đź”· Open Thread

Lrfox said:
Sure. Or you could live reasonably comfortably in an apartment in Cambridge or Boston. Either way.
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Well, at $30k, depends if you want to save anything, can stand roommates, and want to be anywhere close to the T or restaurants/shops/etc without having to drive.
 
Right, but even living with roommates in the hinterlands of Cambridge isn't exactly living on the streets like a BUM.
 
czsz said:
Well, at $30k, depends if you want to save anything, can stand roommates, and want to be anywhere close to the T or restaurants/shops/etc without having to drive.
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I understand that $33k isn't great money, but that is the absolute lowest possible starting salary for the position and living with roommates is hardly a problem for most 20-somethings in an entry level job. While I wouldn't want to make $33k for my entire life, I would have been thrilled to have that type of opportunity right out of college (which unfortunately for me was Spring 2009, peak of the recession). It's definitely a far cry from living on the streets like a bum.

The reason I posted it here is because I know there are a number of students and recent grads who are more than qualified and could easily use such a position as a stepping stone to further their career.
 
Lrfox said:
Livable Streets is hiring in Cambridge. Don't know if any A/B people are interested, but I know some of you are more than qualified.

from the job listing:


Salary range is $33,000-$50,000.

Here's a link to the posting.
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Campaign Coordinator is pretty much a hard left turn relative to what I study and what I want to do with my life (Software Engineering / Systems Administration) but I wanted to thank you for throwing this up. I appreciate it.

Semi-serious question: do I need to know how to ride a bike to work for Livable Streets?
 
From the sounds of this outfit, I think they'd be more impressed by your ability to roll a fat blunt.
 
kmp1284 said:
From the sounds of this outfit, I think they'd be more impressed by your ability to roll a fat blunt.
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Either ability would probably win you points. It's that type of organization. For the record, I'm not affiliated but the position was forwarded to me by someone who is. She's exactly like what you would imagine her to be.
 
Ugh; I wish organizations like this knew how they came off to the rest of the world and hired people who could actually convince others of their position, rather than treating their workplace like a clubhouse for like-minded people to hide away from others' priorities.
 
Why Boston became a backwater

The Curley Effect: The Economics of Shaping the Electorate
http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/shleifer/files/curley_effect.pdf

Edward L. Glaeser
Harvard University and NBER
Andrei Shleifer
Harvard University and NBER

"James Michael Curley, a four-time mayor of Boston, used wasteful redistribution to his poor Irish constituents and incendiary rhetoric to encourage richer citizens to emigrate from Boston, thereby shaping the electorate in his favor. As a consequence, Boston stagnated, but Curley kept winning elections. We present a model of using redistributive politics to shape the electorate, and show that this model yields a number of predictions opposite from the more standard frameworks of political competition, yet consistent with empirical evidence."
 
Never thought to post this here but since we're all architecturally-inclined.

We're selling our Le Corbusier-designed table. Price is $400.

https://post.craigslist.org/manage/3397922529

So, originally we were under the impression it was an "original reproduction" from the Cassina studio that has rights to sell them, of which Design Within Reach is an authorized reseller. Turns out, Design Within Reach only vouches for their tables going back to 2005 and we bought ours in 2003, so ours isn't etched with proof of authenticity. w/e

The DWR version with the etching costs $2,465. We bought ours for somewhere around $1,800.

Table is in great shape - I think only one scratch on the glass.

It's a huge table and heavy. Very nice but we moved to a smaller place (in 2006 ...) and have had it in storage for six years.

Yes, we've spent $7,200 on long-term storage for stuff that is probably worth about $3,000.

I'm sure everyone doesn't want this board to become a "for-sale" site, but maybe we can start a thread?
 
Okay, separate from that post, I have a question.

I'm writing an opinion piece for South End News next week on the recent passage of the medical marijuana referendum. Starting January 1, 2013, Massachusetts residents will be able to have their doctors write prescriptions for marijuana. Users will be able to purchase marijuana at any of the dispensaries set up around the state - there can be as many as 35 dispensaries at the onset, with more later if the legislature feels there is a need.

If you don't know the specifics, you can read about it here:

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_Medical_Marijuana_Initiative,_Question_3_(2012)

Now that it's going to become law, people are starting to wonder what's going to happen. Where will the dispensaries be located? (As few as 1 and as many as 5 can be in any one county.) Should they be located in cities and towns that overwhelmingly supported the referendum? (All but 2 municipalities passed it - Lawrence and Mendon said "no".)

Already, some cities and towns are starting to get nervous and talking about passing laws to limit where the dispensaries can be located.

Living in the South End, I can imagine that some Bostonians will think that my neighborhood is the perfect location since the BU Medical Center is located here. Actually, they'll think it's a great place to locate it because they think my neighborhood is already home to undesirables so why not have a drug-dealing store here, too.

What is your opinion on the new law? Did you support it? Would you, if you don't live in MA? Where do you think the dispensaries should be located?

If you're curious, yes, I voted "Yes". Would I have a problem with a dispensary in my neighborhood? Probably not. That doesn't mean I think it's okay to just dump it here because no one else wants in. Did they support the law without understanding it?

I think the top of Beacon Hill would be an excellent location, as would in Weston, Wellesley, Lincoln, and Manchester-by-the-sea.

Do you agree?
 
I think you can locate them anywhere and people rich and poor will drive there. Sure, the rich suburbs won't want them. But they also don't want any housing units with two families. And I bet a fair amount of stressed out soccer moms will pop a anti-depressant and go buy a bag. Same goes for "undesirables." Rich, poor, bum, hardworking, family man, college kid. Everyone does it. Sell it at cvs and tax the crap out of it.

I don't get the argument that it will be bring crime. Are people going to rob a medical marijuana store? Seems like it would be a lot easier to complain about backpain, get a note, and smoke in piece. And if they do, are they going sell it to who? People that want to smoke- who would probably find it a lot easier to got a 'doctors' note.

Colorado has it right. It should be a regulated product that people can use responsibly for whatever reason they want. Then we can have cops stop real violence and fill our jails with real criminals.
 
JohnAKeith said:
Never thought to post this here but since we're all architecturally-inclined.

We're selling our Le Corbusier-designed table. Price is $400.

https://post.craigslist.org/manage/3397922529

So, originally we were under the impression it was an "original reproduction" from the Cassina studio that has rights to sell them, of which Design Within Reach is an authorized reseller. Turns out, Design Within Reach only vouches for their tables going back to 2005 and we bought ours in 2003, so ours isn't etched with proof of authenticity. w/e

The DWR version with the etching costs $2,465. We bought ours for somewhere around $1,800.

Table is in great shape - I think only one scratch on the glass.

It's a huge table and heavy. Very nice but we moved to a smaller place (in 2006 ...) and have had it in storage for six years.

Yes, we've spent $7,200 on long-term storage for stuff that is probably worth about $3,000.

I'm sure everyone doesn't want this board to become a "for-sale" site, but maybe we can start a thread?
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John, the link is broken. You linked to your listing management page and not the listing.
 
My opinion on this is that a lot of people are ignoring the most important part of this law. That is that the federal government still considers marijuana illegal and specifically reserves its right to conduct drug raids on legalized dispensaries, arguing that its declaration of the substance as illegal supersedes any and all state laws to the contrary.

So I don't think the law should have been passed at the state level - because, while I frankly couldn't give a damn whether or not you care to smoke pot, we don't need another pissing contest between the Commonwealth and the Federal Government right now.
 
My whole take on pot is legalize it and tax the fuck out of it. No more deficit anymore, thats for sure.
 
If I'm interpreting the regulations correctly, the list of illnesses that will warrant a prescription is so short and authorities have been so adamant in saying "this won't be a free-for-all like California" that only be a few will be able to take advantage of it. Or maybe I'm being naive and this really will be a game-changer. Either way I'm all for it.
 
kz1000ps said:
If I'm interpreting the regulations correctly, the list of illnesses that will warrant a prescription is so short and authorities have been so adamant in saying "this won't be a free-for-all like California" that only be a few will be able to take advantage of it. Or maybe I'm being naive and this really will be a game-changer. Either way I'm all for it.
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The law was designed specifically to not be a free-for-all mess like California. I'd argue the most important use for med. marijuana is for chemo patients.
 
datadyne007 said:
My whole take on pot is legalize it and tax the fuck out of it. No more deficit anymore, thats for sure.
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I'm not entirely familiar with the side-effects of marijuana but if it can cause diseases, the increase tax revenue can be rendered insignificant by the increase cost of health insurance needed to cover the medical cost of treating marijuana related diseases.
 
"I don't know what I'm talking about, but if I assume things then such and such might happen..."

KentXie, you should probably sit this one out.
 
Unless the big-pharma and big-tobacco (and their legion of lobbyists) get involved in the industrial manufacture of marijuana as a widely available consumer product, I'm not so sure that the "tax the fuck out of it" argument will work. If it's subject to tax, there will always be a black market for it. And it's not exactly difficult to cultivate, given the right information and a small investment. The law enforcement community (and the Food & Drug Administration) have better things to do than look for tax-stamps.
 
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