The Off Topic Topic

[Syt]

What's that in German? Volkstieresturmjahansprimapalast?

Zentrales Tierlabor.

Though it's been nicknamed "Mäusebunker" (mouse bunker) in the Berlin vernacular.

[grumbler]

What's that in German? Volkstieresturmjahansprimapalast?

Zentrales Tierlabor.

Though it's been nicknamed "Mäusebunker" (mouse bunker) in the Berlin vernacular.

Not many architects use the ACW river ironclad as the inspiration for their design.

[The Larch]

I can just hear the low fi ominous electronic sound track.

Needs a bit more neon lights.

[The Brain]

I can just hear the low fi ominous electronic sound track.

Needs a bit more neon lights.

Schimmerndes or regular?

[celedhring]

Looks like a cell-shaded videogame setting. 

[Razgovory]

After several failed attempts I have managed to cook edible fried chicken.  The trick is to wash your hands with soap, not hand moisturizer, before cutting up the chicken.

[Zanza]

Interesting comparison between an American and a European city (with AR and celedring as Languish representatives). The studied issue here seems to be transport emissions, but the difference in density must create all kinds of different policy questions, e.g. density of doctors, shops, schools etc.

[celedhring]

The emissions figure is slightly misleading. Yes, we generate less pollution than a sprawling city so I guess the world at large is better off, but Barcelona has chronic air quality issues since those emissions happen in a much smaller area (climate has something to do with it, too). Housing is an issue, too. Prices are exhorbitant and the flats are small. We don't build high rises.

Regarding public services... I fished out some data:

Hospital beds x 1000: 2.6 (Spanish average is 3) - although I suspect they are not counting a very large referral hospital that sits just outside the metro area.
Ratio of students x teacher: 13.6 (Spanish average is about the same)

It always gives me pause the fact that all those black areas accumulate over 10% of the entire Spanish population.

[Josquius]

Barcelona is known as the densest city of Europe whilst isn't atlanta the worst example of am American style city?
The comparison is valid but it is looking at extremes thee.

[celedhring]

So, today a corpse has been found hidden inside a dinosaur statue outside a cinema in Barcelona.



I'm expecting we'll cut to opening credits before a hot-and-professional-but-emotionally-suppressed detective and her annoying-but-surprisingly-functional colleague with which she shares a long-standing unresolved sexual tension are assigned to solve the case.

[Admiral Yi]

Sure, that sounds pretty likely.

[Sheilbh]

Yaaaaay! It's time to change the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square - options here:
https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/current-culture-projects/fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square/fourth-plinth-commission-2022-and-2024-artist-shortlist/fourth-plinth-commission

Which I am thrilled by because I loathe the current occupant


Some have been memorably good and I liked them a lot. This is the first I've found memorably dislikeable

[Josquius]

Latest job hunting catastrophe of my gf.
Job advertised as part time.
8.30 to 3.30 every day.
....err.....
I mean...its not completely full time but...I'd be reluctant to call that part time....

[Habbaku]

Definitely an interesting definition of part-time, yeah. I figure even with an hour lunch assumed in there somewhere (no idea if that's common in the UK), you're still looking at 30 hours a week without even the benefit of being off more days? 

[Valmy]

Barcelona is known as the densest city of Europe whilst isn't atlanta the worst example of am American style city?
The comparison is valid but it is looking at extremes thee.

First of all those numbers are not really comparing apples to oranges. Atlanta, as a metro area, is far larger than that but the city itself is far smaller. Barcelona's 5 million people do not live in that 632 km^2 area.

According to wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_metropolitan_area

Barcelona has about 3.2 million living in its 632 km^2 core not 5 million. If you go for the entire metro area population it is 4,2678 km^2

which isn't all that different from most American metro areas once you get past 3.2 million being crammed into 632 km^2.

Atlanta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_metropolitan_area

Atlanta is, indeed, very sprawly and one of the biggest and most populous in the United States. I guess that is just the "urban" area because the entire metro area is 21,694 km^2 and has a population of 6 million. Wiki doesn't actually list what the size of this "urban" core is.

Generally Texas is considered the worst as far as giant car cities so I guess here are our biggest ones:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston

Houston, which in my mind is just a horrid sprawl city, has 5 million in 4,300 km^2 (so weirdly...almost exactly the same as Barcelona) and 7 million in 26,000 km^2 (lolz)

Generally Texas is considered the worst as far as giant car cities so I guess here are our biggest ones:

Dallas has 5.6 million in its 3,644.2 km^2 urban area and 6.3 million in its 24,000 km^2 metro area

San Antonio has 1.9 million in its 1,546 km^2 urban area and 2.55 million in its 19,130 km^2 metro area

Austin has 980,000 in its 829 km^2 urban area and 2.3 million in its metro area.

So I think our urban areas are rather comparable to Barcelona's metro area but once you get outside into the exurbs and suburbs does the sprawl really start to be a big departure from the rest of the world I think.

But hey maybe with everybody using ZOOM and widespread adoption rates of electric vehicles maybe it won't be so bad. The 2022 F150 Ford Lightening is kind of a gamechanger for Texans I think. Everybody has to have their damn F150.