Events

YouTuber Not Just Bikes shows how North American traffic engineers prioritize the convenience and speed of drivers in ways that make our streets the most dangerous in the developed world for pedestrians:

The pound fell to $1.033 in early trading this morning before rebounding to the still-ahistorical $1.08 by mid-day: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak hasn't had the job for three weeks and he's already tanked British currency markets. The Guardian's economics editor Larry Elliott calls the mini-budget that started this catastrophe a "schoolboy error:" Part of the story of the pound’s weakness is a function of dollar strength but that does not explain why sterling has fallen so rapidly since the...

Wow, yesterday went on a bit. From getting on the bus to Peoria to getting off the bus back in Chicago, I spent 18 hours and 20 minutes doing something connected with the Peoria Symphony's performance of Beethoven's 9th yesterday. I think it went quite well, and I expect they'll ask us back the next time they do a huge symphonic choral work. Right now, Cassie has plotzed completely after two nights in boarding, and I need to figure out what I'm eating this week. So I'll post something more interesting...

We're performing with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra tonight, which means we need to get our butts to Peoria this morning. Which means I woke up way too early. Normal posting resumes tomorrow, assuming I recover by then.

The local alderman's office sent me an update this afternoon on Metra's and the Union Pacific Railroad's stupefying 9-year mission to construct a single station platform that thousands of commuters per day would like to start using: I spoke to the foreman this week who, unfortunately, informed me of further delays on this project. The project is still awaiting a delivery of tiles from the manufacturer who, due to one person catching Covid recently, has informed them that the tiles won't be ready until...

CNBC released a 35-minute documentary earlier this month that fairly discusses the value of cities relative to suburbs and exurbs: A lot of this is old hat to people who follow Strong Towns or other urbanist sources. It's a good backgrounder for people though. In related news, California just passed legislation mandating an end to local parking requirements within walking distance of transit stations. It's a start.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (equivalent to the US Treasury Secretary) Kwasi Kwarteng (Cons.) announced significant tax cuts along with £72 billion in new spending to forestall higher energy bills this winter. Unfortunately, this massive stimulus comes during some of the highest inflation the UK has seen in a generation, estimated to be nearly 10% annualized as of this week. Consequence? This, as of just a few minutes ago: Sterling hasn't gone below $1.10 since 1985, and it probably won't again during...

I'm movin' out. A lovely young couple have offered to buy Inner Drive World Headquarters v5.0, and the rest of the place along with it. I've already gotten through the attorney-review period for IDTWHQ v6.0, so this means I'm now more likely than not to move house next month. Which means I have even less time to read stuff like this: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) has withdrawn from the Daily Herald candidate forum after the Herald's publisher allowed a right-wing Republican group to use its mail...

I don't usually post anything too personal here, but in this case, I have a financial incentive to do so. For sale: one 18th-century armoire. Measures 82" H, 59" W, 20" D. Disassembles into four pieces. I believe it's walnut or similar European hardwood. $1500 or best offer. Also for sale: one mid-20th-century drop-leaf table. 27½" H, 42" W, 24" L leaves down and 47" W leaves up. Also walnut or similar (I'm not sure.) $150. If you're interested, leave a comment. You pick them up from the Uptown...

I've had two parallel tasks today, one of them involving feeding 72 people on Saturday. The other one involved finishing a major feature for work. Both seem successful right now but need testing with real users. Meanwhile, outside my little world: The XPOTUS seems to have backed himself into a corner by lying about "declassifying" things psychically, after the Special Master that he asked for called bullshit. Greg Sargent has thoughts. Pro Publica reported on Colorado's halfway-house system that sends...