Bedtime Stories for the ADD: Ashes

He stood in the ashes of a dead world. Where had it gone wrong? One had been alright, but the limit was clearly below seven billion clowns.

#5

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Thoughts About Public Transit

A Tale of Three Cities

I want to start using the bus system in Raleigh (more generically, the Triangle Area). I don't have an unhealthy obsession with buses, I just hate driving. Thanks to a month-long trip to Russia in 1999, I know there's a better way. St. Petersburg's Metrolink system is the best way to travel. If you happen to be in St. Petersburg. The other city I'll put in the mix is Baltimore.

St. Petersburg is an incredibly beautiful city, and they have subway entrances nearly everywhere. It's been awhile, so I can't say if it's still good. However, when I was there, you could buy a Metro card pretty much wherever you were at. I can't say anything about their website. I'm sure they have one, but I haven't been there. It really wasn't necessary to use their website to find out anything. It was intuitive, and I know about as much Russian as you're likely to hear in a James Bond movie.

The Triangle Area is so suburban that it's not practical to have closely arranged stops. That said, the simplicity of using public transportation in St. Petersburg is so phenomenally greater than using it in Raleigh or Baltimore that it's unlikely the city layout is to blame for the disparity in ease of use.

I'm sure Baltimore is a great place. I didn't spend much time there. It's way too close to DC for my taste, but it could be worse. There were lots of bus stops, and a light rail. The one complaint I had with Baltimore over Raleigh was that I couldn't get tickets mailed to me in a reasonable time frame.

Why I'm Annoyed Enough to Write This

Both of Raleigh and Baltimore have incredibly unusable websites. I would have given up already if I wasn't such a glutton for punishment.

Raleigh's situation is complicated in that there are six bus systems for people to deal with, not one. A central website covers all of them (owned by the TTA) but a lot of information is only available on the individual sites.

Even with Google's magic assistance, I have a lot of questions. The first one is where the bus stop is heading west on Lynn and Bent Creek? I can plainly see the one heading east, but I doubt the every bus on that route makes two U-turns there every morning. There are no pictures of it online and I drove past it twice and didn't see it.

The second trouble is the park-and-rides. The online information is spotty. Do they charge? Do I need a placard? And, most importantly, where the hell are they? I've been to Millbrook Exchange and drove past Shelley Lake Sertoma Arts Center and didn't see a sign telling you where to park or that there even was a park-and-ride there. (My spies say that they could only see three parking spaces at the Park-and-Ride at Sertoma)

They need detailed information and should be clearly marked and visible from the main road they're attached to. Fortunately, NC Division of Air Quality has a marginally useful description of some locations.

The next point of contention is route planners. Baltimore's has some Google Maps integration, but because of the way it was integrated, it's difficult to find good routes. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but it shouldn't be that hard.

The TTA route planner has the opposite problem. It has no Google integration. Their route planner seems to be a clunky home-grown solution. With how spread out Raleigh is, it should give advice about bus stop options near you. When I plug in my address, it never tells me anything about park-and-ride locations near me. Taking the routes at face value is incredibly disheartening.

Last point: There's a bus stop that is too far away for me to walk to. I could bike to it but they only allow two bikes per bus. Foldable bikes are allowed on the bus, but with the caveat that they must fit in a carrying bag. I've never seen one that fits in a carrying bag, so cyclists roll the dice every time they take a bike to a bus stop. Totally unacceptable if you're commuting. I have to get to work on time every day, not just on the days my bus-riding compatriots didn't bring a bike.

What?!

They're trying to boost use of public transportation in the Triangle Area so they can justify a light rail. There are tons of reasons to use public transportation in the Triangle Area, but with the difficulties involved, can they seriously expect people to give up their cars?

Please, Raleigh, get your act together.

Addendum: Strengths

Each place has its strengths. I don't want it to seem like theres nothing good about Baltimore or Raleigh.

St. Petersburg's public transport is intuitive, places to purchase fares are everywhere and simple, and the routes are frequent and easy to understand.

Baltimore's strengths are that they have a light rail system, and lots of buses.

Raleigh's strength is that you can receive the tickets in the mail in 1-2 business days. In Raleigh, there are also lots of places to buy tickets.

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Dreamers Light

We are the dreamers, we are the light
A thousand tiny pieces preparing for a fight

We bring an opiate of hope to a world on fire with pain
A red cloak holding bitter truth: our lives are but a stain

Oh, we'll back down, you know we always do
In the din of greater wisdom, and things we know untrue

But if you see a fury glint deep burning in our eyes
Remember that our dreams pass glory 'fore they die

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Guest Review on Dear Editor

Howdy ladies, gents, and malcontents of all flavors and persuasions. I did a guest review of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go on Dear Editor yesterday. I mentioned Never Let Me Go in last week's Tactical Highlighter, but didn't say a whole lot about it. Definitely check out my review on Dear Editor

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Tactical Highlighter #2

This week's Highlighter is a little light. I spent most of my available listening hours on the podcast version of Michael Nagler's Nonviolence Today course. If you're not already a committed pacifist, it will probably bore you to tears or infuriate you. So, I'm not recommending it to anyone who isn't a pacifist. At some point, I'll find a good introduction to pacifism and promote that.

Audio:
• LibriVox's recording of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The original vampire novel for free! Van Helsing could kill Edward Cullen with a look and Dracula would find it quite funny. The book meanders on a bit, but some of the readers are incredibly good and even with the meandering, it's way better than Twilight.
• Escape Pod 216: βoyfriend by Madeline Ashby. What happens when AI becomes advanced enough to be a boyfriend or girlfriend? There's a few snide remarks at our present society too, but I'm not sure they're easy to spot.
• PodCastle 072: The Exit Sign by Ursula Pflug. This one is quite a bit saucier than most stories I'm likely to link to. It isn't that alluring, actually, but there are lots of clear mentions of various fetishes. The story itself is an examination of new types of prejudices, the dangers of these prejudices, and the beauty and strength that go to those who overcome them.

Non-audio:
• Who You Are and Who You Ain’t by James N. Frey. This is a somewhat longish essay on the importance of writing, the persecution of the writer, etc. In a way, it reminds me of aspects of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (which is a great book and you should read it). Anyway, if you're a writer and you're not struck with the feeling of being a superhero or a prophet by the time you finish reading this, you're doing it wrong. Either your writing, or the reading.

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Bedtime Stories for the ADD: #4

They

They are the cool cats. They sleep all day and weave words all night, read with one eye and with another watch the light. (Read more!)

Toilet Seat Communism

I wrote this on July 7, 2007. I've made a few formatting changes and added a postscript, but haven't made any other changes. Enjoy!

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Of all the philosophical debates that the great minds contemplate, the one that has the most immediate impact on our society is the Toilet Seat Position debate. I have a new solution which may finally end the debate once and for all. A refresher: should the toilet seat go up or down after use?

Usually, the argument is divided along gender lines with women taking the position that the toilet seat should always be in the down position when leaving the bathroom. Men generally argue that the toilet seat should remain up, or in the position most useful to the person who last used it.

To this day, the men have been losing this argument.

Today, I trump both positions with a new position in which toilet seat inconvenience will be shared evenly amongst all affected parties.

My solution is this: since residential toilets have a lid, the lid should be put down on the toilet after each use. Men will have to lift the seat while using the toilet, and then put it down after they are finished. Women will have to lift the lid and put it back down after they are finished.

I call this position “Toilet Seat Communism.”

I have been subtlety practicing this doctrine for a few weeks in my own house, and no one seems to have noticed the difference. I should add that the “seat down” position had been the previous victor in the Toilet Seat Position debate in this house prior to my campaign. Now, everyone has to lift something in order to use the toilet, and no one has to look at the ugly innards of the toilet.

To further bolster my position, I suggest that the lid and seat combination be made air-tight to cut down on the amount of toilet water lost to evaporation. Toilet Seat Communism is not only the most equitable solution to the issue, it is also the environmentally friendly position.

Despite my tongue-in-cheek manner, I am totally serious.

P.S. Sort of.

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