solarbirdy's testbed has a nest

I really, really, really gotta point something out here.

This “ballroom” Trump Shitstain the First says he’s building is 90,000 square feet, and is going to cost THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.

Apparently. That’s what he says.

This is bullshit. He’s pocketing AT LEAST half of that money. Probably two-thirds, maybe 70%. I daresay probably 70%. Or who knows, all of it – but let’s say he’s actually going to build something and some part of the extorted “donations” will actually be spent doing so. It’s still bullshit, and he’s still pocketing most of the money.

How do I know this?

Because $300 million for 90,000 square feet is over $3330/square foot in construction cost. That’s absolutely batshit insane by any standard. The highest-end commercial construction in the US is under $1000/square foot. You’re telling me he’s going to spend over three times that?

I don’t fucking think so. It’s bullshit, and he’s keeping most of the money.

But if that’s not enough for you, consider this:

The most expensive commercial building EVER BUILT IN THE WORLD (according to Wikipedia’s list of most expensive buildings) is One Financial Centre in Hong Kong, which is, slightly ironically, two massive skyscrapers. It’s a combined two million square feet of floor space, mostly vertical, which adds assloads of cost. It is opulent as fuck and serves extremely high-end customers in an extremely wealthy city.

Excluding land costs (because shitstain has the land already), 1FC cost right around $3315/square foot to build.

Which is to say, slightly LESS than his fucking “ballroom.”

His ballroom will cost MORE per square foot than the most expensive luxury commercial construction project ever built.

Which is, again, bullshit.

He’s pocketing that money, and nobody should think for a moment otherwise.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map 2.0.5 – 17 October 2025 – is now available on github, as is MEGAMAP 2.0.5.

This release is very small, containing two major upgrades, and some additional notes on the Central Kirkland Connector’s south-end closure.

Here’s the complete changes list:

• ADDED: Two-way bike lane opened on E. Marginal Way S on 9 October 2025 from Edgar Martinez/Atlantic down to Horton St., at which point you cross over at a new bike crossing to the existing ped/bike mixed-use trail which connects to Spokane Street Trail. This creates a no-car-interaction connection. These bike lanes will be extended from Horton directly to Spokane Street in early 2026. (MEGAMAP)
• ADDED/UPGRADED: Bike lanes on northern 100th Ave NE in Juanita upgraded and extended to cover NE 139th St. through NE 145th St. (Both maps)
• UPDATED WARNING: The south leg of the Central Kirkland Connector is BRIEFLY reopening this weekend (October 18 and 19) for a marathon event before CLOSING again until late October for continuing emergency sewer repair work. Once it does re-open, it will be closing again intermittently for additional work. On the maps proper, this is mostly be an alert box change. (MEGAMAP)

All permalinks continue to work.

If you enjoy these maps and feel like throwing some change at the tip jar, here’s my patreon. Patreon supports get things like pre-sliced printables of the Greater Northshore, and also the completely-uncompressed MEGAMAP, not that the .jpg has much compression in it because honestly it doesn’t.

Enjoy biking!

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.