(no subject)
Feb. 4th, 2020 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. The information age can be frustrating, constantly bombarded by unwanted advice, unwanted information, and/or information that gives me indigestion and raises blood pressure. Often seemingly innocuous and given to me by people who I've never seen face to face or have but maybe once or twice.
I've noticed over the years that when I tell people something -- they immediately relate it to themselves and then provide information regarding themselves that has nothing to do with what I was talking about. Or in some cases makes me feel even worse than before.
Example? The Case Against Stretching - Scientists are increasingly skeptical about it but the Fitness world doesn't want to hear it.
(I'm guessing Scientists much like myself aren't into stretching and coming up with excuses not to do it?)
Is Dog Ownership a Cure for Loneliness? - (Short answer, no, it's not, but it increases human contact. Most likely true, but not everyone is equipped to owning a dog. And this is NOT true of everyone. Some of us are allergic to dogs. Also, unless you were raised around dogs or with dogs, it's very hard to have a dog. They are high maintenance animals. Don't just buy a pet because you are lonely -- it's a commitment. Sort of like having a child, except the dog doesn't leave and is with you until he/she dies. I always get annoyed when people suggest I get it a dog or cat to combat loneliness. I have a full time job, an hour and a half commute, rent a one-bedroom apartment that permits one cat in a city. And I'm allergic to dogs and cats. My family isn't into dogs. I had cats. My brother has cats. My sister-in-law was raised with dogs and is afraid of them and doesn't like them. My Aunt is scared of dogs -- she, like my sister-in-law, was attacked by a dog when she was a small child. My brother and I do actually like dogs, but we were both raised with the view that you don't own them unless you live out in the country, preferably a farm, where they can run around. My father had owned dogs in an urban area and watched them die chasing cars. And told me once that he couldn't stand seeing a dog chained up behind a fence, or stuck in a car, or in a house -- he felt it was cruel. I was raised with that perspective. From my perspective? I don't own a dog, because I happen to care about and love dogs. I don't own plants or cats for the same reason. I refuse to own or take responsibility for something unless I can do so fully without any reservations. I will not hurt another living thing to further my own self-interest. I'm not saying that people who own dogs and cats do that -- they don't. I'm not judging them. I'm just telling you all that it is not the right thing for me to do, based on my own knowledge of my capabilities. That's why I hate articles like this, they generalize about the human condition and that is something we must never do. People are individuals, unique unto themselves. What is right for one is not for another. Not everyone is meant to have kids. The person you fell in love with would probably be a nightmare for someone else, and you might be a nightmare too. We do not live in a one size fits all world -- no matter how much all these nitwitty scientists, sociologists and psychologists wish we did.)
* What Does it Mean to Have a Serious Drinking Problem? - another thing that effects people differently. I like Alcohol because it calms my essential tremor, and my nerves. I don't drink very much. And I rarely drink now -- because it's basically acid on the esophagus. I've resorted to spiked 90 calorie seltzers with no sugar. They basically taste like club soda with lime and a bit of a kick. Also Kombucha -- which doesn't quite count either -- that's mostly a probiotic. Never give me heartburn, and neither feel like acid on my system.
But I rarely get these as well. I've given up wine -- headaches and heartburn and acid reflux from hell aren't worth the taste or the tremor relief. CBD works just as well, and far better. Also, the sugar in alcohol tends to rev me up.
2. Why NYC Stopped Building Subways
3. The Unusual Language That Linguists Thought Couldn't Exist - a new sign language is developing in the Negrev Desert and it's catching linguists off-guard.
4. How to end traffic? Go Car Free in America?
Walking around European cities—from bustling urban centers like Milan and Amsterdam to smaller cities such as Ghent and Bruges in Belgium, and Ravenna and Padua in Northern Italy—it’s clear that there are numerous improvements that can be borrowed for the United States and implemented relatively quickly and inexpensively:
❏ Make streets multimodal
❏ Implement congestion pricing and/or limited traffic zones
❏ Eliminate street parking
❏ Boost transit options
❏ Reclaim plazas and other public space for people
In the process of reducing car dependency, U.S. cities also have the potential to do better than their European counterparts: Many of the successful ideas discussed below aren’t aimed at people with disabilities, and many European cities lag behind when it comes to accessibility. Any American city seriously interested in reducing car dependence must also take a hard look at just how badly most urban spaces are designed. Too often, access is an afterthought—we must make it a priority.
I have an uncle who is computer, cell phone and car free. He lives in California.
5. Cats Can Recognize Their Own Names Even if They Choose to Ignore Them - Why I'm a cat person in a nutshell. Or rather one of the many reasons.
6. A Bittersweet Bounty - Greenland's First Spring
I've noticed over the years that when I tell people something -- they immediately relate it to themselves and then provide information regarding themselves that has nothing to do with what I was talking about. Or in some cases makes me feel even worse than before.
Example? The Case Against Stretching - Scientists are increasingly skeptical about it but the Fitness world doesn't want to hear it.
(I'm guessing Scientists much like myself aren't into stretching and coming up with excuses not to do it?)
Is Dog Ownership a Cure for Loneliness? - (Short answer, no, it's not, but it increases human contact. Most likely true, but not everyone is equipped to owning a dog. And this is NOT true of everyone. Some of us are allergic to dogs. Also, unless you were raised around dogs or with dogs, it's very hard to have a dog. They are high maintenance animals. Don't just buy a pet because you are lonely -- it's a commitment. Sort of like having a child, except the dog doesn't leave and is with you until he/she dies. I always get annoyed when people suggest I get it a dog or cat to combat loneliness. I have a full time job, an hour and a half commute, rent a one-bedroom apartment that permits one cat in a city. And I'm allergic to dogs and cats. My family isn't into dogs. I had cats. My brother has cats. My sister-in-law was raised with dogs and is afraid of them and doesn't like them. My Aunt is scared of dogs -- she, like my sister-in-law, was attacked by a dog when she was a small child. My brother and I do actually like dogs, but we were both raised with the view that you don't own them unless you live out in the country, preferably a farm, where they can run around. My father had owned dogs in an urban area and watched them die chasing cars. And told me once that he couldn't stand seeing a dog chained up behind a fence, or stuck in a car, or in a house -- he felt it was cruel. I was raised with that perspective. From my perspective? I don't own a dog, because I happen to care about and love dogs. I don't own plants or cats for the same reason. I refuse to own or take responsibility for something unless I can do so fully without any reservations. I will not hurt another living thing to further my own self-interest. I'm not saying that people who own dogs and cats do that -- they don't. I'm not judging them. I'm just telling you all that it is not the right thing for me to do, based on my own knowledge of my capabilities. That's why I hate articles like this, they generalize about the human condition and that is something we must never do. People are individuals, unique unto themselves. What is right for one is not for another. Not everyone is meant to have kids. The person you fell in love with would probably be a nightmare for someone else, and you might be a nightmare too. We do not live in a one size fits all world -- no matter how much all these nitwitty scientists, sociologists and psychologists wish we did.)
* What Does it Mean to Have a Serious Drinking Problem? - another thing that effects people differently. I like Alcohol because it calms my essential tremor, and my nerves. I don't drink very much. And I rarely drink now -- because it's basically acid on the esophagus. I've resorted to spiked 90 calorie seltzers with no sugar. They basically taste like club soda with lime and a bit of a kick. Also Kombucha -- which doesn't quite count either -- that's mostly a probiotic. Never give me heartburn, and neither feel like acid on my system.
But I rarely get these as well. I've given up wine -- headaches and heartburn and acid reflux from hell aren't worth the taste or the tremor relief. CBD works just as well, and far better. Also, the sugar in alcohol tends to rev me up.
2. Why NYC Stopped Building Subways
3. The Unusual Language That Linguists Thought Couldn't Exist - a new sign language is developing in the Negrev Desert and it's catching linguists off-guard.
4. How to end traffic? Go Car Free in America?
Walking around European cities—from bustling urban centers like Milan and Amsterdam to smaller cities such as Ghent and Bruges in Belgium, and Ravenna and Padua in Northern Italy—it’s clear that there are numerous improvements that can be borrowed for the United States and implemented relatively quickly and inexpensively:
❏ Make streets multimodal
❏ Implement congestion pricing and/or limited traffic zones
❏ Eliminate street parking
❏ Boost transit options
❏ Reclaim plazas and other public space for people
In the process of reducing car dependency, U.S. cities also have the potential to do better than their European counterparts: Many of the successful ideas discussed below aren’t aimed at people with disabilities, and many European cities lag behind when it comes to accessibility. Any American city seriously interested in reducing car dependence must also take a hard look at just how badly most urban spaces are designed. Too often, access is an afterthought—we must make it a priority.
I have an uncle who is computer, cell phone and car free. He lives in California.
5. Cats Can Recognize Their Own Names Even if They Choose to Ignore Them - Why I'm a cat person in a nutshell. Or rather one of the many reasons.
6. A Bittersweet Bounty - Greenland's First Spring
no subject
Date: 2020-02-05 06:26 pm (UTC)Seriously though, we have an overabundance of cars in the city. Far more than you have. There's constant grid-lock and traffic. Why? People can't let go of their cars. It's a status thing with the lower-income folks. Weirdly the lower-income are more car dependent in the city. Particularly immigrants -- they love their cars.