k957

Shweebs may wobble, but please don't fall down

2010-10-05T08:39:00.001-07:00

If you have an ear to cycling, youtube, transit, or just wacky inventions, you have probably heard that:

In September 2010 Google Inc. announced an investment of USD1m in SHL to assist with transit research and development.

From shweeb.com

Initially I thought: What a horrible idea, I can't believe Google would get behind something so obviously flawed. While I love cycling, and know we need to innovate around dino-powered vehicles, this just can't work. Infrastructure aside, just think about getting stuck for an eternity behind some slow-poke (that might be me!). So yeah, you could link up and the faster could speed up the slower. Next time you go through a revolving door, take a look at who is pulling/pushing their weight and who is just coasting - now translate that into pedaling your bike and your running late - no thanks.

But then, I took a step back. I still don't think pedal power would work... but what if there were an alternative engine - magnets, electric motor in the pod or external to the pod. ||Here is the part where I hope Google is listening and offers me a swank job|| Then, the schweeb starts to look like a packet, and the rail infrastructure looks like a switched network. Which is to say, commuters ride the pod, but don't drive it or power it. Commuters punch in their destination, before or after entering, and the routers/switches do the rest.

Perhaps a bunch of "packets" get lined up into a train for X% of travel, with some packets at the end falling off at the next routing point / fork in the road / switch.

A lot can probably be borrowed from places like six flags and existing transit stations/stops as far as making the embarkation/disembarkation run smoothly.

I suppose people could own their own pods, but then there is the matter of registration, upkeep, and parking - doable, for sure.

There could be an average size for the common case, then have some "floater" pods for: really tall people, heavy people, parents with babies. The rail infrastructure would have to accommodate the biggest/longest/heaviest, but then the fleet could be 90-98% the same, to save on production, maintenance and upkeep costs.

"dead heads" are a problem for bus systems, and balancing the empty pods would take CS and math skills that only made a passing visit in my brain years ago (did I just blow the e-interview... maybe).

What about when things go wrong?
Pod door fails to open
Pod door fails to shut properly
Locomotion system fails
Rail system fails
Power Outage
Weather
Sick Passenger
Funkadelic Previous Passenger
...

Lot's of things to think about.... $#|+ does happen, all we can do is prepare for it.

IDK, I think I've convinced myself that I'd love to walk to the scheeb network access point, wave my card as I enter the system, wait in line for a bit, hop into the pod, lay back and catch some z's or fiddle with my laptop as I careen 50 miles to work.

EOM

Bicycle Trailer

2010-04-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, apartment living disavowed me of the illusion that I'd get around to building my own.

So I bought one.

But, in case anyone else contemplates building their own, and google didn't already provide, here you go:

Dominican Republic in a Nutshell

2010-03-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

Introduction

I first put this togethor for a friend of mine who was planning a trip to the DR some-time back in 2000 or so.
It has been my great delight to hear of all the folks - family, friends, aquaintances, radio prize winners - traveling to the Dominican Republic on vacation.
Which is also to say, the internet probably doesn't *need* another posting, but what the heck.
I should admit, I haven't been back to the DR since 2006, so in addition to being very subjective and geared towards the initial audience, it may be a bit out-of-date.

Travelers should do fine even with only basic - or even no Spanish.
Most people in any kind of touristy-type place will speak functional if
not fluent english. Basically, unless your in the hills somewhere, you
should be fine.

There are many kinds of experiences available in the Dominican
Republic. Probably the most renowned is Club Med, resort-type vacation.
There's also the shoestring type vacation. Additionally there are plenty
of historical places - mostly in the capital. The country-side is
beautiful, but this might be hard to do without some local help.

Club Med

There are tonnes of hotels which can provide just about all
you need for a good time: clubs or trips to local clubs, dance lessons,
private beach/pools. Group type activities (volleyball, water aerobics,
snorkelling) - many of which are lead by folks who would fair
exceptionally well as aerobics instructors. Many, if not nearly all
hotels include food and drinks in the cost (all inclusive).

Some cities/places I can recall:

Puerto Plata: Beach-to-beach resorts.
Samana: Not as many hotels, but definitely high quality ones.
Altos De Chavon: The most famous in the country, also the most expensive.It is located near (on?) a beautiful mountain-top artstudio. I believe it used to be a fortress, that overlooks a great valley(altos = heights/cliffs). You can spend the better part of a daywandering around this place, and maybe more if you like art.
La Romana/Higuey: On the South/East coast has some places as wellPunta Cana has alot of places as well and offers direct flights.

Really, just about any part of the coast has some nice hotel-age. They
are nice and cushy, and w/foreign money, can even be cheap. They are
definitely the way to go if you just want to sit and relax in the sun, and
don't want to have to do much planning.

Local Experience

I like the big hotels for a short spell, but don't think I'd like
to spend whole vacations there because it is too easy to stay within the
confines of the comfortable hotel walls and never see the country itself.
It all depends on your vacationing style/motivation.

There are smaller hotels, and even "mom & pop" type places (cabins) where
you can stay for dirt cheap. As far as utilities/conveniences, these are closer to the 3rd world level of
living, and you will likely have to fend for yourself for food. The
benefits are that you'll probably have more peace and quiet, as the common
areas in the larger hotels can sometimes be a bit noisy.

Other Beaches

Las Saonas (South East): A small island off the coast, *beautiful* nearlyuntouched beaches. You get there by speedboat, I believe from Bayahibe,maybe eaven from La Romana.
Boca Chica (South): Once a very beautiful beach, the public parts are nowover-crowded and somewhat polluted. There are hotels with private beaches, some will provide day passes (9am-5pm) to the beach, food,drinks, and non-motorized amenities (paddle boats, kayaks, etc).
Palenque (South West): Black Sands Beaches here. Not as developed hotel-wise.
Somewhere1 (South West): There's at least one rock beach in the south -yes rocks. Basically a beach of pebbles, mostly round. It's very trippyto see all the rocks. It's also not very developed (last I heard).

Districto Nacional

The Colonial District in Santo Domingo has many forts, museums,
shops, and other sites from the Columbus days. Some free, some not.
In/Near the colonial district exists:

The Flea Market: An indoor flea market. Lots of gifty-items here. You *should* negotioate here - or they will feel bad :-) **
El Conde: Shopping district, some restaurants. It's gone down somewhat, watch your wallet/purse.
Plaza a' Colon: Basically a big "Go Chris C. you rock". There's a nice restaurant across the way that has been there forever and has awesome food, smoothies, and coffee.

Misc. in Santo Domingo

El Malecon: The boardwalk, along the coast, lots of restaurants. Great for a stroll.
Botanical Gardens (Jardin Botanico): Beautiful. Huge. I dig the Japanese garden.
The Three Eyes (Los Tres Ojos): Underground caverns with maybe 5 lakes with blue water (originally only 3 were known). Boat tours available.
The Columbus Light (Faro a Colon): A mini-museum, basically a hyuuge light that gets turned on periodically. Illuminates a gigantic cross in the sky that, rumour has it, can be seen from Puerto Rico.

Street Food for sale

Sugar Cane (Cana): The vendor strip the 'bark' so you can basically gnaw onit, spitting out the fibers after you've sucked the sweetness out of them(yum for me!) I can go through about 2 feet pretty easily at one go.
Sugar Cane Juice (jugo de cana): As it sounds. Check the ice - if it looks suspect, pass.
Orange Juice (Jugo De Naranja): Yum! again w/the ice.
Coconut Juice (Jugo de Coco): I love this stuff. They'll chop open thetop so you can drink straight from the coconut, many guys also carry cupswhich are easier to drink from. They can also chop it open for you so youcan eat the insides (la masa). Careful, as it can stain clothes. Try notto eat to much at a go unless you are used to a lot of coconut.
Fried Stuff (fritura): This stuff is so good, but risky for the GIhealth, esp if you're not used to it. You can get it in somerestaurants/specialty stores, and probably should. Things like:Pastelitos, Kippe, jonny cakey
Slushies (Frio Frio, jun jun): Yummy yes. But don't do it unless you'vegot an iron stomache, or it's your last day.... Chances are the ice orthe syrups were made with tap water.. BTW, Don't drink tap water, buy bottledwater.
Sandwiches (Chimichurri, Chimi): Awesome drunk food, it's usuallycooked/reheated when you order it, but I'd stay away if your stomache issensitive.

Misc. Food/Drinks

Milk Candy (dulce de leche): I love it
Guava Candy (dulce de guayaba): My wife loves it
Fruit Juices: Jugo de {Mango, Chinola, Naranja, Pina, Cana, Papaya, Papaya con Leche, ...}
The national meal (La bandera nacional): Rice & Beans, with pan-searedbeef, and a vinagrette salad. This is my favourite meal.
Fried Plaintain (fritos, tostones): Fried plantain chips - green or ripe.The green ones are french-fry-esque, but not as greasy as fries as well asa bit starchier.
Rice-Beans Cooked togethor (morro): Good stuff, can be made with coconut.
Fried Fish: Usually. At the beach, yummy. Watch the bones.

Misc Stuff

Cigars: Leon Jimenes No.5 - My 65 y/o uncle has been smoking since he was12 years old. He's had his share of cubans and he said these were the best he'd ever had in his life.
Rum: Barcelo, Brugal - you decide. Go for the "Añejo", or the upgrade -alcohol is *cheap* and tasty in the DR.
Beer: Presidente - a 'light beer' - as in not guinness, but not a 'lite'beer. I love this stuff. It's the national beer. You can order these byjust saying 'give me a [small|large]' ("una pequena", "una grande"). Oreven "a cold one" ("una fria")... hmmm... now I want one.

Culture

Being obviously foreign, and a source of revenue, you will likely
be exempt from most of the expectations, but here are some cultural norms:

Clothing: You don't have to dress to the nines, but walking around with ragged/dirty clothing flags you as "hobo" not "grunge".Dominican men didn't usually wear shorts outside of the beach, but I think travelers can probably get awaywith it. Same for women, but you may solicit some cat calls with shorts.Kids are usually okay w/shorts.
Eyes: Dominican's actually look tend to take each other in, even inpassing. I can seem fairly intense if you're not used to it, but it istypically just benign, out of general curiousity. You need only look backto show that you are paying attention, no smiles necessary. I'd actuallyrecommend against the half-smile token of acknowledgement that isprevalent in the US (or at least in the mid-west) - this may be seen aseither a sign of weakness or some kind of invitation (say if the dude issome kind of salesman, or w/some malicious intent)
Touching: It is a physical culture, so you may be find yourself closer topeople more than at least in the US. Men may try to help you (women) withthings like luggage, getting up stairs, off the bus, etc. At the samethere are weirdos down there, just like anywhere, so you'd want to be waryof that.
Pick-Pocketing Etc: I know some of you have travelled before, so this maybe a bit elementary for you: Take Photocopies of your passports, maybeleaving one with an emergency contact back home. Don't flash your money -Be aware of who's around before pulling out the wallet. Be wary ofpickpockets, they come in all forms and all ages. You may want an insidepants wallet deal.
Fun: In the end, it is a very playful culture, full of carribean flareand energy. Tourism is one of the biggest industries, and there are a lotof options for things to do :-)

Well, thats a bit long and rambling, but I hope it helps someone plan their next trip.

receta de salsa picante

2010-02-17T15:01:00.001-08:00

* Cebolla (1)
* Red Peper (1)
* Italian peper(1)
* Hot pepers...many. many dry ones, jalapenios, hot pepers like (3)

* one spoon of olive oil
* a bit of ginger

Number in parens is ratio by volume.
(3) above as in 3-to-1 by volume.

blender together and good luck.

Note to self: no garlic, no vinegar.

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

2010-02-14T18:12:00.000-08:00

Pretty much all the bread I make is a variant of this recipe by Arrowhead Mills:

Arrowhead Mills Whole Wheat Bread

-- Dry
4-4.5 Cups (512-576g) Flour
1 Tbsp. Active Dry Yeast (1 packet)
2 Tbsp. Nonfat Dry Mlik
1 tsp. Salt

-- Wet
1 3/4 Cup Warm Water (110 F)
2 Tbsp. Honey or Molasses
2 Tbsp.

Mix
Knead
Rise
Preheat
Punch-Down Shape + Rise
Bake @350 for 45mins +/- 15mins.

Or, according to the methods described in The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey

Yum, if I do say so myself.

iCrap

2009-03-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Final Cut Express got me to buy a mac.
At the time it was pretty beefy, especially considering the bottom of the barrel I usually go for. 2GB of RAM dual processers and 230GB drive - I felt pretty good back in 2002 or whenever I picked it up.

It was OS 10.4.something, it had a shell and ran FCE.... oh and burned DVDs

Integrated, aesthetically pleasing unix-like platform - good enough for me.

Until my other machines either died off or otherwise stopped performing as well.
Well hell, I've got a shell, I've even got java....

Sort of, some old version of java that hurts my brain to code to.

I know, I'll just download a more recent version.

whot! you mean, I have to "upgrade my operating system" in order to advance versions.

There there, you see, it was macs or no sun's or , you konw what, just don't be mad.. Just feel *lucky* that someone somewhere was nice enough to implement a 1.5.something jdk for your mac. Really, why would you want do code in java anyway.

So, I shell out the dough for 10.5.5 aka OSX. To my fears - "dont worry, the upgrade works just great".

And really, I guess it wasn't so bad - java 1.5.x.
cool.

Somehwere in here, I started using a shell at work, on a more frequent basis. So instead of opening up pine and maybe kicking around some html in emacs, I'm hacking the shell scripts that keep "the builds" going. So, I dust off my copy of "UNIX for the Impatient" by Paul W. Abrahams and Bruce R. Larson. And realize, maybe my arbitrary choice of tcsh is better supplanted by a more ubiquitous shell. And one with much better doc, at least in that book. I was sold enough.

Log into mac
edit /etc/passwd
Close and Open "Terminal"

What the.... wait... So, look. I got "Mac OS X For Unix Geeks" by Ernest Rothman, Brian Jepson, and Rich Rosen, for Christmas. So fine, /etc/passwd is not the way to go. OK, I'll do it the Mac way..

I don't remember Nexts being this picky.

But wait, I upgraded for java, but does the reason I bought a mac - Final Cut Express - still work. Yes, oh yes thank goodness.

So, I've done some crappy home video. And now I want to burn it to DVD so I can show it off - right. Click on iDVD, a piece of software that worked when I bought this machine. I get:

"You cannot use this version of the application iDVD.app with this version of Mac OS X."

The solution: buy iLife.

Are you kidding me? again. You want "more" of my money. Only now for software that was stock on the original operating system I paid for.

Crap
Crap
Crap.

So. I have to upgrade the _operating system_ to get the latest java. I get no guarantees that any of the software I've already paid for will work in any future versions. I have to stare at the logo of a piece of fruit that someone else already started chomping into any time I'm using the box.

But it's integrated - yes - 'm glad the folks at the apple store can tell me what, now unavailable through big brother apple, RAM I can buy just by the serial number. But, to find that out about my old Cyrix box, I just opened the motherboard manual. Advantages? But it works well with an iPod - sure, but I can also plug my Nokia Cell phone into Windows and have it work as an Mp3 player. Well, you don't have to use a whole bunch of different proprietary software for each digital camera. Fair enough, except, I don't have a bunch of different digital cameras.

Stable, I only crash apps every other week instead of the every week at work on XP. Except for my IDE - eclipse - that thing crashes within 1/2 an hour. I'll bet it would be better if I just started from a clean slate.... see FCE. Maybe I should give netbeans another go.

It does graphics well, ok maybe FCE does what I want WRT graphics well. But GIMP does way more than I'll ever need, and that's pretty damn free.

Cool, umm, what? Using a computer will make me cool? I guess in that superficial, flashing-wealth-because-I-can-afford-over-priced-hardware kind of way, maybe.

What about the great and wonderful features of Mac OSX that have just been there for years.

MacPorts - get out of here - apt, yum.

iChat - Give me pidgin any day.

iTunes - so, now instead of just playing my multimedia, I get a million daemon processes taking up CPU in the background. crap. rss integrated with music files was a good idea, but worthy of the constricting my larynx to a near falsetto say "iPod" I think not.

Terminal Tabs - so you're cool enough to use a shell, but for some reason want more shit taking real estate and don't know about screen. Oh and Linux has had that for a while.

Virtual Desktops - I about lost it when someone was feeding me the mantra on this one. Solaris had this as far back as the last millennium, or at least 1998.

Next?
Actualy NeXt's were nice, real nice. Pizza boxes and cubes. I know someone who has a few hoarded away and is waiting for the revolution. Now I need to go ask them if they have mac.

The lustre was fading and now it is totally gone.
I feel stuck because of one application.

I bought one, and I'm even using it, but I'm just not buying it.

iQuit

Flying Helicoptor Car

2009-01-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7826142.stm

2 man enter, one man leave.

wishing I didn't drive the big loop to work every day.

National Dump the Pump - June 19th - Metro Support

2008-06-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Metro is giving out free metro passes in support of the third annual National Dump the Pump Day. They'll be handing them out at Metro Ride locations (see link), at the Galleria on Saturday afternoon of June 14th. Alternatively, they will even mail them to you - all you need to do for that to happen is send your Name/Full address via email, with a subject of "Free Pass".

need money, will travel

2008-06-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

So, more Americans are taking public transit, the longstanding romance with cars is waning, even the king of conspicuous consumption is not immune. I thinks it's great that some politicians are supporting transportation, but it's sad to hear that at the same time metro is having some major money woes, especially since ridership has been rising for years. I wouldn't spite metro some more $$ (taxes, fares) - even with the spotty business surrounding the Cross County Extension. I guess we'll see what comes as a result of the June 17-25 Public Hearings on fare changes

Sport? That sounds tough. How about riding as a past-time?

2008-05-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

The local news reported on Bike to Work Week and interviewed a couple local bike-commuters as well as giving some tips to those contemplating driving their bike in. Video on CW11 page. It's great that bike to work week has gotten some publicity.
Tnx to MoBikeFed for blogging on it.

hell yes

2006-08-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

The light rail system is on the way at the end of the month.
fain-*-tastic.

I'm so ready to leave the car parked.

Light rail, light rain.

2006-06-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

So, I finally tried out the metro transit system. A combination of driving, riding metrolink and metrobus got me to work and back home. I only drove for ~30 minutes, and made just two transfers (car->train->bus). It was really nice to not deal with the worst of the traffic. To quote a banner I saw on a picture of an early 1900's rail car:

"You're working over-time when you drive."

The trip does add about an hour over my best-case round-trip scenario, so it's not all daisies. When the cross county extension opens up, it'll be a no-brainer - I'll take the 'link without a blink.

crawl, walk, run, cycle, bus, rail

2006-05-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

My recent move and job change changed my daily commute from 6 miles to one of about 40 miles. I'm five days into this new way - and about two-thirds of the way through "Divorce Your Car!" by Katie Alvord.

Coincidence? Well actually, yes - but having recently crossed over from a sleepy back-street jaunt into the tense wilderness of the rush-hour highway scramble - I am finding myself quite receptive to Alvord's message and advice.

Locally, all the buzz, in the transportation scheme of things, is the reconstruction of one of the central highway arteries in the area - turning Route 40 into The New I-64. I had been starting to feel some disdain towards this collective funnelling of even more resources into the car, you know, things like taxes, fuel, and dodging little old ladies escorted by boy scouts. A couple of things make me feel there is an "upside" to the expansion of the highway.

Firstly, the project has an Interactive Study Map and claims that a lot of local streets will have pedestrian and bicycle friendly bridges spanning the highway. As a former and hopefully future, bicycle commuter, I recognize how much easier this will make biking around town. Currently, almost all my biking routes end up using the same couple crossing points - sometimes taking me farther out of the way than if the highway weren't "right in the way".

Secondly, it dawned on me that maybe the mass hysteria about the highway being unavailable could be channelled positively into a better appreciation for the mass transit available to this growing city. The light rail system is already underway and scheduled to be completed by the end of the year (fingers crossed) - I can only hope that one of the central roads being closed will get more people to consider and actually use this mode of transport.

Ultimately, I don't feel that getting deeper into bed with the car is going to help us in the long run. Perhaps, instead of two new lanes to the highway, the community would be better served by two new sets of rails. I've dropped a line to one of the local promoters of mass transit but it does seem this particular idea has already been brought up and shut down. However, times and circumstances change - maybe it is time to revisit this.

So, what am I actually *doing*? I have been getting back on the bike. I had a short lay-off from riding and need to get my mileage back up. I'm also planning for my next step, which is to get on the bus for some short trips.

over and out.

init()

2006-03-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

init();
First step.
pretty sure the world does not need or want yet more information-pollution
not all that sure I'll be posting enough to qualify.