Musings

General-purpose musings

There are 780 posts filed in Musings (this is page 23 of 78).

Cheap Thoughts: One-way streets

Last week as I helped plant trees around Chavis Park, I wondered about the one-way streets around the park. I’ve never been a fan of the one-way streets in Raleigh’s downtown area but seeing them pass through the East Raleigh neighborhoods gave me a different perspective. How do one-way streets affect property values, I wondered? If NCDOT’s goal is to speed cars out of town, as it often is with the one-way streets, how does that stream of fast-moving traffic affect the neighborhoods?

Later that day, I sent a note off to city staff asking if there had ever been a study about how one-way streets affect property values. It appears that there isn’t such a study, and as one staffer pointed out it would be difficult to gather accurate data for such a study.

I asked specifically for property value data but what I’m really looking for is more of the sociological impact that a one-way street has on the surrounding neighborhoods.

I consider driving on a one-way street a lot like driving with blinders on. If you see something interesting but see it too late, it’s a challenge to return to it. I think neighborhoods with two-way streets are likely healthier neighborhoods.

Anyway, I need to see if any research has been done on this.

Occupy (insert place name here)

I don’t know what to make of the Occupy Wall Street protests and the other protests that have spawned from these. I mean, I too am shocked at the wealth disparity between the very rich and the rest of us and am sick like everybody else of corporations shirking their tax obligations. Still, I don’t see how staying put in some place can be considered a “movement.”

This quote crystallized it for me. A protester at Occupy Chapel Hill was asked how long she intended to stay camped out:

“Till things are better,” Stephanie Daugherty said when asked how long she plans to sleep outside the Franklin Street post office. The 30-year-old unemployed IT worker was among the first 31 people to pitch tents and lay mats Saturday night after an Occupy Chapel Hill rally.

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iRP Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs


Unless you were under a rock somewhere, you learned the news that first shot through the wired world about 12 hours ago: Steve Jobs, the iconic Apple CEO, died yesterday. Jobs was quite an individual. Not only did he shape the company that’s synonymous with his name but he put his mark on all of Silicon Valley as well. It’s hard to imagine a Silicon Valley without Steve Jobs, actually.

I played this clip for the kids of Jobs comparing a computer to a “bicycle for our minds” and I couldn’t help staring at Jobs as he spoke. In his 20s at the time, Jobs is every bit like a big, excited kid. Those eyes burn fiercely with a childlike curiosity, like he’s hopped aboard a rocket that will soon be blasting off to points unknown.
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It begins at home

I was talking to a teacher who was helping the kids move safely through the school’s carpool line. While we both watched in amazement, an impatient father pulled into the line and his son hopped out, racing across two lanes of traffic to the sidewalk. The teacher marched right up to the car and rightfully berated the father for letting his kid run through the parking lot.

“It’s an emergency,” the man pleaded. “Just this one time. I promise I’ll never do it again.”
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Aging drivers

Yesterday afternoon I watched as an elderly woman driving a Mercedes stopped completely in the left lane of Six Forks Road, put her turn signal on, and then (waiting for traffic to clear) drove right through two lanes of traffic to get into Costco (no, it wasn’t that lady). As I followed her car in the parking lot, I watched as she approached a crosswalk where a couple were waiting to cross. She slowed down to the point where the people began to walk through the crosswalk, only to have to back up when the woman kept driving on through. The couple angrily stared at her as she drove on, inching up to the next row of cars and stopping for 20 seconds before slowly rolling to the next row.

She was obviously no longer able to drive safely. I shook my head and remembered the moment it became obvious to me how elderly drivers in Raleigh are completely screwed when the day comes that they are no longer able to drive safely. So much of Raleigh was built in a car-centric manner that these poor folks have no alternative than to drive beyond their ability to do so safely.

I was wishing there was a way I could alert the drivers’ loved ones that she was a danger to her herself and others. There are a few services out there but nothing that seems to exactly fit my needs. If anyone finds one they like, let me know.

Recalibrating

Just got politely turned down for what would’ve been a great position. Now I’m wondering if I’m going about it all wrong.

Ultimately, I want nothing less than to change the world for the better. It’s a pretty high bar, true, but I want to join a team that aims equally high and is equally passionate about that goal. I’m tired of making money for money’s sake. Money’s nice, but that’s not what motivates me. I want to know at the end of each day that I’m making a positive difference for someone. I want to work with with passionate people. I want to leave a lasting impression. This isn’t the kind of role one finds on the job boards.

It’s time to reevaluate my approach and plot a new course for the place I want to be.

Retail follows rooftops

Earlier this week I had to make a trip up to the car dealership to pick up a part for my car. This used to be an easier trip for me but the dealer recently moved a few miles further up Capital Boulevard, adding about 10 more minutes to the trip. As I drifted through traffic heading up Capital, I wondered what sense it made for the dealer to move farther away from the city center.

Was it because of the need for more land? Not likely, it seemed. Capital Boulevard is littered with plenty of former dealerships surrounded by plenty of available expansion space.
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San Diego blackout

Hassayampa switchyard

One of my enduring memories of visiting Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines twenty years ago was passing by the base’s power plant. There was row after row of semi-truck-size 250kw diesel generators, all roaring away and belching unfiltered black smoke into the thick tropical air. The civilian power source frequently suffered brownouts so the base had to generate its own electricity.

I never thought that Naval Base San Diego would suffer the same conditions, but yesterday millions of San Diego residents lost power when a problem at a switching station in Arizona sent the San Diego County’s electrical grid crashing down within minutes. Being an electricity geek with a fascination for electrical malfunctions, I had to find out more about this situation.

According to the Arizona Public Service press release:
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Smart guy

I was pushing a cart through Costco today when a man motioned to me from across the aisle. “Excuse me, sir,” he said politely with an Italian accent. “Could I get your help with something?”

“Sure,” I said, curious. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m having trouble figuring this out. You look like you’re smarter than me, maybe you can help,” he said.

“Well, I don’t know about that, “ I said, walking over.
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Raleigh startup incubator

I went to an job interview last week at a business in Durham’s American Tobacco Complex. The energy there was impressive. I couldn’t help but think it was cool that so many small companies are all right there, building the Next Big Thing.

It got me thinking that it’s high time Raleigh had a startup incubator of its own, bringing tech startups into downtown Raleigh and creating a buzz of its own. Raleigh’s downtown has a bit of a stodgy reputation, filled with lawyers, municipal employees, and electric company people. Until Red Hat announced its intention of moving downtown, there really hasn’t been a tech scene downtown. It’s time to change this!

When I Tweeted this last week a number of my friends immediately jumped on the bandwagon, asking how we begin. I heard from Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin that plans are in the works for just this thing, which is fantastic. Too often the tech jobs locate in that desert known as Research Triangle Park when they should be feeding their own creativity in places like Durham’s American Tobacco (and, hopefully soon, Raleigh’s downtown too).