Containerization could dovetail nicely with daylighting all NYC intersections so that pedestrians stop getting needlessly murdered by 2,000+lb death cages.
My Brooklyn landlord had a "rat stick" too! It was wrought iron and scary looking. Always in the front by the trash cans. I had a whole new level of respect for her after I learned what that stick was for.
I then moved to London and actively avoided living in older buildings where you need to put your trash out on the pavement (either in plastic bags or in a container depending on the area) and need to know collection days, because that just seemed like too much hustle. New builds always have a bin storage area, and the bins are similar size to the ones in Madrid, but are made of metal which feels like a more durable solution (they also look nicer/cleaner). Also +1 to the underground trash cans in Amsterdam, such a cool solution when you don't have much space.
Books wise, I really enjoyed "When the Dust Settles" by Lucy Easthope, whose job is to create action plans for when disasters happen (think 9/11, covid, tsunamis), and then help with recovery. Really gives you that nice feeling of "at least someone is thinking these things through".
I don't usually read fiction, but last year I read two books by R. F. Kuang, "Yellowface" and "Babel", and loved how angry people get as soon as you mention them. They are so hated by the fiction community. Great books, very addictive.
I'm reading the "The Expanse" series of science fiction novels, currently reading book 5, Nemesis Games, by James S.A. Corey (also I just learned this is a pen name for two collaborators, so cool). Awesome books, can't recommend them enough! It's kind of like Foundation or Dune, but it is more character based and focuses more on personal stories. The one I'm reading now has themes around found family and redemption, among other things.
I also want to read Patrick Stewart's new book. I heard a great interview with him on Bullseye that made my heart melt, especially as someone who grew up watching Star Trek.
I’m annoyed at myself for writing this, but PJ hit on a tiny pet peeve of mine: calling everything that’s not a big city a suburb.
I lived in NYC for 15 years and now I live in a small town in Arkansas, that my NYC friends insist on calling a suburb. It’s not. We are not close to any big city. We’re just a small town (with good containerized trash). I feel like suburbs mean a specific thing that has some historical connotations with things like white flight and the post WWII era politics- and these are different from small towns. (I mean everything is related but… you hopefully get my point). Loved this episode!
I finally listened to this and just to add another layer, we have this same issue in LA. I’m that person fighting with a 13lb dog over these bones, which are EVERYWHERE in LA. So, I don’t know if this impacts their research…we have rats here, but mostly fruit rats that maybe also eat chicken????? But either way, thank you for investigating. This has vexed me for many years!!!
Really enjoyed this episode! Ironically, after I saw part 1 in my feed, but before I listened to it, I was out walking my dog in Portland at like 8pm in the cold rain. There was a big dumb pickup truck idling next to the park, which caught my attention because people don't usually hang around this particular sleepy neighborhood, and I generally think trucks are too big so I always have a bit of mental fist-shaking at truck drivers for driving such a dumb vehicle. Anyways, we walked our normal loop, and came back to the park to dispose of a bag of poop. The truck was gone, but in the exact same spot: a pile of chicken bones!! There's no way any animal moved the bones to this pile in the time we had left; I found a real life asshole who just litters their meal trash.
I'm reading "The Great Believers" and it is the first historical fiction novel that I have truly enjoyed. Rebecca Makkai's second novel, "I Have Some Questions For You," was really enjoyable but a very different tone - I'm glad I read them 'out of order'!
I’m a few years late to this rec but I was given “Gideon the Ninth” for Christmas and absolutely ripped through it. Lots of fun, with what I can only describe as an extremely Online voice (but not in a toxic way).
All week, the path I thought this would take was asking if the bones are chicken. The Lone Gunmen of Manny, Noah, and Devan talked about pigeons and rats, but always assumed the bones were chicken- what happens when the pigeons and rats die? Not being in the city and seeing the bones myself, I assumed the bones might be theirs. Aren’t rats eating pigeon bones and leaving those bones behind?
On the book list, my current obsession is Walt Hickey’s We Are What We Watch, a scientific look at how pop culture affects us. For example, they measured chemicals in the air during movie screenings and correlated CO2 levels with exciting scenes. They matched polls on space exploration to a timeline of sci-fi films and tv shows. They tracked the wait times for the Pirates of the Caribbean rides compared to when each film came out. The whole book is packed with research like this, and I can’t put it down.
Becky Chambers’ novella “To Be Taught, If Fortunate” made me think a lot about what it would really take for humans to ever explore space in person, and why we still want to do it anyway.
As far as books I just finished “The Heat Will Kill You First” by Jeff Gooddell which was informative but awful for someone with anxiety about climate change. Still recommend though!
Containerization could dovetail nicely with daylighting all NYC intersections so that pedestrians stop getting needlessly murdered by 2,000+lb death cages.
Missed an opportunity to talk about the Alberta Rat War! Decoder Ring did a great episode: https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2021/11/rats-alberta The province claims to be the only place in the world without rats.
My Brooklyn landlord had a "rat stick" too! It was wrought iron and scary looking. Always in the front by the trash cans. I had a whole new level of respect for her after I learned what that stick was for.
I grew up in Moscow, where most, if not all, apartment buildings had an internal garbage chute system — you just open a small door on your floor and throw the garbage bag in, and it falls down to the containers on the ground floor. https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/02/00/87/17/1000_F_200871792_b8E0pLb0n7zHOXqlAVb18LGfHgolciq4.jpg
I then moved to London and actively avoided living in older buildings where you need to put your trash out on the pavement (either in plastic bags or in a container depending on the area) and need to know collection days, because that just seemed like too much hustle. New builds always have a bin storage area, and the bins are similar size to the ones in Madrid, but are made of metal which feels like a more durable solution (they also look nicer/cleaner). Also +1 to the underground trash cans in Amsterdam, such a cool solution when you don't have much space.
Books wise, I really enjoyed "When the Dust Settles" by Lucy Easthope, whose job is to create action plans for when disasters happen (think 9/11, covid, tsunamis), and then help with recovery. Really gives you that nice feeling of "at least someone is thinking these things through".
I don't usually read fiction, but last year I read two books by R. F. Kuang, "Yellowface" and "Babel", and loved how angry people get as soon as you mention them. They are so hated by the fiction community. Great books, very addictive.
I'm reading the "The Expanse" series of science fiction novels, currently reading book 5, Nemesis Games, by James S.A. Corey (also I just learned this is a pen name for two collaborators, so cool). Awesome books, can't recommend them enough! It's kind of like Foundation or Dune, but it is more character based and focuses more on personal stories. The one I'm reading now has themes around found family and redemption, among other things.
I also want to read Patrick Stewart's new book. I heard a great interview with him on Bullseye that made my heart melt, especially as someone who grew up watching Star Trek.
I’m annoyed at myself for writing this, but PJ hit on a tiny pet peeve of mine: calling everything that’s not a big city a suburb.
I lived in NYC for 15 years and now I live in a small town in Arkansas, that my NYC friends insist on calling a suburb. It’s not. We are not close to any big city. We’re just a small town (with good containerized trash). I feel like suburbs mean a specific thing that has some historical connotations with things like white flight and the post WWII era politics- and these are different from small towns. (I mean everything is related but… you hopefully get my point). Loved this episode!
I finally listened to this and just to add another layer, we have this same issue in LA. I’m that person fighting with a 13lb dog over these bones, which are EVERYWHERE in LA. So, I don’t know if this impacts their research…we have rats here, but mostly fruit rats that maybe also eat chicken????? But either way, thank you for investigating. This has vexed me for many years!!!
Really enjoyed this episode! Ironically, after I saw part 1 in my feed, but before I listened to it, I was out walking my dog in Portland at like 8pm in the cold rain. There was a big dumb pickup truck idling next to the park, which caught my attention because people don't usually hang around this particular sleepy neighborhood, and I generally think trucks are too big so I always have a bit of mental fist-shaking at truck drivers for driving such a dumb vehicle. Anyways, we walked our normal loop, and came back to the park to dispose of a bag of poop. The truck was gone, but in the exact same spot: a pile of chicken bones!! There's no way any animal moved the bones to this pile in the time we had left; I found a real life asshole who just litters their meal trash.
Book rec: Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Funniest book I’ve read in years.
I'm reading "The Great Believers" and it is the first historical fiction novel that I have truly enjoyed. Rebecca Makkai's second novel, "I Have Some Questions For You," was really enjoyable but a very different tone - I'm glad I read them 'out of order'!
I’m a few years late to this rec but I was given “Gideon the Ninth” for Christmas and absolutely ripped through it. Lots of fun, with what I can only describe as an extremely Online voice (but not in a toxic way).
This is a gull in Chicago https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102941137299100&set=a.626241300280&type=3
All week, the path I thought this would take was asking if the bones are chicken. The Lone Gunmen of Manny, Noah, and Devan talked about pigeons and rats, but always assumed the bones were chicken- what happens when the pigeons and rats die? Not being in the city and seeing the bones myself, I assumed the bones might be theirs. Aren’t rats eating pigeon bones and leaving those bones behind?
On the book list, my current obsession is Walt Hickey’s We Are What We Watch, a scientific look at how pop culture affects us. For example, they measured chemicals in the air during movie screenings and correlated CO2 levels with exciting scenes. They matched polls on space exploration to a timeline of sci-fi films and tv shows. They tracked the wait times for the Pirates of the Caribbean rides compared to when each film came out. The whole book is packed with research like this, and I can’t put it down.
Becky Chambers’ novella “To Be Taught, If Fortunate” made me think a lot about what it would really take for humans to ever explore space in person, and why we still want to do it anyway.
...if you crave more punk anecdotes, one of my favorite oral histories is "Please Kill Me" by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain...so many depraved gems in that read.... https://pleasekillme.com/please-kill-uncensored-oral-history-punk-book/ ...
I love the underground trash cans in Amsterdam. https://www.core77.com/posts/102208/Amsterdams-Smart-System-of-Underground-Garbage-Bins
As far as books I just finished “The Heat Will Kill You First” by Jeff Gooddell which was informative but awful for someone with anxiety about climate change. Still recommend though!