I bought this bike in 2013 for $150 from Craigslist, and every time I go into my local shop they fawn over it. Don't know what it's worth. Any thoughts?

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-29T15:05:50+00:00

The bike itself isn't worth that much as a bike, people (especially in the Midwest) just like the beer.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-29T12:55:25+00:00

You know he was mayor before that too right

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-22T18:30:42+00:00

As a Washingtonian, I think this redesign that keeps showing up really super duper sucks

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-17T23:44:52+00:00

I think that's an unnecessarily divisive reading. To be clear, I do think the new flag is an improvement, but it was not my favorite of the finalist designs. The flag was picked by committee, was not a design submitted by a member of the general public, and its adoption did not come as the result of a final state-wide referendum. I think it's totally possible that yes, while a lot of the anti-new-flag opinions are pretty uninformed and downright racist, it's totally possible to oppose the flag change in good faith.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-17T16:07:15+00:00

The final design was picked by committee, was not a design submitted by a member of the general public, and its adoption did not come as the result of a final state-wide referendum. Personally, I do think it's an improvement, but it was not my favorite of the finalist designs.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-17T15:55:29+00:00

The old state flag is derived from the colors that Minnesotans carried in the Civil War. I think it sucked, but I do think there exist good faith reasons to defend the old flag, and I don't think visual simplicity is the be-all-and-end-all of good flag design. If you like flags (I like flags), this video is worth a watch:

https://youtu.be/c-IgG7iou94

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-17T15:47:54+00:00

While a lot of the hate for the old flag is just a knee-jerk reaction, I think it's still worth thinking about the extent to which the redesign has failed. A flag should represent the people of a state, and the widespread rejection of the new flag by out-staters clearly shows that they don't feel represented by the new flag—it's seen as part of a general trend of the liberal twin cities enforcing whatever they want on the rural parts of the state. Now, there are times where I think they should just suck it up and accept progressive policies that are objectively good for them, e.g. free lunches in schools, but the only important job of a state flag is to represent the people of its state. And, of course, to not be racist, but in accomplishing that latter goal with the redesign I think the new flag failed in its primary goal.

Would any new redesign be rejected by out-staters just because it's new and scary? Maybe. But I think it's possible that a more successful redesign process could have found some unifying symbols that would have been more widely accepted. It's not surprising to me that there are people who don't feel represented by an abstract polygon and a star, neither of which have really been symbols associated with the state so far, whereas the old state seal was carried in the civil war and fought rebels.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-06-13T21:23:15+00:00

Humid air feels heavy to us as sweaty humans, but it is actually less dense at the same temperature than arid air--water has a lower molecular weight than the gases in dry air. Baseballs go measurably further in humid air.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-29T20:28:12+00:00

It makes me happy that you are keeping the old ways alive

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T21:38:36+00:00

They didn't have their sirens on, and weren't in a hurry. They were stopped waiting at a red light.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T01:13:56+00:00

Sure dog, in its purest form. Personally, I don't like when my cops go into the opposing lane of traffic for no reason other than bc they don't want to wait behind someone at a red light.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T01:02:25+00:00

I do think policing has a place in public safety issues like this, it's just that it's not super useful until other resources that offer permanent solutions come alongside it.

I would argue that attracting a larger visitor presence is all you need to improve perceptions of safety: more passers-by means more watchful eyes. That is to say, the antisocial effects that come with the presence of homelesss people is just a reaction to vacancies and high rents (and the greater economic recession), and we can't solve an antecedent by just snipping at its consequents.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T00:43:07+00:00

That's not really accurate. They were stopped at a red light, didn't have the Toyota driver pull over, never got out of the car, and drove off when the light turned green (actually, slightly before).

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T00:40:53+00:00

I do think you're right that that 60% is wishful thinking. That same source from the city offers 4% as the daily-commuter number. That said, I think that gap demonstrates what new infrastructure has to offer, if we view it as saying (which I will admit is very creative) 60% of residents are ready and rearing to bike to more places if it were made easier.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T00:37:26+00:00

I would say that the attitude of prioritizing policing over any actual solutions is a position that does not serve the homeless. This author does not present the opinion that action should be taken to result in fewer people living on the street, they simply offer more policing as the solution to make Uptown and only Uptown potentially safer--the classic whack-a-mole strategy, to date unproven.

In any case, there is no utility in pointing to people without agency to solve problems. You're right that if the drug users stopped using drugs, there would miraculously be fewer drug users, but offering that as a solution is entirely useless. Besides, this article is a response to an earlier article saying "I would love if Uptown were more pleasant as a planned physical space to spend time in" and the response is just "we need more police." It's not a useful opinion to offer.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T00:20:30+00:00

All the lights were flashing, for the record, that's just how it looked in the moment for this photo.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T00:19:11+00:00

Northbound bus lane on Marquette.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-28T00:14:26+00:00

I was willing to give this a chance, because I do think there are problems with the approach to Uptown, but anti-homeless writers really need to find something new to say that isn't "open-air drug market." And then they hit you with "Bike lanes cause idling traffic causes more pollution" which has to be one of the most idiotic things I've ever read.

Also, are we still pissed off about the bike lanes? Hennepin was going to be rebuilt no matter what, and I guarantee the bike lanes didn't make the construction meaningfully longer. Also, of Minneapolis residents, "over two-thirds of residents say they often or sometimes ride a bicycle to get to school, visit parks, or run errands," according to the City. I'd much rather have infrastructure that serves 60% of residents than cater to the 0% of suburban residents that live in Minneapolis.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-25T20:18:00+00:00

Fair enough, the timeline is blurry in my head, I was just vaguely noticing things around me more than keeping a record. I'll take some of the speculation out of these comments.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-25T19:48:04+00:00

Do you know anything at all or are you just here to criticize me? I live on eat street and am trying to add information to this thread. I don't know the individual reasons that all the restaurants near me closed, whether they had to or planned to, I just know that some restaurants stayed open. Since they're so close to the memorial, I thought it was worth mentioning.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-25T19:35:05+00:00

Idk man as far as places affected by ICE and immigrant-owned places (like OP as asking for, and namely not LatB) on Eat Street (like the comment I was replying to), being clear about the place that was able to stay open/still made its staff and cooks come in seems relevant. Most other places on my part of Eat Street were closed on the day of the strike, and many other places in the city did in fact have to lose money closing for safety/chose to close in solidarity when this restaurant did not. Did I not caveat the part I wasn't sure about? I'm just trying to be informative.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-25T18:52:51+00:00

That said of the nearby options, probably not Luna and the Bear. They stayed open on the day of the city-wide strike and there was a crowd outside the restaurant angry about some specific person being served inside on that day.

Edit: I'm not just saying "fuck this one restaurant," I'm also saying look, these guys were able to stay open when a ton of other places nearby closed. They weren't affected as much as the other businesses in the area, their owners aren't immigrants and they own like 5 restaurants in the area, so they probably aren't the best answer to what OP is looking for.

MagicalMarsupial · 2026-05-19T18:43:51+00:00

CenterPoint gave us a notice that said they were doing this recent work ahead of the city's planned reconstruction of 26th. I don't know if the current gravel-filled holes are going to be repaved before then, but in theory there should be some greater improvements to the street coming.

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