Ben Kettle
@benkettle.xyz
I like computers and really care about transportation - benkettle.xyz
Reposted by Ben Kettle
Okay, folks. I’ve been asked by a lot of friends who aren’t following the AI discourse to sort of clarify what the main camps are arguing, how they approach the issues, etc. As a thoughtful observer, I’m happy to provide this orienting service. No questions or comments, please. Hope it helps!
July 11, 2024 at 3:54 AM
Okay, folks. I’ve been asked by a lot of friends who aren’t following the AI discourse to sort of clarify what the main camps are arguing, how they approach the issues, etc. As a thoughtful observer, I’m happy to provide this orienting service. No questions or comments, please. Hope it helps!
Edited some pics tonight that I took at home in 2022, here’s one that I liked:
September 18, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Edited some pics tonight that I took at home in 2022, here’s one that I liked:
i! do! not! like! merge! commits!!!!
September 12, 2025 at 11:09 PM
i! do! not! like! merge! commits!!!!
Missing this bridge today
September 10, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Missing this bridge today
Reposted by Ben Kettle
![Stop doing one-way pairs
Streets were not meant to be highways
Years of driving yet no real-world use found for turning left three times
Wanted to get somewhere? We had a tool for that: It was called a two-way street
"Yes please give me ten-step directions to go half a mile" - statements dreamed up by the completely Deranged
LOOK at what traffic engineers have been demanding your Respect for all this time, with all the signs & lanes we built for them (This is REAL planning done by REAL traffic engineers):
[One way and wrong way signs, a 6-lane downtown arterial with no cars on it]
"Hello I would like to turn left on red please"
They have played us for absolute fools](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2lrfppnconpjc4n4wl2qi4ef/bafkreifbyr3v6jcfd3r4spygyfwikgelha5lj7wwabl5hxkh7u2xjdj764@jpeg)
What if AI devalues online content so much that print media comes back? Maybe the cost of printing will set some quality bar and people will be willing to pay again because the internet is now useless
August 22, 2025 at 2:14 AM
What if AI devalues online content so much that print media comes back? Maybe the cost of printing will set some quality bar and people will be willing to pay again because the internet is now useless
Reposted by Ben Kettle
“You have Robert Moses, an unelected bureaucrat who is able to build without anyone able to stop him. And now we have unelected bureaucrats who are not allowed to build but are allowed to stop building, at least when it comes to transit.” @CirculateSD
cal.streetsblog.org/2025/08/08/p...
cal.streetsblog.org/2025/08/08/p...
Powerless Brokers: New Reports Puts Blame on Local Permitting for Cost Overruns, Slow Delivery Time, for State Mega-Projects - Streetsblog California
No third party permitting? A permit "shot clock?" These are just some of the solutions discussed in Powerless Brokers.
cal.streetsblog.org
August 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
“You have Robert Moses, an unelected bureaucrat who is able to build without anyone able to stop him. And now we have unelected bureaucrats who are not allowed to build but are allowed to stop building, at least when it comes to transit.” @CirculateSD
cal.streetsblog.org/2025/08/08/p...
cal.streetsblog.org/2025/08/08/p...
I just had a class reunion in Vegas, which consisted mostly of going from one strip hotel to another, and to and from the airport. The lack of decent transit to get us around was as disappointing as expected.
It was more surprising, though, how much Ubering sucked and how much better taxis were:
It was more surprising, though, how much Ubering sucked and how much better taxis were:
August 7, 2025 at 2:32 AM
I just had a class reunion in Vegas, which consisted mostly of going from one strip hotel to another, and to and from the airport. The lack of decent transit to get us around was as disappointing as expected.
It was more surprising, though, how much Ubering sucked and how much better taxis were:
It was more surprising, though, how much Ubering sucked and how much better taxis were:
While I’m sure Switzerland does it better, these parks deserve a lot of credit for how well they do interconnect. My girlfriend and I just did a 50-mile trip connecting 10 of these preserves (across Palo Alto, Midpen, State, and County parks) with zero road-walking. The connections are fantastic.
Here are official trail maps for three contiguous parks owned by three different public agencies in the Santa Cruz mountains. Each shows basically the same info, but with a dramatically different style guide that makes regional routefinding difficult.
August 1, 2025 at 4:18 PM
While I’m sure Switzerland does it better, these parks deserve a lot of credit for how well they do interconnect. My girlfriend and I just did a 50-mile trip connecting 10 of these preserves (across Palo Alto, Midpen, State, and County parks) with zero road-walking. The connections are fantastic.
I thought this video from @hankgreen.bsky.social was a perfect summary of everything that is so frustrating to me about Twitter and today’s social media environment: youtu.be/3u8_fp1TtJE?...
Six Lies Elon Musk Believed (in the last 24 hours)
YouTube video by hankschannel
youtu.be
January 22, 2025 at 6:25 AM
I thought this video from @hankgreen.bsky.social was a perfect summary of everything that is so frustrating to me about Twitter and today’s social media environment: youtu.be/3u8_fp1TtJE?...
From The Power Broker:
“[Robert Moses] loves the public, but not as people. The public is just the public. It’s a great amorphous mass to him, it… needs recreation, but not for personal reasons—just to make it a better public”
I’m only halfway through the book, but keep seeing more Moses in Musk.
“[Robert Moses] loves the public, but not as people. The public is just the public. It’s a great amorphous mass to him, it… needs recreation, but not for personal reasons—just to make it a better public”
I’m only halfway through the book, but keep seeing more Moses in Musk.
This reminds me of something an exec who worked under Musk told me:
"Musk cares about humanity, but not much about his fellow human."
"Musk cares about humanity, but not much about his fellow human."
December 23, 2024 at 4:04 AM
From The Power Broker:
“[Robert Moses] loves the public, but not as people. The public is just the public. It’s a great amorphous mass to him, it… needs recreation, but not for personal reasons—just to make it a better public”
I’m only halfway through the book, but keep seeing more Moses in Musk.
“[Robert Moses] loves the public, but not as people. The public is just the public. It’s a great amorphous mass to him, it… needs recreation, but not for personal reasons—just to make it a better public”
I’m only halfway through the book, but keep seeing more Moses in Musk.
Reposted by Ben Kettle
Let's look at each one.
Traffic: The Bay Bridge carries ~118k round-trips a day. Bart carries ~200k through the Transbay Tube. If 50% of those BART riders took a car instead, the average commuter could expect 1-6 hours more of their lives a week to be eaten up sitting in traffic.
Traffic: The Bay Bridge carries ~118k round-trips a day. Bart carries ~200k through the Transbay Tube. If 50% of those BART riders took a car instead, the average commuter could expect 1-6 hours more of their lives a week to be eaten up sitting in traffic.
December 9, 2024 at 2:11 AM
Let's look at each one.
Traffic: The Bay Bridge carries ~118k round-trips a day. Bart carries ~200k through the Transbay Tube. If 50% of those BART riders took a car instead, the average commuter could expect 1-6 hours more of their lives a week to be eaten up sitting in traffic.
Traffic: The Bay Bridge carries ~118k round-trips a day. Bart carries ~200k through the Transbay Tube. If 50% of those BART riders took a car instead, the average commuter could expect 1-6 hours more of their lives a week to be eaten up sitting in traffic.