Friday, August 4, 2023

How Comprehensive is the Comprehensive Plan?

Source: City of Richardson

Recently, I've been meddling in the City of Richardson's efforts to update its Comprehensive Plan. To decide who is off the rails—them, me, or maybe neither—I've decided I need to back up (to first principles), or pull up (for a birds-eye view), to understand just what the City thinks is included in this effort.

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Jury Duty (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Jury Duty (TV 2023): Mockumentary follows a trial where everyone is an actor except one juror. Crazy things happen that would not in any real courtroom. Humor is in the unknowing juror's reactions. Last episode spoils the magic, revealing how the audience was tricked, too. C+

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Council Recap: Planning a Comp Plan

Source: DALL-E

The Richardson City Council and the City Plan Commission held a rare joint work session July 31. The main topic on the agenda was "REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE ENVISION RICHARDSON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE AND COMMUNITY SUMMIT ONE." That took almost all of the 3.5 hours the meeting lasted.

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Random Thoughts: Black Mirror

Mastodon

2023-07-01: In the "Black Mirror" episode "Beyond the Sea" (S6, E3), astronauts on a deep space mission get R&R by periodically transferring their consciousness to replicas on Earth. If this technology exists, why wouldn't NASA use it the other way around, sending replicas into space and keeping the humans safe on Earth, except when needed in space?

2023-07-03: Life would be easier to figure out if it were accompanied by melodramatic music like in bad movies.

2023-07-03: I'm reminded of when I taught high school in Australia in 1976. I told my students that in honor of the upcoming American bicentennial, there would be no school on July 4. An initial burst of excitement was quicky followed by irritation when they realized July 4, 1976, fell on a Sunday.

Monday, July 31, 2023

What To Do with the Doghouse When Fido Dies

Source: h/t DALL-E

In Facebook's "Richardson Urban and Neighborhood Discussions", Andrew Laska shared an announcement by the City of Richardson about open houses to gather community feedback about the City Hall/Comp Plans. He offered his own priorities, the first one (two?) of which were "1) Legalize missing middle housing. 1a) Legalize ADUs."