Chuck Coleman's Random Thoughts

This Escalator Will Be Repaired Retroactively

2011-02-24T18:33:00.002-05:00

Today, not for the first time, I saw a sign saying that a Metrorail escalator will be repaired retroactively. This escalator at the Suitland Metro Station has been undergoing repair for several weeks. According to the sign, it will be repaired in 2009.

Jenny Sanford is a "Bad Girl"

2010-02-08T21:00:00.003-05:00

I've read some reviews of Jenny Sanford's book, "Staying True." It seems that, beginning with their courtship, Mark Sanford was abusive. Ruth Marcus has catalogued some of his transgressions here. So, given Mark's mistreatment of her, culminating in his redefinition of "walking the Appalachian Trail," why did she bother to marry and stay with him? The answer is simple: Jenny Sanford is a "bad girl" because she has sex, even with her husband. Therefore, she feels she must be treated as such. I saw a lot of this in college: American women dating and even marrying abusive men. I'll give two examples that stick most prominently in my mind. The first was a woman who had been appointed to the Student Government Senate. Three men proceeded to ask her disrespectful questions and generally act like jerks to her. I apologized for their conduct and asked her a serious question. Later, I saw her clinging to one of her tormentors. On another occasion, a man bragged about his sexual exploits in front of his girlfriend. Rather than take offense, she clung to him with a big smile. She seemed to be expressing, "Isn't he wonderful?"

The idea that only "bad girls" have sex is an example of American sexual repression. It is not without reason that Irene Kassorla wrote "Nice Girls Do." This was one book I did not need to read. After all, how could any process that produced me be bad? BTW, I've never had an American girlfriend.

Does Gilbert Arenas Have Borderline Personality Disorder?

2010-01-11T18:55:00.005-05:00

Before proceeding to the title of this post, I need to make some disclaimers. I have no training in psychology and have never met Arenas. Only a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist can actually make a diagnosis. All I can do is observe symptoms and form hypotheses. Even the symptoms I observe are hearsay, based on what I have read. If I make a mistake anywhere, my hypothesis falls apart.

When I read of Arenas' behavior, I originally thought he was just another narcissistic athlete. Upon reading about the incident, several details make me suspect that he has Borderline Personality Disorder, possibly with traits of or in combination with Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Gilbert Arenas allegedly got into a dispute with his teammate, Javaris Crittendon, and brought 4 unloaded guns to the Wizards' locker room Verizon Center with a sign "Pick One." Crittendon drew his own gun and chambered a round. (source) This could have been a low-risk suicide attempt (DSM-IV criterion #5: recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-injuring behavior). According to Sally Quinn, he is "a man with sharply veering moods, whose sense of self is highly unstable. These match criteria 6 and 3, respectively, affective instablity and identity disturbance. According to Colbert King, Arenas has "three children with his on- and off-again girlfriend." This matches criterion 2: A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships. Thus, we have evidence for 4 symptoms of BPD, 5 are needed for a diagnosis.

As for the Antisocial Personality Disorder, Arenas' increasingly boorish pranks may show a disregard for other's safety (criterion A.5). He lacks remorse, as evidenced by the "joking" gunplay pantomime (criterion A.7). He was very charming as a child. APD often produces superficial charm. The other criteria and characteristic behaviors are very hard to judge at a distance.

So, what should be done about Arenas? It's better for him to be treated than to be in a prison cell. (This is also true of far too many convicts.) So, the law should force him to have a mental health evaluation and give him a suspended sentence to enforce his treatment. The NBA should ban him for life, with the ability to apply for reinstatement. The last may very well be the strongest incentive.

Case Study in Media Coverage: The ASAN Protest Against Autism $peaks, Washington, DC, 10/31/09

2009-11-28T11:02:00.002-05:00

One thing I've learned at work is that journalists write the stories they want to write. WJLA-TV wanted to do a feel-good story about people coming together to do something about (defeat?) autism. We saw the TV truck and one of us got the crew's attention. The result is "Autism Walk on National Mall Stirs Controversy." WJLA's feel-good story was spoiled and ASAN got its message out.

Contacting the media beforehand is very useful. Howard University's student newspaper, The Hilltop Online, published "Autistic Plea Less Pity" with the byline "People with autism speak out for equal treatment in society." Given Howard University's history of being the flagship black university, the civil rights/equal treatment angle is to be expected. This article negates any feel-good aspects of the Autism $peaks walk.

WAMU-FM did a short radio interview with Ari Ne'eman, ASAN's President and published a short article, "Locally-Founded Autism Group Protests D.C. Walk for Autism." In the interest of balanced journalism, WAMU interviewed an Autism $peaks spokesman. All he could say about Autism Speaks' lack of autistic board members was, "We're working on it." And they will continue to work on it until the apocalypse comes.

Later, Time Magazine published online "'I Am Autism': An Advocacy Video Sparks Protest", an indirect result of the Washington protest. This article attacks Autism Speaks' atrocious video "I am Autism" and publicizes ASAN and its efforts. It has links to the video and some parodies. Autism $peaks does not look good.

BTW, ASAN is the acronym for "Autistic Self-Advocacy Network."

A Deceased Sandwich Thrown at ASAN Demonstrators by an Autism Speaks Walker, 10/31/2009

2009-11-01T07:21:00.002-05:00

I was one of the Autism Self Advocacy Network's demonstrators at the Autism Speaks fundraising walk yesterday. Early in the walk, one of the walkers launched his sandwich at us. This is its remains after landing. What a waste! It would have been better off in someone's stomach.

Words, Just Words

2009-01-22T18:37:00.002-05:00

A lot of people have been gushing and bloviating over Obama's inauguration speech. Yesterday, Oprah and her guests were in full-gush mode. All I can say is, "Wait!" One speech at the beginning of a Presidency means nothing in the context of the whole Presidency. This was not Lincoln's "with charity towards all and malice towards none" of his second Inauguration in which he warned against seeking vengeance against the South.

Now for a little spot of analysis:

Quoth Obama: "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."

Let's start with the part before the dash. It is not always clear what "too big" or "too small" means with regard to the size of the government. Does it mean size in terms of employees, employees and contractors, or scope? For example, one may simultaneously oppose agricultural subsidies and support a more rigorous food inspection regime. The scope of the government will decrease by removing it from intervening in the agricultural sector while government employment increases if the gain in food safety workers exceeds the loss of agricultural subsidy support workers.

Now, for after the dash.

"helps families find jobs at a decent wage" Is it the job of the government to find jobs for workers? Or is the government's job to create conditions whereby jobs are created. In other words, should the government actively intervene in the market or not? What does a "decent wage" mean? This term is hopelessly vague. If you want wages to be sufficient to support families, does that include one or two wage-earners? What about those who are not supporting families or even themselves?
"care they can afford" What does "affordable care" mean and who is to provide it?
"a retirement that is dignified." Again, what does this mean? How do reconcile this with the increasing burdens of Social Security and Medicare?
Finally, the things unsaid: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Are these not important metrics? Is not a strong defense from threats to liberty, foreign and domestic, essential? Without these, life and liberty are lost. Is not the government's job to enforce the law and fight (or prepare to fight) enemies? What about all of the other things that governments produce, from emergency services to information of all kinds?

Again, I will reserve judgment until I see what Obama does. His State of the Union address will be a far more important speech because, by necessity, it will have substance.

The Latest State Secret: The Youth Inaugural Concert

2009-01-12T18:56:00.005-05:00

The Youth Inaugural Concert is to be held Monday 1/19 at the Verizon Center. It is free, but tickets are required. And this is all the Presidential Inaugural Committee will tell you.

My daughter wants to go, so I trolled the internet for information. I have learned that it will be a Disney production featuring Miley Cyrus and/or the Jonas Brothers, runs 8-9:30 p.m. and that it will honor military families. That last bit means that only military families will get tickets, so my daughter is out of luck. The Disney Channel listing provides the conclusive information.

Classical Music on Madison Avenue

2009-01-12T18:26:00.003-05:00

During the Christmas advertising period, one car ad was set to a, well, bizarre version of an advertising favorite, "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. It's really a simple piece, with a simple 2/4 rhythm. The beginning (the usual part used in ads) has pizzicato strings, a celesta and a bass clarinet. So, what did the ad agency do? They had it scored for rock in 4/4 time with an even simpler arrangement. In other words, they trashed it. Were they thinking that the original was too simple for its listeners? How low can they go?

On to this month. I enjoyed Subway's 30 second rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, with buttons exploding in sync with the cannon. I know, I'd rather hear the full piece, but with 30 seconds available, I thought Subway did a good job. I also saw a candy ad featuring "Jupiter" from Gustav Holst's "The Planets". I thought the choice was odd, but, still, the music was great.

Would You Like to Buy "eeeee" from fffffffffffff.com?

2009-01-12T18:23:00.003-05:00

This is what Google Ads is offering as I write. I guess Google is not perfect after all. ;-)

Vegawatt: The Most Efficient Way to Convert Waste Vegetable Oil to Energy

2009-01-12T18:11:00.006-05:00

Owl Power Company manufactures the Vegawatt, a machine that converts restaurants' waste vegetable oil to energy. It consists of a diesel engine that drives a generator to produce electricity and a system to extract heat to produce hot water for use at the restaurant. It is optimized for restaurants with 3-5 deep fat fryers The great beauty of this machine is that it turns a waste product into a valuable resource. It typically takes about two years for an American installation to pay for itself. Moreover, the power is carbon-neutral.

So, if you have a restaurant with deep fat fryers, you should buy a unit (or more, I'm not sure how it would work at a large facility). Your investment will pay for itself quickly and continue to reduce your utility bills and increase your profits. It won't eliminate your need for external, but will reduce it noticeably.

I think it would be great if large chains bought these. The lower-end ones like McDonalds are doing well during this recession, so they have the cash to buy these. As production ramps up, their prices should fall, making them even more profitable to use.

Flywheel LRT Power Storage

2008-12-05T18:50:00.003-05:00

As I pointed out before, DDOT has no plan to avoid using overhead lines to power streetcars. I have blogged about onboard vehicular power storage, namely supercapacitors and batteries. I engaged in some dialogue about this on Greater Greater Washington. I have done a little research and found yet another method to store power: flywheel power storage. An English company, Parry People Movers Ltd., has been doing work on this. They even have implemented a diesel prototype. Its partner, JPM Parry & Associates claims to be designing a 220-passenger light rail vehicle, in a multiyear effort. While electrical power is a possible source, neither website has information about how long a vehicle could run on it.

A possible compromise position for DC streetcars is to use electrical power storage with charging umbrellas and a diesel or turbine engine. This is an engineering task. DDOT does have engineers, doesn't it?

"UNVOTED BALLOT MUST BE RETURNED"

2008-12-05T18:34:00.004-05:00

For years, I have been subjected to push polls by mail and by phone. The phone polls have been both automated and human. I blogged about Tysons Tomorrow's idiotic push poll. However, I have never been threatened by a push poll. Well, technically, I still haven't. The Heritage Foundation mailed my wife, "Mr. Coleman" (she has a rare, foreign name, rare in her native country), a standard mail push poll. Every question is loaded and it claims that the results will be tabulated and sent to the Congress. (Yeah, right!) Like all paper push polls of this type, they want money. However, on the outside of the envelope, it has lots of inane instructions, concluded by the title of this post. (Make me!) Even though I am sympathetic to Heritage's agenda (I even interviewed for a job there), I do not believe that the ends justify the means. Heritage should do what it does best - be a think tank. Don't send out push polls that only diminish your credibility. If you do conduct a poll, do it using surveying best practices.

I'm wondering, have they panicked (unnecessarily) about the Democrats' recent victory? Some perspective is needed: this was just one of dozens of American elections. Things can change rapidly in 2 or 4 years and bring the Republicans back to power. The past election is not the Revolution of 1800 or the 1860 or 1932 elections. All of these had unusually powerful effects on American politics.

Democrats Finally Exploit Bug in D.C.'s At-Large Voting Scheme

2008-11-24T19:03:00.004-05:00

Because D.C. is a one-party town, the Congress created two at-large City Council seats with the intent of creating at least one minority party member. Every voter gets two votes. The catch is that each party can only nominate one candidate. For years, this worked, as a Republican won the second seat. However, in the last election, a Democrat running as an Independent won. Thus, the City Council will be completely Democratic come January. This completely defeats the intent of this voting rule.

The big question is what took the Democrats so long? They could have always designated an independent as the second Democratic candidate.

The next big question is how to fix it? Two methods come to mind. The first is the Japanese method for multimember districts: give voters only one vote. The problem is that doesn't work for the same reason. The Democrats can nominate two candidates, divide D.C. into two halves and instruct voters in each half to vote for that half's candidate. Thus, the Democrats can hold the two cities. The other alternative is for each party to designate an at-large candidate. Then, the two parties receiving the highest number of votes for all other council seats receive one vote each. In a city dominated by one party, this will have the desired effect of placing a minority party member on the City Council. If the city becomes politically competitive, the effect is a wash, as the balance between the two parties will not be affected.

Anacostia Light Rail: A Solution in Search of a Problem

2008-11-12T20:45:00.005-05:00

DDOT initially conceived the Anacostia light rail as a starter system for a network of light rail lines throughout DC. Anacostia was chosen to be first as it would be connected to the rail yard and be relatively inexpensive to build. This was contingent on obtaining CSX's right-of-way to build a (relatively) high-speed connection through Anacostia between the Anacostia and Minnesota Ave. stations. The deal fell through, so DDOT is now reduced to trying to build a light rail line in Anacostia to, well, perhaps show that it can be done. As Greater Greater Washington has pointed out, the latest incarnation will continue an all-too-short (and low speed) distance on Anacostia's streets and maybe will be extended to the 11th St. Bridge. After that, there is simply no plan.

DDOT also assumed away the problem of the ban on overhead wires. Not every light rail line can go on abandoned railroad tracks. In fact, one of the illustrations shows overhead lines on a street. Let's face it, the overhead line ban is not going away. Moreover, given improvements in power storage technology, it may be possible to avoid them completely by having quick charges from short overhead lines integrated into stations.

So, DDOT has to go back to the drawing board. First, it has to find a way to get the CSX right-of-way. Eminent domain is a possibility that hasn't been tried. This may be difficult, as railroads are generally accorded strong property rights. You can't do a lot of things to railroads that you can do to other properties. Still, the line is abandoned, which is the argument that DC will have to use. Second, DC has to solve the overhead wire problem. By doing so, it can reduce construction costs and set an example for other cities to emulate. The Anacostia LRT can be used as a test bed.

A Simple Way to Provide a Small Economic Boost - Abolish the Penny

2008-11-05T20:36:00.002-05:00

The U.S. mint produces the penny at a loss of about $500m annually. Estimates of the cost to consumers of pennies range from $300m-$1b annually. Remove the penny from circulation and these costs vanish. The government gains $500m annually from not producing pennies. In the current economic climate, every efficiency gained is important.

Source: Wikipedia

CNN's Electoral Coverage

2008-11-05T20:17:00.002-05:00

I watched CNN a little bit last night and found some good things, bad things and one bizarre thing about the coverage.

The Good:

Lots of experts who had some idea of what they were talking about.
Actual votes displayed, both online and on TV.
Lots of data.
A good explanation of the early returns in Virginia and how McCain was not doing as well as Bush in 2004.

The Bad:

Lots of useless or redundant data. Many of the items displayed had common explanations. For example, in one state, only conservatives and Republicans favored McCain, while all other demographics favored Obama. The simple explanation is that conservative Republicans are a minority in the state and in all of the demographics shown.
Geographic data not displayed geographically. Several data items were by state, but arrayed by strength along the red-blue axis. Maps would have been far more helpful. They could have zoomed in on some state, while showing the neighbors, if desired. The maps would have, at once, conveyed all of the information.
No scales on the "bar" graphs. Presumably, longer red bars meant greater percentages for McCain. Likewise, longer blue bars meant greater percentages for Obama. However, I have no idea what those percentages were.

The bizarre:

The reporter present in the studio as a "hologram". This really an exercise in gee-whiz virtual technology that produced no benefit over a remote. Don't for one moment think that Wolf Blitzer was speaking to the "hologram". He was looking at a monitor the whole time.

There you have it, folks. Maybe CNN (or a competitor) should hire me to show how to do these things right.

My Phone Won't Stop Ringing! I Can't Wait for the Election to be Over

2008-11-02T15:22:00.002-05:00

I'm getting political phone calls at the rate of about 1 per hour. Most of them seem to be Republican. Are they trying to get me to vote Democratic? Enough already!

Google Ads Without Context

2008-09-21T18:20:00.002-04:00

In this post, I criticized telemarketing scammers for spoofing caller IDs. So, what does Google Ads think my readers want to buy? How about "Spoof Your Caller ID" or "Fake Your Caller ID"? Clearly, Google's ad placement algorithms do not use context. This is hurting my bank account. ;-)

Tindo - The First Practical Battery-Electric Bus?

2008-09-21T11:11:00.004-04:00

On February 11. 2008, the battery-powered Tindo bus made its debut in Adelaide, Australia. The Tindo bus uses molten-salt Zebra batteries for storage and a charger system at a central bus stop. This flyer shows the important data in metric units. The data are converted to American units below.

Capacity:
• Seated – 25
• Wheelchair – 2
• Total – 27
• Standing - ?
Length: 34 feet, 2-1/4 inches
Speed: 47 mph
Maximum grade: 12.5%
Range between recharges "under typical urban conditions": 124 mi
Has air conditioning
Unknown (to me) whether it has heat
"1 minute of charge = 1 kilometre" (0.62 mi)
Charger voltage: 386 V
Charger power: 70 kW
Battery temperature: 270° C (518° F)
Cost of first bus: $US 460,000 (as of 9/21/08)

It looks like this bus could be practical for relatively short runs already made by 35 foot buses with relatively long layovers for charging. Presumably, longer buses could be manufactured.

This is really second-generation technology. The exciting part lies in what could be done with third-generation battery or supercapacitor technology.

Tysons Tomorrow - Just Another Pressure Group

2008-09-21T10:05:00.004-04:00

I had an email exchange with Erin Fuller, Executive Director of Tysons Tomorrow and Vice President of The Coulter Cos. It turns out that my cynicism regarding Tysons Tomorrow was a bit excessive. I mistook signs of a startup operation (e.g., a survey referring to a nonexistent website) for something sinister. It is just another pressure group willing to do anything legal to get its way. So, it will spin (i.e., distort) facts and produce bogus statistics in addition to mundane organizational activities. So, a "key finding" of its survey is that "86% of respondents support extending rail to Dulles airport, including four stops in the Tyson’s Corner area." In an earlier post, I noted that this question was meaningless as phrased, given its lack of context. Sure, if extending rail to Dulles Airport via Tysons Corner were free, I'd support it. But it's not free, so I can't make a judgment without knowing the costs.

Still, I stand by my verdict that push polling should end - it's destroying legitimate surveys. It's really a kind of Prisoners' Dilemma problem. We all would be better off if push polling ended. However, it is against the interest of any individual push pollster to cease. So, we will be stuck with them until the survey business crashes. :-(

A New Way to Annoy Telemarketers

2008-09-12T16:07:00.003-04:00

I got a call today about my auto insurance. The whole thing was suspicious: no mention of my name, no name on the caller ID and a vague reference to my expiring auto insurance and threat to end it if I hung up. So, I pressed "1" to talk to an agent, then put the phone on hold to investigate the number. When I was done, I resumed the call and the "agent" was yelling. I tried to ask "Who are you?" but got a hangup. So, if I get another call like this, I can annoy the aggressor by simply using my phone's hold feature. In the meantime, I can do something useful, like post another blog entry that nobody will read. ;-)

BTW, the phone number on the caller ID was spoofed: 323-763-8732. I called back to find it not in service.

Metro's Lunchtime Chat Answered Two of My Questions Today, One Bizarrely

2008-09-05T21:35:00.004-04:00

Shiva Pant, standing in for General Manager John Catoe, answered two of my questions

First question of session:

Alexandria, VA: Why has the slowdown on the Blue/Yellow Lines between Braddock Road and Nat'l Airport not been publicized? When will service return to normal? Another communications failure has befallen Metro.

Reply: Hi Alexandria! As you most likely are aware, we often have speed restrictions in place after conducting major track work. This is to ensure that the new trackbed, which was just installed over the Labor Day Weekend, has settled and is safe for trains to ride on at full speed. The speed restriction means that the trains are moving slower through the stretch of track that was replaced. It?s not actually delaying anyone?s trips.

Let's see. The Blue/Yellow lines have some speed restrictions (i.e., lowered speed limits), but that is not causing delays. Perhaps in another universe this is true, but, in ours, it is false. Lowered speed limits cause increased travel times, that is, delays. Normal service will resume when the track is ready. I really didn't know that. But, then I asked a more precise question about when it will be ready. A different view of reality and a nonanswer from someone without answers.

And, next:

Alexandria, va: The idea of a enabling a walking transfer between Farragut North and Farragut West has recently popped up. What are your thoughts on implementing this? In what kind of timeframe can this be done?

Reply: Hello Alexandria. Actually the idea of a ?walking transfer? is something that has been considered and I believe is actively being explored. It is something that is part of our next fare software upgrade. Once that is in place, we should be able to move forward with that idea. It would work by allowing riders x amount of minutes (that would be determined later) to walk between the Farraguts.

So, the idea of a Farragut Square walking transfer is on the table. Rejoice, O Readers of CommuterPageBlog and Greater Greater Washington!

I'll spare my rant about last night's Redskins game for another post. I can hear the rejoicing now.

I Just Got a Flyer from Tysons Tomorrow

2008-09-03T18:23:00.002-04:00

This yet another post about Tysons Tomorrow. Now, they want me to join and to go to a Board of Supervisors meeting about Tysons Corner. Te want me to support the recommendations of the Tysons Corner Land Use Taskforce. Never mind that the recommendations have not been made public yet. Methinks there be a rat. I love the way the flyer says "Metrorail is coming to Tysons...", as though it has final approval from all parties. Personally, I think it is a boondoggle. The Silver Line has the highest cost/passenger ratio I've seen of any mass transit project. (If I'm correct, it's something like $55,000 per (passenger per year). For the price of the Silver Line, several relatively expensive light rail lines can be built with far higher overall ridership. Moreover, the Orange Line is saturated: adding trains will only add to the congestion. Even if half of rush-hour Blue Line trains switch to the Yellow Line, that leaves only half of their slots available for the Silver Line, somewhat defeating its purpose.

Boycott the Nissan Pavilion!

2008-08-20T18:31:00.005-04:00

My daughter went to the Jonas Brothers concert there. Getting in was easy, as she and her mother arrived hours before the start. The problems were in getting into the building and getting out of the area. The latter took over 1-1/2 hours just to get to the public road.

The building funnels everyone into one entrance. This is very inefficient and creates backups.
There is only one access road.
The access road opens on to a 2-lane road, thereby putting the latter over capacity.
To add insult to injury, every ticket comes with a parking fee. That's chiseling in my book.

The only way this can be fixed is for the Nissan Pavilion to be boycotted until it is put into usable shape and charges ethical prices.

The steps required to end the boycott are:

An end to the per ticket parking charge. If they want to charge for parking, they can sell permits online like the Washington Nationals do.
Free shuttle buses from Metrorail to reduce traffic loads.
More building entrances.
More access roads. One can be dedicated to the shuttle buses.
An appropriate number of properly trained parking staff.
Widening the two lane road and other traffic improvements. Let NP pay for them, so the taxpayers don't have to subsidize it.

Seriously, PW county should never have approved this thing without the necessary infrastructure.

Any Olympic Athlete Who Does Not Win Gold Should Be Boiled in Oil!

2008-08-16T14:49:00.003-04:00

I'm sure this is what the Chinese government and far too many of its people think. The Commies haven't learned that winning loads of medals in international athletic contests does not prove the superiority of communism or any other ideology. All that a Chinese Olympic "victory" would prove is that the Chinese Communist Party has overinvested in athletics, to the detriment of everything else.

On the other hand, the U.S., which is not exactly a totalitarian country, is leading the total medal count. This is due to a combination of the U.S.'s size (over 300 million people) and freedom. No government official will force you to take up a sport. If you are lucky, you can get a college scholarship, provided that your sport is played intercollegiately. For the most part, our athletes play for the love of it, which is the way things should be. Fortunately for many of them, they are marketable and can gain support in exchange for advertising work. Still, this relationship is strictly voluntary.

Enough of this outburst...the Redskins are playing tonight. I have to practice watching football and berating idiotic coaches. ;-)

Still More on tysonstomorrow.org

2008-08-15T11:44:00.003-04:00

After perusing their website, I determined that is an outfit of developers who want to extend Metrorail to Tysons Corner using a tunnel. Their survey question about Dulles rail is a diversion. I suspect that the membership consists of current major property holders who want to use Metrorail to increase the value of their holdings. Redevelopment would be a natural outcome of this process. In short, I "followed the money" again.

More about tysonstomorrow.org

2008-08-07T20:55:00.001-04:00

Their website now works. I clicked "About us" and got some boilerplate about making Tysons Corner more livable, blah, blah, blah. It has nothing about who sponsors it. The only contact listed is "Erin Fuller". That name is too common for a search to glean any information about her.

How to Create an Effective Summer Jobs Program

2008-08-07T20:29:00.000-04:00

The recent troubles with DC's jobs program indicate that it was viewed as an entitlement for teenagers. Teenagers, in return, view it as an entitlement. Expecting them to work well and to have useful jobs to do is unrealistic.

The Spring 2008 issue of ArcUser has an article "Techie Teens Use GIS to Increase City Revenues" (p. 49). While the article focuses on the work the kids did, deeper points lie in the article. 6 of 60 kids in Safford, AZ's jobs program were selected to do the work. The work consisted of a fixed project and the kids had to give a report in the end. The kids gained useful skills and are expected to work on future projects.

The implication for DC is to severely scale back the jobs program and to make the jobs part of discrete, measureable projects. Teenagers should apply to work on the projects, thereby encouraging them to gain an internal locus of control. This also means a reduction in DC's democratic centralization. Only a small number of projects should be done in the first year, as everyone gains experience with the system. As experience grows, the number of projects should increase. In no case, should a project be make-work. The projects can range from high value-added things like GIS and IT to simple beautification and clean-up projects. One obvious clean-up project involves removing trash from the Anacostia River. The work will be tough, but the benefits can be made clear to workers, and the money is still money.

So, imagine the results. Kids will have shown their willingness and ability to do hard, useful work and the initiative to take those jobs. This will look good on college applications.

Another Push Poll, This Time by tysonstomorrow.org

2008-08-05T18:31:00.000-04:00

I'm just off the phone from a survey by tysonstomorrow.org. They were trying to get me to say that I support extending Metrorail to Dulles, without mentioning any costs. They also wanted me to say that I wanted both more housing and more affordable housing in Tysons Corner. That is two questions, not one as they posed it. Idiots like these are ruining the survey business.

Another aspect of poor survey design: I was asked whether I worked in Fairfax County. I answered "No." Then, it asked me whether I worked in Tysons Corner. Hello? Tysons Corner is in Fairfax County, so if I don't work in Fairfax County, I can't work in Tysons Corner. Idiots!

BTW, while I was typing the first paragraph, I got a second call from the same number with the same survey. Who programmed this stupid thing?

LRVs Without Overhead Wires?

2008-08-01T19:24:00.006-04:00

Bombardier's "MITRAC Energy Saver" consists of an supercapacitor bank and associated electronic. Its primary use is to recover energy from braking, but Bombardier claims that 1 km of acceleration is possible.

The weakness of this technology is its low voltage. According to the product information, it runs at 750 volts. To get, say, 10 km of acceleration, the voltage has to increase to 7,500 volts. It is unclear from Bombadier's website how much charge is stored. Still, the supercapacitors have to have about 10 times greater voltage, or be 1/10th of the size of the current ones to store this much charge.

Thus, we can conclude that this technology is unripe.

So, what does this have to do with anything? I've been following the talk about light rail lines in Washington, DC. It seems that the Congress has long forbidden overhead wires on streets. Getting power from a third rail using either the old conduit track technology or the new technology in Bordeaux is impractical. So, the way to get streetcars running is to charge them at stations. Right now, this appears impractical. But, improvements in battery and supercapacitor technologies may make this feasible within 5 years. So, all of you who like to dream up light rail systems should think in terms of having chargers at terminals and stations, with Shanghai-like charging "umbrellas".

My First Post!

2008-07-27T08:58:00.001-04:00

Just a test. Do not be alarmed.