Whine like a baby, now with 500% more drama!
- Thread starter strawman
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Phoenix Metro is pretty much the same size, at least length wise, as Houston. The south end of the Valley becomes rather... sparse... where Houston has more cities (though, granted, it also has a lot of harbor/port area to make up for it).
Maricopa County is much bigger than the city of Houston, but Harris County is just a tad bit bigger (and most of that is water, I believe).
Maricopa County is much bigger than the city of Houston, but Harris County is just a tad bit bigger (and most of that is water, I believe).
Area of Maricopa County, 9224 sq miles.
Area of Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, 9286 sq miles.
There is comparatively little undeveloped area in DFW as compared to MC. You can no longer tell when leave Dallas and drive to Ft Worth like you could 40 years ago. I assume you really can’t tell when you drive from Phoenix to Mesa, but when you go to the western portions of MC there is a lot of wide open space.
Population of DFW, over 7.6 million.
Population of MC, over 4.4 million.
Yup, let's sound condescending to some people again and say, "man you guys have a lot of open space so that your cities can just continue growing outward instead of upward" :-P
The DFW area is about 1.5x as large as the region of Flanders, with about the same population (Flanders is about 5400 square miles for roughly 7.8 million people). And, well, there's a reason I tend to joke that Antwerp and Brussels are just suburbs of Mechelen.
But that includes everything we consider nature, large open fields, and all that jazz.
America, land of extremes, with the ridiculous highrise stuff-a-billion-people-on-an-island-tghe-size-of-a-boxcar of Manhattan on one hand and cities sprawling so badly they cover countries elsewhere and don't even have the population density to be labeled a city in some other parts
(to be clear: none of that is intended as condescending, snarky, sarcaastic, dismissive, ridiculing, making fun of, mocking, snide, passive aggressive, offensive, or otherwise in a negative way towards America, since that isn't allowed and I realyl wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings)
The DFW area is about 1.5x as large as the region of Flanders, with about the same population (Flanders is about 5400 square miles for roughly 7.8 million people). And, well, there's a reason I tend to joke that Antwerp and Brussels are just suburbs of Mechelen.
But that includes everything we consider nature, large open fields, and all that jazz.
America, land of extremes, with the ridiculous highrise stuff-a-billion-people-on-an-island-tghe-size-of-a-boxcar of Manhattan on one hand and cities sprawling so badly they cover countries elsewhere and don't even have the population density to be labeled a city in some other parts
(to be clear: none of that is intended as condescending, snarky, sarcaastic, dismissive, ridiculing, making fun of, mocking, snide, passive aggressive, offensive, or otherwise in a negative way towards America, since that isn't allowed and I realyl wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings)
On a completely different topic, I'm incredibly frusrtated with my own mind right now. I have something like 100 mails to log - all customers that have been helped, cases solved, what have you, just need to make a ticket and close it in our system. I had the WHOLE DAY for this, and in fact ,I had plenty of time for it the previous few days, too. And I just can't do it. Can't keep my mind focussed for 5 friggin' minites to actually just do it, log them, close them. I mean, it's boring, but it's not even hard. Just a whole lot of copy pasting and selecting from drop down menus. The fact that my mailbox is overflowing so badly is givng me stress, and yet I just can't actually do what needs to be done to get rid of them. ARGH. DAMN YOU STUPID MIND.
GasBandit
Staff member
Phrased THIS way (even without the disclaimers), it doesn't come off as condescending. Bear in mind, most of this area is being discussed still not all that "low density." Although I suppose that could vary depending on what your definition of the high/low threshold is. What I call "low density" you might call "rural." Under the American definitions, even suburbs with big yards and parks are classified as "high density." "Low Density" generally means farmland or other unincorporated areas. But I digress...Yup, let's sound condescending to some people again and say, "man you guys have a lot of open space so that your cities can just continue growing outward instead of upward" :-P
The DFW area is about 1.5x as large as the region of Flanders, with about the same population (Flanders is about 5400 square miles for roughly 7.8 million people). And, well, there's a reason I tend to joke that Antwerp and Brussels are just suburbs of Mechelen.
But that includes everything we consider nature, large open fields, and all that jazz.
America, land of extremes, with the ridiculous highrise stuff-a-billion-people-on-an-island-tghe-size-of-a-boxcar of Manhattan on one hand and cities sprawling so badly they cover countries elsewhere and don't even have the population density to be labeled a city in some other parts
(to be clear: none of that is intended as condescending, snarky, sarcaastic, dismissive, ridiculing, making fun of, mocking, snide, passive aggressive, offensive, or otherwise in a negative way towards America, since that isn't allowed and I realyl wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings)
The main reason for the two extremes is simply a function of whether land is cheaper than skyscrapers. And unfortunately, our infrastructure mindset has been ALL about cars, which encourages urban sprawl even more. There are many American cities where you can quite happily and conveniently live without a car - DFW and Houston are NOT in that group. It's quite likely that even a trip to the nearest grocery store would involve a 70mph highway. Well, the posted speed limit might be 70mph... but in my experience, all too often the actual traffic speed in Houston will be 20, if you're lucky. If it is moving at all.
Have I mentioned how much I hate Houston traffic? I feel like I might have. But it cannot be overstated how much it sucks to be sitting still in the 8-lane parking lot that is the 610 loop in the shadow of Williams Tower at 4 in the afternoon...
I used to work at Williams Tower back when it was still called the Transco. I feel this so hard.
GasBandit
Staff member
Man, when I was 5 years old and they'd just finished building Transco Tower, I thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw in my life.
Hell, that area can be at a standstill at any time of day. We always make sure to take side streets through there. Too much traffic trying to use the same space to enter the Loop and get off of it in the same 1/4 to 1/2 mile. We almost always use Belaire to go south of that area and come in around that whole cluster of 610/i69/Westheimer/Post Oak parking lot.
I still call it the Transco, it’s been my go to landmark in that part of town since I could drive.
I still continuously get recommendations from Youtube that are like Tim Pool or someone of that ilk. Holy shit. Considering all I watch on Youtube now is old OSW Review and Best of the Worst episodes and ridiculously long video game retrospectives, all I want to say is ew and fuck off.
Been feeling really depressed and lonely the last few days. Just thinking a lot about my past and realizing it's not a surprise that I've always been a loser who disappoints everyone around him. I really am going to die alone and I have no one to blame but myself.
I mean, I'm conservative overall but I can't stand Shapiro, Matt Walsh, etc for many, many reasons. Most of the YouTube I watch is also Best of the Worst and super long video game retrospectives, but YouTube sets 30% of my recommended to "x DESTROYS libtard LOL" and I want to burn it down. I don't think I've ever clicked one and yet...
ANYWAY what I was really reminded of in your comment is ...
Speaking of long video game retrospectives, did you see I Finished a Video Game's Prince of Persia? It's amazing. HOPE YOU GOT 3 HOURS
I watched 18 hours worth of Victorious retrospective... a show I never even watched!
Something is wrong with me.
This guy is my ASMR... 1 to 6 hour naval history questions and answers. Rookies.
At this stage of the semester, when the final papers are due and the final exams are just weeks away, every university experiences the Great Mortality of Meemaws. Every time I open my work email, I see requests for extensions because somebody's beloved mimi supposedly kicked the bucket and the student is upset that they can't get mimikissies anymore. My inbox is now a digital killing field littered with half-knitted afghans, Centrum Silver tablets, and butterscotch candy.
And it's mostly the absentee students who suddenly lose gigi right before the final paper is due. These are the ones who haven't been in class for a month. And, if they do attend, either sleep or watch TikTok videos. I give my condolences and then say they can have an extension if they furnish appropriate documentation. They go silent after that.
This is a whine and not a rant because I take some genuine pleasure in seeing my slackers desperately piece together their sob stories before I put the hammer down on their grade.
And it's mostly the absentee students who suddenly lose gigi right before the final paper is due. These are the ones who haven't been in class for a month. And, if they do attend, either sleep or watch TikTok videos. I give my condolences and then say they can have an extension if they furnish appropriate documentation. They go silent after that.
This is a whine and not a rant because I take some genuine pleasure in seeing my slackers desperately piece together their sob stories before I put the hammer down on their grade.
When my great-grandfather died my junior year of college, my professor seemed legitimately surprised I brought in paperwork to prove it the following week. I'm not sure if it was because other students were in the habit of "killing off" their family members without proof, or I wasn't exaggerating when I said he was almost 100 years old (just passed away a few months shy of 100).
A giant white fluff monster known as Butterball sat and crushed the eclairs I purchased for @Squidleybits
I never ask for proof of anything. I design my courses to be extremely forgiving instead. We have 11 weeks before I have to submit grades. Do your best to keep up and if something is late, I'm just glad you go it it.
Yeah, but dead grandmothers are commonplace at my university. And they suspiciously croak right around finals. I'd be more forgiving if these weren't the same students who plagiarize their papers and habitually stumble in halfway through class because they "had an emergency."
Proof, or you're not getting out of midterms.
That's the thing. They could fabricate an excuse easily enough, even with evidence if they were motivated. But I don't really care if they needed a mental health day or witnessed a family member die traumatically. There are a million legitimate reasons they couldn't come to class.
Plagiarism is a whole other matter, which I handle as needed. But missing class and late work, I can accommodate that. I can change how I deliver content and assessments (deprioritize exams, flip the classroom, etc.) I can be flexible in ways that are compassionate and neutral. They can't lie to me if I don't need an excuse from them.
Part of my thinking is that the full-time student is a thing of the past at most regional universities. Students have a job or two or even three. They have families. They have diagnosed mental health issues. I don't want to navigate the maze of possibilities for all of my students' various needs. I cannot count on my students devoting their lives to the university. That student is rare any more and I feel it is unreasonable to expect a level of devotion to my schedule that surpasses what an employer might even reasonably expect.
And surely the really careless, bad* student is going to turn in bad work anyway, even if they have creatively untrue or genuine excuses for why it's late. They're bad students.
*n.b. students who are bad at school does not mean they're dumb/not good people, I just mean they genuinely aren't suited to that subject or school in general
Oh I get that. I teach for a university where a high percentage of students are first-generation. Some of them have jobs and/or kids. Others suffer from depression and the disabilities office lets me know who they are. I'm just saying there's a heavy overlap in the Venn diagram between plagiarism and Dead Grandmother Syndrome.
I ate the proof. I needed those eclairs. My fourth vaccine appointment was bleh. I thought I was going to pass out.
I just nearly had a heart attack. I heard a MASSIVE pop-like explosion. Couldn't figure the source, but it sounded like within my apartment.
Turns out the rear tire on my bike suddenly popped. No idea how what happened. It's been sitting idle for hours.
The worst part is I don't have an spare tube to replace it. So I'll have to take the bus tomorrow.
Turns out the rear tire on my bike suddenly popped. No idea how what happened. It's been sitting idle for hours.
The worst part is I don't have an spare tube to replace it. So I'll have to take the bus tomorrow.
I misread this at first and thought your heart made the massive pop-like explosion.
It nearly did from fright. Fucking hell, I didn't know what happened at first.
Fuuuckk dude that sucks. I'm sorry. Having been biking a lot more in the past few years, I haven't had this exact experience, but certainly had my tires give out on me at inopportune times.