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The use of "back yard" refers to the local area, not the literal extent of one's property. This usage is not unique to NIMBY and it's derivatives. YIMBY sentiment also clearly extends beyond developers themselves and simple libertine principles. Many people want development to occur around them, in their back-yard so to speak, because they prefer it occurs. The semantic change you're arguing for erases this concept just to sidestep the notion of local community. It's a needlessly aggravating approach when the simple answer is just that both NIMBY and YIMBY advocates can support their cause beyond their own area because they believe their cohort is right and deserves it.

> simple libertine principles

Lol


That's a Dreamworks movie actually

Haha, that was part of the joke! Pharoahs aren't from the movie either! They're a real-life thing!

Perhaps it isn't possible because of economics. If you build an aquaduct to a somewhere sunny so that water is plentiful there, then farms, cities, parks, and so on will grow as long as the water is cheap, reaching the capacity of your infrastructure, and the causing a crisis whenever there's a droubt.


And then later they realize the tar that comes out of making coal coke can be used to treat railroad ties to prevent rot, letting you lay larger networks of rail.


Frank Llyod Wright lacking warmth and humanity? Never been to Falling Water?


I’ve never been but the photos I’ve seen I would describe as lacking warmth and humanity. Maybe my opinion would change seeing it in person. I’m open to that.

But the other issue with that property specifically is that it seems to be that it is built out of fear of humanity and that’s why elements of the property (again from photos) look like what you’d see in a bunker or if you were trying to hide. It lacks symmetry as well which introduces fear.

You can think of it as how one might feel looking at a painting of Dance in the Country by Renoir and Guernica by Picasso. If you find the former to be near perfection, full of vibrancy, warmth, and love you may as I do find Picasso’s work to be chaotic, disheveled, asymmetric, or even psychotic.


It's certainly better in person, but if you hate the photos you probably won't love it. In particular, the interior: is cozier (smaller) than it looks, as the ceilings are a bit low; has better views of the outside when not stuck to a single exposure & focus of a camera.


I would definitely check it out if I was nearby or if it was on the way somewhere to see what the hype is all about. There’s always something to learn.


You think Frank Lloyd Wright designed big picture windows and open floor plans because he was afraid of humanity? He was afraid so he tried to induce fear? Through asymmetry? What then of William Blake’s “fearful symmetry”?

Amazing that FLW is still traumatizing conservatives 100 years later. Ayn Rand was a fan, didn’t you know?

Picasso was trying to convey the feeling of being bombed from the sky in a civil war, so at least your reading there is accurate.


> You think Frank Lloyd Wright designed big picture windows and open floor plans because he was afraid of humanity? He was afraid so he tried to induce fear?

No, I was speaking about the exterior. The blending in of the surroundings, and hiding of things like the entrance are the hallmark of post-war architectural trends. Not that I'm claiming Lloyd suffered from the same PTSD that returning American veterans did, but his building follows some of the same patterns.

For example, here: where's the door? http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-...

But moving to the widows, even from that photo you can see how while the interior gives the occupants a nice view, the exterior hides them - sort of like a bunker.

> Through asymmetry? What then of William Blake’s “fearful symmetry”?

Idk, can you elaborate? We know as a matter of scientific study that asymmetry in architectural design introduces stress, let me know if you'd like a source in case you are curious.

> Amazing that FLW is still traumatizing conservatives 100 years later. Ayn Rand was a fan, didn’t you know?

I don't understand this comment. Why would I care what Ayn Rand thinks or thought?

> Picasso was trying to convey the feeling of being bombed from the sky in a civil war, so at least your reading there is accurate.

Sure. But in that interpretation I find cold, calculating, death, and fear. None of which I find particularly attractive in art. And Picasso in these years is probably the best "good" example of this style of art. Afterwards it gets more and more psychotic to the point where you've got the whole banana taped to a wall for $6 million. Western artists have forgotten what art is and what the purpose of it is, in my opinion.


Yes please, for the sources on assymetrical architecture and stress. That's totally new to me, and I'd love to read about it.


Cognitive Architecture by Ann Sussman is probably the best single book about this topic that I've found.

https://annsussman.com

You may find this lecture of interest. I'm sorry I don't have anything shorter to read offhand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjezxPl3FA

-edit- This might get you closer though to the general theory:

https://asla-ncc.org/the-built-environment-impacts-our-healt...


Thank you! I read the article in your edit, and the point about symmetry seems unrelated to the rest of the article, and doesn't mention any science. I'll have to research further.

Intuitively it doesn't resonate with me. The environment humans evolved in (the natural world) doesn't have much of anything symmetrical, unless it was built by humans.


I'll see if I can find a better article. I think it's unfair for someone including me to say "go read a book" though the meat of the general theory is there in those books.

The research and science being done is measuring levels of stress relative to shapes and designs of buildings through eye-tracking software. So to really over-simplify, buildings that are asymmetrical or perhaps where the door is hard to find, or in some urban environments there specific features that cause stress and it is measurable.

> The environment humans evolved in (the natural world) doesn't have much of anything symmetrical, unless it was built by humans.

https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/images/pictures/plants/flower....


I do appreciate the pointers!


> No, I was speaking about the exterior.

But windows are exterior? The idea that massing of interior influences the form of the exterior is part of Wright's philosophy. I don't believe you know what you speak of.

> The blending in of the surroundings, and hiding of things like the entrance are the hallmark of post-war architectural trends. Not that I'm claiming Lloyd suffered from the same PTSD that returning American veterans did, but his building follows some of the same patterns.

First I've heard the sensitivity to natural surroundings was because of war. Wright lived through the Spanish-American war and the Great War, but completed Fallingwater before WW2 (which is what we generally mean by "postwar.")

> For example, here: where's the door? http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-...

You can look up plans online if you're really curious, but since you asked it's right there, in the shadow. Maybe stop basing architectural opinions on underexposed photos. Or is it because you want a grand entrance that announces the owner's ostentatiousness?

> I don't understand this comment. Why would I care what Ayn Rand thinks or thought?

You're espousing some conservative viewpoints, so I figured you'd be interested in others.

> Western artists have forgotten what art is and what the purpose of it is

Bizarre opinion. Artists philosophizing on the definition of art and its purpose is the defining feature of modern art. You're just mad they concluded it extends beyond Renoir's florid, gauzy depictions of girls.


> I don't believe you know what you speak of.

Ok, then I guess we don't need to discuss anything further :)


Makes sense. By what other means can one remain this ignorant?


> hiding of things like the entrance are the hallmark of post-war architectural trends.. PTSD... American veterans

Post-war architectural trends don't have a lot to do with the war experiences but are, since you are talking about modern architecture, a direct continuation of pre-war modern architecture.

Where is the door? This is Vila Tugendhat, finished 1930. https://www.tugendhat.eu/en/fotogalerie-vily-tugendhat-2012-...

> But moving to the widows, even from that photo you can see how while the interior gives the occupants a nice view, the exterior hides them - sort of like a bunker.

No at all? https://gaptrail.org/amenities/fallingwater/

The features that remind you of a bunker are more in the direction of brutalism (blocky, fortress like appearance but without the intent and function).

> We know as a matter of scientific study that asymmetry in architectural design introduces stress

No it does not, that's just complete nonsense. Have a walk around a really old (250+ years) historic neighborhood (preferably without a lot of tourists), it will be full of asymmetry, and then measure your stress levels. They should be through the roof, right?


I love FLW, and Falling Water (which I've toured), but yeah: his art tends to be cold, abrupt, and ... unsnuggly.


The only FLW building I've been inside is the Marin Civic Center, and I'd call it the opposite of cold and abrupt. The outside is... weird - and, yeah, the roof leaks, and not all the doors open and close all the way and it costs an absolute bomb to heat and cool - but the inside is full of natural light and wood surfaces and quirky details. I walked around thinking it would be an incredibly pleasant building in which to work.

BTW, Gattica only used the exterior, and I think the entry hall - which they lit very cold. The rest of their interiors were sets, and the vibe of the actual building is (appropriately for the film, but misleadingly for people - like me! - who judged it by that) pretty much the exact opposite of what you'd expect if something like the film is what you think it would be.


> Metric lacks a good "foot", but I guess people would get used to eyeballing things in ~50cm increments instead.

Perhaps as a compromise we could adopt the meter but divide it by halves, quarters, and so on. Binary fractions are so much more universal than arbitrary base ten ;)


Another point for the copyright term being a fixed 5~10 years. The current system already incentivizes such agressive tactics to anyone with sufficient patience. If a teenager's favorite book has just been written by a young adult, they only have one course of action if they want to live to see it in the public domain for a few years.


This is a very persistent rumor. I forget the details but it comes from a customer support email, not some official statement or promise from Gabe, and even that was originally posted on a long gone forum which you can only find quotes of. Even if there was first hand proof of an official statement, I wouldn't expect it to be upheld. Minecraft's website used to have a line from Notch saying he would make it open-source in the future.


Steam DRM is and has been for decades famously easy to crack. Literally look up steam auto cracker and crack all your games in couple minutes. It is also optional by the way. I much rather have weak but popular steam DRM that makes it less likely devs use much stronger and expensive denuvo DRM.


While I don't think MC's or Visa's reputation is at all close to being fragile enough to be harmed by use on any Steam game, the idea that these companies are almost like public utilities that shouldn't have a say in their deals is their reputation.

And carrying large amounts of USD cash does have a negative reputation, even to the US government. Nevermind the reputation of cryptocurrency.


The reasoning is that the deductions for expenses should be applied for the same year as the income they bring in. For expenses that will cover multiple years, they are spread out over those years.


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