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Plays guitar in The Bismarck
May 23
Chris Jury commented on Tornadoes are Common in Oklahoma City, Basements Aren't....
Back home foundations must be 4 ft deep to prevent frost heave...because the ground freezes solid down to 4 feet. So every permanent building has a basement of some sort. All trailer parks- about the only things without basements, have community shelters for tornadoes. It's just part of the deal with living in the midwest. Oklahoma is pretty retrograde in terms of building codes. Nothing is gonna save a building from an EF-5, but even the simplest shelter can be very effective in protecting life.
I was thinking of this in terms of our own codes for earthquakes- Quakes do not have a simple method for protecting oneself, but there are some simple mechanical fixes that can help a building survive small/moderate earthquakes, and buy time for people in large quakes. Engineering can make a huge difference - The Auckland NZ quake was the same size as the Haiti quake.
I was thinking of this in terms of our own codes for earthquakes- Quakes do not have a simple method for protecting oneself, but there are some simple mechanical fixes that can help a building survive small/moderate earthquakes, and buy time for people in large quakes. Engineering can make a huge difference - The Auckland NZ quake was the same size as the Haiti quake.
May 23
Chris Jury commented on Morning News: Abortions, Boy Scouts, Pot, and Semicolons.
- The scouts are actually voting twice. The first measure is on gay youth. Later (today, I believe) they will vote separately on gay adult involvement. Lets at least try to get it right here, folks.
-The pot story was released, I believe in a much longer version, via the WNYC/Planet Money podcast several weeks ago. Might be worth listening to the whole thing.
-The pot story was released, I believe in a much longer version, via the WNYC/Planet Money podcast several weeks ago. Might be worth listening to the whole thing.
May 22
Chris Jury commented on Another Day, Another 2-Year-Old Accidentally Shot in the Head.
@2- I expect that this is probably right- that we are likely on par with a standard rate of youngsters shooting themselves or others.
As I said a while back, the importance of this is to aggregate these incidents so we have a better concept of the scale of the problem.
Similarly suicide (any method) is twice as common as homicide (any method) in the US, but you'd never guess that because it doesn't garner much attention.
As I said a while back, the importance of this is to aggregate these incidents so we have a better concept of the scale of the problem.
Similarly suicide (any method) is twice as common as homicide (any method) in the US, but you'd never guess that because it doesn't garner much attention.
May 21
Chris Jury commented on Well Regulated Beaverton Militia Accidentally Fires Shot into Neighbor's Bedroom.
@3- Stand Your Ground?
@4- I'm not sure it is entirely all that rare. I know I hear about accidental discharges causing injury, death and property damage -often at some remove- all the time....And I'm not even out there looking for the articles.
I'm reminded of the incident many years ago where a young boy was participating in some indoor sporting event and just fell over, dead of a gunshot wound. Turns out there was a small pistol range nearby and an errant shot, caused by a competition-modified trigger had gone through a small crevice in the backstop, bounced off a support structure and struck the boy. There was a Learning Channel 1/2 hour program about it in the 90's.
@4- I'm not sure it is entirely all that rare. I know I hear about accidental discharges causing injury, death and property damage -often at some remove- all the time....And I'm not even out there looking for the articles.
I'm reminded of the incident many years ago where a young boy was participating in some indoor sporting event and just fell over, dead of a gunshot wound. Turns out there was a small pistol range nearby and an errant shot, caused by a competition-modified trigger had gone through a small crevice in the backstop, bounced off a support structure and struck the boy. There was a Learning Channel 1/2 hour program about it in the 90's.
May 20
Chris Jury commented on All You Motherfuckers Complaining That aPodments Are Too Small at 200 Square Feet.
@77- that is kinda where I was aiming.
Also, I know that in many municipalities to get OKs for variances or more complicated projects developers will often pledge to build X units of affordable housing. Obviously these seem like a much less expensive per-unit sort of housing to build. So I worry this could be kind of a go-to, cheapo replacement for a more mixed picture of sizes and configurations of less-than-premium housing in new construction.
Also, I know that in many municipalities to get OKs for variances or more complicated projects developers will often pledge to build X units of affordable housing. Obviously these seem like a much less expensive per-unit sort of housing to build. So I worry this could be kind of a go-to, cheapo replacement for a more mixed picture of sizes and configurations of less-than-premium housing in new construction.
May 20
Chris Jury commented on All You Motherfuckers Complaining That aPodments Are Too Small at 200 Square Feet.
I have 3 things to say about this.
1-I lived in a similar setup when in college. It was called a 'Men's Hotel' and was full of the sketchiest motherfuckers around. I had about 160 sq ft, a shelf in a shared fridge and a restroom at the end of the hall, shared by about 20 guys.
2-Smart growth is what is important here. the infrastructure (yes, including some parking) needs to exist, or this will not be successful for the residents or their already extant neighbors. You don't want to end up like Lynnwood, which built a 3000 student High school on a tiny 2 lane back road with no bus service.
3-My biggest qualm is that this style of 'affordable housing' really does exclude the thing the city needs to hang onto most desperately, low and moderate income families. There are already plenty of low and moderate income single people around. I know they are just so exciting and all, but if this is the direction we wanna head, and give developers credit for on a per-unit basis, we will say goodbye to more folks as soon as they couple-up and/or have kids.
1-I lived in a similar setup when in college. It was called a 'Men's Hotel' and was full of the sketchiest motherfuckers around. I had about 160 sq ft, a shelf in a shared fridge and a restroom at the end of the hall, shared by about 20 guys.
2-Smart growth is what is important here. the infrastructure (yes, including some parking) needs to exist, or this will not be successful for the residents or their already extant neighbors. You don't want to end up like Lynnwood, which built a 3000 student High school on a tiny 2 lane back road with no bus service.
3-My biggest qualm is that this style of 'affordable housing' really does exclude the thing the city needs to hang onto most desperately, low and moderate income families. There are already plenty of low and moderate income single people around. I know they are just so exciting and all, but if this is the direction we wanna head, and give developers credit for on a per-unit basis, we will say goodbye to more folks as soon as they couple-up and/or have kids.
May 20
Chris Jury commented on Instant Karma Gonna Getchoo.
It is hard to have much sympathy for people who systematically victimize their fellow humans. On the other hand, it is nice to see that even the person he stole from jumped to his aid. I don't know that I'd have been as generous of spirit.
May 20
Chris Jury commented on America's Epidemic of Toddler-on-Toddler Gun Violence Continues.
@13- Exactly. We all know that the dude who buys the gun to "protect his family" is way more likely to actually kill them than he is to fend off an intruder, etc.
Of the 7 gun homicides that have touched my life, all 7 were legal firearms turned on members of the perpetrator's family. In a less direct way, there have been 2 accidental shooting deaths in my sphere. I have never known anyone who defended themselves from attack, scared an intruder away, interrupted a crime, or even defended themselves from a large animal. Those are largely elements of fantasy.
Of the 7 gun homicides that have touched my life, all 7 were legal firearms turned on members of the perpetrator's family. In a less direct way, there have been 2 accidental shooting deaths in my sphere. I have never known anyone who defended themselves from attack, scared an intruder away, interrupted a crime, or even defended themselves from a large animal. Those are largely elements of fantasy.
May 20
Chris Jury commented on America's Epidemic of Toddler-on-Toddler Gun Violence Continues.
I'm very glad Goldy has stuck with this. Because these are not 'sensational' incidents they rarely make news outside of the local area. It is easy, then, to assume that there are only a few accidental shootings involving kids each year. By aggregating them it is easier to see how frequently they happen. This isn't an outlier year- not a "Summer of the Shark" - this is pretty typical pace for these sorts of incidents.
So using big, crude numbers we have on average 30,000 gun deaths/year. 20,000 or so are suicides and another 1,000 are accidental.
So using big, crude numbers we have on average 30,000 gun deaths/year. 20,000 or so are suicides and another 1,000 are accidental.
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Tornadoes are one of those things you can't do much about. if you live where they are common you have to be at least a little bit prepared. I've had to shelter a couple dozen times in my life, and once my family was caught out on a highway between 2 relatively small tornadoes and had to shelter in a culvert when it became clear the car was not going to be safe.