joelhoffman

6 ms·

1.
by joelhoffman 3y ago
Is there really a significant number of apartments that are vacant due to habitability reasons? I believe there are a lot of vacant units out there even in hot markets, for various reasons, but mostly perfectly livable.
2.
by joelhoffman 4y ago
Of course it is. What has that got to do with anything?
3.
by joelhoffman 5y ago
#5 - Don't check the demographics of the whole state. Schools only draw from the local area and CT, like most states is pretty segregated. I don't know where the author is from but for example, most schools in Hartford have a wh
4.
by joelhoffman 5y ago
USGS describes the site as a "large playa," and the Science abstract says they were "stratigraphically constrained and bracketed by seed layers" so I interpret that to mean they were made in wet sand and buried under lay
5.
by joelhoffman 5y ago
> "Drive like everyone is trying to crash into you" That advice (for cyclists) was also in one of Neal Stephenson's early novels, Zodiac... I've found it useful. Now I just get annoyed when drivers insist on yielding
6.
by joelhoffman 5y ago
Same here especially given the topic and the sardonic tone. I wonder if the biochemist takes some inspiration from his near-namesake.
7.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
It shouldn't be too hard to skip numbers that show up too frequently in prison tattoos.
8.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
This will be on the table the day after Texas votes for a Democratic candidate. Not before. Hopefully we can get the first-past-the-post language out of it before then.
9.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
Yes, I'm sure it would, but that won't always stop them from trying.
10.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
Portland, Oregon already passed a similar law. Both of them seem a little ambiguous to me: they both clearly ban the city's use, and ban the city from allowing corporate use in public places, but do they ban the private use of facial
11.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
Surely the companies that print the symbol and "Please recycle!" on non-recyclable plastic wouldn't label non-compostable silverware as compostable... I've successfully run "compostable" plastic through the di
12.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
I think you're right in the short term, but in the long term, if everyone does it, I think it runs the risk of actually providing enough supply to drive the rents down by a significant amount. Maybe enough to reduce profits vs the ori
13.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
Fair point, I misread that. But even so, the inheritance tax is still a delayed wealth tax and a 100% tax would generally be easily avoided with gifts -- still taxable, but presumably not at 100%. (Edit: if we had a combination of capital g
14.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
If you're working for a firm that isn't actively tanking, then the primary beneficiaries of your excess productivity are always your employers. As many other people here have said the floor of any wealth tax is far higher than an
15.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
Is that a reference to these? "...The first new nuclear power plant to be licensed and begin construction in the United States in more than three decades." We've closed a few dozen plants over the same time. https:/&#
16.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
I was expecting at least an aside for Rasputin, although I'm sure these other clowns were pretty terrible too.
17.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
I think most people do not see most teachers as the basic problem in public schools. E.g. polls show overwhelming support for paying teachers more. The same has been true of police, but less so - Maybe that's changed? If people perce
18.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
800 votes were "improperly bundled" and 2390 out of about 16000 had non-matching signatures, and people who say they didn't vote are recorded as having voted. Sounds like the security features of vote by mail are working as d
19.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
Mexico City is too -- their subway is extensive, heavily used and well designed.
20.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
People do form a lot of their personalities as small children, after all.
21.
by joelhoffman 6y ago
There's nothing magic about ballot sheets. Anyone could run off as many as they want on a copier. What protects elections in vote by mail systems is the fact that you can check your ballot status and everyone can only vote once. If
22.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
I thought you meant the other adults at first, and I completely agreed!
23.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
I think it will be an uphill battle no doubt, but I think the only alternative would be to share the whole dataset and have reviewers re-implement the analysis to confirm the results. That would also be a huge improvement, but it seems lik
24.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
This is why we have code review processes. It's long past time for that to be part of formal scientific peer review.
25.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
There was no maize, but traditionally the word corn can refer to any grain.
26.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
Doesn't Marvin Minsky make it relevant?
27.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
Counting words and claiming there are too many isn't very convincing, especially since they admit that "some" of the regulations make sense. Could they maybe identify one regulation that imposes a significant cost burden but
28.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
That is amazing news, thank you for posting it. It was a tragedy they didn't do a cut and cover tunnel for the green line when it went in. They had to shut down all the streets and move the sewer etc. anyway!
29.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
The Portland region has loads of underused land, and nearly all the other cities in Oregon are FAR from running into the UGB. And they just vote to extend it anyway whenever they want to grow into a specific place that's on the other
30.
by joelhoffman 7y ago
Sounds like you would end up with 1 tree the size of France. Worth doing!

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