This is kind of why I like living near highways and train tracks. Most people live in suburbs and they don’t hear the noise of the city. They just miss out on so much environment. Sadly, my wife hates this (she is not in tune with her environment) and so we moved from a place where there were crazy people screaming to a place which is relatively quiet.

Sometimes I’m at home and there aren’t any sirens or bells or people screaming and I just think about how out of touch we are with the environment.

This has spread to everyone. Paul Graham has lost his connection to the environment and instead writes about silence. What a fool! If only he was more in touch with his environment.

They are designed to be heard at a distance and through automobile glass, not walking beside it on a sidewalk. Besides, the siren is not a meaningful signal to me: I’m not on the road.

"at full volume"