Updates from Italy

[Mccoy]

Hi all, just a few updates here.

Now my main business is as a caregiver for my autistic son. I've taken him back home to see if improvements are possible. I've been studying psychopharmacology rather than geotechnical matters. Life is pretty hard and improvements are not significant. I'll be able to keep up a few more months, then I'll have to decide if committing him again to out-of-home placements, possibly decent ones.

In the meanwhile I'm completing the reconstruction projects initiated many years ago after the L'aquila earthquake. After 5 to 9 years the government is starting to pay. Just starting, the installments will be over probably in another 10 years. In the meanwhile the seismic law has changed and the government officials are asking for updated reports, with no additional pricing. This is a crazy aspect of Italian business.

I've no time to do much else, except a little exercise to keep in shape. Here is a pic of the small mountain town where I've been working years ago, foundations on sandstone (now starting to reap the $$$, which come to in a trickle...)

 

[Mccoy]

By the way, a while ago it was possible to paste images directly into the post, now I've not been able to, trying again

 

[Mccoy]

OK, better off, now the sandstone!!! And more obsolete buildings (dry lime and stones mainly)

 

[BigH]

Thanks for the update Mccoy! Always good hearing from you - I cannot imagine how tiring it is to be taking care of your son - but in the end, your love will persevere and he'll always remember it. BTW, the Contractor on our project is Webuild Sp.A . . . . interesting to say the least.

If you find out you have some time, take a listen to Emmet Cohen Trio - he has weekly Live From Emmet's Place . . . some good music.

Cheers - and always your mate,
Howard

 

[Ron]

McCoy...good to hear from you. Being a caregiver is probably one of the most difficult undertakings one can imagine. I wish you all the best.

Thanks for the pics! It always amazes me how age-old construction performs better than much of the new stuff...earthquakes and all.

 

[BigH]

Ron - that's because all the bad stuff has already fallen down! - but I agree; years ago when there were artisans and engineers/contractors trained in hand stuff - it beats those that are computer generated . . . It's a wonder how things ever got built prior to 1990.

 

[GeoPaveTraffic]

Thanks for the update, I cannot imagine what you are going through and the difficulties in caring for your son. I wish you the best and keep strong.

Mike

 

[Mccoy]

Thanks guys, the first 6 months have been almost hellish (my son weighs 220 pounds and overwhelms my 150 pounds), but now after a change in pharmaceutical therapy things seem to be better, subject to future evolution. It's an altogether different field, there is accepted conceptualization of the effect of psychiatric drugs on neurotransmitters (which I studied), but in practice, every drug has different effects on different individuals, and the same drug beneficial in an individual may not be so after some time.

Now with quieter situation I'd like to spend more time in this forum, I registered more than 20 years ago and is one of the few internet fora which keep being busy, many are now dead with the rise of other social media like Facebook, reddit and so on (which I don't find professionally useful).

Re. the old buildings in L'Aquila, yes, the ones not so well built have been totally destroyed and some which are standing have some internal damages. There have been few collapses of concrete structures, and those instances have been investigated by the judicial authorities. Some pretty old buildings have withstood the earthquake, but as you guys reasoned, they had something like one-meter thick full masonry walls and even larger foundations.

 

[Mccoy]

If you find out you have some time, take a listen to Emmet Cohen Trio - he has weekly Live From Emmet's Place . . . some good music.

He really posted a lot of good stuff!