Theory on Solving Business and Government Facility Needs

[Notepad]

Ah, yes, of course! You're right, there, Spidey. Sorry, but I was thinking California-style in that entire rant. Maybe y'all aren't seeing the house-turned-five-apartment-complex crisis we are here in Cali. Things are probably different, a lot different, in other places, where you can build a ten-story complex. Here in Cali, most things don't get bigger than two-stories because of the earthquake-weary laws we have, causing land to be at a much higher premium than say, East Coast.

Of course, I stand by all the ranting, based on California results. I've seen Silicon Valley workers get in their car and leave home at...THREE IN THE MORNING! Yes, as a security guard I used to see this. A guy in business shirt and tie and with his little briefcase, gets into his car and heads north. Saw this only rarely, but I saw it. I'd imagine its more common now, four years later, as Bay Area intrustion is much higher than back then. Its pretty sad to have to drive three-to-four hours in order to get work work. Like another workday, but spent inside your car. All to avoid the traffic jams of the 8AM workers.

 

[Spiderman]

Oh no, I agree with you with some of the reasonings, I was just saying there are additional motivations behind going to work extra early.

Land/housing in Maryland is getting to be expensive because of "Smart Growth" policies which try to maintain a balance between development and agriculture/open land. So there's less land available and consequently housing costs are rising. We were looking at new homes in Pennsylvania and they're about $50K to $100K cheaper than an identical one in Maryland. Which, as you say, increases the commute time if you work at the same job (like mine would go from 10 minutes to 1 hour).

A neighbor of mine (and this is common too in the area) used to work in DC and woke up at 4 to leave at 5 to catch the various forms of public transportion to make the trip down there and back. It got to be too much...

 

[Notepad]

Ah, so this craziness does exist elsewhere. A question, though: Do you have people sectioning out their houses and former yards in order to afford stuff?

I'm thinking, because of the abundance of poor/illegal labor in the state of California, it might be a lot more common in Cali than anywhere else. Then again, poverty rates in other places may drive this practice, too.

 

[Spiderman]

Not sure. I don't think it's a widespread practice but it probably occurs.

It happens more in the city with the apartments there, I don't think with single family homes.

 

[train]

I can say the 9 hour shifts work - and here's why...

Wal-Mart does them, and they are the most successful discount retailer in the history of the world...

I worked for them, and it was explained to us this way...

We get paid for our breaks, but not for our lunch...

and it makes sense... you don't leave for a 15 minute break(most of the time), but you could leave and go to lunch...

If Wal-Mart's model has been successful with it - others could be also...

 

[Spiderman]

I think it would cause traffic to "smooth" out over all hours, so instead of a rush hour and a "sparse" period, you just get heavy traffic through the day and night... since more people will be out doing errands and whatnot at different hours.

 

[train]

But that would help ease one of the problems...

the main thing is causing people to take the lunch, so they don't leave early or come in late...

 

[TomB]

Our shifts went from 6am to 2:30pm, 2pm to 11:30pm, and 11pm to 6:30am. The extra half-hour was an unpaid lunch, and the overlap between shifts was for intershift communication/changeover.

It worked out fairly well, though the opportunities for OT, at some point, became reserved strictly for weekends, and even those were few and far between. Mostly, weekends were covered by staggering days off during the week, i.e. you work Monday, off Tuesday and Wednesday, then work Thursday through Sunday.

Yes, that part wasn't good... Did I mention that I hated that job? And that I no longer work there?

 

[Spiderman]

Well, it would ease rush hour in that it may not be stopped and seeing red lights, but heavy congestion all the time might not be desirable either.

I don't know, more data is needed after all the theoretical stuff is done

 

[train]

Why don't we just solve all worldly dilemmas right here at the CPA?!...