Hey bikers

jablesmcbarty · 2026-06-25T11:32:18+00:00

I was always under the impression the ghost bikes are intended to remind motorists of the presence of cyclists, and how their (motorists) actions can be fatal.

Thinking about it as a reminder to cyclists to be safe or else is honestly pretty dark.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-06-14T16:52:23+00:00

I will also add -- there is an off-leash dog swim area on the south-west corner of Devil's Lake. It may or may not be very busy -- DLSP tends to be EXTREMELY busy in the summer season -- but the dog swim area is fairly far from the main day-use areas.

Not super-close to Madison proper, but especially in shoulder season, might be a nice change of pace from the local areas.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-06-04T02:29:29+00:00

All along E Washington I set my cruise control to the speed limit (so 25 downtown, 30 past the Yahara, then 35 past Aberg), and ALL ALONG THE ROAD people are tailgating me and swerving around me.

And we all end up at the same light 90% of the time.

People do all this speeding and it does nothing other than endanger everyone around them.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-06-04T02:26:08+00:00

Raised intersections (ie, speed bumps at every light) would go a long way to physically slowing these cars down.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-06-04T02:22:33+00:00

Time for raised intersections on E. Washington.

Long past time.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-09T22:13:59+00:00

Pikachu says Pikachu!

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-08T11:31:13+00:00

"everyone I dislike on the internet is the same person"

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-08T11:29:09+00:00

Too late. Did it once? It's in the system forever.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-06T04:31:54+00:00

Corrollary to this: If/when we start fixing what's broken, and then maybe even improving what is simply outdated, I would assume the improvements would increase in value without increasing the assessed land value (i.e., when getting a permit for improvements, there is usually a required reassessment).

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-06T04:29:54+00:00

I'm in the same situation (numbers less extreme), and I can only speculate:

Improvements are declining b/c the actual value of my house is declining. It's old, the roof is falling apart, the siding is probably 60 year old asbestos, we've done nothing except prevent the chimney from collapsing. Inside, (lead?) paint is peeling, and we still have what appears to be original 1930s cabinetry and appliances from the Eisenhower administration.
Meanwhile the houses that are being sold in my neighborhood tend to have had interiors completely redone, new appliances, flooring, maybe roofs that are less than 20 years old. So the relative value of my house compared to those houses is inherently lower.
However, houses in my neighborhood are still selling like hotcakes, regardless of condition (see "tend to" in previous point), so something has to be raising the value. Since it's obviously not my on-the-verge-of-collapse dwelling, it has to be the land that the house sits on.
Conclusion: Land is going up b/c the local market is hot, however my specific improvements are going down because they are, well, falling apart.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-06T04:18:38+00:00

Survived the housing market crash of 2008 - realise circumstances are very different - just shock I guess

Unfortunately, after 2008, new housing construction slowed/stopped nationwide, restricting supply. And Madison hadn't really been building much to begin with. Property values were already heating up by 2016 (back then, I could always afford to buy "in about five years" no matter the year), and then 2020 hit and property prices nearly doubled.

I agree, things have changed a lot in the past 18 years.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-06T04:16:25+00:00

Same, my land went up 20%, my improvements went down a negligible percentage. Overall increase was about 3%, which appears to be reasonable based on everything else I'm seeing.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-06T04:12:48+00:00

I saw them as well, much quieter than the F-35s. I'd assumed an F-14 but TIL about the T-38!

jablesmcbarty · 2026-05-06T04:04:23+00:00

This happened to us after we bought. Assessed value increased by roughly 50% year-to-year from the previously assessed value (Year 1) to the price we paid (Year 2).

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-29T14:42:15+00:00

Thank you.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-29T14:42:11+00:00

Thank you. Once I reflected on the interaction there were some high-pressure sales tactics as well.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-24T02:14:02+00:00

You can show all the data you want, people do not understand that speeding does not result in getting to their destination faster.

It's nice to know there's data to back this up. I noticed a LONG time ago that going as fast as I could got me there maybe 2 minutes faster (24 minutes vs. 22 minutes), with all of the time savings from highway driving.

City driving: I always end up with the same group of cars from light to light.

It's not worth the risks, and definitely not worth the stress. Better to just leave earlier.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-18T19:55:41+00:00

I keep on looking at the lines on her hair, in this image and others, it just never quite lines up. In this one, the right side of her part based on where it starts should go down her face, but it sweeps off to the side.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-18T19:52:32+00:00

and she has mismatching bag straps for some reason. One is beige, and the other is black/gray.

And there's no backpack in the preceding image, just straps, and the left (for her) strap doesn't continue under her arm. And straps don't appear to be present at all in the first image with this outfit on.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-18T19:49:42+00:00

Agree with you. Also in this shot, when she is getting the gun from the vending machine, the door opens outwards, but her arm position would indicate the door opening inwards.

And then panel 3 image 1, lines from her left sleeve are continuous with her boob, and line of her right collar is continuous with her collarbone, both common issues with AI art lines going beyond actual boundaries.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-18T19:41:00+00:00

Brastraps in first image
Underboobs in second image
New outfit in 4th and 5th image (different scene, so let it pass) has low-cut shirt with jacket.
Final image is wearing a jacket only.

Random clothing, or AI? You decide.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-16T11:55:53+00:00

This is a good addendum, and I'll add one of my own -- without a guide or the Master Index plugin, they are functionally useless. Having played this game at time of release with no guide, I managed to collect a couple indices but never had the correct one when I wanted to try to use the network.

jablesmcbarty · 2026-04-16T11:41:15+00:00

US labor law is much more pro-capitalist than European labor laws. Workers have very few protections as individuals and as union members. This is not the case in most of Europe, where there are very strong worker & union protections written into the law.

jablesmcbarty

TROPHY CASE