11 ms·

Her essay on California's water system is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing about public works I have ever encountered. http://archive.pov.org/thirst

Her essay on California's water system is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing about public works I have ever encountered. http://archive.pov.org/thirst/holy-water/ http://archive.pov.org/thirst/holy-water/

jelling 5y ago
Then you'd probably love "Powerbroker: Robert Moses and the Death of New York" by Robert Caro. Long, but he's a master.
- PaulHoule 5y ago
  Political Fictions is my favorite Joan Didion book, particularly her essay on Insider Baseball., which together with Asimov’s Franchise anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
  - TomDavey 5y ago
    > anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters. Serious question: how does "media on elections" disenfranchise voters? I would have thought that they usefully inform voters, or at least remind voters of the importance of voting.
    - jdavis703 5y ago
      There are some people that are suspicious of polling averages and models have under-performed Trump vs. the official vote totals. They think it’s a form of “suppression polling” where the opponents supporters are demoralized by a conspiracy of weak polling numbers that suppress turnout. I believe there are simpler and more convincing explanations for polling errors that seemed consistently biased against Trump, but some people are happy to jump to far fetched conspiracy theories.
      - noduerme 5y ago
        I think the simplest explanation is that pollsters are from the media/elite; when Trumpers get a phone call from a pollster, it's either their chance to "own the libs" by lying, or they're embarrassed to admit their reactionary beliefs so they say what they think a centrist or liberal would say. Then they vote for the furthest right wing loonies they can find. You can see this kind of thing in practice if you've ever been a non-white person in a redneck bar.
      - pessimizer 5y ago
        Why associate the comment you replied to with Trump, and why is associating that comment to Trump enough to dismiss criticism of publishing continuous polls as "far-fetched conspiracy theories"? There have certainly been massive polling failures (and obvious push polling) in elections over the past decade that can be discussed rather than being dismissed for the sake of partisanship. The organizations who actually do the polling discuss these issues constantly without accusing each other of being deluded.
      - VictorPath 5y ago
        One counter-vailing fact is Republican internal polls showed Trump losing up until election night in 2016. Polls they did for themselves, which they did not share at the time, showed him losing. Aside from this, to influence opinions with sharing polling information, one just needs to change the question, or the audience, or both. "Should the US seek peaceful resolutions with Russia" will get a different answer than "Should Biden oppose Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border". You can tailor the question to the answer, and have Americans either supporting or opposing abortion, or whatever. Also, a poll of everyone will yield different results from a poll of, say, likely voters. You have to look to who is polled along with what is polled. With these things done, there is little need to fudge the numbers, other polling organizations can ask the same question to the same demographic and get similar answers.
    - PaulHoule 5y ago
      Go read the sources I point to. In the case of Franchise a computer does an interview of one voter and then calculates who the president should be. In real life, if 538 was perfect at simulating the election there would be no need to have the election. The point of Insider Baseball is that ‘horse-race’ coverage and coverage that pretends to give you an insider view of the campaign as the candidates and their staff see it completely avoid any real discussion of who the voters are, what they really want, what really motivates them, what alternatives they really have, etc. 538 in perfect irony applies the techniques and terminology of sports betting to politics.
      - noduerme 5y ago
        The funny thing is, they're just as often wrong with their sports predictions. No serious sports wagerer I know would ever rely on 538 to make their picks. Gamblers understand that touts serve two masters. Apparently, punters are less gullible than political pundits when it comes to believing that a set of chosen stats represents a neutral, scientific prediction.
        georgeecollins 5y ago
        Predictions are hard, particularly about the future.
        lazide 5y ago
        Everyone likes to hear what they want to hear - until the bill comes anyway.
    - biophysboy 5y ago
      They by no means have total control. People can still think. The point is media also provides interpretation. So, instead of going into a voting booth reflecting over your own needs or principles, you go into the booth thinking about polling and statistics. You vote for somebody because their number is higher on 538. It gets worse when you consider that the people being polled are themselves thinking about who is most viable or likable.
      - noduerme 5y ago
        It could just as easily work the other way. e.g. all the polling says Trump can't beat Hillary, so no one bothers going out to vote for Hillary.
        CalChris 5y ago
        In fact, Hillary won the popular vote by quite a lot, 2.8M or more than 2% of the vote.
- bobthepanda 5y ago
  Robert Caro talks the way an old New York grandfather talks, which is definitely very expressive, but I found myself going "mmm hmm" and zoning it out because it just went on and on and on. It'd probably be good as an audiobook.
raegis 5y ago
The book Cadillac Desert and the documentary of the same name (narrated by Alfre Woodard) woke me up to this problem. (I live in CA but grew up back east). It's astonishing that we use so much imported water on our lawns (including during Winter) while watering lawns is not even necessary elsewhere.
- randycupertino 5y ago
  If you liked Cadillac Desert you might enjoy reading A Kingdom from Dust, a long-form article in California Sunday magazine that details the Resnick family behind Pom pomegranate products and their lobbying for water rights in Kern county: https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust/ https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-du...
  - 509engr 5y ago
    Mark Arax, the author of that article has a longer book, A Dreamt Land, on the subject of California agriculture and water, (probably the article is an excerpt) that is a really good read too. A little more up-to-date than Cadillac Desert, and more focused on California and the Central Valley.
- 0x0nyandesu 5y ago
  I find it funny that a farm in the valley has "water use rights" and will end up using millions of gallons of water per month and pay almost nothing for it meanwhile my sfm which uses about 15k gallons a month will cost $300 for the privilege and I'm allowed to keep going and water outside as much as I want however California regulations prevent me from installing a second shower head in my walk in shower wet room under the guise of not wasting water. All this even though the place where I live is basically 97% recycled water so you're really just paying for the cost of treating the water. Eh I generally don't understand why my property has to stay a dessert while 10 minutes from my house the farms take the water and sell it for themselves in the fruit.
  - leesalminen 5y ago
justinpage 5y ago
Thank you for sharing this!
bspammer 5y ago
There is something so strange about reading such a beautiful thing and then reading that comment at the bottom. The juxtaposition is just bizarre. Is there a word for this feeling? It happens to me frequently online. Anyway, thank you for sharing.
- 509engr 5y ago
  Wow, that is quite bizarre. I hadn't noticed the comment due to my browser extensions.
- quirino 5y ago
  The song "That Funny Feeling" by comedian Bo Burnham may be related to the feeling you're describing
- carrolldunham 5y ago
  bathos?
TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
> this requires prodigious coordination, precision, and the best efforts of several human minds and that of a Univac 418 The top of this page says 2004. Is that correct? Univac is anachronistic to 2004.
- 509engr 5y ago
  I had a hard time finding a publication date for the original, but searching for it suggests 1979.
e40 5y ago
I thought you might have engaged in hyperbole. Nope. Thank you for sharing that.
fsckboy 5y ago
>I have always wanted a swimming pool, and never had one >In fact a swimming pool requires, once it has been filled and the filter has begun its process of cleaning and recirculating the water, virtually no water can confirm, she's never had a swimming pool, they require the addition of water all the time in an arid climate.

jelling 5y ago

Then you'd probably love "Powerbroker: Robert Moses and the Death of New York" by Robert Caro. Long, but he's a master.

PaulHoule 5y ago
Political Fictions is my favorite Joan Didion book, particularly her essay on Insider Baseball., which together with Asimov’s Franchise anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
- TomDavey 5y ago
  > anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters. Serious question: how does "media on elections" disenfranchise voters? I would have thought that they usefully inform voters, or at least remind voters of the importance of voting.
  - jdavis703 5y ago
    There are some people that are suspicious of polling averages and models have under-performed Trump vs. the official vote totals. They think it’s a form of “suppression polling” where the opponents supporters are demoralized by a conspiracy of weak polling numbers that suppress turnout. I believe there are simpler and more convincing explanations for polling errors that seemed consistently biased against Trump, but some people are happy to jump to far fetched conspiracy theories.
    - noduerme 5y ago
      I think the simplest explanation is that pollsters are from the media/elite; when Trumpers get a phone call from a pollster, it's either their chance to "own the libs" by lying, or they're embarrassed to admit their reactionary beliefs so they say what they think a centrist or liberal would say. Then they vote for the furthest right wing loonies they can find. You can see this kind of thing in practice if you've ever been a non-white person in a redneck bar.
    - pessimizer 5y ago
      Why associate the comment you replied to with Trump, and why is associating that comment to Trump enough to dismiss criticism of publishing continuous polls as "far-fetched conspiracy theories"? There have certainly been massive polling failures (and obvious push polling) in elections over the past decade that can be discussed rather than being dismissed for the sake of partisanship. The organizations who actually do the polling discuss these issues constantly without accusing each other of being deluded.
    - VictorPath 5y ago
      One counter-vailing fact is Republican internal polls showed Trump losing up until election night in 2016. Polls they did for themselves, which they did not share at the time, showed him losing. Aside from this, to influence opinions with sharing polling information, one just needs to change the question, or the audience, or both. "Should the US seek peaceful resolutions with Russia" will get a different answer than "Should Biden oppose Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border". You can tailor the question to the answer, and have Americans either supporting or opposing abortion, or whatever. Also, a poll of everyone will yield different results from a poll of, say, likely voters. You have to look to who is polled along with what is polled. With these things done, there is little need to fudge the numbers, other polling organizations can ask the same question to the same demographic and get similar answers.
  - PaulHoule 5y ago
    Go read the sources I point to. In the case of Franchise a computer does an interview of one voter and then calculates who the president should be. In real life, if 538 was perfect at simulating the election there would be no need to have the election. The point of Insider Baseball is that ‘horse-race’ coverage and coverage that pretends to give you an insider view of the campaign as the candidates and their staff see it completely avoid any real discussion of who the voters are, what they really want, what really motivates them, what alternatives they really have, etc. 538 in perfect irony applies the techniques and terminology of sports betting to politics.
    - noduerme 5y ago
      The funny thing is, they're just as often wrong with their sports predictions. No serious sports wagerer I know would ever rely on 538 to make their picks. Gamblers understand that touts serve two masters. Apparently, punters are less gullible than political pundits when it comes to believing that a set of chosen stats represents a neutral, scientific prediction.
      - georgeecollins 5y ago
        Predictions are hard, particularly about the future.
      - lazide 5y ago
        Everyone likes to hear what they want to hear - until the bill comes anyway.
  - biophysboy 5y ago
    They by no means have total control. People can still think. The point is media also provides interpretation. So, instead of going into a voting booth reflecting over your own needs or principles, you go into the booth thinking about polling and statistics. You vote for somebody because their number is higher on 538. It gets worse when you consider that the people being polled are themselves thinking about who is most viable or likable.
    - noduerme 5y ago
      It could just as easily work the other way. e.g. all the polling says Trump can't beat Hillary, so no one bothers going out to vote for Hillary.
      - CalChris 5y ago
        In fact, Hillary won the popular vote by quite a lot, 2.8M or more than 2% of the vote.
bobthepanda 5y ago
Robert Caro talks the way an old New York grandfather talks, which is definitely very expressive, but I found myself going "mmm hmm" and zoning it out because it just went on and on and on. It'd probably be good as an audiobook.

raegis 5y ago

The book Cadillac Desert and the documentary of the same name (narrated by Alfre Woodard) woke me up to this problem. (I live in CA but grew up back east). It's astonishing that we use so much imported water on our lawns (including during Winter) while watering lawns is not even necessary elsewhere.

randycupertino 5y ago
If you liked Cadillac Desert you might enjoy reading A Kingdom from Dust, a long-form article in California Sunday magazine that details the Resnick family behind Pom pomegranate products and their lobbying for water rights in Kern county: https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust/ https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-du...
- 509engr 5y ago
  Mark Arax, the author of that article has a longer book, A Dreamt Land, on the subject of California agriculture and water, (probably the article is an excerpt) that is a really good read too. A little more up-to-date than Cadillac Desert, and more focused on California and the Central Valley.
0x0nyandesu 5y ago
I find it funny that a farm in the valley has "water use rights" and will end up using millions of gallons of water per month and pay almost nothing for it meanwhile my sfm which uses about 15k gallons a month will cost $300 for the privilege and I'm allowed to keep going and water outside as much as I want however California regulations prevent me from installing a second shower head in my walk in shower wet room under the guise of not wasting water. All this even though the place where I live is basically 97% recycled water so you're really just paying for the cost of treating the water. Eh I generally don't understand why my property has to stay a dessert while 10 minutes from my house the farms take the water and sell it for themselves in the fruit.
- leesalminen 5y ago

justinpage 5y ago

Thank you for sharing this!

bspammer 5y ago

There is something so strange about reading such a beautiful thing and then reading that comment at the bottom. The juxtaposition is just bizarre. Is there a word for this feeling? It happens to me frequently online. Anyway, thank you for sharing.

509engr 5y ago
Wow, that is quite bizarre. I hadn't noticed the comment due to my browser extensions.
quirino 5y ago
The song "That Funny Feeling" by comedian Bo Burnham may be related to the feeling you're describing
carrolldunham 5y ago
bathos?

TedDoesntTalk 5y ago

> this requires prodigious coordination, precision, and the best efforts of several human minds and that of a Univac 418 The top of this page says 2004. Is that correct? Univac is anachronistic to 2004.

509engr 5y ago
I had a hard time finding a publication date for the original, but searching for it suggests 1979.

e40 5y ago

I thought you might have engaged in hyperbole. Nope. Thank you for sharing that.

fsckboy 5y ago

>I have always wanted a swimming pool, and never had one >In fact a swimming pool requires, once it has been filled and the filter has begun its process of cleaning and recirculating the water, virtually no water can confirm, she's never had a swimming pool, they require the addition of water all the time in an arid climate.