The suburbs of Greece
I am pretty sure they remind me of that old Microsoft Windows pipes screensaver. Very conservative, Trump loving country out this way, although the suburbs are somewhat turned off by his silliness.
Urban Life
Bicycling Changes the Way You Look at a Map 🚵
Most roads and maps are built for automobiles.
When driving, you usually want the most direct route, or at least the route with the least amount of traffic, the highest speed limit, and the fewest stoplights and stop signs. In other words, the fastest route or the one that gets you to your destination with the least amount of stress from traffic.
But on a bicycle, your priorities are different.
For one, bicycles are allowed on bike paths and to take shortcuts that are prohibited, frowned upon, or impossible to take in an automobile. It is often acceptable to cut through the woods on a bike or through a parking lot. This opens alternative routes. But more fundamentally, what bicyclists want to avoid — namely busy streets with motor vehicle traffic, especially those without shoulders and complicated intersections with traffic lights. Bicyclists often want to avoid steep hills, and will choose a longer route to avoid hills. The quiet suburban subdivision might be the preferred route for the bicyclist, even if some of the side streets are a less direct way to get from Point A to Point B.
Rediscovering my neighborhood and finding optimal bicycle routes is bringing me great joy compared to using a car.
Air Pollution from Western Wildfires, July 20, 2021
Median Model Year of Automobiles in NY State
Automobiles in rural areas tend to be significantly older then urban areas, especially around New York City.
Data Source: NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, Registration File, Median Vehicle Year by Zip Code (All vehicles; this includes snowmobiles and ATVs).
Blackie, my new mountain bike
61% Worry About Being Crime Victim; Half Worry About Their Safety in Public Places – Siena College Research Institute
Sixty-one percent of New Yorkers are either very (21%) or somewhat (40%) concerned that they might be a victim of a crime according to a new survey of New York residents released today from the Siena College Research Institute (SCRI). Fifty-one percent of state residents have been concerned about their or their family’s safety in public places including schools, stores or houses of worship and over a third, 36%, of all New Yorkers have felt threatened over the past year in a public place by a stranger’s behavior.
Forty percent of state residents have spent $100 or more in the last year on goods or services that make them feel safer or more protected from crime. Twelve percent have spent more than $500. About a third have purchased home security cameras (34%) or security lights with motion sensors (32%). A quarter have hired a professionally monitored home security system. One out of every six New Yorkers has taken a self-defense class and 12% have purchased a firearm for self-defense.
Nearly 1 in 10 New Yorkers has over the past year been physically assaulted (9%) and similarly, 9% have been the victim of a burglary. Nearly 40% have witnessed violent or threatening behavior among others in a public setting. Forty-one percent say that they have “never been this worried about their personal safety as they are today” while a majority, 58%, say that they are no more worried about being the victim of a crime today than they have been in the past.
That's how I kind of feel about my bicycle, having to get a heavy bicycle lock and just the number of homeless people and litter downtown. Maybe it's just I'm noticing it more since being away from the city during the pandemic, but it just seems like the streets are a lot rougher then they once were.