3 ms·

I agree that cat centric life is awful. However "you are traffic" is not the whole picture, not all traffic is created equal. Some people are just naturally ade

I agree that cat centric life is awful. However "you are traffic" is not the whole picture, not all traffic is created equal. Some people are just naturally adept at making traffic.

pixl97 2y ago
Both quality and quantity matter. Bad drivers can make traffic anytime, but if you a good driver leave the house at 5PM you are traffic.
- eddd-ddde 2y ago
  Correct. That's the biggest downside of car infrastructure, we are bound(ed?) by the lowest common denominator. Once a slow car is blocking the way we just contribute to that same traffic.
  - pixl97 2y ago
    Which leads me to CGP Grey's great video on the topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzzSao6ypE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzzSao6ypE
- globular-toast 2y ago
  Why do Americans think "traffic" means congestion? Traffic is the people on the road. You can say things like "let me check the traffic" or "the traffic is really bad", but if you use the road you are traffic. It's nothing to do with congestion, if you use the road you are traffic. It's this kind of subtle language mistake that reveals a whole country full of main characters: I'm the one travelling, everyone else is just there for my inconvenience.
  - digging 2y ago
    Americans just use "traffic" to mean "traffic congestion." Nobody is confused by it here.
  - eddd-ddde 2y ago
    Interesting perspective. Not from thr US and my native language is Spanish, where I live traffic really is synonym of congestion. When there are little cars you wouldn't say that there is traffic. That's just how the language is.
kelnos 2y ago
> I agree that cat centric life is awful. I dunno, I have three cats, a big part of my life revolves around them, and it's pretty great. (I know, I know...)
- eddd-ddde 2y ago
  Oh wow I re-read my comment 5 times and never noticed. I also have 3 cats, those are great (:
TylerE 2y ago
It's awful for some. For others, like those with mobility issues it can be the difference between being able to leave the house or not.
- fineIllregister 2y ago
  It's awful for most. If a person lives long enough, they will likely lose the ability to drive. A lack of walkable infrastructure basically means social death at that point. How many people struggle with the decision to try to take the keys away from their parents? Also, cars create mobility issues by injuring people.
- mitthrowaway2 2y ago
  Good pedestrian and transit infrastructure is barrier-free. If you can't cross the street and board a train in a wheelchair, the lack of pedestrian infrastructure is exactly the problem.
  - TylerE 2y ago
    The train? What train? There isn't a train within 100 miles of here.
    - abenga 2y ago
      Exactly.
  - TylerE 2y ago
    The problem isn't barriers to being a pedestrian. It's alternate forms of transit not existing. My town barely has bus service. The nearest stop is over a mile away, and it has a frequency, in theory, of hourly. I live in town. The bus route sorta serves the historically poor section of town and that's about it. Having a car is not optional. We don't have a functional long distance rail network, never mind light rail or subways.
    - mitthrowaway2 2y ago

I agree that cat centric life is awful. However "you are traffic" is not the whole picture, not all traffic is created equal. Some people are just naturally adept at making traffic.

pixl97 2y ago

Both quality and quantity matter. Bad drivers can make traffic anytime, but if you a good driver leave the house at 5PM you are traffic.

eddd-ddde 2y ago
Correct. That's the biggest downside of car infrastructure, we are bound(ed?) by the lowest common denominator. Once a slow car is blocking the way we just contribute to that same traffic.
- pixl97 2y ago
  Which leads me to CGP Grey's great video on the topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzzSao6ypE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzzSao6ypE
globular-toast 2y ago
Why do Americans think "traffic" means congestion? Traffic is the people on the road. You can say things like "let me check the traffic" or "the traffic is really bad", but if you use the road you are traffic. It's nothing to do with congestion, if you use the road you are traffic. It's this kind of subtle language mistake that reveals a whole country full of main characters: I'm the one travelling, everyone else is just there for my inconvenience.
- digging 2y ago
  Americans just use "traffic" to mean "traffic congestion." Nobody is confused by it here.
- eddd-ddde 2y ago
  Interesting perspective. Not from thr US and my native language is Spanish, where I live traffic really is synonym of congestion. When there are little cars you wouldn't say that there is traffic. That's just how the language is.

kelnos 2y ago

> I agree that cat centric life is awful. I dunno, I have three cats, a big part of my life revolves around them, and it's pretty great. (I know, I know...)

eddd-ddde 2y ago
Oh wow I re-read my comment 5 times and never noticed. I also have 3 cats, those are great (:

TylerE 2y ago

It's awful for some. For others, like those with mobility issues it can be the difference between being able to leave the house or not.

fineIllregister 2y ago
It's awful for most. If a person lives long enough, they will likely lose the ability to drive. A lack of walkable infrastructure basically means social death at that point. How many people struggle with the decision to try to take the keys away from their parents? Also, cars create mobility issues by injuring people.
mitthrowaway2 2y ago
Good pedestrian and transit infrastructure is barrier-free. If you can't cross the street and board a train in a wheelchair, the lack of pedestrian infrastructure is exactly the problem.
- TylerE 2y ago
  The train? What train? There isn't a train within 100 miles of here.
  - abenga 2y ago
    Exactly.
- TylerE 2y ago
  The problem isn't barriers to being a pedestrian. It's alternate forms of transit not existing. My town barely has bus service. The nearest stop is over a mile away, and it has a frequency, in theory, of hourly. I live in town. The bus route sorta serves the historically poor section of town and that's about it. Having a car is not optional. We don't have a functional long distance rail network, never mind light rail or subways.
  - mitthrowaway2 2y ago