Portlandia

8 Replies to “Portlandia”

1. Brought to you by the Dallas chamber of commerce.

2. As Portland descends into North Korean darkness, Wheeler presents himself as a leader successfully fighting light pollution.

3. Every new light fixture on a home in my town must be certified … “dark sky compliant”. Even though the neighbors homes all have giant glass Lanterns with 500W bulbs … and 250W security lights on every corner … all new homes (and remodels) must have fixtures that shield the light and point it toward the ground aka “night sky compliant”.

   I am certain that from space … you can see my “dark sky” compliant property. It looks like N.Korea from space … a tiny black spec in a sea of brightly glowing normality. I am certain that birds use my property to navigate during their travels … I feeeeeeeeel so proud.

4. fiat lux

5. I haven’t been into Portland for years. It is nothing like the city I remember. How anyone could vote for these people rather than hunting them down and hanging them from the nearest lamp post I just don’t know.

   That a city not at the center of a hot war can degrade so rapidly I would never have believed.

6. I see a lot of tents of the homeless. I wonder why they don’t break into the vacant buildings are live there.
   I suppose they don’t have the initiative to even do that. I am sure they are not deterred by any consideration of the laws.

7. 200 HP diesel powered articulating loader with a 12 foot snow blade would work wonders in cleaning that side walk shit up, CHOP CHOP!

8. I first saw scenes like that 30 years ago – in Manila, Philippines. I saw three pieces of plywood with a piece of corrugated tin on top just leaning against a building on the sidewalk, and asked my ex “what’s that?”. She said, with impossible nonchalance, “Someone lives there.”

   And, with closer inspection as we drove by – as there were many examples – I could see they had jury-rigged illegal electrical connections. Just enough to power a hot plate to cook and a small TV. Three, sometimes four, people living in an area smaller than most bathrooms.

   The bathrooms? I also remember seeing a small boy, maybe 4 or 5, without a shred of self-consciousness, pull down his pants in the middle of the alley, and let go. Don’t know what mom and dad did.

   After a few visits to the Philippines, I realized how important law and order is. Filipinos are not lazy. But they have been ruled by kleptocrats, especially at the local level, for years. My ex’s brothers ran a business, and had to pay off both the army and the police to ensure their kids were safe. “The Policemen’s Benevolent Fund”, they called it. When you can’t trust the police and the courts, your society begins to fall apart, and you get tents on the streets.

   god help us.