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Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

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Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#411

Post by everdrive »

RicoElectrico wrote: post #315
seattle_spring wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are so unbelievably disrespectful with noise in the US. Peaceful hike? Here's Katy Perry crackling out of my iPhone at full blast! Luxury apartment at $4k a month? No insulation between units, and the guy above you comes home at 2am and never takes his shoes off. Small country street? Here comes Chad with his straight-piped civic with the muffler removed!

We call them "DJs without headphones" in Poland. They're [1] obnoxious in public transport. Now, I often considered speaking up, but figured out that if they're such a retard to do this, they probably won't listen and it could end up badly. [1] Or maybe had been, seems they're on decline. Albeit when powerful BT speakers were all the rage (like JBL Flip), they were overused in public spaces as well.

Lots of people don't have any respect for others. A major sign of this is drawing loud attention to yourself in a public place.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#412

Post by mechanical_bear »

smallerfish wrote: post #309
mechanical_bear wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fucking loathe leaf blowers. I can tell what day of the week it is by which neighbor is going for an hour or two straight with the leaf blower. Get a damn rake!

> I fucking loathe leaf blowers...Get a damn rake! I fucking loathe chain saws...Get a damn axe! I fucking loathe lawn mowers...Get a damn scythe! I fucking loathe loud diesel trucks...Get a damn wagon train! I fucking loathe cellphone ringers...Get a damn semaphore! Seriously, until you've done a full day's landscape maintenance yourself, you're not qualified to talk about leaf blowers. Luckily battery powered leaf…

I was a landscaper for several years before college. We mostly serviced estates in the country or with very large lots. I used both a backpack blower and handheld. I understand the efficiencies gained by their use in some instances. I also know that on the smaller residential lots that a big backpack blower was overkill. A rake could have sufficed more often than not. In the case of other equipment; a lawnmower can’t reasonably be replaced with a scythe, it will not produce adequate results, a weed eater can’t be replaced for the same reason. A rake can produce adequate results with only a bit more work. And in cases where a blower is “necessary”, it doesn’t need to be used to chase every damn leaf for two hours on a residential property.

I am not morally opposed to leaf blowers, just the noise that is foisted on everyone else by their use. I couldn’t go down to my garage and rip the throttle on my two stroke motorcycle for two hours once a week without getting the police called on me, yet the leaf blowers have become normalized. It’s nuts.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#413

Post by datameta »

sarchertech wrote: post #230
ajuc wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla going 90 km/h is almost as noisy as regular car going 90 km/h. Engine noise only dominates at low speeds.

1. Notice I said tires optimized for road noise. 2. Most suburban homes in the US are far enough from roads with 55 mph speed limits that high speed road noise isn’t penetrating the home.

And most residential areas in cities have a 25-30mpg speed limit

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#414

Post by neverartful »

sicromoft wrote: post #201
mechanical_bear wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fucking loathe leaf blowers. I can tell what day of the week it is by which neighbor is going for an hour or two straight with the leaf blower. Get a damn rake!

Leaf blowers are the worst. Several cities in CA have banned them. I don't know why more haven't followed suit. There's a myth that groundskeeping is more costly without them, but the city of LA reported that costs didn't significantly increase after banning them.[1] [1] https://www.dailybreeze.com/2018/08/21/redondo-beach-bans-le...

Indeed! Leaf blowers are a complete menace to any semblance of peace and quiet.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#415

Post by giraffe_lady »

vegetablepotpie wrote: post #71
throw__away7391 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's because almost all the noise in the modern world is caused by cars and motorcycles, and in the United States are prioritized over all other life forms.

The US preference for cars cuts DEEP, it’s at a cellular level. To share an anecdote, I went to order a sandwich at a fast food restaurant from the counter. After ordering I waited in the restaurant, watching the kitchen staff serve several cars in the drive through. After 10 minutes I just got frustrated, went back to the counter and asked for a refund. I got it and left. Later I talked to friends about the experien…

During that period last year when the vaccine started to be widely available but still a little tricky to schedule the city shut down my nearest free testing location. The next nearest was "in-car" and wouldn't test me on foot or bike, citing liability. The next next nearest was a 40 minute bus ride away, obviously a very reasonable choice when you suspect you have covid.

I feel like this potentially illustrates several american social pathologies but probably best to stick to the car one for now.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#416

Post by lowercased »

lowercased wrote: post #351
imglorp wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's yard equipment. Mowers, blowers, weeders, chainsaws, chippers etc. are usually not muffled or so high powered you can hear them for miles away. It's air and noise pollution. Electric equipment might replace some of it soon but not all. I love heavily wooded suburbs, but logically speaking it's not efficient and not sustainable compared to more centralized housing, for many reasons. Just on the noise front…

We live in a small subdivision. Around half acre lots - very flat. We have a lawn service, and they use riding mowers and are done in ~20 minutes. We have neighbors either side. One is retired. The other has a flex schedule. They both love doing outdoor stuff, like... riding mowers. Each take ~2 hours to do their lawn. This is their enjoyment . It's like a vacation for them. Sitting on a loud engine, driving around..…

Adding on - neighbor 1 may start at 11, then ride until 1 or so. The other neighbor sees #1, then decides to go out, then they edge. We'll get loud engines within 50 feet of the house from 11a-4p with very little break. and they love it. This is their relaxation, fun time, 'day off work', etc. We've tried to move but are essentially priced out of any housing that would offer much of a difference (anywhere else we can afford is roughly same issues with nearness to neighbors). Had land at one point to build, but covid made that way too expensive. We're .... sort of trapped for the time being. Should have moved 4-5 years ago. :/

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#417

Post by lowercased »

ectopod wrote: post #378
Reason077 wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least mowers and other garden tools will all be quiet and electric, some day. Most of the new ones for sale already are. It’s an air pollution issue too. Emissions from the old ones aren’t really regulated and many of them really stink!

Electric leaf blowers are still noisy.

We've got one (electric). It's ... noisy, but not quite at the same level (at least to my ears). And... my wife uses it but... 5-10 minutes - we have the same size yard as the neighbors, but they seem to love taking 30+ minutes to redo the same areas over and over. It doesn't need to take more than 10 minutes.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#418

Post by spacemadness »

throw__away7391 wrote: post #21
shados wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only do people not care, they actively push down and belittle people who do. They'll say it's just something that's notmaly and anyone trying to change it should move. Most source of noise pollution wouldnt be that hard to fix. Society just doesn't want to.

It's because almost all the noise in the modern world is caused by cars and motorcycles, and in the United States are prioritized over all other life forms.

And this is one of the major reasons I’m hopeful for electric cars.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#419

Post by giraffe_lady »

DoughnutHole wrote: post #325
andersco wrote: post #323

The sharp beeping sound made by trucks backing up, and now also basically any type of construction vehicle when it moves, is in my opinion one of the great examples of a ham-handed solution to addressing a safety issue with no regard for noise pollution. While it is supposed to warn someone in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, I can after hear these sharp alarm-like sounds over a block away, often inside my apar…

Improved reversal sounds have been invented - the classic beep isn't just bad from a noise pollution perspective, it's also an artificial sound that's difficult for people to process and determine its point of origin. There's been a gradual rollout of white-noise reversal beepers, which while they might seem strange are easier for people to locate aurally - as a result they can be played at a lower volume, and even i…

I had been wondering about this! The first time or two I heard it I really thought it was just a specific vehicle malfunctioning, but they've become very common around me the last couple years. I kind of figured this was what was happening but never remembered to look it up.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#420

Post by Centigonal »

bogomipz wrote: post #400
xattt wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am dreading an EV dystopia where all vehicles are going slow enough to create a cacophony from the mandated low-speed sounds. It would sound like something out of a William Gibson novel.

I apologize if this is a silly question but is that currently mandated or is this something that will likely be mandated when the EVs become dominant? My impression was that they are currently relatively silent but that might just because they are always in proximity to a combustion engine idling next to them.

Currently mandated - newer electric cars make this noise that I would put somewhere between "future theremin"[1] and "terrifying alien chorus."[2]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qe1wuDsXVk

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvX7NnlhiOE

Bonus: Kia's sounds like an ambient synth track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdZwVJPN0Ow

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