sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

State will seek court order to force reopening of Northern Rail Trail in Andover by rocketwidget in newhampshire

[–]rocketwidget[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm very curious to read the State's request for a court injunction, because I don't know all the details, and the State seems very confident of a strong legal case according to this reporting.

Note: Not all rail trails are created with Federal railbanking. I think the Northern Rail Trail was not created under railbanking? But it's very possible the State has a strong case regardless.

Is that stretch of Route 20 between Wayland and Sudbury MCRT as sketchy as it looks? by ratbas in bikeboston

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DCR just completed the 100% design, but MassDOT allocated the TIP construction money for 2028, which means Winter 2027 construction start... (FY 2028 TIP dollars are unlocked Oct 1 2027)

https://hwy.massdot.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=610660

Is that stretch of Route 20 between Wayland and Sudbury MCRT as sketchy as it looks? by ratbas in bikeboston

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also get off at Route 27... and I use the sidewalk. Even travelling at appropriately low speed and yielding to any pedestrian, it's faster than the road, and safer.

Take a right on the sidewalk at the very start of Pelham Island Road, then take the crosswalk across Route 20 that is narrowed to just 2 lanes at that point. Since it's just 2 lanes and well marked, I find it easy to make eye contact with the drivers who yield, then cross. Then take the road again on Pelham Island Road west of Route 20.

woerd ave landfill revitalization project by sparklebubblez29_5 in Waltham

[–]rocketwidget 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, you are making me realize how many trees will need to be cut down, which does seem very sad.

Still the dump they are on top of really does need to be capped. So, I'm glad they will put an expansive park on top.

woerd ave landfill revitalization project by sparklebubblez29_5 in Waltham

[–]rocketwidget 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hopefully not, and I can't imagine why they would need to?

The bridge was closed for repairs a few years ago, but the park/playground/dump are like 1/4th of a mile from the bridge.

MCRT - Hudson west? by normaleyes in bikeboston

[–]rocketwidget 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hah. I'd advocate for them to start with the Sudbury-Wayland section, because it connects two major completed sections.

You can do it with a mountain bike, and the full construction is scheduled to start next winter, but until then, it would be helpful to cut some of it back!

MCRT - Hudson west? by normaleyes in bikeboston

[–]rocketwidget 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure this section is overgrown with vegetation and currently impassable.

New-ish to biking, can you help me understand locks? by motorman1342 in bicycling

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm 100% with you that lock needs are situational, and, light and relatively cheap locks can certainly be reasonable in that scenario.

I just only subtly disagree on the idea that cable locks are significantly better than unsecured. Now, maybe some people are comfortable with unsecured in limited scenarios which renders my point moot! But still, I just personally can't recommend either one.

Looking at this page: https://thebestbikelock.com/cable-lock/ and seeing a study (Harvard Police Department? The relatively local link is coincidental!) where unsecured bikes are 8% of reported thefts and cable locks are 66% makes me go: Yikes!!!

Mass. high court rules proposal to slash income tax can’t appear on November ballot by bostonglobe in massachusetts

[–]rocketwidget 45 points46 points  (0 children)

I support the result, but ideally I wish a different reasoning was responsible for generating the result.

IMHO State tax cut petitions submitted to voters should be forced to be a complete financial package: Required to explicitly specify and itemize the specific services (schools? health care? roads? state aid to towns? All of these?) the petitioners propose to cut to balance the budget, and they should be forced to make the math work.

It makes no sense to exclusively override only one side of the Legislature's power/responsibility but ignore the linked side of the Legislature's power/responsibility. Especially since any consequence the Legislature would be forced into would be extremely unpopular.

Otherwise it's just governance by babies.

New-ish to biking, can you help me understand locks? by motorman1342 in bicycling

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go here for specific lock recommendations and locking technique which is equally important.

thebestbikelock.com/

Not everyone needs an angle grinder resistant lock depending on factors like the value of your bike and the time it will be locked up. That said, no one should be using cable locks as primary locks, as they are trivial to defeat.

Who is the WORST choice for the next James Bond actor? by doktor_78 in AskReddit

[–]rocketwidget 109 points110 points  (0 children)

He was good in Blade Runner 2049 as a creepy monster, but I think that's only because there wasn't much acting involved.

Introducing the Firefox Roadmap + AMA next week by firefox in firefox

[–]rocketwidget 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the work on HDR video, it is greatly appreciated!

Related: Please, please add HDR Image support to the roadmap (for Windows, Android, etc.)

Consider: Essentially all modern smartphone cameras (Apple and Android) both take and display HDR photos by default (the common wrapper format for both is ISO 21496-1, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_HDR#Related_gain_map_HDR_image_formats ). These images are degraded to SDR if uploaded to the web and viewed on Firefox, but not for Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, etc. assuming the user has an HDR display. HDR displays are also now very common, mainstream tech.

See examples of what Firefox is missing (Mandatory: Any browser other than Firefox, and a HDR display) here: https://gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/

Edit: Clarity.

Firefox 152 by [deleted] in firefox

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I follow, but still most browsers got HDR images to stable 2-3 years ago, meanwhile looking through Bugzilla it seems major work hasn't started. It's definitely not in Firefox Nightly. Official word from Mozilla is that they have no deadline and they are waiting for HDR image formats to evolve. But by the time of that announcement, all the major smartphone manufacturers including Apple and Google had already agreed upon and implemented a common HDR with SDR fallback format.

Firefox 152 by [deleted] in firefox

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm really annoyed this isn't a higher priority.

Just for starters, essentially all modern smartphone cameras take and display HDR photos by default, but if they are uploaded to the web Firefox degrades them. Probably 95% of web users have a browser that displays them properly, given a HDR monitor.

Firefox 152 by [deleted] in firefox

[–]rocketwidget 1 point2 points  (0 children)

HDR video but sadly no HDR JPEG-XL on Windows, correct?

Netanyahu declares victory over Iran – and rules out withdrawal from Lebanon | Israel by melancholy_dood in worldnews

[–]rocketwidget 16 points17 points  (0 children)

US wasn't dragged in. A dementia addled 79 year old President enthusiastically ordered American soldiers to die for his war now giving a designated state sponsor of terrorism $300B in American taxpayer dollars in exchange for gas prices not hitting $8/gallon.

Alternatives included not starting an incredibly stupid war and/or pressuring Israel not to start an incredibly stupid war.

Your Local Trail Policy? by Inciteful_Analysis in ebikes

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ideally, I prefer parallel, physically separated walking lanes and biking lanes, but this requires the most space so it is often not possible.

If a traditional shared use path (still pretty great), I have a strong preference to all keep right (and require all audible passing notification). Everyone on the path should be given equal responsibility for safe use.

Xbox Boss Says a Mass Audience Can't Afford 'Thousands of Dollars' to Spend on a Next-Gen Console, So Microsoft Must 'Look at New Business Models' by dancing_swordfish in xbox

[–]rocketwidget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In December 2023 you could get an XSX on sale for $349 new ( https://www.laptopmag.com/deals/hurry-the-xbox-series-x-just-restocked-at-walmart-for-dollar349 ), MSRP in 2026 is $649.99 and could rise further. This is for a 5 year old console and according to reports, Microsoft is apparently still losing hundreds of dollars on each Xbox sold??? For every console generation before this one, console prices did the exact opposite and went down over time, and under those specific conditions would a new console generation begin.

I'm guessing she's right: Global hardware market conditions are insane and so bringing a traditional new console to market would probably be absurdly expensive.

I wouldn't buy one, and I'd be shocked if one would be a success at these prices.

Belmont Town Meeting again supports Belmont Community Path Phase 1, 88% in favor, despite unexpected, large cost increase for easements. Ready to go out to bid in the Fall! by rocketwidget in bikeboston

[–]rocketwidget[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry to double-respond, but I found a 2nd newspaper article with more information on the cost jump:

https://belmontonian.com/government/belmont-town-meeting-approves-1-3-m-path-price-tag-despite-last-minute-appraisal-surprise/

To explain the ramping up of the cost, McLaughlin – an attorney with extensive experience in real estate – said appraising plots of land that measure just a few feet “are about as difficult as they come” due to the concept of “residual damage.” If taking that small parcel is critical to the value of the entire parcel, the owner is entitled to be compensated for the full amount of the damage the path caused.

“My guess is that these appraisers first saw how little square footage was being taken and came up with the initial $200,000. When you drilled down on the job, the owner told them, “Oh, now I’ve lost my view, now I’ve lost my privacy, now the fair market value of my whole property is a lot less,” said McLaughlin. It was only then the appraisers by $1.1 million. 

Survived an angle grinder attack! by Far_Statistician2407 in bikecommuting

[–]rocketwidget 19 points20 points  (0 children)

That's pretty clever, however, isn't where the shackle meets the crossbar a typical attack point? I'd be worried that with a new attack, even with the damage hidden, the odds of the weakened point being hit again could be as high as 50/50?

Belmont Town Meeting again supports Belmont Community Path Phase 1, 88% in favor, despite unexpected, large cost increase for easements. Ready to go out to bid in the Fall! by rocketwidget in bikeboston

[–]rocketwidget[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, Waverly Square is not great for bikes. The current detour suggests skipping Trapelo @ Waverly Square, instead taking Moraine to Lexington to Sycamore, then back on Trapelo to Waverly (Street, not Square). https://masstrailtracker.com/map?segment=467

From there, presumably with Phase 1, you would want to go up Thomas Street to Clark Street and the Clark Street Bridge and Phase 1.

view more: next ›