bricriu's recent activity

  1. Comment on Can alligators survive this apex predator? | Kenny Coogan in ~enviro

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    What's that acronym stand for? I get the intent (didn't watch) but haven't come across it before.

    What's that acronym stand for? I get the intent (didn't watch) but haven't come across it before.

    8 votes

  2. Comment on The new (improved?) face of public housing in Maryland in ~life

    bricriu
    Link
    For those who choose not to pay for NYTimes access: https://archive.ph/ttroh The county is now testing an alternate strategy for new affordable housing, in which it acts as the controlling owner...

    For those who choose not to pay for NYTimes access: https://archive.ph/ttroh

    For decades, Montgomery County (MD, USA) has led the country in affordable housing innovations, including a landmark law that requires developers to set aside about 15 percent of the units in new projects for households making less than two-thirds of the area’s median income

    The county is now testing an alternate strategy for new affordable housing, in which it acts as the controlling owner of a structure built by for-profit developers.

    Wasn't sure where to post this, but ~life seemed reasonable.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on New Jersey files federal lawsuit to block NYC’s congestion pricing plan; Staten Island sets up legal action in ~transport

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    Short answer to my mind: no. Tolls go to that maintenance. NJ residents' state (and until 20 or so years ago, city) taxes go to that maintenance if they commute to work in NYC. Alternate phrasing:...

    Hasn't there been an unfunded mandate going in the opposite direction for decades?

    Short answer to my mind: no. Tolls go to that maintenance. NJ residents' state (and until 20 or so years ago, city) taxes go to that maintenance if they commute to work in NYC.

    he wants more money for his state

    Alternate phrasing: he wants his state's fair share of the money being charged to its residents so that NJTransit can do the same thing that the MTA will do: patch the huge hole it blows in their budget and expand service.

    Is it a little cynical to use environmental review? Maybe. But politics ain't beanbag and I'm sure that if there were other options, they'd be going with those instead.

    3 votes

  5. Comment on New Jersey files federal lawsuit to block NYC’s congestion pricing plan; Staten Island sets up legal action in ~transport

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    But you didnt bring it up in your summary, so I felt it was important to highlight a point of view that didnt get represented well in a high-visibility first post. This isn't a "perfect" vs "good"...

    Yes, the article says that

    But you didnt bring it up in your summary, so I felt it was important to highlight a point of view that didnt get represented well in a high-visibility first post.

    This isn't a "perfect" vs "good" situation. These "decades of conversation" haven't actually included the polities that will be footing the bill; this is offloading the costs of a project onto those who have no voice in the decision. Yes, ARC may have helped avoid these problems a long time ago, but the fact is that these actions now will degrade mass-transport experiences and infrastructure... just not for New Yorkers.

    There's a practical argument to be made, too. If it's too expensive to drive and mass-transit is unable to support the additional demand, I'm more likely to push for a work-from-home situation and spend social time on my side of the river, both of which end up hurting NYC's finances and their local businesses.

    On the other hand, it's possible that the next shot across the bow will be NJ more seriously trying to end NJ residents paying NY State income tax. That's been brewing for decades, but as long as the commuter ecosystem stayed status quo, no-one wanted to cross the line. This may end up pushing it over.

    6 votes

  6. Comment on New Jersey files federal lawsuit to block NYC’s congestion pricing plan; Staten Island sets up legal action in ~transport

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    Look, I'm in favor of congestion pricing and don't dispute the environmental good that can come of it, but it's obvious that it's screwing NJ here, and Murphy, as Governor, has every right to push...

    Look, I'm in favor of congestion pricing and don't dispute the environmental good that can come of it, but it's obvious that it's screwing NJ here, and Murphy, as Governor, has every right to push back and try to get a better deal for his citizens. None of the money from the plan is to be shared with NJTransit or Port Authority, the two mass-transit services on which the burden of additional commuters will fall. This amounts to an unfunded mandate to increase capacity, while the MTA hauls in new profits to put towards commuters from Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, very few of whom drive. Meanwhile NY State and the City of NY refuse to pony up their fair share of costs to improve NJ-->NYC mass-transit infrastructure like the new PA building or the Hudson tunnel.

    12 votes

  7. Comment on BBC list eighteen of the best new books for 2023 in ~books

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    Colson Whitehead has been one of my favorite authors since John Henry Days. I would go back and check out others of his, especially The Underground Railroad, The Intuitionist, and Zone One.

    Colson Whitehead has been one of my favorite authors since John Henry Days. I would go back and check out others of his, especially The Underground Railroad, The Intuitionist, and Zone One.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech

    bricriu
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    For what it's worth, as someone who works for a largely-ad-supported internet publisher, the ad market is rough right now. Direct bookings and programmatic rates are both substantially down...

    For what it's worth, as someone who works for a largely-ad-supported internet publisher, the ad market is rough right now. Direct bookings and programmatic rates are both substantially down year-over-year.

    8 votes

  9. Comment on ‘Diversity fatigue’? Hollywood loses four DEI leaders in less than two weeks in ~movies

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I guess the focus of my question is less about the "trending" and more to do with the "naturally". You say ... and I'm not sure that I buy that most people are...

    Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I guess the focus of my question is less about the "trending" and more to do with the "naturally". You say

    at the core are individual people who generally don't want to hurt other people

    ... and I'm not sure that I buy that most people are like that. Trampling and stifling outgroups seems to be in our collective nature, and is certainly having a resurgence lately; in the (in)famous quote from what is now several years ago about fallout from a Trump-era wall/budget battle, "He’s not hurting the people he needs to be".

    The only way we drag ourselves forward is kicking and screaming, engaging policies that seem like "overkill" or end up with mixed results, because left to our own devices and without public displays of commitment to improvement, we'll be right back in the shit again before you can blink.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on ‘Diversity fatigue’? Hollywood loses four DEI leaders in less than two weeks in ~movies

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    I have to ask, as someone much more of the "people are bastard-coated bastards" school : what makes you think this?

    Because I think the world is trending toward diversity and inclusion naturally,

    I have to ask, as someone much more of the "people are bastard-coated bastards" school : what makes you think this?

    2 votes

  11. Comment on How do you feel about eBooks and eBook readers? in ~books

    bricriu
    Link
    I still have my 1st-gen Nook Color, and that thing is a rock. Its bastardized version of Android is hopelessly behind, the B&N store itself is getting deeply glitchy, but this thing is a rock....

    I still have my 1st-gen Nook Color, and that thing is a rock. Its bastardized version of Android is hopelessly behind, the B&N store itself is getting deeply glitchy, but this thing is a rock. All-day battery life, even 10 years later; the screen is still as responsive and vibrant as it ever was; and sideloading is still a viable option.

    I prefer the feel and the experience of print, but for travel or "throwaway" reads that I don't feel the need to invest in (mostly in light of dwindling shelf space), I hope it never dies.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Does anyone else habitually go unshod for health reasons? in ~health

    bricriu
    Link
    I have a relevant anecdote! When the pandemic first hit, my wife and I were able to escape the greater metropolitan area in which we live to my family's lake cottage up in Michigan, where after...

    I have a relevant anecdote!

    When the pandemic first hit, my wife and I were able to escape the greater metropolitan area in which we live to my family's lake cottage up in Michigan, where after getting some decent wifi sorted, we could both work remotely. The immediate area is pretty rustic and unpaved, and I spent most of my time barefoot, walking dirt paths and wooden decks. It felt great.

    However, about a month and a half in, I started getting itchy on the center of the soles of my feet, right in the arch, in a rough kind of line. It was worse on one foot than the other, but neither was good, and the itching progressed to the point where it started interfering with my sleep from time to time. I started developing blisters there, several of which seemed to have tiiiiiny black dots on or in them. Antihistamines and steroid creams did nothing; neither did the anti-parasite pills I eventually got a prescription for.

    Eventually we got a 2nd opinion and the doc basically shugged and said "I have no idea what's going on here, but maybe try some wart remover?" And by God, it worked; dried the blisters out and sloughed them off and they were gone in under a week along with the associated little black dots and any itching.

    I never did figure out what happened, but my guess is that somehow I stepped on a hairy caterpillar -- of which there are no shortage in the area -- and basically had an ongoing low-level allergic reaction to getting a small number of the hair-like spines stuck in my feet. Suffice to say, though, that I am much more restrained about walking around in my bare feet when I go up to the lake cottage.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Cheese lovers: What's your go-to/favourite cheese? in ~food

    bricriu
    Link
    Rogue Smokey Blue is my ridiculous indulgence of late. Perfectly melty, a little salty but not too, and just a little funky. So amazing. And then there's Humboldt Fog, which I could just eat like...

    Rogue Smokey Blue is my ridiculous indulgence of late. Perfectly melty, a little salty but not too, and just a little funky. So amazing.

    And then there's Humboldt Fog, which I could just eat like a piece of cake. Mmmm.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Mysterious, thoughtful games? A genre I can't define in ~games

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    Has it really been long enough to view it a a classic? Amazing game and I came here to stump as well, but... or maybe I'm just old and don't want to accept how long it's been since Act I came out.

    Has it really been long enough to view it a a classic? Amazing game and I came here to stump as well, but... or maybe I'm just old and don't want to accept how long it's been since Act I came out.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on I will never participate in weird internet caste systems in ~tech

    bricriu
    Link Parent
    I would say Player Of Games as a starting point, although Excession is another great one.

    I would say Player Of Games as a starting point, although Excession is another great one.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tildes

    bricriu
    Link
    Wanted to call out this specific bit of brilliance. And I don't disagree.

    It sometimes feels like the first page of Tildes is the Jonathan Frakes asks you things meme.

    Wanted to call out this specific bit of brilliance. And I don't disagree.

    18 votes

  17. Comment on Beer peeps, what have you been drinking? in ~food

    bricriu
    Link
    It's finally saison season again, so Apex Predator by Off Color is back on the shelves. One of my favorite beers, and OP, if you like Fin du Monde -- also an excellent brew -- I'd see if you can...

    It's finally saison season again, so Apex Predator by Off Color is back on the shelves. One of my favorite beers, and OP, if you like Fin du Monde -- also an excellent brew -- I'd see if you can get your hands on some.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Introductions | June 2023, part 1 in ~talk

    bricriu
    Link
    Hey all; yet another preemptive Reddit expat here, /u/nemthenga, with 10 years under my belt. Without RIF to make the experience tolerable, I'm looking at the alternatives, of which Tildes seems...

    Hey all; yet another preemptive Reddit expat here, /u/nemthenga, with 10 years under my belt. Without RIF to make the experience tolerable, I'm looking at the alternatives, of which Tildes seems the most fully-formed. I'm curious to see how more niche communities form and are supported here, but for the moment I'm just taking a look around!

    14 votes