@GhostOnTheHalfShell In my search for an apartment, I've been noticing that sometimes stuff is just far away. And I don't think it's just because I'm looking in more remote places where I can afford rent.
Even #Erie doesn't have stores like the Apple Store, which Apple users will sooner or later need to visit, probably multiple times. It has a far more limited selection of car wash places (I need at least one wash per day and I generally have at least one monthly plan). The nearest Whole Foods Market is 90 miles away. The bank I use in #Pittsburgh flatly is not anywhere near (both Erie and Pittsburgh are in western Pennsylvania).
Local substitutes exist, of course. Probably I want to ditch my Pittsburgh bank anyway. But there are things I can get at Whole Foods that I can't find at Erie Food Co-op (which is actually a pretty good co-op, far superior, especially for #vegans, to Pittsburgh's East End Co-op). Fewer car wash places in Erie offer monthly plans (I have three in Pittsburgh, two of which are still useful in Erie, but not nearly so accessibly).
A lot of this stuff didn't even exist prior to cars but we're not talking Luddism here. We're talking about things people need that are sometimes far away in the modern world because they were never near.
Would local substitutes arise if cars were used less? I'll stipulate to yes, in some--only some--cases. In other cases, and particularly in lower population areas like where I can afford rent, corporations simply won't perceive an adequate return.
I realize there's a large contingent here who feels strongly that everyone should be cramped in high density cities. But I am deeply miserable in Pittsburgh. I hate the driving and hate that I'm stuck driving for a living here. I fear for my car because of maniac drivers and abysmal roads. And frankly, you gotta do something about all these Confederate flag waving gun nuts I have for neighbors (no, not all urban areas are progressive, and no, not all suburban areas are "moderate," whatever that means, but nearly all exurban and rural areas might be conservative).
And I'm sorry if I want a decent night's sleep, impossible in the city, once in a while (I'd take a hard pass on nightly nightlong siren symphonies or gunshot percussion).
Absolutely love that the box fit into my #Ortlieb Back Roller Pro Classic pannier (which it looks like they renamed to Back Roller XL, which is a much less confusing name). Never would've fit into my Back Roller Classics! I could've bungeed it to my rack of course, but it was much more convenient to carry it to my bike using the pannier and not having to adjust anything outside in the cold weather. #BikeTooter
I see this instance has a nicelong character limit for posts.
I have a Ph.D. in Human Science (2016, Saybrook University), which is about the experience of being human in social contexts. It is the mother of the social sciences but is now, at least in the English speaking world, and at least as far as I can tell, a dead field.
In #kyriarchy, I mostly focus on #classism and #ageism, but since arriving in Pittsburgh, have been confronted with blatant #racism (and yes, many white people here do see it). But #SocialJustice has to be for everybody; to focus on any one identity, to the exclusion of others, is nothing more than to elevate that identity over that of the predominantly wealthy white males who are now in charge.
Human beings have #HumanRights. These rights are not constrained by their governments' failures to ratify certain human rights treaties.
#Borders exist to mark off territory controlled by elites whose competition accounts for most if not all wars and to deny human beings on the "wrong" side of an arbitrary line rights and privileges available on the "right" side. This cannot be justified ethically. I am hostile to #xenophobia
Finally, I am pessimistic about the future of humanity. #COVID19 and the #ClimateCrisis demonstrate our unfitness for survival.
#Photogrammetry scan of some old equipment in a little park area behind the #Erie Art Museum. Not sure what it is! If anyone has an idea feel free to contribute! Digitized using an iPhone 14 Pro using #scaniverse.
I'm going to cut out a rectangle about 12" long and 4.5" deep from the top of the box on each side to make it easier for kids (and dogs; I remember having to lift a 70lb dog into the old cargo bike box) to get into and out of the box. If this is a bad idea for some reason (maybe a swinging door is better? Maybe this will make it wetter/colder in the box if we get a rain cover in the future?), tell me now. #CargoBike#BikeTooter#Cetma#Erie#Cats
Since it has been shared, I can also show you my art for the Raymond Leblanc contest. If you want, go like, comment and share my entry for the Raymond Leblanc contest on their Instagram page! https://www.instagram.com/p/CuR8FnlMUvK/?igshid=NjFiZTE0ZDQ0ZQ==
I am in the process of making a #CatTower with the 10yo. We still need to figure out where exactly it will go (that will determine the final height), and also need to add platforms under the holes and carpet along the outside.
#Erie (#MurderCat) loves it and would run across the room, jump up on it, and then legs splayed out climb to the top ledge like some kind of wild squirrel going up a tree. #Clove mostly ignored it. Neither really liked the sisal at the bottom, which I'd installed too low.
Now I've uninstalled the sisal and am putting it in a better spot. Both cats are having a blast with the tower down on the ground. #CatsOfMastodon.