Buffalo Skyline from BCT 800x135

Tuesday April 29, 2008 at 9:44

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“Suburb: a place that isn’t city, isn’t country, and isn’t tolerable.”

—

Mignon McLaughlin (via simko)

Simko, where are you finding all of these great quotes about place? I thought this was my niche.

This post was reblogged from Welcome..

Monday April 28, 2008 at 15:40

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“All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful: but the beauty is grim.”

—

Christopher Morley (via simko)

His wikipedia page (I know, I didn’t know him either).

This post was reblogged from Welcome..

Monday April 28, 2008 at 2:43

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headspace: via I bloody love you. You’re my best mate. “Amount of spacerequired to transport the same number of passengers by car, bus, or bicycle.” You can know the numbers, but sometimes you just need to see it. 

headspace:

via I bloody love you. You’re my best mate.

“Amount of spacerequired to transport the same number of passengers by car, bus, or bicycle.”

You can know the numbers, but sometimes you just need to see it. 

This post was reblogged from .headspace..

Sunday April 27, 2008 at 21:34

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Are biofuels bad?

squashed:

 I wouldn’t suggest that we keep our biofuel policy the way it is by using subsidized corn rather than cellulostic ethanol, but I do think it is way too early to call the whole biofuel experiment a failure.

I full heartedly agree with this statement, (and the sections I didn’t copy as well). I think it is important that the criticisms of this current generation of biofuels is well publicized though. This may sound paranoid, but the Ethanol Lobby is a relatively powerful lobby, and if Ethanol is only received as our Saviour bringing energy independence, then I think we could have a problem. 

Another problem, or potential problem, is that the US Government has ordered that Ethanol production be doubled by 2015. 

And finally another negative about ethanol that you missed, is that because of the fertilizers used in growing corn, the runoff can endanger water quality. Granted these are all concerns and critiques about how biofuels are currently being produced, but it would seem that unless there is a critical voice about corn ethanol now then the status quo may become entrenched and then we have lost the opportunity for real change.

Grist has an excellent article summarizing the current situation with corn ethanol here.

This post was reblogged from Squashed.

Sunday April 27, 2008 at 0:36

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I’ve been keeping my eye on this discussion thread as well as the thread on the minimum wage, and so it made me dig out the Affluent Society by Kenneth Galbraith, because I remember him making a reference to minimum wage and how it has been proven to not actually do all the bad things classical economists say (if you can’t tell, I haven’t found the section yet). But as I was readying myself for bed, I came across this quote:  ”Because economic or social phenomena are so forbidding, or at least so seem and because they yield few hard tests of what exists and what does not, they afford to the individual a luxury not given by physical phenomena. Within a considerable range, he is permitted to believe what he pleases. He may hold whatever view of this world he finds most agreeable or otherwise to his taste.” That said, this issue seems to me like a basic supply and demand issue. Using corn for a fuel supply increases the demand for corn thus raising the price of corn. As we know from practice, this has caused farmers to plant more corn in lieu of other food crops. This has the effect of potentially pricing corn out of reach for some people, because of increased demand raising prices. It also has the potential to increase the price of other crops, because of a decrease in the supply of other foodstuffs (because the farmers are planting corn instead.) To say that biofuels “take food out of the mouths of starving people” is maybe overstating the case, but it is having an effect on the food supply. After all, the US surplus corn that used to be shipped abroad is now being used to fuel cars.  On the other hand biofuels, after they become more efficient, have the potential to be an incredible source of renewable energy. And, when the US dumps surplus corn or grain in Africa, it has a devestating effect on African farmers, because it floods the market with cheap food driving down the price of corn and making it unprofitable for African farmers to produce corn. So, that said, it would seem that there is a potential for production to increase in the long run and have an overall benefit. I’m not an economist, but I at least think my hypothesis has a solid foundation. I’ll be looking forward to critiques. jakoblodwick: Can we please get an actual economist on Tumblr? So that we can get something more than opinions on this science? If anyone can put me in touch with Thomas Sowell, I will fly out to Stanford to set him up on Tumblr.

I’ve been keeping my eye on this discussion thread as well as the thread on the minimum wage, and so it made me dig out the Affluent Society by Kenneth Galbraith, because I remember him making a reference to minimum wage and how it has been proven to not actually do all the bad things classical economists say (if you can’t tell, I haven’t found the section yet). But as I was readying myself for bed, I came across this quote:

 ”Because economic or social phenomena are so forbidding, or at least so seem and because they yield few hard tests of what exists and what does not, they afford to the individual a luxury not given by physical phenomena. Within a considerable range, he is permitted to believe what he pleases. He may hold whatever view of this world he finds most agreeable or otherwise to his taste.”

That said, this issue seems to me like a basic supply and demand issue. Using corn for a fuel supply increases the demand for corn thus raising the price of corn. As we know from practice, this has caused farmers to plant more corn in lieu of other food crops. This has the effect of potentially pricing corn out of reach for some people, because of increased demand raising prices. It also has the potential to increase the price of other crops, because of a decrease in the supply of other foodstuffs (because the farmers are planting corn instead.)

To say that biofuels “take food out of the mouths of starving people” is maybe overstating the case, but it is having an effect on the food supply. After all, the US surplus corn that used to be shipped abroad is now being used to fuel cars.

 On the other hand biofuels, after they become more efficient, have the potential to be an incredible source of renewable energy. And, when the US dumps surplus corn or grain in Africa, it has a devestating effect on African farmers, because it floods the market with cheap food driving down the price of corn and making it unprofitable for African farmers to produce corn.

So, that said, it would seem that there is a potential for production to increase in the long run and have an overall benefit.

I’m not an economist, but I at least think my hypothesis has a solid foundation. I’ll be looking forward to critiques.

jakoblodwick:

Can we please get an actual economist on Tumblr? So that we can get something more than opinions on this science?

If anyone can put me in touch with Thomas Sowell, I will fly out to Stanford to set him up on Tumblr.

This post was reblogged from (no such blog).

Saturday April 26, 2008 at 23:25

Link

Private citizen issues parking tickets to Oregon cop

A “freshly minted” lawyer in Oregon used a relatively unknown provision in state law that alows private citizens to issue traffic tickets to assess $500 in fines to a police officer that parked in a no parking zone while he went and got dinner. The officer is scheduled to appear in court next month.

Hells yes.

Thursday April 24, 2008 at 22:33

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dealbreaker rules: do they exist? And if so how firm are they?

I would say the one dealbreaker that has stuck with me is:

I will not date anyone who likes Ayn Rand. I find that this simple rule ferrets out many different types of people that I would be incompatible with.

biteofpythias:

in several conversations of late people have been talking about relationship dealbreakers, characterisics or factors that would be enough to rule out dating someone…

do you have one (or more?) of these? How firm are you on them - is it an absolute or simply a looser framework of the “sort” of person to avoid?

I’d love to hear what some are, bc I suspect there are some strange ones… Would you date across party lines? Across vegetarian status? Across religion? Across race? Across crest/colgate preference? Does job matter? Income? Whether their parents are still together? Their sexual history? Leno vs letterman divides? Turkey sandwhich with mayo or mustard? Do they open present Xmas day or Xmas eve? Circumcision status? Different subway line? Morning vs night person? Likes porn? Drinker vs not? Smoker? Are crocs ok in a potential mate? Mac vs pc? Not in your cell network? Music taste? Bath person? Team julia vs team jakob? Etc…

you get the idea? Hit me with your weirdest and idiosyncratic rule out criteria?

This post was reblogged from bite of Pythias....

Wednesday April 23, 2008 at 13:36

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“You might say… that the city is a place for multiplying happy chances and making the most of unplannable opportunities.”

— Lewis Mumford

Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 15:05

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Again with the price of gas! Why do people expect the government to intervene in the case of gas prices, but become indignant when the government does anything to support mass transit? I’m normally a fan of Diesel Sweeties, but this issue tends to make me cross-eyed. aja: diesel sweeties: dear america welcome back to europe. Then Rudy will come save the day and become president. By write-in. In my worst nightmares.

Again with the price of gas! Why do people expect the government to intervene in the case of gas prices, but become indignant when the government does anything to support mass transit?

I’m normally a fan of Diesel Sweeties, but this issue tends to make me cross-eyed.

aja:

diesel sweeties: dear america welcome back to europe.

Then Rudy will come save the day and become president. By write-in. In my worst nightmares.

This post was reblogged from anyways.us.

Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 14:57

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“A tax on gasoline is more like a tax on a sacrament than a sin.”

—

Former Massachusetts Senate President Thomas Birmingham.

These comments were made recently in discussions about the Massachusetts state budget and potential new revenue sources.

This mindset is exactly why our transportation infrastructure is falling apart, and why states have to subsidize roads increasingly with general revenues, and not just the gas tax. If you use it, you should pay for it. It’s been almost 20 years since Massachusetts raised it’s gas tax and the Federal gas tax hasn’t been raised since 1997.

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