If you ever wanted proof that about the worst news you could ever receive is "I'm a government lawyer and I'm here to help", it would be the picture of the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer (BOP) rusting in the warm moist oxidizing atmosphere outside the NASA facility in New Orleans. The Joint BOEM/USCG website shows it being towed to New Orleans on September 11th. On November 11th, the Wall Street Journal reported "The BP well's blowout preventer is lifted from the Gulf of Mexico in September. It's set for tests at a Louisiana dock, starting Monday." The decision to take the BOP to New Orleans rather than to its manufacturer's facility in Houston was made by government lawyers. The intent was to put it inside the huge hangar where the fuel tanks for the space shuttle were made, in a secure location under 24 hour guard. The problem being that no one in the government took the time to check the load carrying capacity of the dock and roads leading from the barge...(Read Full Post)