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How Restaurants Got So Loud

theatlantic.com

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Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#231

Post by gmiller123456 »

something2 wrote: post #119
jlokier wrote: post #108

There's an ice cream and bagel place in town. In the late evening it's consistently packed with people on their laptops or reading books. One day I noticed the music was much louder than usual, and asked the staff to turn it down. I figured it was a mistake because it was normally much quieter. They told me this was the new company policy. To set the music uncomfortably loud to make people leave, after finishing thei…

Does wearing noise-cancelling headphones actually protect your ears? My understanding of noise-cancelling(at least the active kind) is that it would play the noise you would normally hear but in a mirrored fashion to dampen out the noise you'd hear. I'm just wondering if that would protect your ears, do as much harm, or double it.

In addition to canceling sound, the headphones actually block a lot of it to begin with, so they only have to cancel what's left. On the gun range, it's pretty popular to use quite the opposite of noise canceling headphones. They actually amplify sounds at normal human speech levels, then cut off anything above a certain amount. They make no attempt to cancel the gunshot sounds, they just don't reply them inside the headphones. And the blockage from just the physical headphones is enough to turn a deafening gunshot into something fairly comfortable to listen to for quite a long time.

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#232

Post by JohnJamesRambo »

jlokier wrote: post #108

There's an ice cream and bagel place in town. In the late evening it's consistently packed with people on their laptops or reading books. One day I noticed the music was much louder than usual, and asked the staff to turn it down. I figured it was a mistake because it was normally much quieter. They told me this was the new company policy. To set the music uncomfortably loud to make people leave, after finishing thei…

Why are you using an ice cream and bagel place as a library or home?

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#233

Post by Ancalagon »

blhack wrote: post #39
fredley wrote: post #5

One thing that's becoming near-impossible is finding places to drink (as in pubs or bars) without piped music. This contributes significantly to noise. It's done of course so that we shout ourselves hoarse trying to have a conversation, so we buy more drinks to lubricate our throat, but even formerly quiet pubs near me have started doing it.

Even worse is television in restaurants. There is this GREAT restaurant with near me with a little side room that has a really cozy fireplace in it (VERY rare for Phoenix). The lighting for the room, however, has been destroyed by the TV. Also who on earth wants to watch ads while they are eating dinner? It's mind boggling because the place is also somewhat high end.

Where is this? Im in Phoenix as well and would like to check it out!

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#234

Post by FiveSquared »

thom wrote: post #162
eponeponepon wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, no. People are trying to draw a functional distinction between two types of libraries that isn't really there. First, old-fashioned academic libraries existed; later, public lending libraries existed, but only because various people noticed that the existence of academic libraries was a good thing thing that should be more widely accessible to people outside academia and/or religious institutions. At no point h…

Except for now.

Then simple; children areas and soundproofed adult study areas and business areas with a coffee shop to make money ;)

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#235

Post by potta_coffee »

watt wrote: post #34
keiferski wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Libraries are not playgrounds. This idea that the primary functional purpose of an important space should be some kind of afterthought is rather depressing, but I guess is follows from the entertainment-centric culture we live in. The purpose of a library is to read, not to entertain your kids.

If children grow up associating libraries with a place that is not fun, support for libraries will die after that generation. The Berlin city libraries absolutely have spaces for children to play (loudly) and also make point of events with readings for children, and so on. A generation will grow up associating libraries as part of their life.

Well gee, libraries weren't "fun" when I was a kid, and they were my favorite place to go because I learned the value of reading at an early age. It seems like we ought to be selling children on reading, not on fun. Doing fun activities at what used to be a library is not going to magically make children interested in reading and acquiring knowledge.

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#236

Post by sequoia »

jtreminio wrote: post #145
bluGill wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also means I can't understand my wife when she speaks. It is bad enough at home with my kids yelling at the top of their lungs (any ideas on how to break them of this?), when we go out it is impossible.

Use a water spray bottle - No one, including [children], like to be squirted with water, so you can try a quick spritz at your [child] if they are somewhere or doing something they shouldn't be.

Respectfully, this advice is absolutely idiotic. If your toddler pees their pants, do you rub their face in it too?

I'm not a proponent of treating children identically to adults, but children should still be afforded some aspects of human dignity. Spraying them with a water bottle like a malfeasant feline is not a polite way to treat anyone, regardless of age.

If you do this to your child, you are teaching them that this is an acceptable way to treat people that bother them. If you do not end up with an egocentric and inconsiderate child after subjecting them to this, it will be from pure luck.

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#237

Post by potta_coffee »

rubinelli wrote: post #28
keiferski wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Libraries are not playgrounds. This idea that the primary functional purpose of an important space should be some kind of afterthought is rather depressing, but I guess is follows from the entertainment-centric culture we live in. The purpose of a library is to read, not to entertain your kids.

Kids that grow up associating libraries with fun are much more likely to want to visit them after they learn to read. Libraries are closing down because they don't have any readers.

Libraries are becoming irrelevant culturally. Turing libraries into playgrounds in an attempt to stay relevant just turns the library into something new. It's like trying to trick people into reading or something, I don't think it's going to work.

The new model may be valid, but maybe we should just close the libraries altogether and start calling them "Community Centers".

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#238

Post by jtreminio »

sequoia wrote: post #236
jtreminio wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use a water spray bottle - No one, including [children], like to be squirted with water, so you can try a quick spritz at your [child] if they are somewhere or doing something they shouldn't be.

Respectfully, this advice is absolutely idiotic. If your toddler pees their pants, do you rub their face in it too? I'm not a proponent of treating children identically to adults, but children should still be afforded some aspects of human dignity. Spraying them with a water bottle like a malfeasant feline is not a polite way to treat anyone, regardless of age. If you do this to your child, you are teaching them that…

Don't be respectful, it's a copy/paste for how to shut up meowing/misbehaving cats.

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#239

Post by potta_coffee »

eponeponepon wrote: post #60
thom wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, apologies if I think kids being encouraged to go to libraries is more important than grown ups who can go _anywhere_ refusing to finding somewhere to read.

What kids should be encouraged to do is not merely attend a library as if simply being there is an end in itself, but to learn to appreciate and enjoy quiet, reflective learning.

I agree, children should be taught this. When I was a kid, the sanctity of quiet of the library was absolute. It was a special place. In a world where there's a screen literally everywhere you go, we should value the last quiet place rather than destroy it.

Re: How Restaurants Got So Loud

#240

Post by switch007 »

detaro wrote: post #175
switch007 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pret is really obviously doing the loud music thing too (and has for a couple of years at least). They lost my patronage. Not that they care: I think they had very good financials before their sale to Krispy Kreme. [aside rant] We have a very strange cafe culture in the UK compared to continental Europe: too many chains, too expensive, poor quality, takeaway coffee. The latest insult is chains not wanting to wash cup…

They require you bring a cup? Otherwise you just get a paper one or ...?

Heh, I was referring to separate things and connected them in a tin-foil-hat way: the quite recent campaign against paper cups which encourages people to buy re-usable travel mugs and my experience with various chains serving paper cups even when sitting in (possibly fazing out normal cups). As in we're being guilted in to not accepting paper cups and instead bringing re-usable mugs.
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