Just Wow

[TRENCH]

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 12:38 PM, HankStrong said:

I had a personal wow moment.  Recently a woman was killed by jumping in a fake ride-sharing car with a killer.  He pulled right up into a crowded spot and picked her up.  He was intentionally trying to get someone.

I had 3 people try to get into my truck this weekend at Earth Fare .  My wife had decided to run back in and I was waiting on her to come out when 3 goofballs tried to open my back door.  I looked at them and they knocked on the window.  I rolled it down a bit and said "What are you doing?" The girl says "you're our ride" and I was like "Your Uber is a big, white F-250 pickup truck?" She looks at her phone and says "Sorry.  Silver Toyota Camry."  That car pulled up a couple of minutes later and they got in.

Wow.  Just wow.

as a bellman at a hotel I can attest to this.  I was a big rooter for Uber/Lyft.. but lord im over it 

[spenser1058]

For the first time, those identifying as “No Religion” have caught up with the categories for “Catholic” and “Evangelical” in the U.S. General Social Survey.

The times, they are a changin’...

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/04/13/us/no-religion-largest-group-first-time-usa-trnd/index.html

From CNN

[spenser1058]

Tomorrow, April 14, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is expected to officially announce his candidacy for president.

I had expected to support former Vice President Joe Biden this time around. However, his reticence in announcing has given me pause. It’s vital this time for the Democratic Party’s nominee to be “all in” for what promises to be an intense election battle. “Uncle Joe”, while he has my admiration and respect, seems to be suffering from the same case of “low-energy” that candidate Donald Trump diagnosed for former Governor Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican primary. That just won’t do this time.

Mayor Pete is certainly young but has the academic background and the military background that shine in light of the current incumbent.

What’s amazing, though, is that, in addition to positions on the issues one normally associates with a presidential campaign, he also addresses many of the same urban issues we do here at UP in trying to achieve fairness and equality for all Americans. Perhaps uniquely for a politician (and certainly unlike our current chief executive), he’s been willing to acknowledge and grow when he discovers that he was mistaken or did not fully appreciate the perspective of others.

I’ve had to chuckle as some of those from the left who’ve attempted to say he was “just another white guy” who doesn’t appreciate the challenges of being a minority candidate when he’s the first out and proud gay candidate for president. 

There’s also a bit of irony being lobbed from the right about his “morals” given that he’s in a loving, stable marriage, again especially compared to the current incumbent.

I also like that he’s an active Christian who recognizes that the religious right has no exclusive franchise on our faith. It also strikes me as interesting that his Episcopalian diocese in Northern Indiana (Indiana!) seems to be more progressive than our Central Florida diocese, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Heaven knows, we Democrats have plenty of candidates to pick from this time and I’ll be proud to support the nominee of the Party after the Milwaukee convention. For now, I’m proud to support Mayor Pete and look forward to him going all the way. Charge On!

Edited April 13, 2019 by spenser1058

[dcluley98]

I'm pulling for Andrew Yang to win the nomination. I would likely vote for Warren also, but Yang pretty much fits most of my more centrist philosophy. 

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

I'm pulling for Andrew Yang to win the nomination. I would likely vote for Warren also, but Yang pretty much fits most of my more centrist philosophy. 

I am curious - you would consider a Universal Basic Income as a centrist position? I’m not opposed, just have never thought of it as a moderate policy approach (at least for the US).

[dcluley98]

I don't know if it is a Politically centrist position in the general Conservative vs. Liberal type of way. 

It is more centrist in general for fairness and for the middle class than traditional political rhetoric that favors polarity of opinion. I think Andrew Yang's platform/policies are much more centrist than say a Bernie Sanders or an Elizabeth Warren. Most "conservatives" are going to label any form of UBI as "socialism" or any other type of propaganda to discount it out of hand without fully understanding the concept. "Liberals" will probably label Yang's policy as a compromise that will not work and will hurt the current recipients of governmental assistance. I look at it as common sense, although it may seem radical in nature. 

I agree with most of what Yang says, actually, not just UBI. He has also been on the real side of big business in the tech field, and is not a pretend capitalist or pretend liberal. He has a lot of experience on both sides, and in my opinion, has the most common sense approach to bringing it all together with policies that could actually work in our future economy/society instead of the traditional polarized Left vs. Right, Rich vs. Poor, etc. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by dcluley98

[spenser1058]

For us UP’ers who like to geek out about things like one way streets and gentrification, here’s a look at the pros and cons of trying to bring back South Bend from the list of Rust Belt zombie cities:

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/04/13/politics/pete-buttigieg-south-bend-record/index.html

From CNN

[dcluley98]

Tiga Tiga Woods, Ya'll! 

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/26522684/tiger-masters-victory-even-never-saw-coming

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/26524165/back-tiger-wins-first-masters-2005

Edited April 14, 2019 by dcluley98

[spenser1058]

Former President Jimmy Carter talks about  a call from President Donald Trump last weekend where they discussed China.

Why is thisof interest at UP? President Carter talks about why China is blowing us away on infrastructure like high-speed rail.

He attributes it to China’s avoidance of war to our almost continuous warlike state (wasn’t this an episode of ST:TNG?)

Food for thought as we look at our struggles with rail, crumbling bridges, schools and the like.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/15/713495558/president-trump-called-former-president-jimmy-carter-to-talk-about-china

From NPR 

[Dale]

43 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Former President Jimmy Carter talks about  a call from President Donald Trump last weekend where they discussed China.

Why is thisof interest at UP? President Carter talks about why China is blowing us away on infrastructure like high-speed rail.

He attributes it to China’s avoidance of war to our almost continuous warlike state (wasn’t this an episode of ST:TNG?)

Food for thought as we look at our struggles with rail, crumbling bridges, schools and the like.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/15/713495558/president-trump-called-former-president-jimmy-carter-to-talk-about-china

From NPR 

In contrast to the US, China becoming the most Christian nation on earth. And if you want to get from an illegal church in Beijing, to an illegal church in Tianjin, you can get there in rapid fashion via futuristic trains.

[JFW657]

As we are all architecture buffs here especially historic architecture, it is worth mentioning the horrific fire that is engulfing the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a building that dates back to the 12th century.

They just announced that they aren't sure they'll be able to contain the fire or keep it from spreading.

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

As we are all architecture buffs here especially historic architecture, it is worth mentioning the horrific fire that is engulfing the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a building that dates back to the 12th century.

They just announced that they aren't sure they'll be able to contain the fire or keep it from spreading.

I just saw that. That is just too awful to contemplate.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/world/europe/notre-dame-pictures.amp.html

From the New York Times 

Edited April 15, 2019 by spenser1058

[HankStrong]

It is now out.

I've been there a few times and found it to be way less gawdy than most of the ancient churches I've visited.  It was fairly simple and plain, which was nice.  The main exception being those 3 stained glass windows.  I heard at least 1 of them is gone.

[JFW657]

Before and after pics:

Looks like they managed to save most of the exterior. Hopefully the fire didn't weaken the structural integrity of the walls to the point that they have to knock them down. I know they said they saved the towers, so there's at least that.

These fires so often start during building renovations, you'd think that they'd learn to be more careful. Have plenty of extinguishers and larger fire fighting equipment in place and safety overseers on sight watching everything.

Especially on a building like this particular one.

[HankStrong]

It's remarkable how often the simplest step of all is ignored, a fire watch.  I don't know that this happened here, but it certainly looks like a strong possibility.  A fire watch is a step that you should never skimp on.

[JFW657]

Seems like it's always a welder's torch that sets these fires off.

Why are they still not able to make that connection when they're using them and take extra precautions? 

Must be money. 

[prahaboheme]

Notre Dame was strugggling to raise the money for the cost of repairs to the building for years and the state of disrepair was well known .  Despite it being a national treasure, there has been no appetite among the French to fund projects like this under the Macron administration and the Catholic Church didn’t exactly step in to bankroll the restoration that it deserves.

Sounds like both parties have now changed their tune.

Edited April 17, 2019 by prahaboheme

[prahaboheme]

17 hours ago, HankStrong said:

It is now out.

I've been there a few times and found it to be way less gawdy than most of the ancient churches I've visited.  It was fairly simple and plain, which was nice.  The main exception being those 3 stained glass windows.  I heard at least 1 of them is gone.

I’ve always liked the Cologne Dom for this reason, it’s strictly medival and relies less on the excess of wealth, it’s architecural mastery speaks for itself.

The Dom was completely destroyed during WW2 and rebuilt. Hopefully Notre Dame is given the same attention.

[spenser1058]

The Orlando MSA remains the 8th fastest growing metro according to info released by the Census Bureau.

That keeps us ahead of Austin and Tampa, who were 9 and 10.

Yay us!

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/popest-metro-county.html#popest-tab7

20 PETE 20

Edited April 18, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

As Orlando continues to grow, the nation’s largest metros continue to shrink. NYC, LA and especially Chicago saw population declines as cities like Houston add residents, according to the Census Bureau:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-census-chicago-cook-county-population-decline-20190408-story,amp.html

From the Chicago Tribune 

[spenser1058]

Wiki has updated its list of top 25 MSAs with the 2018 info and we have moved up 1 to #22, bypassing Charlotte (which is only fair since they’re taking our beloved Sun Bank away...)

Next up is Baltimore (21) and St. Louis (20), both of  which are barely growing so we should pass them, likely before the official 2020 census.

’‘Tis a privilege to live in Central Florida!”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas

BTW, Tampa (18) only grew 12.9% from 2010-2018 while we grew 20.5%. Woohoo!

20 PETE 20

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by spenser1058

[Uncommon]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

Wiki has updated its list of top 25 MSAs with the 2018 info and we have moved up 1 to #22, bypassing Charlotte (which is only fair since they’re taking our beloved Sun Bank away...)

Next up is Baltimore (21) and St. Louis (20), both of  which are barely growing so we should pass them, likely before the official 2020 census.

’‘Tis a privilege to live in Central Florida!”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas

BTW, Tampa (18) only grew 12.9% from 2010-2018 while we grew 20.5%. Woohoo!

20 PETE 20

 

Orlando’s metro area has grown pretty steadily for the past several years — give or take about 50,000 people per year — and if the projections hold true, it’ll be a solid 3-4 years until Baltimore or St. Louis get passed.  Of course, anything can happen once the final numbers get released, but I’d be really surprised if our population eclipses 2.7M people in 2020.

[spenser1058]

22 minutes ago, Uncommon said:

Orlando’s metro area has grown pretty steadily for the past several years — give or take about 50,000 people per year — and if the projections hold true, it’ll be a solid 3-4 years until Baltimore or St. Louis get passed.  Of course, anything can happen once the final numbers get released, but I’d be really surprised if our population eclipses 2.7M people in 2020.

The % increases are slightly misleading as Orlando’s in 2010-2011 were still much lower due to recovery from the recession and the last few years have been off the charts on the high end..

Meanwhile, Baltimore and especially St. Louis have been going in the opposite direction. While you’re probably right that with the current boundaries it would be a stretch, there is some discussion that Volusia could be added to the MSA before the 2020 census (just as counties have been added to Charlotte’s MSA since the numbers above were tabulated).

As more and more of West Volusia travels regularly in and out of the MSA, the more likely that is to happen. If it does, that’s how we go over the line so quickly to get to #20.

Edited April 19, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Orlando unemployment rate drops to 3%, lowest of Florida metros and lowest here in 16 years:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-unemployment-march-florida-orlando-20190419-story.html

From the Sentinel 

[spenser1058]

Some cities are so famous for major companies in their midst that the fortunes of those firms affect perceptions of the towns they call home or have a major presence in.

Detroit, for example, suffered over the years as the Big Three American automakers declined but has been on an upswing lately as GM and Ford recover;

St. Louis was once famous for Ralston Purina and Anheuser Busch. Both companies have been sold and are no longer the juggernauts they once were - the Missouri city finds itself reeling these days;

Coca-Cola, Delta and hometown Atlanta are all still flying high;

Seattle’s an interesting case: Boeing once defined the city but it has fallen hard of late. Nevertheless, Microsoft and especially Amazon keep Washington’s largest city at top of mind among America’s “it” metros;

Finally, the resurgence of Disney, which is hitting on all cylinders lately in film, theme parks and now streaming services, may be having a halo effect on its largest employee base, Orlando (it’s also LA’s largest employer but that tends to be less well known):

https://www.fool.com/amp/investing/2019/04/20/1-big-reason-why-disney-stock-is-just-getting-star.aspx

From The Motley Fool