Experiences with financially struggling government?

[W2R]

As far as New Orleans goes, the place is a cesspool of humanity.

So true! But it's OUR cesspool of humanity. We would rather live here than anyplace else.

We don't hang out with drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. Tourists who do are generally found floating face down in the Mississippi a few miles downstream.

As "1-31-18" points out, his preferences for a retirement location differ from those of some others here. It's really a good thing that not everyone prefers the same place, or it would be terribly crowded and expensive.

I am glad that some good and upstanding people prefer living in Chicago, because the more that live there, the longer the best aspects of Chicago will survive. I think Chicago is an amazing place and wouldn't want to see it deteriorate any worse than it apparently already has in some parts. Going to the Museum of Science and Industry at age 7 was a landmark experience in my life and I will never ever forget that incredible museum, especially the Foucault Pendulum which managed to convince the obstinate, doubting 7-year-old me that the earth actually DOES rotate. I watched it for over an hour and since then I absolutely know that it does. And gosh, those Chicago Style Hot Dogs sound divine.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I grew up in New England, lived in the Chicago area for 16 years during the 1970s-1980s, and have lived in NC for a total of 31 years. Each area has its cultural plusses and minuses. Each area has its share of corrupt politicians. I have found that it is possible, if one makes the effort, to laud the benefits of one's place of residence without denigrating the entire culture and character of another place.

+1

 

[ERD50]

...
As "1-31-18" points out, his preferences for a retirement location differ from those of some others here. It's really a good thing that not everyone prefers the same place, or it would be terribly crowded and expensive. ...

+1 Everyone has to weigh the pros/cons for themselves, as individuals. Some people won't care one wit about easy access to one of the best (many will say the best, and few would argue against being in the top 5) Symphony Orchestras in the world. And I'm not trying to 'sell' the Chicago area on anyone,to each their own, but I do feel I need to defend it against the claims of being unsafe in general. There are pockets of high crime rates, and large numbers due to large population.

Going to the Museum of Science and Industry at age 7 was a landmark experience in my life and I will never ever forget that incredible museum, especially the Foucault Pendulum which managed to convince the obstinate, doubting 7-year-old me that the earth actually DOES rotate. I watched it for over an hour and since then I absolutely know that it does.
...

MSI is wonderful, but I think it has changed a bit in the past 20 years. Seems to me they have eliminated some of the old "hands on" things, in favor of some more splashy, 'exciting' exhibits. Probably needed to hold the interest of a newer generation. But I recall the hand cranks on two motor/generators that were wired together. You turned one (making it a generator), and the other turned (as a motor). And it worked the other way 'round as well. That little exhibit just taught a kid so much, and made such an impression on me. It was like magic that motion on one side went through wires that didn't move, and motion happened on the other side. It was magic! And it taught you that motors and generators are the same thing, just a matter of which was being driven (the principle behind regenerative braking in Electric cars and hybrids). And if your partner held the crank steady on the one side, it made it hard to turn the other crank! But there was no connection, other than wires! You start thinking about the connection between electricity and magnetic force in a way you (or at least I) could not get from a book.


Hmmm, maybe I should build one to give to a teacher at our local school?

RE: the Foucault Pendulum - I should probably post this to physicsforums.com, but one aspect of the Foucault Pendulum always escaped me. I understand how it would act like it does if it were on the North or South pole, but I have a problem visualizing that motion at our ~ 45 degree latitude, seems to me it would just move with us.

And gosh, those Chicago Style Hot Dogs sound divine.

It's just one of those things where the combination of flavors just works (like a Poor Boy, mmmm!). And the ketchup thing is important. People expect ketchup (or catsup?) on a hot dog, but it just ruins the combination of flavors in a Chicago dog. Some gastronome explained it in technical terms. But as Chicago columnist Mike Royko pointed out, there's nothing wrong with ketchup on a hot dog, if that's what you want. Just don't call it a Chicago-Style dog if you put ketchup on it - that's just wrong.

Catsup vs. Ketchup: What’s the Difference? - Writing Explained

This graph charts the use of ketchup vs. catsup over time, and, as you can see, ketchup is used much more frequently than is catsup. If you are a writer in any English speaking country today, ketchup is the spelling you will want to use.

-ERD50

 

[W2R]

MSI is wonderful, but I think it has changed a bit in the past 20 years. Seems to me they have eliminated some of the old "hands on" things, in favor of some more splashy, 'exciting' exhibits. Probably needed to hold the interest of a newer generation.

What a shame! The "hands on" aspects were what appealed to me the most (by far) back then, and probably appealed to most kids. It was fun to be able to prove the concepts presented, to myself, by actively getting involved (even if it was just in pushing a button or something).

Many of the experiments and concepts were beyond my understanding at age 7, but I was utterly enthralled. So, I carefully read the nicely written blurbs that had been provided for each exhibit and tried to understand. Then I followed up by asking questions of my brothers and of strangers, and reading about these concepts in the encyclopedia when I got home. So, that museum experience continued enriching my life and understanding of science for months and years afterwards.

I never would have learned so much from splashy "exciting" exhibits as I did from those hands on exhibits.


P.S. - - as for the Foucault pendulum, here's a quote from Wikipedia that explains why it works at mid latitudes:

When a Foucault pendulum is suspended at the equator, the plane of oscillation remains fixed relative to Earth. At other latitudes, the plane of oscillation precesses relative to Earth, but slower than at the pole; the angular speed, ω (measured in clockwise degrees per sidereal day), is proportional to the sine of the latitude, φ:
ω = 360 ∘ sin ⁡ φ / d a y

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum

At the time, my father explained why it worked even in Chicago to me (in simple words, minus the trig) when he was trying to pry me away from the exhibit.

 

[1-31-18]

I grew up in New England, lived in the Chicago area for 16 years during the 1970s-1980s, and have lived in NC for a total of 31 years. Each area has its cultural plusses and minuses. Each area has its share of corrupt politicians. I have found that it is possible, if one makes the effort, to laud the benefits of one's place of residence without denigrating the entire culture and character of another place.

Aren't you quite the diplomat. One who bothers to read this entire thread will see that it began with an attack on Illinois, and on the city of Chicago in particular (not the vast wasteland of suburbia that is the "Chicago area"), by people who don't live there, targeting the domain's high taxes and high cost of living, while extolling the supposed superiority of low-cost environs, the Southeast in particular.

Strange that you chose to comment on my post but not theirs.

I'm fine with that, as many people don't bother with context, but people who live in glass houses should know better than to throw bricks. Not talking about you in that regard.

By the way, I agree there's been a lot of corruption in Chicago and Illinois. But it doesn't affect my daily life the way the Art Institute does (in a positive way) and the way proselytizing did (in a negative way).

As I've said before, if you don't care about the arts, then downtown Chicago is not for you. And if proselytizing is your thing (I'm not sensing that it is), then this is definitely the wrong place to live, in retirement or at any time, even though the Moody Bible Institute is here. Billy Graham, a good man, was educated in the "Chicago area" but lived out his life in NC.

 

[kcowan]

I have nearly always found that people who hold a negative view of a particular city have not lived there for any significant time. So it makes little sense to try to change their minds.

 

[ERD50]

...
P.S. - - as for the Foucault pendulum, here's a quote from Wikipedia that explains why it works at mid latitudes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum

At the time, my father explained why it worked even in Chicago to me (in simple words, minus the trig) when he was trying to pry me away from the exhibit.

Thanks, and actually the math makes sense to me (in general, I didn't work through the formulas), that vectors would modulate the effect between the poles and the equator, I'm just having trouble visualizing it.

And now it's worse! I actually took out a globe, and thought about the pendulum at the North Pole (move over Santa!), and now I'm thinking that when the observer lets go of the pendulum, it would have had the same inertia as the observer, so should keep moving with the observer. Why would it 'stand still' with the Earth rotating under it? Seems to me it would move with it. Same as when we jump up, the Earth doesn't move at thousands of mph under us and we land a few feet away, we move with the Earth.

OK, I'll go back and read the full article, but that's puzzling to me now.

-ERD50