Joey

My argument to these dorks is look, if you’re the kind of person who (voter registration notwithstanding) cares about the planet, planting trees, protecting nature — well duh, that’s the kind of folks that should be having kids, if they want them. We need a next-generation with those values!

Something I (an enviro with 2 kids and another en route) explain to child-wary enviros — like, do you think the folks in red hats are not having kids because of climate change??

If you don’t want kids, don’t have kids. But to be against kids because of the climate crisis is, politically, foolish.

Like, the idea that someone who once played at a (marginally!) high level wouldn’t want to watch the sport, was shocking to some
of my male friends

On-screen injuries hit different when you’ve been concussed yourself (and allowed to play on) or seen the guys in the locker room post traumatic injury

Played QB in high school and college (D3) — had multiple concussions, incl. one that (briefly) affected my visual cortex, where colors inverted and the sky turned green.

And despite that, I’ve had friends (& even a therapist!) who could not understand why I didn’t want to talk NFL/CFB with them

Two revelatory pies later, she now knows of a pizza world —far beyond her country’s unseasoned shores — of flavor, textures, and competitive local rankings. Victory!

My British wife’s aunt from Bristol is visiting us on holiday. Lovely lady. We go out for local pizza — our (deservedly) hyped local LA spot that I’m raving to her about before the pies arrive.

“But really, Joey….it’s all just the same thing, pizza, isn’t it?”

Reader, I nearly died.

There’s just nothing better, man

Our favorite thing is cycling to the grocery store through the mean streets of South Pasadena with two toddlers and blasting Iron Maiden obnoxiously on the portable speaker haha

I can’t ever go back to a car for stuff like that….unless it’s raining, and even then!

I, like, didn’t even know a striker could do this

It’s all so frustrating. man. The effective stuff here in LA just seems to be the blunt instrument of state law (speaking as a proud ADU converter of a previously unpermitted unit!) and programs like TOC.

Missing middle and more — it just will not come from these cities. They simply can’t do it.

Absolutely. Whole process plays to our worst instincts — more paperwork, more lawyers + consultants, more groups. I mean, how much time and money has been wasted on this exercise in futility? Just to show that we’re theoretically capable of producing more units — many of which aren’t feasible?

In perspective: we cycled today in glorious sunshine via @ternbicycles.bsky.social from our home in El Sereno (crazy hills) through Montecito Heights (crazier hills) to a series of yard sales in Mt Washington (the craziest hills!) — and ended with a view of snowcapped Mt Baldy. You can’t beat it!

Instead, it’s all about e-bikes. The places where folks can afford to live in & around LA — the Valley, NELA, East LA, South LA — all have some factor (sprawl, insanely hilly topography, endless boulevards) that makes biking hard or, in the case of Northeast LA, almost impossible. Enter the e-bike!

Something I’m annoyingly bullish about: biking in LA!

While I’d love for that to be about policy + infrastructure (i.e., Measure HLA, the 710 Multi-Model project thru the eastside, LA River Bikeway Extension, Olympic streamlining) — those are necessary but not sufficient factors…

We asked our now 4-year old (😭😭😭😭) what he wanted to do for his birthday. He coulda said: Disneyland, a toy store, McDonalds, a playground. All reasonable options.

But no: “I want to go on a bus into the city and eat a bagel. Maybe go to a museum?”

Truly a boy after my own urbanism-loving heart

Longtime (mostly) lurker at Twitter but may have a go at more posting here, we’ll see!

Nice to see familiar faces on a friendlier platform too. X’s user experience is now just an assault on the senses.

I wish it weren’t so, tho — it’s an awful time to silo off politically.

But alas, c’est Elon.