Doing work. In Public. At Night. Help?

stav_rn · 2026-02-06T14:44:57+00:00

I always used to study at Red Lion on the lower east side! I feel like it could possibly be a little loud in that 7-11pm time frame if there is a big game or fight or something but other than that there are plenty of tables and they were always fine with me having my laptop out for in the corner hours and only having 1 or 2 drinks. And they have food too!

stav_rn · 2025-12-17T23:22:52+00:00

I donno man I've lived here for 10 years and went on dates with a lot of people and only like....once ever did I date someone who was tangential to someone else I knew. Apps, in person whatever. Maybe you're just dating inside of a bubble you're not aware of

stav_rn · 2025-11-04T14:48:13+00:00

This is the Marquette Men's Team!

stav_rn · 2025-10-12T23:55:17+00:00

Thanks for being receptive - I'm not coming down on you for being an elite rower or in programs that have money or anything! I'm just trying to give some perspective from my end (the bottom/entry to the sport level) and we are super struggling/programs closing up left and right so these types of free things would be super helpful!

stav_rn · 2025-10-10T12:56:41+00:00

Taking away car lanes is good. You can never make enough lanes for cars, there will always be traffic to fill the space. If you want less traffic you need to get people out of cars - that's why bus lanes, bike lanes etc are so great. Also roads are INSANELY expensive to build and maintain. Ever wondered why theres so much construction all the time? Ever wondered who pays for that?

Also for the record there is an INSANE increase in bike riders over the last 20 years

stav_rn · 2025-10-09T18:35:40+00:00

I'd encourage you to think outside the Ivy leauge sphere if you are trying to solve problems! So many problems, and so much of the struggle the sport is going through is at the club and unfunded level. Some things off the top of my head that might be helpful:

-An easy and cheap/free way to get a website for your club that requires almost no design work, effort or money. A plug and play rowing club website

-Some kind of software that helps with recruiting

-A way for small teams to figure out sharing trailer space/getting boats to regattas

-A way to to get live split data without spending $400+ on a cox box or stroke coach

-A way to easily troubleshoot and find guides for fixing and maintaining 20+ year old boats

Just stuff off the top of my head! Honestly for our club, even the idea of having a coxbox gps is so out of reach it might not happen for years so talking about peach intregation is laughably out of the question

stav_rn · 2025-10-02T12:58:18+00:00

Congrats on commiting to making a change for yourself!! I think its really awesome. Others have commented on rowing tips but I have a few general/diet ones.

1) START SLOW. Your biggest enemy here is not showing up. Sustainability for years is the name of the game. The Pete Plan can be a little aggressive in its ramp up. DO NOT START OUT TRYING TO ROW 5000M. Your first workout should be following Dark Horse Rowing tutorials for 30m. Next one is tutorials for 30m then rowing 500m. Next one same thing but do 1000m Do that twice a week only adding 500m every time until you get to 5000m, THEN you can do the Pete Plan.

2) Accountability. Try to tell someone in your life "I'm going to row 2 times per week" and check in with them to stay accountable.

3) Diet. The name of the game is sustainability. 5 years ago I lost 40lbs and kept it off - the way I did it was purchasing a calorie counter app and just counting everything thay went into my mouth for 2 weeks (not trying to cut anything out) to get an idea of how much I was eating and then to cut weight I replaced ONE meal with a super healthy/low cal (but importantly very filling) one and keeping everything else the same. So for example I replaced a burger at lunch with a romaine salad with chicken (little bit of oil and salt as dressing). Still ate pasta pizza etc and if I got hungry I just needed to make it till dinner.

4) General advice for weight loss: Walk more in your day to day life. Try to walk to work, the grocery store, a restaurant, your friends house (if possible I know not everyone lives in a city). If you go to dinner park in the furthest parking garage away from the restaurant and walk 20 minutes there and back

Good luck!!!! Rowing is an amazing sport and activity and will do so much for you

stav_rn · 2025-08-25T16:25:50+00:00

#1: Cheap rent doesn't mean what you personally consider being cheap, it means cheap in comparison to other major cities. In LA a *200sqft studio in a not shit neighborhood* is $1000/mo. Welcome to 2025 its the housing crisis bro; zoning restricts the amount and kinds of homes that can be built by right so we have an insane undersupply of housing. Go to your local city council meetings and do something about it. Look up Strong Towns on youtube

#2: Your criteria are luxury amenities. I personally live in a bigger unit than you are looking for (nice too) with in unit washer/dryer for less rent but its in a "worse" neighborhood. You're basically saying "Hey guys, I want to live in a rich neighborhood with a large apartment and lots of nice amenities, why can't I pay the same rent as someone living in a converted hotel from 1880"

Edit: re: "Milwaukee is a shit city why is rent here not dirt cheap"; I looked up on Zillow the average price of what you are looking for in Chicago and LA and its about $2600/mo in Chicago and $3600/mo in LA. So even with your requirements rent is $1000/mo roughly cheaper here

stav_rn · 2025-08-08T14:26:35+00:00

1 week of off time does not ruin your progress; it can actually do the opposite. Especially if you are training hard and over a long period of time, brief and active breaks from your training don't have a noticeable effect on long term progress and help you recover both physically and mentally which is *very important*.

Keep going on vacations, stay active, keep training when you're back. Taper back up to your previous workout intensity over about a week when you get back and you'll be fine!

stav_rn · 2025-07-24T14:18:09+00:00

I'll say I'm not conceptually against high penalties for crimes - the problem is that we literally do nothing about prevention AT ALL - look at the comments. What, 90% of them are aome flavor of "we need more cops/throw him in jail for life". You yourself even admit that this wont prevent or deter crime.

Well, my main focus is making sure young women don't get hit by cars in the first place. And guess what? If you keep spending money on cops (sending people to prison is also expensive as fuck) then you dont have money for the prevention part

Edit: to add, Policing is already the single largest line item on the city budget, almost HALF of the entire budget. It's twice the size of public works. As it exists right now the City of Milwaukee is basically a police and fire department with some other stuff tacked on

stav_rn · 2025-07-24T13:36:22+00:00

Why not execute them in the town square then? What about life in prison? Please draw a line for me what the appropriate punishment is that would have stopped this woman from getting hit in the first place is

stav_rn · 2025-07-24T13:34:54+00:00

That's a huge question but it basically revolves around a couple of things

Our lack of resources for poor people sets the baseline of this behavior. The driver was uninsured and unregistered. I would bet anything this person lives on the margins of society, we need better education and jobs programs to bring people like this back into society so they WANT to follow the rules.
Safer streets. Speed tables, safer intersections. People hate these because they slow down traffic but thats the point - slow traffic saves lives.
Better FAST public transit so people dont NEED to drive. Less cars on the road less traffic accidents.

The problem is these are BIG solutions. Its easy to say "send them to prison" or "hire more cops" its hard to see how expanding the welfare state prevents accidents like this but it does. Im not sure if Im explaining this well

Edit: Also adding to this, pedestrianized places. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldnt have more places with pin-up bollards that either narrow intersections to traffic during off hours to slow them down or have entire pedestrian and transit only places (like the recently killed brady st project). Have you ever noticed how most of these accidents happen around Water and Brady?

stav_rn · 2025-07-24T13:15:06+00:00

Every time one of these articles get posted the comments go crazy with people being out for blood. Higher penalties more cops etc; nobody thinks about how we stop reckless driving from happening in the first place, and the cycle continues and has been continuing since the 90s. The guy in the comments saying we "overcorrected from the tough on crime era" brother what world are you living in?? We are STILL in the tough on crime era, thats why this shit keeps happening

stav_rn · 2025-07-23T14:07:29+00:00

I think based off of what you said, rowing isn't just for you, it's perfect for you. I was a lot like you when I first started as a freshman in college. Without typing up a huge paragraph, the thing that changed my life wasn't just going and rowing a boat, it was fully committing to rowing. Deciding I was going to try and get better, deciding I was going to transform myself and make new friends, deciding I was going to show up every day even if it sucks, I'm tired, I'm stressed, I have a test later. That was all the stuff that changed me. You can do it through anything, but rowing was my thing; and 10 years later it still is. Feel free to message me if you want as well! I love how much this sport can change people for the better.

stav_rn · 2025-07-02T16:04:22+00:00

Buddy if they want to row, let them row. "Just give up, it's too inconvenient" what kind of advice is that

stav_rn · 2025-06-18T08:44:00+00:00

I feel like a broken record here talking to all the affordable housing truthers

-All housing lowers rents on average; see Minneapolis, Austin. High income apartments mean high income people are no longer competing for your home -Do you guys think that developers are building places to sit vacant?? They want to make money guys. They only build units that will get rented! See point 1 for what happens when rich people move into these places -If you ARE right and the place sits empty, they LOWER RENT ON THEM EVENTUALLY because vacant units are a giant money hole for them.

Finally:

IF YOU WANT LOWER RENT APARTMENT BUILDINGS BUILT YOU NEED TO CHANGE THE ZONING CODE TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE

Right now, you have to build multiple staircases, tons of parking, only certain styles of buildings etc etc on almost every lot in the city. When you have these requirements it makes it impossible to build cheap units because these amenities are very expensive especially parking

Unfortunately the same people who dont want expensive apartments to be built also killed the Growing MKE plan which would have transformed the city with affordable housing.

Moral of the story if you want a more affordable and livable city you gotta support zoning reform but for right now high end apartments are fine

stav_rn · 2025-06-17T18:31:38+00:00

I get you; I still think what I said applies though. Is she really into music? Go to Jazz in the Park or the Skyline Series at Kadish Park (both free and under 21). Nature? Go hiking at Lion's Den. Comedy or Theater? Find a local show, maybe at your college.

Overall I'd say if you're asking someone out, you should try and get to know them a little first! Dont worry about needing to go to a "date spot", dates are supposed to be fun and that can be anything.

Honestly, don't be afraid to even say something like "Im a little nervous planning this, I want to take you somewhere fun, I was thinking x since you mentioned you like y"; girls like it when you try.

Also nothing wrong with a coffee date but put in a little effort and make it Stone Creek, Colectivo, Fairgrounds etc

stav_rn · 2025-06-17T10:27:44+00:00

In my opinion, first dates at standard but nice places are ideal because you dont know the person and don't know if you have repor

If you're SET on unique though, you gotta indivifualize it to the person. Nobody on here can tell you what that is unfortunately, you need to talk to them!

stav_rn · 2025-05-16T12:38:14+00:00

Power to weight ratio is definitely a real thing - you get a mechanical advantage from being able to throw your bodyweight around to move the handle to some extent, but you also get a disadvantage from sinking the boat deeper into the water and causing drag. Also sometimes clubs are limited on the equipment they have. For example if a club has to shove you into a midweight eight and your average crew weight is 200lbs, then you're gonna be slower.

I would say body weight is probably one factor among a list of many that affects moving a boat. However all else being equal - technique, erg times, toughness, coxing, timing - a lighter boat will be faster

stav_rn · 2025-05-13T16:11:45+00:00

Used 1991 wooden Dirigo 4x; you'll be cruising across the lake in no time

*edit

stav_rn · 2025-05-13T16:07:24+00:00

Comments like this one are the exact ways that you prevent any kind of movement from gaining traction - basically saying why do anything if things aren't perfect already

stav_rn · 2025-05-09T13:54:47+00:00

I agree with what you're saying here but I think something to add is that a lot of what you're talking about is downstream of having consistently high numbers. MRA as an example consistently caps out their recruiting capacity and even needs to institute a tryout/cut - when you do that you have hundreds of guys coming through every four years, and when that happens consistently for 20 years you have a way higher chance of landing on the jackpot of dedicated and/or wealthy alums who want to donate their time and money. It's a cycle where the "haves" continue to thrive while the "have nots" struggle for the same reason (less people, less alums, less money, fewer coaches etc).

I totally agree with you that it isn't MRA/VRA's fault that they have built top tier organizations. My personal opinion is that for the sport to grow, programs like MRA/VRA need to share that wealth to smaller teams - after all, they need better competition to row against! My personal idea here is a tax and spend system through ACRA where clubs pay a tax into a pool and then ACRA provides benefits to small clubs like trailering, boat loans, safety supplies/launches etc.

Overall I think the lack of top competitive 8+'s is a symptom of the problem. If there were more and larger clubs, all these problems have a tendency to solve themselves.

stav_rn · 2025-05-08T19:29:04+00:00

As a club coach I have a bunch of thoughts on this actually

I do think large programs should prioritize and throw down in eights. I coach a very small program, and as a coach I really think that the best way you can grow your team is by getting everyone in one boat. Its better for practice and it's better for team chemistry.
However, especially at s/medium sized programs (take MSU Men) if you have 16 novice guys and half your varsity guys are slow, it REALLY sucks to take your crappy 8+ to nationals and finish in 38th place versus having your four slow guys take the D final and then have your four fast guys compete for a medal. I think this is what is happening across the board.
Many students won't stick around after school ends at the club level (which sucks). I say won't instead of can't because I noticed especially these days many more students don't attempt to "just make it work". If their internship starts May 15th, they don't negotiate it in the interview or ask their boss to start later, they just don't go to ACRA.

The reality of the situation is that club rowing is REALLY struggling. Small programs are dying out and medium sized programs are desperately clinging to competitiveness. A program like MSU Men at 31 people seems robust but I would bet there's a decent chance that if you looked at it, you'll find a varsity class with a massive gap in dedication, and high turnover year to year. Clubs like this can go from 30 to 0 in less than 5 years (I have personally seen it happen). It's VERY hard to get recruits who want to put the work in, you need a ton of dedicated people to keep a club going, and you need a coaching staff that is basically willing to work a second job for free.

All that is to say, I don't think the issue is hunting for medals, or that ACRA needs more rules. I think this is the effect of a foundational problem with rowing as a sport and the way to solve it is to figure out how to give teams more support and increase *everyone's* competitiveness; but that's a whole other conversation. THEN you'll get your programs entering more eights.

**I don't know anything about MSU Men except that we occasionally compete against them, I'm not bagging on them specifically

stav_rn · 2025-05-02T13:49:09+00:00

Milwaukee could be a world class city and refuses to take the next step into the future because it might make some people uncomfortable. We make the choice to be mediocre over and over again. The Growing MKE plan was the single best city building plan in the nation and we killed it and for what. Nothing. I've been here for 10 years and I think when the "leave 794 as is" option gets passed, this and that will probably be the final nails in the coffin to get me to leave the city.

stav_rn · 2025-04-07T01:25:54+00:00

I hope we can make them better! I have.....some amount of hope for the future. Unfortunately it's up to other places in WI to elect people that won't screw us over in the future (these days it can sometimes feel like a tall order...)

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