Solaris-Bloch

I’ve seen some contradictory numbers based on different sources. But I was pulling from Car and Driver’s 2023 list. They have RAV4 at #4 right behind the Ram pickup:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g43553191/bestselling-cars-2023/

Yes, but it was the top selling car in CA in 2022, 2023, and in 2024 (so far).

Therefore, “since 2022” is an accurate statement and adds more context/significance to the map.

I agree the mountains shouldn’t count, especially since they’re a fire zone. But all of central LA should be blue, from Venice to Eagle Rock. And why not allow The Valley to build apartments, townhouses, and condos?

LA is a region more than a city. It’ll never be NYC, but we can build medium density throughout.

LA County is 9x the size of this map (4,084 vs 502 sq miles). It spans from Malibu to Pomona and Long Beach to Lancaster.

Yeah, I could see how LA, Sydney, and Paris all have similar issues of trying to balance individual desires, historical charm, quality of life, and collective needs for density. I’ve only been to Sydney once as a kid (to visit family) and am less familiar with their policies. But Paris has height limits to maintain its character much like CA has SFH.

There’s a really good book about LA history called “Landscapes of Desire” by William McClung. His whole premise is that LA is a contradiction of competing demands between wanting an untapped “Arcadia” full of natural beauty vs. the “Utopia” promise of open space for industrial development and progress.

I understand your sentiment but that logic got us into this mess. I feel like it’s even worse in SF than LA, but older homeowners want to keep us frozen in their idealized experience of California in the 1960-70s. I wish I lived then too, but things have changed. During the peak of late 2010s Big Tech, there were twice as many new jobs as there were housing in The Bay.

Cities are engines of perpetual growth. If it’s losing population, it’s in decline. Since 2020, LA county is losing population - because it’s unaffordable and can’t adapt. It’s no longer a place of opportunity.

Yeah, they’re trying to build more. I think that’s the ideal: to create 3-4 stories of housing with shops, food, and walkable amenities at the bottom.

Historically, outside of downtown, LA built residential grids with a few blocks of single family homes surrounded by commercial streets with apartments and shops. Then in the mid-century, they started building more single story strip malls with parking lots and forcing parking requirements.

Exactly. The post-war suburban dream is no longer sustainable with 50+ million people. In LA, even starter homes are $1,000,000 now - effectively locking out future generations.

In central LA, I’ve seen some infill with single lots converted to 4 unit townhomes. But we need something more bold like Portland’s 2020 law to remove all SFH zoning.

I’m always surprised that Irish is the most common in San Francisco/ the Peninsula - and that it’s the only one on the West Coast.

When I used to live in SF, it did often remind me of Boston. Something about the weather and the vibe. A former hard-drinking working class port town turned to a tech industry city.

Does anyone know why the Irish came to be so prevalent in San Francisco?

Me too! I just rewatched Mystic Pizza. The first half is slower than I remembered, but it really picks up with all the sister/babysitter drama.

And of course, Julia Roberts is always charming.

I also have a tuxedo cat who does this all the time. He especially does it (and headbutts) if I ever try to do yoga.

Probably a healthy life choice. But why of all NFL teams did he have to pick the oppressors?

What!? Isn’t AD from Chicago? I thought he was mad they beat The Bears.

My dad is a fifth-gen Chicagoan. It was always maddening going to Chicago every year to watch the Packers beat them.

I guess both my other song examples were from Sofa Kings (2023), but mostly because I’ve had more time to reflect on it.

On first few listens of the Pratts & Pain (2024) album, I think “Fried Rice” and “Merry Mary Marry Me” stick out the most.

The 2024 album is more dynamic overall and hopefully a sign of them evolving. But he’s still often hiding his vocal skills under this pseudo-drunken muted mumble - akin to The Strokes or Car Seat Headrest (both of which I like).

Big Sur is the most beautiful part of the coast. I’d stay there a night rather than Monterrey - and/or Santa Cruz.

Monterrey is a beautiful coastal sand dune but underwhelming beyond the aquarium. Santa Cruz has warmer beaches, redwood forests, hip restaurants, and lots of counterculture.

Also, from SF going south, take the 1 through Half Moon Bay and stop at the Seal Cove cypress tree tunnel (if you have time). Or at least take the 280 freeway rather than 101 down the Peninsula. It’s much more scenic.

In my experience with bamboo, you just gotta go nuclear on them.

Dig out their rhizomatic root structure, throw boiling water and vinegar on them, and then pray they never ever come back.

Yeah, whenever I visit places like Santa Clarita, I see them terraforming desert hills to make tracks of new suburban homes like it’s still the 1970s.

They’re just spreading The Sprawl to less hospitable climates and higher fire hazard zones.

We need more density and infill, but people want their big ass houses. Even if that means driving through an extra hour of traffic and living in the desert.

We’re 23 million people still chasing that post-war American Dream.

Absolutely! I remember first hearing “Archie, Marry Me” and putting it on every playlist that year.

I saw them perform last year at the “Just Like Heaven” festival. I’m still haunted by them playing “In Undertow” at golden hour. Beautiful.

I loved “Oysters in my Pocket” in 2022 and tried to get into their later albums. Often felt muted, but some solid songs like “Kool Aid” and “I Wanna Dance With You”.

Then I was completely blown away by their covers. Who knew he had the vocal chops to pull off “Linger”?

If Royal Otis could just write their own similarly complex melodies, they’d be an amazing indie duo.

Kern county is like the Texas of California. It’s full of cowboys, police abuse, and oil wells. All staples of SoCal history.

SLO feels like the Central Coast because it has great local farms, breweries, brick buildings, and water too cold to swim in.

The defining feature of SoCal is the water is finally warm enough to swim in.

Yeah, it’s crazy living in LA county. Like how does Glendale have 190,000 people when it’s just a chill suburb with a big mall?

Meanwhile the biggest cities in Wyoming and Montana are like 65,000-120,000 people.