The Coffee House

[limr45]

Today is Princess’s birthday. 16. Taking her for her learner’s permit tomorrow. That’s right folks she’ll be on the roads. Take appropriate precautions.

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Honestly, I thought Massachusetts driver’s ed just taught you had to use your horn, your flippah, and how to disable your turn signal.

So that’s why I avoid Boston metro traffic unless absolutely necessary in general!

You forgot Tailgating 101 and Rotaries for Road Ragers.

Let's not forget Lesson 4: How to cut off cars to get into the passing lane just to slow down to pace the cars in the middle lane.

Rotaries, roundabouts...we call them traffic circles in these parts. I do wish Americans could get them hang of them like they have in Europe.

 

[SquarePeg51 1]

Yeah yeah Europe is so much better, blah blah blah... oh limr it’s you! I thought Frank had wandered back in for a second there...

 

[limr45]

Yeah yeah Europe is so much better, blah blah blah... oh limr it’s you! I thought Frank had wandered back in for a second there...

Oh, the Europeans are looney tunes in cars, but there are two things they understand better than Americans: passing lanes and traffic circles. Otherwise, it's just as much as a cluster*** , just in different ways

 

[Frank F.]

Yeah yeah Europe is so much better, blah blah blah... oh limr it’s you! I thought Frank had wandered back in for a second there...

I was never away and still pay my support for this site. Every part of the world have their merits. I simply hope for the best for the whole planet and humanity, that the will to self destruct will lose against the will to be happy ever after. I am thinking globally, acting locally.

See my sustainable green house that will be ready to move in in roughly one year:

I am missing Gary!

 

[smoke665]

See my sustainable green house that will be ready to move in in roughly one year:

To each their own I guess. We just got back from one of our favorite hangouts near Gatlinburg, TN. I'm always taken aback by the construction in the area, where the houses/condos cover the mountain tops, giving them the appearance of bee hives. I know the premium on space dictates this, but I'm always glad to get back to my mountain where neighbors aren't close. A place far removed from the noise of civilization, a place of solitude where my daily visitors are the deer, turkey, and other wildlife that we share the place with.

 

[tirediron]

See my sustainable green house that will be ready to move in in roughly one year:

To each their own I guess. We just got back from one of our favorite hangouts near Gatlinburg, TN. I'm always taken aback by the construction in the area, where the houses/condos cover the mountain tops, giving them the appearance of bee hives. I know the premium on space dictates this, but I'm always glad to get back to my mountain where neighbors aren't close. A place far removed from the noise of civilization, a place of solitude where my daily visitors are the deer, turkey, and other wildlife that we share the place with.

I've said many times, the ideal place to live is somewhere where going to see your next-door neighbour is an all-day trip!

 

[smoke665]

See my sustainable green house that will be ready to move in in roughly one year:

To each their own I guess. We just got back from one of our favorite hangouts near Gatlinburg, TN. I'm always taken aback by the construction in the area, where the houses/condos cover the mountain tops, giving them the appearance of bee hives. I know the premium on space dictates this, but I'm always glad to get back to my mountain where neighbors aren't close. A place far removed from the noise of civilization, a place of solitude where my daily visitors are the deer, turkey, and other wildlife that we share the place with.

I've said many times, the ideal place to live is somewhere where going to see your next-door neighbour is an all-day trip!

Not sure if it's the case everywhere or just with me, but for over 30 years I lived in subdivisions with neighbors (maybe not as close as Frank) but other than those who lived next to us we didn't really know our neighbors. In the 12 years we've lived in this 26 mile long rural valley, we've met and know by name, people from one end to the other. We've developed friendships, unlike what we'd experienced in town.

 

[davidharmier60]

I wasn't sure the buffer would get through tomorrow. So I'm over in Cold Springs for propane. Where there are a few sales places south of Cleveland there are a wreck or three every weekend. The highway department sure needs to build an overpass there. Otherwise it doesn't seem to matter much who is driving.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Frank F.]

See my sustainable green house that will be ready to move in in roughly one year:

To each their own I guess. We just got back from one of our favorite hangouts near Gatlinburg, TN. I'm always taken aback by the construction in the area, where the houses/condos cover the mountain tops, giving them the appearance of bee hives. I know the premium on space dictates this, but I'm always glad to get back to my mountain where neighbors aren't close. A place far removed from the noise of civilization, a place of solitude where my daily visitors are the deer, turkey, and other wildlife that we share the place with.

I've said many times, the ideal place to live is somewhere where going to see your next-door neighbour is an all-day trip!

Not sure if it's the case everywhere or just with me, but for over 30 years I lived in subdivisions with neighbors (maybe not as close as Frank) but other than those who lived next to us we didn't really know our neighbors. In the 12 years we've lived in this 26 mile long rural valley, we've met and know by name, people from one end to the other. We've developed friendships, unlike what we'd experienced in town.

I know lots of people in my quarter. A walkable neighbourhood. That is important.

Everyone walks, everyone talks. Cars are a communication barrier. In a high traffic street you do not stop the car in the middle of the road, wind down the window and have a chat while hundreds of cars line up behind you.

If you walk to work, to school, to shop, to doctors, to friends you meet people you talk you might even have a coffee, a tea, a cigarrette, a glass of wine or beer....

In my quarter there are 3000 people per square Kilometer (2.5 acres) and only half of the households have a car. Not because they are poor, lots of people here have a lot of money, but because a car is more a PITA than a useful addition...

 

[Frank F.]

Where is Gary Ayala? He disappeared from all forums by end of October / early November.

 

[smoke665]

Everyone walks, everyone talks. Cars are a communication barrier. In a high traffic street you do not stop the car in the middle of the road, wind down the window

And that may be a reason for the difference here. Work school and residential areas are more spread out.

 

[Frank F.]

Everyone walks, everyone talks. Cars are a communication barrier. In a high traffic street you do not stop the car in the middle of the road, wind down the window

And that may be a reason for the difference here. Work school and residential areas are more spread out.

We have these areas too. Poor areas losing people to the cities like the suburban sprawl in the US of A. Only the well off can afford to live in the city center urban villages with nice neighbourhoods.

IMO everybody should be able to live in such a sustainable area if he/she wishes to. That is why I am thinking about redeveloping areas of sprawl into sustainanble, walkable areas and not only me but a lot of people thinking about life with smaller footprints in energy and material and space.

Europe is is smaller, Australia and America are much bigger, less people per Unit area, also in Ireland e.g. 25 people per sqkm in Ireland, ten times as much in Germany, a hundred times as much in my quarter. That creates another sense of space

I like the density, I like being known and know people in my quarter. It feels like a village. I just wish people would leave the cars outside and walk into the area. Or they would park their cars on their turf and not use up public space

 

[markjwyatt]

I love round-abouts in France. I remember in the early-mid 2000s I spent some time in France (multiple trips), and wanted to see some sights while there, so wrote out directions on paper to get to them (did not have GPS those trips). Roundabouts helped immensely, as I could go 2 or even 3 times around them as I conjectured which was the correct exit to take (It was not always as clear as one would hope).

 

[markjwyatt]

...

I like the density, I like being known and know people in my quarter. It feels like a village. I just wish people would leave the cars outside and walk into the area. Or they would park their cars on their turf and not use up public space

Europe and Germany included is much better about intra-city transport than the US (and with density it becomes more practical). On the other hand, my personal experience in Germany is that many people are just as adamant as Americans about owning a car. New business models (such as Uber, but even beyond that into easy car leasing services, ebikes, etc.) could change that.

 

[smoke665]

We have these areas too. Poor areas losing people to the cities like the suburban sprawl in the US of A. Only the well off can afford to live in the city center urban villages with nice neighbourhoods.

IMO everybody should be able to live in such a sustainable area if he/she wishes to. That is why I am thinking about redeveloping areas of sprawl into sustainanble, walkable areas and not only me but a lot of people thinking about life with smaller footprints in energy and material and space.

We've had a lot of that in the revitalization of our downtown. There's been a real boon there as developers have converted the multistory buildings into combination retail (ground floor) and luxury residential lofts (upper floors). The local news in Birmingham did a story recently on the renovations. The city recently passed measures designating the downtown as an entertainment district. Apparently it's all being received well, because there's a waiting list on the properties as they're finished. However it seems to be mostly oriented toward younger professionals. Don't see many families with children.

As to green living, I have the ultimate in green space living. Several years ago I received a federal grant to convert our property into wildlife habitat and managed woodlands. The state forestry service and biologist came in and laid out a sustainable plan. We planted the trees, grasses, and shrubs they recommended for browse for the deer, turkey and the open areas with edges for the birds like quail and dove. Other then maintaining the fire lanes and yards around the house there's very little maintenance. An added benefit are the roughly 2 miles of walking trails around the property, and eventually the sale of timber. Our all electric house was built to the most current energy efficient standards of the time.