Latest / Austin Signal / Austin City Council moves to regulate e-motorcycles

Transcript

Austin City Council moves to regulate e-motorcycles · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  Have you encountered an e-moto
• 0:10
  on the streets of Austin, these
• 0:12
  high-speed electric bikes that are
• 0:13
  capable of reaching motorcycle-like
• 0:15
  speeds?
• 0:16
  That's got some Austinites concerned
• 0:17
  about their safety.
• 0:19
  We're going to tell you what the
• 0:20
  Austin City Council is considering
• 0:21
  for these e-motos.
• 0:23
  And the school year is over, but
• 0:25
  there's no break for the many things
• 0:26
  the Austin Independent School
• 0:27
  District has to consider, including
• 0:29
  a budget deficit, how the
• 0:31
  money problems got so bad, and how
• 0:33
  they're hoping to address it.
• 0:34
  More about these stories coming up
• 0:36
  on today's show.
• 0:37
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:39
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:41
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:42
  And the dog days of summer are
• 0:44
  creeping up on us, but Austin dogs
• 0:46
  have one less place to beat the heat
• 0:48
  after a favorite hang closed down
• 0:50
  over the weekend.
• 0:51
  We're gonna take you out there, and
• 0:53
  we're gonna have some doodling for
• 0:54
  ya. It's coming up next, and it's
• 0:56
  right here on Austin Signal.
• 1:07
  Howdy out there, you are tuned in to
• 1:09
  Austin Signal.
• 1:10
  I'm your host, Jerry Kiechanel.
• 1:12
  It's June 1st, the start of a new
• 1:13
  week and a new month.
• 1:15
  Glad you're starting it here with
• 1:16
  us.
• 1:18
  Austin City Council passed recently
• 1:20
  new regulations aimed at regulating
• 1:21
  pocket bikes and other e-bikes.
• 1:23
  These bikes tend to be ridden by
• 1:25
  teenagers around neighborhood
• 1:26
  streets, and they've been growing in
• 1:28
  popularity, and they become a
• 1:30
  growing concern for some Austinites.
• 1:32
  For more, we are talking with Sam
• 1:34
  Stark, government reporter for
• 1:35
  Austin Current. Welcome back to the
• 1:36
  show, Sam. Thanks so much, Jerry.
• 1:38
  So first tell us exactly what
• 1:40
  we're talking about when we're
• 1:41
  taking about these electric bikes.
• 1:43
  Can you tell us, describe them a
• 1:44
  little bit for us and how are they
• 1:46
  different from like e-bikes that
• 1:47
  people might be used to seeing on
• 1:49
  their commute home?
• 1:49
  Yeah, so these are new class
• 1:51
  of electric bikes that have recently
• 1:53
  gotten more popular, especially
• 1:55
  among children and teenagers.
• 1:57
  They're called e-motorcycles or
• 1:59
  pocket bikes, and the city is now
• 2:01
  kind of referring to them as
• 2:02
  e-Motos.
• 2:03
  But they can go much faster than
• 2:05
  your typical e-bike that you just
• 2:06
  described.
• 2:08
  Those typically cap out at around
• 2:09
  28 miles per hour.
• 2:11
  I talked to a store owner who sells
• 2:13
  some of these bikes, he says that
• 2:15
  some of them can go over 60
• 2:16
  miles per hours.
• 2:17
  So that's the concern given the
• 2:19
  people who are mostly riding them,
• 2:21
  don't have licenses, or know the
• 2:22
  rules of the road.
• 2:23
  Okay so yeah I've seen a few people
• 2:25
  riding these e-motos and they tend
• 2:26
  to have these big helmets like
• 2:28
  motorcycle riders versus like my
• 2:30
  tiny smaller bicycle
• 2:33
  helmet so is that why
• 2:35
  city council is discussing these
• 2:37
  e motos because they just present
• 2:38
  a little bit more danger.
• 2:39
  Yeah, they can go
• 2:41
  the speeds more so like a
• 2:44
  motorcycle rather than a
• 2:45
  bike. And the issue here is,
• 2:48
  like I said, a lot of people who are
• 2:49
  riding them are kids and teenagers.
• 2:53
  And who's the Austin City
• 2:54
  Councilmember behind this?
• 2:56
  Yeah, so this has been
• 2:58
  an issue across the city, but it's
• 3:00
  particularly been a challenge for
• 3:02
  Southwest Austin.
• 3:03
  And that's the district
• 3:05
  that Councilmember Paige Ellis.
• 3:07
  Represents, so she
• 3:09
  filed a resolution aimed at further
• 3:11
  defining what these bikes in
• 3:14
  city code and regulating them
• 3:16
  could look like.
• 3:17
  So there currently is a Texas
• 3:19
  law already that says pocket
• 3:21
  bikes and mini motorbikes are not
• 3:23
  authorized for use on public
• 3:24
  streets, sidewalks, or bike
• 3:26
  paths, but still Ellis said there's
• 3:28
  a legal ambiguity surrounding
• 3:30
  the vehicles, which may have
• 3:32
  contributed to the growing presence
• 3:33
  in neighborhoods.
• 3:35
  Okay, so we've heard about some
• 3:37
  of the neighborhood concerns.
• 3:38
  Who are the people that are selling
• 3:39
  these Emotos, and what do they have
• 3:41
  to say?
• 3:41
  Yeah, so I spoke to that store
• 3:44
  owner I said earlier.
• 3:46
  He said rarely, he
• 3:48
  never had children coming into his
• 3:49
  store, but in the past year,
• 3:52
  now it's more of like a daily
• 3:54
  occurrence. He said that he's even
• 3:56
  considering drafting up
• 3:58
  sort of like waiver, so
• 4:00
  if there is an issue with these
• 4:02
  bikes and these kids riding them,
• 4:04
  that he is not legally responsible.
• 4:05
  But just because it is kind of like
• 4:07
  an emerging.
• 4:08
  Technology, or not necessarily
• 4:10
  emerging technology, but just an
• 4:11
  emerging, you know,
• 4:13
  popularity among these bikes.
• 4:15
  Okay, do we know how quickly some
• 4:17
  kind of action might come on this?
• 4:19
  Yeah, so on Thursday, the Austin
• 4:21
  City Council approved that
• 4:23
  ordinance that Ellis pushed forward.
• 4:25
  And it does a few things.
• 4:27
  It directs the city manager to
• 4:29
  define and regulate emotos
• 4:31
  in the city code, develop rules
• 4:32
  for licensing and operation,
• 4:35
  and establish penalties for
• 4:36
  violations.
• 4:37
  The resolution also looks to create
• 4:39
  a public awareness campaign so
• 4:41
  more people can be aware of it.
• 4:43
  And then also review Austin Police
• 4:45
  Department training and enforcement
• 4:47
  practices, and then explore whether
• 4:48
  the city could establish a
• 4:50
  designated public area where riders
• 4:52
  could legally and safely use the
• 4:54
  vehicles. Because that was something
• 4:55
  that came up in the council meeting.
• 4:57
  We want kids to have
• 4:59
  somewhere to be outside,
• 5:01
  not stay on their phones all the
• 5:02
  time. And so they're just looking
• 5:04
  at ways like how can we allow
• 5:07
  kids and teenagers to continue to
• 5:09
  use this technology, but just in
• 5:10
  a safer area where it's not putting
• 5:12
  pedestrians and other
• 5:14
  vehicles at risk.
• 5:16
  All right, that is Sam Stark.
• 5:18
  He is the government reporter for
• 5:19
  Austin Current.
• 5:20
  They are a partner with the KUT
• 5:21
  Newsroom and Austin Signal in
• 5:23
  covering the city of Austin.
• 5:24
  We're gonna have a link to his
• 5:25
  reporting in today's show notes.
• 5:27
  Sam, great to see you.
• 5:28
  Thanks so much, Sherry.
• 5:35
  We have been talking a lot over the
• 5:37
  past school year about Austin ISD's
• 5:39
  budget issues, but for today's
• 5:41
  Reporter's Notebook, we wanted to
• 5:42
  take a closer look at why the
• 5:44
  district is facing that deficit to
• 5:46
  begin with.
• 5:47
  Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez is KUT's
• 5:50
  education reporter, and she's with
• 5:51
  us now. Hi, Greta.
• 5:53
  Hey Jerry.
• 5:54
  So you have been reporting for a
• 5:55
  while on Austin ISD's budget woes,
• 5:58
  how it's affecting teachers,
• 5:59
  students, and parents, and how AISD
• 6:01
  is trying to balance the books.
• 6:03
  But let's rewind a little and talk
• 6:04
  about how we got here in the first
• 6:06
  place.
• 6:07
  So broadly speaking, why is
• 6:09
  AISC dealing with this deficit?
• 6:11
  Yeah, so first of all, I want to
• 6:12
  talk about the number.
• 6:13
  It's a one hundred and eighty one
• 6:15
  million dollar deficit for next
• 6:17
  school year. That's what they're
• 6:18
  looking at. That's where they're
• 6:19
  tackling.
• 6:20
  And I don't think that there's an
• 6:22
  easy answer to this because there's
• 6:24
  inflation, less kids, more
• 6:26
  empty seats, but also the per
• 6:28
  student allotment, how it has not
• 6:29
  kept up with inflation.
• 6:31
  Recapture comes up a lot and we can
• 6:33
  discuss it.
• 6:34
  But really, how schools are funded
• 6:36
  in Texas is a big one.
• 6:37
  Yeah, and one thing that gets
• 6:39
  brought up a lot in those
• 6:40
  discussions of AISD's
• 6:42
  budget woes is the Texas School
• 6:43
  Recapture System, sometimes referred
• 6:45
  to as the Robin Hood Plan.
• 6:47
  For people who might not be
• 6:48
  familiar, how does that plan work
• 6:50
  and how does it affect AIS?
• 6:52
  Yeah, so we would need to go back to
• 6:54
  how schools are funded to understand
• 6:55
  recapture, and this is going to be
• 6:57
  the simplified version.
• 6:58
  So there's the per student
• 6:59
  allotment, which is how much
• 7:01
  each district gets for
• 7:03
  each kid.
• 7:04
  Um, and then that is also based on
• 7:06
  attendance rate, not enrollment.
• 7:08
  And then, so the district gets
• 7:10
  a certain amount of money according
• 7:12
  how many kids go to school and
• 7:14
  then, um, recapture
• 7:16
  comes in because Property-rich
• 7:18
  districts get more money than
• 7:20
  those that... Are not property rich.
• 7:23
  And so those districts will give
• 7:24
  money to the state so the state can
• 7:26
  give it to the non-wealthy
• 7:28
  districts. It's really an equity
• 7:29
  tool across the state, but a lot
• 7:31
  of people say it really reduces
• 7:33
  state funding, the state's
• 7:36
  obligation to fund public schools.
• 7:38
  Now how does it affect AISD?
• 7:41
  Well, AISd's total revenue is
• 7:43
  a billion four hundred and fifty
• 7:44
  four million, that's for next school
• 7:47
  year, but they have to give back to
• 7:48
  the $608,604 million.
• 7:51
  Why? Because they have a certain
• 7:52
  amount of kids and a certain amount
• 7:54
  of per student allotment that
• 7:55
  they're receiving.
• 7:56
  And so just so we have an idea of
• 7:57
  how much they give, but they have
• 7:59
  given back to the state from 2000,
• 8:02
  from year 2000, 2001, that school
• 8:04
  year till 2024,
• 8:06
  2025, AISD has
• 8:08
  given the state approximately $8.3
• 8:11
  billion in recapture, but
• 8:13
  a lot of people also say recapture
• 8:15
  is not the problem, or at least not
• 8:17
  recapture itself.
• 8:18
  Because even if they didn't
• 8:20
  pay that much in recapture, they
• 8:22
  wouldn't be able to keep the rest.
• 8:24
  The per student allotment, that's
• 8:26
  what people say. The real problem is
• 8:27
  the per student allotments because
• 8:29
  that's how much AISD is able
• 8:31
  to keep.
• 8:32
  And if that amount doesn't
• 8:34
  go up, then the district can't keep
• 8:35
  more money. And so that amount had
• 8:37
  been at 6,160
• 8:39
  per kid.
• 8:40
  It had been there since
• 8:43
  2019.
• 8:44
  And then last year it went up $55.
• 8:46
  You can imagine that does not keep
• 8:48
  up with inflation.
• 8:49
  And so if that per student allotment
• 8:51
  doesn't go up, then the
• 8:53
  districts will be struggling to keep
• 8:55
  up inflation.
• 8:57
  You mentioned property-rich
• 8:58
  districts.
• 8:59
  I gotta assume that Austin isn't the
• 9:01
  only city that qualifies for
• 9:03
  these property- rich districts.
• 9:05
  Are other districts being affected
• 9:06
  by this?
• 9:07
  Yes, I do have to say
• 9:09
  AISD is the one that gives the most
• 9:11
  to recapture and by quite a bit.
• 9:13
  But yes, a lot of districts are
• 9:15
  struggling with budget deficits this
• 9:16
  year.
• 9:17
  In central Texas, we see it in
• 9:19
  Haysie ISD.
• 9:20
  We also see it in Pflugerville,
• 9:22
  Leander.
• 9:23
  So there's a lot of districts across
• 9:25
  the state that are struggling.
• 9:26
  With budgets.
• 9:27
  Okay, so we've talked a lot today
• 9:29
  about the per-student allotment.
• 9:32
  What are the other factors that are
• 9:33
  more specific to Austin that are
• 9:34
  contributing to this budget
• 9:36
  shortfall?
• 9:37
  Yeah, so first of all, there's lower
• 9:39
  property values that affects what
• 9:41
  they called golden pennies, which
• 9:42
  are not subjected to recapture.
• 9:44
  But then there's also been a decline
• 9:46
  in enrollment in the last few years,
• 9:48
  which means the district gets less
• 9:50
  money and they still have to keep
• 9:52
  the same amount of buildings.
• 9:54
  We're seeing 10 schools closing
• 9:56
  this year.
• 9:57
  But there's also more recently
• 9:58
  impact of immigration.
• 10:01
  Families are afraid to take their
• 10:02
  kids to and so that affects
• 10:04
  attendance rates, which affects
• 10:06
  funding.
• 10:07
  AISD also offers a lot of
• 10:09
  extra things to student.
• 10:11
  And so just to give us an idea,
• 10:14
  the region average to spend
• 10:15
  per kid is $10,500.
• 10:19
  AISC spends 12,400.
• 10:22
  And this is because of a lot
• 10:23
  reasons, but there's also a lot
• 10:24
  extra. So we are seeing right now
• 10:26
  the superintendent has says we're
• 10:27
  looking at things line by line to
• 10:28
  make sure there's no extras
• 10:30
  that they don't need anymore and
• 10:32
  that that's where they can cut.
• 10:34
  Well, the school year wrapped up
• 10:36
  last week. You've been taking a look
• 10:37
  at how these school closures
• 10:39
  have impacted the communities here
• 10:41
  in Austin.
• 10:42
  Can you tell us a little bit about
• 10:43
  the stories that you've been
• 10:44
  reporting on?
• 10:45
  Yeah, so as the school year
• 10:47
  came to an end, I've been working
• 10:49
  on what we unofficially called
• 10:51
  a series of lasts, which
• 10:53
  I've been going to the schools that
• 10:55
  are closing or some of them and just
• 10:57
  getting the last of something,
• 10:59
  right? So I went to Betachek and we
• 11:00
  got their last track meet.
• 11:02
  And if they won or they didn't, it
• 11:03
  was their last chance at glory.
• 11:05
  I went to Becker.
• 11:06
  I got their last gardening class.
• 11:08
  Also last week, we went to the last
• 11:10
  senior walk and then the last lunch
• 11:12
  at top.
• 11:13
  So we're spending time with
• 11:15
  different people from different
• 11:16
  communities, you know, like
• 11:17
  teachers, coaches,
• 11:19
  lunch ladies, everybody,
• 11:21
  the thing that keeps coming up is
• 11:23
  bittersweet.
• 11:24
  You know, people are happy to be
• 11:25
  coming together for a last thing,
• 11:27
  but they're also sad that they won't
• 11:29
  see each other again.
• 11:31
  Yeah, and you've been reporting a
• 11:32
  lot this year about the budget
• 11:34
  and about the closures, very
• 11:36
  heavy stories.
• 11:37
  But what was it like to get back and
• 11:39
  talk to the actual
• 11:40
  students who are being affected by
• 11:42
  all these things that we talk about?
• 11:44
  Oh my God, I love it.
• 11:45
  I think I have really enjoyed
• 11:47
  my time speaking to
• 11:49
  kids, like with kids just asking
• 11:51
  questions because they surprise you
• 11:53
  with their answers.
• 11:54
  Last week I asked a kid what
• 11:56
  he liked the best about cafeteria,
• 11:58
  the food in his cafeteria
• 12:01
  and he said that
• 12:03
  he loved the food there, he loved
• 12:04
  burgers and that once he tried
• 12:06
  bringing food from home and
• 12:08
  that he didn't like it so he wasn't
• 12:10
  going to do that again.
• 12:12
  So yeah, it's been a lot of fun and
• 12:14
  just also seeing how much love there
• 12:16
  is in these communities and how
• 12:18
  they talk about each other.
• 12:19
  It's really heartwarming.
• 12:22
  Okay, we have been speaking with
• 12:23
  Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez.
• 12:25
  She is KUT's education reporter.
• 12:27
  We're gonna have a link to her
• 12:28
  reporting in today's show notes.
• 12:30
  Greta, thanks for coming back on the
• 12:31
  show.
• 12:31
  Thank you, Jerry.
• 12:32
  And school leaders from across the
• 12:34
  state are testifying today at a
• 12:35
  Texas House Public Education
• 12:36
  Committee hearing focused on the
• 12:38
  implementation of House Bill 2.
• 12:40
  That's the law passed last
• 12:41
  legislative session, increasing
• 12:43
  funding for teacher pay, educator
• 12:45
  training, and special education
• 12:47
  programs.
• 12:48
  We're gonna have an update on that
• 12:49
  hearing. That's tomorrow here on
• 12:51
  Austin Signal.
• 12:53
  The San Antonio Spurs are back
• 12:55
  in the NBA Finals where they will
• 12:57
  face the Eastern Conference
• 12:58
  Champion, New York Knicks.
• 13:00
  Austin Spurs' alums Kelden Johnson,
• 13:02
  Julian Ciampani, and Carter Bryan
• 13:04
  all scored in San Antonio's decisive
• 13:06
  Game 7 victory over the
• 13:08
  defending champion Thunder.
• 13:10
  Spurs have won 74 games this season,
• 13:12
  including a pair of victories at the
• 13:13
  Moody Center back in February.
• 13:16
  Tip-off for Game 1 is set
• 13:17
  for just after 7.30 on
• 13:19
  Wednesday night.
• 13:20
  This is Austin's Signal, and we will
• 13:22
  be back after this short break.
• 13:30
  This is Austin Signal, welcome back.
• 13:32
  After 11 years, the Dog
• 13:34
  Park plus bar combo, Yard
• 13:36
  Bar in Austin's Allendale
• 13:37
  neighborhood, has closed.
• 13:39
  But before its last day on Saturday,
• 13:41
  KUT intern Valeria Cruz-Boutron
• 13:43
  met a few pups and their owners,
• 13:46
  who decided to make the best of
• 13:48
  those last days.
• 13:49
  Woof, woof.
• 13:50
  My name is C.
• 13:52
  Robert Cargill and my dog is Nix.
• 13:54
  We've been coming to Yard Bar for
• 13:56
  about four years now.
• 13:58
  It's become a part of our
• 14:01
  daily routine.
• 14:02
  You know, we come here easily three,
• 14:04
  four times a week with her.
• 14:06
  Cause whenever she's getting
• 14:07
  rambunctious and wants some clearly
• 14:09
  just a walk isn't going to do, but
• 14:11
  she wants some, some dog
• 14:13
  play. This is where we like to bring
• 14:14
  her and wear her out.
• 14:15
  And also it allows us to sit and
• 14:18
  talk while she's having fun and
• 14:20
  talk with other folks who have dogs
• 14:21
  and then get to because we're dog
• 14:23
  lovers play with other dogs.
• 14:24
  So it's, you know,
• 14:27
  there's a whole lot of things that
• 14:28
  are going to absolutely leave
• 14:30
  a part of our, our routine.
• 14:32
  My name is Bailey Gilbert.
• 14:34
  And I'm Cass Tasarchik.
• 14:36
  Mine is Burke, B-U-R-K.
• 14:38
  And she just turned 10 years
• 14:40
  old last week.
• 14:43
  And this is where she gets her
• 14:45
  interaction. Our other pup's an old
• 14:46
  man, so she doesn't necessarily get
• 14:48
  that playtime at home.
• 14:50
  So we come here so she can run
• 14:51
  around.
• 14:53
  And this is Oliver,
• 14:55
  he is 13 going on 14,
• 14:58
  and he's a tabletop guy around
• 14:59
  these parts.
• 15:00
  So he spends most of the time, he'll
• 15:02
  probably do a lap, sniff the
• 15:03
  perimeter, and then make his way to
• 15:04
  the top of the table and not leave.
• 15:07
  I am Kristen Heaney-Clark
• 15:09
  and I am the founder
• 15:11
  and operating owner of Yard
• 15:13
  Bar. I was always kind of
• 15:15
  conflicted between whether or not I
• 15:16
  was going to take my dog out to the
• 15:18
  park and run him around or go
• 15:19
  meet my friends for happy hour.
• 15:21
  And so it seemed like there
• 15:23
  was probably a better way to do it.
• 15:26
  You know, in the 11 years that we've
• 15:28
  been here, I think the most
• 15:31
  incredible thing has
• 15:33
  been.
• 15:34
  The community that got built here.
• 15:36
  I don't know that I anticipated
• 15:38
  how much that would
• 15:40
  mean, how much this place would mean
• 15:42
  to other people.
• 15:44
  That's something I'm really, really
• 15:46
  proud of. That's that will
• 15:48
  live on long past
• 15:50
  Yard Bar's days at 6700
• 15:52
  Burnet Road.
• 15:54
  Hi, my name is Tim Harvey.
• 15:56
  We've been coming to Yard Bar since
• 15:58
  2019.
• 16:00
  It's where I first took my rocket as
• 16:02
  I rescued him.
• 16:03
  He came from a kill shelter
• 16:05
  going out in Bastrop and
• 16:07
  from a
• 16:09
  skittish dog to the most friendly
• 16:10
  dog I've ever known of I've owned.
• 16:13
  So I'd say, yeah, this little
• 16:14
  community we have here it actually
• 16:16
  helped me raise my dog to be who he
• 16:18
  is today.
• 16:19
  So yeah, friendship and family here
• 16:21
  has been definitely up there, the
• 16:22
  number one.
• 16:23
  Hi, my name is Alisa and
• 16:25
  my dog's name is brisket.
• 16:27
  Wiki, Alisa Wiki.
• 16:28
  It's just so fun to see him open up
• 16:30
  because when we first brought him,
• 16:31
  he was just hiding under the tables
• 16:32
  the whole time and he's just
• 16:34
  blossomed. It's so cliche to
• 16:36
  say, but he really has.
• 16:38
  He's just, he owns the park as far
• 16:39
  as he's concerned.
• 16:40
  And so it's just been really lovely
• 16:42
  to see his personality come out
• 16:43
  through all of the interactions here
• 16:45
  too.
• 16:47
  Have a great week!
• 16:55
  That audio postcard feature sound
• 16:57
  from KUT intern Valeria
• 16:59
  Cruz Butron will have a link
• 17:01
  to her story in today's
• 17:03
  podcast, Show Notes.
• 17:12
  Yael Ouzaloo started doodling
• 17:14
  as a way to process grief,
• 17:16
  and now she continues the practice
• 17:17
  as a creative outlet.
• 17:20
  For the KUT KUTX Studio
• 17:22
  podcast, this is my thing.
• 17:24
  Ouzalu told host Mike Lee that
• 17:26
  calling it doodaling and not
• 17:28
  art takes the pressure off and
• 17:30
  keeps it fun.
• 17:39
  Everyone who does something creative
• 17:41
  does does the thing that kind of
• 17:43
  speaks to them and there's
• 17:44
  I guess there's no real knowing why
• 17:46
  Some people love
• 17:48
  pen and paper and some people love
• 17:50
  getting their hands on ceramics Some
• 17:52
  folks like glass blowing just kind
• 17:54
  of what works for you
• 17:55
  And I think for me, it's accessible.
• 17:58
  Like you don't need major equipment.
• 17:59
  You don't even need
• 18:01
  the notebooks that I use.
• 18:03
  You can just pick up paper that
• 18:04
  you've got in your copy paper,
• 18:06
  right? You can pick up pens
• 18:08
  that you got.
• 18:09
  So I think it
• 18:10
  was just, it was accessible.
• 18:14
  Every sense.
• 18:15
  This is a hobby you can get into
• 18:16
  completely for free if you just
• 18:17
  boost some stuff from the office of
• 18:19
  like, exactly, exactly.
• 18:21
  Yeah, if you've got your favorite
• 18:22
  pens and stuff. And it's funny how
• 18:24
  many people I've spoken to
• 18:27
  who really have a love
• 18:29
  of pens and
• 18:31
  has their favorite pen that they
• 18:33
  have to write with or different
• 18:34
  color ink, you know, I only write
• 18:36
  with blue ink or I only with black
• 18:38
  ink or whatever it is.
• 18:39
  I mean, I can refer you to the
• 18:41
  fountain pen episode of this show.
• 18:42
  If you wanna...
• 18:43
  You guys
• 18:43
  more about that.
• 18:45
  It's really interesting to me how
• 18:46
  many people have a love for pens
• 18:48
  and paper and things like that.
• 18:51
  So it just kind of flows
• 18:53
  from that.
• 18:54
  I have different kinds of markers.
• 18:56
  I have the pasta markers which
• 18:58
  are acrylic paint.
• 19:00
  They're really fun to use.
• 19:01
  They are very vivid.
• 19:02
  I have Sharpie pens and
• 19:05
  I have a bag full of different
• 19:07
  pens that I like to use my favorite
• 19:09
  Are the microns...
• 19:11
  I am trying to learn the lesson of
• 19:13
  letting it go, seeing how
• 19:15
  the process unfolds.
• 19:18
  And if it's
• 19:20
  not perfect, it's now perfect.
• 19:22
  And if doesn't turn out exactly how
• 19:24
  I anticipated, well that's okay
• 19:26
  because it turned out the way it was
• 19:27
  meant to be.
• 19:32
  So when I started, I was looking at
• 19:34
  a picture
• 19:36
  of the landing into
• 19:38
  the ocean, but at this point in
• 19:40
  time, I just have the picture in my
• 19:41
  head and I just interpret what
• 19:43
  I think it looks.
• 19:46
  I don't know why there's always this
• 19:48
  need to become perfect at
• 19:50
  something, right?
• 19:51
  I think that the
• 19:53
  journey is just as valuable in
• 19:56
  learning about it and
• 19:58
  doing it in a way that makes you
• 20:00
  feel happy and satisfied.
• 20:03
  But I think ultimately you have to
• 20:04
  think about what your goal is in
• 20:06
  this, right. And my goal in doing
• 20:07
  this was to
• 20:09
  find a way to deal with the
• 20:11
  grief that I was feeling, find a
• 20:13
  way to deal with what was happening.
• 20:16
  You know, in the world and
• 20:18
  find a way to process all of this.
• 20:20
  My goal was not to create the next
• 20:22
  beautiful piece of art, right?
• 20:24
  My goal is not to become perfect
• 20:26
  at watercolors or
• 20:28
  anything like that.
• 20:29
  It was to find an
• 20:31
  outlet. And I think that
• 20:34
  that's just as worthy.
• 20:36
  Perfection's boring, anyway.
• 20:40
  When I was doing this,
• 20:42
  I accidentally colored in
• 20:44
  here, in this square.
• 20:46
  And in my day job, I'd be like,
• 20:48
  oh, damn, I messed that up.
• 20:50
  Now I'm like, all right, whatever.
• 20:52
  This just kind of gives me
• 20:53
  permission to take
• 20:55
  it wherever it goes and
• 20:57
  to incorporate the mistakes into the
• 20:59
  design and
• 21:01
  be OK with it.
• 21:04
  It's what Bob Ross calls a happy
• 21:05
  accident. Exactly.
• 21:07
  Exactly.
• 21:09
  I remember years ago, I started, I
• 21:11
  went to a couple yoga classes and I
• 21:13
  did like the intro to yoga lessons
• 21:14
  and all of this and I was, and I, I
• 21:16
  mean, this is my competitiveness.
• 21:17
  I got out, I was like, I want to be
• 21:19
  so good at, I wanna be the best at
• 21:21
  yoga that I can ever be.
• 21:23
  Years later, it was like I think I
• 21:24
  missed the point.
• 21:27
  Were you trying to win the yoga
• 21:29
  class? Yes, I was trying to win the
• 21:30
  Yoga class.
• 21:31
  And I'm like, this is real.
• 21:33
  And I was like, oh, I'm so good at
• 21:34
  like I'm still good at warrior pose,
• 21:35
  but I'm really bad at downward talk.
• 21:37
  I need to do better at some
• 21:38
  salutations. I'm why am I doing
• 21:40
  this to myself?
• 21:43
  I have a little inside knowledge
• 21:44
  here. My wife is a yoga instructor
• 21:45
  and she's never returned from a
• 21:46
  class and told me who won.
• 21:49
  Right?
• 21:50
  So, so I know
• 21:52
  I'm like that. So I think that
• 21:54
  this becomes a vehicle
• 21:56
  to not be that, you know,
• 21:58
  like I, I have had
• 22:00
  highly stressful, very deadline
• 22:02
  oriented types of jobs.
• 22:04
  And so I'm trying to
• 22:06
  create a space that is not
• 22:08
  that.
• 22:10
  So
• 22:14
  That is Mike Lee, host of
• 22:16
  the This Is My Thing podcast,
• 22:18
  talking about doodling with
• 22:20
  Yael Ouzalu.
• 22:21
  That conversation is only available
• 22:23
  on the podcast version, so
• 22:25
  just a little special treat for you
• 22:27
  here on this first day of June.
• 22:28
  This Is my Thing has a new episode
• 22:30
  out tomorrow that talks about the
• 22:32
  calming effects one veteran feels
• 22:33
  when he crochets.
• 22:35
  We'll have a link to the podcast in
• 22:37
  our show notes.
• 22:38
  That is it for us today
• 22:40
  here on Austin Signal.
• 22:42
  And as always, if you're looking to
• 22:44
  find more from us or catch up on
• 22:45
  past episodes, you can do that
• 22:47
  at kut.org
• 22:50
  slash Signal.
• 22:52
  Rayna Sevilla is our technical
• 22:53
  director, Alexandra Hart is
• 22:55
  our producer, and Kristen Cabrera
• 22:57
  is our managing producer.
• 22:59
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 23:01
  Thank you for spending the first day
• 23:03
  of June here with Austin
• 23:05
  Signal. We will be back at the
• 23:07
  same time tomorrow.
• 23:08
  We will talk to you then.
• 23:10
  Have a fantastic day.