Iceland directs Volcanic superweapon at Scotland in revenge for financial crisis

[TheWalrus]

Edit: The weather just cleared up and the wind is so still, I can see the plume rising from the volcano out my office window.  Jeeeeesus. I'll try to get a photo.

Can't believe nobodys noted how this looks like angry skyfire god blowing hot shit down on everyone. Of course its late and things look weird tired.

[Abagadro]

What could go wrong?

Mostly, I think they're worried about wear-and-tear on the engines (it's dirty shit to be sucking in) and, of course, the visibility problems make emergency landings more dicey than normal. You COULD fly in it, it's just take-offs and landings are going to fucking suck and be far more dangerous, and your engines are going to be fouled and break down a lot more.

It's a bit more than that. Planes have had all four engines shut down while flying through ash as it can cause stalls by building up on the fans. It also abrades the leading edge of the wings and clogs up the pitot tubes which messes with instrument readings. It's nasty stuff.

[IainC]

Basically it's sandblasting the front of the aircraft making windscreens and navigation light lenses opaque. It also damages the skin of the aircraft significantly leading to sudden loss of cabin pressure and it turns to glass inside engines, clogging them up.

BA Flight 9

[Sheepherder]

Flying in freezing fog is also a bad idea.

[Tale]

I've got a ticket booked to fly to London in early May. Only paid a $25 booking fee so far, full payment is due next weekend.

Can't get ash-related cancellation insurance for tickets purchased after April 16 (when this ash cloud problem began), so if I pay up and it continues into May, I could lose bigtime.

Hoping they resume flights this week, so my holiday can go ahead or I can at least get cancellation cover. Otherwise I might just have to forget about the trip.

[NowhereMan]

The bigger problem with the ash cloud is that density differs hugely in different places and at different altitudes and they lack the number of properly equipped planes to do much accurate mapping of it. The result is that probably a lot of flight routes are safe to fly but they can't say which nor whether those routes are going to stay safe. The airlines are justifiably concerned that they're being bankrupted when it's possible they could be flying while noone's actually wants to give the ok and have a 747 then run into a particularly thick layer of ash and crash into Birmingham.

In other news my friend who recently got a commercial piloting contract is now wondering whether the training company he's contracted to is going to collapse before the airline he's actually working for and is considering the serious possibility he'll end up spending the winter back on the dole or working in a call centre.

[Murgos]

I've got a ticket booked to fly to London in early May. Only paid a $25 booking fee so far, full payment is due next weekend.

Can't get ash-related cancellation insurance for tickets purchased after April 16 (when this ash cloud problem began), so if I pay up and it continues into May, I could lose bigtime.

All the airlines and hotels involved in my aborted vacation to Greece have reimbursed me in full.  No fees or funny games.

[01101010]

Breaking news on MSNBC: Hekla has begun to erupt. I hear its larger and will have much bigger effects worldwide than that Eyjafjalljokullmmfaowtfomg. Shit just got real, or so I'm told from my geology friend in Michigan.

[Yoru]

Hekla is not glacier-covered. Katla is the big nasty one. If Hekla's going up, it's also not being reported in the local Icelandic media yet.

Also, here's a webcam that's viewing Hekla live. I call bullshit on the Reuters alert. The left photo is Hekla (tranquil) and the right one is Eykafjallajökull - you can see a gray cloud of ash around the summit pretty clearly.

[01101010]

Yeah, I think MSNBC likes jumping the gun to try and say they are the first to report something. Katla is the one that is a world weather changer? I am going to stock up on sweaters now then...

[taolurker]

[Murgos]

I don't get it.

[taolurker]

I don't get it.

Lost TV show smoke monster..?

It made me chuckle.

[NowhereMan]

One of my friends had the suggestion that since the continuing eruption was continuing to spread ash into the atmosphere the best way to deal with this would be to bomb it with enough force to basically clear the magma or effectively get the whole thing over and done with in one big bang. When it was pointed out that this would at best involve the destruction of a decent part of the surrounding landscape he felt that we could write off Iceland's debt they are unwilling to repay as compensation. I'm not geologist so there may be a downside involving tidal waves or something but it seemed like a solid plan.

[Cyrrex]

The best part of this eruption is how everyone is so concerned about the inability to travel and the terrible hit the airlines are taking (which ignores the fact that rental car agencies are fucking loving it right now).  I mean, clearly this is the beginning of the end.  Of the world. 

[Tale]

One of my friends had the suggestion that since the continuing eruption was continuing to spread ash into the atmosphere the best way to deal with this would be to bomb it with enough force to basically clear the magma or effectively get the whole thing over and done with in one big bang. When it was pointed out that this would at best involve the destruction of a decent part of the surrounding landscape he felt that we could write off Iceland's debt they are unwilling to repay as compensation. I'm not geologist so there may be a downside involving tidal waves or something but it seemed like a solid plan.

Bombing. Again.

[NowhereMan]

I want to blow up Iceland. Fuckers owe us

[taolurker]

Spoiler'd for size:

[Teleku]

We closed our base there back in 2006, so your free to bomb it now.   

[Tale]

C02 emissions - volcano vs airline industry: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/planes-or-volcano/

[Sir T]

The best part of this eruption is how everyone is so concerned about the inability to travel and the terrible hit the airlines are taking (which ignores the fact that rental car agencies are fucking loving it right now).  I mean, clearly this is the beginning of the end.  Of the world. 

Ferry companies are raking it in too.

[Yoru]

I want to blow up Iceland. Fuckers owe us

First time you asked for cash, you got ash.

You want to try a second round already?

[NowhereMan]

No see this time we're giving you stuff.

Edit: Rather we're giving you stuff we don't want back.

[Sir T]

Fucking CCP...

[Righ]

http://volcan-islande-live.media.officelive.com/default.aspx

[Righ]

Breaking news on MSNBC: Hekla has begun to erupt. I hear its larger and will have much bigger effects worldwide than that Eyjafjalljokullmmfaowtfomg. Shit just got real, or so I'm told from my geology friend in Michigan.

http://www.businessandfinance.ie/cat_news_detail.jsp?itemID=1445

I did some reading on Katla and there seems to be a well regarded theory that that seismic patterns between Eyjafjallajökull and Katla suggests the formation of a cryptodome at a depth of about 1.5km in the Goðabunga area west of the caldera. If true, that would give the potential for a very fast and explosive eruption. Obviously that might not be what's happening but I certainly wouldn't hang around an overdue volcano that's suggesting that while it's neighbour is erupting.

[schild]

I just thank the greek gods it's not 2012 otherwise everyone would be touting this as end of days shit and I'd need to punch jackasses on my way into work.

[IainC]

If you want a dose of that kind of crazy check out Godlike Productions.

[schild]

Not enough tinfoil hats for that crazy crap.

But a little down is a thread titled:

Some bastard(s) stole my pick up truck: Any advice?

Pretty much says it all.

[KallDrexx]

In regards to all those awesome volcano pics:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/spectacular-volcano-lightning-explained-17053

[Lantyssa]

I just thank the greek gods it's not 2012 otherwise everyone would be touting this as end of days shit and I'd need to punch jackasses on my way into work.

It'd be like Christmas though!  Only with punches instead of presents.

[WindupAtheist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6KQhiiYTtA&feature=player_embedded

[TheWalrus]

I just thank the greek gods it's not 2012 otherwise everyone would be touting this as end of days shit and I'd need to punch jackasses on my way into work.

Dude, if you still live in texas in 2012, thats all you're going to be dealing with anyway.

[01101010]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/23/weisman.volcano.iceland.earth/index.html?hpt=C1

Seems we can explain EVERYTHING with global warming. Its just that awesome. 

[Lantyssa]