Thursday, July 07, 2005
Second post of the day? You bet!
I feel like I have more loose ends to tie up, so forgive me for writing. There's nothing on TV, and even though I need to catch up on sleep from that train ride, going to bed before 10pm would be insane.
first off, for Lyon, you asked me whether I was going to Amy's co-worker's picnic and I assumed that by you asking that question you were going to that social function, so I could have said my farewell's to you then on the fourth. I guess that wasn't the case, or one or both of us was in a drunken stupor and we couldn't communicate. So it was nice seeing you again, and I'm sure I'll hear from you here when [BUSH SUCKS] provoked. :)
Amy, I left a nice red dress shirt hung up in your closet? Is it still there? If there's any arrangments we can make to send it over to me, we can talk. It's definitely not urgent though.
It was obviously really hard to adjust to work today, especially since Vermont was such a calm place. It looks like I have been given more assignments to do, but it felt like such a Monday today. Fortunately, today's a Thursday! Maybe I should get a tattoo on each vacation I go to, because I'm sick of going back to work and feeling like my trips have no lingering effects.
More about Batman Begins: I was watching it especially carefully because I knew some of the movie was filmed in Chicago. And I noticed that many of the streets the Batmobile was riding on were intersections I walk across on a regular basis. You would think that's cool, but for a fantasy movie set in a fictional city it made the movie too familiar, like all this Batman stuff was just overlayed onto Chicago, with some computer graphics additions to make it fancier. There are movie trailer setups in lots of places in Chicago that I come across now and then. I've heard a romantic comedy with Keanu Reaves and another movie with Jennifer Anniston is being shot, and hopefully if I manage to be inspired to see it, I won't be confused and think Batman will fly in and save the day.
And finally, I can't think about the bombings in London without framing them politically, as much as I want to just sympathize with the victims and not add anything else.
So without getting shrill I want to ask two fill in the blank questions to the imaginary party-line conservatives out there regarding this.
1) Fighting the war in Iraq will prevent independent Al-Queada cells in developed countries from attacking civilians because [BLANK] ?
2) Spending billions of dollars a week on the war in Iraq while rail transit security funding in the U.S. gets barely anything signifies a priority of the Bush administration and its supporters of [BLANK] over [BLANK]?
If our government's money is tied up in all sorts of projects we can't pull out of, then this tax-and-spend liberal belives a tax increase is in order to ensure that our rail transit in our cities and towns is solidly secure instead of relying on these voluntary programs the link explains. If you think that particular investment of our tax dollars is unecessarily taking money out of your pocket, then I'm sorry, but that is personally offensive. This is because the last two massively fatal terrorist attacks (excluding Iraq) were on mass transit systems in Spain and now London. I ride the train everyday to work and there is this inherent vulnerability and helplessness in cramming into a train car and going downtown in a tunnel, not able to see anything around you and trusting that you will somehow appear at your destination. Of course accidents can happen anywhere, and I quickly ignore any little fears when they bubble up daily. But it is so obvious to me how juicy a terrorist target a subway at rush hour is, and while the fact that no train has been blown up in the U.S. is hardly a measuring stick for whether security is adequate, it is mind-boggling why after the first attack in Spain I have to read something about an underfunded measure to prevent terrorist attacks... here... in this country, by providing more than just relative pocket change to keep me safe. Is this a lesson that I should live in the suburbs and drive everywhere, or be another exhaust pipe filling up the narrow Chicago streets and drive downtown helping out the parking lot owner lobby for a 18 dollar daytime parking spot? No reason to speculate or conspiracize of coures.
In summary, I don't feel a damn bit safer by anything President Bush has done since March of 2003. If after 9-11 he came on the TV, said a powerful speech to keep our chins up and then went to the oval office to play video games, I would feel safer than I do now. I believe the war in Afghanistan, if fought the whole way through with even half the troops we have now in Iraq, would make us safer to a slight degree. The active role Bush has made, however, in drying up our fiscal and human resources to protect us from terrorism by his choice to go into Iraq, as well as the condoning and support of torture and indefinite detention, has made people angrier at us across the world. His actions will not eradicate terrorism (Bush himself candidly admitted that in a pre-election interview before backtracking) but it is becoming clear to many others that are less liberal than the Michael Moores of the world that these actions in the name of our government will create more terrorists willing to kill civilians, whether they are Islamic extremists or ex-Iraq War veterans in the mold of Timothy McVeigh. Hopefully a future president will direct the resources, if we have any left, to at least stop these new terrorists from carrying out their goals through stronger domestic security programs.
If it can happen in the homeland of our strongest ally, an attack can definitely happen here again. I hope in addition to sympathy for the terror victims that people across this country of all political stripes realize this and, if not switch party loyalties, at least begin to more aggressively demand results that first and foremost protect us from terrorist attacks where we are currently most vulnerable. If there's no money, find some more. Make corporations pay a little more taxes. Restrict Congressmen from giving themselves pay raises. Hire every unemployed person in our deteriorating inner cities to patrol a section of subway railing. Getting pie-in-the-sky there, but really, of all the things to fight terrorism, given the record of SUCCESSFUL terrorist attacks in the past couple of years, aren't there hundreds of things more crucial than approving whatever Iraq appropriations bill the President asks for, with no questions asked?
Have a good safe night everyone.
first off, for Lyon, you asked me whether I was going to Amy's co-worker's picnic and I assumed that by you asking that question you were going to that social function, so I could have said my farewell's to you then on the fourth. I guess that wasn't the case, or one or both of us was in a drunken stupor and we couldn't communicate. So it was nice seeing you again, and I'm sure I'll hear from you here when [BUSH SUCKS] provoked. :)
Amy, I left a nice red dress shirt hung up in your closet? Is it still there? If there's any arrangments we can make to send it over to me, we can talk. It's definitely not urgent though.
It was obviously really hard to adjust to work today, especially since Vermont was such a calm place. It looks like I have been given more assignments to do, but it felt like such a Monday today. Fortunately, today's a Thursday! Maybe I should get a tattoo on each vacation I go to, because I'm sick of going back to work and feeling like my trips have no lingering effects.
More about Batman Begins: I was watching it especially carefully because I knew some of the movie was filmed in Chicago. And I noticed that many of the streets the Batmobile was riding on were intersections I walk across on a regular basis. You would think that's cool, but for a fantasy movie set in a fictional city it made the movie too familiar, like all this Batman stuff was just overlayed onto Chicago, with some computer graphics additions to make it fancier. There are movie trailer setups in lots of places in Chicago that I come across now and then. I've heard a romantic comedy with Keanu Reaves and another movie with Jennifer Anniston is being shot, and hopefully if I manage to be inspired to see it, I won't be confused and think Batman will fly in and save the day.
And finally, I can't think about the bombings in London without framing them politically, as much as I want to just sympathize with the victims and not add anything else.
So without getting shrill I want to ask two fill in the blank questions to the imaginary party-line conservatives out there regarding this.
1) Fighting the war in Iraq will prevent independent Al-Queada cells in developed countries from attacking civilians because [BLANK] ?
2) Spending billions of dollars a week on the war in Iraq while rail transit security funding in the U.S. gets barely anything signifies a priority of the Bush administration and its supporters of [BLANK] over [BLANK]?
If our government's money is tied up in all sorts of projects we can't pull out of, then this tax-and-spend liberal belives a tax increase is in order to ensure that our rail transit in our cities and towns is solidly secure instead of relying on these voluntary programs the link explains. If you think that particular investment of our tax dollars is unecessarily taking money out of your pocket, then I'm sorry, but that is personally offensive. This is because the last two massively fatal terrorist attacks (excluding Iraq) were on mass transit systems in Spain and now London. I ride the train everyday to work and there is this inherent vulnerability and helplessness in cramming into a train car and going downtown in a tunnel, not able to see anything around you and trusting that you will somehow appear at your destination. Of course accidents can happen anywhere, and I quickly ignore any little fears when they bubble up daily. But it is so obvious to me how juicy a terrorist target a subway at rush hour is, and while the fact that no train has been blown up in the U.S. is hardly a measuring stick for whether security is adequate, it is mind-boggling why after the first attack in Spain I have to read something about an underfunded measure to prevent terrorist attacks... here... in this country, by providing more than just relative pocket change to keep me safe. Is this a lesson that I should live in the suburbs and drive everywhere, or be another exhaust pipe filling up the narrow Chicago streets and drive downtown helping out the parking lot owner lobby for a 18 dollar daytime parking spot? No reason to speculate or conspiracize of coures.
In summary, I don't feel a damn bit safer by anything President Bush has done since March of 2003. If after 9-11 he came on the TV, said a powerful speech to keep our chins up and then went to the oval office to play video games, I would feel safer than I do now. I believe the war in Afghanistan, if fought the whole way through with even half the troops we have now in Iraq, would make us safer to a slight degree. The active role Bush has made, however, in drying up our fiscal and human resources to protect us from terrorism by his choice to go into Iraq, as well as the condoning and support of torture and indefinite detention, has made people angrier at us across the world. His actions will not eradicate terrorism (Bush himself candidly admitted that in a pre-election interview before backtracking) but it is becoming clear to many others that are less liberal than the Michael Moores of the world that these actions in the name of our government will create more terrorists willing to kill civilians, whether they are Islamic extremists or ex-Iraq War veterans in the mold of Timothy McVeigh. Hopefully a future president will direct the resources, if we have any left, to at least stop these new terrorists from carrying out their goals through stronger domestic security programs.
If it can happen in the homeland of our strongest ally, an attack can definitely happen here again. I hope in addition to sympathy for the terror victims that people across this country of all political stripes realize this and, if not switch party loyalties, at least begin to more aggressively demand results that first and foremost protect us from terrorist attacks where we are currently most vulnerable. If there's no money, find some more. Make corporations pay a little more taxes. Restrict Congressmen from giving themselves pay raises. Hire every unemployed person in our deteriorating inner cities to patrol a section of subway railing. Getting pie-in-the-sky there, but really, of all the things to fight terrorism, given the record of SUCCESSFUL terrorist attacks in the past couple of years, aren't there hundreds of things more crucial than approving whatever Iraq appropriations bill the President asks for, with no questions asked?
Have a good safe night everyone.
Well, here I am.
Just so this blog doesn't rot with dormancy, I want to say hi while I'm at my work computer. The Vermont trip was excellent and I definitely see a visit up there again. So much to go over, but Amy and Erin on their blogs provide wonderful summary, though dissapointingly not from a Jonah-centered perspective. I recall the world revolving entirely around me when I was up there, but then I have a biased perspective.
The train ride going home ended up being 4 hours late which wasn't too fun. But if I wanted reliable schedules I could pay a little more dough and go on a plane. I poked around a regional airline called Independence which has fairly reasonable flights from Chicago to Burlington via Dulles airport in DC. It is still not as cheap as a train though.
PROS to train riding:
1. Cost -- less than plane tickets directly to Burlington, but it probably is possible with some poking around to find equal priced tickets to Albany or Manchester
2. Comfort -- It depends on how you value 15 hours in a spacious train you can walk around and have meals on opposed to 4 hours in a sardine can in the sky. If you spend a good portion of those hours trying to to get to sleep on a overnight ride it comes out about even. No standing in line for security checks, either.
3. Scenery -- For the patient traveler, trains give you the opportunity to see the changing landscape and get a glimpse of the many towns and cities that lead up to your final destination. Pop in a pretty album on your CD player and you've got a very soothing setting that can prepare you for a vacation mode. Compare that to the roar of a plane and the straining of your neck to see indiscriminate objects thousands of feet below.
4. Air Conditioning -- This only applies to those who do not have air conditioning at your home. I brought a blanket with me on the plane and bundled my body with my head exposed, my perfect napping condition that cannot be replicated in a top floor Chicago apartment in the summer without AC
CONS to trains
1. Not much of a cost difference... much more time travelling. If you are not in a hurry this isn't a problem, but I think if I travelled further than Albany a train ticket would cost the same or more than many flights out of Chicago. Flying to Burlington would have taken me 5 hours tops.
2. Discomfort. Unless you are completely exhausted, or if you want to put up more cash for a sleeper car, it is difficult to get to sleeping state on an overnight train. I dozed off a few times, only to be shaken up by the passenger next to me, a bump in the tracks or just to move my back to a new place where it wouldn't be strained by my sitting angle.
3. No showers. Waking up with no options for bathing until you end your trip can make you cranky, especially if you haven't slept well. This makes a morning after an overnight train trip similar to a 15 hour plane flight, only your reward for a plane trip that long is some exotic new world and culture, while on a train ride you are in the same old U.S.A. only a different time zone maybe.
4. DELAYS - Planes of course have delays, but if the delay is 2 hours or more, you can usually find some other way to get to where you want to go. The delays in train travel take many varieties, and occur as you are travelling. This is very frustrating if you have any plans for before or after your arrival time.
So I guess since my reasons for a train trip were both practical and impratical I had to weigh it out here to see if I'll do it again. I still don't know.
When I got back to my apartment, my power was out and all my groceries were ruined. That really annoyed me. All that needed to be done was flip a circuit switch, and I was stupid and left a light on when I left, so maybe than created the problem.
I spent the rest of my birthday throwing my melting food away (okay that took like 10 minutes). I then saw Batman Begins, followed my another satisfying meal with dessert at California Pizza Kitchen. It was my first birthday celebrating alone, but my visit with all you fun guys up in Vermont more than made up for it.
Well, I'm at work way past my stopping time. People might think I'm actually productive. Time to go home, talk to you later.
The train ride going home ended up being 4 hours late which wasn't too fun. But if I wanted reliable schedules I could pay a little more dough and go on a plane. I poked around a regional airline called Independence which has fairly reasonable flights from Chicago to Burlington via Dulles airport in DC. It is still not as cheap as a train though.
PROS to train riding:
1. Cost -- less than plane tickets directly to Burlington, but it probably is possible with some poking around to find equal priced tickets to Albany or Manchester
2. Comfort -- It depends on how you value 15 hours in a spacious train you can walk around and have meals on opposed to 4 hours in a sardine can in the sky. If you spend a good portion of those hours trying to to get to sleep on a overnight ride it comes out about even. No standing in line for security checks, either.
3. Scenery -- For the patient traveler, trains give you the opportunity to see the changing landscape and get a glimpse of the many towns and cities that lead up to your final destination. Pop in a pretty album on your CD player and you've got a very soothing setting that can prepare you for a vacation mode. Compare that to the roar of a plane and the straining of your neck to see indiscriminate objects thousands of feet below.
4. Air Conditioning -- This only applies to those who do not have air conditioning at your home. I brought a blanket with me on the plane and bundled my body with my head exposed, my perfect napping condition that cannot be replicated in a top floor Chicago apartment in the summer without AC
CONS to trains
1. Not much of a cost difference... much more time travelling. If you are not in a hurry this isn't a problem, but I think if I travelled further than Albany a train ticket would cost the same or more than many flights out of Chicago. Flying to Burlington would have taken me 5 hours tops.
2. Discomfort. Unless you are completely exhausted, or if you want to put up more cash for a sleeper car, it is difficult to get to sleeping state on an overnight train. I dozed off a few times, only to be shaken up by the passenger next to me, a bump in the tracks or just to move my back to a new place where it wouldn't be strained by my sitting angle.
3. No showers. Waking up with no options for bathing until you end your trip can make you cranky, especially if you haven't slept well. This makes a morning after an overnight train trip similar to a 15 hour plane flight, only your reward for a plane trip that long is some exotic new world and culture, while on a train ride you are in the same old U.S.A. only a different time zone maybe.
4. DELAYS - Planes of course have delays, but if the delay is 2 hours or more, you can usually find some other way to get to where you want to go. The delays in train travel take many varieties, and occur as you are travelling. This is very frustrating if you have any plans for before or after your arrival time.
So I guess since my reasons for a train trip were both practical and impratical I had to weigh it out here to see if I'll do it again. I still don't know.
When I got back to my apartment, my power was out and all my groceries were ruined. That really annoyed me. All that needed to be done was flip a circuit switch, and I was stupid and left a light on when I left, so maybe than created the problem.
I spent the rest of my birthday throwing my melting food away (okay that took like 10 minutes). I then saw Batman Begins, followed my another satisfying meal with dessert at California Pizza Kitchen. It was my first birthday celebrating alone, but my visit with all you fun guys up in Vermont more than made up for it.
Well, I'm at work way past my stopping time. People might think I'm actually productive. Time to go home, talk to you later.
