ThisAmericanSatire

ThisAmericanSatire t1_jd5pgc1 wrote

And then people will challenge the tickets saying it was photoshopped, so you'll have to show up in court and testify, but you will be like "eh, do I really want to go down to court and go through all that just to get paid $25? Nahhh."

And then every asshole in town will realize they can just challenge the tickets in court and the witness is unlikely to show up and deal with the hassle, resulting in the fines being dismissed, which will defeat the whole purpose.

The idea of paying bounties for photo evidence is an idea that sounds really great in theory, but will likely not produce meaningful results.

At worst, it'll be just another means for blaming victims and dismissing complaints - "Stop complaining that there's cars parked in the bike lanes! Be part of the solution! Take pictures and we'll pay you!"*

*After you waste a day of your life in court that will probably cost you more money in lost wages than the bounty pays.

5

ThisAmericanSatire t1_jd5fhjp wrote

I've said this before but...

I will continue reporting FOR FREE if someone actually shows up and writes a ticket or tows the vehicle.

Almost every single day at lunchtime, I report 1-3 commercial vehicles parked in the Potomac bike lane at O'Donnell Square.

The fact that this is an ongoing problem tells me that enforcement is nowhere near the level where it needs to be.

Reporting the violations is not the issue.

The real issue is getting someone to respond to the violation fast enough to actually do something about it.

9

ThisAmericanSatire t1_j3ne9fs wrote

It's funny, I have been in a relationship for the past two and a half years, and just the other day she and I were talking, she said our first date did feel a lot like an interview.

Like I said, to each their own, and what works for me may not work for you.

One thing I will say for sure though, is that alcohol really helps. I'm not saying get drunk, but having a drink or two does help you open up and be conversational on a date

6

ThisAmericanSatire t1_j3n7ap5 wrote

To each their own, but an Aquarium (or zoo, or museum, art gallery etc) is better for a 3rd date in my opinion.

I learned long ago that the best first date is drinks at a not-too-loud bar (or coffee if they don't drink) where you can easily break the ice and get to know each other.

Bars are usually near restaurants, so if drinks go well, you can suggest grabbing dinner after the drinks.

19

ThisAmericanSatire t1_j1yh2an wrote

We actually did have $400,000,000,000 that we could have spent building this, but our elected officials spent it on interstate highways and other car-only infrastructure instead.

So now instead of paying $3.50 to take the Metro across town, you get to pay hundreds of dollars a month for a car payment, insurance, gas, parking, and repairs & maintenance. Not to mention the value of your time which is wasted in traffic jams and looking for parking.

7

ThisAmericanSatire t1_izwkt9d wrote

Forget a coat hanger - you can pick up the signal witth a paperclip if you're close enough to the tower.

I'm very glad the towers are central in Baltimore. The last place I lived, the various towers were on opposite sides of the metro area, so I could never get half of the channels, even with a bigger "100 mile" roof mounted antenna.

4

ThisAmericanSatire t1_izsbjku wrote

The biggest problem with busses is that they have to share the road with cars. This has two pitfalls:

  1. busses get stuck in traffic

  2. BRT infrastructure (i.e. Bus lanes) can easily be given back to commuter cars if some elected rep thinks happy drivers are better than happy bus riders.

Trains don't have these problems, especially if they are grade-separated.

5

ThisAmericanSatire OP t1_itklio1 wrote

My gf and I have both owned houses separately, (not in Baltimore), so this is not our first rodeo.

We already know exactly what we want in our house and have gone to a number of open houses in the neighborhood to get a sense of what is out there.

We are probably going to to be putting an offer down in the next few weeks.

At this point, we are just trying to fine-tune the budget aspect, and that means figuring out how much to set aside for painting the house, if necessary.

1

ThisAmericanSatire OP t1_ithtc39 wrote

Oh, I thought you/they were going to say some Baltimore/Maryland-specific reason.

We already discussed that possibility and we came to an agreement as to how we'd handle a breakup.

We're also planning to get our wills made soon and, at that point, may just have a contract drawn up that formalizes the percentage each of us owns.

4

ThisAmericanSatire OP t1_ithg0c3 wrote

I would prefer to have bare brick, because that's just a classic look, but I think trying to remove formstone would be an expensive hassle and could quickly become a nightmare if there's issues restoring the brick.

And... as much as I love red brick, I think formstone looks pretty sweet with the right paint scheme. It definitely adds character to the neighborhood to see a few houses in vibrant colors rather than just endless brick.

19

ThisAmericanSatire t1_it2nl2h wrote

As a guy, I don't worry about walking around Canton at any time of the day. I've taken my dog out at 3am with no concerns.

Granted, I carry pepper spray at all times, but I do that almost everywhere (not just Baltimore).

5

ThisAmericanSatire t1_iqy5d0o wrote

I've done Charles going north (downhill). There is a 100 yard stretch just north of the Joppa bridge where the shoulder becomes a 3rd car lane and there is no bike lane.

Going north, and downhill, it's not too bad because I'm going fast.

I would not return south (uphill) on Charles because of that section.

1