Earlier quoted context omitted.
Renters are a voting majority here, and successfully passed rent control, at the same time, the city council down-zoned the city, and NIMBYs are able to stop developments via California's crazy environmental review process. So, we have a shortage and rent control, which means Mountain View is becoming more unaffordable to every newcomer, but some renters will have some protection. The local residents show up in drove…
> Renters are a voting majority here > The local residents show up in droves to oppose housing If renters are the majority, why are they not voting out city government representatives who don't support upvoting and density?
3 Kids. 2 paychecks. No home
51–56 of 56 posts
Re: 3 Kids. 2 paychecks. No home
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I shared the article for every other paragraph. The one you mention is superfluous. Natural gas is used quite a bit for cooking and home heating, and we need to phase it out where ever possible.
Unfortunately, phasing it out of use for heating in favor of electricity is quite likely counterproductive. Burning natural gas for heat is more efficient than burning it to produce electricity, transporting that electricity, and then sending it through a resistor to create heat. Which means it's only an emissions win if the electricity is carbon neutral or the multiplier for a heat pump compensates for the generatio…
Re: 3 Kids. 2 paychecks. No home
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I shared the article for every other paragraph. The one you mention is superfluous. Natural gas is used quite a bit for cooking and home heating, and we need to phase it out where ever possible.
Unfortunately, phasing it out of use for heating in favor of electricity is quite likely counterproductive. Burning natural gas for heat is more efficient than burning it to produce electricity, transporting that electricity, and then sending it through a resistor to create heat. Which means it's only an emissions win if the electricity is carbon neutral or the multiplier for a heat pump compensates for the generatio…
Re: 3 Kids. 2 paychecks. No home
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
I shared the article for every other paragraph. The one you mention is superfluous. Natural gas is used quite a bit for cooking and home heating, and we need to phase it out where ever possible.
Unfortunately, phasing it out of use for heating in favor of electricity is quite likely counterproductive. Burning natural gas for heat is more efficient than burning it to produce electricity, transporting that electricity, and then sending it through a resistor to create heat. Which means it's only an emissions win if the electricity is carbon neutral or the multiplier for a heat pump compensates for the generatio…
However, the city regulators, like I said above, are stupid, so you often can't get a permit for a heat pump, because of noise ordinances. These things sound like an A/C compressor, so you can only install it if there is enough distance to your neighbors, and that's usually not possible in newer, denser developments, precisely the kinds where natural gas is banned, so you are now forced to use resitive heating, which uses 3-4x as much power as a heat pump, and costs more than 3x as much, due to our tiered electric prices (additional units cost more than early units)
Re: 3 Kids. 2 paychecks. No home
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
See my other comment on this thread, it's not just about the money... it's about the cost of living. Making $100k+/year now is "easy" in the tech sector, move to any of the major cities. Unfortunately homes cost $750k+ or you take an unpaid part-time job in commuting to the office (2-4 hours/day, 5 days a week). And yes, that's a HUGE disparity when compared to the people working service industry in the same cities..…
> And yes, that's a HUGE disparity when compared to the people working service industry in the same cities... but it's also a huge disparity compared to C-level and senior managers/owners... that can afford a 1-2 million dollar home and the $15-20+/day "Fast Lanes"... and can often afford to have one of the parents stay at home even! So do you not consider the $400k FAANG compensation a huge disparity vs the service…
In addition, My argument was trying to point out that there's multiple levels to this issue, and saying low level employees is the problem is ignoring the fact senior leaders decide to stay in these big cities despite the fact their own employees can't find homes, or commute as a part time job.
Re: 3 Kids. 2 paychecks. No home
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then again, many workers depend on video calls or video conferences, which easily require a multiple of that bandwidth. Regular security updates are also important. Those add up nowadays, and if they’re slow to download you tend to skimp on them.
requiring video makes no sense
Many people need the human-to-human interaction.. and many people don't. If you and your boss and direct reports are all happy connecting in text, great! But a huge portion of the population wants to see the other person when communicating