Pedestrian! Two points!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I don't so much have a sense of humor of my own as appreciate it in others

And truth?

Link Roundup

Bikes
How Bikes Can Solve Our Biggest Problems
Look at the Asshole in the Bike Lane
Bike Snob NYC: The Awesomest Generation: The Gnosis Myth
In the future, urban bikers go faster than cars

Women
Nearly 1 in 5 Women in U.S. Survey Report Sexual Assault
New CDC Study on Sexual Assault: Preteen Boys and Adolescent Girls are Most at Risk
Judge Dismisses 'Epidemic' of Rape in Military Case
Larsson's Partner Chides 'Dragon Tattoo' Marketing: 'It's About Violence and Discrimination Against Women'
North Indian 'Apni Beti' Program Strikes a Blow Against Child Marriage
Scotland Yard Launches Genius Holiday Rape Prevention Campaign

Politics
Are evangelicals a national security threat?
God’s undue influence on U.S. politics
Gingrich Deflation Puts Iowa Conservatives Back At Square One
Nevada Judge Rules Fetal Personhood Initiative Misleading To Voters

LGBT
Family Values: A Call to Advocate Gay Marriage on Christmas Cards

DIY
14 Best DIY Gadget Projects of 2011
diy project: reusable wrapped boxes

Design
Why you should move that button 3px to the left
Lessons of design learned from nature
Sony Develops a Battery That Runs on Paper

Science and the Environment
Greenest Restaurant In America Wants to Be Outdone
Highway to hell: More roads = more traffic
Rush Limbaugh Named Climate Change Misinformer of the Year (Video)

Food and Health
Now We're Cooking: How to Get Americans Back in the Kitchen
Holiday Recipes: 5 Simple, Healthy Appetizers
Sorry Mrs. O, but jumping jacks aren’t enough

Just Fucking Cool
Google Donates $11.5 Million To Fight Modern-Day Slavery
10 Los Angeles Dive Bars
The Holiday Gift Guide: 18 Great Books for Movie Lovers
Infographic Of The Day: The Blessing And Curse Of Being A Millennial
'Star Wars' Chosen As Religion In Czech Republic On New Census

Friday, December 16, 2011

What I said a few days ago about playing outside and childhood obesity? Looks like I was wrong.

Basically, food trumps exercise. There's a line in the article, something about it's easier to control what goes in than it is to pump more out. Eh, it was just an idea.

Yeah, that's pretty much it

Coming to the conclusion that a large part of why I ride is to piss off the motorists as I zip by during traffic.

I took today off from work, mainly because I have way too much PTO saved up and because I wanted to finish my Christmas shopping (win!). Biked from Uptown up to Northpark Mall. For a Friday afternoon, it was pretty damn packed. Congested hallways, long lines, slow-walking people (I hate very little more than I hate slow-walking people) But, you know, girl's gotta do.

Swinging around through the parking lot, though, I could go a whole hell of a lot faster than anyone on four wheels. They were all so wary of each other and so stressed by the holidays and this that and the other and wheeee there I went!

Plus, then I hopped on over to Half Price Books and got a lovely little surprise along the way. I took Park to cross 75 and then jumped on through the Park Lane shops (I think that's what they're called, anyway). It's a lot easier than riding down Greenville and much prettier. But then I turned a corner and TADA!!

Food truck central! There were, like, eight of them parked there. It was brilliant.

So, that's another reason to ride. The surprises you'd never find in a car :)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Downsizing

So if you follow any of my link dumps/roundups you may have noticed a bunch of architecture and design related stories. I'm a bit of a hippie and I try as much as I can to follow the latest in sustainability and live world-well beyond the bike. I also volunteer with the Dallas Architecture Forum (get this: I get free food, free wine, free admission into the lectures and a badass free calendar folio)

Last night there was a panel discussion on sustainability and downsizing. Not downsizing as in firing, downsizing as in people swapping out big spaces for little spaces. Now one of the panelists did bring up that he's doing the most sustainable thing he can think of by not moving (after all, the greenest brick is the one already in the wall) but there is in general movement towards smaller, more efficient homes.

There are a lot of reasons for this. One is the economy. As fuel costs go up and income goes down, it is harder and harder both to power large suburban homes and fuel the cars it takes to get to them. Two, as children move out, Baby Boomers are finding themselves with empty nests and more space than they really know what to do with. Three, Millenials are seeing a car as less a necessity and more a luxury and moving into spaces that don't require them. And four, well, this whole environmental thing is actually starting to click with people.

Now, this panel was preaching to the choir. A quick survey showed that nearly every single one of us lived in 2,500 sq ft or less (I personally share about 900 with a roommate and we are never in each other's space). So what they were saying we were already eating up. But I did learn some more points I'd never thought of before.

One was the ingrained policies for homeowners—namely, that a mortgage is tax deductible whereas rent is not. Granted, this is still applicable for those who buy condos or apartments, but typically this is government using legislation to promote a lifestyle, that of the homeowner. Just sayin'.

Second, and much more significant, was the importance of public space. As a friend pointed out to me today, so much of the pub culture in the UK is driven by the small living space. The pubs (or parks, or any public space really) become an extension of the living space and encourage social gathering and a sense of community. It is that sense of community and shared responsibility that can help keep these public spaces clean and welcoming and drive their continued use.

And a slightly disconcerting statistic? While the average size of the American family has gone down (2.7 kids to 2.4) in the last 50 years, the average size of the American house has doubled (1,400 sq ft to 2,800 sq ft).

My brain made a little jump, as it is wont to do, and connected a similar rise in childhood obesity. In these larger homes, a child has the space to go and do something—anything—without ever leaving the interior of the home. Perhaps it's a larger personal room or a game room or another corner of a larger living room, kids can just stay indoors.

Is it possible that the rise of downsizing and public spaces could reverse the trends in childhood obesity? It'd be worth a look.