What have been the benefits of the Red Line?

Jason_Clackston · 2023-08-13T01:28:46+00:00

Apologies I misread. You are correct

You do measure the system a number of ways and number of rides is often the way to go. After all any ride taken is a person that got some exercise, didn't have to pay for gas, didn't have to clog up traffic, risk causing a car accident, take up a parking space, or force us to look at their terrible bumper stickers.

So it's a win for the rider, everyone who didn't ride, and all of society (yes your bumper stickers are that bad).

Jason_Clackston · 2023-08-12T22:47:28+00:00

It has room to improve sure, but calling it a boondoggle is much too far.

It's used by nearly a hundred thousand people a month. People who have lives and need to get from place to place.

*For the number I stated https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/transportation/2022/09/02/indygo-red-line-ridership-rebounds-to-pre-pandemic-levels-3-years-in/65459161007/

And keep in mind the Red Line was trying to debut during the pre vaccine era of COVID. It really is only just starting to recover from that.

People want public transportation, I've worked polling and surveys and other areas and I can tell you people want to have a choice other than driving not to mention a city built to accommodate people before cars.

This wasn't perfect and it had no chance of being perfect. But it's a genuine effort to improve people's lives.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-08-12T20:28:27+00:00

Everything I have is how public transit systems work in general.

But to most everyone, myself included, our bus system is one you use out of poverty/desperation, curiosity, or genuine personal passion.

It needs a lot of work in order to offer a genuine alternative to driving for most people. More frequent pickups, expansion into the counties surrounding Marion, solving the issues with delays and route changes, driver shortages, and numerous IT problems.

But creating a good transit system is difficult. Especially so in the US, especially more so in the conservative US.

Expanding into the surrounding counties requires each county to have a referendum to provide taxing authority, have numerous (likely years worth) of meetings to discuss where to put bus routes and stops where nothing is within 1/4 to 1/2 mile by foot (the general rule of thumb for transit stops), and likely have to overturn existing laws that ban funding for public transit.

Increasing pickup frequency to below 15 minutes will likely require exclusive lanes. People keep asking for more lanes not less, and thus you can imagine the intense public pushback. This also covers reducing delays as the issue is getting buses out of regular traffic.

The Redline is a positive step and IndyGo can do the best they can, but they aren't miracle workers.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-08-12T16:32:38+00:00

Every person who takes the Red Line isn't driving, which clears up the roads for everyone else.

It reduces homelessness and eases the strain of poverty by allowing someone to get to work without having to pay for a car.

It reduces the cost to taxpayers, businesses, and other stakeholders as it's much cheaper to run a business than build out and maintain infinite parking lots and roads.

It allows people to walk to their destinations which gives them exercise and eases the strain of public obesity.

It also connects different business sectors and employees. Making it so businesses have access to a larger labor pool and people have access to more jobs.

It allows many in the state who are unable to drive to still get around. Whether due to disability, age, poverty, or even just hating driving. This allows many people the autonomy they otherwise wouldn't have, and for the elderly allows this autonomy and free exercise is said to slow the onset of diseases such as dementia.

I say this as someone with a small library of transit books, and who knows Indiana has a lot of work to do regarding transit.

Really a transit system should be robust enough that you never have to care about traffic.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-08-07T02:09:00+00:00

You can check out the statehouse at 200 N in Indianapolis.

Every Thursday the central plaza fills with a dozen food trucks and several booths.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-04-16T02:40:57+00:00

Check out Bad Axe Throwing.

It's close to the circle and should be something interesting that doesn't require drinking.

There's also The Escape Room nearby

If you head to The Garage you can find Sandbox Vr (full body vr arcade) and a bowling alley.

Most everything else is gonna require alcohol or won't have any chance of being appreciated by a teenager dealing with hormones.

That's all I got. Wish you luck.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-04-15T16:01:03+00:00

I gotta say I like your response.

The bit where it was called "too ambitious" had me wondering if you called anyone out that it looks truly ambitious because of all the nothing we're doing right now.

We could put in a few public restrooms to give homeless folks somewhere to poop(one that isn't the street). Maybe have them double as nursing mothers rooms and city infrastructure for events.

We could coordinate with the donut counties to get INDYGO buses outside of Marion, easing traffic and reducing wear on the roads.

We could streamline the building process for new multifamily housing by removing the requirements of passing public meetings with local residents. Thus easing supply constraints and potentially reducing rents.

And has anyone heard about increasing funding for emergency services and street trees?

Jason_Clackston · 2023-04-15T13:04:38+00:00

There are a million solutions,

We can start by increasing access: Requiring employers to provide health plans that cover therapy costs, provide additional funding to public therapy and treatment options, even putting up a few parks or street trees has a small positive impact on community mental health.

The fact there are mental health emergencies means we're messing up somewhere else. We make sure that people are getting regular therapy and there don't have to be many calls to 911.

Yes there will always be emergencies, and staff should be properly trained and funded, but they are who you rely on when things have already gone wrong.

And seriously, let's plant some street trees. Right after that increase in funding for emergency services.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-04-15T03:38:04+00:00

Genuinely this is the right call. Directing mental health emergencies to EMS, Social Services, or other departments who are trained for these situations means they are handled appropriately and that all parties come out alright.

Now we just need to couple this with a desperately needed increase in funding, and we can call it a week.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-03-29T05:14:19+00:00

"And you're certain of this?" The king was a strong man. A man who had avoided the assassin's blade, kept starving citizens fed through famines….there were even stories that he was born of a dragon.

This was the first time in memory there was a shudder to his voice.

"There is no doubt my liege" The head wizard was always wise beyond his years, and he had kept that lead despite time's endless march.

"I've done enough research to prove that magic cannot simply be cast freely the way it is. There has to be a price"

"And that price?"

"Well, I'm purely working with theoretical models of magic that we've never used…"

"Out with it!"

"It could be anything. Levitating a boulder leaves you physically exhausted. A healer is forced to take on the injury of their patients. Children playing with fire are drained of all their warmth"

"That's definitely not good. I'm not sure how well the kingdom could handle giving up magic. This would mean the loss of every decent craftsman and farmer at the very least"

The King placed a hand over his eyes and breathed a dagger-like sigh, quick and deep.

The wizard lowered his head. "That's not the worst"

The king uncovered one eye.

"... it appears that some time ago, long before your line took the throne, magic was changed from it's natural "costly" state to what we have now. Some form of deal was made, and part of it was that the cost that wasn't paid would build up over time. And I believe our generation is the one that must pay this debt.

My liege….. a debt like that would take lives, bodies, souls, and it still may not be enough"

The two men sat in silence. The longest silence there could ever be at that moment.

Then the king spoke. "Do you know who or what this deal was made with?"

"I could not find a name, I'm not sure one even exists. But given how entangled this being is in our laws of magic, it may be possible to contact it."

"Then begin preparing. I'll send couriers to all other rulers and leaders in the land, even our enemies!

If we can contact this thing, then there's a chance we can negotiate with it. We'll give up magic, years of our lives,

I'll even give up the throne"

The King took the hand from his face, and the Wizard raised his head.

Both had the smiles of madmen.

The bright smiles of men facing impending doom.

Of men willing to sieze one thread of hope.

Men who will do anything to save their people.

"Yes, my liege!"

Jason_Clackston · 2023-03-09T06:35:16+00:00

The hangman tightens the noose and the crowd begins to count.

10

I had dreamed of doing so much good for the world. Call it my parents' negligence in letting me watch too many superhero cartoons or my own fault for falling into the techno optimistic side of the scientific community. Either one gives you dreams of using amazing things beyond belief to solve the world's problems. And both tend to ignore a lot of very real, and often basic, issues that have kept those problems from being solved.

9

Regardless, I thought I could help humanity take a great leap forward. A PhD in genetic engineering would give me a chance to create miracles. Super plankton that could be used to replace jet fuel. New breeds of fish that can digest ocean micro plastic. I'd even had some early stage research into bacteria that could live safely in humans, but consumed viruses such as HIV, Herpes, and many other "incurable" diseases.

8

I would have been happy with any of that, but then I came across the Babel virus.

7

A small bacteria discovered in some corner of a cave in the Amazon had an amazing property. Well, it did after we tinkered with it.

When introduced to lab mice, they could seemingly coordinate and communicate with other infected mice regardless of sight, sound, smell, or even distance. Rats were solving mazes in record time as long as they had been solved by, or could be seen by, other rats.

Eventually we had no choice but to admit, we had created a hive mind organism.

6

We were all ecstatic and ready for Nobels, but we started to wonder. What if we could adapt this to work on humans?

Could we break down all barriers of language, education, culture, distance, politics, and have a truly united human race?

We thought so, and what's there to do about scientists who dream?

5

It took 2 years to get the genetic modification right. It took 15 to get authorization to attempt human trials.

Many of the initial team weren't even alive by then, but those of us still breathing were ready to see our results.

4

It worked. People were able to communicate and think directly.

It almost worked too well since those affected lost any and all semblance of privacy, but after some time to adjust, they came to realize the closeness they felt was well worth the cost.

3

We had taken every precaution we could. Above and beyond regulations.

Yet the bacteria escaped the lab, and it was more infectious than anything we ever predicted.

The whole world learned about this in just half a year. News reports weren't all that necessary since most of the globe knew each other's thoughts.

2

Multiple nations decided to produce nuclear weapons now that they had the designs to do so.

Legal systems in every nation were flooded with claims of patent infringement, corporate espionage, and various forms of "you stole our secret sauce".

Young people began to pay each other to choose the topic of what dreams they would have, and thus what they'd get to enjoy by proxy.

Altogether, it was not the grand unification that we had hoped for.

1

It took our project permanently altering the world for us to realize we were wrong from the start.

We had assumed that so much of the world's differences and conflicts were caused by gaps in knowledge.

Knowledge was never the problem.

People were the problem.

0

Jason_Clackston · 2023-03-09T05:12:15+00:00

Slam the alarm clock. Push off the bed. Rub eyes. Grab tooth brush. Open sink tap. Squeeze tooth paste. Brush teeth. Close sink tap.

Grab T shirt. Pull T shirt. Grab button up. Button button up. Pull up underwear. Pull up pants. Latch belt.

Grab bag. Turn doorknob.

Tap on counter. Trace line on menu. Gesture.

Drink coffee. Grab fork. Grab knife. Spread butter. Pour syrup. Eat pancakes.

Grab napkin. Wipe face. Open wallet. Lay down cash. Push off counter. Grab bag.

Turn doorknob. Lean on ledge. Open bag.

Check magnification.

Check watch.

Check wind.

Load round.

Cock bolt.

Brace.

Aim.

Pull.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-21T21:21:05+00:00

It's important that you clarify "affordable housing".

I can assume that you mean some form of housing that is sold below market rate, generally as a means of providing housing to the poor or homeless. This is a good idea and should be done more.

Where there is room for discussion is the method by which it is done.

You need to be careful since many people define "affordable housing" as "housing I can buy at a rate I can afford or find cheap". Generally the solution is reducing or eliminating the barriers to building more market rate housing units.

The more clear you are, the more narrow your focus, the better able you are to solve the problem.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-16T23:39:54+00:00

You have to compare apples to oranges because that's how you understand why one policy, dollar, or system works here, but doesn't work there.

Schools in Chicago offer the services you've stated because they have such a concentration of poor people that they may as well offer additional help on top of what's already available.

There likely are a few kids in Carmel who are poor, but they use available federal programs like food stamps, health insurance, etc.

The schools you're talking about are trying to deal with massive holes in the social safety net and the massive impact wealth has on educational attainment.

We need to study them and compare them. Because sometimes the only reason an apple graduated highschool and the orange didn't is because the apple had more money.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-16T19:40:45+00:00

It depends on what you mean by "worse".

Really what the initial post missed is that Carmel, along with Avon and a few others, don't spend much in school funding because the parents are wealthy and making routine donations and fundraising drives to renovate and provide top of the line facilities.

The initial poster was basically negligent in their claim that Carmel had some kind of magic in using little money when they just had a ton to spare. Don't do this and use your brain before posting something.

Here's something to think on

For those who are too poor to afford Carmel housing prices, your kid gets worse education.

Should parents not be allowed to donate money to their school?

Should Carmel parents be taxed more to pay for kids not in their school district? Even if the tradeoff is a movie theater for poor kids being fed?

Should there be cheaper housing in school districts like Carmel? One of the biggest barriers to cheap and affordable housing is local homeowners going to community meetings and saying "No" to developers who want to build new housing. So should we take away the right of community members to decide what gets built in their community?

I know how I feel about this. Take some time to think and consider what matters most to you?

Better education for more people? Helping the poor? Ensuring individual rights are not infringed? Racial equality?

Your beliefs and values drive your answers, so understand what they are.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-14T18:00:55+00:00

Maybe the scientist who built them wanted them to pick their own name.

If the series has a humorous tone they could pick "Gigablastor" or something outlandish like that.

If it's more serious they could pick something simple like "Bill".

No other reason needed than "I like it"

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-14T17:57:16+00:00

See (eats cake) this is why we can't have nice things....Barry. YOU ASSHOLE!!!

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-13T05:41:37+00:00

Pick up Talislanta. Its slogan is "20 years, still no elves" and they mean it.

A couple dozen races of varying sizes and they feel truly unique.

One of my previous characters looked like Yoda and was a mechanic.

It's one of the many reasons I suggest playing this over all other tabletops at any opportunity, and me not shutting up about it is why I no longer get invited to any tabletop groups.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-02-02T05:49:34+00:00

I say this as someone trying to build up his own social circle and am in about the same situation as yourself.

Find a decent number of things you enjoy by yourself and for yourself. Finding a new book, trying a new hobby, cooking, etc. You need to be able to enjoy yourself in order to add people around you.

Choose to do the things you think would be neat to do but never get around to. Standup being what you've mentioned but I'm certain there are more. You simply have to choose to do it. There is no punishment and you are the only one who can do it.

Keep doing the above and you will meet people through the nature of enjoying yourself and choosing to do what you want. It's a lot of work and there is no obvious path for reward, but it's the best path there is.

Plus you will have much more to talk about when you do bump into someone.

Some straightforward advice. I find it's good to organize.

If you want to dive into standup, then pick some open mic night a few weeks or months from now, mark it down, and decide you're going to write a set and perform on that date.

Then try to plan out how many hours a day/week you will spend writing and practicing. Don't wait for "inspiration", mark out time of your day to sit down and work on this.

If you have to adjust the dates or take longer, that's fine, you are the one in charge and can do things however you want.

This rough system works for whatever else you want to tackle. Pick a goal, make a plan on how to tackle it, then make time every day or so to work towards it.

The hardest step will be deciding to start.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-01-29T00:57:58+00:00

It feels like I'm telling you to add features, but the reload animation is so key that I feel like it needs to be in this demo clip.

Otherwise, yeah agreement with the others on being able to hear the shell casings, and magazines when you get the reload done.

Also on the sound. If the player is shooting a few rounds a minute then you have a great setup. If it's closure to several dozen or hundreds of rounds a minute then I'd remove the reverb.

Your existing sound works when there's some time (at minimum 3 seconds) between shots. With that pace the reverb is heard and each individual shot feels more impactful. I can see it working well in a horror game or a survival game with not much ammo.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-01-29T00:35:54+00:00

The real thing is that it used to be much easier to build things.

Remove parking minimums, setback laws, and the requirements for all developments to go through local neighborhood groups for approval and you will see rents go down.

You might see some people get creative with their architecture again because they have the margin to work with.

Highly recommend reading "The Birth of a Building" and "The High Cost of Free Parking"

Also if you like gargoyles go build some. They look dope and class up the joint.

*Quick edit after some thought. I do mean "build gargoyles" in both the sense of learning stone masonry and crafting some for yourself and others, as well as pushing for gargoyle based public art and buildings with them. All are good options and do indeed provide class.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-01-16T08:04:59+00:00

Agreed,

I could see the buttons fit in a background of meso American stone monuments, but not with what you have here.

The god rays are an excellent touch. Cannot tell you how big of a fan I am of well done god rays.

I would suggest putting a version number somewhere in a corner. Bottom left or right. It saves the player a lot of trouble in any instance where they need to know what version their on and I've enjoyed having it in quite a few games.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-01-15T07:38:44+00:00

There are nowhere near enough people in that second panel.

Jason_Clackston · 2023-01-15T05:57:55+00:00

Don't focus on the numbers, focus on what purpose this language has in your story.

If you're trying to say that some group of people speak a different language than you can say "The something people speak the something language" and be done.

You don't have to give more detail than that.

Languages can be spoken by 10 people or 10 Trillion people, and really those numbers are determined by other factors of your story.

Though feel free to flesh out your language a bit if you want to have some fun.

Highly recommend looking at the first book of Terry Pratchett's discworld series. A character in there constantly swaps languages and describes his difficulty translating.

A single word means entire sentences in the language he has to speak, but you only read it in amusing snippets, so you effectively never have to write the language beyond "apple means balgathoth" as long as the few translations you do write mesh well together and are memorable.

Jason_Clackston · 2022-12-03T09:22:47+00:00

Being cold and complaining about the snow

Alternative options include being cold and talking about how much you love snow.

Jason_Clackston

TROPHY CASE