* * * * *
                                        
                                Building blocks
                                        
After spending several hours wiring up a few customers to our network [1],
Smirk and I ended up at Denny's [2] (funny how no one ever sets out to go to
Denny's, but inevitably end up there) and the topic of Coral Castle [3] and
how Edward Leedskalnin [4], weighing all of a 100 pounds, could build such a
structure by himself (where some of the blocks used weigh as much as nine
tons). 

I mentioned to Smirk that I came across a possible technique which basically
uses leverage, counter weights and pivot points but that I didn't remember
the actual details. So imagine my surprise when I found a video of the
technique [5] while reading Jason Kottke's blog [6]. 

It was then that I remembered that I mentioned this technique two years ago
[7]. 

So there you go Smirk—a way that Edward Leedskalnin could have built Coral
Castle (secret message to Spring [8]: maybe this is it, and maybe it's not). 

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2006/10/15.1
[2] http://www.dennys.com/
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Castle
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Leedskalnin
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRRDzFROMx0
[6] http://www.kottke.org/remainder/06/10/12025.html
[7] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2004/09/24.1
[8] http://www.springdew.com/

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

.