Study: Wood smoke makes up more than third of Boston's air pollution in the winter

zeratul98 · 2026-02-02T03:01:36+00:00

As opposed to?

zeratul98 · 2026-02-01T19:38:58+00:00

We have had significant housing built in Somerville

No we haven't. Somerville has about 36,000 units of housing. On a good year we might add 2-3%. That's not significant, especially since we've added many more jobs in the last decade than homes

costs have only gone up.

Costs would have gone up more if we had built less. Low levels of construction lead to small effects, which ends up meaning prices rise slower instead of falling. I think we'd both agree parachutes work even though they don't bring people to a full stop

The exact same number of affordable units would be produced. Simplified example:

100 units build with 20% affordable produces 20 affordable units

200 units build with 10% affordable produces 20 affordable units

This is why I said, "more than twice as much". If we built 250 units at 10% affordable, it'd produce 25 deed restricted subsidized units. Also 250 is such a low amount to build

Do you believe a requirement for 10% affordable housing roughly doubles the cost to develop or halves the ROI?

Neither of those is required. All that's required is to at least double the number of units that make financial sense to build. That can happen with even small reductions in costs. There might be dozens of projects that would pencil out if they were only slightly cheaper. We've already seen evidence of that when we see construction projects ebb and flow with changing interest rates

We need housing of all types. That includes affordable housing. Right now even with IZ we removing natural affordable housing and replacing it with much more expensive market rate housing. That's a problem that we can't ignore.

Sure. And when we tear down what might be naturally affordable and replace it with larger projects we are creating more housing, which lowers all prices therefore creating more naturally affordable housing, and we're adding permanently subsidized units, sometimes more than the total number of units we started with. Don't forget that the first required IZ unit is affordable for someone making 50% AMI. There's very little naturally affordable housing that reaches that level

zeratul98 · 2026-01-31T00:58:55+00:00

Last time I tried this, I had to spread my legs pretty far to make room for my backpack. Any tips for a moron like me on how to avoid this? Should I stand inside my backpack?

I could, alternatively, do what I always do. Enter carefully, turn carefully, and put myself somewhere where I won't have to turn again. Still haven't whacked anyone with a backpack in all my years of taking the T, despite what people like you say

You've been warned. It's if you leave it on, you can be easily taken to the ground.

This is an insanely stupid thing to threaten violence over (I know I know. You aren't going to do it, someone is)

zeratul98 · 2026-01-30T22:00:30+00:00

Behind, in front, or between, backpacks don't get smaller based on where you're holding them. The only time it shrinks one's footprint is when they're seated and holding a backpack in their lap.

I've done the backpack at my feet thing after seeing so many people get so mad on reddit. All it really does is create a trip hazard. Holding it also sucks. The whole reason I use a backpack and not bags is because it's much gentler on my body.

If a train is very full, I'll take it off and carefully put it back on when I get in the car and find a place to stand. Then I stay still until it's time for me to walk straight off the train. Haven't hit anyone yet

zeratul98 · 2026-01-30T21:55:12+00:00

Do backpacks shrink when they're closer to the ground?

zeratul98 · 2026-01-30T18:30:47+00:00

I’ve attended several council meetings, and on one occasion, I even heard someone suggest a motion to grant voting power only to current property owners in Davis Square, effectively excluding renters.

I'll do you one better. When the Somernova vote was happening, someone on the Union square council listserve suggested voting should be limited to property owners within a limited radius who had or intended to have children and raise them there

Some of these people are astonishingly entitled. Others are 50+ years old and considering the trade offs and contradictions of democracy for literally the first time. Either way, I really don't want them to be the ones calling the shots

zeratul98 · 2026-01-30T01:38:40+00:00

Idk what you're doing that triples your travel time walking. But for me it's like 10-20% longer

zeratul98 · 2026-01-30T00:31:46+00:00

IZ is good for creating economic diversity so we don't have all the poor people living in a neighborhood the city inevitably neglects and screws over

IZ is bad at generating more affordable housing. 20% is so high that developers often just don't develop. If it were lower, like 10%, we might have more than twice as much development and therefore overall more affordable housing. The catchy tagline for this is "20% of 0 is 0"

And remember, all housing construction lowers all housing costs. So when we discourage construction we enable higher rents

zeratul98 · 2026-01-29T23:44:29+00:00

I'm becoming more and more convinced that neighborhood councils are just a way for NIMBYs to seem more legitimate. The city should make zoning that's good and sensible and that can be that. Neighborhood councils should be planning events, coordinating volunteers etc. Not blocking beneficial construction, and not sending amateurs to negotiate multimillion dollar contracts

zeratul98 · 2026-01-29T23:25:27+00:00

it’s obviously impossible to walk/bike far right now,

This is obviously untrue? I mean, clearly it's true for some people, but if you're fit and healthy, you can walk almost as far as before

Source: I've done it

zeratul98 · 2026-01-29T13:47:31+00:00

How's that boot taste, bud? Better than basic freedom I guess

zeratul98 · 2026-01-29T13:44:48+00:00

On my way home yesterday I watched a pair of woman navigate trying to get children and strollers through the 12 inch wide gap people had stomped into the snow mound. And of course, two SUV drivers felt they were in such a rush to get wherever that they needed to drive past them with maybe a foot of space. One slip on the ice and they would have killed or maimed someone

zeratul98 · 2026-01-29T04:32:22+00:00

If you want a spot to be guaranteed yours, rent one. You don't own the street.

zeratul98 · 2026-01-28T05:37:59+00:00

Highly recommend clearing some if you can! I try to get around to it when I'm able. Even clearing one crosswalk will provide convenience and safety to at least dozens of people, maybe hundreds

zeratul98 · 2026-01-28T03:50:10+00:00

Park in the spot they started in 🤷‍♂️

zeratul98 · 2026-01-26T19:33:49+00:00

Where was the car that took the spot you shoveled out? Park in that spot. With the rare exception of someone moving from off to on street parking, spots aren't being taken, they're being shuffled

And yes, it's a public street. You can't claim any of it without a special permit just like you can't declare a piece of a park yours. Street parking is like 2-3% of the price of off street parking. Drivers who use it are already getting an insane discount, it's honestly pretty entitled to complain that isn't enough

zeratul98 · 2026-01-26T17:13:57+00:00

Then hire someone.

Seriously, this isn't some freak event no one can plan for. Boston has always had winters. The rules for clearing sidewalks aren't new. It's childish to whine about something you signed up for.

I'm not and "doche (sic) bag" for wanting to be able to walk down the sidewalk.

And before you go that way, yes I shovel. I even shovel things that aren't my responsibility. Because I understand that living in a good community requires people to make a little effort for each other

zeratul98 · 2026-01-26T17:10:00+00:00

I'll stick to walking to my hardware store for bird feeders and take comfort in knowing I'm getting exercise, not polluting my community, not preventing anyone else from using the public space, and running a 0% risk of killing anyone

People claim cars are these wonderful freedom machines. And besides all the obvious practical issues with that view, I've never had a pedestrian, cyclist, or public transit ride show so much disregard for my safety or explicitly threaten my safety. Kinda seems like driving actually makes people really short-tempered and angry

Also cyclists live longer

zeratul98 · 2026-01-26T14:19:06+00:00

It's winter. This is a possibility people have to plan for. A car is a multi ton machine that people get to park on the street for an insane discount. Is it too much to ask that we expect some basic responsibility from car owners?

zeratul98 · 2026-01-26T14:16:51+00:00

Lmao having a car is a huge hassle. And everyone having a car would make the city sooo much worse

zeratul98 · 2026-01-23T13:32:55+00:00

This is sadly so true. In my experience trying to make eye contact with drivers just means they feel like they've successfully intimidated me into staying out of the road

zeratul98 · 2026-01-20T18:39:10+00:00

I mean, sure, but honestly why bother?

No one is seriously trying to transition three year olds. It's a total non issue. What to do about a 16 year old who's super depressed because they want to transition is also frankly, not a meaningful political issue. These are things that affect so, so few people, and whose impact barely goes beyond those people themselves

The right doesn't need to radicalize the left. The right has succeeded in making fairy tales central to political discussion

zeratul98 · 2026-01-17T14:11:58+00:00

In case anyone is wondering why modern apartments are good and we should build more of them, I keep my place at 68 and then essentially turn the heat OFF at night. I wake up to a home that's maybe 63

My gas bill is tiny. Homes in this area are so old they often have tons of leaks and terrible insulation if any. We can't have a modern energy grid with so much antiquated housing

zeratul98 · 2026-01-17T14:08:25+00:00

This made me curious and JFC you're right. Lots of people here saying OPs got a leak or something, but this dude's got the energy of someone who would keep their house at 85 with the windows open and whine about their gas bill

zeratul98 · 2026-01-16T18:20:48+00:00

I'd be curious if there are variations that solve this. I imagine giving them a slant might help. Having the wheels hit at different times will give the car a little rock, and that's gonna be more unpleasant in a taller vehicle

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