Design vs. Develop

I received this email late in the afternoon:

A 1632-minute delay is in effect at Stadium-Armory in the direction of Vienna/Fairfax-GMU. Unsubscribe: wmata.com/opt_out.cfm

Being a civic-minded cheapskate, I check a lot of books out of the library. The current one I’m reading (Dark Age Ahead, by Jane Jacobs) has been slightly modified by a previous borrower. Observe the following quote:

Arabic numerals originated in the Fertile Crescent and India; the source of their most original and portentous addition, the zero, was the Fertile Crescent.

The words ‘in’ and ‘India’ were underlined, with the word ‘only’ scrawled above ‘India’. To whoever did this: SHAME ON YOU. Don’t write in library books, ever! Rather than correcting a factual error, you’re only making yourself look like an idiot. You would get your point across much better by writing your own book titled “Modern Numerals Were Invented in India, Not the Middle East” instead of defacing public property that will be seen by the half-dozen people borrowing the book after you.

On a not quite normal morning, the sun is shining but the atomosphere is still and unusually silent. Inside each house, warped furniture and personal artifacts are bounded only by mold-gripped walls. Everything is covered with an ugly gray-yellow-brown tinge. Must is the only scent that can permeate a protective, stifling mask. After taking a few moments to survey the landscape, the long process begins.

First come the couches and charis, soaked and wretched. Then come books, videos, and clothing. Old trophies, keepsakes, and treasured items now ruined by the waves of disaster are discovered. Before too long the house is barren, but not empty. Cabinets, sinks, toilets, and tubs are next to go. It’s now afternoon. Drywall still bearing watermarks is taken out chunk by chunk. Nails are removed, the ceiling is carted away, and the floor is finally swept.

All that remain are 2×4 studs, a plank floor, the siding, and a fireplace. The house that started the morning full of corrupted goods and possessions is now stripped to the bare fundamental elements. This house is still in no shape to be inhabited, but it now almost feels more like a home. It has been redeemed.

I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to move back into the homes I helped gut last month. If anything, I hope whoever sees them will be encouraged, despite the ensuing debate over how to repopulate New Orleans.

Yes, I’ve been reading some “McPaper” articles, but these are culture pieces. Residents of Poway, California have decided to cancel everything for next Monday evening. No soccer practice, no church small groups, just time at home with the family. I’m a fan of anything that gets people to slow down and consider the world around them.

Also, there’s an article about the “Starbuckization of society.” Highlights on their influence over price, taste (although many would argue Starbucks woefully lacks here), eating habits, choice, socialization, real estate, corporate social responsibilty, and now entertainment.

From the Washington Post:

“Looking back, it’s kind of funny how clueless we were, but, I mean, in the city you just flush,” said Kelly, who last year became a county commissioner. “You don’t think about where it goes.”

To me, in a possibly strange way, this quote really encapsulates the larger problem we have today with urban development: people don’t want to think about the impact of their actions. We enjoy living our insular lives, until we end up with a backyard full of our own waste.

Washington Post reports that Metro is thinking about removing the carpeting and padded seats in rail cars, citing the expense of maintenance. If this does happen, I wonder what the effect will be on litter and vandalism. Could the quality of the interior be helping in Metro’s vigilant crusade against abuse?