The Coffee House

[vintagesnaps]

Roundabouts here... and people can't drive in them. I hate the one near me with a hill in the middle, don't ask me the point of that. You can't see what the other car is doing, if they're slowing down or zipping on around (because if it doesn't say stop or yield, they aren't). At least there's not much traffic thru it, out where I live I can't see why they even bothered.

In the city, that's a whole other story. The method of driving in snow is everybody hop in their cars and drive around like maniacs. Oh yeah, that's pretty much the daily routine. That and driving like bats out of hell after work, especially on Fridays. Just get out of the way!

 

[vintagesnaps]

There was a guy in this movie I was watching using a Widelux. Why he was in the bathroom with it I can't say, seems like an odd choice in a small space. At least when I start on a late late movie or foreign film TCM has them streaming so I can watch it the next day.

Today is all '40s crime dramas; the one that was just on had plenty of running around with Speed Graphics, etc. and riding around in those big cars with running boards. Jimmy Cagney of course will turn up later. Up next, 'The Finger Points'!

 

[snowbear134 64]

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!

and may require a snowmobile.

 

[tirediron]

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!

and may require a snowmobile.

A Landrover or quad, sure. Snowmobiles are RIGHT out!

 

[limr45]

Give me wide open spaces and neighbors that I can't see or hear, and never have to talk to, and I'm good.

Even with more inter-city public transportation options, it's not viable for many people in the US to go without having a car. Distances are too great just for day-to-day purposes in many cases. I commute almost 50 miles every day for work, for example. If I had to take public transportation to and from work, I would spend my life doing three things: working, sleeping, and sitting on a bus. And that's only in the case that the public buses ever actually came to my town. Currently, the closest bus stop to me is probably about 10 miles away, and I would have to pay a taxi or an Uber-type service just to get to the bus stop? Nope.

 

[markjwyatt]

Give me wide open spaces and neighbors that I can't see or hear, and never have to talk to, and I'm good.

Even with more inter-city public transportation options, it's not viable for many people in the US to go without having a car. Distances are too great just for day-to-day purposes in many cases. I commute almost 50 miles every day for work, for example. If I had to take public transportation to and from work, I would spend my life doing three things: working, sleeping, and sitting on a bus. And that's only in the case that the public buses ever actually came to my town. Currently, the closest bus stop to me is probably about 10 miles away, and I would have to pay a taxi or an Uber-type service just to get to the bus stop? Nope.

Even in much of Europe it helps to have a car for longer distance trips. In the US it is a necessity.

 

[limr45]

Give me wide open spaces and neighbors that I can't see or hear, and never have to talk to, and I'm good.

Even with more inter-city public transportation options, it's not viable for many people in the US to go without having a car. Distances are too great just for day-to-day purposes in many cases. I commute almost 50 miles every day for work, for example. If I had to take public transportation to and from work, I would spend my life doing three things: working, sleeping, and sitting on a bus. And that's only in the case that the public buses ever actually came to my town. Currently, the closest bus stop to me is probably about 10 miles away, and I would have to pay a taxi or an Uber-type service just to get to the bus stop? Nope.

Even in much of Europe it helps to have a car for longer distance trips. In the US it is a necessity.

True. When I lived in Braga, Portugal, I didn't own a car. Thankfully, it wasn't too much of an issue, but Braga is a large enough city to have buses, but small enough to still be walkable for most daily tasks. On the occasion that I had to do a bigger shopping at Carrefour or something, I would borrow a car or even rent one.

If I lived in the suburbs of the town, however, it would be a much harder thing to get by without a car.

Not everyone is cut out for living in close proximity to others in an urban or even semi-urban setting. It can take a serious toll on a person's mental and even physical health. Braga was fine for a couple of years, but if I had settled there for longer, I would have moved out of the city center.

 

[Frank F.]

...

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.

yes, Germans are car crazy people, but the younger generation are less of it...

 

[Frank F.]

@limr true. people differ in a lot of ways and while I am a very social family man in the city, I sometimes wish to live far outside on a self sustaining farm and let the city be city...

 

[Frank F.]

Give me wide open spaces and neighbors that I can't see or hear, and never have to talk to, and I'm good.

Even with more inter-city public transportation options, it's not viable for many people in the US to go without having a car. Distances are too great just for day-to-day purposes in many cases. I commute almost 50 miles every day for work, for example. If I had to take public transportation to and from work, I would spend my life doing three things: working, sleeping, and sitting on a bus. And that's only in the case that the public buses ever actually came to my town. Currently, the closest bus stop to me is probably about 10 miles away, and I would have to pay a taxi or an Uber-type service just to get to the bus stop? Nope.

my theory is, that planning and realizing walkable neighbourhoods is a long distance run. My new house accommodates three families and an elderly couple...

 

[davidharmier60]

At the reception we went to a big nice house that was not more than 20 feet from it's neighbors. Up here where we live i can't quite throw a rock and hit the house across the road. I sorta prefer here.
Look at the time. Gotta boogie.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[smoke665]

My new house accommodates three families and an elderly couple

In this high density world of yours, how many square feet of living space do they consider adequate to accommodate a family?

 

[JonA_CT]

I’m sure substantially less than in the US, Smoke. The family dynamic is different.

Marie Kondo, who is Japanese, has been making waves the last few weeks because of her Netflix show on tidying. She mentions several times how Americans value space differently than other cultures. She was especially shocked by the size of American kitchens. We value it as a family meeting space, and there’s a lot of cultural emphasis placed on cooking. For others, it’s just a prep space, haha.

I’ll keep my family-sized kitchen, though.

In other news, I’m back at work today. Finally.

 

[smoke665]

@JonA_CT Great news on being back to work. No lingering problems hopefully. I haven't seen an update on the first batch at the brewery? Any news there?

 

[JonA_CT]

@JonA_CT Great news on being back to work. No lingering problems hopefully. I haven't seen an update on the first batch at the brewery? Any news there?

We have 4 batches in fermenters now. The first 2 are ready to be packaged.

Unfortunately, we need a small administrative approval from the federal government for each beer we brew for the first time. That office is closed indefinitely, so we are in a holding pattern as far as actually opening. Once the shutdown clears, it could be almost 2 months to get that approval because we are one of many breweries across the country who are submitting that form with no one able to sign off. It’s worse in CT though because every beer requires it. In other states, it’s only recipes that will be served across state lines.