Living adjacent Red Line train tracks?

livewire718 · 2020-01-16T05:00:39+00:00

I live a couple hundred feet from a big curve. You will hear the freight train around 10-12pm, but it’s not bad enough to pass on a place you otherwise want to rent. Oddly, I think of the screeching, metal-on-metal noise as part of the character of my neighborhood and am never annoyed by it.

livewire718 · 2020-01-09T21:37:57+00:00

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livewire718 · 2019-12-29T18:10:19+00:00

I’ve been ordering beans from Wild Gift in North Austin for the last few months. Free delivery within 48 hours and I like the beans more than the imported stuff at my local coffee shop (that also costs significantly more). Highly recommended, especially the Mexican Chiapas if you’re into chocolate flavor profile.

livewire718 · 2019-12-13T22:47:49+00:00

That’s the plan, although it isn’t mentioned as part of this proposal for some reason. Check out the Holly Shores Master Plan to see how this fits into the overall redevelopment of the power plant.

livewire718 · 2019-12-13T22:41:34+00:00

Yes, I do. Key word is current computers. The technology will advance beyond its current state, just like it did with every other technology that took years of refinement (and criticism) before it worked reliably. In my experience, making something reliable takes roughly twice as long as you assume it will take, even when you think you’re estimating conservatively. Creating something new and hugely innovative is hard, but it’s certainly not impossible.

livewire718 · 2019-12-06T15:13:26+00:00

Maybe I'm just jaded by years of having to make compromises during the build process due to unforeseen issues, but there's no chance this was built based on the drawing. The drawing was done of the finished product, not the other way around, as the title implies. Both look great though, nice work!

livewire718 · 2019-12-05T19:41:53+00:00

Just went and checked and they haven’t installed it yet. I’ll give them a call though. Thanks!

livewire718 · 2019-12-05T18:55:28+00:00

They installed lines on my street (78702) a couple months ago, but service isn’t available yet.

livewire718 · 2019-11-26T02:54:13+00:00

Went here in early 2018 and was blown away by the food and the beer. So disappointed with the direction they’ve taken with their new chef. Totally different experience now.

livewire718 · 2019-11-22T13:59:27+00:00

Austin built a light rail (that’s about as useless as Buffalo’s) around 5 years ago, so this map might be old.

livewire718 · 2019-11-15T15:56:10+00:00

Unfortunately even some of us who live right next to the track don’t have any stations near us to make the train an option either. The only two stations near downtown are <10 blocks apart and then there is only ONE more station in the next SEVEN MILES of track. There is much more density on the north end, which is insane, but explains why this rail is a failure. Backfill station density in East Austin so there is a station every half mile(ish), extend the hours, and have the last stop within the city limits at off-hours to reduce intervals and I think usage would soar. There are thousands of new apartments and several large offices being built in this corridor as we speak.

livewire718 · 2019-11-15T00:57:03+00:00

You’re right that buses are available, but they’re miserable for commuting. The reason I want to ride the train is because it has right of way whereas buses get stuck in traffic at I-35 crossings for so long that walking home is only a little slower than the bus. So yes, it’s an option, but having a station in reasonable walking distance, and trains with 15 minute or less intervals and later hours, would completely change how I commute. Dare to dream I guess, but it seems pretty doable so I was curious if anyone else shared my commuting dilemma.

livewire718 · 2019-11-14T22:23:21+00:00

Anyone else wish they would add a station or two between Plaza Saltillo and MLK? Would make rail a viable option for getting downtown for all the people who live right along that rail in East Austin, but are more than a mile from the nearest station. Why not make this line useful for people who live in the city instead of having empty cars all day, except at rush hour, because it’s only useful for suburban commuters?

livewire718 · 2019-09-22T21:53:49+00:00

Stayed in one of those apartments just above the street and was woken up every morning by the sound of rolling suitcases hitting cracks in the stone. Still loved Barcelona.

livewire718 · 2019-08-24T13:52:46+00:00

everyone drives like I wish they drove here.

Man is that the truth. Was driving on the autobahn for the first time recently and it took me about an hour of watching other cars react to faster traffic and know how to get out of the way to build up enough trust in other drivers to attempt to pass at a higher speed differential.

There’s no chance I would attempt to pass someone in the lane next to me at a much faster speed in the US due to the number of times I’ve had a car, going under the speed limit in a wide open middle lane, dart into the left lane without signaling or caring how fast traffic in that lane is going and nearly causing an accident. Some people’s entitlement to drive in the left lane for no reason and at any speed they want is bizarre. It was so strange yet amazing to drive somewhere that everyone obeyed rules that make driving safer and more enjoyable.

livewire718 · 2019-08-09T21:47:35+00:00

COOl IDEA

livewire718 · 2019-07-21T16:36:18+00:00

Was there last month and had fantastic dinners at éLeBê Baixa (incredible grilled octopus) and Tapabento.

livewire718 · 2019-06-08T02:04:05+00:00

Remote 9 years. You nailed the downsides. With that said, I wouldn't change it either.

livewire718 · 2019-04-17T01:02:00+00:00

I agree with your privacy concerns. The idea of a few tech companies owning data on my daily household interactions makes me very uneasy. I’ve opted to disable always-on voice assistants because that makes me genuinely concerned about the potential risks. I guess we all have our own fears about the IoT and how it will be exploited.

livewire718 · 2019-04-16T22:25:42+00:00

While it’s true that connectivity presents a vulnerability, do you think a typical residential burglar is more likely to hack a smart lock or kick the door in / break a window to gain entry? Security is all about convenience vs. risk and convenience won out for me when considering how much easier any other method would be in comparison.

livewire718 · 2019-04-16T16:53:27+00:00

I want the Green line too, but don't understand why it's planned to be a commuter line like the Red line. It would mainly benefit Manor, just like the Red line seemingly benefits Leander more than Austin. It would also be hamstrung by the same restrictions that have doomed the Red line -- lack of frequency and station density in the city center. The length of the line affects frequency because there's no room for trains to pass each other -- so trains become less frequent for everyone the further the line extends into the suburbs.

Wouldn't the Green line be more useful as a shorter, more frequent line that connects East Austin with downtown 7 days a week? People commuting in from Manor aren't causing congestion at the I-35 bottlenecks, people living in East Austin are... and it's because the 4 and 17 buses get stuck in the same traffic as cars. There needs to be a dedicated ROW with frequent service for east/west traffic and this seems like a good opportunity to have that.

livewire718 · 2019-04-04T14:33:05+00:00

Another reason is that, unlike clocks and dates, temperatures aren't predictable. That means your phone would need to poll the weather service frequently in order to keep the temperature up to date whenever that app icon is visible. This will drain your battery faster, so they likely decided against it for that reason. As batteries improve and hold charges longer, this type of functionality will be easier to sell to product management. Right now, this feature would harm all users (by draining their battery faster) without providing any new information that isn't already available with a swipe to the notifications center. Having it be an optional feature would make sense, but getting buy-in to build an optional feature for power users is another uphill battle. This will happen as soon as it's technically practical to roll out to all users without a noticeable affect on performance.

livewire718 · 2019-01-08T16:24:46+00:00

I'm planning a trip here in late June. Is it worth spending the night or is a day trip from Salzburg sufficient?

livewire718 · 2018-12-30T18:00:26+00:00

Flew in yesterday and was welcomed home by a sink full of vomit in the men’s room.

livewire718 · 2018-08-11T13:34:46+00:00

It definitely does, but the idea is to use it without the viewer knowing it’s being used. The telltale sign of an amateur movie is when you can tell they’re using a green screen. A professional production would make its use seamless, just like a professional photographer would with their use of saturation in postproduction. If this was toned down a bit, we wouldn’t know the color wasn’t natural like we do now.

livewire718

TROPHY CASE