Sundar Raman

Sundar Raman

39p

53 comments posted · 1 followers · following 0

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Random Interaction Wit... · 0 replies · +1 points

Cho! Very good to hear from you and to know that you are safely back in Korea. All the best on your future journeys. Visit Fairfield again sometime!

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Special Election Reminder · 0 replies · +2 points

Interesting article about fund-raising and contributions for Burgmeier and Hanson: <a href="http://iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=168471
http://iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=168471<... />

On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 11:33 AM, Sundar <cybertoast@gmail.com> wrote:
Dems get the same agribusiness campaign contributions that the GOP do, just a bit less (so they're only slightly more opposed to CAFO's: http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?i... So no surprise there at all.

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Special Election Reminder · 0 replies · +2 points

Dems get the same agribusiness campaign contributions that the GOP do, just a bit less (so they're only slightly more opposed to CAFO's: http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?i... So no surprise there at all.

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Apply for a concealed ... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'll join you on the six-inch blade ban removal so I too can carry my katana around. I wonder if it would be worth petitioning to have the concealed carry permit for people who are NOT gun owners, but would like to have the *right* to have a concealed weapon. Anyone with me?

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Civic Leaders Shy Away... · 2 replies · +1 points

Will, thanks for this review. If anything it appears there is greater confusion about this issue than clarification. I'm probably misunderstanding, but it seems that the business and civic components were not really consulted (or maybe did not participate) prior to this becoming a point of potential contention.

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Around Town This Week:... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'd say the best source of information on Critical Mass is the wikipedia article on the topic. It's essentially a way to subvert the car-centric world by taking over a main street during one of the busiest commute hours of the month. Usually that's the last Friday afternoon of the month. But to alleviate the stress, CM is often themed - the cyclists dress up and it becomes sort of an activist parade in costume.

There are a couple of CM rides in Iowa: <a href="http://criticalmass.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_rides.
http://criticalmass.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_rides.... />
I wish I had taken pics of CM in Albuquerque or Chicago when I lived there, but never did :( But there are a *lot* of pictures on flickr and google images on the topic.

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Around Town This Week:... · 2 replies · +1 points

I've been thinking about the bike lanes on Burlington for a while. I'm curious about how the decision was made to add bike lanes to this road vs. making one of the side roads (say Jefferson and Stone) bike priority (meaning double bike lanes with cars having lower priority when bikes are present). Not that I object to the bike lanes on Burlington at all.
I'm somewhat ambivalent about the dual-purposing of a main thoroughfare primarily for bad-weather and late-night reasons. I never feel safe on a bicycle with higher-speed traffic. And I dislike being sloshed on by passing vehicles in bad weather (rain, snow).
Then again perhaps this is the best way to make people less car-centric. Maybe we should start up Critical Mass in Fairfield!

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Culinary superhero: Go... · 0 replies · +1 points

Stay tuned .. I believe we're going to start seeing some interesting culinary cross-pollination between Fairfield and Ottumwa soon.

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - Raising Children in a ... · 2 replies · +1 points

My wife told me a long time ago that children are just small adults. I found it hard to digest this at the time (over a decade ago) but as I've had the opportunity to interact with children over the last decade I must say that this is very largely the case. Treat children like adults who need a bit more guidance and you get wonders. It's also wonderfully taxing :) But ultimately I've found that I learn a lot about myself in my interaction with children. And I hope that my general interpersonal skills also improve (this is yet to be determined tho'). Anyway, it's an amazing endeavor you've embarked on.

BTW, both Connor and your younger son (whose name I cannot remember now even though I just met him!) are amazingly curious and have great interpersonal skills. I was quite impressed with them in the 15 minutes I got to meet them. I believe that's a testament to your parenting!

14 years ago @ Fairfield Voice - No Playing Hockey on t... · 0 replies · +1 points

I did all those things and probably caused my mother to go grey prematurely. But I consider those (dangerous and unsafe) moments quite formative. I'm not by any chance trying to describe playing on the street as "safe". But I *am* describing it as fun.

Kids play hockey on the streets of Chicago.Kids play soccer on the streets of New York (ok, Queens, but whatever). I seriously doubt that Fairfield poses more danger than those places. And if it does, kids need to learn to deal with them sooner than later. No?

BTW, I'm not questioning the parental prerogative. But stopping kids from being active, outdoors, and having sun in our woefully short summer seems more criminal and unwarranted than any issue of safety.