Signal Boost: Sandpiper

That’s three in a row! Some of y’all are being productive over the holidays, and the Admiral approves

Source

ESandpiper

• MLP: FiM
• Slice of Life

Once a year, a sand mine opens, and with it comes a flock of people... and this year, a pony.

• Human
• OC
• Bat Pony

Odd_Sarge · 3.5k words  ·  157  4 · 1.9k views

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This story’s got batponies and said batpony operating heavy equipment, and at least in my opinion there hardly needs to be any further endorsement. Add to that cute little fangs and bat-sonar and . . . well, it might even change Present Perfect’s opinion on batponies.*

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Source

Comments

[Admiral Biscuit]

*it probably won’t.

[Odd_Sarge]

Yay! Thanks for the signal boost, I feel like I owe you something for that.

Oh yes, sand facts! Truly, a prized and infinitely valuable commodity around here! Apparently, I have become quite knowledgeable about the tenets of sand in my years of living on this planet (read: very few), so here are a handful that my story uses and that I totally didn't copy-paste from my author's notes!

- Sand mining comes in several types, but mostly I've seen these three: you have 'open-pit' (the type this story follows) where a dig site is dug from the topsoil to the sandstone beneath, and excavated using blasting (here, it's blasting with detonation cords [det-cords]) to separate sandstone and collect it for processing; 'beach mining' where they basically scoop up sand from a beach (not viable for the beautiful Grand Strand!); and what I like to call 'mining of the sand from the dunes' (because research papers love to say 'sand dune') where sand is excavated from areas of silica-rich silty-sand, which you can see particularly in the Great Lakes region.

- Sand mining is important in several industries (construction [steel, and glass] is a big one), and before you say "Just go to the desert smh" (an actual quote), the kinds of sand used in manufacturing are very specific, which is why there's only so many places where sandstone is usable, and why the silty-sand of the Great Lakes' dunes is so valuable to sand mining.

- There is an actual illegal market for sand. Yes, you heard that right. I know this story and its characters gloss over the fact that they're mining once a year because it's illegal, but it happens; inactive mining sites get mined at when they really shouldn't. Active mines of all types, including sand, may be seen for South Carolina here, if you're interested!

- Also, every hurricane season, we get people bagging sand from the Grand Strand and selling it in sandbags. Yes, it's really bad, and yes, it's very illegal, and yes it's very profitable you should stay in school and not bag sand!

Thanks again for hosting this 'not-a-contest', Biscuit! Really can't underappreciate how great this has made me feel to write and publish something for Fimfiction before this year ends.

Happy New Year to you and everyone else!

[Reese]

Thanks. :)

[Dan]

5177148

Supposedly Saudi Arabia is a big importer of sand, because the stuff in the desert around there is low-grade.

[Odd_Sarge]

5177231
That's actually kind of cool to hear about!

It turns from cool to funny, however, when you toss in the fact that Texas has the biggest market share for sand mining in the United States! If they export, then I love the implication that the 'most American sand' of the US eventually finds its way to the Middle East.

Now that is comedy gold in the making.

[Super Trampoline]

5177148
I appreciated these sand facts. Thank you.

[Booster Spice]

If you think the Trucks Number plate is bad, theres a local car with the Plate CH05 ZZZ.

I couldnt quite work out what its driver was.

If theyre using the local sandstone quarries for grind sand, they must be desperate. Its not called Millstone Grit for nowt.

[Admiral Biscuit]

5177148

Oh yes, sand facts! Truly, a prized and infinitely valuable commodity around here! Apparently, I have become quite knowledgeable about the tenets of sand in my years of living on this planet (read: very few), so here are a handful that my story uses and that I totally didn't copy-paste from my author's notes!

Yay, actual facts! I love fact (and I love the fact that many authors have seen fit to include a blog with the story giving facts and whatnot; if there’s nothing else I do on site that people want to emulate, well, I’ll be happy with just that.

Here in Michigan, to my knowledge, we generally do the open-pit type of mining. On the west side of the state especially, we’re blessed with lots and lots of sand dunes (or cursed if your house is atop one and lake levels and wave activities are high) and I think that most of the sand mining done is taking a dune that nobody likes and loading it into a dump truck by the bucket.

There’s also a cottage industry of removing free sand from people’s properties--not sure exactly what the laws on sand are here, but I’m pretty sure if wind or waves deposit it on your property, it’s yours to dispose of as you see fit. Sometimes walking around near my parent’s house (Holland, MI) there are cottages with mini-dunes and signs that say free sand (you haul). Probably not worth it for the big companies, but for small-timers, they can get a few truckloads of sand for free.

Heck, there’s entire towns on the west coast of Michigan that are lost under sand dunes--Singapore MI is one, if I remember correctly.

I live over a hundred miles from any Michigan coastline, so I got a sand and clay mix on my property. Basically, some places in my yard, it’s essentially concrete under the topsoil (until it becomes wet, of course, at which point it erodes like nobody’s business).

Thanks again for hosting this 'not-a-contest', Biscuit! Really can't underappreciate how great this has made me feel to write and publish something for Fimfiction before this year ends.

You’re quite welcome! If you feel the desire to continue this story (and I hope you do), I’ll welcome a sequel or several

[Admiral Biscuit]

5177231

Supposedly Saudi Arabia is a big importer of sand, because the stuff in the desert around there is low-grade.

I’ve heard that, too. I don’t think Michigan exports much of it (beyond Canada’s nearby provinces and other nearby states) because it’s not currently worth enough to pay shipping, although I’m not sure. I thought I could find out with a quick Google query, but it turns out I’ve got to wade through more complicated fact-sheets to get the numbers I’m looking for. I can say it’s not in our top 25 exports, though.

[Admiral Biscuit]

5177290

If they’re using the local sandstone quarries for grind sand, they must be desperate. Its not called Millstone Grit for nowt.

I hadn’t thought about sandstone (most of the stuff in Michigan is in dune form, and if you’ve got a bucket and a shovel, you’re good to go). but depending on the structure that might make for a good source, and it might also be advantageous that it comes pre-compacted . . . if you’ve ever tried driving on sand, it’s not as simple as it seems.