Off-topic Random Thoughts Thread

[NYCtrainfan01]

93 on my Global Regents. Then again, history was my favorite subject in HS, especially when it came to post-WWII in Global II.

A 93 on global eh? Good job! When I took that exam a few years back, I got a 83. History is my favorite subject as well.

[Joel Up Front]

I didn't study for it. I also got a 97 on my US History Regents - I must have gotten one of the M/C questions wrong.

 

I was really lazy in high school. I'm glad there were no real cliques or anything because the social aspect of it sucked.

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

I didn't study for it. I also got a 97 on my US History Regents - I must have gotten one of the M/C questions wrong.

 

I was really lazy in high school. I'm glad there were no real cliques or anything because the social aspect of it sucked.

 

On the whole regents discussion I got a 99 on my US History and 98 in Global. I found history in high school to be ridiculously simple as I got those scores and kept grades of 95 and higher throughout the class without expressing an interest in the subject.

 

 

 

Now to my random thought, I happen to have done some research and found that the median household income in Brownsville, Brooklyn is $15,978 (as of 2008). Now, I know this is one of the worst hoods in the city, (which tempted me to look this up as I found out about more violence in Chicago) but how can a neighborhood in a major city have a household income that low?

[Kamen Rider]

My great uncle from Seattle spent the day with us. He had flown into EWR last week, got a car and drove up to see some other members of the family. he came back down early this morning, got rid of the car and took NJT into penn, where I picked him up. he starts compaling about how he put a $20 in the TVM at Newark airport station and got back "New Jersey Transit Tokens".

 

Apprently, he's never seen a gold dollar...

[checkmatechamp13]

On the whole regents discussion I got a 99 on my US History and 98 in Global. I found history in high school to be ridiculously simple as I got those scores and kept grades of 95 and higher throughout the class without expressing an interest in the subject.

 

Now to my random thought, I happen to have done some research and found that the median household income in Brownsville, Brooklyn is $15,978 (as of 2008). Now, I know this is one of the worst hoods in the city, (which tempted me to look this up as I found out about more violence in Chicago) but how can a neighborhood in a major city have a household income that low?

 

 

I'm taking the US History Regents Thursday. I was in AP US History so the Regents should be a cinch. Last year, I got a 98 on the Global as well.

 

As for Brownsville, this site says $24,000 and the boundaries look about right (maybe it should start at Howard Avenue instead of Buffalo Avenue, but whatever): http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Brownsville-Brooklyn-NY.html

 

I guess if you don't have much of an education, the only jobs available are low-paying ones in the service industry, even if you're in a major city. A 40-hour week at $7.25 an hour is around $14,000 a year. I guess if you counted things like food stamps and other benefits, the median income would be a little higher, but not by much. (And that's another thing that contributes to it: People either hide income or limit the number of hours they work so they could qualify for more benefits. I reading about a man who got an extra $25 a month and that meant he couldn't qualify for $300 worth of food stamps)

 

It's just a natural part of being in a city: The gap between the rich and poor tends to be greater (Staten Island doesn't have as much income inequality. We're the second-lowest behind Queens)

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm taking the US History Regents Thursday. I was in AP US History so the Regents should be a cinch. Last year, I got a 98 on the Global as well.

 

As for Brownsville, this site says $24,000 and the boundaries look about right (maybe it should start at Howard Avenue instead of Buffalo Avenue, but whatever): http://www.city-data...rooklyn-NY.html

 

I guess if you don't have much of an education, the only jobs available are low-paying ones in the service industry, even if you're in a major city. A 40-hour week at $7.25 an hour is around $14,000 a year. I guess if you counted things like food stamps and other benefits, the median income would be a little higher, but not by much. (And that's another thing that contributes to it: People either hide income or limit the number of hours they work so they could qualify for more benefits. I reading about a man who got an extra $25 a month and that meant he couldn't qualify for $300 worth of food stamps)

 

It's just a natural part of being in a city: The gap between the rich and poor tends to be greater (Staten Island doesn't have as much income inequality. We're the second-lowest behind Queens)

 

 

Yeah it's interesting because I was comparing the median household income levels for Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale (which most folks just lump together since Spuyten Duyvil is a subsection of Riverdale) they're about the same... About $60,355 for Spuyten Duyvil and $61,892 for Riverdale, both of which are well above the city average of about $38,293. I live in what is considered "Central Riverdale" or "Downtown Riverdale", though most just say Riverdale and the area that I'm in along with Spuyten Duyvil or "Southern Riverdale" is considered to be more affluent than the Northern part of Riverdale which makes sense. I didn't find Northern Riverdale to be "unique" per se. It looks like like Woodlawn or Morris Park (at least up in the upper 250s and part of the 260s along Riverdale Avenue). It's charming don't get me wrong, but not nearly as delightful as Spuyten Duyvil or Downtown Riverdale. The part of Northern Riverdale that I really like is more so by Wave Hill and down in the 240s along the Henry Hudson Parkway.

 

But yeah I would imagine that the income gap between the poor neighborhoods in the Bronx and Riverdale is quite significant. Even say Riverdale and Kingsbridge...

Edited June 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[checkmatechamp13]

Yeah it's interesting because I was comparing the median household income levels for Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale (which most folks just lump together since Spuyten Duyvil is a subsection of Riverdale) they're about the same... About $60,355 for Spuyten Duyvil and $61,892 for Riverdale, both of which are well above the city average of about $38,293. I live in what is considered "Central Riverdale" or "Downtown Riverdale", though most just say Riverdale and the area that I'm in along with Spuyten Duyvil or "Southern Riverdale" is considered to be more affluent than the Northern part of Riverdale which makes sense. I didn't find Northern Riverdale to be "unique" per se. It looks like like Woodlawn or Morris Park (at least up in the upper 250s and part of the 260s along Riverdale Avenue). It's charming don't get me wrong, but not nearly as delightful as Spuyten Duyvil or Downtown Riverdale. The part of Northern Riverdale that I really like is more so by Wave Hill and down in the 240s along the Henry Hudson Parkway.

 

But yeah I would imagine that the income gap between the poor neighborhoods in the Bronx and Riverdale is quite significant. Even say Riverdale and Kingsbridge...

 

 

The citywide average is about $50,000, not $38,000. You must be using numbers from 2000 (but even then, I think it was $42,000), or from some inaccurate source.

 

And Kingsbridge isn't poor. Its income level is basically working-class. http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Kings-Bridge-Bronx-NY.html ($38,103, but it looks like that strip east of Broadway really brings it down). There are a few different estimates that back this up (like http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer and http://project.wnyc.org/census-maps/nyc-income/index.html) that basically confirm this (so all the estimates are in the $40,000 area)

 

Anyway, here's Riverdale: http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Riverdale-Bronx-NY.html ($74,654),

South Riverdale/Spuyten Duyvil: http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/South-Riverdale-Bronx-NY.html ($69,550)

North Riverdale: http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/North-Riverdale-Bronx-NY.html ($56,977)

Fieldston: http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Fieldston-Bronx-NY.html ($70,405)

 

But keep in mind that you can't just go by raw income stats alone. For instance, if in one neighborhood, you have a lot of singles earning $50,000, but in another you have married couples earning $60,000, then the second area has a higher income, but the people in the first one are probably better off, and the area will be considered the wealthier area. (I mean, there are plenty of areas with a median income of $69,000 on Staten Island, but the household sizes are larger, so they aren't considered as wealthy. The fact that we have a lot of married couples also plays a role in having a higher median income) And then you have things like poverty rate, median per capita income, mean per capita income, etc to consider.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The citywide average is about $50,000, not $38,000. You must be using numbers from 2000 (but even then, I think it was $42,000), or from some inaccurate source.

 

And Kingsbridge isn't poor. Its income level is basically working-class. http://www.city-data...e-Bronx-NY.html ($38,103, but it looks like that strip east of Broadway really brings it down). There are a few different estimates that back this up (like http://projects.nyti...s/2010/explorer and http://project.wnyc....come/index.html) that basically confirm this (so all the estimates are in the $40,000 area)

 

Anyway, here's Riverdale: http://www.city-data...e-Bronx-NY.html ($74,654),

South Riverdale/Spuyten Duyvil: http://www.city-data...e-Bronx-NY.html ($69,550)

North Riverdale: http://www.city-data...e-Bronx-NY.html ($56,977)

Fieldston: http://www.city-data...n-Bronx-NY.html ($70,405)

 

But keep in mind that you can't just go by raw income stats alone. For instance, if in one neighborhood, you have a lot of singles earning $50,000, but in another you have married couples earning $60,000, then the second area has a higher income, but the people in the first one are probably better off, and the area will be considered the wealthier area. (I mean, there are plenty of areas with a median income of $69,000 on Staten Island, but the household sizes are larger, so they aren't considered as wealthy. The fact that we have a lot of married couples also plays a role in having a higher median income) And then you have things like poverty rate, median per capita income, mean per capita income, etc to consider.

 

 

Yeah you're right because I was thinking that the income levels should be higher.... Thanks for the more accurate stats. These make sense, but in any event, comparing Kingsbridge to even NYC, it is below the average and pretty much almost half of what the median income in Riverdale is.

 

What's also interesting is that I notice a lot of the express bus riders are either in my area or in Spuyten Duyvil. Northern Riverdale isn't as affluent so they maybe taking the local bus or even driving more so. It could be also an issue of the denseness of Southern Riverdale because the Riverdale station on MetroNorth is lightly used compared to the Spuyten Duyvil station.

 

But yeah, there are also a lot of young professionals like myself in Riverdale now which is cool. My next door neighbor is Latino and he's probably around my age or a little younger. The chick across from him is Asian around our age and then there's a Latina that lives across from me but she's a bit older, but I think it's her and her boyfriend. The folks above me I believe are all white and single except for one interracial couple, but they're all around my age. We have one old guy and maybe one or two that are middle aged in the building, but the rest are around my age.

Edited June 12, 2012 by Via Garibaldi 8

[checkmatechamp13]

Well, like I said, it depends on what metric you want to use. For instance, if you use the poverty rate, it's actually slightly better than the city average (18.3% vs. 18.7%). Plus, like I said, there are different sections within the area, so some parts of Kingsbridge have a higher median income than others. For instance, the median income here (http://goo.gl/maps/A956) is $58,169, which is higher than the city average.

 

As far as the usage at the train stations goes, I think it's more an issue of density rather than what they can afford. I mean, the Fieldston/Wave Hill area looks like the wealthiest part of Riverdale, and it's right by the train station. In any case, part of it could also be that it's easier to access the train from northern Riverdale (if you can make your way to Broadway, you can take the Bx9 a few stops and then take the instead of winding around Spuyten Duyvil)

[Joel Up Front]

There's no being politically correct when it comes to someone being a yuppie...

 

 

I'm tired of forecasters predicting "rain or t-storms in the area" whenever the humidity climbs. They're wrong well above 70% of the time and the one day they were right last week that all hit the NW Bronx, all of SI, and Brooklyn, all while the rest of NY was dry.

[TheSubwayStation]

Weather.com is getting on my nerves. They're so "rain-happy" all of the time. They just said today that there would be thunderstorms all evening, and it never happened. I'm going to start using accuweather more and more.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well, like I said, it depends on what metric you want to use. For instance, if you use the poverty rate, it's actually slightly better than the city average (18.3% vs. 18.7%). Plus, like I said, there are different sections within the area, so some parts of Kingsbridge have a higher median income than others. For instance, the median income here (http://goo.gl/maps/A956) is $58,169, which is higher than the city average.

 

As far as the usage at the train stations goes, I think it's more an issue of density rather than what they can afford. I mean, the Fieldston/Wave Hill area looks like the wealthiest part of Riverdale, and it's right by the train station. In any case, part of it could also be that it's easier to access the train from northern Riverdale (if you can make your way to Broadway, you can take the Bx9 a few stops and then take the instead of winding around Spuyten Duyvil)

 

 

No that has nothing to do with it because each station has shuttles. The shuttles in my neighborhood all go to Spuyten Duyvil and go as north as 246th street. From 246th street on the shuttles are for the Riverdale station and they are split like that so that someone in Northern Riverdale would not be on the same shuttle as someone in "Central/Downtown Riverdale".like myself.

[checkmatechamp13]

No that has nothing to do with it because each station has shuttles. The shuttles in my neighborhood all go to Spuyten Duyvil and go as north as 246th street. From 246th street on the shuttles are for the Riverdale station and they are split like that so that someone in Northern Riverdale would not be on the same shuttle as someone in "Central/Downtown Riverdale".like myself.

 

 

The thing is that I remember BrooklynIRT complaining about the unreliability of the Bx7/10, and I figure that might play a role in some people choosing the express bus or Metro-North (that's what I meant by "more convenient"). The Bx9 starts in North Riverdale, so there likely won't be as many problems on the route, and then it's a fairly short ride to the 242nd Street station, so there's not much variation in the travel time. Compare that with Spuytin Duyvil where the buses have already made their way from North Riverdale and with all the delays that come with it (plus, I think 231st Street is more congested than in northern Riverdale, so there's more chances to screw up even once you're on the bus)

 

That was my logic anyway.

 

In any case, I just read this article, and it was definitely something interesting that was said at the graduation. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/high-school-graduation-speaker-tells-students-not-special-145709954.html

[checkmatechamp13]

Looks like when I start dating, I'll have no problems getting girls. B) http://www.wisebread.com/men-why-frugal-is-sexy?wbref=readmore

 

Of course, in keeping with my style, that date will likely be at a Chinese restaurant or another place where the food is low-priced (hell, I've always liked Wendy's food. We'd probably go there) Hell, if I start dating young, isn't that where most young people date?

[IRT Bronx Express]

A 93 on global eh? Good job! When I took that exam a few years back, I got a 83. History is my favorite subject as well.

I still remember that 81 I scored on the Global regents 4 years ago. I found it more interesting than US history, which I scored a 65.

 

I have to say this, despite my "so-called" English grammar being horrid, I scored an 85 on the English regents. I didn't do well for all English classes, yet I found it shocking that I'd score an 85...

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Looks like when I start dating, I'll have no problems getting girls. B) http://www.wisebread...?wbref=readmore

 

Of course, in keeping with my style, that date will likely be at a Chinese restaurant or another place where the food is low-priced (hell, I've always liked Wendy's food. We'd probably go there) Hell, if I start dating young, isn't that where most young people date?

 

 

LMAO! Or you could be a real cheapo and prepare the food at home from ShopRite... You know ration out some oatmeal...

[checkmatechamp13]

LMAO! Or you could be a real cheapo and prepare the food at home from ShopRite... You know ration out some oatmeal...

 

 

LOL. She better not ask for seconds. No way am I spending another 8 cents.

[CDTA]

Those AmericanBevargeAssociation ads are almost if not worse than those UMG NATRUAL GAS IS LIEK SO CLEAN WERE GOOD FOR ENVIROMENT LOOK WE HELP SAMLTOWNAMILES!!!!!!!!11111111 ads.

[NYCtrainfan01]

I still remember that 81 I scored on the Global regents 4 years ago. I found it more interesting than US history, which I scored a 65.

 

I have to say this, despite my "so-called" English grammar being horrid, I scored an 85 on the English regents. I didn't do well for all English classes, yet I found it shocking that I'd score an 85...

 

That's pretty good! I don't remember how much I got on the U.S. exam. I believe it was in the 90's... On my science exam I got a 65...

 

---------

Saw this really cute looking girl waiting for the Bx3. Too bad I was in such a rush. I probably would have a little chat with her if I had time....

[Astoria Line]

I took the Global Regents yesterday and it was so easy! Everybody else found it hard smh.. I have Earth Science Regents tomorrow and im worried about it and Geometry next Wednesday and im terrified of that one. Are the Earth Science and Geometry Regents easy? I got 90s in 3 out of 4 quarters of Earth Science, and I did awesome on the performance test, but I'm still worried. I struggled in Geometry the 1st 3 quarters w/ low 80s but the 4th quarter I did amazing.. Should I even be worried? Lol

[checkmatechamp13]

I took the Global Regents yesterday and it was so easy! Everybody else found it hard smh.. I have Earth Science Regents tomorrow and im worried about it and Geometry next Wednesday and im terrified of that one. Are the Earth Science and Geometry Regents easy? I got 90s in 3 out of 4 quarters of Earth Science, and I did awesome on the performance test, but I'm still worried. I struggled in Geometry the 1st 3 quarters w/ low 80s but the 4th quarter I did amazing.. Should I even be worried? Lol

 

 

The thing is that it was just annoying how long it was. I was half-asleep by the time I got through half the 12 documents, and I still had to write the essays. On the math and science ones, I'm usually one of the first ones out of the room, but this time it took me almost the full 3 hours (though part of that was because I was tired and couldn't think straight). I definitely scored well on it, though.

 

As for Geometry, I don't think the Regents was too hard. When I took it, I thought I got 100, but I got an 87, so I must've made a few careless mistakes. Most of it is just remembering which rules work with the different angles and sides and how they relate and everything. If you did well in the class, you'll do well on the Regents. I think they might've only had 1 proof.

 

I never took Earth Science (I took Biology, Chemistry, and then Physics this year), so I can't say anything about that. I guess since Earth Science is basic high school science (which is why I never took it. The automatically put me in more advanced classes, not to sound sobby or whatever), so it should be fairly easy.

[Astoria Line]

The thing is that it was just annoying how long it was. I was half-asleep by the time I got through half the 12 documents, and I still had to write the essays. On the math and science ones, I'm usually one of the first ones out of the room, but this time it took me almost the full 3 hours (though part of that was because I was tired and couldn't think straight). I definitely scored well on it, though.

 

As for Geometry, I don't think the Regents was too hard. When I took it, I thought I got 100, but I got an 87, so I must've made a few careless mistakes. Most of it is just remembering which rules work with the different angles and sides and how they relate and everything. If you did well in the class, you'll do well on the Regents. I think they might've only had 1 proof.

 

I never took Earth Science (I took Biology, Chemistry, and then Physics this year), so I can't say anything about that. I guess since Earth Science is basic high school science (which is why I never took it. The automatically put me in more advanced classes, not to sound sobby or whatever), so it should be fairly easy.

 

 

Thanks!

 

The Global regents WAS really long, I breezed through the multiple choice (My strength), but then I got tired, but the essays weren't bad. I wrote 6 paragraphs for both essays so I hope that was enough. I heard that there are ppl who failed the regents because they didn't answer the documents (which is shocking, as they are only 1 point each). The two things in geometry that are hard to remember are proofs (A few regents had a proof as the last question, which is 6 points I believe) and transformations. I took an old regents as my geometry midterm, and I got a 69, but I didn't understand it as well as I do now, so I think I will be okay. And you're a junior?? I'm supposed to be one too, but I started school late.

[checkmatechamp13]

Thanks!

 

The Global regents WAS really long, I breezed through the multiple choice (My strength), but then I got tired, but the essays weren't bad. I wrote 6 paragraphs for both essays so I hope that was enough. I heard that there are ppl who failed the regents because they didn't answer the documents (which is shocking, as they are only 1 point each). The two things in geometry that are hard to remember are proofs (A few regents had a proof as the last question, which is 6 points I believe) and transformations. I took an old regents as my geometry midterm, and I got a 69, but I didn't understand it as well as I do now, so I think I will be okay. And you're a junior?? I'm supposed to be one too, but I started school late.

 

 

I realized I meant to write "snobby" in that paragraph instead of "sobby". I obviously wouldn't be crying over being put into more advanced classes.

 

In any case, the thing with the documents is that sometimes the answers are so simple that you overthink them. I remember on one of the practice Regents, they showed a map of the U.S. during the civil war, showing the states that seceeded first (the Deep South, like South Carolina and Georgia), and then the states that seceeded later (the Upper South, like Virginia), and then the border states. Then they asked "What was one problem faced by Lincoln during his presidency?", and I'm sitting there trying to think of the answer, and then I check the answer key, and it just says "the problem was that Union was divided" or something like that. I was thinking "That's it????????", so sometimes it comes down to overthinking it.

 

And yeah, I'm a junior.

[GojiMet86]

In any case, the thing with the documents is that sometimes the answers are so simple that you overthink them. I remember on one of the practice Regents, they showed a map of the U.S. during the civil war, showing the states that seceeded first (the Deep South, like South Carolina and Georgia), and then the states that seceeded later (the Upper South, like Virginia), and then the border states. Then they asked "What was one problem faced by Lincoln during his presidency?", and I'm sitting there trying to think of the answer, and then I check the answer key, and it just says "the problem was that Union was divided" or something like that. I was thinking "That's it????????", so sometimes it comes down to overthinking it.

 

 

That's the primary reason as to why Lincoln lead us into the war. It was preservation of the Union, because otherwise democracy would have been a big failure.

[checkmatechamp13]

That's the primary reason as to why Lincoln lead us into the war. It was preservation of the Union, because otherwise democracy would have been a big failure.

 

 

I know that. I've had it drilled into my head since like 5th grade ("the reason Lincoln led us into the war was to preserve the Union, not to end slavery" and all that)