Get On Board...If They'll Have You

The Richardson City Council is holding a come-and-go event for persons interested in serving on a City board or commission. Go. Apply. I can't say you'll be accepted but I've never seen even this small attempt at outreach by the City before.

POTD: Day Care in Nassau

From 2020 02 04 Bahamas

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a children's day-care facility in Nassau, Bahamas. I'm a sucker for murals and this is a nice one. It appears to have been commissioned by the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas for a series called "Beach Murals." The City of Richardson ought to do more along this line. The City's "Traffic Signal Box Art Contest" is a good start. More like this, please.

POTD: One Last Cruise Before the Pandemic

From 2020 02 04 Bahamas

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Western Esplande Beach in Nassau, Bahamas. In the background, you can see cruise ships docked side by side, filled with tourists like us. It was the occasion of one last cruise before COVID, although we didn't know it at the time. In Nassau, COVID was a far off news story. In a few short weeks, it would be the major news story all across the world. It would also shut the door on vacation travel for us for two years. But for now, in the Bahamas, it was the good times.

Book Review: On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder

From On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder:

Amazon

  Since the American colonies declared their independence from a British monarchy that the Founders deemed “tyrannical,” European history has seen three major democratic moments: after the First World War in 1918, after the Second World War in 1945, and after the end of communism in 1989. Many of the democracies founded at these junctures failed, in circumstances that in some important respects resemble our own."

Book Review: On Tyranny: Short book drawing parallels between modern America and Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin. Timothy Snyder lays out 20 simple ways each of us can fight the creep of fascism here in America. It's a how-to, a timely call to action.

After the jump, my full review.

Net Zero Roads for Richardson

Source: Aurecon.

Cities everywhere are trying to reduce their impact on global warming. The goals set are all variants of "Net Zero Carbon." Many of the actions needed to achieve that are outside the control of city government. They require advances in car battery technology, electric power generation (solar and wind), construction materials (steel and concrete). The City of Richardson should promote all such advances and take advantage when possible, but I'd like to see it adopt an idea that is not dependent on technological advances. It can be done today. It's under the control of the City. It offers benefits beyond its impact on global warming. It's a road diet for Richardson.