After a frenzy to get packed and ready for the bike trip, I'm finally en route.
The morning flight from ATL to LAX was pleasant due to an upgrade, but unpleasant due to none of the reading lights working. The flight attendants were apologetic about this, but still didn't seem to think it worth leaving the overhead lights on, and the always helpful fellow passengers all closed their windows so they could watch The Fast and the Furious, and bad romcom. I got a little reading done until it started to really strain my eyes, and then I did some more eye-straining reading on my netbook.
Now in the Delta Skyclub in the crappy, run-down Terminal 5 at LAX. The lounge is nice enough, if quite crowded and loud. I'm actually listening to music (Gomez: Get Miles, appropriate in so many ways) which I almost never do in the airport or lounges. This is to drown out the woman who has been prattling nonstop with her companion since she came in. Well, not truly non-stop: she takes breaks to prattle loudly on her cell phone, too. All while she keeps her feet up on the chair. She's a teacher, but apparently hasn't learned Inside Voice.
The food at Delta Skyclubs pretty much always stinks, with a few exceptions (JFK terminal 2 has some really good snacks and appetizers at certain hours.) I'm hungry, and the food options in Terminal 5 mostly suck, so I was pleased to see them roll out a cart of food when they took away the breakfast foods. What was it? Some sort of caramel-fudge-flourless-chocolate cake thing. At 10:30 in the morning. Yes, really. My favorite response to this (well, the only response other than mine so far) came from a friend via e-mail: "turtle fudge cake? gross. i wouldn't eat that at any time of day."
It does appear that GrossCake(tm) is going to be the only option, so I'll be sticking with pretzels and beer. (Hey, it's now after 11!) I mean, c'mon: you can't even bring out some soft, wilted celery and carrots with grayish/white caking?
In other travel (news), my travels in the next month and a week will have me in the following airports: ATL, LAX, SLC, FCA, SMF, SFO, PIT, JFK, SEA. Woo.
Maybe I'll go hunt down better food, since I still have an hour and a half. A little web searching did indicate that it's possible to walk from Terminal 5 to Terminals 6, 7, and 8. Yay informationsuperinfobahn!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Bicycling and more bicycling! (oh, and some traveling)
Yesterday J and I both rode in an organized ride. We did the first ~31 miles together at a relatively slower pace, then J cut off to do the metric century (~62 miles, which with some difficulties due to the cue sheet, map, and course markings, ended up being ~70.) I sped off to continue the century, which ended up being 93 miles due to needing to cut off a distance loop at the end as they were beginning to close down rest stops and SAG support.
Numbers:
93.07 miles
6:12:01 total riding time
34 mph max speed
15.0 avg speed
135 max RPM
72 avg RPM
I also did a good turn by a fellow rider which took a long time and slowed my average speed somewhat, but which isn't something I'll blog about. Lovely weather all day, overcast and a slight breeze in the morning, and hotter, more direct sunlight in the afternoon. None of the torrential downpour stuff from last weekend.
Now I'm finalizing my packing list for self-supported backcountry mountain bike touring in Montana later this week, followed by a whirlwind tour of northern California. (Y'all know who you are.) As with many such trips, it'll require trips to several local stores for food and gear, which is likely to gobble up much of the rest of my day.
Then PIT. Then NYC. Then SEA. And maybe more ATL sometime: who knows?
Big times! Lots of fun! Very poor carbon footprint!
Numbers:
93.07 miles
6:12:01 total riding time
34 mph max speed
15.0 avg speed
135 max RPM
72 avg RPM
I also did a good turn by a fellow rider which took a long time and slowed my average speed somewhat, but which isn't something I'll blog about. Lovely weather all day, overcast and a slight breeze in the morning, and hotter, more direct sunlight in the afternoon. None of the torrential downpour stuff from last weekend.
Now I'm finalizing my packing list for self-supported backcountry mountain bike touring in Montana later this week, followed by a whirlwind tour of northern California. (Y'all know who you are.) As with many such trips, it'll require trips to several local stores for food and gear, which is likely to gobble up much of the rest of my day.
Then PIT. Then NYC. Then SEA. And maybe more ATL sometime: who knows?
Big times! Lots of fun! Very poor carbon footprint!
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
A Nervous. Fucking. Breakdown.
Is what I'm about to have. In the condo next door to the north, for the second day in a row, they are replacing flooring and otherwise making such an astonishing amount of noise that it's like having a dance party inside a 747 engine. On our floor to ceiling windows to the south and east, the window washers dangling from ropes are slamming around. (They also make a surprisingly massive amount of noise.) They are allegedly cleaning the windows.
I'm going to go read new urbanism at a coffeehouse. In the not-very-amusing irony department, I'm going to have to ride my bike to get to one, since there really isn't a good one within a five minute walking distance (consistent with NU principles.)
Before I go, here are a few pictures from the 65 mile (~metric century) ride I did with a friend on Sunday, mentioned in the previous post. We'll call this friend J2, to distinguish him from J. As mentioned, the first two thirds of the ride were fantastic: rolling hills, and quiet back roads in central Georgia.
Here is the obligatory bucolic country road, with white picket fence, and cyclists approaching the second rest stop image:
Here is the obligatory condom-icecube-in-the-portapotty urinal picture. Yes, really. (This is at that same rest stop):
It was a lovely rest stop, complete with a friendly volunteer mechanic who fixed J2's rubbing front derailleur. In other news, J2 had never heard of the idea of a condom icecube?!? Consider this a request for a Highly Scientific poll of my readership: please leave a comment if you knew this fantastic utilization for condoms.
Remember, dear reader, how I said that the first two thirds of the ride was fantastic? Well, after the last rest stop it rapidly got marginally less fantastic, as the last twenty miles was in apocalyptic-quality rain, thunder, and lightning. Here is the obligatory standing-water-in-my-shoes at the end of the ride picture:
We had great conversation the whole time, including shouting to be heard over the thunder and rain about whose bike was more likely to be struck by the lightning that was blasting at nearly the exact same time as the thunder boomed: my friend's steel frame urban commuter style bike with slightly wider tires, or my aluminum frame road bike with super skinny tires. My friend maintained that his bike and person was less likely to be struck down due to the wider tires (because the lightning would have to go farther to get to ground.) I maintained that my aluminum frame was less attractive, period, and still believe the lightning wouldn't be doing the endgame analysis when it decided who to strike down for their wicked ways.
Of course, in the wicked ways analysis, I definitely lose. (Incidentally, when I described this to J later, she agreed that the steel frame was far more susceptible to lightning strikage. And she's Really Really Smart about such things.) Sorry, J2.
I'm going to go read new urbanism at a coffeehouse. In the not-very-amusing irony department, I'm going to have to ride my bike to get to one, since there really isn't a good one within a five minute walking distance (consistent with NU principles.)
Before I go, here are a few pictures from the 65 mile (~metric century) ride I did with a friend on Sunday, mentioned in the previous post. We'll call this friend J2, to distinguish him from J. As mentioned, the first two thirds of the ride were fantastic: rolling hills, and quiet back roads in central Georgia.
Here is the obligatory bucolic country road, with white picket fence, and cyclists approaching the second rest stop image:
Here is the obligatory condom-icecube-in-the-portapotty urinal picture. Yes, really. (This is at that same rest stop):
It was a lovely rest stop, complete with a friendly volunteer mechanic who fixed J2's rubbing front derailleur. In other news, J2 had never heard of the idea of a condom icecube?!? Consider this a request for a Highly Scientific poll of my readership: please leave a comment if you knew this fantastic utilization for condoms.
Remember, dear reader, how I said that the first two thirds of the ride was fantastic? Well, after the last rest stop it rapidly got marginally less fantastic, as the last twenty miles was in apocalyptic-quality rain, thunder, and lightning. Here is the obligatory standing-water-in-my-shoes at the end of the ride picture:
We had great conversation the whole time, including shouting to be heard over the thunder and rain about whose bike was more likely to be struck by the lightning that was blasting at nearly the exact same time as the thunder boomed: my friend's steel frame urban commuter style bike with slightly wider tires, or my aluminum frame road bike with super skinny tires. My friend maintained that his bike and person was less likely to be struck down due to the wider tires (because the lightning would have to go farther to get to ground.) I maintained that my aluminum frame was less attractive, period, and still believe the lightning wouldn't be doing the endgame analysis when it decided who to strike down for their wicked ways.
Of course, in the wicked ways analysis, I definitely lose. (Incidentally, when I described this to J later, she agreed that the steel frame was far more susceptible to lightning strikage. And she's Really Really Smart about such things.) Sorry, J2.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Rode a lot.
Rode a metric century (~65 miles) today, the last 20 or so in apocalyptic-value rain.
specs:
total miles: 66.18
total riding time: 4:00:44
max mph: 37 mph
average mph: 16.4
max rpm: 131
avg rpm: 73
Excellent ride! Toward the end, repeated lightning and thunder in the very near vicinty, and the last 20 miles in rain thick enough that at various points we could barely see and it stung exposed flesh, not so fun, but super entertaining, and an excellent ride overall.
specs:
total miles: 66.18
total riding time: 4:00:44
max mph: 37 mph
average mph: 16.4
max rpm: 131
avg rpm: 73
Excellent ride! Toward the end, repeated lightning and thunder in the very near vicinty, and the last 20 miles in rain thick enough that at various points we could barely see and it stung exposed flesh, not so fun, but super entertaining, and an excellent ride overall.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bicycles and feasibility
Many of you know that I think bicycling in the sprawl of Atlanta is hideous, and only rewarding because I'm a bit of an obsessivist freak: the more difficult it is, the more committed I am to doing it.
In my reading for this New Urbanism course, there is a recurring theme, namely that you can't exist in daily life in most American cities without a car:
Yes, it can be done: yes, we CAN do most of this stuff by bicycle. By foot. By public transportation. If absolutely need be, by car.
But many of us, at least those of us with the leisure time and internet connectivity to sit around and read random, mediocre blogs like mine, CAN avoid the car 98% of the time. We just have to decide to.
In my reading for this New Urbanism course, there is a recurring theme, namely that you can't exist in daily life in most American cities without a car:
Low-density, single-use development that is spread out over large regions has created a settlement pattern that is completely dependent on automobiles to carry out even the simplest daily tasks such as going to school, picking up a loaf of bread, visiting a friend, seeing a doctor or dentist, visiting a park, or going to work....Well actually, in the 72 hour period starting yesterday morning, I'm going to do every single one of these tasks by bicycle with the exception of going to school (which I'm doing online) and going to work (which I do from home, but which J does five days a week by bicycle.)
Yes, it can be done: yes, we CAN do most of this stuff by bicycle. By foot. By public transportation. If absolutely need be, by car.
But many of us, at least those of us with the leisure time and internet connectivity to sit around and read random, mediocre blogs like mine, CAN avoid the car 98% of the time. We just have to decide to.
Atlanta as miserable place?
From a video lecture by James Howard Kuntsler, Our Civic Spaces, at minute 38:
“...Atlanta is now becoming perhaps the most miserable city to be in in America.”
To paraphrase, he was referring to the barracks-like concrete buildings on central Atlanta streets (including "about four miles of Peachtree Street") that are built more to repel people than to invite them in.
“...Atlanta is now becoming perhaps the most miserable city to be in in America.”
To paraphrase, he was referring to the barracks-like concrete buildings on central Atlanta streets (including "about four miles of Peachtree Street") that are built more to repel people than to invite them in.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Traffic sewers
My favorite thing from my reading today for the new urbanism course I'm taking:
"Streets that once served vehicles and people equitably are now designed for the sole purpose of moving vehicles through them as quickly as possible. They have become, in effect, traffic sewers."
Still irritated by the lack of footnotes and conclusory nature of a lot of the statements in the book, though. That's probably the attorney in me.
"Streets that once served vehicles and people equitably are now designed for the sole purpose of moving vehicles through them as quickly as possible. They have become, in effect, traffic sewers."
--Suburban Nation, p. 64
Still irritated by the lack of footnotes and conclusory nature of a lot of the statements in the book, though. That's probably the attorney in me.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Per capita waste generation
If that last post wasn't enough, and you want to get really depressed about waste generation, you could start reading EPA reports on municipal solid waste generation and recycling.
Here's a tiny tidbit: despite steady improvements in recent decades, in 2007, the net per capita discard rate after materials recovery and combustion with energy recovery was 2.50 pounds per person per day.
Think about this: roughly, go take a good quality 10" skillet, or a pair of hiking boots (okay, I have big feet), or a one liter bottle of water or soda, package it up, and mail it to yourself for $4.95 (USPS priority mail; since you're mailing it to yourself, calculate it from your zip code to your zip code.) NOW DO THIS EVERY FUCKING DAY. That is the amount of trash YOU AND I generated per capita AFTER RECYCLING and energy recovery is factored in.
Perhaps I need to go back to pictures of container gardening and lay off the harping for a while...
Here's a tiny tidbit: despite steady improvements in recent decades, in 2007, the net per capita discard rate after materials recovery and combustion with energy recovery was 2.50 pounds per person per day.
Think about this: roughly, go take a good quality 10" skillet, or a pair of hiking boots (okay, I have big feet), or a one liter bottle of water or soda, package it up, and mail it to yourself for $4.95 (USPS priority mail; since you're mailing it to yourself, calculate it from your zip code to your zip code.) NOW DO THIS EVERY FUCKING DAY. That is the amount of trash YOU AND I generated per capita AFTER RECYCLING and energy recovery is factored in.
Perhaps I need to go back to pictures of container gardening and lay off the harping for a while...
Making it easy/easier: recycling
I really do think that most people want to do good, and would do good, if they could. Unfortunately, most people are also fundamentally lazy, or uninformed, or overworked, or stressed out, or some combination of the above, and don't have the time to do good.
I was thinking about this yesterday in the context of recycling. A friend just moved to Atlanta, and I was helping his partner move them into his new condo. We were generating a lot of cardboard (oh, Ikea, for all your grandstanding and fairly hypocritical claims of environmental responsibility, you really suck. Really bad. Here's a hint as to how to be more environmentally friendly: quit selling so much fucking crap with a built-in product life of a year or two. Quit selling junk food on paper and plastic plates, with plastic flatware, and a side of paper cup. Your in-store recycling is lovely, but how about more reduction so less recycling is necessary? How about you quit passing on the financial savings of flat-packing to the ecologies and communities which are impacted by the immense amounts of cardboard, styrofoam, and plastic your flat packing demands?
On a related note of Ikea sucking, check out this article in the Economist laying bare the revolting faux-charity corporate structure of the cheap furniture powerhouse:
My quest to find the recycling area is aided by several signs that say IN LARGE LETTERS THAT ABSOLUTELY NO GLASS CAN BE RECYCLED. Oh, and mandating that NO CARDBOARD CAN BE LEFT BY THE RECYCLING AREA. But there's another direction indicating that there is a special area for cardboard recycling at the back of the loading dock. Right on! Recycling obsessivist that I am, I don't mind walking a little farther to the special cardboard recycling area. What I do mind is that when I get there, it turns out the extra super special area for cardboard recycling is a HUGE DUMPSTER FULL OF ASSORTED GARBAGE. Booooooooo!
I left our friend a note on how to get to his recycling, and that he can recycle both his cardboard and glass at our building. I have faith in this particular friend that he actually cares enough to go to this extra trouble, and also to consider the issue in his purchasing.
But c'mon: do we really have to make recycling this difficult? Do we really have to contract it out to greedy private corporations who only care about making a profit on it? Isn't the value of keeping the material out of toxic landfills that destroy communities and water tables sufficient to have municipal recycling, even on relatively low energy return material like glass?
Let's remember, this is a waste hirearchy for a reason: think about this the next time you buy bottled water, a genuine and ongoing ecological catastrophe that even McNewspaper finds a problem:
I was thinking about this yesterday in the context of recycling. A friend just moved to Atlanta, and I was helping his partner move them into his new condo. We were generating a lot of cardboard (oh, Ikea, for all your grandstanding and fairly hypocritical claims of environmental responsibility, you really suck. Really bad. Here's a hint as to how to be more environmentally friendly: quit selling so much fucking crap with a built-in product life of a year or two. Quit selling junk food on paper and plastic plates, with plastic flatware, and a side of paper cup. Your in-store recycling is lovely, but how about more reduction so less recycling is necessary? How about you quit passing on the financial savings of flat-packing to the ecologies and communities which are impacted by the immense amounts of cardboard, styrofoam, and plastic your flat packing demands?
On a related note of Ikea sucking, check out this article in the Economist laying bare the revolting faux-charity corporate structure of the cheap furniture powerhouse:
What emerges is an outfit that ingeniously exploits the quirks of different jurisdictions to create a charity, dedicated to a somewhat banal cause, that is not only the world's richest foundation, but is at the moment also one of its least generous. The overall set-up of IKEA minimises tax and disclosure, handsomely rewards the founding Kamprad family and makes IKEA immune to a takeover.But I digress: back to recycling. So, we have a lot of cardboard, in a high-rise condo in Atlanta. I wander down and ask the concierge/security guy where the building's recycling is, and get the somewhat obscure directions (it involves taking the elevator to a parking level, going through one set of doors, walking across the parking lot, then going through another set of doors, then finding the big mixed recycling bin in a moderately smelly and very humid loading dock.
My quest to find the recycling area is aided by several signs that say IN LARGE LETTERS THAT ABSOLUTELY NO GLASS CAN BE RECYCLED. Oh, and mandating that NO CARDBOARD CAN BE LEFT BY THE RECYCLING AREA. But there's another direction indicating that there is a special area for cardboard recycling at the back of the loading dock. Right on! Recycling obsessivist that I am, I don't mind walking a little farther to the special cardboard recycling area. What I do mind is that when I get there, it turns out the extra super special area for cardboard recycling is a HUGE DUMPSTER FULL OF ASSORTED GARBAGE. Booooooooo!
I left our friend a note on how to get to his recycling, and that he can recycle both his cardboard and glass at our building. I have faith in this particular friend that he actually cares enough to go to this extra trouble, and also to consider the issue in his purchasing.
But c'mon: do we really have to make recycling this difficult? Do we really have to contract it out to greedy private corporations who only care about making a profit on it? Isn't the value of keeping the material out of toxic landfills that destroy communities and water tables sufficient to have municipal recycling, even on relatively low energy return material like glass?
Let's remember, this is a waste hirearchy for a reason: think about this the next time you buy bottled water, a genuine and ongoing ecological catastrophe that even McNewspaper finds a problem:
Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption take 1.5 million barrels of oil per year... That much energy could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for a year...
Even if we can do a good job of separating and recycling water bottles, it still comes down to the fact that it's completely unnecessary... Strictly speaking, tap water isn't free — it costs about $0.00002 per ounce. But single-serve bottled water costs between 1,000 and 4,000 times more...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
My bike helmet hack
I saw this "bike hack" on someone's motorcycle helmet while I was on the motorcycle tour.
It made all sorts of sense, and I'm only surprised I didn't think of it before. This way if I'm splashed all over the road by some fossil fueled death machine, emergency responders and the hospital will know i don't have any known drug allergies (NKDA = No Known Drug Allergies) and that they don't need to waste AB blood on me, since my blood type is the most common in the country. It also tells them how to contact J (on a piece of duct tape inside); I.C.E. = In Case of Emergency.
It made all sorts of sense, and I'm only surprised I didn't think of it before. This way if I'm splashed all over the road by some fossil fueled death machine, emergency responders and the hospital will know i don't have any known drug allergies (NKDA = No Known Drug Allergies) and that they don't need to waste AB blood on me, since my blood type is the most common in the country. It also tells them how to contact J (on a piece of duct tape inside); I.C.E. = In Case of Emergency.
New York, and more garden pics
Just back from a busy but good trip to NYC, including a zany bike ride to the north Jersey coast for a lovely wedding/commitment ceremony. I have a bunch of pictures from the bike trip, but want to try to organize them into a trip report rather than just posting random ones. Here is one, however, of the sidewalk/bike path on the Passaic River bridge between Jersey City and the Port of Newark:
You can't really tell it clearly, but the "path" becomes primeval forest thick here at the end, as it was at the beginning, and you essentially have to bushwack to get a bike through. From everything I could tell, they just don't really give a damn about maintaining bridge crossing facilities for cyclists or pedestrians in New Jersey.
Someone gave me a beater commuter bicycle to use while I'm in NYC, and I'm abusing the kindness of another cyclist friend by stuffing it in his bicycle closet (thanks, T!) I had a great ride with the person who gifted the bike on me from Queens to the financial district in Manhattan. I discovered that there is basically no reason to even try to obey traffic regulations in Manhattan, since the cars, trucks, taxis, hired cars, and NYPD traffic officers don't. There were several cases where it was actually reckless to try to obey the law.
My favorite was when the asshole NYPD officer directing traffic yelled (literally) at us to get out of the way when we were at the front of a left turn lane just before turning into Chinatown (it was Delancy Street, I think at Allen Street, just after we got off the Williamsburg Bridge.) Baffled, we did, and the cop proceeded to yell at the cars behind us to ignore the no left turn red light and turn. He completely ignored us and after a while started to yell at more cars to drive through the still red light. Dumb asshole. This was basically the only thing this cop was doing, which caused the intersection to devolve into chaos, since the other drivers didn't know what to do, and we had to make our own way through the intersection. Dumb dumb dumb asshole.
While I was gone J watered the plants, and both the herb garden and tomato plantings are doing well:
the Bonnie Original hybrid
the herb garden planting and individual sweet basil...
Okay, I have some errands to run, and really need to get in a bike ride.
You can't really tell it clearly, but the "path" becomes primeval forest thick here at the end, as it was at the beginning, and you essentially have to bushwack to get a bike through. From everything I could tell, they just don't really give a damn about maintaining bridge crossing facilities for cyclists or pedestrians in New Jersey.
Someone gave me a beater commuter bicycle to use while I'm in NYC, and I'm abusing the kindness of another cyclist friend by stuffing it in his bicycle closet (thanks, T!) I had a great ride with the person who gifted the bike on me from Queens to the financial district in Manhattan. I discovered that there is basically no reason to even try to obey traffic regulations in Manhattan, since the cars, trucks, taxis, hired cars, and NYPD traffic officers don't. There were several cases where it was actually reckless to try to obey the law.
My favorite was when the asshole NYPD officer directing traffic yelled (literally) at us to get out of the way when we were at the front of a left turn lane just before turning into Chinatown (it was Delancy Street, I think at Allen Street, just after we got off the Williamsburg Bridge.) Baffled, we did, and the cop proceeded to yell at the cars behind us to ignore the no left turn red light and turn. He completely ignored us and after a while started to yell at more cars to drive through the still red light. Dumb asshole. This was basically the only thing this cop was doing, which caused the intersection to devolve into chaos, since the other drivers didn't know what to do, and we had to make our own way through the intersection. Dumb dumb dumb asshole.
While I was gone J watered the plants, and both the herb garden and tomato plantings are doing well:
the Bonnie Original hybrid
the herb garden planting and individual sweet basil...
Okay, I have some errands to run, and really need to get in a bike ride.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Flights, but no flights.
I'm at the airport for a flight to JFK, which yes, I will walk out of instead of paying for the fucking Airtrain.
Being at the airport, I thought I'd book another set of flights, but Delta's crappy website isn't cooperating. So I have time to BLOG!
Or I could read my new(ly checked out) book, Suburban Nation: the rise of sprawl and the decline of the american dream . It's assigned reading for a really neat online course in New Urbanism I just signed up for through the University of Miami called The Principles and Practice of New Urbanism . I'm really, really looking forward to it.
Okay, back to about the best dried fruit mix I've ever seen in an airport lounge (yes, I did take a picture, but I don't have a cable) and trying to get delta.com to actually do its job.
Being at the airport, I thought I'd book another set of flights, but Delta's crappy website isn't cooperating. So I have time to BLOG!
Or I could read my new(ly checked out) book, Suburban Nation: the rise of sprawl and the decline of the american dream . It's assigned reading for a really neat online course in New Urbanism I just signed up for through the University of Miami called The Principles and Practice of New Urbanism . I'm really, really looking forward to it.
Okay, back to about the best dried fruit mix I've ever seen in an airport lounge (yes, I did take a picture, but I don't have a cable) and trying to get delta.com to actually do its job.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Compare and contrast...
A little sad, that this year's garden pics in the preceding post don't have quite the, uhh, grandeur of last year's garden in Alaska. At least I should actually yield some $44 tomatoes this year.
Back by popular demand!
I know my regular readers have been desperate for pictures of gardening, so to address all the clamoring, here are some pictures of my container gardening on the balcony:
Probably the prettiest thing on the balcony, this is container herb gardening. From the bottom, clockwise: kitchen sage (Salvia officinalis); French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus); lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla); Greek oregano (Origanum heracleoticum); and in the center, sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). All are organic except the basil (which is oddly difficult to find except at the Home Despot.)
In the foreground, Bush Goliath tomato, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, and in the background, Bonnie original, Lycopersicon esculentum. The garden center guy told me to sacrifice one of the two stalks on the Bush Goliath, but I'm currently glad that I didn't. After a little insitial transplant shock, both are starting to show some new flowers. Not organic, as the picking were super slim this late in the season (purchased and planted two weeks ago.)
More of the tomatoes and herb garden.
Another view of the tomato plantings with a view to the east. If there were less haze, you could see Stone Mountain in the middle of the image, about 20 miles away.
A lower view of all the plantings, with more diffuse light. Hey, gardening is part art, right?
Probably the prettiest thing on the balcony, this is container herb gardening. From the bottom, clockwise: kitchen sage (Salvia officinalis); French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus); lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla); Greek oregano (Origanum heracleoticum); and in the center, sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). All are organic except the basil (which is oddly difficult to find except at the Home Despot.)
In the foreground, Bush Goliath tomato, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, and in the background, Bonnie original, Lycopersicon esculentum. The garden center guy told me to sacrifice one of the two stalks on the Bush Goliath, but I'm currently glad that I didn't. After a little insitial transplant shock, both are starting to show some new flowers. Not organic, as the picking were super slim this late in the season (purchased and planted two weeks ago.)
More of the tomatoes and herb garden.
Another view of the tomato plantings with a view to the east. If there were less haze, you could see Stone Mountain in the middle of the image, about 20 miles away.
A lower view of all the plantings, with more diffuse light. Hey, gardening is part art, right?
Monday, August 03, 2009
Bikes and planes and weddings, oh my!
Rode a little over fifty miles yesterday, and accepted an invitation to do a really amazing sounding week+ of riding on the Great Divide mountain bike route in September. Woo-hoo!
Yesterday was basically nice riding, with a long-time local riding friend, largely using the PATH Foundation trail from central Atlanta to Stone Mountain. Some downpour rain right at the end on our ride back home, but not for too long.
Later, we biked to dinner with other friends at a pretty good vegetarian Chinese restaurant a couple miles from our house, Green Sprout . The highlights were probably the seaweed tofu roll appetizer and the moo shu "chicken"; I was underwhelmed with the vegetable lo mein, and thought the basil "beef" with crispy (read: breaded & deep fried) portobello mushroom quarters was very tasty, which was good, since it's about the most expensive thing on the menu (!) at $10.95. Minimal beverage selection, large portions, friendly but vacant service, and a spare atmosphere: this place is all about the food.
Next weekend: a trip to NYC, including a somewhat ridiculous bike ride from the south Bronx to a friend's wedding in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. I had to lie to google maps to get even a remotely accurate map, and tell it I was walking from Fort Lee, NJ. It simply refused to acknowledge that anyone would want to go down the Jersey side of the Hudson River rather than the Manhattan side. Damn New York provincialism. Should be around 60 miles all told. Big times!
Yesterday was basically nice riding, with a long-time local riding friend, largely using the PATH Foundation trail from central Atlanta to Stone Mountain. Some downpour rain right at the end on our ride back home, but not for too long.
Later, we biked to dinner with other friends at a pretty good vegetarian Chinese restaurant a couple miles from our house, Green Sprout . The highlights were probably the seaweed tofu roll appetizer and the moo shu "chicken"; I was underwhelmed with the vegetable lo mein, and thought the basil "beef" with crispy (read: breaded & deep fried) portobello mushroom quarters was very tasty, which was good, since it's about the most expensive thing on the menu (!) at $10.95. Minimal beverage selection, large portions, friendly but vacant service, and a spare atmosphere: this place is all about the food.
Next weekend: a trip to NYC, including a somewhat ridiculous bike ride from the south Bronx to a friend's wedding in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. I had to lie to google maps to get even a remotely accurate map, and tell it I was walking from Fort Lee, NJ. It simply refused to acknowledge that anyone would want to go down the Jersey side of the Hudson River rather than the Manhattan side. Damn New York provincialism. Should be around 60 miles all told. Big times!
Bikes and planes and weddings, oh my!
Rode a little over fifty miles yesterday, and accepted an invitation to do a really amazing sounding week+ of riding on the Great Divide mountain bike route in September. Woo-hoo!
Yesterday was basically nice riding, with a long-time local riding friend, largely using the PATH Foundation trail from central Atlanta to Stone Mountain. Some downpour rain right at the end on our ride back home, but not for too long.
Later, we biked to dinner with other friends at a pretty good vegetarian Chinese restaurant a couple miles from our house, Green Sprout . The highlights were probably the seaweed tofu roll appetizer and the moo shu "chicken"; I was underwhelmed with the vegetable lo mein, and thought the basil "beef" with crispy (read: breaded & deep fried) portobello mushroom quarters was very tasty, which was good, since it's about the most expensive thing on the menu (!) at $10.95. Minimal beverage selection, large portions, friendly but vacant service, and a spare atmosphere: this place is all about the food.
Next weekend: a trip to NYC, including a
somewhat ridiculous bike ride from the south Bronx to a friend's wedding in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. I had to lie to google maps to get even a remotely accurate map, and tell it I was walking from Fort Lee, NJ. It simply refused to acknowledge that anyone would want to go down the Jersey side of the Hudson River rather than the Manhattan side. Damn New York provincialism. Should be around 60 miles all told. Big times!
Yesterday was basically nice riding, with a long-time local riding friend, largely using the PATH Foundation trail from central Atlanta to Stone Mountain. Some downpour rain right at the end on our ride back home, but not for too long.
Later, we biked to dinner with other friends at a pretty good vegetarian Chinese restaurant a couple miles from our house, Green Sprout . The highlights were probably the seaweed tofu roll appetizer and the moo shu "chicken"; I was underwhelmed with the vegetable lo mein, and thought the basil "beef" with crispy (read: breaded & deep fried) portobello mushroom quarters was very tasty, which was good, since it's about the most expensive thing on the menu (!) at $10.95. Minimal beverage selection, large portions, friendly but vacant service, and a spare atmosphere: this place is all about the food.
Next weekend: a trip to NYC, including a
somewhat ridiculous bike ride from the south Bronx to a friend's wedding in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. I had to lie to google maps to get even a remotely accurate map, and tell it I was walking from Fort Lee, NJ. It simply refused to acknowledge that anyone would want to go down the Jersey side of the Hudson River rather than the Manhattan side. Damn New York provincialism. Should be around 60 miles all told. Big times!
Riding
Rode a little over fifty miles yesterday, and accepted an invitation to do a really amazing sounding week+ of riding on the Great Divide mountain bike route in September. Woo-hoo!
Yesterday was basically nice riding, with a long-time local riding friend, largely using the PATH Foundation trail from central Atlanta to Stone Mountain. Some downpour rain right at the end on our ride back home, but not for too long.
Later, we biked to dinner with other friends at a pretty good vegetarian Chinese restaurant a couple miles from our house, Green Sprout . The highlights were probably the seaweed tofu roll appetizer and the moo shu "chicken"; I was underwhelmed with the vegetable lo mein, and thought the basil "beef" with crispy (read: breaded & deep fried) portobello mushroom quarters was very tasty, which was good, since it's about the most expensive thing on the menu (!) at $10.95. Minimal beverage selection, large portions, friendly but vacant service, and a spare atmosphere: this place is all about the food.
Next weekend: a trip to NYC, and a somewhat ridiculous bike ride from the south Bronx to a friend's wedding in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Big times!
Yesterday was basically nice riding, with a long-time local riding friend, largely using the PATH Foundation trail from central Atlanta to Stone Mountain. Some downpour rain right at the end on our ride back home, but not for too long.
Later, we biked to dinner with other friends at a pretty good vegetarian Chinese restaurant a couple miles from our house, Green Sprout . The highlights were probably the seaweed tofu roll appetizer and the moo shu "chicken"; I was underwhelmed with the vegetable lo mein, and thought the basil "beef" with crispy (read: breaded & deep fried) portobello mushroom quarters was very tasty, which was good, since it's about the most expensive thing on the menu (!) at $10.95. Minimal beverage selection, large portions, friendly but vacant service, and a spare atmosphere: this place is all about the food.
Next weekend: a trip to NYC, and a somewhat ridiculous bike ride from the south Bronx to a friend's wedding in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Big times!
Saturday, August 01, 2009
A new layout
Why not? I'm in yet another new city, so why not a new blog layout?
I'm not actually certain that I like this enough to keep it, so more changes might be on the near horizon. What do you think?
I'm not actually certain that I like this enough to keep it, so more changes might be on the near horizon. What do you think?
A very long time
Well, it's also been a very busy time, so deal with it. We completed the move to ATL, and are messily and about half settled in. We have fantastic views, though I haven't yet taken any pictures to do them justice. Maybe soon.
Bicycling in Atlanta is some of the most terrifying I've ever done. The drivers are astonishingly bad: slow to move, slow to react, and in a misguided attempt to be courteous, are actually often quite dangerous to the cyclist and other cars. The road are in horrendous condition, bike lanes practically non-existent, and even dedicated PATH Foundation bike lanes have significant brekas in them with mediocre signage, so they're difficult to follow when the trails has a break. This hasn't stopped me from riding well over 200 miles in the city in the last two weeks, but it sure has made it annoying.
Hoping to go mountain biking tomorrow, rain dependent, so hopefully that'll be better. Unfortunately, it does require a 45 minute drive.
I'm gardening on the balcony, right now just tomatoes and herbs. I know y'all are clamoring for pictures of plants, so I'll try to get those soon.
I have Great Divide Hercules Double IPA on tap (visitors welcome!) Incidentally, I would link directly to the brewery's page for that beer, but it's really annoying flash, so to hell with them.
Here are the muppets most on my mind right now. Those of you who know what my primary legal volunteer activity is can probably guess what this references:
More later, I hope.
Bicycling in Atlanta is some of the most terrifying I've ever done. The drivers are astonishingly bad: slow to move, slow to react, and in a misguided attempt to be courteous, are actually often quite dangerous to the cyclist and other cars. The road are in horrendous condition, bike lanes practically non-existent, and even dedicated PATH Foundation bike lanes have significant brekas in them with mediocre signage, so they're difficult to follow when the trails has a break. This hasn't stopped me from riding well over 200 miles in the city in the last two weeks, but it sure has made it annoying.
Hoping to go mountain biking tomorrow, rain dependent, so hopefully that'll be better. Unfortunately, it does require a 45 minute drive.
I'm gardening on the balcony, right now just tomatoes and herbs. I know y'all are clamoring for pictures of plants, so I'll try to get those soon.
I have Great Divide Hercules Double IPA on tap (visitors welcome!) Incidentally, I would link directly to the brewery's page for that beer, but it's really annoying flash, so to hell with them.
Here are the muppets most on my mind right now. Those of you who know what my primary legal volunteer activity is can probably guess what this references:
More later, I hope.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Even more obscure than usual
Okay, here's a hint since I was even more unclear than usual in that last post: CH is a very technical carpentry term.
City by the bay
Rode my motorcycle from Anchorage to Skagway, took the ferry to Bellingham, and then rode down to San Francisco. What a long, strange trip it's been.
Discovery #1: sitting in a motorcycle seat for 300-400 miles a day, and for single stretches of up to 120 miles, really really sucks. Really bad. I have a beaded seat pad sitting in a box (hopefully) at the traditional homestead, which should help.
Discovery #2: wow, vegetarianism isn't easy for hundreds of kilometers at a time in the Yukon and northern British Columbia.
Discovery #3: turns out that a certain someone is a hell of a good project manager, and managed many good projects with some other outstanding project managers, making for a lovely few days. As usual it involved just a skoosh too much beer, a CH really, but when you're dedicated to your craft, well, it's all worth it.
Headed for the east bay today, and then Saccaminnow sometime this weekend. (Confidential to mom: please clear the decks in the laundry area, as I have some seriously decrepit laundry that has come down in zploc bags from Alaska. But I'm sure that A's neighbors in the Tenderloin have enjoyed seeing my underwear drying on a hangar in the window after being sink-washed.
Discovery #1: sitting in a motorcycle seat for 300-400 miles a day, and for single stretches of up to 120 miles, really really sucks. Really bad. I have a beaded seat pad sitting in a box (hopefully) at the traditional homestead, which should help.
Discovery #2: wow, vegetarianism isn't easy for hundreds of kilometers at a time in the Yukon and northern British Columbia.
Discovery #3: turns out that a certain someone is a hell of a good project manager, and managed many good projects with some other outstanding project managers, making for a lovely few days. As usual it involved just a skoosh too much beer, a CH really, but when you're dedicated to your craft, well, it's all worth it.
Headed for the east bay today, and then Saccaminnow sometime this weekend. (Confidential to mom: please clear the decks in the laundry area, as I have some seriously decrepit laundry that has come down in zploc bags from Alaska. But I'm sure that A's neighbors in the Tenderloin have enjoyed seeing my underwear drying on a hangar in the window after being sink-washed.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
bright, slow, relief, adventure
bright: it's an amazingly beautiful day here, with fantastic sunlight. I walked from downtown to the library, drinking in the views that I'll only be around for another month.
slow: The speed of this library computer is astonishingly slow. It reminds me of the days when A and I used modems as slow as 300 baud, and when 14.4 felt like traveling at the speed of light. Oh, and we had to walk uphill both ways, in the snow, no shoes, and it was 124 degrees.
relief: We're closing on the house in a couple hours. I can't wait.
adventure: I'm seriously considering riding my motorcycle down the Alaska Highway, through Canada, and probably from there down to Sacramento. Details to be worked out.
slow: The speed of this library computer is astonishingly slow. It reminds me of the days when A and I used modems as slow as 300 baud, and when 14.4 felt like traveling at the speed of light. Oh, and we had to walk uphill both ways, in the snow, no shoes, and it was 124 degrees.
relief: We're closing on the house in a couple hours. I can't wait.
adventure: I'm seriously considering riding my motorcycle down the Alaska Highway, through Canada, and probably from there down to Sacramento. Details to be worked out.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Belgium = vegetarian friendly!
How friggin' great is this?
Ghent declares every Thursday 'Veggie day'
In other news, Atlanta was lovely, and it looks like we have a place to live, though as in all things real estate, the devil remains in the details.
On the food theme, we're both extremely excited about the food in Atlanta: we had half a dozen fantastic meals, and zero bad meals. To top it all off, there's a beer bar with an outstanding and expansive tap list in the ground floor of the building we're looking to move into.
Ghent declares every Thursday 'Veggie day'
In other news, Atlanta was lovely, and it looks like we have a place to live, though as in all things real estate, the devil remains in the details.
On the food theme, we're both extremely excited about the food in Atlanta: we had half a dozen fantastic meals, and zero bad meals. To top it all off, there's a beer bar with an outstanding and expansive tap list in the ground floor of the building we're looking to move into.
Friday, May 08, 2009
A bike ride, a condo, a volcano!
1. A bike ride. I've been trying to plan one from NYC (the south Bronx, specifically) to the north Jersey coast for M & E's wedding union in August (yay! super exciting!) T has a bike I can borrow, and I've been poring over online maps. Long and short story: if I did the entire ride, it might well amount to the least pleasant bike ride in the history of bike riding.
(Okay, there have been some dodgy -20 days of biking in Alaska, too, but you know what I mean.)
A brief summary of what the ride would entail before it gets pleasant in southern Middlesex County and Monmouth County: the GW bridge, Fort Lee, Jersey City, Newark (including a highly unpleasant skirting of EWR, in the shadow of the Jersey Turnpike), Elizabeth, Linden, and Perth Amboy. There are other options, but they involve much, much more riding, as they require getting east of Newark, and I really want to be able to do this ride in one day, arriving for the 5pm event.
All this because there is NO BICYCLE OR PEDESTRIAN ACCESS for either of the bridges from Staten Island to New Jersey. (Side-rant: why are a third of American adults, and 16% of American children obese, we wonder? Why are 66% of Americans adults overweight???)
I could do almost all pleasant riding if I could just ride over the Outerbridge Crossing from Staten Island to Perth Amboy, NJ, and ride from there. I found one account of a guy who ignored the no-bikes rule, in 1997, on the Goethals Bridge, but he wisely did so in the middle of the night. He writes: "I decided to sneak across the Goethals Bridge under cover of the night." Unfortunately, I really really don't want to start from the south Bronx at 2am in order to be able to accomplish same, and couldn't get a Staten Island ferry that early anyway.
So I'm strongly considering taking the NJ Transit train for the first half of it, to Elizabeth or so, and riding from there. I bet I'll be in a lot better shape for the festivities that way.
2. A condo. What J and I fly out tonight to go look for in Atlanta over a very long weekend. We're focusing on Midtown, and are both excited to get into something smaller, with a better carbon footprint, and where we actually want to go walk in the neighborhood. Those of you who have been to our place in Anchorage know how less-than-pleasant it is to walk from our house, at least the first 1/2 mile or so.
3. A volcano. To wit, Mt. Redoubt, which might keep us from making the above-referenced trip. Or not.
(Okay, there have been some dodgy -20 days of biking in Alaska, too, but you know what I mean.)
A brief summary of what the ride would entail before it gets pleasant in southern Middlesex County and Monmouth County: the GW bridge, Fort Lee, Jersey City, Newark (including a highly unpleasant skirting of EWR, in the shadow of the Jersey Turnpike), Elizabeth, Linden, and Perth Amboy. There are other options, but they involve much, much more riding, as they require getting east of Newark, and I really want to be able to do this ride in one day, arriving for the 5pm event.
All this because there is NO BICYCLE OR PEDESTRIAN ACCESS for either of the bridges from Staten Island to New Jersey. (Side-rant: why are a third of American adults, and 16% of American children obese, we wonder? Why are 66% of Americans adults overweight???)
I could do almost all pleasant riding if I could just ride over the Outerbridge Crossing from Staten Island to Perth Amboy, NJ, and ride from there. I found one account of a guy who ignored the no-bikes rule, in 1997, on the Goethals Bridge, but he wisely did so in the middle of the night. He writes: "I decided to sneak across the Goethals Bridge under cover of the night." Unfortunately, I really really don't want to start from the south Bronx at 2am in order to be able to accomplish same, and couldn't get a Staten Island ferry that early anyway.
So I'm strongly considering taking the NJ Transit train for the first half of it, to Elizabeth or so, and riding from there. I bet I'll be in a lot better shape for the festivities that way.
2. A condo. What J and I fly out tonight to go look for in Atlanta over a very long weekend. We're focusing on Midtown, and are both excited to get into something smaller, with a better carbon footprint, and where we actually want to go walk in the neighborhood. Those of you who have been to our place in Anchorage know how less-than-pleasant it is to walk from our house, at least the first 1/2 mile or so.
3. A volcano. To wit, Mt. Redoubt, which might keep us from making the above-referenced trip. Or not.
Monday, May 04, 2009
How to walk out of JFK for fun and profit
There are many questions about it online, but few clear answers: how do I get out of JFK using public transit without getting screwed for $5 to go approximately one mile on the Airtrain, that used to be free? Here are detailed directions for how to get to the New York City subway system from JFK airport without paying the Airtrain that outrageous $5 fee.
Background: until about 2003 or 2004, there was a free shuttle from JFK to the Howard Beach station, on the A train of the New York City subway system. Then they put in the supposedly more convenient Airtrain, and started charging $5 for the formerly free system (not including standard subway fare, currently $2.00, and very soon to be $2.50.) Well, you can take the Airtrain to within about 200 yards of the Howard Beach station (Station A of the Airtrain), but unless you want to jump over barb wire fences and walk across the dreaded 600+ volt third rail, you can't actually get there from there.
GOOD NEWS! You can easily (and legally) walk from Station B of the Airtrain, which is the Long Term Parking / Kiss 'N Fly / Lefferts Blvd station, with about a 15 minute walk to the Aqueduct / North Conduit Ave station on the A train, which is the first stop north of the Howard Beach/JFK station. Here's how:
OPTION 1, EASY with SIDEWALKS, APPROX 20 MINUTES WALKING:
Get on the Airtrain from any JFK terminal. If you fly Delta, like I often do, you'll likely be getting on from Terminal 2 or Terminal 3. Make sure you take the Howard Beach-bound train, *not* the Jamaica-bound train. The LED signs and audible announcements often aren't particularly helpful: ask one of the (usually nice, usually helpful, usually omnipresent) staff wearing the Airtrain/information blazers. I think the blazers are maroon; they're usually looking around for people who look lost or confused. DO NOT ask any other apparent airport employees: they are usually WAY less than helpful. They don't seem to know how to get anywhere other than their individual destinations/homes.
GET OFF THE TRAIN at Long Term Parking, which is Station B, also sometimes referred to as Lefferts Boulevard, and/or Kiss 'N Fly (use your imagination.) It's the last free stop before the Howard Beach/JFK stop for the subway. If you miss it, just stay on the Airtrain: it'll soon turn around and go back toward the airport, and the first stop on the return will be yours.
When you get off the Airtrain, you can orient yourself by looking out the windows. On the south (wrong) side, you'll see a whole bunch of parking. On the north (correct) side, you'll see a bunch of parking, and what looks like about two or three freeways all running parallel behind it. (In case you care, it's the 878/Nassau Expressway, 17N/Belt Parkway/Southern Pkwy, and you might see South Conduit Ave/Route 27, which basically looks like a freeway.) You're looking north if you see the freeways. The subway station you want, Aqueduct/North Conduit, is northwest of you, but you can't see it from here. If you look to your right, which is east (toward the airport/direction you came from) you'll see a street, which is Lefferts Blvd. This is important.
Okay. Look for the escalators going down to exit the station. When you go down the escalator, turn left (north) and walk out the sliding doors, turn right, and walk about 50 feet to Lefferts Blvd. You'll see busstops. Do not cross the street. Turn left and walk north up Lefferts Blvd. You'll be walking along the parking lot chain-link fence with razor wire on top.
TWO CHOICES PRESENT THEMSELVES: first left on Aqueduct Road is the more direct, scenic route, but the sidewalks suck or are non-existent: this is MORE DIRECT/AQUEDUCT, below. The other choice is to keep walking on Lefferts Blvd to North Conduit Blvd, which is INDIRECT/SIDEWALKS below.
INDIRECT/SIDEWALKS
Approximate walking: 15-25 minutes to subway.
Walk along Lefferts, cross the street at Aqueduct Road, and start walking over those various freeways mentioned above. In about five minutes of walking, you'll come to the first road after the freeways, which is North Conduit Avenue. Cross the street to the north side of North Conduit and turn left onto it. Walk along the sidewalk for about another fifteen minutes. You'll pass some soccer fields on the south side of the street, and some residential neighborhoods on your right, then you'll pass the parking lots for the Aqueduct Racktrack. You might see the overhead subway trains chugging along to the west (the direction you're walking.)
Just after the racetrack parking lots, you'll walk under an overpass, which is the subway tracks.
Take a hard right through the doors into the subway station, buy your Metrocard if necessary. Ignore the somewhat incredulous looks of the station agent that you're standing there with luggage and just beat the system. Presumably, take the Manhattan-bound train via the stairway to your right (unless you want to go to Coney Island.) Congratulate yourself on saving $5.
MORE DIRECT/AQUEDUCT
Approximate walking: 10-15 minutes to subway.
Follow the instructions above from the airport, exit the same station, and orient yourself similarly. When you start walking up Lefferts Blvd, you'll take the first left after the parking lot, onto Aqueduct Road. Don't cross over any freeways. Also don't cross the street; there's zero sidewalk on the north side of Aqueduct Rd.
Walk along the annoyingly sloped sidewalk, along the chain-link, razor-wire fence of the long-term parking lot. (You'll pass a car entry to the parking lot, which you could use as a shortcut if you're so inclined.) Toward the end of the parking lot, Aqueduct will curve gently to the left, then curve sharply to the right (heading north.) It's now running parallel with the subway tracks, which you can look through the brambles and up the slope and see trains occasionally running along. If you're feeling lucky or stupid, I guess you could hop the fence, then jump over the tracks, and climb up into Howard Beach/JFK station on the A train. (Officially Not Recommended.)
Keep walking north/northwest along Aqueduct Rd, which will soon run out of sidewalk. Fortunately, there's minimal traffic, but it's still preferable to take the first route and stick to sidewalks if you have a rolling bag or significant luggage. You'll be walking over a long overpass (over the Southern/Belt Parkway, and then North Conduit Avenue.) It'll slope back down, and you'll see some fences and gates and the racetrack parking lot behind these. Look for a footpath down the hill to your left, which takes you down to North Conduit Avenue, and immediately, the subway station doors on your right. If you start walking along the racetrack parking lot (this will be obvious) you've gone too far.
Follow directions above, being sure to congratulate yourself on saving $5.
Personally, I like the direct/limited sidewalk route along Aqueduct Road, but only with a backpack or less. The sidewalk route is a somewhat clearer to follow your first time, but also much more trafficked and louder.
Enjoy!
Later, I may post directions for walking out of other major airports, including a personal favorite, Melbourne airport, Australia. La Guardia is so simple you should be able to figure it out by yourself. Sacramento is also easy, but much preferable to bike out of, since it's a hell of a walk to town. San Diego is simple as pie.
Background: until about 2003 or 2004, there was a free shuttle from JFK to the Howard Beach station, on the A train of the New York City subway system. Then they put in the supposedly more convenient Airtrain, and started charging $5 for the formerly free system (not including standard subway fare, currently $2.00, and very soon to be $2.50.) Well, you can take the Airtrain to within about 200 yards of the Howard Beach station (Station A of the Airtrain), but unless you want to jump over barb wire fences and walk across the dreaded 600+ volt third rail, you can't actually get there from there.
GOOD NEWS! You can easily (and legally) walk from Station B of the Airtrain, which is the Long Term Parking / Kiss 'N Fly / Lefferts Blvd station, with about a 15 minute walk to the Aqueduct / North Conduit Ave station on the A train, which is the first stop north of the Howard Beach/JFK station. Here's how:
OPTION 1, EASY with SIDEWALKS, APPROX 20 MINUTES WALKING:
Get on the Airtrain from any JFK terminal. If you fly Delta, like I often do, you'll likely be getting on from Terminal 2 or Terminal 3. Make sure you take the Howard Beach-bound train, *not* the Jamaica-bound train. The LED signs and audible announcements often aren't particularly helpful: ask one of the (usually nice, usually helpful, usually omnipresent) staff wearing the Airtrain/information blazers. I think the blazers are maroon; they're usually looking around for people who look lost or confused. DO NOT ask any other apparent airport employees: they are usually WAY less than helpful. They don't seem to know how to get anywhere other than their individual destinations/homes.
GET OFF THE TRAIN at Long Term Parking, which is Station B, also sometimes referred to as Lefferts Boulevard, and/or Kiss 'N Fly (use your imagination.) It's the last free stop before the Howard Beach/JFK stop for the subway. If you miss it, just stay on the Airtrain: it'll soon turn around and go back toward the airport, and the first stop on the return will be yours.
When you get off the Airtrain, you can orient yourself by looking out the windows. On the south (wrong) side, you'll see a whole bunch of parking. On the north (correct) side, you'll see a bunch of parking, and what looks like about two or three freeways all running parallel behind it. (In case you care, it's the 878/Nassau Expressway, 17N/Belt Parkway/Southern Pkwy, and you might see South Conduit Ave/Route 27, which basically looks like a freeway.) You're looking north if you see the freeways. The subway station you want, Aqueduct/North Conduit, is northwest of you, but you can't see it from here. If you look to your right, which is east (toward the airport/direction you came from) you'll see a street, which is Lefferts Blvd. This is important.
Okay. Look for the escalators going down to exit the station. When you go down the escalator, turn left (north) and walk out the sliding doors, turn right, and walk about 50 feet to Lefferts Blvd. You'll see busstops. Do not cross the street. Turn left and walk north up Lefferts Blvd. You'll be walking along the parking lot chain-link fence with razor wire on top.
TWO CHOICES PRESENT THEMSELVES: first left on Aqueduct Road is the more direct, scenic route, but the sidewalks suck or are non-existent: this is MORE DIRECT/AQUEDUCT, below. The other choice is to keep walking on Lefferts Blvd to North Conduit Blvd, which is INDIRECT/SIDEWALKS below.
INDIRECT/SIDEWALKS
Approximate walking: 15-25 minutes to subway.
Walk along Lefferts, cross the street at Aqueduct Road, and start walking over those various freeways mentioned above. In about five minutes of walking, you'll come to the first road after the freeways, which is North Conduit Avenue. Cross the street to the north side of North Conduit and turn left onto it. Walk along the sidewalk for about another fifteen minutes. You'll pass some soccer fields on the south side of the street, and some residential neighborhoods on your right, then you'll pass the parking lots for the Aqueduct Racktrack. You might see the overhead subway trains chugging along to the west (the direction you're walking.)
Just after the racetrack parking lots, you'll walk under an overpass, which is the subway tracks.
Take a hard right through the doors into the subway station, buy your Metrocard if necessary. Ignore the somewhat incredulous looks of the station agent that you're standing there with luggage and just beat the system. Presumably, take the Manhattan-bound train via the stairway to your right (unless you want to go to Coney Island.) Congratulate yourself on saving $5.
MORE DIRECT/AQUEDUCT
Approximate walking: 10-15 minutes to subway.
Follow the instructions above from the airport, exit the same station, and orient yourself similarly. When you start walking up Lefferts Blvd, you'll take the first left after the parking lot, onto Aqueduct Road. Don't cross over any freeways. Also don't cross the street; there's zero sidewalk on the north side of Aqueduct Rd.
Walk along the annoyingly sloped sidewalk, along the chain-link, razor-wire fence of the long-term parking lot. (You'll pass a car entry to the parking lot, which you could use as a shortcut if you're so inclined.) Toward the end of the parking lot, Aqueduct will curve gently to the left, then curve sharply to the right (heading north.) It's now running parallel with the subway tracks, which you can look through the brambles and up the slope and see trains occasionally running along. If you're feeling lucky or stupid, I guess you could hop the fence, then jump over the tracks, and climb up into Howard Beach/JFK station on the A train. (Officially Not Recommended.)
Keep walking north/northwest along Aqueduct Rd, which will soon run out of sidewalk. Fortunately, there's minimal traffic, but it's still preferable to take the first route and stick to sidewalks if you have a rolling bag or significant luggage. You'll be walking over a long overpass (over the Southern/Belt Parkway, and then North Conduit Avenue.) It'll slope back down, and you'll see some fences and gates and the racetrack parking lot behind these. Look for a footpath down the hill to your left, which takes you down to North Conduit Avenue, and immediately, the subway station doors on your right. If you start walking along the racetrack parking lot (this will be obvious) you've gone too far.
Follow directions above, being sure to congratulate yourself on saving $5.
Personally, I like the direct/limited sidewalk route along Aqueduct Road, but only with a backpack or less. The sidewalk route is a somewhat clearer to follow your first time, but also much more trafficked and louder.
Enjoy!
Later, I may post directions for walking out of other major airports, including a personal favorite, Melbourne airport, Australia. La Guardia is so simple you should be able to figure it out by yourself. Sacramento is also easy, but much preferable to bike out of, since it's a hell of a walk to town. San Diego is simple as pie.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Movin' on...
Regular readers already know this, but just in case: we're moving. Again. This time to Atlanta. Turns out that J and I just like to move, and reestablish ourselves in new places. July 1 is the current move date.
I'm looking forward to taking the Alaska ferry again; not so much looking forward to driving the UHaul from Bellingham to Atlanta. But we're basically unwilling to let moving companies touch our shit any more unless we have no other options. Last time around, they lost, stole, or broke literally thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff. Same as the time before.
Example: how do you lose a bicycle? (Or steal it)? Answer: you fail to put a number sticker on it, and then claim that it was never loaded on the truck, so you're not responsible for it. J watched them load it (it was her mountain bike) but somehow it didn't pop out on the other end. To this day, we still find ourselves looking for stuff, and realizing that the movers lost/stole it.
Late tonight I fly to Seattle, to spend a night, to fly to SFO tomorrow, and then on to London, and Ireland after that. Big times! Upon returning, I turn around almost immediately for five days in NYC, including testing my new route for walking out of JFK to the subway without paying for the ripoff AirTrain .
On which note, I really need to keep packing, and going through boxes. Turns out it's not really efficient to continue moving multiple boxes of little scraps of paper from the mid-90s, especially when you move every six to twenty-four months.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Furniture & simplifying
I just sold the beautiful Amish bench we had, but was really too big and too heavy for us to move. Fortunately, the woman who bought it is truly excited about it.
Even better, she was excited about my half-finished woodworking projects, two end-tables and a side table, which I sold all three to her for $20. I was trying to give them to her, but she insisted that I absolutely could not give them away. She was borderline horrified when I told her that I was probably just going to donate them to the Starvation Army.
And even better, she might buy the dinette set from the basement later today, and absolutely wants the buffet/side-table if the person coming to look at it at 1:30 today doesn't want it.
Like I told her, it was just nice to sell this stuff to someone who is genuinely excited about it, especially one who self-describes herself as a "furniture person."
Even better, she was excited about my half-finished woodworking projects, two end-tables and a side table, which I sold all three to her for $20. I was trying to give them to her, but she insisted that I absolutely could not give them away. She was borderline horrified when I told her that I was probably just going to donate them to the Starvation Army.
And even better, she might buy the dinette set from the basement later today, and absolutely wants the buffet/side-table if the person coming to look at it at 1:30 today doesn't want it.
Like I told her, it was just nice to sell this stuff to someone who is genuinely excited about it, especially one who self-describes herself as a "furniture person."
Pack, move, unpack, paint, repeat
Now that we've decided to move again, the real work begins. I have a five page long list on a yellow legal pad that I'm walking around the house with, all the tasks and chores to get the house ready to sell.
It's a good excuse to drastically cut down on the amount of crap that we have. Our fantasy is that we could move everything in a cargo van and the Jeep, but that's probably unrealistic. We'll likely need a 10" uhaul or equivalent, but it's good to have goals.
Today, at a minimum, I'm going to paint, do some drywall, continue selling furniture, and try to knock out a series of small tasks throughout the house. They range from significant (clean entire garage; build closet in bedroom) to the silly little things that turn into huge timesucks (level the stove and fridge in the basement kitchenette, which took me about an hour and a half the other day. But it's done right.)
Also trying to sell one of the cars, the trailer, the other trailer, and most of our furniture. It's slow going with how obnoxiously flaky people are about craigslist and following through, but I suppose that's the game.
The views are stunning as we're officially into Spring and the sun is up for more than half of the day. Well, it's not officially Spring for another twenty minutes or so, but close enough.
Okay: enough screwing around. Time to do drywall and paint!
It's a good excuse to drastically cut down on the amount of crap that we have. Our fantasy is that we could move everything in a cargo van and the Jeep, but that's probably unrealistic. We'll likely need a 10" uhaul or equivalent, but it's good to have goals.
Today, at a minimum, I'm going to paint, do some drywall, continue selling furniture, and try to knock out a series of small tasks throughout the house. They range from significant (clean entire garage; build closet in bedroom) to the silly little things that turn into huge timesucks (level the stove and fridge in the basement kitchenette, which took me about an hour and a half the other day. But it's done right.)
Also trying to sell one of the cars, the trailer, the other trailer, and most of our furniture. It's slow going with how obnoxiously flaky people are about craigslist and following through, but I suppose that's the game.
The views are stunning as we're officially into Spring and the sun is up for more than half of the day. Well, it's not officially Spring for another twenty minutes or so, but close enough.
Okay: enough screwing around. Time to do drywall and paint!
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Back home
Back from a lovely week+ in Eugene, Portland, and Troutdale, Oregon, here is what today's to-do list looks like: flush hot water heater, break socket wrench trying to get anode nut off with a breaker bar, go to safeway to get hydrogen peroxide, laundry, snowblow, snowpush, caulk and fill nail holes in trim I installed in bathroom last week, library, do CLE affidavits from excellent conference, work closing shift at restaurant. Good times. It is nice to be home, right?
Right?
Actually I'm really looking forward to biking for the first time in over a week, so it *is* good to be home.
Right?
Actually I'm really looking forward to biking for the first time in over a week, so it *is* good to be home.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Travelin'
Off to PDX tomorrow, then Eugene. much good vegan food, espresso, and beer to follow. Reports may or may not: we'll see.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Dinosaur comics does trial lawyer. Oh, goodness.
I can't do any more justice to this beautiful comic. Check it out, and be sure to roll your cursor over it for the comment.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Res ipsa loquitur
Well, at least I think it does:
I was working with a friend cleaning up his warehouse, and normally he just throws all this crap in the dumpster. So I did one of the most precarious strap and bungee jobs ever, and rode 1.8 miles to the recycling center.
You can barely tell from the picture, but the boxes are sitting on top of my trunk rack, and the box on the top of the pile is stuffed with inserts and paperboard. The mediocre picture quality is due to taking it with my cell phone.
I was working with a friend cleaning up his warehouse, and normally he just throws all this crap in the dumpster. So I did one of the most precarious strap and bungee jobs ever, and rode 1.8 miles to the recycling center.
You can barely tell from the picture, but the boxes are sitting on top of my trunk rack, and the box on the top of the pile is stuffed with inserts and paperboard. The mediocre picture quality is due to taking it with my cell phone.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Exploding mountains
Volcano, volschmano: I'm riding to work.
Yesterday's ride sucked: soft snow on top of ice, none of the paths plowed. Hopefully today will have more clear paths.
Yesterday's ride sucked: soft snow on top of ice, none of the paths plowed. Hopefully today will have more clear paths.
Dinosaur Comics makes me happy
As readers of my blog know, I just love Dinosaur Comics. I read a couple days, and then clicked on the send you to some other comic link at the top, and got to: a rare proposition! i propose a journey to the moon!:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Inauguration Day
Here's the long-awaited post on my experience of Inauguration day in DC. Okay, so none of you were really awaiting it, since most of you didn't even know that I went. Honestly, I don't know what the hell possessed me to think it would be a good idea. I guess I got in to that sillyass mindset of "once in a lifetime experience" thinking.
Let me start by saying that the inauguration of the first person of color to the presidency is absolutely a cause for celebration. I remain ambivalent about Obama, in part because I don't vote for people who believe in the right of the state to murder its citizens (yes, he's pro-death penalty.) Whatever: time will tell whether the Obama presidency is really great, as many have hopes for, or whether it's like the Clinton years: full of promise, but ultimately a time of miserable public policy. (Just for starters, see: AEDPA, IIRAIRA, DOMA, Don't Ask Don't Tell, PRWOA ("welfare to work"), Federal Death Penalty Act, elimination of inmate education, Communications Decency Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, etc., etc.)
But I digress: here's how the inauguration story goes. My friend, we'll call her B, had tickets to the "VIP" bleachers on the parade route at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th streets. I was going to be in NYC anyway, so it's not quite as absurd to travel to DC as it sounds. She gets Greyhound tickets, since Amtrak is charging superbowl scalper prices.
The adventure begins with Greyhound. Some of you know that I have long sworn off traveling on Greyhound, mostly for the limited leg room and stench that only a full Greyhound bus, and perhaps gutters running with raw sewage in developing nations can sport. On Monday January 19, we figure out that both our departure and return times are unworkable: we were on a 1:45am bus from Port Authority set to arrive at 6:05am in DC. With the crowds, it was clear that this wouldn't allow enough time to get in before the authorities closed off the checkpoints into the parade route. So we call Greyhound, but we can't change reservations online. So we go to Port Authority and wait in line, but we have to print out the tickets at the kiosk first: the online confirmation page isn't sufficient. But we try all five kiosks, which all say to see an agent. But the agent says they can't print or access online-purchased tickets; we have to print them out from B's e-mail. So we go to Kinko's and print them out and return to Port Authority. Then we go to the smaller (and much more friendly) of the two Greyhound counters at Port Authority, but they tell us we need a supervisor override to change the tickets, since they contain companion fares. So we return to the larger and less friendly counter, where they tell us that's silly, these are fully refundable and changeable tickets. We finally get them changed, and make plans to meet at Port Authority at 11:15 for the 12:30am departure.
I return to Brooklyn, get Alaska-level warm clothes, snacks, and bourbon, and identify a vegan restaurant within walking distance of Port Authority. Probably the highlight of the entire 36 hour experience, Zen Palate was delicious and friendly. I started with a lovely Grilled Sesame Tofu Salad, then had Tofu Delight (w/taro spring rolls, brown & red rice). As I was leaving, they insisted I take about two dozen Peanut Basil Moo-Shu Rolls with me that they couldn't use, which would end up being a huge bonus the next day.
The bus gets out on time with a super energetic driver and lots of cheering and clapping. This was one of the truly beautiful things about the experience: the energy, enthusiasm, and dare I say it, hope, was palpable. Until people got anrgy. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
With maybe an hour of sleep accomplished, we arrive in DC around 4:30am, walk the four blocks to Union Station, and have an early breakfast and coffee. So far, so good. About 5:30, we start the walk to try to get to 13th and Pennsylvania, a walk that was like an unholy chimera of Franz Kafka and Stephen King novels. The crowds were large but tolerable at this point. In the midst of all this, the volunteers in the red beanies were so astonishingly incompetent and ignorant it took my breath away. You could literally get ten different answers from ten volunteers within ten yards of one another. I know DC moderately well, but everything was different on this day: streets blocked off all over the place, and extremely limited ways to get to anything.
Here, due to ignorant advice from volunteers and cops, most of the latter out of town cops, we we pushed into the decision which would dictate much of the rest of the day's lack of success: despite offering otherwise contradictory information on almost everything else, they uniformly insist that the only way to get to the 13th and Pennsylvania is to walk south through the 3rd Street tunnel, also known as Interstate 395, and cross back over the National Mall later, near 12th Street. ZAP! Never again would be be able to get to the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue.
So we continue our Long Walk with ever increasing crowds. We walk west on Independence Avenue, and cut up 7th Street to the Mall. Somewhere in here, it started being nearly wall to wall people in places, and we had to hold hands constantly to keep from being swept up and separated by the crowds. We cut across the mall at 14th Street, and soon realized there was literally no way to cut across Pennsylvania Avenue to the north side. After half a dozen unsuccessful attempts and dozens more interactions with ignorant, worthless volunteers and cops, we doubled back along Madison Drive (the northern border of the Mall) to the checkpoint at 12th Street just a little above Constitution. We stood in a mostly polite, mostly orderly line in the cold for about an hour, until B had to go get coffee and warm up a little. We didn't see each other again until NYC the next day.
Sometime around 8am, the authorities opened up some gates that were holding people back on 12th Street just south of Constitution, and they swarmed toward the checkpoint that we were standing in our orderly little line for. Mob mentality took over almost immediately, and we all swarmed into a mass of people, thousands of us packed so tight you literally couldn't move, and thousands more pushing from behind you. I stood in this scrum for about an hour and a half to two hours, and in this time, moved forward toward the checkpoint perhaps 10 yards.
In this crowd I saw the first example of one of the creepier sights of the day: the crowds were being ordered around and managed by young men in military uniform, essentially identical to ACU (Army Combat Uniform), or what most people think of as BDU (Battle Dress Uniform.) Down to the boots and bloused trousers, the critical exception was that none of these Army soldier lookalikes displayed rank or unit patches. So to those not familiar with military uniforms or protocol, they looked for all the world like active duty soldiers, and indeed, many in the crowd were referring to them as "army guy" and the like. The problem, of course, is that the entire military chain of command is based on rank, and if you're not displaying your rank, the system doesn't function: critically, actual military personnel can't know if they can order you around, or be ordered around by you. I've read many blogs and articles since about "US Army" personnel doing crowd control. My best understanding of these guys is that they were private security contractors, dressed up to look like soldiers to give them an appearance of greater authority and power. (Let's not put aside for the moment the problems with posse comitatus, which prevents the government from using military personnel for domestic law enforcement except in very limited circumstances.)
So we stand in this crowd for a good long while in the cold. The only way I stayed warm was that I was literally surrounded on all sides by people, and even I was shivering and losing sensation in my hands. I saw several people actively going through the stages of hypothermia, including moving from limited shivering, to significant involuntary shivering, and then fading to intermittent or no shivering. Realistically, had any of these people collapsed, I don't know that it would have been possible for them to be evacuated from the crowd. The police standing around, representing departments and sheriff's offices around the eastern and central US, certainly didn't have the capacity or ability to properly treat mass hypothermia.
Finally, seeing that this crowd wasn't moving, and the very likely possibility being that I wouldn't even get in before the secret service decided the crowds were at capacity, I gave up and began my salmon spawning routine. It took about a half hour to move the 150 or so feet through the crowd. I tried to call B, but as has been reported, cell phones were borderline useless that day.
So I wandered around for another couple hours, including looking to see if it would be possible to cross over at 7th Street (strike two!) and played phone tag with another friend from NYC who I knew was going to be there. We finally connected on the Mall, where people watched jumbotrons of the inauguration ceremony.
It was a little unclear why it made sense to watch something on TV on the Mall that you could stay at home and watch on TV, but I suppose I can empathize with wanting to be "part of history." It's a little like the hundreds of thousands of people who claim to have been at the Polo Grounds when Bobby Thompson hit the shot heard round the world in 1951, except here you didn't need a ticket.
Anyway, I hung out with my other friend for a while, kept trying to get B by phone and text, and finally decided to go back to Union Station, which was our pre-agreed meeting point in case we got separated.
With the 3rd Street tunnel and the crowds, the crowds increasingly irritated that their tickets to get in to various parts of the inauguration and parade were basically worthless, walking from 12th and Jefferson to Judiciary Square took a little over an hour. From there, it was clear that there was basically no way to walk to Union Station, so I took the Metro one stop, on what was apparently one of the last Metro red line trains to operate, since a woman fell onto the tracks due to crowding at Gallery Place/Chinatown.
Thus began my functional imprisonment at Union Station. I got some lunch in the food court, and went upstairs to wait for and try to get in touch with B. The crowd here was thick but mostly positive, occasionally breaking into impromptu chants of "O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!" and comparing notes about how their tickets had been worthless to get them in. At some point, I finally heard from B that they had closed in the hundreds of thousands of people on the parade route, and by rumor, the Mall, so I should just go back to NYC whenever I could; she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I began the trek out of Union Station, only to find out that authorities had closed every single exit except the 1st Street exit. Literally tens of thousands of us were inside, and many of us were trying to get out. Tens of thousands were trying to push the opposite direction, to get into the Metro red line stop. Cops of every stripe were screaming at us on bullhorns to "MOVE MOVE MOVE! STAY RIGHT! KEEP MOVING!" Confidential to every asshole cop that screamed at us that day: WE WERE TRYING. Really. I don't know if all of you were stupid AND blind, or just stupid, but it really wasn't possible to move any faster or more effectively than we were. To get about 150 feet took almost an hour.
I finally made it out only to be told by a particularly aggressive Chicago PD cop that 1st Street was closed, and I had to TURN AROUND MOVE TURN AROUND MOVE. I did, walked up North Capitol Street, and the five circuitous blocks only took about fifteen minutes with the rapidly thinning crowds. I was able to walk almost immediately onto a bus: Greyhound had contract buses ready and waiting to load people, no matter what bus you were scheduled on. As I've told several people, it's truly terrifying when the best organized logistics of the day are by Greyhound. Here I caught about five minutes of CNN's reporting of the inaugural parade which, at 4:55pm, was about 1/3 of the way along its route. (It was supposed to start at 2:30pm.)
The Bolt Bus gets a special shout-out here: comfortable seats with crazy good legroom, a friendly and efficient driver, and free wifi (if it had worked, but I didn't have my laptop anyway.) Apparently online fares as cheap as $1 NYC-DC, and walkup fares between $25 and $35 for NYC, Boston, and DC trips. What they can't control, however, is whatever jackass issued a false bomb threat on the New Jersey Turnpike, causing us to get stuck between exits 2 and 3 for just under two hours. Actually seems like it wasn't the jackass they arrested who was mostly at fault, but rather the jackasses' mother who called it in. So we sat and moved about 100 yards in just under two hours, because all of the other idiot drivers apparently felt the need to continually fill in the few few between themselves and the car in front of them.
I had food, wine (smartly purchased at Union Station before the temporary incarceration), my ipod, and took naps, so it wasn't the worst thing ever, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant way to cap off the day. We finally made it back to Port Authority around 1am, and after taking the subway to Bushwick, I arrived "home" at 2am. Ugh.
Here is an interesting article that doesn't make clear how many of the cops were from out of town, and didn't know anything about how to get around DC. It just notes "other jurisdictions."
So there it is: how this was, on the whole, one of the five or so worst days of my life. Note to self: don't EVER go to DC for a major event again.
Let me start by saying that the inauguration of the first person of color to the presidency is absolutely a cause for celebration. I remain ambivalent about Obama, in part because I don't vote for people who believe in the right of the state to murder its citizens (yes, he's pro-death penalty.) Whatever: time will tell whether the Obama presidency is really great, as many have hopes for, or whether it's like the Clinton years: full of promise, but ultimately a time of miserable public policy. (Just for starters, see: AEDPA, IIRAIRA, DOMA, Don't Ask Don't Tell, PRWOA ("welfare to work"), Federal Death Penalty Act, elimination of inmate education, Communications Decency Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, etc., etc.)
But I digress: here's how the inauguration story goes. My friend, we'll call her B, had tickets to the "VIP" bleachers on the parade route at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th streets. I was going to be in NYC anyway, so it's not quite as absurd to travel to DC as it sounds. She gets Greyhound tickets, since Amtrak is charging superbowl scalper prices.
The adventure begins with Greyhound. Some of you know that I have long sworn off traveling on Greyhound, mostly for the limited leg room and stench that only a full Greyhound bus, and perhaps gutters running with raw sewage in developing nations can sport. On Monday January 19, we figure out that both our departure and return times are unworkable: we were on a 1:45am bus from Port Authority set to arrive at 6:05am in DC. With the crowds, it was clear that this wouldn't allow enough time to get in before the authorities closed off the checkpoints into the parade route. So we call Greyhound, but we can't change reservations online. So we go to Port Authority and wait in line, but we have to print out the tickets at the kiosk first: the online confirmation page isn't sufficient. But we try all five kiosks, which all say to see an agent. But the agent says they can't print or access online-purchased tickets; we have to print them out from B's e-mail. So we go to Kinko's and print them out and return to Port Authority. Then we go to the smaller (and much more friendly) of the two Greyhound counters at Port Authority, but they tell us we need a supervisor override to change the tickets, since they contain companion fares. So we return to the larger and less friendly counter, where they tell us that's silly, these are fully refundable and changeable tickets. We finally get them changed, and make plans to meet at Port Authority at 11:15 for the 12:30am departure.
I return to Brooklyn, get Alaska-level warm clothes, snacks, and bourbon, and identify a vegan restaurant within walking distance of Port Authority. Probably the highlight of the entire 36 hour experience, Zen Palate was delicious and friendly. I started with a lovely Grilled Sesame Tofu Salad, then had Tofu Delight (w/taro spring rolls, brown & red rice). As I was leaving, they insisted I take about two dozen Peanut Basil Moo-Shu Rolls with me that they couldn't use, which would end up being a huge bonus the next day.
The bus gets out on time with a super energetic driver and lots of cheering and clapping. This was one of the truly beautiful things about the experience: the energy, enthusiasm, and dare I say it, hope, was palpable. Until people got anrgy. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
With maybe an hour of sleep accomplished, we arrive in DC around 4:30am, walk the four blocks to Union Station, and have an early breakfast and coffee. So far, so good. About 5:30, we start the walk to try to get to 13th and Pennsylvania, a walk that was like an unholy chimera of Franz Kafka and Stephen King novels. The crowds were large but tolerable at this point. In the midst of all this, the volunteers in the red beanies were so astonishingly incompetent and ignorant it took my breath away. You could literally get ten different answers from ten volunteers within ten yards of one another. I know DC moderately well, but everything was different on this day: streets blocked off all over the place, and extremely limited ways to get to anything.
Here, due to ignorant advice from volunteers and cops, most of the latter out of town cops, we we pushed into the decision which would dictate much of the rest of the day's lack of success: despite offering otherwise contradictory information on almost everything else, they uniformly insist that the only way to get to the 13th and Pennsylvania is to walk south through the 3rd Street tunnel, also known as Interstate 395, and cross back over the National Mall later, near 12th Street. ZAP! Never again would be be able to get to the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue.
So we continue our Long Walk with ever increasing crowds. We walk west on Independence Avenue, and cut up 7th Street to the Mall. Somewhere in here, it started being nearly wall to wall people in places, and we had to hold hands constantly to keep from being swept up and separated by the crowds. We cut across the mall at 14th Street, and soon realized there was literally no way to cut across Pennsylvania Avenue to the north side. After half a dozen unsuccessful attempts and dozens more interactions with ignorant, worthless volunteers and cops, we doubled back along Madison Drive (the northern border of the Mall) to the checkpoint at 12th Street just a little above Constitution. We stood in a mostly polite, mostly orderly line in the cold for about an hour, until B had to go get coffee and warm up a little. We didn't see each other again until NYC the next day.
Sometime around 8am, the authorities opened up some gates that were holding people back on 12th Street just south of Constitution, and they swarmed toward the checkpoint that we were standing in our orderly little line for. Mob mentality took over almost immediately, and we all swarmed into a mass of people, thousands of us packed so tight you literally couldn't move, and thousands more pushing from behind you. I stood in this scrum for about an hour and a half to two hours, and in this time, moved forward toward the checkpoint perhaps 10 yards.
In this crowd I saw the first example of one of the creepier sights of the day: the crowds were being ordered around and managed by young men in military uniform, essentially identical to ACU (Army Combat Uniform), or what most people think of as BDU (Battle Dress Uniform.) Down to the boots and bloused trousers, the critical exception was that none of these Army soldier lookalikes displayed rank or unit patches. So to those not familiar with military uniforms or protocol, they looked for all the world like active duty soldiers, and indeed, many in the crowd were referring to them as "army guy" and the like. The problem, of course, is that the entire military chain of command is based on rank, and if you're not displaying your rank, the system doesn't function: critically, actual military personnel can't know if they can order you around, or be ordered around by you. I've read many blogs and articles since about "US Army" personnel doing crowd control. My best understanding of these guys is that they were private security contractors, dressed up to look like soldiers to give them an appearance of greater authority and power. (Let's not put aside for the moment the problems with posse comitatus, which prevents the government from using military personnel for domestic law enforcement except in very limited circumstances.)
So we stand in this crowd for a good long while in the cold. The only way I stayed warm was that I was literally surrounded on all sides by people, and even I was shivering and losing sensation in my hands. I saw several people actively going through the stages of hypothermia, including moving from limited shivering, to significant involuntary shivering, and then fading to intermittent or no shivering. Realistically, had any of these people collapsed, I don't know that it would have been possible for them to be evacuated from the crowd. The police standing around, representing departments and sheriff's offices around the eastern and central US, certainly didn't have the capacity or ability to properly treat mass hypothermia.
Finally, seeing that this crowd wasn't moving, and the very likely possibility being that I wouldn't even get in before the secret service decided the crowds were at capacity, I gave up and began my salmon spawning routine. It took about a half hour to move the 150 or so feet through the crowd. I tried to call B, but as has been reported, cell phones were borderline useless that day.
So I wandered around for another couple hours, including looking to see if it would be possible to cross over at 7th Street (strike two!) and played phone tag with another friend from NYC who I knew was going to be there. We finally connected on the Mall, where people watched jumbotrons of the inauguration ceremony.
It was a little unclear why it made sense to watch something on TV on the Mall that you could stay at home and watch on TV, but I suppose I can empathize with wanting to be "part of history." It's a little like the hundreds of thousands of people who claim to have been at the Polo Grounds when Bobby Thompson hit the shot heard round the world in 1951, except here you didn't need a ticket.
Anyway, I hung out with my other friend for a while, kept trying to get B by phone and text, and finally decided to go back to Union Station, which was our pre-agreed meeting point in case we got separated.
With the 3rd Street tunnel and the crowds, the crowds increasingly irritated that their tickets to get in to various parts of the inauguration and parade were basically worthless, walking from 12th and Jefferson to Judiciary Square took a little over an hour. From there, it was clear that there was basically no way to walk to Union Station, so I took the Metro one stop, on what was apparently one of the last Metro red line trains to operate, since a woman fell onto the tracks due to crowding at Gallery Place/Chinatown.
Thus began my functional imprisonment at Union Station. I got some lunch in the food court, and went upstairs to wait for and try to get in touch with B. The crowd here was thick but mostly positive, occasionally breaking into impromptu chants of "O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!" and comparing notes about how their tickets had been worthless to get them in. At some point, I finally heard from B that they had closed in the hundreds of thousands of people on the parade route, and by rumor, the Mall, so I should just go back to NYC whenever I could; she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I began the trek out of Union Station, only to find out that authorities had closed every single exit except the 1st Street exit. Literally tens of thousands of us were inside, and many of us were trying to get out. Tens of thousands were trying to push the opposite direction, to get into the Metro red line stop. Cops of every stripe were screaming at us on bullhorns to "MOVE MOVE MOVE! STAY RIGHT! KEEP MOVING!" Confidential to every asshole cop that screamed at us that day: WE WERE TRYING. Really. I don't know if all of you were stupid AND blind, or just stupid, but it really wasn't possible to move any faster or more effectively than we were. To get about 150 feet took almost an hour.
I finally made it out only to be told by a particularly aggressive Chicago PD cop that 1st Street was closed, and I had to TURN AROUND MOVE TURN AROUND MOVE. I did, walked up North Capitol Street, and the five circuitous blocks only took about fifteen minutes with the rapidly thinning crowds. I was able to walk almost immediately onto a bus: Greyhound had contract buses ready and waiting to load people, no matter what bus you were scheduled on. As I've told several people, it's truly terrifying when the best organized logistics of the day are by Greyhound. Here I caught about five minutes of CNN's reporting of the inaugural parade which, at 4:55pm, was about 1/3 of the way along its route. (It was supposed to start at 2:30pm.)
The Bolt Bus gets a special shout-out here: comfortable seats with crazy good legroom, a friendly and efficient driver, and free wifi (if it had worked, but I didn't have my laptop anyway.) Apparently online fares as cheap as $1 NYC-DC, and walkup fares between $25 and $35 for NYC, Boston, and DC trips. What they can't control, however, is whatever jackass issued a false bomb threat on the New Jersey Turnpike, causing us to get stuck between exits 2 and 3 for just under two hours. Actually seems like it wasn't the jackass they arrested who was mostly at fault, but rather the jackasses' mother who called it in. So we sat and moved about 100 yards in just under two hours, because all of the other idiot drivers apparently felt the need to continually fill in the few few between themselves and the car in front of them.
I had food, wine (smartly purchased at Union Station before the temporary incarceration), my ipod, and took naps, so it wasn't the worst thing ever, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant way to cap off the day. We finally made it back to Port Authority around 1am, and after taking the subway to Bushwick, I arrived "home" at 2am. Ugh.
Here is an interesting article that doesn't make clear how many of the cops were from out of town, and didn't know anything about how to get around DC. It just notes "other jurisdictions."
So there it is: how this was, on the whole, one of the five or so worst days of my life. Note to self: don't EVER go to DC for a major event again.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Frostfree Bottom
So they postponed the Frosty Bottom due to the truly treacherous conditions. I'm bummed, as I can't do the rescheduled date, but the trails are pretty nasty.
I'm in the middle of another miserable cross-country redeye trip now, sitting in the Seattle airport. I hate redeyes.
Whine, whine, whine. Life isn't too rough when you're going to NYC and DC for a week and a half.
I'm in the middle of another miserable cross-country redeye trip now, sitting in the Seattle airport. I hate redeyes.
Whine, whine, whine. Life isn't too rough when you're going to NYC and DC for a week and a half.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wow. Snow unicycling.
So, wow: sometimes people think it's pretty badass that I ride my bike throughout the winter, even when it's -20. (When I went out voluntarily, not for a commute, for 22.5 miles...)
But this guy was competing on a groomed downhill race course, on a unicycle, for a preposterous event called the Moose Slide Slalom:
I'm kinda bummed that I didn't hear about it, as I would have seriously considered it (on a two-wheeled vehicle.) So I would have looked more like this:
But it's sort of moot, since it was out in the valley, and there's no way I could have done the event and got back into Anchoragua in time to go to work.
But this guy was competing on a groomed downhill race course, on a unicycle, for a preposterous event called the Moose Slide Slalom:
I'm kinda bummed that I didn't hear about it, as I would have seriously considered it (on a two-wheeled vehicle.) So I would have looked more like this:
But it's sort of moot, since it was out in the valley, and there's no way I could have done the event and got back into Anchoragua in time to go to work.
jail nutrition
I've been reading some pretty choice quotes from an October 2008 decision from the US District Court for Arizona, in the litigation against the despicable sheriff, Joe Arpaio, and the Maricopa County jail system.
See:
Graves, et al. vs. Arpaio, et al., No. CV-77-0479-PHX-NVW, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Order (D. Ariz. Oct. 22, 2008, at pages 68-69:
388. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinion is that there is no nutritional difference among different fruits, vegetables, meats, and starches, and it is unnecessary to distinguish a cup of lettuce from a cup of green beans, a banana from an apple, or a hot dog from turkey.
389. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinion is that French fries, diced potatoes, rice, and macaroni are of equal nutritional value.
390. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinion is that one ounce of beef has the same nutritional value as one ounce of turkey.
391. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinions regarding nutritional equivalents are not credible, and the Court does not believe them.
...
416. Therefore, prospective relief remains necessary to correct a current and ongoing violation of the pretrial detainees’ federal right to adequate nutrition.
417. Paragraph 95 of the Amended Judgment will not be terminated because Defendant Arpaio has not met his burden of proving there is no current and ongoing violation of pretrial detainees’ constitutional right to adequate nutrition.
See:
Graves, et al. vs. Arpaio, et al., No. CV-77-0479-PHX-NVW, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Order (D. Ariz. Oct. 22, 2008, at pages 68-69:
388. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinion is that there is no nutritional difference among different fruits, vegetables, meats, and starches, and it is unnecessary to distinguish a cup of lettuce from a cup of green beans, a banana from an apple, or a hot dog from turkey.
389. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinion is that French fries, diced potatoes, rice, and macaroni are of equal nutritional value.
390. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinion is that one ounce of beef has the same nutritional value as one ounce of turkey.
391. The Maricopa County Jails dietician’s opinions regarding nutritional equivalents are not credible, and the Court does not believe them.
...
416. Therefore, prospective relief remains necessary to correct a current and ongoing violation of the pretrial detainees’ federal right to adequate nutrition.
417. Paragraph 95 of the Amended Judgment will not be terminated because Defendant Arpaio has not met his burden of proving there is no current and ongoing violation of pretrial detainees’ constitutional right to adequate nutrition.
55 degrees...
No, that's not the temperature outside, but it's not that far off. That's the temperature variation at my house from a week ago, when it was -20F, to right now, as it's 35F. The roads are icy enough that Anchorage public schools are closed, Alyeska ski resort is closed, UAA and APU are closed, and everyone is generally in a tizzy.
For what I think is the first time I've ever heard it, the Peoplemover (public bus) is not operating. This last one drives it home for me: in western Massachusetts, you knew it was a bad weather day if it impacted the PVTA was impacted.
Winds gusting to 105 mph this afternoon along the Turnagain Arm. These winds won't impact us, this is at least ten miles away to the south/southeast. What I find most interesting about this is that if this were a tropical cyclone, it would amount to a Category Two hurricane, which for historical reference is what hurricanes Frances and Isabel were when they made landfall in the US. Yes, people voluntarily live along the Turnagain Arm.
The National Weather Service has now cancelled the freezing rain advisory, and bizarrely, the sun is coming out in spots. It looks vaguely apocalyptic to the south, though this image doesn't really do it justice:
For what I think is the first time I've ever heard it, the Peoplemover (public bus) is not operating. This last one drives it home for me: in western Massachusetts, you knew it was a bad weather day if it impacted the PVTA was impacted.
Winds gusting to 105 mph this afternoon along the Turnagain Arm. These winds won't impact us, this is at least ten miles away to the south/southeast. What I find most interesting about this is that if this were a tropical cyclone, it would amount to a Category Two hurricane, which for historical reference is what hurricanes Frances and Isabel were when they made landfall in the US. Yes, people voluntarily live along the Turnagain Arm.
The National Weather Service has now cancelled the freezing rain advisory, and bizarrely, the sun is coming out in spots. It looks vaguely apocalyptic to the south, though this image doesn't really do it justice:
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Uncle Felon update
Hot off the presses, the Alaska Bar Association (which I'm a member of) is pushing hard to get the Alaska Supreme Court to revoke Ted Stevens' license to practice law in Alaska. The felonious ex-senator has already has his law licenses suspended in California and DC.
But this is Alaska, so we're still screwing around with this. Up here, his attorneys have been arguing, basically, that he wasn't really convicted, and that his convictions weren't really crimes. Huh?
The Alaska Supreme Court's Case Management System is a moderately handy way to keep up to date on the pleadings and arguments in Stevens' disbarment case, which is case number S13316.
But this is Alaska, so we're still screwing around with this. Up here, his attorneys have been arguing, basically, that he wasn't really convicted, and that his convictions weren't really crimes. Huh?
The Alaska Supreme Court's Case Management System is a moderately handy way to keep up to date on the pleadings and arguments in Stevens' disbarment case, which is case number S13316.
Cold and simplicity
We've been working hard to simplify our possessions (aka crap.) For example, it served me well for many years and many trips, but for some reason, I think it's finally time to retire one of our two travel hairbrushes:
The thermometer outside remains bottomed out, as it has been for most of the last two weeks:
I mean, what kind of jerk buys a thermometer that bottoms out at -10 and puts it outside in Alaska? My only defense is that it was on clearance for $3 and I wanted a hygrometer. At least it's pretty outside:
Know the saying "easy as pie"? Well, pie really isn't all that easy, but the results are usually fairly rewarding:
These are all vegan, and all the same filling: pear, apple, wiki, satsuma orange, and Meyer lemon zest:
Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.
I continue to ride my bike, and train for the Frosty Bottom 50/25 . Here is the newly updated course map: Frosty Bottom . I rode most of the course as a trial run the other day, and I can't wait. I'm also seriously considering the Little Su 50 but it'll depend on travel schedules and work. Yes, I know I'm deranged.
The thermometer outside remains bottomed out, as it has been for most of the last two weeks:
I mean, what kind of jerk buys a thermometer that bottoms out at -10 and puts it outside in Alaska? My only defense is that it was on clearance for $3 and I wanted a hygrometer. At least it's pretty outside:
Know the saying "easy as pie"? Well, pie really isn't all that easy, but the results are usually fairly rewarding:
These are all vegan, and all the same filling: pear, apple, wiki, satsuma orange, and Meyer lemon zest:
Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.
I continue to ride my bike, and train for the Frosty Bottom 50/25 . Here is the newly updated course map: Frosty Bottom . I rode most of the course as a trial run the other day, and I can't wait. I'm also seriously considering the Little Su 50 but it'll depend on travel schedules and work. Yes, I know I'm deranged.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
new year
Still cold up here, though today is the first day that the thermometer outside my window hasn't been bottomed out (it only goes to minus ten fahrenheit...)
Gonna change bike tires, book some travel, and clean the garage. Big times.
Confidential to TGS: you never called.
#2 Confidential to TGS: one pair of rain boots about to be posted on freecycle.
A fantastic comic today from Dinosaur Comics reminds me of my civ pro professor's admonition: "You must be crisp with your language, crisp!
Gonna change bike tires, book some travel, and clean the garage. Big times.
Confidential to TGS: you never called.
#2 Confidential to TGS: one pair of rain boots about to be posted on freecycle.
A fantastic comic today from Dinosaur Comics reminds me of my civ pro professor's admonition: "You must be crisp with your language, crisp!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Crossroads of the West (?)
Back in Salt Lake City for a few days, and have hit most all of the highlights: Squatters , Uinta , Desert Edge, Sage's Cafe, and a new favorite for espresso, Two Creek Coffee House. The website for Two Creek sucks, but the espresso is fantastic.
I skied two days at Alta, which were both great for different reasons. The first day had empty slopes and good snow, with a biting wind, but hey, it was Alta. The second day was after a ten inch overnight snowfall, and so the trails were thick, with great off-trail and tree-skiing.
Flying out tonight, and then back to work for a day before the xmas holiday.
It's surely a sign of a diseased mind, but I'm actually missing icebiking in Anchoragua. What the hell is wrong with me?
I skied two days at Alta, which were both great for different reasons. The first day had empty slopes and good snow, with a biting wind, but hey, it was Alta. The second day was after a ten inch overnight snowfall, and so the trails were thick, with great off-trail and tree-skiing.
Flying out tonight, and then back to work for a day before the xmas holiday.
It's surely a sign of a diseased mind, but I'm actually missing icebiking in Anchoragua. What the hell is wrong with me?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Snow
KSKA was repoting this morning that two to four inches of snow fell overnight in Anchorage. I call bullshit: at least six fell on my driveway. Or maybe sixteen.
It wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't had to drive to the airport at 6am. Or if we could get the car out of the driveway. Or if it wasn't on top of a layer of ice, where it acts like an oil based lubricant. Or if I didn't have laryngitis. Boo.
It wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't had to drive to the airport at 6am. Or if we could get the car out of the driveway. Or if it wasn't on top of a layer of ice, where it acts like an oil based lubricant. Or if I didn't have laryngitis. Boo.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
mmmm... beer.
Inferno Ale from the Lost Abbey. The glass on the left is without yeast sediment, the glass ont he right after swirling the yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Another Dinosaur Comic about cycling
Another great comic from Dinosaur Comics at qwantz.com :
Yesterday I was nearly hit three times while riding my bike to work. Two were my favorite type of motorist: the kind who nearly nails you, and then glares or screams at you, like it's your fault.
I then had a very nice shift, and came outside to twenty degree temperatures and a missing valve stem in my front tire. Yes, that's right: the tip that threads down into the valve stem was missing. (Don't ask why I had a European style, two piece presta valve on my winter commuting bike in Alaska.)
Now, the presta valve started out the day intact and got me the ten miles to work, with stops at the post office and REI on the way. And this is the type of thing that, when the stem tip goes missing, it won't be a slow leak: it'll be a loud, gushing and rapid release of air. So when I showed up at work and locked up the bike, and it was riding fine, it basically had to still have an intact valve stem tip, properly threaded in. Leading me to the conclusion that [you fill in the blank...]
Fortunately, I carry an extra tube with me, and work was still open, so I didn't have to change the tire in the cold and semi-dark. Side note: despite their other virtues, the Nokian studded tires, for all their other virtues, are a serious pain in the ass to get the bead seated in the rim.
Yesterday I was nearly hit three times while riding my bike to work. Two were my favorite type of motorist: the kind who nearly nails you, and then glares or screams at you, like it's your fault.
I then had a very nice shift, and came outside to twenty degree temperatures and a missing valve stem in my front tire. Yes, that's right: the tip that threads down into the valve stem was missing. (Don't ask why I had a European style, two piece presta valve on my winter commuting bike in Alaska.)
Now, the presta valve started out the day intact and got me the ten miles to work, with stops at the post office and REI on the way. And this is the type of thing that, when the stem tip goes missing, it won't be a slow leak: it'll be a loud, gushing and rapid release of air. So when I showed up at work and locked up the bike, and it was riding fine, it basically had to still have an intact valve stem tip, properly threaded in. Leading me to the conclusion that [you fill in the blank...]
Fortunately, I carry an extra tube with me, and work was still open, so I didn't have to change the tire in the cold and semi-dark. Side note: despite their other virtues, the Nokian studded tires, for all their other virtues, are a serious pain in the ass to get the bead seated in the rim.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Of bicycles, and ice...
"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live."
—-Mark Twain, Taming the Bicycle, May 10, 1884
"Every time I tried to steal a look at a pretty girl, or any other kind of scenery, that single moment of inattention gave the bicycle the chance it had been waiting for, and I went over the front of it and struck the ground on my head or my back before I had time to realise that something was happening."I don't even have Twain's excuse: pretty girls and scenery are in short supply in the dark, at midnight, on my ride home.
--Mark Twain, Chapters from my Autobiography, Chapter 20
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
A new evening in America
I was driving back from the auto parts store tonight: I had to buy a small engine spark plug for our generator in case the electricity goes out again, as it has four times since July.
NPR, by way of KSKA 91.1, called the election for Barack Obama.
There was a deep yellow, three quarter moon in the southern sky above the Turnagain Arm (a.k.a., the Cook Inlet, a.k.a., the Pacific Ocean. Yes, I'm actually justa little bit closer to being able to see Russia from my doorstep.)
I've made snide, or cynical, or sad jokes for years after elections, riffing off of that scummy rotten bastard president's Morning in America theme. I thought, and hope, that this is a new kind of night, and can be a new kind of day in America.
I'm watching our next president walk out on the stage in Grant Park to give an acceptance speech. I listened a half hour ago to McCain give a mostly gracious speech conceding the election. I listened to his supporters in attendance in Phoenix booing Barack Obama's name.
In 1992, I danced and cheered and celebrated after knocking on doors, walking streets, standing on corners, and making calls for Bill Clinton. I stood in a ballroom celebrating Clinton/Gore 92 California's victory. The time that came after wasn't different: NAFTA, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Welfare to Work, Defense of Marriage Act, and so on, and so on.
Barack Obama just said in his speech "this time must be different." I agree wholeheartedly.
I have hope. I really do. I know that a better world is possible.
Now let's see Barack Obama make a better world. I look forward to it.
I was driving back from the auto parts store tonight: I had to buy a small engine spark plug for our generator in case the electricity goes out again, as it has four times since July.
NPR, by way of KSKA 91.1, called the election for Barack Obama.
There was a deep yellow, three quarter moon in the southern sky above the Turnagain Arm (a.k.a., the Cook Inlet, a.k.a., the Pacific Ocean. Yes, I'm actually justa little bit closer to being able to see Russia from my doorstep.)
I've made snide, or cynical, or sad jokes for years after elections, riffing off of that scummy rotten bastard president's Morning in America theme. I thought, and hope, that this is a new kind of night, and can be a new kind of day in America.
I'm watching our next president walk out on the stage in Grant Park to give an acceptance speech. I listened a half hour ago to McCain give a mostly gracious speech conceding the election. I listened to his supporters in attendance in Phoenix booing Barack Obama's name.
In 1992, I danced and cheered and celebrated after knocking on doors, walking streets, standing on corners, and making calls for Bill Clinton. I stood in a ballroom celebrating Clinton/Gore 92 California's victory. The time that came after wasn't different: NAFTA, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Welfare to Work, Defense of Marriage Act, and so on, and so on.
Barack Obama just said in his speech "this time must be different." I agree wholeheartedly.
I have hope. I really do. I know that a better world is possible.
Now let's see Barack Obama make a better world. I look forward to it.
Why Alaska is doing fine
No, it's not because tomorrow Tina Fey stands a very real chance of being on the ticket that carries the whopping three Electoral College votes that Alaska has to offer.
It's because we're the only expanding state according to economy.com:
No, it's not because tomorrow Tina Fey stands a very real chance of being on the ticket that carries the whopping three Electoral College votes that Alaska has to offer.
It's because we're the only expanding state according to economy.com:
Uhhh, yeah. Everything is great.
It's cold. It's snowing.
My bike is at the shop, with a leaking seal in the rock shox. Boo.
I made a pretty wicked soup last night from the CSA materials, with potatoes, beets, carrots, zucchini, and onions.
So tomorrow. Yes. Well. We either make our collective bed for another four years, or we don't. Here in Alaska, we either re-elect one convicted felon, and another who is just a CH this side of indictment, both of whom are stunt doubles for Cal Worthington commercials, or we don't.
Good thing SNL makes it feel all better.
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