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Mvhsz commented on Ask HN: Where to find open-source house plans?    · Posted by u/tsingy
hnbad · 2 years ago
> Imo the concept of 'open source' doesn't translate to houses as well because regulation, construction approaches and tastes can be so locally specific and also change over time.

I think that's the biggest problem. You can draw up a house in free apps in a couple of minutes or hours but that doesn't mean it's structurally sound or that the walls will have the right dimensions for the pipes and cables that need to run through them or that they're the right size for the kind of insulation you want or that the windows meet your country's/state's legal regulations or that the house meets the code for where you want to build (which can literally depend on the part of the road the building will be on).

We approached our architect with pretty much a full floorplan in hand but it still took us months to pin down something that would get fast-tracked for approval and even then the floor plans had to be modified by the construction company to account for the placement of things like toilets and showers. Even without changing any of these details we couldn't take the floorplans and just submit them for a different part of town as they would likely not match the requirements there.

Mvhsz · 2 years ago
I would add that an architect’s job is to find the little details that make your big investment better. One thing I associate with off the rack house plans in big developments is having the shades drawn all day because otherwise the sun will shine right in your face. An architect looks at the site and the sun and adjusts window heights and overhangs to suit. Amongst many other details. A house being such a big investment, hiring an architect seems wise.
Mvhsz commented on A forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation   nature.com/articles/s4146... · Posted by u/wawayanda
dvh · 2 years ago
Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) model simulations suggest that a full collapse is unlikely within the 21st century.
Mvhsz · 2 years ago
In reference to the cmip model, the article says:

> There are, however, model biases toward overestimated stability of the AMOC, both from tuning to the historic climate record, poor representation of the deep water formation, salinity and glacial runoff.

The article goes in to say why they disagree with the cmip assessment, and rather believe it could happen “around mid century” of the current century.

Mvhsz commented on Fed plans to ‘reset’ the housing market–raising likelihood of falling homeprices   finance.yahoo.com/news/fe... · Posted by u/fairytalemtg
doctoboggan · 3 years ago
My wife and I are currently shopping for a home in Chicago. Is it a stupid idea to buy a house in the next few weeks?
Mvhsz · 3 years ago
Home prices are likely to go down over the course of the summer in the US, driven by the increasing costs of financing. But macro factors (demographics driving up demand for a limited and slow to expand housing supply) are still present so the price relief could be short lived. Or we could enter a recession that drives home prices down to historic lows, nobody knows.

Mortgage rates are likely to stay elevated for a year minimum, so that’s just reality if you need a place to live in the meantime. Paying the extra monthly cost until rates drop and you can refinance probably still beats renting for that time.

Mvhsz commented on A 4-year-old can run errands alone and not just on reality TV   npr.org/sections/goatsand... · Posted by u/JTbane
livinginfear · 3 years ago
Sesame Street clearly had a big influence on you.

Would you walk on Kensington Ave with your children? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi1Kf-1qd6Y

Mvhsz · 3 years ago
A few friends of mine have bought houses in the gentrifying parts of port richmond over the years, and I've biked through several of the intersections in that video. Yeah parts of Kensington Ave are open air drug markets, you avoid those spots. The surrounding neighborhood is run down and pretty low income, but mostly quiet and residential. I assume SF is similar in that outside of downtown you can find a path to anywhere you want to go that avoids the most obvious dangers. Similar to the parent comment, the grocery store I walk to in west philly always has a homeless woman out front and the interactions aren't scary. She says hello to me and my dog who she recognizes and asks for change, I typically say "no but have a nice day" she says "god bless" and that's that.

Speaking as a non-parent, if I had a kid near kensington ave and they walked to school (which they mostly do) I would just tell them to walk down Frankford Ave a few blocks south, which is much less scary. Teaching kids those basic "street smarts" is one of the objectives of having "free range" kids. Although I would also add that living a little ways away from the street infamous for being a drug market is within the means of the majority of the Philadelphians, and the vast majority of the hacker news crowd.

Mvhsz commented on Lumber crash leads to 'blowout' sales as prices crater   cbc.ca/news/business/lumb... · Posted by u/awnird
coding123 · 4 years ago
Not what I'm seeing. Hot dog buns to cheese, everything that was $2 is $3 right now. I swear everything has whole foods price right now. I don't care what the govt. is tracking they are obviously not in my safeway.
Mvhsz · 4 years ago
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics actually employees quite a few people to call stores across the country and get prices. Planet money interviewed one such person not long ago. https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015804773/how-do-you-measure...
Mvhsz commented on The Colorado River is shrinking   sciencemag.org/news/2021/... · Posted by u/SquibblesRedux
throwawayboise · 4 years ago
The more macro question is can enough alfalfa be grown elsewhere, in areas that don't need so much artifical irrigation, or is the Utah production required to meet demand?
Mvhsz · 4 years ago
Not a farmer, but alfalfa can be grown many places. I watched a gabe brown video where he mentioned growing it for cattle grazing in North Dakota, which is basically a cold desert. Presumably US farmers in wetter climates like the upper midwest and southeast are capable of growing more profitable crops than cattle feed.

Just one example: If we switched to electric cars and eliminated the need for the midwest to grow corn for ethanol, then a tremendous amount of farmland would open up. So you're right to ask the macro question, it's just that the answer is complicated.

Mvhsz commented on Dubai is making its own fake rain to beat 122°F heat   independent.co.uk/climate... · Posted by u/kn9
dole · 4 years ago
Curious how saline that rain would end up being, detrimental to plant life, considerable corrosion for metals/cars/etc.
Mvhsz · 4 years ago
Just guessing but I can't imagine they use as much salt as northern cities put on the road when it snows (dump trucks worth of salt). There's information for that at my local extension office [1]. The TL;DR is that plants don't love it, but they tolerate it. Grasses are especially tolerant.

[1] https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/impact-of-road-salt-...

Mvhsz commented on World’s first lab-grown meat facility pumps out 5k burgers per day   slashgear.com/worlds-firs... · Posted by u/hochmartinez
shaunregenbaum · 4 years ago
I worked in this lab! Would be glad to answer questions.
Mvhsz · 4 years ago
Have you tried it? How was it?
Mvhsz commented on 20-Minute Neighborhoods   theconversation.com/peopl... · Posted by u/simonebrunozzi
amanaplanacanal · 4 years ago
We also support that less dense living through subsidies and regulation. Without the subsidies and regulation, it may be that people would choose differently.
Mvhsz · 4 years ago
If a drive down a highway cost as much as a train ticket, I think US cities would indeed be very different. https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/9/10/think-buses-an...

I'm definitely a city person, and there have been some well-meaning comments from non-city people wondering why people like me are opposed to their lifestyle. I don't mind people choosing to live in the suburbs or rural areas, I just want them to pay for the giant ugly highway that lifestyle requires. I want my taxes to go to city parks and schools and streetcars.

Side note - I am aware that state and federal DOT funds most highways, but the city has to pay for the induced demand for car infrastructure that those highways create downtown. On the flip side, the state and federal DOT contribute minimally to the cost of me taking the subway.

Mvhsz commented on Review of the Mustang Mach E   electrek.co/2021/02/05/th... · Posted by u/cs702
cnasc · 5 years ago
Ford has no plans to make anything except SUVs in the future, so there will be no sport coupe.
Mvhsz · 5 years ago
That announcement excluded the mustang (and one trim of the focus). They will continue building the mustang as a gas-powered sport coupe, but will stop producing Fusion/Taurus/Fiesta.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/25/17282562/ford-focus-musta...

u/Mvhsz

KarmaCake day212April 22, 2019
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software engineer, google, Colorado (USA)
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