My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on August 1, 2018

Brenda and I had a good time talking to our millennial son Taylor and his girlfriend Megan last weekend. In contrast to our usually politically deteriorating topics of conversation (like his dad, Taylor loves to debate), it was a very enjoyable time. He picked up some shrimp and brought over the ingredients to make us dinner which was probably the best tasting meal I’ve had all year — what a great cook (and it was pretty much ALL Taylor!)

Most of our conversation was around house-hunting as he has been looking at interesting properties and pondering buying his first house. I’m hoping he doesn’t feel forced into buying “just anything” since besides the unrealistic pressure of age and doing what peers are doing,  he is feeling as if the prices and bidding battles on listed properties  makes  houses more attractive than they are — the “if someone else wants it, I better bid on it too” competition. I know he wants to buy and own a house in the high taxed and higher price urban Cincinnati area, but since he is “the county planner” for Clermont County just east of Cincinnati, I think his smartest move would be to use that knowledge to make a smart buy where he knows all the players. We discussed his desire to get into property development and conversation with a respected older (70 year old) developer about how he started in the business and what his advice might be. Very smart.

The fun conversation ended with Taylor telling me that he things he may have found a fun “side hustle.” I’ve bugged him about doing something that makes money in his free time rather than spending it or sitting around playing video games. He was excited to share giving the new Bird scooter business a try — very exciting and at least fun. Who knows, might even generated some spending money?

 

Bird electric scooters ruffle city officials’ feathers with surprise launch

With no advance notice, flocks of Bird electric scooters appeared on Cincinnati sidewalks Thursday morning, according to The Enquirer.

Based on launches in Cincinnati and other cities, Santa Monica, California-based Bird seems to be following a “launch-first, permit-later” deployment strategy that has surprised and at times annoyed city officials. Bird places groups of scooters it calls “nests” on sidewalks in the morning and picks them up at sundown, apparently without prior notice to new municipalities.

According to Cincinnati spokesperson Casey Weldon, the city only heard about the Birds’ arrival Thursday morning. That same day, Weldon told The Enquirer, “Given that we just learned of the matter, we are still in the process of evaluating the possible impact on neighborhoods.”

On Friday, city officials didn’t know if Bird filed permits or took other steps prior to Thursday’s launch.

Electric scooters don’t fit Ohio’s traditional vehicle classifications. Ohio state officials say Bird scooters aren’t considered motor scooters because they lack seats and lights. Since the vehicles don’t match state definitions, riders don’t need to wear helmets or have motorcycle endorsements on drivers’ licenses.

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Categories: Personal, Technology
Tags: bird, cincinnati, cooking, family, homes, houses, megan, property, real estate, scooter, side-hustle, taylor