wait, why are things getting buried to the extent that the ground level seems to rise? Does the snow level just gradually increase there? Does the station sink? by Freak_NL 21 hours ago

Wind driven snow and drifting will continue to bury things. Check out the South Pole Topography post (and the rest of the blog) https://brr.fyi/posts/south-pole-topography by Pyrodogg 21 hours ago

Yes it does, and the process of regular re-raising it is fascinating. by tomaskafka 20 hours ago

And, where is the septic tank? by morninglight 17 hours ago

Here is the wastewater treatment plant at McMurdo. https://brr.fyi/posts/wastewater-plant by morninglight 17 hours ago

Given that sea levels are rising, it seems that mean snow and ice levels should fall. So on average, foundations should get more exposed rather than buildings getting buried. by jgalt212 18 hours ago

Varies by location, it seems the south pole isn't warmed up enough yet for that to happen. Big chunks are melting and drifting off though. by Cthulhu_ 16 hours ago

You do realize averages don't imply anything about local conditions? by ndileas 18 hours ago

I'm sorry he won't be able to reply, he drown in a pond that was on average 2 feet deep. by pixl97 17 hours ago

Yes, but this seems to be a problem at every Antarctic base I've read about. by jgalt212 15 hours ago

The buildings are themselves grounded in snow, I imagine there's a sinking effect by __s 4 hours ago

-80F damn

I worked in an ice cream factory (palletizer) before I think that was -30F and you had to wear these cooler suits, that was brutal with frozen nostrils by ge96 13 hours ago

Notably in peril now, research in the Antarctic, where climate change is more apparent than in most places.

Edit, meant to add this: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01055-6 by juujian 17 hours ago

That was such a great blog by Maxion 21 hours ago

Why did I just watch a video of first-person perspective of someone climbing a few flights of stairs? by oniony 15 hours ago

What prevents unbounded frosty ice buildup in the unheated areas?

https://brr.fyi/media/beer-can/ice-tunnel-01-small.webp by metadat 14 hours ago

I was wondering about the water and sewage pipes the author mentioned going through these unheated areas. Are the pipes heated? Or just so well-insulated that the contents doesn't have time to freeze before reaching their destination? by OskarS 13 hours ago

Once the elevated station becomes buried, will they build another one on top? When will the madness end!? It's south pole stations all the way down! by baggachipz 17 hours ago

From a quick look at the construction, it seems that is the case.

The British and German stations (and perhaps others) use a different approach, standing on mobile legs that can be raised, allowing the snow foundation underneath to be built up:

https://youtu.be/LSCCi9ZhnZs?si=_nsyN5qfFeT-dCUa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6AfUJLtPcA

The British one can also be towed around if it needs to be somewhere else:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQvqaSWmVeo by twic 17 hours ago

I suspect this one can be raised and lowered too, given it's on piles. by Cthulhu_ 16 hours ago

It's designed to be raised. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen–Scott_South_Pole_Stat... by _da_ 12 hours ago

brr.fyi - perfect domain name by ortusdux 17 hours ago

I love reading these, for some reason the super remote mundane infrastructure is fascinating by jmux 15 hours ago

This is the kind of website I would sign-up for a monthly newsletter with updates. by rodolphoarruda 15 hours ago

Why don’t you? https://brr.fyi/subscribe by layer8 14 hours ago

For some weird reason I didn't see the option right there... ugh by rodolphoarruda 13 hours ago

I'm intrigued by the author's potential views on Camp Century. by philipwhiuk 15 hours ago

>-58°C

Probably a good contender for "coldest stairwell on earth" by nancyminusone 15 hours ago

I wonder if the electrical engineers used ambient temperature correction factors when designing the electrical system, -80F would let you use substantially smaller conductors.

The NEC allows conductor ampacity to be adjusted 1.2x if the ambient temp is below 50F, but that’s where the table stops, but I’m guessing lower temps would allow for even higher ampacities.

1.2x more ampacity would let you use #12s for a 30A circuit instead of #10s. by quickthrowman 13 hours ago

This is so cool. I think South/North pole expeditions/stations are up there with space science in terms of the awe and wonder they evoke.

Really feels like old internet too. by antisthenes 16 hours ago

Interesting article just for how the structures tell stories about history of the place, under such unique constraints.

Browsing the site made me find the "Engineering for slow internet" article too, which appears to have been a big thing here lol. Very interesting! Dunno if Elon's Starlink already one-shotted that whole issue, but I imagined a whole remote access piece of software that could avoid a lot of the related pains ... Something across lines of remote sending low bitdepth very compressed images back, and only on user interaction, clicks / typing in the input fields working in "turns" instead of realtime-by-default. Constraining the bitrate even more, the returned data could be just rects with AI labeling them either "some graphic" or "text" with the text content of the image only being transmitted. The remote could also send basic updates based on reading the screen like "page loaded and visual of it has been static for x seconds" to avoid wasting any data. by maxlin 16 hours ago

the photos really bring it all to life - thanks! by dchow1 15 hours ago

I like the vibe. by vicentwu 17 hours ago