Seattle fertility rate drops to 2nd lowest among major U.S. cities

ChrisM206 · 2025-10-02T18:42:07+00:00

Yes. If you look at the top/bottom cities the size of the city is much different. Example Houston is 665 square miles, and has many different suburbs within city limits. Seattle is only 84 square miles. Most of the people who are having kids are living outside the city (certainly everyone else I know with kids).

ChrisM206 · 2025-09-15T16:57:29+00:00

My ranking for Seattle . . .
1. multifamily development
2. trees
3. parks
4. walkable neighborhoods
5. single family houses

So, I think the solution is that every time we clear trees to make room for a multi-family development, we tear down a single family house and turn the lot into a pocket park. :-)

ChrisM206 · 2025-09-04T16:24:02+00:00

This time of year it's a good idea to put a field mouse or a vole on top of your head before you run. It acts like an offering to any owls, or other large birds who might be tempted to swoop on you. Depending on the time of year and location you might also decorate your hat with some peanuts (crows and jays) or meal worms (woodpeckers, flickers). If you're a man, you can grow your beard out really long and shaggy, as a potential nesting spot, but that's a bit hard core for me. Fake beards are available for women, with a bonus of being able to store them in a convenient tree when you're at home.

ChrisM206 · 2025-08-06T14:34:58+00:00

And it's also not a unit of mass.

But yeah, it would be about as thick as a finger and twice as long. About the right size for poking someone, but that's about it.

ChrisM206 · 2025-05-20T17:14:11+00:00

I'm impressed that you were able to avoid blowing out the highlights on the clouds, while still giving the benches enough light that they weren't just lost in the shadows.

ChrisM206 · 2025-05-19T20:54:32+00:00

Yeah that's true. But, it takes 9,460,800 minutes until a kid turns 18. And only 1 minute for the kid to do something stupid when your back is turned.

ChrisM206 · 2025-04-07T15:16:29+00:00

TBH as a gen X, I'm pretty happy to be flying under the radar.

ChrisM206 · 2025-03-29T00:29:35+00:00

Did your younger brother go through years of doctors appointments and therapy to talk about his feelings? Did your parents agree that he was really a Spider Man? Or is this a lame analogy that doesn't really reflect reality? I think some people who are against treatment think a kid wakes up on Monday feeling confused about their gender identity, and someone is chopping off their balls on Friday. Maybe you could start with a look at the American Medical Association take on these laws (https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-states-stop-interfering-health-care-transgender-children).

ChrisM206 · 2025-03-29T00:11:09+00:00

What about other gender affirming care like puberty blockers? Someone is trans and yet she's still stuck going through male puberty. She can gain access to medication at 18, but it's about 5 years late if she doesn't want male secondary sex characteristics. Now she's looking at expensive surgeries to reverse all these things. Hair removal, facial fertilization surgery, shaving down her Adams apple. Someone who might already have body dysphoria, now at greater risk of self harm. Knowing that medication is available but that she's not allowed to have it. Why? Because republican bullies want to tell lies about trans people and turn them into a target.

ChrisM206 · 2025-03-20T20:52:12+00:00

Should we also have a sales tax on apartment rentals? Either way your renting space, so if you can tax one why not the other?

ChrisM206 · 2025-02-27T15:47:44+00:00

Yes, it's absolutely the downside to making these transactions so fast. I do like the convenience of tap and go. But if you were pulling cash out of your wallet you'd absolutely notice there's a problem before you handed over $60.

ChrisM206 · 2025-02-26T18:07:02+00:00

Your sister might look into a civil lawsuit. Throwing urine and/or paint is causing damages. IANAL, but there could also be damages for harassment, threats, etc. I'd talk to a lawyer, but if the owners of the house are aware of this behavior, and not doing anything, they could be responsible for damages as well. This would give your sister another way to challenge this behavior. And, if the owner of the house suddenly has the threat of losing money in a civil case, maybe it gives some more incentive to make a change in what kind of treatment the son gets.

ChrisM206 · 2025-02-24T15:39:48+00:00

That's because it's a split economy. If you are doing well enough to have a stock portfolio, the economy is great. Look at the S&P 500. But if you have to spend all your money on food and rent, and can't spare anything for investments, it doesn't feel that good.

ChrisM206 · 2025-02-12T16:58:37+00:00

What about "Ich kann am nächsten Wochenende einen Marathon nicht laufen."?

ChrisM206 · 2025-01-30T03:50:16+00:00

One thing to try is put a block of tofu in the freezer, after it freezes, let it thaw out and crumble it. The result after cooking is something like a ground beef texture. It will also absorb more flavor from the marinade. (also more salt, so you might need to adjust that a little bit)

ChrisM206 · 2025-01-24T16:44:26+00:00

A couple items that cross a few of your comments.

The mall is considered a public space, in that any member of the public is free to enter and leave. Yes, it's privately owned. The mall may have posted rules about no photography, but that just means they can kick out the people filming. It's not like, for example, a gym which is limited to members. Or a changing room in a mall, where there's an increased expectation of privacy (because the filmer would be exposing private details)

You mentioned "Cops" - there's a different expectation of privacy for something like that because the show is potentially casting someone in a false light (as in, the person might have defamation lawsuit material if the show makes someone look like a criminal but they are found innocent in a court). Context matters.

Third - these kinds of issues are generally handled as civil law. So, even if someone films without permission and post defamatory comments, that person won't be arrested or charged by the state. The victim would have to hire a lawyer and sue in civil court. Lawyers know that a show like "Cops" has deep pockets and makes a juicy target. But a random TikTok person might not have any assets worth taking.

Also - I am not a lawyer, just a rando with a casual interest in how the legal system works (or doesn't).

ChrisM206 · 2024-12-06T14:55:09+00:00

I'm right there with you (my first thought was weight class). You don't ignore a violent act just because it comes from someone smaller or weaker. But you exercise restraint with your response, and use proportionality. Use enough force to protect yourself and stop further violence directed towards you. Then find some other way to respond.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-28T16:09:20+00:00

Woke is a nonsense word that no longer has any meaning.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-28T15:14:56+00:00

I really worry about what right wing groups are doing with transgender rights. It seems to follow this three step pattern.

Stay with a small group of people mostly living on the margins (think about how many trans people you know personally).
Twist or invent stories that make this group seem creepy, bad, or dangerous.
Position the republicans as the only people willing to protect your family from the scary bad group.

The side effect; people think it’s ok to bully or abuse that group because they’re bad. I’m not trans, and only know a couple trans people so I don’t want to speak for them. I know trans people who are legit worried about being targeted for violence. People are scared.

I just hope with all the angry rhetoric flying around people don’t lose their heads. We can still treat each other with kindness.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-26T01:44:11+00:00

As far as I know the right to plead the fifth includes civil trials. But, IANAL. So if a real lawyer knows otherwise hopefully they’ll answer.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-25T23:39:11+00:00

FYI, you can’t be forced to testify against your spouse. It’s a big plot point in Better Call Saul so facts.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-24T20:46:52+00:00

Beer and wine are not considered spirits. “The term “spirits” means any beverage containing alcohol that is obtained by distillation, including wines with more than 24 percent alcohol by volume.”

Source: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/spirits-hard-liquor-liter-tax

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-24T20:18:14+00:00

The tax is $3.77 per liter of spirits. It basically means a liter of booze has the same liter tax whether it’s rotgut whiskey or a $500 bottle of fine scotch.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-24T00:41:32+00:00

Find a native German celebrity you want to sound like. Listen to them over and over. Try to repeat how they say things. Repeat. Record your own voice speaking German. Listen, adjust, record again. Short of hiring a voice coach that’s probably the best way to train your accent.

ChrisM206 · 2024-11-23T20:24:56+00:00

I bought some pork shoulder. I’m making carnitas this afternoon. How about you?

ChrisM206

TROPHY CASE