<DrumBeat: July 7, 2007The Oil DrumTOD: Neighborhood>
<DrumBeat: July 7, 2007DrumBeatDrumBeat: July 9, 2007>

273 comments on DrumBeat: July 8, 2007

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Don Sailorman on July 8, 2007 - 1:24pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

"superfluous" sidewalks? Maybe superfluous now, but how about in fifteen or twenty years.

To make a suburb livable, I'd put sidwalks high on the list. Livable towns or cities have sidewalks. Sterile suburbs almost never do.

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
oilmanbob on July 8, 2007 - 2:03pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Whoa,O Pirate King of the North.
In my neighborhood we have a ten foot sidewalk on each side of the street, a fifty foot street, an alley and half the houses have driveways and sidewalks from the doors to the streets, plus some back yard sidewalks. We have about 300% more paving than we need even with one car per adult, and we're going to need even less with only bicycles and scooters plus light rail.
Less pavement will help cool off, and we could build raised beds on the superfluous paving. I'm pro sidewalks and streets, but do we have to provide enough pavement for a four lane highway in front of every house? We could all have big gardens just on the wasted space.
Bob Ebersole

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
totoneila on July 8, 2007 - 2:46pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello Oilmanbob,

Although I back Alan Drake 100%, I speculate some neighborhood areas may never have the standard size RRs & TOD [the spine & limbs], hopefully my narrow-gauge minitrains and eventual subsequent shift to the same-gauge SpiderWebRiding can be [the ribs] to help further extend postPeak transport infrastructure for optimal relocalization of people and resource flows.

It takes much less energy, powered or human, to remove asphalt compared to concrete. Quickly bolting minitrain track to your wide sidewalks sounds ideal, and it will be higher than normal asphalt street level during rainstorms. The former paved areas as gardens will also get the additional runoff from the concrete.

Old photos of a beautiful mini-train [I hope it is not now recycled into a couple of Hummers!]:

http://www.monon.monon.org/sobendpixs4/tn_03-26storyland-train2.jpg

http://www.monon.monon.org/sobendpixs4/tn_03-26storyland-train1.jpg

Bigger versions of these photos clickable at this link:

http://www.monon.monon.org/sobend/storyland.html

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
oilmanbob on July 8, 2007 - 3:39pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hi Bob
We've already got some streetcars in town, and they run on a narrower guage than regular RR, but not the mini-train you've discussed. They run down streets set in asphalt, but have individual diesel motors on the cars. The tracks make streets bumpy, but I wish we had more, am currently lobbying our city council to extend them.
Our streetcars go from downtown to the Seawall, along the seawall and back downtown, then about 1 mile west to University of Texas Medical Branch, then south on 4Th st to the seawall. What I'd like to see is the streetcars up and down the Seawall, down 61st past the grocery stores, then west on S to Moody Gardens, then back downtown. This would hook up all the major tourist hotels and the two main convention centers with downtown and the Medical Center and run past virtually all the shopping. It would really help people get to work, as well as be very useful for our tourists.
Galveston is a small city where a lot of people get by without automobiles. There's busses, and lots of bicycles, and even people riding in the streets in electric wheelchairs. Its a lot more civilized than Houston, where very few people get around without cars. Its about 7 miles NE-SW and about 2 miles at the widest between the bay and the Gulf. And no damn shopping malls!
Bob Ebersole

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
River on July 8, 2007 - 7:34pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Bob, I have 300 yards of gill net that I bought from a mullet netter when the state outlawed the practice of netting mullet. I also have a skiff outfitted with oar locks and a trolling motor that I now use for gigging flounder and plugging for reds, trout and snook. I figure on using the gill net in the future when there are no game wardens around to bother me. Even now when I come in with a good catch I can sell all the fish that I dont want right at the dock. I also have a good locally made shrimp cast net but that thing will work a man to a frazzle.
BTW, I know you are very near sea level...does it make you a tad nervous?

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
oilmanbob on July 8, 2007 - 9:44pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

River, do you live in Florida? We don't eat mullet in Texas, although I've never understood why. Give me a decent recipe and I'll try 'em.
I've got a 17 ft. seawall between my house and the gulf. In 104 years its never been topped by a storm surge. My house survived the 1900 hurricane, so I feel fairly safe. As far as the ocean level rising from global warming, I'm 55 and plan on being dead, but my 1st floor is 11 ft above sea level.
I've got a kayak, but mostly wade fish for trout, reds, drum and flounder using piggie perch and small mullets. Sometimes I buy fresh dead shrimp and catch whiting and croakers, or if the water's clear enough pompano and spanish mackeral. But Ill eat any kind of fish, I really like gar.

Bob Ebersole

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
River on July 8, 2007 - 11:05pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Bob, Yeah, I live in Florida. The secret of good eating mullet is fresh, fresh, fresh. Also, get them out of salty and clear water, not after they have been hanging out in brackish/half fresh water. Straight out of the water, gut em, heads off, scale em, batter of your choice...I prefer Cottin Pickin cornbread mix which has some flower in it w/a little salt and pepper. Toss them into some VERY hot oil or Crisco of your choice, eat them. I have a heavy two burner Cajun Cooker that really puts out some heat and two big cast iron dutch ovens (without lids). Mullet are very good...I think they are in the carp family. I have eaten all kinds of carp. When I was a kid we netted a carp from the Ouichita River in La that we called a Buffalo, you might be familiar with them. I spent almost four years in Japan and ate lots of carp there. Many Japanese families that live in the country have a small ponds in their yards that they raise big carp/goldfish in and they are good. In Japan I ate a lot of broiled and steamed carp that were also great.
Around here we gig flounder at night with a light strapped on the head...like a frog gigging light. We pole the skiff slowly and quietly. They are hard to see till you get used to looking for their eyes, which is usually the only part of them that are not buried by sand.
We use pig fish here to catch Gator Trout...around here they call the trout over ten pounds Gator Trout, but Reds are my favorite. I take individual Red fillets and lay them on a heavy layer of fresh spinach leaves with a sheet of heavy metal foil underneath, squeeze fresh Persian Lime Juice (tree in my back yard) on the fillet, ladel a big portion of homemade salsa over the fillet, seal the foil, and bake for a few minutes till the fish flakes but the spinach is not burned, fillet steams inside the sealed foil. Very good. Like you, I eat any kind of fish. If you can get some Persian Limes I think you will really like them. They are very fragrant and have a great taste, not at all like store bought limes.
I also like good Mexican food and since we have lots of Mexicans around here there are lots of good Mexican restaurants. I cant think of any kind of good food that I dont like.

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
Odysseus on July 9, 2007 - 11:29am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I remember throwing away mullet when in Florida. Then years later I was in Greece and ate them at a small seaside taverna. There the fresh mullet were gutted, and then grilled over charcoal. Salt, pepper and lemon. Yum. I was amazed at how tasty they were and regretted tossing back so many of them years ago!

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.
totoneila on July 8, 2007 - 8:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello Oilmanbob,

I don't really know anything technical about trains, I leave that to Alan Drake and expert others. But it would be interesting to know the specifics of a minitrain like in the linked photos: weight of loco and cars, pax/mileage per btu, speed & acceleration, cost & weight of track, maintenance costs, engine HP & torque [gas,diesel,steam,or electric], etc, then how it compares to a full size RR and/or mass-trans train. That way a postPeak city or suburban region would then be able to determine the economic crossover point; when sufficient 'spine and limbs' are attained, then evolve the extended 'ribs' for the rest of the area.

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

0
Comments can no longer be added to this story.