Jay Luker
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jluker.bsky.social
Jay Luker
@jluker.bsky.social
190 followers 720 following 240 posts
I Was Dancing in the Pedestrian Bar Ah-ooh Ah-ooh - Lexington, MA - he/him
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jluker.bsky.social
1 in 93.

angieschmitt.substack.com/p/one-in-93
This is objectively correct. I’m not a math wiz or anything but I happen to know the odds of getting killed in a car crash are 12/100,000 nationally and about 11/100,000 in Ohio. That’s just off the top of my head. In Cleveland, we have 72 deaths per year — I consider that unacceptably high. But in a city of about 400,000, I did the math. It is .00018. So this lawmaker, he is not wrong on the facts. And this is what people think when they drive. Other authoritative groups do this as well. NHTSA uses deaths per million miles traveled. And again, it ends up being a tiny fraction — NBD, nothing to worry about. It matches our observed experience, we’re mostly safe, until one day, we aren't. The thing is, these odds add up over time. Most people don’t live their entire lives in one year. They live for 60 or 80 years if they’re lucky. Risks compound. This is math also. If we were to take those tiny fractions and add them up year over year, guess what? They start getting bigger. In the U.S., using 2022 data, the odds of being killed in a car crash over a lifetime are 1 in 93. More than 1 in 100 Americans can expect to die in a car crash over the course of their lifetimes. To make matters worse, traffic deaths are concentrated among young men in their teens and early 20s. And so compared to like a heart disease, they take a lot of “good” years off a person’s life. They cut people short in their primes — more often than not. These kind of sudden deaths to people of working age are especially traumatic for families and communities.
October 2, 2025 at 1:04 PM
jluker.bsky.social
You want to improve bus stops? Paint some markings so it’s clear to this guy he shouldn’t park here.
A Verizon work truck parked fully in the space for the bus to pull over
September 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Call and ask her
Governor Healey’s office number is 617 725 4005
September 11, 2025 at 8:45 PM
jluker.bsky.social
August 24, 2025 at 9:49 AM
jluker.bsky.social
Made it
The janky grill in place at the new house
August 17, 2025 at 9:10 PM
jluker.bsky.social
My janky, hand-me-down grill is too big and dirty to try fitting in the car so I’m wheeling it through the neighborhood to the temp rental house. The closer I get to the end the steeper it gets.
Rolling a grill through my neighborhood Starting up a big hill!
August 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Jenny Toomey says cancel your Spotify account.

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/05/o...
Screen cap of a section of a Chicago Tribune op-ed by Jenny Toomey: "When we talk about Big Tech’s responsibility to artists, the usual counterargument goes something like this: “But look at all the exposure they provide! Ten million artists can now reach audiences!” This is the digital equivalent of being paid in exposure — a currency that, last time we checked, isn’t accepted by landlords or health insurance companies. The paradox of the internet platforms is that every artist’s work can be available, but only a few superstars get noticed. It might seem like a fair competition. But the reality of who’s getting what in online music is more complex and more insidious. Take Spotify, as brilliantly documented in Liz Pelly’s book “The Mood Machine.” Many millennials have never known a different way of consuming music. But behind their sleek interfaces, the music streaming platforms are massive black boxes, with opaque algorithms and secretive payment systems. It’s not just that we can’t see how the sausage is made — we also can’t even be sure of what’s being counted as sausage. Self-dealing flourishes in darkness: Platforms can promote their playlists, favor certain artists over others and manipulate rankings, all without meaningful oversight or accountability."
July 29, 2025 at 6:42 PM
jluker.bsky.social
My Tsunami t-shirt came with a sticker! 🦞
July 29, 2025 at 11:30 AM
jluker.bsky.social
100% of this went straight into the compost bin because I found it impossible to get it to come off the roller except in shreds.
a picture of a box of “Compostic” compostable cling wrap
July 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM
jluker.bsky.social
June 4, 2025 at 11:58 AM
jluker.bsky.social
Incredible juxtaposition
Pano shot showing the ominous abandoned school buildings on one end and the colorful crowded playground on the other
May 25, 2025 at 3:19 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Inexplicably the playground doesn’t open until 10am. Large parking lot instantly at capacity. Open at 8 and half these families would have already come and gone.
May 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
jluker.bsky.social
My soul left my body when I saw the nature sign
May 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Here's the kind of ass-backwards, offensive garbage this PAC is putting out now. Fuck this. Sorry, kids. I threw all your New Balance sneakers in the trash.
Gross bullshit anti-bikelane messaging by a PAC funded by Jim Davis, CEO of New Balance, in support of Josh Kraft's mayoral campaign.
May 21, 2025 at 3:44 PM
jluker.bsky.social
The Internet Roadtrip stopping to pick up some road pops at a Bar Harbor market
neal.fun/internet-roa...
neal.fun internet roadtrip showing the interior of a wine shop in bar harbar, maine
May 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
jluker.bsky.social
He's out here making claims that the Baker admin, of which he was a part, did not support the MBTA Communities law?

Hey, Mike, this you?

lexobserver.org/2023/04/06/l...
Quote from an April 2023 Lexington Observer op-ed: "The bill that brought Housing Choice also brought MBTA Communities, a statute that charged “the department” (DHCD, reporting to me) with developing compliance guidelines. We worked for months, again with a broad coalition, to develop the policy, which has enormous potential. More housing near transit and in downtowns is hugely positive in 5 areas — housing, transportation, climate, economic development, and diversity. Article 34 doesn’t just get us in compliance, it allows Lexington to do what we’ve always aspired to do – lead."
May 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
jluker.bsky.social
A movie I've watched more than six times.

(Gifs only, with Hard mode: no Star Wars, Star Trek, or LOTR)
April 26, 2025 at 11:52 AM
jluker.bsky.social
These are the motivations baked into 7.5. And note that the only conditions where front setbacks are waived is if the underlying zoning was already commercial or the new development will have commercial use on the 1st floor.
The purposes of the Village Overlay (VO, MFO, and VHO) Districts are: 1. To provide family housing and ensure compliance with MGL c. 40A § 3A; 2. To promote multifamily housing near retail sales and services, office, civic, and personal service uses; 3. To reduce dependency on automobiles by providing opportunities for upper-story and multifamily housing near public transportation such as bus stops, the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, and major transportation routes; 4. To ensure pedestrian-friendly development by permitting higher-density housing in areas that are walkable to public transportation, shopping, and local services; 5. To respond to the local and regional need for affordable housing by permitting a variety of housing types with inclusionary housing requirements; 6. To encourage economic investment in the redevelopment of properties; 7. To encourage residential and commercial uses to provide a customer base for local businesses; and 8. To meet the goals of the housing element of the 2022 Lexington NEXT Comprehensive Plan.
February 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
jluker.bsky.social
I’m sorry to report that this development is still waiting for clearance from the conservation commission and has asked for a continuance several times. I’m not sure why.
Notice of Intent: 231 Bedford Street OpenGov Permit# CNOI-24-27, DEP #201-1335 Applicant/Property Owner: Richard Beliveau Project: Construction of a multi-family residential structure and associated site appurtenances within the 200-foot Riverfront Area and the 100-foot Bordering Vegetated Wetlands buffer zone Previous Hearing Dates: 10/21/24, 11/4/2024 (no testimony), 11/18/2024, 12/2/2024 (no testimony), 12/16/2024 (no testimony) *Applicant has requested a continuance without testimony to 2/3/2025
January 28, 2025 at 11:49 PM
jluker.bsky.social
We did it, everyone. We can all go home now.
Announcement of single use plastic water bottle ban taking effect in Lexington, MA.
January 7, 2025 at 9:31 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Here's #LexingtonMA demonstrating the "Progressive in the Streets; NIMBY in the Sheets" adage.

A (partly estimated) breakdown of voting preferences (D vs R) for the certified signatures collected to force a Special Town Meeting, the goal of which is to roll back our MBTA Communities zoning.
donut chart showing rough voter preferences between D(emocrat) and R(epublican). D=33.5%, D (est)=47.7%, R=6%, R (est)=12.4%.
January 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Y’all I found a tv show about a private investigator that rides around on an e-bike? And it’s kinda good?!
December 29, 2024 at 12:02 PM
jluker.bsky.social
Randomly got curious if El Vez was still doing the Merry Mex-mas thing and yep. I caught this show at Juanita’s in Little Rock in must have been 1995? What a legend.
December 26, 2024 at 8:59 PM
jluker.bsky.social
. o O (yeah, this new romance bookstore has a nice vibe. not really my thing thou—wait a second…)

Computer, enhance!
interior of Lovestruck books in Harvard Square Computer enhancing image Closeup of the D&D Essentials Kit on prominent display. Unfortunately the photo is too blurry for my joke to work very well.
December 22, 2024 at 12:57 PM
jluker.bsky.social
(Forgot my alt text!)
image of a citizens petition article for Lexington Town Meeting reading, TOWN OF LEXINGTON CITIZENS' PETITION TO CALL SPECIAL TOWN MEETING We, the undersigned registered voters of the Town of Lexington, petition the Select Board to call a Special Town Meeting, and to insert in the warrant therefore the following article: To see if the Town will vote to: (1) amend Section 7.5 of the Zoning Bylaw and Map to reduce the multi-family dwelling unit capacity it allows by making changes to said section including, but not limited to, reduction or removal of districts, modification of height, setback and other dimensional standards, modification of parking requirements, and imposition of density limits; and (2) place a temporary moratorium, in order to allow the Town a sufficient opportunity to reexamine the operational, capital, fmancial, and other impacts of Section 7.5 on the Town, on: (a) developments permitted subject to site plan review under Section 7.5, and (b) applications for preliminary or definitive subdivision plans, insofar as such applications are submitted to freeze zoning requirements under Section 7.5; or act in any other manner in relation thereto.
December 21, 2024 at 4:59 PM