@mindstalk.bsky.social
Interests: liberal, atheist, urbanism, public transit, Tolkien, Silmarillion, walking, anime, yuri, Bujold, Liaden, fanfic, KF94s, N95s.
My top Twitter thread (scroll past 18/end, it keeps going): https://mindstalk.net/15minComp.html
My top Twitter thread (scroll past 18/end, it keeps going): https://mindstalk.net/15minComp.html
Tangentially I have the impression a lot of Japanese apts are double stair, but with outside walkways rather than internal corridor so you still get windows on two sides of a unit. Which seems nicer overall?
November 22, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Tangentially I have the impression a lot of Japanese apts are double stair, but with outside walkways rather than internal corridor so you still get windows on two sides of a unit. Which seems nicer overall?
Reposted
this isn’t even the most compelling argument to me; currently you’re allowed 50’ dead ends so all the units (say, 6 per floor) past the stair are already single stair & share that egress w/ the balance of its compartment
November 19, 2025 at 7:07 AM
this isn’t even the most compelling argument to me; currently you’re allowed 50’ dead ends so all the units (say, 6 per floor) past the stair are already single stair & share that egress w/ the balance of its compartment
Where'd you get such a colorful mask?
November 22, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Where'd you get such a colorful mask?
I just wish the elderly Chinatown residents would upgrade from surgical to KN95 or something. The spirit is willing but the mask is weak.
November 22, 2025 at 3:33 AM
I just wish the elderly Chinatown residents would upgrade from surgical to KN95 or something. The spirit is willing but the mask is weak.
A friend estimated maybe 1% mask use. Looking at the lines outside didn't contradict that. :(
November 22, 2025 at 3:30 AM
A friend estimated maybe 1% mask use. Looking at the lines outside didn't contradict that. :(
Reposted
The negligent, outdated beliefs of medicine's management class (everywhere; from the UK inquiry here) contrasted with well-understood science from 👉1934👈. If you got sick after being told that COVID falls to the ground within 3 feet and N95/FFP2/FFP3 respirators aren't needed, 👉it was their fault.👈
November 21, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The negligent, outdated beliefs of medicine's management class (everywhere; from the UK inquiry here) contrasted with well-understood science from 👉1934👈. If you got sick after being told that COVID falls to the ground within 3 feet and N95/FFP2/FFP3 respirators aren't needed, 👉it was their fault.👈
"wash your hands" advice complicated by removing the tools to wash your hands
November 22, 2025 at 3:13 AM
"wash your hands" advice complicated by removing the tools to wash your hands
Not just for covid. Philadelphia PM2.5 has jumped up to 40 for some reason. Just 5 in my apartment, 2 in my bedroom with the purifier. And my N95 would have helped outside.
November 22, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Not just for covid. Philadelphia PM2.5 has jumped up to 40 for some reason. Just 5 in my apartment, 2 in my bedroom with the purifier. And my N95 would have helped outside.
There was suggestive evidence in 2020 that mask mandates were reducing transmission. But to crush transmission with masks alone, you might need K-masks. OTOH Japan and Korea had good control with a mix of masking and source control & maybe soft-lockdown ("please don't eat out")
November 22, 2025 at 3:07 AM
There was suggestive evidence in 2020 that mask mandates were reducing transmission. But to crush transmission with masks alone, you might need K-masks. OTOH Japan and Korea had good control with a mix of masking and source control & maybe soft-lockdown ("please don't eat out")
How barbaric! I'd settle for crushing their vehicle.
November 22, 2025 at 2:49 AM
How barbaric! I'd settle for crushing their vehicle.
There's also the folding bike option, esp. with Chinese Brompton-knockoffs being $500 now.
Also relevant: urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/10/what...
Also relevant: urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/10/what...
What place for buses in a properly designed city?
One thing I noticed quickly when I found a document grouping together trip surveys for many Japanese cities was how low bus mode share was,...
urbankchoze.blogspot.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:47 AM
There's also the folding bike option, esp. with Chinese Brompton-knockoffs being $500 now.
Also relevant: urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/10/what...
Also relevant: urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/10/what...
yep, I'm mad at you now
November 22, 2025 at 2:46 AM
yep, I'm mad at you now
Some very busy and fast streets get sharrows too.
November 22, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Some very busy and fast streets get sharrows too.
Obviously true, if we look at the majority of bike users worldwide...
November 22, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Obviously true, if we look at the majority of bike users worldwide...
I mean sure, if we get down to Japan's 5 meter / 16 feet street. Hard to narrow an already wide street, though.
November 22, 2025 at 2:37 AM
I mean sure, if we get down to Japan's 5 meter / 16 feet street. Hard to narrow an already wide street, though.
I'd guess that a grid of route deviation buses would serve most customers better, but maybe that'd be more expensive than paratransit (running empty a lot? though good service induces demand), or get clogged if you open it to the general public.
November 22, 2025 at 2:35 AM
I'd guess that a grid of route deviation buses would serve most customers better, but maybe that'd be more expensive than paratransit (running empty a lot? though good service induces demand), or get clogged if you open it to the general public.
'extreme needs' like paratransit for the disabled? That's basically serving a sparse low-density population that happens to be embedded within a city.
By all I've heard it doesn't actually work _well_, but it's better than nothing.
By all I've heard it doesn't actually work _well_, but it's better than nothing.
November 22, 2025 at 2:33 AM
'extreme needs' like paratransit for the disabled? That's basically serving a sparse low-density population that happens to be embedded within a city.
By all I've heard it doesn't actually work _well_, but it's better than nothing.
By all I've heard it doesn't actually work _well_, but it's better than nothing.
Reposted
Learning absolutely nothing from the other Dallas city that already tried this and are having to backpedal because their top two bus routes are competitive in ridership with the entire microtransit fleet
During the month or two of college DP *alone* regularly beats the shit out of microtransit
During the month or two of college DP *alone* regularly beats the shit out of microtransit
November 19, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Learning absolutely nothing from the other Dallas city that already tried this and are having to backpedal because their top two bus routes are competitive in ridership with the entire microtransit fleet
During the month or two of college DP *alone* regularly beats the shit out of microtransit
During the month or two of college DP *alone* regularly beats the shit out of microtransit
Reposted
There is a common perception that vans and shuttles are more efficient than full-sized buses. It's just not true.
In Kansas City, microtransit's per-passenger subsidy is 10x more than a fixed-route bus. The latter offers economies of scale; the former does not.
In Kansas City, microtransit's per-passenger subsidy is 10x more than a fixed-route bus. The latter offers economies of scale; the former does not.
On-Demand Microtransit Can’t Escape This Big Problem
The allure of cheap, responsive, door-to-door transit service is seductive. It’s too bad that it doesn’t work.
www.bloomberg.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
There is a common perception that vans and shuttles are more efficient than full-sized buses. It's just not true.
In Kansas City, microtransit's per-passenger subsidy is 10x more than a fixed-route bus. The latter offers economies of scale; the former does not.
In Kansas City, microtransit's per-passenger subsidy is 10x more than a fixed-route bus. The latter offers economies of scale; the former does not.
Those areas have probably had dial-a-ride for decades, but the big microtransit push is trying to extend it into fixed-bus territory. "We have an app now, surely that will solve geometry and scaling problems."
November 22, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Those areas have probably had dial-a-ride for decades, but the big microtransit push is trying to extend it into fixed-bus territory. "We have an app now, surely that will solve geometry and scaling problems."