organsnyder
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Posts posted by organsnyder
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On 3/29/2024 at 8:47 AM, RiversideGR said:
I hope this means something really great will go into that spot. I've lived here for over 5 years and I've haven't once heard anyone mention their food or beer other than the fact they have been around forever. It's a fantastic location...
The only thing that was actually old was the name: the 28th Street location had no connection (other than the name) to the original brewing company, and IIRC the downtown location didn’t have any connection to the 28th St location.
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On 10/20/2023 at 12:31 PM, arcturus said:
For you critics of Sun Country, care to share your experience and when it happened?
This was a number of years ago (probably 7-8 at this point). We flew out of Lansing to one of the DC airports. We got a notification a few hours before the flight that it was delayed quite a long time (at least four hours, IIRC) because of (again, IIRC) equipment issues. We delayed going to the airport until closer to the rescheduled departure time, and still ended up waiting at the airport a few hours past that later time. By the time we got to DC we were the last flight in for the night, and the rental car counters were closed.
Not too different than other delayed flights, except they operate on such thin margins and sparse flight schedules that any delay has the potential to snowball. It seems to me like an issue with one flight with them can easily lead to an equivalent experience as when one of the major carriers has a system-wide issue.
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On 10/18/2023 at 11:50 AM, GR8scott said:
Any expansion is good, I would expect more to come with the new concourse construction but my one and only experience with Sun Country was HORRIBLE in just about every way so thats the last airline I would want to see, plus MSP already served and not an exciting destination, seems odd would only be in the summer as most of their clientele seems like they are from MN so possibly GRR is the destination? Was really hoping Midwest Express would relaunch or Air Canada would return or possibly Alaska or Breeze I would absolutely be more excited to see Spirit and Jet Blue before Sun Country. Given their current operations, the only good things I could see happening with this is possibly seasonal to Vegas for more competition and Cancun when the ISP opens.
Same here. My wife and I flew Sun Country once out of Lansing, and it was so horrible we decided we'd never consider them again.
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On 9/24/2023 at 9:10 PM, joeDowntown said:
I have to disagree. Blockchain has been widely hyped/talked about for years, but never gained mainstream traction for much of anything (except maybe Ponzi schemes and fodder for crypto bros). AI has been integrated into most major platforms and changed workflows for people / organizations in a little under a year (of general availability).
I don’t know how many new companies it will create in west Michigan, but a lot of companies are already putting major resources into leveraging AI. If we can build a knowledgeable workforce in AI (and ML models, data cleansing/extraction, etc. , I think it would be very beneficial for the area.
Joe
Fair point. What I’m trying to say is that, for the most part, AI will mostly be a discipline within existing tech companies (and other companies with internal software engineering teams) rather than a new industry.
I’ve seen the way LLMs and other AI tools have transformed my company (a large tech company based in Canada), and it undoubtedly is many orders of magnitude more revolutionary than crypto ever will be. It’s truly astonishing. But even so, wading through the marketing hype is not easy.
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On 9/19/2023 at 9:34 AM, joeDowntown said:
Gentex announced a "tech hub" opening in 25 Ottawa. Eventually will employee 100 people downtown (I assume this is space vacated by Spectrum/Corewell?). This is the second investment Gentex has made in the core of Grand Rapids. Would love to see some of the other major lakeshore employers follow suit.
https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/gentex-opens-new-technology-hub-in-downtown-gr/
Joe
I'm 95% sure that is indeed old Spectrum space. I recognized the furnishings and layout from when I used to work there.
On 9/19/2023 at 9:59 AM, GRJohn said:I also saw this retreat being offered. I hope that GR becomes a hub for AI.
AI is mainly a buzzword now—like blockchain, etc. before it. The AI technologies that matter are the ones that are already being seamlessly incorporated in various tools and workflows. AI isn't a standalone skill-set.
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On 6/22/2023 at 10:40 AM, Khorasaurus1 said:
10 years ago this picture would have been parking lots and the S-Curve. Pretty incredible.
I took this picture when I worked in Blue35 back in 2015. It's changed quite a bit.
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I was hoping the building could be renovated, but I do think the new building will be much better for the community. Those old locker rooms in the basement bring back a lot of nostalgia for me (I grew up near there and took a lot of swimming lessons in that pool), but they’re not adequate.
The King Park Neighbors association is meeting in my church because the lodge recently became unusable due to a ceiling collapse (IIRC).
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3 hours ago, Jonesey said:
Also true for Division, but what should be done? Move the shelters further down Division? That doesn't really solve the problem, just moves it. I feel like this is an ongoing debate that never really goes anywhere. The real answer is actually trying to reduce homelessness.
Exactly. Don’t concentrate the shelters all in one area. Better yet, invest in a housing-first strategy so that the shelters aren’t needed to the same extent.
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6 hours ago, joeDowntown said:
I was curious about this as well (in a 7 story building). One consideration, maybe they talked to some of the tenants currently using the space and will be working with artists, small businesses, etc? It's marked as Manufacturing, but wondering if it'll end up being a mix of office/warehouse/work space for small companies (which would be pretty cool). Just a thought.
That would be a great fit for the building and the area. I commissioned a bookshelf from a woodworker who had space like that in an old factory on Godfrey. There was quite the neat assortment of businesses there.
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The renderings remind me a lot of Brassworks, and how it was a key component of the revitalization of Monroe North.
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I built an ADU as well (whitemice and I were even at the same planning meeting). I have an unusually large lot (0.75 acres) and pro-housing neighborhood association (GPNA), so I could still probably build my project today (with some tweaks) even with the changed regulations. But the changes absolutely made it harder/impossible for most parcels in the city.
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I went to Last Mile’s grand opening on Sunday (crazy busy!) and have been back twice since. It’s really good. Their “Last Miel” (made with maple syrup) is delicious. Good wifi, too (appears to be ATT fiber).
They’re open every day from 7am-4pm. I overheard them saying that Schuil currently roasts their beans to their specifications, but they’re working on building their own roasting operation.
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On 11/16/2022 at 4:03 PM, Jonesey said:
As far as burying the power lines, It's very expensive and the city would have foot a majority of the bill I think. Don't get me wrong, I think all lines should be buried, but sometimes it's just not economically feasible.
Regarding the city moving operations, I think they're basically waiting for the county to complete their new building in Walker, correct? That has to be close to done I would think.
The CEO of Consumers Energy is on record saying that the cost-benefit calculus for burying power lines is changing. Still probably not true in this case (unlike my house, where we’ve had multiple-day outages each year for the past three years due to trees), but I am hopeful that this becomes a trend.
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“We are well positioned to be a major tech hub where startup companies and existing businesses will coalesce and become part of our inclusive economy. By aligning the Tech Week experience with existing events such as Confluence and ArtPrize, it allows our community to have a similar vibe as South by Southwest (SXSW) where we have an overlapping infusion of creative and innovative talent in our city. We can reimagine the world differently with art bringing creatives and entrepreneurs together to solve problems, start businesses and collaborate.”
I love this city, but... oof. "Similar vibe" as SXSW?
Also, it's been interesting to see how The Right Place and other bigger players have stepped in to reinvigorate local tech networking events. They had never restarted since COVID, and were hit-and-miss before then. But the ones I've gone to, even recently, have still made it evident that this is a very small pond.
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My remote team gets together 2-3 times per year for in-person "bursts", which IME make a huge difference in counteracting many WFH drawbacks. So, I'm actually flying more than I did pre-WFH.
I wish our rail options were better. My next burst is in Toronto, and I decided to drive to Windsor and take VIA from there. It would have been nice to have an Amtrak option for the first part of the trip.
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5 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:
I'm confused. The Switch data center wasn't going to improve technology here locally. Was it? Or draw other businesses. Amazon built where it did because it's right off M-6 and they have a ton of land to expand on. It was never because Switch was there.
It certainly didn't turn out to be as in-demand as Switch was hoping, it seems, but it was successful enough to sell.
I don't remember anyone making serious claims that our local connectivity would improve. We have plenty of backbone providers in the area—that's not an issue AFAIK.
I find our local internet options to be just fine as a remote worker. I have Comcast's 2000/200 plan, and it's plenty fast for my needs. I'd love to have fiber with symmetrical speeds, but what I have isn't getting in the way of my productivity. I'm not as familiar with the connectivity options for businesses, but I would be surprised if lack of connectivity is keeping any businesses away.
6 hours ago, joeDowntown said:While I agree, it remains to be seen if a 100% remote workforce will remain the norm. For the company I consult with (rhymes with poogle), they definitely seem to be pushing for in person collaboration. If a remote work DOES continue, then I think attracting people to a city will be all about quality of life outside of work. Affordable housing, nature, amenities, etc.
My employer (rhymes with Spotify) went full remote in ~April of 2020, to the point of not renewing leases and encouraging employees to move if they wanted to live somewhere else. I think there will always be companies doing both—I actually saw someone at Atomic Object mentioning in-person collaboration as a positive in a job listing—but remote will always be a much bigger part of the market for tech workers, especially when it comes to compensation competitiveness.
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4 hours ago, joeDowntown said:
If I had to guess, I’d say Spectrum. Meijer is definitely top 5. Other than that, I don’t know. Amway at one point? But that’s been shrinking for a while. I think there are a lot of mid sized companies, but I can’t think of many companies that are “tech first”, as opposed to a Meijer or Spectrum that is supported heavily by tech.
Joe
Spectrum has had one of the top (if not the top) software shops for some time, but they've been shifting away from custom in-house software toward integrating solutions from their vendors (which, as much as it pains me to admit as a former Spectrum software dev, is probably the right business decision). They still have tons of IS people doing integrations and support work, of course.
GFS and Dematic also probably belong on this list. Most of the local "tech first" companies that come to mind are consultancies (Atomic Object, OST...).
Michigan Labs out in Ada has been growing like crazy, but they're also (to my knowledge) a consultancy.
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Grand Rapids is already a decent place for tech workers to live, as long as they're working remotely. Until Grand Rapids employer culture stops being so worker-hostile, I don't see much success here. Local employers simply can't compete when remote work is factored in.
My remote software developer job pays double what the typical local salary is for the same position, and I get more PTO and flexibility than most local companies offer. This is not uncommon, and my employer is not known for being a top payer.
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On 6/14/2022 at 10:36 AM, grandrollerz said:
Last Mile is opening a storefront at 1006 Hall. https://sprudge.com/build-outs-of-coffee-last-mile-cafe-in-grand-rapids-mi-187818.html Good for them!
I grew up just a couple of blocks from there, and still am in the area frequently (church and kids' school). That building has been vacant for decades. Excited to see this project!
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I don't understand why any road improvements there would be needed. I've never encountered any appreciable amount of traffic out there. Would a five-minute savings in travel time be appreciated? Sure. But it's not like we have any choke points that we need to eliminate.
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12 hours ago, Raildude's dad said:
Drove thru today. Still working on barrier wall installation where the crossovers were. I'd say a couple more weeks. I heard the "singing" noise eastbound. Weird
I've heard that as well. Never heard a sound like that from a roadway before.
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Maybe it's as tall as seven stories of fence? That'd be around three real stories by my brief imagined calculation.
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WMU is selling their East Beltline campus: https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/wmu-board-approves-sale-of-grand-rapids-east-beltline-property-for-6-25m
Grand Rapids Airport (GRR) News and Developments
in Grand Rapids
Posted
During our vacation last summer, my family flew out of terminal B and into terminal A. It felt like we were landing in a different city.