This. We lived in a similar 1920's neighborhood for about 3 years now, and are friendly with many of the neighbors. We have borrowed a ladder, tools, and exchanged garden vegetables. One neighbor gave me his old power drill. We loaned out our car once. You definitely meet more people when you have a front porch.
As a parent of two young children, cities are stressful because of cars. You constantly have to be paying attention, holding hands, watching out at intersections. To me, no cars is more family friendly.
Why does public transit have to be 2 hours? If you replaced every 30 cars with one bus, you could run one bus every minute, the bus could travel much faster because there are no cars clogging the lanes. It is simply more efficient and potentialy faster.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. He created this perception that to be part of the "creative class", you must live in SF, DC, Austin, Seattle, etc. We should get away from that idea. I am all for denser housing, public transit, walkable communities, etc. But I think other cities should also get a share of the prosperity. Good talented people can't afford SF, so they go another, less hip city. I think that is a good thing.
Right. For people in Greene county, the obvious answer is transitioning to Pittsburgh, which is only 60 miles away, doing decent economically and still affordable.
Coal will only become more expensive as it becomes more difficult to extract. The easy to access coal is gone. That is why in the article, they are resorting to destroying the county's state park. Everywhere else is either depleted or hard to access. All the more reason to use renewable, non depletable energy sources. Even China is beginning to moving away, producing a ton of solar panels.
This reminds me of Kodak, who was given advanced warning that digital would disrupt the film industry. Kodak did little to prepare, and that blunder ultimately led to its decline. I fear the US is also blundering in the areas of energy and infrastructure policy.
I still don't understand what Zillow hoped to achieve by this. Zillow displays all types of housing, right? If anything, Kate's site gave Zillow free advertising.
Sometimes I think too much focus is being put on climate change as the reason to reduce fossil fuel consumption, while all the other good reasons get less attention. The US economy has a dangerous dependence on finite resources. Its cheap availability and consumption has devastated country sides, caused pollution, wars, economic instability, disconnected societies, obesity, the list goes on.
Older programmers can do just fine in those algorithm tests, if they have been programming recently at their day jobs, and not PM/managerial work. Years of 8 hours of programming per day is actually good practice. They might have to brush up on Big O notation. :)
Somewhat related, the DC/NOVA/Maryland divide is a struggle for software engineers trying to decide where to set down roots, but still have job flexibility. Because DC and Reston are an hour apart.
my friend did it the other way, bought a place near the Chinatown metro. He figures it is better to live near the hub rather than on one of the spokes.
Reminds me of this quote supposedly said by Andrew Jackson: “If you have a job in your department that can't be done by a Democrat, then abolish the job."
Because fossil fuel consumption is synonymous to a computer program that heats up server components and gobbles up finite system memory without relinquishing it ever again. Sometimes you do want a sys. admin to put a stop to stuff like that.
I fear America's car dependent infrastructure will be its greatest folly. It is disappointing. If Silicon Valley can't get this right, what chance the does the rest of America have?
It is very cost effective by those who don't pay for electricity directly. Plenty of older condo and apartment complexes do not meter individual customers. The electricity costs are a component of the condo fees. University housing is an example.
"Sometimes it take history a while to fully appreciate the depth of character of those who helped make it."
Especially if solar continues it growth. Being the first president to install rooftop solar on the White House will certainly help his legacy.
Let's say you ate two burgers, when you could have easily gotten by with just one. Or even worse, you threw the 2nd burger in trash. You only took it just in case. The guy behind you was left with none.
Just to add to this, these clients are risk averse and not cost conscious. They don't feel comfortable dealing with a sole developer who could disappear, even if the sole developer is twice as good at half the price. They do feel more comfortable dealing with XYZ firm with a professional looking PM who has a "bench" of developers. If a dev leaves, XYZ firm has the responsibility to fill in the replacement, not the client.
This. Anecdotally I know a friend whose doctor offered a potentially addictive medication, when the doctor knew or at least was told the friend drank frequently. The friend did not fill prescription for fear it would become addictive.
The problem is the contractor, may not be working more because he wants to, but because he is not certain the work will be available in the future. Also, since the contractor is willing to work 60 hours, he is a little more attractive to employers. Also the town you live in has a finite housing supply. So even though you think you are making decent money, you are being outbid by all the 60 hours/week contractors who have more money than you. So you eventually give in and start working 60 hours to keep up.
> Now figure a law that says that contractors shouldn't work more than 40 hours a week: what a disaster it would be for them and for society
I agree that people should definitely not be prohibited from working more than 40 hours. But disastrous? Let's assume such a law was passed. People would visit friends and family, spend time with kids, get better sleep, have time to cook, exercise, read more books. How is that disastrous? What is disastrous is people never having time to enjoy the things I just mentioned. So I would support simple policy disincentives to people working outside the range of let's say 30-50.
In retrospect, the problem is the US has had poor property tax policies. Property tax should be based on 1) the land square footage and 2) the value of the location. If a lot is double the space of normal lot, the tax should be at least 50% higher. If the price increases sharply, the taxes should as well. This way large lots sizes and price fluctuations would stay in check. The property taxes in SF, by the way, are way too low for the current value and square footage of the lots.
Wyoming leads the nation in coal production, accounting for two-fifths of all coal mined in the United States. (According to EIA) So you have high industrial consumption and low population.
I tried picking up a guitar this past week, and was overwhelmed. Just playing a basic chord was a struggle. How do you get your figure to press down just right on the string and not interfere with another. Amazed by people who can play effortlessly. The post encouraged me to try again. 15 min a day sounds like a reasonable practicing goal.
Refreshing to see software devs moving to average cities rather than the typical SF, NYC, Seattle, etc. Impressed by the "300 miles of all-purpose hiking and biking trails." I enjoy reading posts like this.
I would think historically and perhaps globally, travelling by car was a symbol of wealth, and bikes were for the masses and the poor. So the attacks are more likely directed at a culture that embraces bikes rather than directed at gentrification.
Religion is not to blame, for most include proper environmental stewardship. Unfortunately that theme is being ignored in the developed world. How about simply making the argument that it is morally wrong to destroy God's creation?
Price is a big, but not the only factor when choosing a buyer. The highest priced bid doesn't always get the house. Factors such as inspection contingencies, settlement dates, financing, what the buyer plans to do with the house, etc all play a role in the transaction. If a person wants to buy your house and tear it down, you should not be obligated to sell.
I suggest looking into 'inner' suburbs or pre WW2 housing built around a town. At least that allows you to walk to stores, schools, and usually closer to a city. The trade-off is an older house and possibly a higher cost.
It doesn't make sense to penalize bikes the same way as cars. A car is deadly, a bike isn't. It would be like assigning the same penalty to throwing a punch and a gun shot.
IMHO, for the most ideal city experience, transit options should be prioritized in this order: 1) pedestrians, 2) buses, 3) bikes, 4) cars. Biking being faster than motoring is excellent news towards this ideal.
