The Reddit Effect

So here’s my Wordprass stats for the last few days:

What happened on the 21st? That was the day my post on Street Jogs was crossposted to both the r/Portland and r/UrbanPlanning subreddits.

In the latter, someone asked “I wonder if Michael Southworth has seen this”? I don’t know, but Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities is always in the short box of books that goes whenever I move. When I talk about 30s-era planning preferences for Greenbelt-style curvilinear streets spreading via federal mortgage standards, that’s all stuff I learned from that book.

Dopeman Music

When I was living in Houston without a car, I used to periodically bus up to IAH and rent one for errands, fun, etc. Repeatedly I’d reserve a midsize, then be offered a minimal-cost upgrade to an SUV (usually a Ford Escape). Unlimited mileage, those cars were driven all over the place. We did 90 through the one-lane section where the Westpark dives under 59. It was a blast.

The one time I actually needed an SUV – I was building a daybed and needed to pick up a twin mattress – they were out of every Escape-sized vehicle. But would I consider upgrading to a full-size?

Well, yes. I got the keys and walked out to a low-mile Yukon XL, leather everything, automatic trunk pop, backup camera, the works. Hellllllz yeah. Turned on the ignition, heard Rap, figured it was tuned to The Box. Some good shit though. Only when I got out to JFK did I realize “wait, this is a CD.” Press eject.

SCARFACE PRESENTS: DOPEMAN MUSIC

I still got the CD. Was listening to it tonight, running errands, rolling narrow and icy roads.

The way I usually tell it to people is this:
Fly to Houston, rent the bling SUV, and the gangsta rap comes pre-installed.