Convenience über alles!

This is a real person with actual power in the US government:

“They want to know when you are eating,” she said, 'they want to know if you are eating a cheeseburger which is very bad because Bill Gates wants you to eat his fake meat that grows in a peach tree [sic] dish.'"

So while we might not have to revert to the Middle Ages, there's a pretty good chance we will.

Lots of California towns started with random placed houses, and streets were declared later, so are a mess. Dutch Flat has nice straight streets with houses aligned to sidewalks, because every time it burned down it was rebuilt a little better.

Sooo, did Charlie ever get off the MTA? :-)

No ("He'll never return") -- and, after all that, O'Brien lost!

The trip I described is just over 9 miles -- roughly the distance from Park St station to Big Joyce Chen's (@ Fresh Pond). Note that we occupy ~230 sq mi (almost exactly the size of Chicago) while Beantown clocks in at under 50 (almost exactly the size of San Francisco). So, *practical* distances here are considerably larger.

Our "pilgrimage" is a regular trip to the oriental market. It's about

15 driven miles -- 30 minutes. By bus, *90* minutes including two transfers. (and, of course, you're stuck with *their* schedule instead of your own) And, would have to carry your groceries that 1.25 miles from the "local" bus stop to the house.

Our "light rail" is confined to downtown/university -- typically only used by students too lazy to use their legs...

The mass transit folly, here (besides lack of light rail or other non-bus transport) is the adoption of the same sorts of vehicles that you would find in a "big (dense) city" where our ridership is considerably lighter and more geographically varied. A smarter solution would be "kiddie busses" running more frequently and over more routes.

Driving (personal vehicle) tends to be pretty quick, here, as the speed limits "in town" are 45MPH (freaks visitors from NYC out!). But, the distances (*in* town) tend to be longer.

And, there's no coherent thought in how the town is laid out so it's not like businesses are in one particular area while residences are in others.

[There's at least one "community" that has tried to be self-contained. They're located far enough from everything else that they really have an incentive to be so! Just *don't* need medical care...]

Or, someone who figures "if it ain't broke...".

How long do you "keep" a love interest?

Meh. A little RG goes a LONG way (how many ways can you tell the same joke?)

We abandoned broadcast TV (and cable) many years ago. Occasionally, we will try to catch The Evening Commercials as they sometimes have a few minutes of news and weather interspersed.

But, once you start *reading* the news stories (from the same broadcasters) on-line... and realize that each "story" is a mere three sentences... <shrug>

The TV is now a giant DVD player -- our local library has ~8000 titles so we've usually got 20+ "on hold" along with a dozen or two at home. (and, if you treat it as "entertainment", then rewatching SOME films is perfectly acceptable -- esp if you "watch" with your ears while your eyes are busy with other things!)

It is pretty bad at the moment. Like a gold rush.

Evidence for this? They had a false dawn around 1910 but then were outpaced at every turn by the internal combustion engine. Until the advent of modern Nd magnetic materials and lithium batteries they were always in very real trouble for power to weight ratio.

Battery and motor technology were just not really up to it until comparatively recently. UK had daily milk delivery vehicles powered by lead acid cells when I was young but that was about it as far as electric vehicles went. (advantage of nearly silent operation)

Trams were OK because they could avoid carrying the battery weight.

In practice it might well be at least for all but the richest people.

Energy is going to be very expensive now and for the foreseeable future.

Wow, were the milk trucks run on battery so they wouldn't disturb residents early in the morning?

That's different than how things are in the US where all service vehicles that come thru your neighborhood early in the morning seem to try to make as much noise as they can unless your neighborhood's median income is 100 grand or over

The "charm" also then tends to mean nobody wants anything built in or near their charming neighborhood.

Housing in San Francisco and Boston proper is a terrible value for what you get, this $448/month unit in Tokyo (also some of the most expensive real estate in the world) is fantastic for the rent.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anything as nice within the Boston city limits for three times the price.

I still remember the 5:30AM clip-clop of the horse-drawn milkcart and the clink of glass bottles as the milkman called Whoooah or g'up to the horse to keep pace. It wasn't a noise that woke me, or an unpleasant sound if I was awake already.

Clifford Heath.

When I worked direct for a company in Cambridge and got restless we had the 'what would it take to keep you?' conversation. My answer was a card for the indoor parking garage. They had a uncontrolled lot down the street but I was driving a Firebird. They had a bad way of going missing in Boston.

A friend went through two Healey 3000's that were stolen and got sick of the hassle so he bought a Volvo sedan. That got stolen too but at least that one was recovered.

"Very?" <shrug> Energy is relatively cheap (US).

And, there are things that manufacturers can do to increase energy *efficiency* (whether a response to a market demand or legislative action).

I suspect the bigger problem is going to be water -- and, to a lesser (in terms of how widespread) extent, foodstuffs. There's not much that can be done to "make more" or "need less" (though lots of waste in the US that could be addressed).

The populations that haven;'t had to worry about these issues will likely feel very "inconvenienced" by them.

A neighbor has hid stolen -- out of his driveway -- twice. Recovered both times but the second recovery it was trashed.

Increasingly, I am annoyed with "travel". A waste of time with too many potential unexpected surprises (theft, vandalism, damage, breakdown, etc.).

And, car *ownership* brings along its own set of issues (maintenance, theft, etc.). Plus the whole issue of shopping for replacements...

I suspect there may be a market for a hybrid rental approach; let someone else own the vehicles and you choose how much you want to "cling" to one... "just for this trip across town" vs. "I want it waiting for me in the morning" Being able to walk away from any "problems" has a certain appeal!

[But, I'm getting old and impatient with "needless wastes of time"]

There is a scale problem with vehicles. How can you justify telling some portion of the (world) population that they can't have one? For that reason, I can't see electric vehicles being anything more than a transitional phase. Imagine replacing EVERY gas guzzler with an EV and having folks

*keep* those vehicles (operational!) for 10, 20, 30 years.

There's very little cost to *keeping* extra vehicles when all you have to do is put Stabil in the tank (or drain it). How do you keep a spare EV -- and ensure that it remains driveable (without becoming a slave to that possession)?

A gas guzzler can sit for a decade and resume service with the introduction of fuel. The *mechanism* doesn't degrade while being stored (within reason). Do you pull the battery from your EV while it's not being driven? ("drain the tank") How do you maintain it in that state -- trade it in for cash? A gas tank doesn't need any special care (if drained) to be usable years later!

[I don't know any winter visitors who drive EVs to ask them how they "store" their vehicle for 6 months of the year. And, the few EV drivers that I know don't seem to be happy with any of their purchases (replacing them every year or two with different makes/models) to shed any light]

"Beam me up (over), Scotty!" All I need is to be able to carry a bit of "stuff" for the trip! (or, send it along AFTER me...!)

The story is Hallidie started the cable car system after seeing a horrendous wreck when a horse slipped on wet cobblestones and the whole team and wagon slid down to the bottom of the hill.

I used to live in a house that became adjacent to commercial. The trash truck would come and BAM, BAM, BAM at the gas stations, ROAR, ROAR, ROAR as it moved to the next place, then BAM, BAM, BAM, lather, rinse, repeat. I seem to be able to sleep through that mostly, but if I was just getting to sleep, a half hour later I might be able to get back to sleep.

I thought about getting a trash truck and making that sort of noise in front of the mayor's house.

Yeah, we got both kinds of water, hot *and* cold!

I do pull the battery out of the pickup and put it on a tender in the winter. I try to take it for a ride once a year but with gas headed toward $5 it might be a really short ride this year. But you're correct. In this state after 12 years you go to a permanent plate so the only cost is insurance.

But that's the *starter* battery (?). What would you do if you had an EV that you wanted to sideline for months (or longer)?

Vehicles are treated as "property", here. So, annual registration is a function of assessed ORIGINAL value.

E.g., a $40K vehicle would cost ~$670 to register, for the first year; ~$560 for the second, etc. There's a definite advantage to keeping an older vehicle, even if you put a lot of money into it, changing it's ACTUAL (resale) value.

And, our climate means no worries of rust eating away at your frame, etc. So, older vehicles are sought out and restored.

[I've a friend with a ~1920s vintage touring car in which he's "quietly" installed a custom, fully blown, ~700? HP plant, reinforced the frame, etc. It's just a straight-line car as it has stability problems when you open it up. The joke is that the *paint* holds the body together. Engine set him back close to $50K. (not hard to imagine as a big block crate can run $15K) But, it costs next to nothing to register it, due to it's ORIGINAL "VIN". Insurance? Now that's a different story...]

Lots of folks who are into restoring to original state/configuration. That seems silly, to me; take it in a different direction and make something unique from it!