We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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The beating heart of NYC Today I am reading and watching all those weather reports about how extremely cold it is in the US and some of my friends in New York and Chicago have been telling me about it. But what impresses me above all is that these urban hubs, these centres of modern human civilisation, go on. And we take it for granted that apart from certain disruptions, they do. I came across this wonderful graphic item on the web that visually conveys the daily commute volume into and out of Manhattan.
Have a good weekend and keep warm and safe. This global warming is a real bitch.
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Eh, it only went down to -30 F in Minneapolis. (That’s a little under -34 C). I’ve seen worse, though that was not an official thermometer. Minnesota record low was -60 F (-51 C). Fortunately, I wasn’t there.
Currently -80 Celcius where I am.
Probably shouldn’t be working in an ice core storage freezer though. 😆
People who know me could have predicted what I am about to write – but it needs to be written for those people who do not already know.
New York City, and New York State, have crippling debts. In spite of having perhaps the highest State and local taxes in the nation – someone in New York city also faces the highest combined State and local debt. 65 thousand Dollars is just the city debt – per person.
It is quite true that the vast Federal Reserve Credit Bubble keeps the economy of the place going – but that Bubble can not last forever, and most of manufacturing and so on is long gone from New York City and New York State (and other places near by – such as NEW JERSEY are just as bad).
So those millions of people are not going to be commuting into New York City for many more years.
It is going to be a horror show – there is no way to avoid that now.
Bankruptcy – in fact if not in name. And not like the 1970s when the State bailed out the City – for the State of New York (and the State of New Jersey) is going to go down as well.
Ellen – no doubt it is even colder in South Dakota, but a lot more financially secure than the Twin Cities of Minnesota.
Still it is a matter of what work you can find – big cities have lots of opportunities for people with specialised skills.
‘ But what impresses me above all is that these urban hubs, these centres of modern human civilisation, go on. ’
Thanks to free market capitalism. But not to worry recently elected Congress women Cortez will soon put an end to that with her Democratic Socialism.
@John B – Bit sexist admittedly, but all Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has going for her is she’s a major twitterati and is reasonably attractive (if you’re into that XX chromosome carrier sort of thing).
She’s actually as dumb as a pile of rocks though (hence “Muh Socialism”) and is more likely to get nobbled by the Dems through the positioning of a replacement Democratic primary candidate than anything else.
The problem the Dems have is that she’s highlighting some of the things the Dems do which are pretty socialist and they’d rather the not very socialist American public spend too much time wondering why the Dems are doing this.
I’ll be surprised if she gets re-elected.
Just got back from south of Watertown, South Dakota, where the temp hit -39 on Wednesday. (That’s both F and C – it’s the crossover point!)
The temperature is going to rise about 70 degrees from that by tomorrow.
And it will still be below freezing.
(During that spell, work continued on the erection of the new grain elevator, all the cows got fed and watered, and all of the framers showed up to work on the new houses. Of course, government offices were closed and mail delivery was suspended, but they’re more fragile.)
Shovelled six inches of sub-zero global warming off my sidewalk yesterday. Save us, Gaia!
bobby,
:>)))
. . .
(I hope llamas made it from her [sic] home in Queens out to Michigan this year, as he [sic] likes to do in winter so as to “shovel 12′ of Global Warming.”)
We were a little chilly around here too. (Cooler than Chicago.)
Tomorrow we’re supposed to be in the 40s, maybe with rain. Pity–the snow this year is clean and reasonably thick and beautiful.
bobby,
:>)))
. . .
(I hope llamas made it from her [sic] home in Queens out to Michigan this year, as he [sic] likes to do in winter so as to “shovel 12′ of Global Warming.”)
We were a little chilly around here too. Cooler than Chicago, but not like bobby’s S. Dakota. Or his and, if I mistake not, his and Surellin’s Minnesota.
Tomorrow we’re supposed to be in the 40s, maybe with rain. Pity–the snow this year is clean and reasonably thick and beautiful.
Crazy Edit function today!
bobby b – Just to be pedantic, but the actual crossover point is -40.
Also, I don’t want to minimize the cold, but many of these areas that are in the polar vortex have seen these temperatures on a regular basis. Wikipedia actually has a listing of the record coldest temperatures in each state. South Dakota -58 F in 1936, Minnesota at -60 F in 1996.
In other news, Bill Nye the ‘science’ guy has stated that, with global warming, North American agriculture will have to be moved to Canada, which no one is prepared for as there is no infrastructure: “We don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the railroads and roads to get food from that area to where we need it around the world.” https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/30/bill-nye-us-climate-food-canada/ You can imagine the comments.
And so the battle of where to put the snow begins.
Let the battles of the (hand) shoveled parking spaces on the streets commence!
The city MUST push the snow to the side. SOME ban dumping it into the nearby waterways. The merchants must keep the sidewalks clear. and the street parking/curb access is RIGHT between them.
I’m pretty sure the snow melts just a little bit more each time it gets tossed back and fourth, but the sewer drains freeze up pretty quick.
Yeah, I was here. We cancelled snowmobiling on those days too!
Nye is somewhat of an idiot. Throughout our biggest grain belt – the best, most productive lands for crops – the limiting factor is the length of the growing season. Global warming, if it ever arrives (pbuAGW), will only boost our national ag output, especially if it’s accompanied by a higher CO2 level. Plants love CO2.
I didn’t think anything would cancel snowmobiling! the snowmobilers (is that a word?) were downright crazy and would do almost anything.
Yes, Bill Nye has shown idiocy on a number of topics. I would suggest that he be thrown into an enclosure with wild, angry, canadian geese. But that may be too cruel.
Re ns at 10:33pm. That is absolutely too cruel! Why would you want to do that to a goose?
Greg, geese are quite capable of being mean. They can take care of themselves. I’m not so sure of Nye. (Minor note: the temperature was well sub-zero yesterday, but there were still Canada geese flying around.)
Can confirm. I once got too close to a gosling while trying to photograph it and raised the ire of its mom. Most impressive!