85. HOA + Venting

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HOA

Last night I went out in the entry to see who was fooling with our gate only to find my upstairs neighbor who rarely is "in residence." He had noticed something I hadn't, that the gate was not locking properly. 

We started taking the mechanism apart and discovered a key rivet had broken off leaving the lock in a state where it seemed normal but didn't actually lock. Since problem-solving improvisation is my "thing," we finally arrived at a temporary solution with a crude steel tack with the spiky bit mostly broken off in place of the rivet. 

I then sent an email to the contractor who last fixed our intercom and gate lock, only to learn today that he has retired. I'm now trying to contact his son who apparently has a similar business but under a different name. Our Reserve "plan" calls for replacing this system in the next year or two so this isn't a huge surprise -- it must be close to 30 years old.

My planned HOA activity for today was prepping for touching up the paint in the entry -- not including the new walls that are to be painted professionally. I finally made a fix I've been thinking about for months, filling an annoying gap between a sort-of tile baseboard and a brick wall. Once it's painted -- tomorrow or the next day -- no one but me will ever notice it's not as it should be. And replacing the tile is also on our Reserve plan since it suffered in places during the retrofit.

I have to confess that I included these items in our Reserve Study because I was trying to be complete (and the professional study people had included them), I never really thought we would do it. There is a good reason for Reserves and Reserve Studies. Why don't governments do this?

Later:
To my surprise, my fellow Directors jumped on the idea of replacing the entire intercom system. I mean within hours, which never happens. So of course I'm having a problem getting quotes on doing that before next year. Since I don't have complete confidence in my improvised fix holding that long, I've scheduled a repair for tomorrow. So typical, I get a consensus in favor of doing the reasonable thing and then can't find a contractor to do it.

Dakota Access pipeline

Currently, a lot of liberal outrage is being channeled into the Standing Rock reservation oil pipeline protest. I don't have a problem with this... except for the "protesting our drug supplier" aspect of the thing. I'm writing this here so I don't say something on Facebook where I try to keep my moral superiority to myself. As much as I can.

Yes, running an oil pipeline across the reservation is a shitty idea, but running an oil pipeline anywhere is a shitty idea, along with drilling and transporting by ship and rail. All of this results in constant damage to the environment. But why does all this damage happen? Because people pump gasoline into their personal vehicles and travel in jets, and so on. 

If you want to prevent environmental devastation don't use a vehicle that runs on hydrocarbons. And don't fly around the world. But if you do have to consume oil products, shut the fuck up about how your dealer provides the goods you can't live without.

And if you eat meat and drive a car don't whine to me about how Trump is not going to save us from climate change. Clinton wasn't going to save us either because we don't care enough to save ourselves.

Now resuming my effort to keep my mouth shut.

Maybe next time

On Sunday I passed through the intersection of Market and Van Ness and noticed there is still no sign of the new buildings planned for that intersection. Because of the great public transit there, I've been developing that intersection in my mind for decades -- I could see it from my windows at the top of Fox Plaza. I was encouraged when I read about the plans for almost every site on the intersection, but given the lack of even site clearing to date, I now think it won't happen this boom cycle. 

That's the way things tend to happen here. A plan for a site is developed and then delayed and delayed until the bubble bursts and then development money disappears until the next boom cycle. The next plan is usually different with a new developer and architect. I'm not married to the designs for this area, I just want to see thousands more people living where they can take advantage of all the buses and trains flowing through there.

A design -- or really a designer -- I would like to see get built here is Jeanne Gang's (Studio Gang, from Chicago) residential tower adjacent to the Temporary Transbay Terminal. I would be disappointed if she doesn't get something built here this cycle. The odds are a little better here, though last time I was down there I couldn't see any sign of their starting to clear that site either. For better or worse, its part of (I think) the Transbay Transit Center house of cards. We will see.

Next - 86. Social contracts