This is what is happening in the US city I reside in. Developers are gobbling up land and putting in “high density” housing, but without building any additional amenities or restructuring roads that make the area more enjoyable to live in. And this is in a city with very libertine zoning rules, so mixed use is not restricted. The price/foot is about the same for the higher density housing as it is for a house and a yard just a 10-20 min drive further out, so given the choice between high density/no amenities/no parking/not walkable/surrounded by high speed roads vs a house with a yard and a garage (will have to drive in either scenario)…I’ll take the bigger house and the yard.

As someone in the US who has lived in small/er towns for over half my life and now lives in a major metro area, the benefits of denser urban areas greatly outweigh smaller towns at this stage in my life. Outside of the western states, much of the US is private land, so outdoor recreational opportunities are limited even in rural areas. In my personal experience quality local entertainment and dining has not increased in small towns, if anything its gone down as more people source entertainment online and big corporate chain restaurants take over real estate. In my experience denser urban areas have more to offer in terms of diversity of art, culture, and thought. Economies of scale make it possible to sustain niche endeavors. Access to international airports is also a major boon.

My company is currently being acquired, but the signs were there for over a year:

- A lack of guiding objectives and growth plans (which are vital in this particular industry)

- Major personnel change on the executive team. New exec had lead CIC events at several prior orgs.

- Complete re-organization of the development side of the business, with a focus on cost cutting and separation into separate divisions.

- Entirely new HR dept hired. More red tape and internal scrutiny.

- Increased political power consolidation within legal department, with several odd (politically motivated?) high level promotions there.

- Lack of internal promotion and compensation. Not replacing personnel who left because of this environment.

Any one of these wouldn’t be a red flag by itself, but all combined were a fairly clear indication.

I was a relative early adopter of smartphones, and have used one for most of my adult life (since university). For me it is an incredibly useful and almost irreplaceable daily tool: - photography and audio recording - note taking - maps/navigation/compass - email - file management - messaging/audio communication - tickets and traveling - language translation (does anyone have a recommendations for a less privacy invasive tool similar to Google Lens translation?) - calculators - emergency flashlight - fitness and health tracking - time keeping/alarms/timers - weather - quickly looking up information online - reminders/calendars and task management - books (both text and audio) - music storage and playback - banking/finance/payments - passwords and token management is far more convenient

I’m also on call for work 24/7, so quickly having access to employer’s and customer’s communication service, software, and files is a requirement.

All of these tasks could be completed using multiple different tools, but with immensely greater friction and difficulty. It amplifies and augments mental capabilities.

The downsides as I see them so far: - Constant access to data, distractions, news, communication reduces ability to focus and can create mental fatigue (but I already had issues with focusing anyway, so the benefits of time management outweigh the cons) - Social media…enough said - probably reduces memory and mental capacity as its easier to simply look something up or run a quick calculation than to remember data or do mental math. So while it can augment mental capacity, it can also become a crutch. Like every new technology there are both benefits and cons. It requires leveraging the new technology in a way that benefits you, and mitigating or managing any negative impacts.

Not USA made, but Farer has some interesting designs https://farer.com/

Where I grew up I could see the milky way over my house. I didn’t realize how lucky that was. Now with urban sprawl the stars are fading there.

With family roots in ranching, one of the concerns with freedom to roam in the US for landowners (in particular for land used for livestock and agriculture) is a lack of respect for others/natural resources. Existing public use areas in the US already regularly get trashed in some parts of the country by those who fail to practice leave-no-trace. And my family has had existing issues with poachers and trespassers cutting fences, leaving gates open (which becomes a liability when livestock enter roads), and even shooting livestock. I personally like the idea of FTR, but putting on my ranching hat to see from that perspective, we might need additional legal protections to protect landowners from damages and liability.

Yet the BLM land is mainly distributed precisely in those western regions where also ranching is done. Campers don’t feel such a need to roam on ranching land, because they could plan a trip around the BLM land. Out east where there isn’t much BLM land, there isn’t much ranching either.

I definitely understand the harm that inconsiderate travelers can do. Throughout Latin America ranchers are quite accepting of cyclists crossing their land, but the one thing you hear them complaining about is those cyclists not closing gates behind them.

I work on sales/customer facing side of a non-tech industry, but my experience has been different than root comment. My industry is engineer/finance driven, with sales as more of an afterthought or necessary evil. I try to stay tied in with the development/production side as much as possible for sales, but the mismanagement and culture rot on the development/production side has me looking for a new job as it spreads through the company. It’s tough seeing top performers leave/forced out and petty politics and mismanagement take over. It makes my job much harder. The rot has eventually trickled down to other departments, so I think it’s time to make an exit.

This seems to be the trend in US business culture as a whole. I work in a more industrial sector, but the same problems persist: Repeated management turnover and restructuring. Despite top performer reviews, withholding promotions and raises. Under hire/over work personnel (“we run lean here”). Preach cost cutting on public side with the need for layoffs, all while hosting extravagant trips and dinners for upper management behind closed doors. Petty department politics and nepotism.

It’s hard not to become jaded, since this has been the eventual outcome at last two employers (even if they didn’t start out that way, the rot set in). Trying to find a healthier place to work, without sacrificing career growth.

Interesting…I have had the opposite experience. Apple maps has recently been much better at providing more complete results for searches (gyms, restaurants, retail, etc.), while still lagging behind Google for driving directions and traffic. Google maps appears to be excluding relevant results from searches (which appear in Apple maps), and instead offering up promoted locations.