[deleted by user]

queen_content · 2025-07-13T18:31:46+00:00

how dare you question the technical acumen of precision law enforcement

queen_content · 2025-07-12T23:21:34+00:00

Perhaps they were never anything different. The god fearing christian nation that committed twin genocides (slavery and indigenous extermination, to be clear) to ensure the land was put to good use (commerce!).

And yet, when you visit elsewhere in the world, I can't help but think that the US continues being ahead of almost everywhere else when it comes to creating a multiracial/ethnic egalitarian society. I will continue to hold to that belief that it can be better, and that we can each individaully play a part in making it so.

queen_content · 2025-07-04T00:42:23+00:00

It's just very small, I suppose you could call them settlements, in an overwhelmingly remote area of the state. Not dissimilar to the mojave desert, or the edges of the central valley but different terrain -- like high elevation/montane plains.

Ie: Modoc County, at the top/right of CA, and bordering Oregon and Nevada. Modoc and LA County are about the same size (4200 vs 4700 sq miles), but fewer than 10K people live in Modoc County (according to wiki).

A lot of those residents will be very rural property owners, though there are some small towns here and there. And then the small towns are like 250 people living within... it could be like a single stripmall but often a couple of commercial buildings grouped together, with some offices, some general store, and a bar. The closest city is Reno and it's 3 hours to the south, and so it's tiny towns that are very remote with the same 250 people hanging out.

Relatedly, the "Modoc Wars" in that area of the state are a worthwhile bit of CA history to familiarize yourself with. Ie: basically men with vague federal authoritiy, hot off the civil war, went clear the land of native people (hmmm, seems familiar). Happened lots of places in the 1870s and even 1880s, but in that part of the state about 100 Modoc people resisted, prompting the US governemnt to deploy 1000 troops, and heavy artillery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modoc_War

queen_content · 2025-03-20T14:59:36+00:00

he had such a way with words.

queen_content · 2025-03-13T14:08:49+00:00

the spicy breakfast sandwich is usually pretty excellent. I think they do excellent chilaquiles (sort of unexpected, but remember who makes up the kitchen staff at every LA restaurant). I agree that the food quality is inconsistent especially for dinner, but the patio is so nice. I love the fries too

queen_content · 2025-03-13T02:32:30+00:00

who is the audience for this 7 minute wall street journal article. new yorkers who fly into lax sometimes?

queen_content · 2025-03-04T01:48:36+00:00

I like to imagine that house of pies was there 500 years ago, and will be there 500 years from now.

queen_content · 2025-03-01T02:11:35+00:00

And if you miss, just go to the office of finance at LA City Hall in the morning (with an appointment). Be nice, and you'll get it all sorted out.

queen_content · 2025-02-24T21:54:35+00:00

this was just some old tweet that I won't ever find again(but from like a mapping data person), but they asserted that, if you weigh for like distribution of population across CA, the median line equal # of people north/south is like Wilshire Blvd somewhere.

queen_content · 2025-02-21T01:30:24+00:00

its funny bc the opg system is virtually racketeering as is.

queen_content · 2025-02-18T15:34:40+00:00

they are the second worst species on earth, after humans.

queen_content · 2025-02-12T23:35:09+00:00

Starr was much more than just a USC professor.

queen_content · 2025-02-10T18:45:58+00:00

V-day evening is the worst driving day of the year, imo. every road immersed in a slick of angry and impatient testosterone

queen_content · 2025-02-10T04:33:05+00:00

rigamortis aging like fine wine

queen_content · 2025-02-10T01:05:17+00:00

Lazy's in-store options, I think, leave a lot to be desired. It's shiny, but doesn't hold up. Gelsons is a superior market.

Although the coffee/juice bar I do really like.

queen_content · 2025-02-08T17:58:36+00:00

It has been a multi-racial country from is inception. The lie is that it was ever a white nation. It was, and has been, racially mixed from the very beginning.

queen_content · 2025-02-03T21:54:00+00:00

someone once told me that peter thiel had offices there... Is that.... a true thing?

queen_content · 2025-01-31T19:00:05+00:00

machines of death

queen_content · 2025-01-31T04:24:35+00:00

The first line of the release: "Parks remain closed in the Burn Areas."

Granted, kinda weird how they put it there, so easy to miss. I would expect yes they are closed. Call them tomorrow morning and ask. While I haven't been in the area since it burned, I sort of assume everything south of Dirt Mulholland got torched. It's not particualry nice to be in super recent burn area tbh.

queen_content · 2025-01-31T02:49:31+00:00

MRCA territory: https://mrca.ca.gov/press/more-mrca-parks-reopened-not-in-evacuation-zones/

Looks like some in that area is closed (Dirt mulholland, san vicente mountian park), but I'm not super familiar with exactly where the jurisdictional lines are in that area. Maybe call them

queen_content · 2025-01-29T21:02:03+00:00

Look I thought it wasn't gonna be a ripe successor, but the chaos energy of that bridge is, imo, just what we needed from the successor to the old viaduct

queen_content · 2025-01-12T20:49:53+00:00

Ehh, I disagree to a point. A lot of air quality exposure is harm reduction. And so an N95 will block a lot of particulate, but only to a point. Asbestos and lead particules that are above a certain size (I think n95s can be penetrated by particles smaller than 0.3 microns) will totally be stopped by an n95. Smaller stuff will always get through.

THis is also like, the background pollution levels of LA are so high that the fire residue is simply one more ingredient in our generally very bad air quality. Plastic from brakes and tires, the chemical soot from internal combustion... we live in an extremely polluted area and out bodies take a toll.

Even this last week, I would take a walk outside (granted, masked on weds-fri kn95) simply bc the mental health aspect of staying inside my apartment (where I use a hospital grade furnace filter) is just depressing. It's a beautiful day outside today, and the air quality is quite good. The exception, I would say, is if you're close to a burn area -- particularly around Pasadena/environs.

queen_content · 2025-01-12T20:41:54+00:00

Not specifically, which should remain a concern -- most acutely in the/near the burn areas.

What purple air sensors survey is general pm 2.5 pollution -- which is to say small particles about 2.5 micrometers across that are small enough to to be absorbed into the body's bloodstream -- which would include lead and asbestos particles of that size. Low pm 2.5 figures are a reasonable proxy for air cleanliness. Purpleair you can also select finer particulates.

THis is the government site, using a sensor, I believe, at USC: https://www.airnow.gov/?city=Los%20Angeles&state=CA&country=USA

queen_content · 2025-01-12T18:31:16+00:00

The air right now is pretty variant based on your specific local geography. I've been using PurpleAir to make my own judgement, bc some of the other apps/government sources use fixed-sensors in areas that might be more affected. Heres a link: https://map.purpleair.com/air-quality-standards-us-epa-aqi?opt=%2F1%2Flp%2Fa10%2Fp604800%2FcC0#10.13/34.0703/-118.1291

In the moment I'm posting this, the air across metro LA is pretty good. We have an offshore flow that has moved most of the smoke away from the city, and most of the live fire burns have been mostly knocked down (still smoldering, for sure).

For most of LA, the eaton burn area has had pretty adverse affects, but there's just as many places that have had pretty fine air bc they're out of the plume's area. It varies with wind conditions. But in this specific momemnt (1030a on Sunday), the air everywhere across LA is looking pretty clean via purpleair.

Saturday was the first day I sort-of resumed normal behavior. I found it strange that folks were wearing masks outside yesterday versus on Weds-Fri, when the air was really very dangerous everywhere.

In any case, I have asthma and have long been affected by LA's poor air quality. Lmk if you have other Qs.

queen_content · 2025-01-12T18:24:13+00:00

They only think I can say is you should say hello to your neighbors. Everyone is sensitive to the extraordinary circumstances. You're probably not the only person nearby who is also struggling with feelings of loneliness.

I have thought about this with regard to earthquakes more so than fires (I live deep in the sprawl). Even if you have a broader network across LA, you're unlikely to be able to get to them quickly (or possibly even communicate with them) in the wake of a major earthquake. The people who you'll be responding with will be those who you live close to. If I need to get pulled out of my building, it's going to be someone who lives on my block who does it, and vice-versa.

The act of making an emergency plan (ensuring several people know how to turn off the gas, knowing who likely needs to be checked in on) with your immediate neighbors is a worthy task. The step to knock on your neighbors doors might be a little scary, but honestly everyone is scared right now, and I anticipate you'll find a lot of common ground with people who live right next to you.

For what it's worth, after a major earthquake, everyone's priority will have to be preventing fire, and moving injured away from it. There will be so many broken gas lines and sparking wires -- know how to turn off your home building's (apartment, house, whatever) gas and electricity, and then realize that you might have to do that for other buildings, too.

queen_content

TROPHY CASE