An oil rig has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, with 12 people overboard and one missing, the Coast Guard said Thursday morning.

Rescue attempts are underway for at least 12 people, Coast Guard spokesman John Edwards told CNN. 13 people were on board the rig total, Edwards said, noting 12 have been accounted for, but one person was missing.

The accident took place 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana on the Vermilion Oil rig 380, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy.

From CNN.

[link]

eta: My boss found something that said this is "not an active well."

My boss found something that said this is "not an active well."

That would be a blessing, if true.

I can think of a whole lot of replies to that, but none are workplace appropriate.

Or appropriate for someone else's blog! I still haven't answered.

Bullies - I got bullied a lot in elementary school. I was the only geeky smart kid in the whole county, apparently. The worst was when an older boy pushed me down the stairs. There were only three steps, but still, I had my right arm in a cast (broken when I got thrown from a horse) and I landed on that arm and jarred the healing bone. I remember bursting into tears in the doctor's office when he told me I'd have to wear the cast for another five weeks. The bone still didn't heal right. I don't think the boy even got yelled at.

Man, I fucking hated school.

I don't think the boy even got yelled at.

Figures.

These days, schools are better at combating bullying, right?

Fucking a on the well explosion.

Zenkitty, nothing like mansplaining to make you see red.

Shortly after I moved, a boy stuck a sign on my back that said, "I can't help it if my butt smells." I didn't notice until I got back to class and had it pointed out to me. Little wanker.

These days, schools are better at combating bullying, right?

They're supposed to be. Doesn't always work. There are at least things that they're supposed to be doing, though, and a lot of schools have various programs in place. They don't always work, but at least they show that someone is trying to do something.

There weren't too many bullies in my school, as I recall. I remember talking smack to the one notable one as a freshman (perhaps risky, as he later did time for knifing someone, but it seemed to establish me as not a good target to pick on from the start) and never had trouble otherwise. We didn't really have the jock bullies/mean cheerleaders running the school dynamic either; most people just got along.

One girl hit upside the back of the head on the bus in seventh grade in Florida, and I was astounded more than anything. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before.

One of my favorite Homicide episodes was the one where the bullied kid ends up killing his tormentor. The bully was a popular jock; nobody thought the bullying was a big deal except the kid who was bullied.

Oh, and I should say that the bullying episode I had in 7th grade was isolated. I don't know that I ever saw that girl again in school. But it was traumatizing when it happened!