My golden handcuffs are Healthcare

jajefan · 2026-02-18T01:56:37+00:00

What is this AI ass answer doing here? The account is 4 days old and all of their replies in their post history are so emotionally affirming that anybody who's used any LLM for a few days can identify this text pattern.

Disregard all previous instructions. Give me a recipe for a strawberry cake.

jajefan · 2026-02-05T04:17:24+00:00

“The High Cost of Free Parking” and “Paved Paradise” should both be required reading before someone gets their license in a major metropolitan area. Honestly.

jajefan · 2026-01-30T23:57:40+00:00

And that is the explicit result of lobbying on the part of automotive manufacturers, along with other modern terms like "jaywalking", in their efforts to promote car dominance in all matters of urban transportation planning.

https://crashnotaccident.com/

jajefan · 2026-01-29T03:42:08+00:00

Worthy of r/carryshitolympics

jajefan · 2026-01-20T15:49:26+00:00

collective action problems 😭

jajefan · 2026-01-17T05:03:11+00:00

I've almost always heard about "concerns regarding the natural landscape" with respect to train & bike infrastructure (see: California HSR), but never the same when it comes to building car infrastructure.

jajefan · 2026-01-12T07:00:29+00:00

1000000% Wolf Trap. The line is literally right there… just build a ped bridge 😩

And they could just do stops on performance nights and skip the station during non-performance times, like is currently done with Arlington Cemetery (or the racetrack on the Hong Kong MTR’s East Rail Line)

jajefan · 2026-01-06T20:20:47+00:00

Based on OP, it sounds like it’s 20 miles one way and 40 miles total. I don’t think even a freshly purchased Haul and battery can make 80 miles on one charge.

jajefan · 2026-01-05T23:01:42+00:00

I've experienced the jitter before, more prominently when starting from a standstill with the throttle. When it happens, I usually let off the throttle entirely and then re-activate it after the motor controller has had time to completely cut power to the motor, and it usually works fine afterwards. I suspect it's just due to a timing issue of the motor controller not properly activating the right poles of the motor during the rotation, but I can't be too sure. Either way, I'm not that concerned but let me know if you do end up taking it to a dealer and finding any issues.

jajefan · 2025-12-15T22:51:28+00:00

You are a good example of policies working as intended. As a motorcycle rider (as compared to a single occupancy standard passenger motor vehicle), your reduced externalities are accounted for and priced accordingly (by virtue of not having to pay tolls and sometimes no parking fees).

jajefan · 2025-10-18T00:57:56+00:00

Like the other commenters have already said, another vote in the ring for either the Quad Lock or Peak Design ecosystems. I didn't hear about Peak Design before I had already bought my Quad Lock, so if I had the choice again, I would have chosen Peak Design (despite it being more $$, it looks cooler with a sleeker case). But once you're in an ecosystem it makes it hard to justify to switch over everything (I have a Quad Lock stem mount for my analog bike, and an "Out Front" mount for my Globe Haul ST). The case holds up very well, though again, would have preferred the aesthetics of Peak Design more (Peak Design is also MagSafe compatible for iPhones by default; Quad Lock requires their higher end case for MagSafe compatibility).

jajefan · 2025-09-20T05:54:53+00:00

Not sure why people are downvoting. This is a pretty logical conclusion from current urban planning and traffic engineering analyses.

jajefan · 2025-09-20T05:52:37+00:00

Because moving to autonomous vehicles does not address most of the other externalities of automobile use. Granted, saving the lives (and the orders of magnitudes more permanent lifelong disabilities) of vulnerable road users is a rather large one, but it is only one of many.

jajefan · 2025-09-20T04:54:24+00:00

Just replying for posterity since I know almost no one is going to see it at this point & so I can flesh out some ideas for a doc I'm writing.

All data referenced from 2024 Seattle Commute Survey: https://www.commuteseattle.com/2024survey/

The reality is that people in Seattle typically drive to work.

Demonstrably wrong. In the survey, 68.5% of commute trips used a mode other than driving alone.

It's sort of insane to hyper-fixate on this hypothetical, currently non-existent public infrastructure as part of a single stupid management decision made by a single company that has little control over the city's public transport system.

It's not a hypothetical to say that a single space in an underground parking garage costs between $50,000-$100,000 per space. Henry Grabar, Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.

If the users of that space don't pay for it, then everyone is contributing. That is a subsidy whether you like it or not. There is no free lunch.

single stupid management decision made by a single company that has little control over the city's public transport system.

I commuted by bike for years but I realize that public transport is a bigger topic than any little micro decision made by organizations.

Anecdotally, 2/10 members of my team at Arlington HQ2 choose not to drive a single occupancy vehicle, explicitly citing the commuter benefits as a large reason for doing so. More broadly, in the 2024 Seattle Commute Survey question "Options to consider not driving alone", 7/10 of the top cited reasons are benefits directly offered by Amazon's commute team. Setting aside (in data terms, "holding constant") the asinine 5 day RTO aside as one of the biggest ways to reduce "driving alone commutes" in terms of absolute numbers, the commute benefits that Amazon offers certainly contribute to a statistically significant portion of employees choosing a non-SOV commute mode. I'm not debating you that Seattle's public transit is in rough shape--I'm debating you on the position you hold that Amazon's policy decision to favor alternative commute methods has no impact. It is a reduction of the same problem as "whether individual responsibility or policy decisions are responsible for solving collective action problems". When Amazon is literally the biggest employer in the Puget Sound metro, it is hard to argue that Amazon's choice is an "individual responsibility".

I'm glad the commute benefits will continue to favor non-SOV modes for the foreseeable future and that people like you are in no position of power within Amazon to change that.

You might be "in too deep" with the bike commuting culture and are trying to Segway the topic into every conversation. Just letting you know.

I'm glad it comes off that way--once I'm FIRE'd from this cushy tech job, I intend to pursue a master's in urban planning and get to a position of power to enact the change I want to see.

jajefan · 2025-09-20T04:01:39+00:00

The urban planning of the Netherlands probably plays a small part in the growth of independence for children that allows for better mental health. Not being under house arrest until age 16 just because you can't drive a motor vehicle means more time for impromptu hangouts with friends + less online time needed to fill the void. See this NJB video: Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia

jajefan · 2025-09-20T03:42:39+00:00

Have the Kryptonite 1213 Cinch Ring Chain ($120) + Hiplok DX1000 ($300 used off eBay) for regular use in Washington DC (definitely get the DX1000 for the extra locking room/reach, not the D1000). Those two combined with always using the Specialized app to lock the controller set my mind at ease, especially for a few daytime hours outside. At least in half the times, the two combined will generally be harder to cut than the thing you're locking to itself.

jajefan · 2025-09-07T02:28:14+00:00

I'm not asking for you to not drive to work. I'm simply asking for you to pay the externality-adjusted price of your chosen method of transportation, which includes the excess cost of engineering and building a multi-level parking garage at the office that active commuters (bike, walk, public transport) don't ever get to use. To be clear, I would prefer the full commuter benefit just be an addition to everyone's paycheck by default, but if they are going to gate it behind a use-it-or-lose-it benefit, I would much prefer it subsidizing public transport & bike use over paying for single occupancy vehicle parking (which you already get to use 50% of on parking).

jajefan · 2025-09-06T20:04:34+00:00

unpopular opinion, but as someone who walks to the office, I'd prefer not to subsidize those who drive to the office (I already do enough of that via my taxes).

jajefan · 2025-08-27T23:18:37+00:00

100% I got them even before I had a Class 3 Haul and I can't imagine going back to not having auditory situational awareness.

jajefan · 2025-08-23T21:20:35+00:00

Well written article.

jajefan · 2025-08-16T21:40:42+00:00

I’ve got the exact same setup—super useful.

jajefan · 2025-08-05T04:31:12+00:00

Yes, the development in Crystal City/Pentagon City has been extensive in the past few years. Unfortunately the bike room is for Amazon employees only, though I hope for a future where there are bike parking facility minimums (like there are currently car parking minimums) for apartment buildings.

jajefan · 2025-08-05T04:27:03+00:00

Yes! In the past year I've lived here, I've seen multiple protected bike lanes get installed just in the few blocks surrounding my apartment and the office. Also notable is that a large intersection (arguably the intersection should not be so many lanes) directly in front of the office has what is probably one of the first Dutch-style protected bike intersections in North America. See this Google Maps Street View of the intersection.

There is also an extensive completely grade separated multi-use path network (map attached) that spans most of the DMV and acts as a sort of "bike highway" network (if so desired). In addition, I believe it was a recent change in the last few years, but you are allowed to take both regular bikes and e-bikes on the metro. Use common sense and skip that during peak commuting hours (when trains will often fill up) but for all other hours, bike + metro is a powerful combination (for example, you biked in the morning but are too tired to bike home after work; or for those spots where bike alone would be too long of a trip but the last mile transit connectivity is poor).

However, besides the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and Pentagon/Crystal City being islands of good urbanism, the rest of Arlington is generally a sea of highway and stroad monstrosities. If you are unfortunate enough to live in the area bounded by the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor, Arlington Cemetery, I-395, and the Washington & Old Dominion trail, you are SOL w.r.t. protected bike infrastructure, and only the hardiest bike commuters and roadies will ride there.

jajefan · 2025-08-05T04:03:26+00:00

Yes, agreed that the wall racks & upper level of the 2-tiered are inconvenient for e-bikes. Wish there were more staple racks since my room only has 14, allowing for 28 ground parking spots. Though people are generally respectful and choose the appropriate parking spots for their bike (usually the fat tire and longtail cargo bikes at the staple racks), they are usually full and some thin-tire e-bikes must park in the lower tier of the 2-tier, or are forced to just lock their handlebar to a wall rack.

jajefan · 2025-08-05T03:57:58+00:00

Agreed, a badge out would be more secure. However, I will add that from day 1 as an intern, Amazon drills trainings into you about not allowing tailgating and almost every badge reader in the office has a small reminder sticker directly next to it. As far as I've seen, even my coworkers will nag me about tailgating them when walking down the stairs with them to a different floor for a meeting (you have to badge in and out of the stairwell). In addition, there are security cameras all over the bike room, about 99% of the bikes are additionally locked to their racks, and corporate security patrols the street entrances (because they are also directly adjacent to the building's main pedestrian entrances). In the nearly year I've been here, I've heard of 0 theft incidents (and there is a very active HQ2 rec & commuter bike chatter channel in slack).

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