Brian Rice

[DaVinci @BiancoDavinci]

Roman concrete could repair its own cracks.

Some Roman buildings have stood for 2,000 years, while modern concrete can start to crumble within decades. For a long time, scientists did not fully understand why.

The Romans made their concrete from lime, water and volcanic ash from the area around Pozzuoli, near Naples. The ash reacted with the lime and created a material that grew stronger over time instead of weaker.

In 2023, a team from MIT led by Admir Masic found another piece of the puzzle, small white lumps of lime scattered through the concrete.

Scientists had always thought these lumps were a sign of careless mixing. In fact, they were the repair kit. When a crack forms and rainwater gets in, the lime dissolves and refills the crack with new mineral, sealing it from the inside.

The secret was “hot mixing.” Instead of using slaked lime, the Romans added quicklime directly to the mix. It heated up as it reacted with water and left these lumps behind on purpose.

To test the idea, the team cracked samples of concrete made with the Roman method and let water run through them. Within two weeks, the cracks had sealed completely. In concrete made without the lime lumps, the water kept flowing.

Roman harbour concrete went even further. Pliny the Elder wrote that once it touched the waves, it became a single block of stone that grew stronger every day. In 2017, geologist Marie Jackson showed he was right, seawater slowly grows rare crystals inside the concrete that hold it together.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@13PJM @RhodyKnights I was thinking as an homage to the old Southwest Conference since most of those teams were in it.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@AlexBerenson Dude you’ve just become a huge grump, lately lol.

[Garrett Holaday @garholaday]

Klieman won’t go down as the greatest but what he did won’t be understated with me. Balanced the program after the Snyder era, dealt with many health issues, then didn’t worry about the money or the fame when it was his time to go. Gracefully turned it over to the next guy. 🫡

[Retro Recall (☥𝐃𝐁) @RetroMoviesDB]

A lot of boys lives were changed by From Dusk till Dawn.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@LifeofFitz It’s pointless; if KSU wins nobody cares coz it’s just an alumni game that doesn’t matter; if they lose it sucks as usual; it’s the equivalent of playing Wichita State 🙄🤷🏻‍♂️

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@KellisRobinett I saw how KSU was playing when they were up four and knew they were going to lose 🤦🏻‍♂️ jacked up crap shots and failed to get the ball into Beasley 🤦🏻‍♂️

[The Sting @TheStingisBack]

"She is curvaceous"
Not even Ray Harryhausen’s genius could distract a whole generation of young boys from Caroline Munro’s heaving-bosom prowess in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973).

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

If more soccer games were this high scoring, soccer would be a MUCH more popular sport in America 🤷🏻‍♂️ #WorldCupThirdPlaceGame #EnglandFrance

[Jen @SweetTexanRose]

I need a lot of laughs these days. Thank goodness I stumbled upon Josh Johnson telling a story about the time he was stopped by TSA. 😂 If you need a laugh, too, give it a listen.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@flugempire I would just like to see some kind of dispensation for the NCAA to be able to mandate a one-time only transfer and play immediately; further transfers would require sitting out a year. I think that alone would help ameliorate how things currently are.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@flugempire @AD_DannyWhite I’m curious what your ultimate ideal solution to all this would be? If you were the one making the final decision? I mostly just see your opposition to anything that potentially hamstrings the Big Ten which is fine, but what do you think should be done?

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@GlobalDiss @LifeofFitz Is there a source confirming this? I just did a quick search and came up with it being a false claim, or at least conflated from other events.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@DoubleSipSun @WesleyHuntTX Because that’s the standard form in journalistic practice that I’m guessing he probably internalized at some point.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

Did anyone tell the San Antonio Spurs their basketball court looks like a bag of Tostitos? @sanantoniospurs

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@LifeofFitz @jlkurtz @KellisRobinett I do empathize with Will—and the move certainly paid off for him in spades—but he also started his career before the whole NIL thing started and it sounds like he missed the bus on it until Ohio State, whereas Avery rode in on the first wave. Just timing.

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

Interesting comments from Will Howard about his last year at K-State (toward end of article)...

https://t.co/4b8zecZsUp

@LifeofFitz @jlkurtz @KellisRobinett

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@LifeofFitz @jlkurtz @KellisRobinett I was just about to post screenshots!

[Brian Rice @StudioBPR]

@LifeofFitz @mmendenh7302 Maybe KSU lost THEIR best shooter, athlete, etc…but there was certainly no way any of them were the best “in the country” 🙄