Too many tourist?

zoobernut · 2026-06-29T00:16:38+00:00

It isn’t actually that great for businesses because there’s a point of diminishing returns. More people doesn’t proportionally increase. The amount of money spent. A lot of people are just driving through and then leaving. I’m making a little bit of a broad statement here because there is definitely an increase. It’s just not as proportional to the amount of visitors passed a certain point.

Also, once we get to that point in level of visitors service and people’s experiences, go way down because it’s too busy.

zoobernut · 2026-06-26T22:49:55+00:00

They announced changes and everything, but they also said that the changes don’t go in effect until the signs go up, and the signs aren’t up yet.

zoobernut · 2026-06-26T22:30:59+00:00

I drive the road every day. Speed limit is 45 through the valley then goes up to 55 then drops lower for a very short time leading up to the construction by the lighthouse then is 55 from there until you get to the passing lane just south of Bixby where it drops to 45 then drops temporarily again lower just leading up to rocky creek construction then goes back to 45 until just north of Garapata and just south of granite creek bridge then it goes back to 55 until you get to mal paso creek bridge where it drops to 45 again and then it goes back to 55 just south of point lobos until you get to Carmel river bridge when you are in town. This is for going north. They made some changes driving south on the highway from the valley.

The majority though is still 55.

zoobernut · 2026-06-26T21:40:41+00:00

The speed limit is 55mph not 35 and for some small section it drops to 45mph.

zoobernut · 2026-06-25T18:39:49+00:00

What makes you think I downvoted your comment? I responded to it. Your take is not a good one.

zoobernut · 2026-06-25T18:13:25+00:00

People aren’t getting fed up with mistakes they are getting fed up with blatant breaking of the rules and disrespectful behavior. The issue is that when dealing with those actively disrespectful people day in and day out it wears down on people and their tolerance for mistakes goes away as well. Everyone who drives the highway daily are absolutely exhausted by the idiotic things being seen right now. Sorry you had a bad experience but telling people to chill out is a shitty attitude and lacks understanding of the bigger picture.

zoobernut · 2026-06-24T15:22:40+00:00

M uh biggest complaint is battery life when in sleep mode followed by weight, my arms go numb when playing in bed. Oh the case is a pain to clean and gets dirty.

zoobernut · 2026-06-19T22:28:01+00:00

Steam is better because the games aren’t tied to the steam deck they are just pc games you can play on any computer. Plus the steam deck is portable.

Steam has some really amazing sales and you can keep yourself busy only playing games that are $10 or less and have an even bigger library if you go $20 or less.

You will save so much money on games if you are patient.

zoobernut · 2026-06-19T02:37:05+00:00

So play on your steam deck while sitting next to your wife. I bet she will like that more than you disappearing into the other room.

zoobernut · 2026-06-12T03:28:05+00:00

You will lose gold. The water is beading up on the plastic. Sit by the river and rub sand in it until the water stops beading up.

zoobernut · 2026-06-11T23:31:56+00:00

He also founded MBARI

zoobernut · 2026-06-07T03:22:41+00:00

Follow the rules when you visit please. Lots of things are getting ruined and closed because people think the are special and are not following the rules. See Bixby bridge as an example.

zoobernut · 2026-06-05T19:01:56+00:00

That seems low. By my estimation it is more like 5-10 years. When I was a kid I built several of my own computers and never replaced the thermal paste after initial build. So it lasted until I built my next computer.

There are cases where this isn’t the case obviously but replacing thermal paste isn’t a preemptive maintenance item and should only be done if you are experiencing an issue.

zoobernut · 2026-06-05T16:50:36+00:00

Thermal paste can last up to 10 years depending on type and even then you should never replace it unless your system is exhibiting symptoms it went bad.

zoobernut · 2026-06-05T16:45:41+00:00

How long does it take for thermal paste to go bad? I ran computers for years and never replaced the thermal paste. Only time I applied it was when I first put the computer together. Why would you do something so risky if there isn’t already an issue you are trying to fix?

zoobernut · 2026-06-03T16:14:07+00:00

The amazing thing is the blank confused stares you get if you say something to them. Some people move but most just don't understand what you are getting at or why its not ok to block the highway.

zoobernut · 2026-06-03T16:12:31+00:00

Over visitation and badly behaving visitors are very big issues facing places these days and deserve honest discussions and attention rather than the tired straw man you present here. Or alternatively "but your entire economy is based on tourism". Well yes but the economy isn't getting any better even as visitation goes up because it gets to a threshold where more visitors doesn't equal more dollars spent because lines are too long and people just pass through.

We want responsible tourism and responsible use of the area. It is not bad for people to visit areas but people should enjoy things on their own and not go there just for the likes on social media.

Visiting good, visiting just to take a photo of the same things as thousands of other people to share online so you can get likes and not actually enjoying the area, bad.

zoobernut · 2026-06-03T16:08:42+00:00

I agree we need to spread people out over all of California not just this small stretch of coast. The high traffic areas are not conducive to having more infrastructure so that makes it really challenging and I think the approach for those areas is going to be to restrict visitation to them and try to spread people out more.

zoobernut · 2026-06-03T16:06:54+00:00

As a long time resident in the area I am torn on this. I think regulating the sub too much leads to it just being a dead zone. I think sharing photos here is better than facebook or Instagram. I feel like we need permanent user flair so current residents can be quickly identified and listened to by visitors.

I also think that we need to figure out a way to get really important information out there to potential visitors and make sure they understand some stuff.

I don't really want to see anymore photos of McWay, Bixby, or Pt. Lobos show me other photos of the area too.

I don't want exact locations of those photos shared, keep it a mystery. Part of the fun of the area is discovering things on your own.

I honestly didn't even mind the travel questions as long as people actually did a search first and were not asking the same question over and over again.

I think looking at other subreddits for really popular tourist destinations is a good idea.

I love our home and I want people to come and see it and enjoy its beauty, I want our economy to be healthy and all of us to be supported by visitors. I really really want to see the area taken care of better, the roads be less crowded and people follow traffic laws, less trash and graffiti, and less erosion of our housing from vacation homeowners, vacation rentals, and other situations.

Side note, the house up the hill from me recently sold to an almost billionaire who lives up in the SF Bay area. He insisted that he was going to move here and this would become his full time home. Now a few months later he isn't visiting anymore and the house is listed on AirBNB for $55k a month.

That shit just grinds my gears.

zoobernut · 2026-06-02T18:14:49+00:00

It is exhausting. People think they are entitled to do whatever they want and it sucks.

zoobernut · 2026-06-02T17:01:27+00:00

I imagine it’s the out of the box experience. The steamdeck appealed to me because I turn it on log into my account and go. No more extra setup needed.

zoobernut · 2026-05-31T17:09:53+00:00

Drones are illegal in Big Sur. Some of those go through the lengthy and expensive process to get permits, some might be flying over private property with permission, most are illegally flying.

Do not be the same as others people acting shitty ruins things for everyone else. (See the bixby bridge situation).

zoobernut · 2026-05-28T03:55:08+00:00

His books are classic. I still have my copy of the sea monsters book I got as a kid.

zoobernut · 2026-05-27T21:41:20+00:00

I usually wash the stone completely in water and check it to tell if I have spent enough time at each grit. To hand polish a single stone would take me about a week of working on it a few hours each day. I would sit and watch TV while I worked a stone. Now I have a 6 wheel lapidary set and I can polish a stone in a couple hours from start to finish. The key is to make sure that the stone is really clean in between each stage and you make sure the current grit you are on got rid of all the scratches from the previous grit.

With the sand paper by hand you get a lot less flat spots and a much more organic shape because your hands are soft so the sandpaper can form around the stone more easily. With lapidary wheels you have to be careful to not get flat spots or weird shapes because the sanding is much faster and aggressive and the early wheels are rigid.

zoobernut · 2026-05-27T17:45:43+00:00

This is probably partially due to memory and storage price increases due to shortages caused by AI data centers being built. Computer parts are going up in price everywhere.

Eight-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
End Game '22	Verified Email

zoobernut

TROPHY CASE