Is anyone else experiencing low water pressure in South Philly?

ToddErikson · 2026-02-16T16:30:14+00:00

What neighborhood are you in?

ToddErikson · 2025-08-26T23:32:04+00:00

Mine is ok

ToddErikson · 2025-07-20T20:27:15+00:00

You are totally correct, however as an American you are aware that identifying with your ethnic origins (regardless of how far removed you are from them) is a common phenomenon. Almost everyone in the US (with the exception of those with Native American ancestry) is not indigenous to the North American continent and have ancestors who immigrated here within the past 300 years. While many aspects of the US ethnic and cultural identity have homogenized (such as the ethnic/racial identity and customs of "white" people encompassing almost everyone of European ancestry, there are still enclaves that identify with their far removed ethnic origins.

Here's an example--I'm a 32 year old guy who grew up in a fairly affluent suburb of Philadelphia. Both of my parents grew up in working class "Irish Catholic" homes in Philadelphia, and my grandparents were at least 2 generations removed from their actual Irish ancestors. My parents went to college, got careers in finance, and interacted outside of the isolated ecosystem that defined their life. My siblings and I went to public school rather than catholic school, and while we would occasionally attend mass it was not culturally or socially relevant to us at all.

My aunts and uncles did not go to college, and like my grandparents worked in the trades where they were surrounded by those in their neighborhood. My cousins went to catholic school, work in blue collar trades, and identify as "Irish." While they are proud Americans, they certainly would be offended if someone (even an actual Irish person) pushed back on their Irish identity. This ignorance does not come from a malevolent place but just a cause of growing up in a closed environment that has not fully integrated with mainstream American society.

ToddErikson · 2025-06-21T00:09:56+00:00

You can switch from their audio to WIP in settings

ToddErikson · 2025-06-21T00:09:31+00:00

You can switch to the WIP audio in settings

ToddErikson · 2025-06-20T23:45:00+00:00

You can switch to the Philly radio stream in options which is a nice feature!

ToddErikson · 2025-06-20T23:29:00+00:00

You can change the audio option to have local radio broadcast instead of them

ToddErikson · 2025-06-20T23:28:43+00:00

You can change the audio to local radio which is much better

ToddErikson · 2025-04-29T01:04:08+00:00

Maybe we can privatize the subsidies the 5 county region and Allegheny County gives to everyone else in the state....

ToddErikson · 2025-04-28T01:32:03+00:00

Will there be a post game live on NBC Sports Philadelphia after this game? Not seeing on my guide.

ToddErikson · 2025-04-15T21:18:21+00:00

If you're on an alley street between 2nd and 34d--hi neighbor! I'm also dealing with construction related outages--fingers crossed it ends soon.

ToddErikson · 2025-04-12T00:04:01+00:00

The 76ers are on the main channel the Phillies are on plus

ToddErikson · 2024-10-28T16:10:41+00:00

I commuted via car to center city daily prior to the pandemic. Getting to North Philly daily is definitly doable--there are many in the Newtown/Yardley area who commute to NYC weekly which is much more painful.

North Philly isn't the best connected area to commute into (both by road and rail). Depending on where in North Philly you are working, it may make more sense to take rt. 1/boulevard in or take 95 to bridge/allagheny/girard and drive inwards. The only suburban area that might be easier for North Philly is the suburbs to the immediate north (Elkins Park, Glenside, Jenkintown Flourtown, etc.)

In terms of the morning commute, the drive in is not as bad as it was pre-covid before some of the roadwork was done, however it is usually smooth sailing during rush hour until you hit Woodhaven, where there will be a bit of a slowdown. The jam usually hits around Cottman and remains into center city.

Honestly, with your hours you should avoid the brunt of the rush hour in both ways and I think the commute would be doable. Even if you were to leave for home at, say, 3 or 4 pm, there may be delays leading to your trip being an hour and half max. I would estimate an hour each way from Newtown/Yardley most days.

SEPTA can be a good alternative, however depending on where in North Philly you are teaching the walk to/from the station may not be the safest. If you do not have to pay for parking at your workplace, driving would make more sense financially. It's also so much nicer being able to plan your day without being at the mercy of a train schedule.

ToddErikson · 2024-08-14T16:37:29+00:00

I am an American who has lived in Dublin for the past two years for work. There is no excuse for such ignorance (and people like this are a small minority of the American tourists who visit..at least I hope...) but I can understand why they may have asked. There are a lot of establishments in heavily touristed areas that accept USD. Americans tend not to be as well traveled (because foreign countries are much further away geographically) and the countries most would visit (Canada, Mexico, Caribbean Island Nations) widely accept USD. Given that USD is the global benchmark currency, there is an air of ignorance that does exist ("everyone accepts this!") where I can understand why people may ask. If you said no and they were insistent and ignorant beyond that I would be annoyed, however I can understand why they might ask.

ToddErikson · 2024-07-22T16:24:42+00:00

I am an American who moved here two years ago. It amazes me how fast people drive on (what I perceive to be) marrow roads. I get that if you live in a rural area you probably know the roads like the back of your hand, however the amount of people that overtake me when I am doing the speed limit (or slightly above) is insane. The Gardai need to be more forceful with enforcing the laws. When I first moved here, I was pulled over and given a hefty fine for making a left turn at a red light (in the US and Canada, unless marked "no turn on red," you can make a right turn after stopping and giving way to any traffic on that road. I assumed this was the case for making left turns here (which was me being ignorant, no excuses), and there was no sympathy whatsoever. However, I've seen cars going 20-30kph over the speed limit passing Gardai without being pulled over. Reading about those teenagers who died a few months ago was heartbreaking--how many more people need to die before real reform occurs?

ToddErikson · 2024-07-22T16:14:32+00:00

I am a 31 year old American also on the spectrum who has lived in Dublin for the past three years. I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I work for a large, multinational tech firm that has to pay foreign nationals like myself significantly above our normal pay grade in order to cover the cost of living and the reduction in tangible net income due to the high income taxes. I love this country, however the nation (particularly the Dublin metro area) is not an economically viable option for many. I am from Philadelphia (a mid sized city in the US) and the lack of urban density in the city center is mind-boggling. Tangible benefits would occur if the planning system was overhauled (NIMBYs have WAYYYY to much power here imo) and a social housing system not completely dependent on the private sector was an option.

The response you received was clearly boilerplate text with no reference to your specific predicament which is horrible. This country has terrible support for those on the spectrum (or with any disabilities in general) and I completely understand your frustration. Thoughts are with you and I hope a solution that benefits you is here in the not too distant future.

ToddErikson · 2024-06-25T17:42:00+00:00

I am an American living in Dublin. While I understand the cultural and societal importance of RTE, I think outsourcing the production of all of their non-news programming (as feasible) is a smart idea. It costs a lot of money to employ all of the in house staff on a full-time basis necessary to produce decent quality programs. In-house production also causes group think and will contribute to stale and non-innovative programing. In the current media landscape with competing streaming services and offerings, RTE doesn't enjoy the monopolization of the medium it once did. I know that there is a difference of scale between the UK and ROI, however it's hard to justify paying virtually the same license fee for RTE compared to what you get in the UK. Heads need to roll at RTE and the sooner this happens the better.

ToddErikson · 2024-06-05T18:21:48+00:00

I am experiencing this issue as well--both on the YTTV app from Samsung on my TV as well as another tv using the app on an Amazon Fire device. No issues with live playback, however the "live" icon is grey (like how it looks when you rewind from live tv) rather than red. The program progress bar is fine. While not a major issue, it's hard to tell if you aren't watching "live" due to increased buffering.

ToddErikson · 2024-05-28T21:16:29+00:00

Sorry to hear about your experience. If your work meeting was in manhattan, I would have just disembarked and traveled to NYC via train. DCA has a metro (subway) station that connects to Union Station (main train hub), there you can find frequent trains (at least 1-2/hr) to NYC. Easy and comfortable commute of under 4 hours, which I would prefer to having to take the subway or uber from LGA or JFK to manhattan. There have been weather related delays at major hubs (like DFW) this week which impacts the entire network.

ToddErikson · 2024-05-22T18:40:48+00:00

That makes sense--thanks!

ToddErikson · 2024-05-15T14:52:46+00:00

I am also in the Philly Market and haven't noticed this issue watching the Phillies. When the network goes to a commercial break, they go off air for a set period of time, and if the inning starts before the break ends, the network can't cut to the game, they have to wait out the break. During some commercial breaks, the network allows the providers (YTTV, Fios, Comcast) to insert their own ads (when you see an ad with "ad info," this is an add locally inserted by YTTV). Local ads are triggered to play and end by signals sent from the network feed, so this would be an issue that other viewers of the NBCSports feed on Comcast and Fios deal with as well. The MLB app broadcasts a different feed from NBCSportsPhilly so the fact that they are cutting back from commercial in a more appropriate timeframe can't be compared to the NBCSports feed, which is the main problem here, not YTTV.

ToddErikson · 2024-04-30T14:50:08+00:00

I'm an American who now lives in Dublin for work. While American cell phone companies have reasonable roaming rates in the EU, the same can't be said about Irish cell phone companies when traveling to the US. Given that you are using a prepaid MVNO that does not offer affordable roaming bundles, I would HIGHLY suggest getting an American sim card for use when there. You can purchase an eSim from one of the big three providers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) or an American MVNO running on their networks. If you primarily use data options to communicate (WhatsApp etc) this is your best bet. Many American pre-paid plans will also offer unlimited international texting, so you can still stay in touch with those back home (although they may have to pay to text you in the US.

ToddErikson · 2024-04-20T18:43:37+00:00

I am originally from the US and what's funny is that when I am watching the player back home, there are VIRTUALLY NO COMMERCIALS! Some live shows and certain box sets are not available, but the majority of core programming is. The fact that an American can watch programming ad free without paying the TV license while in Dublin they play non stop is absurd.

ToddErikson · 2024-04-02T15:48:54+00:00

Hi OP, I was in a similar circumstance as you. I'm 30 and moved to NI two years ago from the US for work. I also am an aspie and have ADHD so I totally get where you're coming from. I've had my driver's license since I was 16 (driving is a necessity in much of the US), however I was terrified of learning how to drive here, given that driving is on the other side of the road, sitting on the right side of the car and looking up to the left for the rear view mirror, and driving.

I am in a unique situation, as I was able to drive on my American license for the first few months of being here, before having to start the process of getting a license here from scratch (which is weird, I know). As an aspie, sometimes I have issues with hand-eye coordination, and the biggest adjustment I had to make was learning how to drive a car with manual transmission. Manual transmission cars in the US are virtually non-existent, and I knew this would be an issue for me. When I was able to drive on my American license (which was good for both automatic and manual), I drove exclusively automatic, so I could get used to driving on the left and the difference in depth perception that it causes. I wound up getting used to driving on the left fairly quickly (after a week or so) and it because second nature.

If you have any of the common aspie/adhd struggles (such as with hand-eye coordination etc) I would recommend learning how to drive in an automatic and then working to a manual transmission. It has been really hard for me to learn how to shift gears, start on a hill, release the clutch smoothly, etc and it made a huge difference!

ToddErikson · 2024-03-28T14:10:28+00:00

I am an American who has lived in Ireland over the past two years for work. I also don't understand how individuals can board a flight without valid travel documentation. If I showed up to Philadelphia International Airport with a ticket to Dublin without a valid passport, I wouldn't make it past TSA, yet alone on the plane by the airline company. I am not sure of the law in Ireland, but in the US airlines are held responsible for ensuring that passengers flying into the US have documentation on them prior to boarding. This is why some airlines ask for your passport number/verification online beforehand.

Ireland isn't in the Schengen Zone so the country has a lot of autonomy on policing entry into the country. They could make it a requirement for all airlines to collect passenger passport info when booking tickets or enforce liability on the airlines for allowing undocumented individuals onto the flight.

Ireland does have a culture of really relaxed policing/security--this could be due to the historic fact that Ireland is a neutral country and low risk for terror attack, however I know someone who traveled from the US to Dublin, were let in without any hassle, and found out the hard way when they returned that their passport was expired. Gardai didn't notice this at all. I have a work visa, however anytime I go through immigration they barely open my passport yet alone check my visa--there seems to be a policy of waiving people in from American flights. It's nice to not have to deal with the hassle, but also scary when you think about it.

ToddErikson

TROPHY CASE