(Part 2) Best products from r/philadelphia

Currently, commercial drone laws are a hassle to get around. For someone who owns a drone and wants to make money off of it, they need to have a pilots license and a file for a 333 exemption. Drones are fairly new and haven't been regulated accordingly. Regulations are supposed to be coming soon to help those interested in light droning such as photography, real estate, surveying, ect. I've heard rumors as early as this summer but the process could drag on. It's a hefty fine if you're caught droning commercially without the proper clearances. You'll be hard pressed to find someone as the laws currently sit, but they may be out there.

If you know someone with a drone who will help you out as a favor with no cash crossing hands, that's your best bet. I own a DJI Phantom 4 myself and fly it as a hobby, but occasionally do video/photo work as favors for friends.

Another option would be to buy a cheap drone and fly it yourself if cash is tight:

https://www.amazon.com/SYMA-Explorers-6-Axis-Quadcopter-Camera/dp/B00MNG37C2/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1465917280&sr=1-1&keywords=drone

The one above has good ratings, but the cheaper models are often difficult to fly and don't have the best camera quality.

Good luck!

It's always a possibility. But without wind going your way and if you're aiming it away from yourself, you're almost certainly going to be good. You'd be using it in a situation where you're in danger, so the risk of 95% going to him and maybe 5% to you is very worth it. Even if a small amount 'gets you', you'll probably be fine, slightly irritated, while he's doubled over hacking up a lung and eyes pouring tears.

That said, if you're still uneasy about it, the same brand I recommend does have a PepperGel variety now for this specific purpose. It's thicker, a gel instead of a liquid, to prevent "blowback." I got a friend this one a couple months ago, it's also got a sweet hand strap if you're jogging or whatever. I definitely recommend this one.

One more thing, if you're in a car and can drive away, you probably should do just that and head to a police station. Unless the spray is necessary right at that moment, like if you're boxed in or he's reached in your window and turned off your engine (happened to my mom and her friend when they were like 19/20.)

Please feel free to ask me any questions.

I am a librarian by trade, but have a fine arts degree, and pen-and-ink is one of my favorite mediums. I still have much to learn, but here's some examples of my dabblings: https://imgur.com/a/XvFlNY9
Micron pens are fantastic! I'm also fond of brush pens (the Pentel is an affordable one: https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Pocket-Brush-Refills-GFKP3BPA/dp/B002LJRKN8).

Don't be afraid of burning through your pens. If you really have zero drawing skills, your first 100 drawings will likely be crap, and there's not much you can do about it. You seriously will have to go through dozens of crappy drawings to get to your good ones. You can't be worried about using up your art materials, because art materials are MEANT to used up as you work on developing your craft! Watching Youtube videos and taking online classes are well and good, but honestly the only way you're really going to learn is to churn out drawing after drawing. That's the only way to get a feel for line weights, composition, hatching/cross hatching techniques, etc.

If you're REALLY concerned with messing up your pens, draw for a bit using pencils first, to get a feel of what it is put marks on paper. Start small! Draw the still-lifes on your desk, etc. :)

1. Subscribe to /r/bicycle
   
2. Read this http://bicyclesafe.com/
   
3. Take the lane. You don't want to get DOORED. Taking the lane makes drivers naturally think that you're a "motorist" then they will pass you in the left hand lane. If you give them room you can get boxed in and get fucked up.
   
4. Lock up your bike properly. Always lock your frame. people forget to do this and they come back with no bike no lock and they are SOL. Always lock your frame with a Ulock!!! and a good ulock like kryptonite series 2 or above! you should be able to secure your frame and a wheel with your ulock. Then you should have a cable to secure your other wheel or Another Ulock!! You should get a thin cable to secure your seat. Fine don't be paranoid but so help me god if in 3 months you come here whining about your bike being stolen you're gonna be making me a lot of sandwiches.
   
5. West river drive is closed to cars on the weekends in the mornings and what not check it out it is a nice place to ride!
   
6. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/ this man knew more about bikes then the combined knowledge of you and I. And you'd be astonished as to what I know about computers.
   
7. In the event you need a little extra room to secure your bike here is another alright way to secure your bike. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html
   
8. If you have quick release wheels and don't secure them ... you deserve to get smacked. For fuck sake don't fucking do this
   
   
9. If you don't have quick release good stuff. Get a proper tool to remove your wheel like this using an imporperly sized tool like a 15mm pedal wrench on a 15mm lug nut will chew the lug nut out then you have to replace the nuts.
   
10. Keep your bike in doors if you can. In doors means IN YOUR HOME and not in any shared space. Shared space = public... you always lock your bike in public. Work space... its public you LOCK your bike inside your work or outside.
    
11. Have fun.
    

OP, I'm probably one of the few people who have direct experience with this, as I used to live on a pretty big drug corner in DC. The security cameras are really the best idea (second to calling the cops, obvs). It's a proactive way of getting the dealers away from your house without getting into a personal provocation.

Multiple cameras is really what you want. Here's a diagram of what I did. You want one looking at your stoop and front door, but from an angle so you can get a good picture of the face of anyone who's coming to your door. The camera's FOV should also capture the sidewalk beyond your door (i.e., going down the street to the left). Cam 2 should essentially mirror Cam1, so you can see the sidewalk to the right.

Cam 3 depends on what you want to do. If you want to chase away drug dealers, it doesn't really matter what the camera sees, it's what the dealers think the camera sees. If you want to actually capture video that can be used as evidence, you'll need a camera that's substantially higher quality than the average video camera, as you'll need a lens. It'll also probably be too far for IR LED illumination, meaning you'll get really shitty night pictures. Personally, I don't recommend trying to 'see' anything with Cam3, since the dealers will probably move on as soon as you set it up, and then you just have really impressive pictures of a vacant building.

It should go without saying that the cameras need to be well out of reach of anyone on the street, so you'll need at least a 12' ladder to set them up. Check out either Kensington Tool Library or West Philly Tool Library, depending on where you live. For cameras, there's tons of cheapo options out there. If you're really going to go all out, I recommend hard-wired cameras, since accessing wifi cameras to change the battery is a pain in and of itself.

Good luck! And let me know if you have any questions. One real advantage to having security cameras is that you get to know your local detectives pretty quickly, especially if you live on a busy street. My cameras helped solve an attempted murder!

Hey, I'm just here from /r/random but I do want to say that "HDTV antenna" is just a silly marketing term. All antennas are HD. A paper clip sticking out of the back of your TV will pickup HDTV. That being said, try a $5 antenna first before spending a lot on something more expensive. TVFool is also a great resource -- just plug in your address and you can see how strong the OTA signals are.

I bought Amazon's generic version of the Mohu Leaf and it is perfect. I had perfectly fine reception with a rabbit-ear style antenna but I needed to adjust it for each channel. These new flat antenna have the same reception regardless of orientation; no per-channel adjustments neccesary!

I love me some George Orwell.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fa/fd/39/fafd395c1b25b95e8706a7a71cbc9bae.jpg


Why Orwell Matters, by Christopher Hitchens

"In this widely acclaimed biographical essay, Christopher Hitchens assesses the life, the achievements, and the myth of the great political writer and participant George Orwell. In true emulative and contrarian style, Hitchens is both admiring and aggressive, sympathetic yet critical, taking true measure of his subject as hero and problem. He examines Orwell and his perspectives on fascism, empire, feminism, and Englishness, as well as his outlook on America, a country and culture towards which he exhibited much ambivalence. Whether thinking about empires or dictators, race or class, nationalism or popular culture, Orwell's moral outlook remains indispensable in a world that has undergone vast changes in the fifty years since his death."

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Orwell-Matters-Christopher-Hitchens/dp/0465030505

I have not parked bikes overnight in the Reading Terminal or Chinatown area, but I have definitely parked them there during dinners and it's been fine. Switch out any quick release axles or seat clamps for regular axles.

There are a lot of bike lanes on major streets like Spruce and Pine (East/West), so if you ride the right way, typically it's pretty safe to bike. The one major issue I've seen people have is getting their wheel caught in the trolley tracks. That can happen if you try to cross over the tracks while biking too parallel to them, and the wheels slip in and you crash.

Also, get lights. Once it's slightly dark, it's actually really hard for a car to see you. I get them in bulk on amazon for about $1 each and they work really well. (This is an amazon smile link)

https://smile.amazon.com/InnoLife-Silicone-Waterproof-Super-Bicycle/dp/B00VVH3080/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1491536038&sr=8-4&keywords=silicone+bike+lights

Have you considered giving your dog up for adoption and getting a cat instead? I carry my cat in my backpack.

https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Backpack-Camping-Rucksack-Shoulder/dp/B01D19ABW8/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1512056662&sr=8-8&keywords=backpack

Honestly, even a laptop bag will work.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Shoulder-Messenger-Macbook-Briefcase/dp/B071XRR5NX/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1512056706&sr=1-6&keywords=laptop+bag

(Close it up so no one knows its there). Just give a bit of ketamine. The cat goes into a peaceful sleep. I guess if you have a bigdog you can put it in a shopping cart.

https://www.amazon.com/JGR-Copa-Ultimate-Cargo-Black/dp/B01E7Y519E/ref=sr_1_36?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1512056773&sr=1-36&keywords=shopping+caRT

Give it about thrice the amount of ketamine you give the cat. Then place a mexican yoga blanket over it.

https://www.amazon.com/YogaAccessories-Traditional-Mexican-Blanket-Purple/dp/B0019O6N9I/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1512056811&sr=1-5&keywords=blanket

It should be fine then. If SEPTA discovers your pet. You can always tell them its a service animal. You don't even need to show paperwork. Just tell them you have schizophrenia. Works for me. :)

EDIT: Wow so many upvotes. Thanks Reddit for the gold!

A few ideas.

“In a major act of historical reconstruction, Wulf draws upon sources... in order to recreate the daily experiences of women.... With its substantial population of unmarried women, eighteenth-century Philadelphia was much like other early modern cities, but it became a distinctive proving ground for cultural debate and social experimentation involving those women. Arguing that unmarried women shaped the city as much as it shaped them, Wulf examines popular literary representations of marriage, the economic hardships faced by women, and the decisive impact of a newly masculine public culture in the late colonial period.”


https://www.amazon.com/Not-All-Wives-Colonial-Philadelphia/dp/0812219171/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467301333&sr=1-1&keywords=Philadelphia+women



“This fully updated and beautifully redesigned handbook is the essential guide to the encyclopedic collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Divided into four sections—Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Contemporary—the handbook features more than 500 masterpieces from the museum’s world-renowned holdings, each handsomely illustrated in color and accompanied by a brief text written by the museum’s curators.”


https://www.amazon.com/Philadelphia-Museum-Art-Handbook-Collections/dp/0300207999/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467301426&sr=1-2&keywords=art+in+philadelphia

First, I'll say, I've had my 35/1.8 for two and a half years now. It's awesome.

Honestly, it's so cheap ($200 retail) that you should just buy it on Amazon. You won't get much of a deal on one, I think the craigslist listing is for $185, and you have to drive or meet the dude somewhere. Buying new means that you know it wasn't abused, you can get the 5 year Nikon warrantee if something happens (non-transferrable), and you get it shipped to your door for free. Plus on Amazon, you can get a deal like a free $10 filter.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-AF-S-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0

There are very good bike paths on Pine (East) and Spruce (West) as well as 13th (North) and 10th (South). These help quite a bit with the transition to riding in a city and connect with a few more that will get you pretty much anywhere you need to go. You just have to ride defensively and it's not bad at all.

As for theft protection, I ride with a good U-Lock and cable lock the bottom of frame to a solid pole, and weave the cable through my rear wheel and saddle. My apartment has a bike storage area in the basement. If yours doesn't, keeping it in a corner in your apartment is your best bet.