DJHJD
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Friday, July 06, 2007
Washington on Tolerance
Okay, all of you fright wingers out there - you "strict constructionists" who would have us honor and obey the intentions of the "Founding Fathers" (even though we know that's a load of crap - you're just as willing to ditch the Founding Fathers when it serves your bigoted, self-serving interests.) Here's what the Father of Our Country would have said about the current immigration buzz:
–George Washington, Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, Aug. 18, 1790 in: The Writings of George Washington, p. 766-67.
Thanks to the "Harper's Index" online for this quote today. Harper's seems to trust that anyone reading this piece should be able to understand the nuance. However, I don't believe that people can get a refined and elegant point such as this without having it slammed into their cranium, so I gave you a little more detail.
The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for giving to Mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support…
May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.
–George Washington, Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, Aug. 18, 1790 in: The Writings of George Washington, p. 766-67.
Thanks to the "Harper's Index" online for this quote today. Harper's seems to trust that anyone reading this piece should be able to understand the nuance. However, I don't believe that people can get a refined and elegant point such as this without having it slammed into their cranium, so I gave you a little more detail.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Because of course...
Nationalized health care will benefit the terrorists.
Not that the HMOs and big Pharma are terrorizing far more people far more effectively already...
Thursday that feels like Monday
Yesterday, I started the post "Thursday that feels like Monday," and I got nothing but the title entered. So, although this looks like Thursday, it's actually Friday that feels like Tuesday.
Well, here I am OTB, running into work. While sometimes it seems to be the right thing to do to sleep in, this morning, getting up before 0600 and being on the 730 bus was definitely the right thing. I just can't seem to get comfortable though.
It looks like there's sunshine today! Who would have thought?
So much business came in yesterday, it was like a blizzard all day. That was pretty cool, but now I'm feeling like I need to create some organizational structure to keep it all organized and make sure that I don't drop something out. Yikes. I need for Tom to come in tomorrow and help me (or Chuck, hmm) clean off the old desktop and transfer files to the laptop. First one who responds...
And, I need to get some more filing work done on my desk. That's going to have to happen this morning.
I was thinking as I looked out over our water soaked landscape through my bedroom windows today - you know, all of this rain has kept the temperatures in Houston down below 90 for most of June and so far in July; is that such a bad thing? My power bill will be loving this.
The New York Times today has an article about flight delays and how full the airlines are. The next time you hear a talking head blather on about how there's so much overcapacity in the US airline system, answer me this: if the network carrier (United, American, Continental) load factors are all above 85% (as they are, meaning of all of the seats they operated in the previous month, 85% of them were full) how many 150 seat airplanes have to go out with 150 passengers to bring the average up to 85% of the total number of seats sold?
Answer: Most of them.
Had a dream last night about all of this business - in the dream, I just got adjusted to all of this activity that was demonstrating yesterday, and a truckload of NEW business came in. Then, I was being driven around in the back seat of a black Phaeton 4-seat, yapping on the phone. With my sister. Asking her "what is the reason for your call? How my business is doing is no business of yours."
I think I need to engage in some active forgiveness work with her.
Jackie this morning would NOT go out, wouldn't pee or go into the grass when I hooked her up on the leash anyway and dragged her out. After I ate, had two cups of coffee, showered, dressed, and came downstairs to see about catching the 7:30 bus, THEN she was all bouncy and "let's go pee, Daddy!" Well, okay. She's such a sweet soul. She needs a bath, and I have scheduled myself for work all day tomorrow. Sunday, we have our board meeting after church, so I'll be home very late then as well.
She just needs to go back to the groomer. Bleh.
The other day, I got into the car and noticed that the fuel consumption seemed to have jumped up strongly. Then, as I was driving, I was thinking "whoa! When did the engine get so powerful?"
Seems that the can of fuel system cleaner that they dumped into the car a few weeks ago has finally taken hold. Or something.
I noticed last evening OTB coming home that the drivers have adopted a pattern of moving along just around 20 miles per hour. This greatly reduces the amount of time that they're on the brake, and that they have to stop for lights. The driver this morning is going the same way. We're right now about halfway through with the total route, and we only have about ten people on the bus. After 8:00, this bus would be packed to the gills.
More reading about high speed rail yesterday. Wired's article, which I think I cross posted - if not, I'm a-gonna, was discussing the same old thing that everyone is talking about - how the energy savings alone provide enough incentive for government to create the tax breaks and eminent domain to create dedicated high speed rail routes between cities up to 500 miles apart.
Considering that the Feds won't upgrade the air traffic control system, and that the airlines are already at capacity, wouldn't it make sense to append onto the existing Interstate system and add high speed rail?
If that was done, what would it do for traffic flow on the interstate system? Of course, some businesses would suffer - when you make an adjustment somewhere, it shows up somewhere else - the airlines would have some diminished traffic, the gas stations and fast food restaurants along the interstates would have less business.
But, if it reduces the infrastructure spending on freeways, reduces pollution and fuel burn, adds productivity through recaptured time spent on travel, wouldn't those things be good? Socially and generally speaking?
This bus' brakes are grinding like mad. Yikes.
Okay, time to publish this one and see where the internet takes us next.
Well, here I am OTB, running into work. While sometimes it seems to be the right thing to do to sleep in, this morning, getting up before 0600 and being on the 730 bus was definitely the right thing. I just can't seem to get comfortable though.
It looks like there's sunshine today! Who would have thought?
So much business came in yesterday, it was like a blizzard all day. That was pretty cool, but now I'm feeling like I need to create some organizational structure to keep it all organized and make sure that I don't drop something out. Yikes. I need for Tom to come in tomorrow and help me (or Chuck, hmm) clean off the old desktop and transfer files to the laptop. First one who responds...
And, I need to get some more filing work done on my desk. That's going to have to happen this morning.
I was thinking as I looked out over our water soaked landscape through my bedroom windows today - you know, all of this rain has kept the temperatures in Houston down below 90 for most of June and so far in July; is that such a bad thing? My power bill will be loving this.
The New York Times today has an article about flight delays and how full the airlines are. The next time you hear a talking head blather on about how there's so much overcapacity in the US airline system, answer me this: if the network carrier (United, American, Continental) load factors are all above 85% (as they are, meaning of all of the seats they operated in the previous month, 85% of them were full) how many 150 seat airplanes have to go out with 150 passengers to bring the average up to 85% of the total number of seats sold?
Answer: Most of them.
Had a dream last night about all of this business - in the dream, I just got adjusted to all of this activity that was demonstrating yesterday, and a truckload of NEW business came in. Then, I was being driven around in the back seat of a black Phaeton 4-seat, yapping on the phone. With my sister. Asking her "what is the reason for your call? How my business is doing is no business of yours."
I think I need to engage in some active forgiveness work with her.
Jackie this morning would NOT go out, wouldn't pee or go into the grass when I hooked her up on the leash anyway and dragged her out. After I ate, had two cups of coffee, showered, dressed, and came downstairs to see about catching the 7:30 bus, THEN she was all bouncy and "let's go pee, Daddy!" Well, okay. She's such a sweet soul. She needs a bath, and I have scheduled myself for work all day tomorrow. Sunday, we have our board meeting after church, so I'll be home very late then as well.
She just needs to go back to the groomer. Bleh.
The other day, I got into the car and noticed that the fuel consumption seemed to have jumped up strongly. Then, as I was driving, I was thinking "whoa! When did the engine get so powerful?"
Seems that the can of fuel system cleaner that they dumped into the car a few weeks ago has finally taken hold. Or something.
I noticed last evening OTB coming home that the drivers have adopted a pattern of moving along just around 20 miles per hour. This greatly reduces the amount of time that they're on the brake, and that they have to stop for lights. The driver this morning is going the same way. We're right now about halfway through with the total route, and we only have about ten people on the bus. After 8:00, this bus would be packed to the gills.
More reading about high speed rail yesterday. Wired's article, which I think I cross posted - if not, I'm a-gonna, was discussing the same old thing that everyone is talking about - how the energy savings alone provide enough incentive for government to create the tax breaks and eminent domain to create dedicated high speed rail routes between cities up to 500 miles apart.
Considering that the Feds won't upgrade the air traffic control system, and that the airlines are already at capacity, wouldn't it make sense to append onto the existing Interstate system and add high speed rail?
If that was done, what would it do for traffic flow on the interstate system? Of course, some businesses would suffer - when you make an adjustment somewhere, it shows up somewhere else - the airlines would have some diminished traffic, the gas stations and fast food restaurants along the interstates would have less business.
But, if it reduces the infrastructure spending on freeways, reduces pollution and fuel burn, adds productivity through recaptured time spent on travel, wouldn't those things be good? Socially and generally speaking?
This bus' brakes are grinding like mad. Yikes.
Okay, time to publish this one and see where the internet takes us next.
It's not just me....
Cross posted from Wired...
Hey America, Make With the !@~$ High-Speed Rail Already
In April, a train built by the French engineering firm Alstom screamed along the Ligne à Grande Vitesse, the Paris-to-Strasbourg high-speed rail system, at a record- breaking 357 miles per hour. The whizzing run past Vendôme provided a glimpse of next-gen railway travel, and Alstom execs hope, set the company up for future contracts in emerging high-speed rail markets like China and India.
Conspicuously absent among those emerging markets: the US. Of course, news of the achievement sparked yet another round of well-worn rants, often delivered by globe-trotters who return home after rides on slick Japanese or French trains wondering, "Where the hell is my high-speed rail?" It's a question that betrays a certain naiveté about transit policy — but it's still a good one. If the country has a prayer of solving its traffic woes and creating a more efficient, environmentally sound infrastructure, we'll need some first-rate, wicked-fast trains.
That the US lacks them is due neither to conspiracy nor accident. Distances between major North American cities dwarf those in Europe. (France's north-south axis is barely longer than the trip from New York to Chicago.) According to transportation geeks, high-speed rail competes with air travel only for trips under 500 miles or that take less than three hours by plane. Chicago to St. Louis could work, but New York to Denver? Nope.
Gas is also cheaper here than in Europe and the Pacific Rim. That's an incentive to drive the short hops instead of taking the train. And an even greater incentive: Our roads are almost universally awesome. "We've chosen to sink our transportation investments into the automobile," says planning guru Robert Cervero of UC Berkeley. No news flash there.
But technology and economics may be shifting to a point where regional high-speed rail is plausible. Public transit in general is looking better and better to local governments. New York City approved a new subway line, San Francisco is considering an additional trolley route, and Los Angeles might extend its subway to the beach via parts of town people actually want to go. The same holds for intercity travel. Illinois and Wisconsin recently invested in improved rail service between Chicago and Milwaukee. Ridership spiked. "If you make this available, people will recognize how valuable it is for our urban environments," says Dennis Minichello, president of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association. Put another way: If you build it, they will ride.
New technology also helps. Lighter materials, improved acceleration, and enhanced communications all translate to faster travel times and lower construction and operating costs. Until recently, the signaling systems that keep trains on course and prevent collisions were installed in the ground along the entire route. That equipment has now been replaced by cheaper satellite and wireless technologies. And there's the critical issue of tilting: Most high-speed trains ride the same rails as standard passenger and freight lines. These tracks tend to be curvy; high speed demands long straightaways. But if the trains are designed to lean inward against curves to counteract centrifugal force, they can travel faster on existing infrastructure — a major cost saver. It works in Spain, and on Amtrak's flawed but popular Acela line in the Northeast Corridor.
To really make a system work, the US needs to build dedicated high-speed tracks. "But then that costs more, and you're talking about expropriating land," one industry insider says. Eminent domain is an explosive topic in the property-rights-obsessed US. On the other hand, we did it for the Interstate Highway System. Back then, it was for the benefit of national security; Eisenhower argued that the roads might be needed to move troops. But today we know that pollution, global warming, and dependence on Middle East oil are issues of national security, too.
The big test for US high-speed rail is now under way in California, and the hurdle is political, not technical. "Lassitude is our enemy," says Quentin Kopp, chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. He's leading the campaign for a Sacramento-to-San Diego high-speed train (San Francisco to Los Angeles in two and a half hours!). A $10 billion bond measure is slated for the 2008 ballot, but it's hardly a sure bet. Despite his iridescent-green glow, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not endorsed the bond. But even if he comes around, rail riders should keep the champagne corked. In the 1990s, Texas officials pushed for high-speed rail connecting Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, only to be squashed by a lobbying push from Southwest Airlines. This fast train thing could work, if enough people would just get on board.
Hey America, Make With the !@~$ High-Speed Rail Already
In April, a train built by the French engineering firm Alstom screamed along the Ligne à Grande Vitesse, the Paris-to-Strasbourg high-speed rail system, at a record- breaking 357 miles per hour. The whizzing run past Vendôme provided a glimpse of next-gen railway travel, and Alstom execs hope, set the company up for future contracts in emerging high-speed rail markets like China and India.
Conspicuously absent among those emerging markets: the US. Of course, news of the achievement sparked yet another round of well-worn rants, often delivered by globe-trotters who return home after rides on slick Japanese or French trains wondering, "Where the hell is my high-speed rail?" It's a question that betrays a certain naiveté about transit policy — but it's still a good one. If the country has a prayer of solving its traffic woes and creating a more efficient, environmentally sound infrastructure, we'll need some first-rate, wicked-fast trains.
That the US lacks them is due neither to conspiracy nor accident. Distances between major North American cities dwarf those in Europe. (France's north-south axis is barely longer than the trip from New York to Chicago.) According to transportation geeks, high-speed rail competes with air travel only for trips under 500 miles or that take less than three hours by plane. Chicago to St. Louis could work, but New York to Denver? Nope.
Gas is also cheaper here than in Europe and the Pacific Rim. That's an incentive to drive the short hops instead of taking the train. And an even greater incentive: Our roads are almost universally awesome. "We've chosen to sink our transportation investments into the automobile," says planning guru Robert Cervero of UC Berkeley. No news flash there.
But technology and economics may be shifting to a point where regional high-speed rail is plausible. Public transit in general is looking better and better to local governments. New York City approved a new subway line, San Francisco is considering an additional trolley route, and Los Angeles might extend its subway to the beach via parts of town people actually want to go. The same holds for intercity travel. Illinois and Wisconsin recently invested in improved rail service between Chicago and Milwaukee. Ridership spiked. "If you make this available, people will recognize how valuable it is for our urban environments," says Dennis Minichello, president of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association. Put another way: If you build it, they will ride.
New technology also helps. Lighter materials, improved acceleration, and enhanced communications all translate to faster travel times and lower construction and operating costs. Until recently, the signaling systems that keep trains on course and prevent collisions were installed in the ground along the entire route. That equipment has now been replaced by cheaper satellite and wireless technologies. And there's the critical issue of tilting: Most high-speed trains ride the same rails as standard passenger and freight lines. These tracks tend to be curvy; high speed demands long straightaways. But if the trains are designed to lean inward against curves to counteract centrifugal force, they can travel faster on existing infrastructure — a major cost saver. It works in Spain, and on Amtrak's flawed but popular Acela line in the Northeast Corridor.
To really make a system work, the US needs to build dedicated high-speed tracks. "But then that costs more, and you're talking about expropriating land," one industry insider says. Eminent domain is an explosive topic in the property-rights-obsessed US. On the other hand, we did it for the Interstate Highway System. Back then, it was for the benefit of national security; Eisenhower argued that the roads might be needed to move troops. But today we know that pollution, global warming, and dependence on Middle East oil are issues of national security, too.
The big test for US high-speed rail is now under way in California, and the hurdle is political, not technical. "Lassitude is our enemy," says Quentin Kopp, chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. He's leading the campaign for a Sacramento-to-San Diego high-speed train (San Francisco to Los Angeles in two and a half hours!). A $10 billion bond measure is slated for the 2008 ballot, but it's hardly a sure bet. Despite his iridescent-green glow, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not endorsed the bond. But even if he comes around, rail riders should keep the champagne corked. In the 1990s, Texas officials pushed for high-speed rail connecting Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, only to be squashed by a lobbying push from Southwest Airlines. This fast train thing could work, if enough people would just get on board.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Giving up on giving away
So, I'm totally giving up on finding something in my considerable and useless possessions that may be the surprise piece in "Treasure in the Attic" played out in my own little eBay drama.
I researched a few antiques that have come down to me through my great grandfather, and they're worth so little on eBay that it's not worth photographing them and putting them out there. So, I've been moving some things around, displaying a few more things, and getting the front room a little more organized than it is now.
It's time to just integrate them, or stow them away.
I researched a few antiques that have come down to me through my great grandfather, and they're worth so little on eBay that it's not worth photographing them and putting them out there. So, I've been moving some things around, displaying a few more things, and getting the front room a little more organized than it is now.
It's time to just integrate them, or stow them away.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Tuesday before a day off
So, last night Matticia is telling me that he's all excited about the upcoming Sweeney Todd movie with Johnny Depp as Todd.
I think I passed a gallstone when I heard it. Johnny Depp, as wonderful as he is, just doesn't strike me as the barber whose voice derives from the bowels of Hell itself. He's just a little whisp of a thing. Can he even sing? Or is this going to be like Madonna singing Evita, which still has left my hearing damaged.
My BG this morning was 87. I've NEVER had it that low, EVER. Not on arising, anyway. Mid 90s, yes.
I've been reading these articles about diabetes; how it's all about the food intake and a little exercise - that the current therapy is driven by pharma and lazy doctors. How wild.
More movement on the commercial mortgage front.
I think I passed a gallstone when I heard it. Johnny Depp, as wonderful as he is, just doesn't strike me as the barber whose voice derives from the bowels of Hell itself. He's just a little whisp of a thing. Can he even sing? Or is this going to be like Madonna singing Evita, which still has left my hearing damaged.
My BG this morning was 87. I've NEVER had it that low, EVER. Not on arising, anyway. Mid 90s, yes.
I've been reading these articles about diabetes; how it's all about the food intake and a little exercise - that the current therapy is driven by pharma and lazy doctors. How wild.
More movement on the commercial mortgage front.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Sunday evening Happyness
I'm watching the DVD "The Pursuit of Happyness." It's an awesome movie. Even if you hate Will Smith.
Where has this year gone? Where has this weekend gone?
Today in church things were again awesome. We only had 12 people. However, we asked for people to stay and help me get the book cases put out, the books moved out and organized and everyone - everyone - stayed and helped out. It's not everything I'd like to accomplish yet, but it's a strong start. Hopefully, next weekend I can get some more things cleared out, and set up an office in the back.
You know, I live on a busy corner. Every day, all day and until after midnight, cars pull up at the traffic light and wait for the light to change. Every few minutes, one of those cars has a high powered thrumming stereo system that literally rattles the glassware in the house. The curio on the front wall that has 20th Century glassware in it rattles like I'm in an earthquake. About once a week, I have to open up the case and move all of the glassware back to its original position.
How is that even rational or reasonable behavior? Why aren't all of those bastards deaf already?
I can't wait until I can get those windows installed.
I had such weird dreams this weekend. Again with a dream of being at my grandparent's house in northern Michigan, in the basement, but this time, the sunlight was streaming in the windows. I haven't really read enough into it. I dreamed about my aunt, she was disappointed in me. It was just .. random and hard to understand.
I finally set up the church's merchandise store. I worked on the Fabulair merchandise today.
Bram was suggesting he wanted to get a black schnauzer. Uh ...
Chuck and George have a new roomie who's a landscaper; I think that this week, he's going to come out and design me a new front patch. That will be great.
So much to accomplish this week. I'm looking forward to having Wednesday off - I'm just going to sleep.
Where has this year gone? Where has this weekend gone?
Today in church things were again awesome. We only had 12 people. However, we asked for people to stay and help me get the book cases put out, the books moved out and organized and everyone - everyone - stayed and helped out. It's not everything I'd like to accomplish yet, but it's a strong start. Hopefully, next weekend I can get some more things cleared out, and set up an office in the back.
You know, I live on a busy corner. Every day, all day and until after midnight, cars pull up at the traffic light and wait for the light to change. Every few minutes, one of those cars has a high powered thrumming stereo system that literally rattles the glassware in the house. The curio on the front wall that has 20th Century glassware in it rattles like I'm in an earthquake. About once a week, I have to open up the case and move all of the glassware back to its original position.
How is that even rational or reasonable behavior? Why aren't all of those bastards deaf already?
I can't wait until I can get those windows installed.
I had such weird dreams this weekend. Again with a dream of being at my grandparent's house in northern Michigan, in the basement, but this time, the sunlight was streaming in the windows. I haven't really read enough into it. I dreamed about my aunt, she was disappointed in me. It was just .. random and hard to understand.
I finally set up the church's merchandise store. I worked on the Fabulair merchandise today.
Bram was suggesting he wanted to get a black schnauzer. Uh ...
Chuck and George have a new roomie who's a landscaper; I think that this week, he's going to come out and design me a new front patch. That will be great.
So much to accomplish this week. I'm looking forward to having Wednesday off - I'm just going to sleep.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Just what if ....
Here's a video of the Shanghai Maglev train. It only travels from the airport to downtown. At 431 km/hour. 273 mph.
Just what if ..
Let's just say that the Texas high speed rail project was brought back to life. And, let's say for sake of argument that said rail triangle was constructed - and, to quell the Negative Nancies that bitch about this rail triangle slaughtering inattentive soccer moms in their Suburbans and kids with learner permits at grade crossings - let's just say that it was constructed on elevated tracks.
Notice in the video that it takes the train fewer than three minutes to get up to full speed. The whole trip is 22 miles - about that from downtown Houston to the Woodlands, and lasts about seven minutes.
Imagine for a minute that you got onboard the train in downtown Houston. If you don't live in downtown houston, you took a connector up from Friendswood, or Pearland, or Katy, or Sugar Land. You walked over to the train, and you hopped onboard.
And sat down.
The train pulls out from the station, and you're sitting there with your laptop, or your latte from Fivebucks. While the train picks up speed, you notice that traffic on I-45 north isn't jammed up like it always is .. well, not quite so badly.
And, seven minutes later, the train slows down and stops in the Woodlands. A few people get off, and a few more get on. The train pulls out.
Let's say that this is at 7:30 in the morning, and you have a meeting in Dallas at 9:30. You left the house at 6:30, and took the car from your home in Royal Oaks to the Hillcroft Transit Center, which took you about 20 minutes on the Westpark Tollroad, and about 17 minutes if you took the light rail from Kirkwood to the HTC. The light rail from HTC to the downtown station takes another 15 minutes. Plenty of time to grab a latte from Fivebucks, which has a concession in the terminal.
And, from the Woodlands, we have 211 miles to go to downtown Dallas.
Four minutes up to speed, and you've passed through about 15 miles - 71 minutes later, you're pulling into the Dallas downtown rail station.
The taxi stand is only some 400 steps from the train platform, so you hoof it out to the cab line, and grab a cab to the building on Central in which your meeting is being held. 25 minutes in the cab, and you're walking out on the dot to take your meeting.
After your meeting, you grab a bite, and cab it back to the station for the 2:10 train back home.
At 3:30 you're in downtown Houston. You walk to another platform, get on the rail back to your office in Greenway Plaza, and at 3:45, you're walking into the lobby at 11 Greenway, heading for the elevator.
Compare this to how we do it now.
Southwest, come the end of August, will have 30 flights a day between Houston and Dallas/Love. Everyone's convinced that Houston Hobby is the best airport in the city (except for those who fly a lot) and so, we'll start out leaving the house.
Your meeting is at 9:30, and from Dallas Love to Central and, say, Throckmorton, that's going to take twenty minutes by cab. So, you have to arrive before 9:10. You need to leave a little time on the arrival end to wait for all of the people in front of you who were in boarding group "A" to unload their bags, skis, laptop cases and baby seats and de-plane. So, you need to be in Dallas by 8:55ish.
Scheduled block to block times from Hobby to Love are 55 minutes, so you need to be on the 8:00 a.m. flight.
It's a weekday, so you'll need to be at the airport at least by 7:15 to clear security. You printed your boarding passes online, so you don't have to check in anywhere, just get there and stand on queue with everyone else in the "B" boarding group. This is really cutting it close though, 45 minutes, so you plan on being at Hobby at 7:00 a.m. for the 8:00 a.m. departure.
Now, from Royal Oaks, we're going to assume that the rail is available (apples to apples and all) so you can either take your car (Westpark tollroad to US 59 to I45 south to the airport exits - give it 45 minutes if you're REALLY confident) or take the rail into town (37 minutes) and then out to Hobby on the rail line - another 20.
So, you're leaving your house at 6:00.
This is assuming everything works as it should. If it's thunderstormy - you're late in Dallas. If there's ice - you're late in Dallas. If it's raining and you took the car - you're missing your flight and you're late in Dallas.
But, everything goes as it should. So, you're saving a good thirty minutes on trip time up to Dallas this way. Time at home. Sleeping in.
While you're on the train, you're laptopping it. The ride is as smooth as sitting at your desk. Thundershowers? It provides visual interest through the windows.
Now, let's look at the return. Remember, on the high speed rail, we're back at the office at 3:45.
So, we leave lunch at 1:30. Our meeting mate in Dallas gives us a ride over to Love. We get there at about 1:50, so we can catch the next flight out at .. probably 2:30, giving us a little time to clear security. We push back, wheels up and we're at Hobby at 3:30.
Are you seeing where we're going here?
3:30, you stand up with all the other lemmings, and wait to de-plane. You head out to the light rail, back downtown and it's now 4:10. Change trains, and you're at the office 4:30ish.
You've saved one hour and twenty-five minutes today. The frustration level is also much lower.
What could you do with an extra hour and twenty-five minutes, not to mention being able to work the entire ride up and back, because you don't have to stow your laptop for takeoff/landing?
How many cars would it take off the roads?
What stands in the way? Well, several things. Firstly, Texas is all about private enterprise, and private enterprise is all about getting the money for free from the government. Secondly, unless the real estate developers here can figure out a way to make money on it, it's unlikely to gain much lobbying support.
Then, there's Southwest Airlines, who will definitely lobby against having their Texas Triangle business taken away from them. Why?
Southwest has 30 flights a day each way between Houston and Dallas. That's 8160 seats a day, and they're usually full. Their financial gross from that one city pair operation is approximately $563,000 a DAY. $180,172,800 a year, if you only look at weekdays.
That's money that's worth fighting for.
Think of the major cities separated by a few hundred miles which could be successfully paired with high speed rail.
Just what if ..
Let's just say that the Texas high speed rail project was brought back to life. And, let's say for sake of argument that said rail triangle was constructed - and, to quell the Negative Nancies that bitch about this rail triangle slaughtering inattentive soccer moms in their Suburbans and kids with learner permits at grade crossings - let's just say that it was constructed on elevated tracks.
Notice in the video that it takes the train fewer than three minutes to get up to full speed. The whole trip is 22 miles - about that from downtown Houston to the Woodlands, and lasts about seven minutes.
Imagine for a minute that you got onboard the train in downtown Houston. If you don't live in downtown houston, you took a connector up from Friendswood, or Pearland, or Katy, or Sugar Land. You walked over to the train, and you hopped onboard.
And sat down.
The train pulls out from the station, and you're sitting there with your laptop, or your latte from Fivebucks. While the train picks up speed, you notice that traffic on I-45 north isn't jammed up like it always is .. well, not quite so badly.
And, seven minutes later, the train slows down and stops in the Woodlands. A few people get off, and a few more get on. The train pulls out.
Let's say that this is at 7:30 in the morning, and you have a meeting in Dallas at 9:30. You left the house at 6:30, and took the car from your home in Royal Oaks to the Hillcroft Transit Center, which took you about 20 minutes on the Westpark Tollroad, and about 17 minutes if you took the light rail from Kirkwood to the HTC. The light rail from HTC to the downtown station takes another 15 minutes. Plenty of time to grab a latte from Fivebucks, which has a concession in the terminal.
And, from the Woodlands, we have 211 miles to go to downtown Dallas.
Four minutes up to speed, and you've passed through about 15 miles - 71 minutes later, you're pulling into the Dallas downtown rail station.
The taxi stand is only some 400 steps from the train platform, so you hoof it out to the cab line, and grab a cab to the building on Central in which your meeting is being held. 25 minutes in the cab, and you're walking out on the dot to take your meeting.
After your meeting, you grab a bite, and cab it back to the station for the 2:10 train back home.
At 3:30 you're in downtown Houston. You walk to another platform, get on the rail back to your office in Greenway Plaza, and at 3:45, you're walking into the lobby at 11 Greenway, heading for the elevator.
Compare this to how we do it now.
Southwest, come the end of August, will have 30 flights a day between Houston and Dallas/Love. Everyone's convinced that Houston Hobby is the best airport in the city (except for those who fly a lot) and so, we'll start out leaving the house.
Your meeting is at 9:30, and from Dallas Love to Central and, say, Throckmorton, that's going to take twenty minutes by cab. So, you have to arrive before 9:10. You need to leave a little time on the arrival end to wait for all of the people in front of you who were in boarding group "A" to unload their bags, skis, laptop cases and baby seats and de-plane. So, you need to be in Dallas by 8:55ish.
Scheduled block to block times from Hobby to Love are 55 minutes, so you need to be on the 8:00 a.m. flight.
It's a weekday, so you'll need to be at the airport at least by 7:15 to clear security. You printed your boarding passes online, so you don't have to check in anywhere, just get there and stand on queue with everyone else in the "B" boarding group. This is really cutting it close though, 45 minutes, so you plan on being at Hobby at 7:00 a.m. for the 8:00 a.m. departure.
Now, from Royal Oaks, we're going to assume that the rail is available (apples to apples and all) so you can either take your car (Westpark tollroad to US 59 to I45 south to the airport exits - give it 45 minutes if you're REALLY confident) or take the rail into town (37 minutes) and then out to Hobby on the rail line - another 20.
So, you're leaving your house at 6:00.
This is assuming everything works as it should. If it's thunderstormy - you're late in Dallas. If there's ice - you're late in Dallas. If it's raining and you took the car - you're missing your flight and you're late in Dallas.
But, everything goes as it should. So, you're saving a good thirty minutes on trip time up to Dallas this way. Time at home. Sleeping in.
While you're on the train, you're laptopping it. The ride is as smooth as sitting at your desk. Thundershowers? It provides visual interest through the windows.
Now, let's look at the return. Remember, on the high speed rail, we're back at the office at 3:45.
So, we leave lunch at 1:30. Our meeting mate in Dallas gives us a ride over to Love. We get there at about 1:50, so we can catch the next flight out at .. probably 2:30, giving us a little time to clear security. We push back, wheels up and we're at Hobby at 3:30.
Are you seeing where we're going here?
3:30, you stand up with all the other lemmings, and wait to de-plane. You head out to the light rail, back downtown and it's now 4:10. Change trains, and you're at the office 4:30ish.
You've saved one hour and twenty-five minutes today. The frustration level is also much lower.
What could you do with an extra hour and twenty-five minutes, not to mention being able to work the entire ride up and back, because you don't have to stow your laptop for takeoff/landing?
How many cars would it take off the roads?
What stands in the way? Well, several things. Firstly, Texas is all about private enterprise, and private enterprise is all about getting the money for free from the government. Secondly, unless the real estate developers here can figure out a way to make money on it, it's unlikely to gain much lobbying support.
Then, there's Southwest Airlines, who will definitely lobby against having their Texas Triangle business taken away from them. Why?
Southwest has 30 flights a day each way between Houston and Dallas. That's 8160 seats a day, and they're usually full. Their financial gross from that one city pair operation is approximately $563,000 a DAY. $180,172,800 a year, if you only look at weekdays.
That's money that's worth fighting for.
Think of the major cities separated by a few hundred miles which could be successfully paired with high speed rail.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
I've reached that milestone
I guess it's the final nail in the notion that I'm young and indestructible. The doctor today put me on blood pressure medication.
Not that I'm hypertensive, exactly, just sort of. My BP usually runs about 130/90. My heart rate is also a little high at 85.
Hm.
Not that I'm hypertensive, exactly, just sort of. My BP usually runs about 130/90. My heart rate is also a little high at 85.
Hm.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
My letter to NPR
A few days ago, we had a storm related power outage, and my trusty clock radio needed to be reset. I had failed to get all the settings down, and I forgot to reset the morning alarm to KUHF, my local Public Radio station.
The last three mornings, I've been waking up to a shrill, mechanical "beep, beep, beep."
This morning, I awoke and I realized I was in a better mood on arising than I have been in many months.
Of course, I had to reflect on this a moment.
I am now free of listening to endless, pointless "news" about Iraq. That's what has elevated my mood. I no longer have to listen to car bombings, the pointless deaths of our soldiers, the posturing of our administration and the "loyal opposition" who offer no opposition at all to this illegal, senseless, horrific nightmare.
And since I live in a state in which there is no point to calling one of my fright wing Congressmen, I am free of the frustration of being able to do nothing about it at all.
I also realized that I've chosen to ride public transit four days a week, and my afternoons no longer lend themselves to listening to "All Things Considered" as I sit in bumper to bumper traffic.
Ditto with the input restrictions on listening to the same pointless recitation about Iraq.
And my mood is greatly improved.
So, I have now officially given up my mornings with "Morning Edition," and my evening drive times with "All Things Considered." Until it's over.
Ignorance is indeed bliss.
The last three mornings, I've been waking up to a shrill, mechanical "beep, beep, beep."
This morning, I awoke and I realized I was in a better mood on arising than I have been in many months.
Of course, I had to reflect on this a moment.
I am now free of listening to endless, pointless "news" about Iraq. That's what has elevated my mood. I no longer have to listen to car bombings, the pointless deaths of our soldiers, the posturing of our administration and the "loyal opposition" who offer no opposition at all to this illegal, senseless, horrific nightmare.
And since I live in a state in which there is no point to calling one of my fright wing Congressmen, I am free of the frustration of being able to do nothing about it at all.
I also realized that I've chosen to ride public transit four days a week, and my afternoons no longer lend themselves to listening to "All Things Considered" as I sit in bumper to bumper traffic.
Ditto with the input restrictions on listening to the same pointless recitation about Iraq.
And my mood is greatly improved.
So, I have now officially given up my mornings with "Morning Edition," and my evening drive times with "All Things Considered." Until it's over.
Ignorance is indeed bliss.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Wasn't I just saying this?
From the thecarlounge.net, which is a great little news source - snarky and fun, and loaded with up to the minute information.
Brian's friend Wes is the author - he's awesome. In fact, I want all of you to go and start reading thecarlounge.net so that he keeps publishing it. I'll wait.
Here's the news article from the Detroit News. The website (thecarlounge.net, remember?) has a cool picture of what this tread/corner separation looks like.
Brian's friend Wes is the author - he's awesome. In fact, I want all of you to go and start reading thecarlounge.net so that he keeps publishing it. I'll wait.
The 1970 booklet from China entitled China Tames Her Rivers is full of eye-poppingly extreme Communist propaganda, but every word of it was meant seriously, including these: "There were early attempts by traitors to hoodwink the people with such decadent Western notions as "put technique first" and "place specialists in charge of engineering." These traitors were swiftly dealt with."
Mao had a deep-seated loathing for engineers and other intellectuals, and so did everything he could to minimise their contribution to Chinese society. In the so-called Great Leap Forward, intellectuals were rounded up and shot, and Mao (who didn't know a thing about metallurgy) ordered farmers to quit farming and instead build small coal smelters on their land, melt down their farming implements and turn them into raw steel. He thought this would act as a springboard for China to have a sudden industrial revolution. What actually happened was a sudden lack of food because nobody was farming, a sudden lack of farm implements because they'd all been melted down, and a sudden glut of utterly useless metal goo that couldn't even remotely be called steel. Vast numbers of people starved to death.
So, culturally, China not only has no history of valuing Western "quality" and design as we know them, but they actually have a strong history of violently devaluing them. They will emerge from this, but it's going to take a very long time. Unfortunately, Western MBAs don't want to wait, and the collateral damage includes mislabeled glycol being sold as glycerin, melamine being stuffed into dog food, and this: The Detroit News is reporting that federal safety officials have ordered over 450,000 tires made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. recalled because corner-cutting during assembly can lead to complete and catastrophic tread separation. The tires were sold for light trucks under the brand names Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS in a variety of 15 and 16-inch sizes. The recall affects all tires sold because the manufacturer "failed to provide information that would allow [the US distributor] to determine exactly how many tires, and which batches, have the problem."
Here's the news article from the Detroit News. The website (thecarlounge.net, remember?) has a cool picture of what this tread/corner separation looks like.
Monday, Monday .. donde esta la autobus?
Took the bus this morning. Apparently, white people don't ride the bus when it's raining. Personally, not having to get all jacked up about people doing stupid stuff when the road's wet is just dandy with me. I only waited outside for about four minutes before said bus rolled up, and so I'm just damp.
And, I'm just all read up and out. In a moment, I'm going to close most of the web browsers that I use all day long and focus on the tasks that I have on my pop-up task list.
After I pay some bills.
If you're wondering how we know that someone else is gay, read this.
Okay, so blah blah blah blah .. I hate sunty behavior. That's French, with the cedilla. Enough on that subject.
Bram was chasing asian boys until about 0500, and when he got up and out, it was nearly 11:00. He was freaked out to find my car in the garage. "Did you take the bus?"
Yepper.
So, things are happening here. Five new loan applications today alone, it seems.
More on the "to do" list.
And, I'm just all read up and out. In a moment, I'm going to close most of the web browsers that I use all day long and focus on the tasks that I have on my pop-up task list.
After I pay some bills.
If you're wondering how we know that someone else is gay, read this.
Okay, so blah blah blah blah .. I hate sunty behavior. That's French, with the cedilla. Enough on that subject.
Bram was chasing asian boys until about 0500, and when he got up and out, it was nearly 11:00. He was freaked out to find my car in the garage. "Did you take the bus?"
Yepper.
So, things are happening here. Five new loan applications today alone, it seems.
More on the "to do" list.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
What's up with all you that have blogs
and write in them about once every twenty days? Or every year?
If you started a blog and you aren't interested in maintaining it, just close the damned thing down. Find that link that says "delete this blog" and nuke the thing.
That will prevent me from having to go, hopefully, to see whether MAYBE you wrote in your blog.
Just uninstalled a whole bunch of software on the laptop that were duplicates, useless or cheesy - the lappy is now very zippy as compared to before. That's awesome!
Here's a great blog post on the state of the "liberal" media and people's general unconsciousness about what the government is up to:
Qui Tacet Consentit Hotlist
by Devilstower
Sun Jun 24, 2007 at 04:52:46 PM CDT
The Sunday paper arrived by my mailbox carrying its usual heft of ads, sports, and television schedules. Above the headlines on the front page was the story of a man who killed his wife and kids, and was foolish enough to not only do so on the basis of the plot from a popular TV crime show that aired the previous week, but to base his murder scheme on a plotline in which the murderer was caught. The rest of the front page was taken up with a story of religion in baseball, the difficulties of a local museum, and a study on mass transit. Nothing too unusual.
In the meantime, we have a Vice-President who has declared his independence from law and regulation, and a President who, far from reigning in in this ridiculous Constitutional overreach, has decided to play me too, even in reference to regulations that explicitly address the office of the president and vice president.
Cheney is not subject to the executive order, she said, "because the president gets to decide whether or not he should be treated separately, and he's decided that he should."
In the ultimate evolution of Nixonian dogma, they are quite blatantly asserting that the rule of law may be ignored, and that the president and vice-president obey only at their own discretion.
Did you know that members of the St. Louis Cardinals often stay after the game to talk to fans about faith? Or that Paris has agreed to have an interview with Larry King? Or that Conservapedia states that the Pleistocene is a "theoretical" period of time? All those stories made the "A" section of my Sunday paper.
There have been some voices raised that the we are nearing a constitutional crisis. That's not true. We are in a constitutional crisis. And to lose this fight, we don't have to land in jail. We don't have to see troops on the street or get a midnight knock on the door.
People are still speculating over the meaning of the Soprano's finale. A rare monkey was born at the Tokyo Zoo. Colin Powell is coming to town to give a motivational speech.
We have only to worry about the events of everyday life. We have only to flip on the tube. We have only to be silent. Qui Tacet Consentit -- silence implies consent.
Toward the page of section A, there's a story on more soldiers losing their lives in Iraq. That's sad, but look there's a bit on how Peru has lowered the age of consent to 14, and a human interest piece on the struggles of Muslim detective in France.
Every paper that is not running this story on the front page, every day, is providing a blessing to the administration's actions. Every television station that wastes a minute on celebrity gossip, is complicit in the destruction of democracy. And every one of us not actively protesting these actions is passively supporting them.
There's a review of the newest model from Saturn in the auto section, the business section mentions that gas is below $3 nationally, and just look at those ads! Some department stores are already discounting summer merchandise
Meteor Blades has already given you a terrific insider's history of the protest movement during the Vietnam era, and told you about Iraq Moratorium Day, the series of protests that are planned to start in September. I plan to participate, and I hope you will, as well.
There's a long section in News Watch about how we may have no choices but New Yorkers in the election. The Midwesterners interviewed for the story don't seem too thrilled about it. And hey, the city museum had a two-headed hermaphroditic albino snake. How cool is that? Oh, but it died.
But don't wait for September. If you already belong to a local group, keep participating, if you don't, then join. And even if you're not out involved in a formal protest, conduct a constant, personal protest. It can be at your school, at your church, or at the copy machine, but whenever opportunity allows, make it clear that you do not consent. Make it clear that this is not okay with you. It's not ordinary. It's not something that "all politicians do." It's not business as usual. Do not be silent.
Where's that movie schedule? I think we could still catch a flick this afternoon.
If you started a blog and you aren't interested in maintaining it, just close the damned thing down. Find that link that says "delete this blog" and nuke the thing.
That will prevent me from having to go, hopefully, to see whether MAYBE you wrote in your blog.
Just uninstalled a whole bunch of software on the laptop that were duplicates, useless or cheesy - the lappy is now very zippy as compared to before. That's awesome!
Here's a great blog post on the state of the "liberal" media and people's general unconsciousness about what the government is up to:
Qui Tacet Consentit Hotlist
by Devilstower
Sun Jun 24, 2007 at 04:52:46 PM CDT
The Sunday paper arrived by my mailbox carrying its usual heft of ads, sports, and television schedules. Above the headlines on the front page was the story of a man who killed his wife and kids, and was foolish enough to not only do so on the basis of the plot from a popular TV crime show that aired the previous week, but to base his murder scheme on a plotline in which the murderer was caught. The rest of the front page was taken up with a story of religion in baseball, the difficulties of a local museum, and a study on mass transit. Nothing too unusual.
In the meantime, we have a Vice-President who has declared his independence from law and regulation, and a President who, far from reigning in in this ridiculous Constitutional overreach, has decided to play me too, even in reference to regulations that explicitly address the office of the president and vice president.
Cheney is not subject to the executive order, she said, "because the president gets to decide whether or not he should be treated separately, and he's decided that he should."
In the ultimate evolution of Nixonian dogma, they are quite blatantly asserting that the rule of law may be ignored, and that the president and vice-president obey only at their own discretion.
Did you know that members of the St. Louis Cardinals often stay after the game to talk to fans about faith? Or that Paris has agreed to have an interview with Larry King? Or that Conservapedia states that the Pleistocene is a "theoretical" period of time? All those stories made the "A" section of my Sunday paper.
There have been some voices raised that the we are nearing a constitutional crisis. That's not true. We are in a constitutional crisis. And to lose this fight, we don't have to land in jail. We don't have to see troops on the street or get a midnight knock on the door.
People are still speculating over the meaning of the Soprano's finale. A rare monkey was born at the Tokyo Zoo. Colin Powell is coming to town to give a motivational speech.
We have only to worry about the events of everyday life. We have only to flip on the tube. We have only to be silent. Qui Tacet Consentit -- silence implies consent.
Toward the page of section A, there's a story on more soldiers losing their lives in Iraq. That's sad, but look there's a bit on how Peru has lowered the age of consent to 14, and a human interest piece on the struggles of Muslim detective in France.
Every paper that is not running this story on the front page, every day, is providing a blessing to the administration's actions. Every television station that wastes a minute on celebrity gossip, is complicit in the destruction of democracy. And every one of us not actively protesting these actions is passively supporting them.
There's a review of the newest model from Saturn in the auto section, the business section mentions that gas is below $3 nationally, and just look at those ads! Some department stores are already discounting summer merchandise
Meteor Blades has already given you a terrific insider's history of the protest movement during the Vietnam era, and told you about Iraq Moratorium Day, the series of protests that are planned to start in September. I plan to participate, and I hope you will, as well.
There's a long section in News Watch about how we may have no choices but New Yorkers in the election. The Midwesterners interviewed for the story don't seem too thrilled about it. And hey, the city museum had a two-headed hermaphroditic albino snake. How cool is that? Oh, but it died.
But don't wait for September. If you already belong to a local group, keep participating, if you don't, then join. And even if you're not out involved in a formal protest, conduct a constant, personal protest. It can be at your school, at your church, or at the copy machine, but whenever opportunity allows, make it clear that you do not consent. Make it clear that this is not okay with you. It's not ordinary. It's not something that "all politicians do." It's not business as usual. Do not be silent.
Where's that movie schedule? I think we could still catch a flick this afternoon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)