Damn. And after the post that was essentially in worship of trains.
Fuck.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Public Transport
I'd like to first renounce certain of my statements in a previous post regarding environmentalism. In the post, Why Going Green is BAD (Yes, You Heard Me, BAD) For the Environment, the title contained a sweeping declaration against all environmentalism, when the article just addressed buying organic food from places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. The title of the post will be changed as soon as this post is completed.
The reason for this decision to change the title is not because someone brought this to my attention (you guys never comment on my posts), but because I am riding on a Bolt Bus to Baltimore and I've realized how much I care for public transport, or, more accurately, shared transport.
I took a train to get to the bus, which is very nicely equipped. It has actual seatbelts (like the ones that go across your chest and are usually found in cars, something that I have never seen on a bus before), electric outlets, and apparently wireless internet. I say apparently because this post was written in a notebook on the way down after I foolishly decided to leave my laptop at home because my bag didn't have enough space and I thought that I wouldn't be able to use it until I got to Baltimore and set up, because the bus shouldn't have Internet, which it did. I only found this out because when I get on the bus, I see all of these people with computers working on them and the woman across from me is checking her Facebook page, so I assume there was wi-fi.
The train was a New York City subway, so I can't really expound on this, since almost everyone has riden on some sort of subway.
By the way, every time I get on any sort of public transport (excluding buses), I always think of one of my favorite games, Locomotion by Chris Sawyer. By the way, I am part of the small cult following that they mention in the article. So, in the game, you are the CEO of a transportation company and you set up a transport network with buses, trucks, ships, trams, planes, trains, and boats. I haven't played it in about two years, so I'm going to look for it on eBay or BitTorrent as soon as I can.
Anyway, the bus is one of the coolest that I have ever been on. Unfortunately, it is just a bus. If it were a train, with actual cars and all of the amenities that this bus has, I would love it and figure out somewhere that I had to commute so that I could ride it everyday.
Well, maybe that's a little drastic, but I f*cking loved that bus. But in my opinion, no matter how awesome a bus is, it will never be as fast, cool or dependable as a train (excluding Amtrak). I mean, trains pretty much trump every other mode of transport. They are not hindered overmuch by the weather. They don't usually crash. They don't have to deal with much traffic. They don't induce seasickness. They're realatively quiet. They don't produce much pollution. And best of all, they usually stay at ground level.
Unfortunately, trains are not as common as buses, highways, or planes. Planes do have the advantage if large bodies of water need to be crossed, beause they can travel a more direct route than trains. And highways had a lot of potential, but due to poor administration and overpopulation by cars, they became the nightmare that we now know as the American superhighway system (You notice I am only addressing the United States. I don't know enough about, nor do I have the inclination to research other countries' transport modes). However, now others are realizing the potential of trains. In California, there are plans to build a high-speed train down the length of that state.
The bus is stopping. I'll try to muster the resolve to finish this post later, but I highly doubt I will. And for those who care, I'll post the next installment of Dogs of Wrath tomorrow. Just so you know, I didn't figure out how to install the proper code.
The reason for this decision to change the title is not because someone brought this to my attention (you guys never comment on my posts), but because I am riding on a Bolt Bus to Baltimore and I've realized how much I care for public transport, or, more accurately, shared transport.
I took a train to get to the bus, which is very nicely equipped. It has actual seatbelts (like the ones that go across your chest and are usually found in cars, something that I have never seen on a bus before), electric outlets, and apparently wireless internet. I say apparently because this post was written in a notebook on the way down after I foolishly decided to leave my laptop at home because my bag didn't have enough space and I thought that I wouldn't be able to use it until I got to Baltimore and set up, because the bus shouldn't have Internet, which it did. I only found this out because when I get on the bus, I see all of these people with computers working on them and the woman across from me is checking her Facebook page, so I assume there was wi-fi.
The train was a New York City subway, so I can't really expound on this, since almost everyone has riden on some sort of subway.
By the way, every time I get on any sort of public transport (excluding buses), I always think of one of my favorite games, Locomotion by Chris Sawyer. By the way, I am part of the small cult following that they mention in the article. So, in the game, you are the CEO of a transportation company and you set up a transport network with buses, trucks, ships, trams, planes, trains, and boats. I haven't played it in about two years, so I'm going to look for it on eBay or BitTorrent as soon as I can.
Anyway, the bus is one of the coolest that I have ever been on. Unfortunately, it is just a bus. If it were a train, with actual cars and all of the amenities that this bus has, I would love it and figure out somewhere that I had to commute so that I could ride it everyday.
Well, maybe that's a little drastic, but I f*cking loved that bus. But in my opinion, no matter how awesome a bus is, it will never be as fast, cool or dependable as a train (excluding Amtrak). I mean, trains pretty much trump every other mode of transport. They are not hindered overmuch by the weather. They don't usually crash. They don't have to deal with much traffic. They don't induce seasickness. They're realatively quiet. They don't produce much pollution. And best of all, they usually stay at ground level.
Unfortunately, trains are not as common as buses, highways, or planes. Planes do have the advantage if large bodies of water need to be crossed, beause they can travel a more direct route than trains. And highways had a lot of potential, but due to poor administration and overpopulation by cars, they became the nightmare that we now know as the American superhighway system (You notice I am only addressing the United States. I don't know enough about, nor do I have the inclination to research other countries' transport modes). However, now others are realizing the potential of trains. In California, there are plans to build a high-speed train down the length of that state.
The bus is stopping. I'll try to muster the resolve to finish this post later, but I highly doubt I will. And for those who care, I'll post the next installment of Dogs of Wrath tomorrow. Just so you know, I didn't figure out how to install the proper code.
Thank You, 69.141.124.55
Well, I recieved my hit counter report yesterday and I'd first like to thank the owner of IP address 69.141.124.55 in Montclair, New Jersey. I appreciate your regular visits, and I'd also like to apologize if you don't want me putting your IP address and location up here.; message me and I'll take it down.
So anyway, once more, I'd like to thank you for your visits, which were hopefully inspired by my shameless self-promotion on the various websites that I am a member of (by the way, I now have a Facebook page. Become a fan). Please continue visiting and I'll post again soon.
So anyway, once more, I'd like to thank you for your visits, which were hopefully inspired by my shameless self-promotion on the various websites that I am a member of (by the way, I now have a Facebook page. Become a fan). Please continue visiting and I'll post again soon.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Extended Addendum
Oh, and by the way, I am very close to getting Dogs of Wrath, The (I should delete the "The" when referencing the work, it's annoying me [Oh, little parenthetical asides, how I have missed you! What fun we shall have again! {I love Deadpool, and am not so keen on the fourth wall, by the way. Just in case anyone was wondering where the "parenthetical asides" thing came from} Oh, yes we will! Yes we will!] But I like it as a pun) up for sale on the blog. I know that I said if I didn't get it up by the 2nd, I would just continue with the installment posts, but I feel that it would be a bad idea to offer the entire thing for free. I swear this time. If it's not up for sale by Monday, the 22nd, I will put up some more posts.
If anyone out there is reading this thing (I know you're there. I know you visit the site. [ Statcounter dot f*cking com tells me that] Read the damn blog!), please take the time to comment telling me whether you think this is a good idea.
And in case you guys think I can't follow through on anything, suck it. I just deleted my Twitter account.
If anyone out there is reading this thing (I know you're there. I know you visit the site. [ Statcounter dot f*cking com tells me that] Read the damn blog!), please take the time to comment telling me whether you think this is a good idea.
And in case you guys think I can't follow through on anything, suck it. I just deleted my Twitter account.
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Saturation Point, Part 2
There are six and a half billion humans alive today. At an average weight of 150 pounds, that is a total biomass of 975 billion pounds, or 487.5 million tons of biomass.* This number may not quite match the biomass of several other species, such as ants, or beetles, but it is still an impressive figure.
The thing about ants and beetles though, is that they have a clearly defined place in their habitat’s ecosystem. They leave a minimal impact on their environments, and daily, hundreds of thousands of them give up their lives after a short struggle to provide sustenance for some creature greater than themselves.
However, humans? We do not have a defined place in the ecosystem. We kill and eat almost every single animal on the planet, and are not consumed ourselves except by accident. We have caused untold harm to the Earth, harm that may be irreparable. But the most telling, significant difference between our philosophy of life and that of the creatures that operate solely on instinct is that human beings almost unilaterally refuse to give up living if another alternative can be found and we view those who have differing views as to this fact as in need of therapy and counseling.
And if we are injured and declared to be nearly beyond repair, we will turn all of our willpower, intelligence, and funds to find a way to cure ourselves in order to remain alive, even though we may be in incredible pain (Example: Chemotherapy). And if there is no possible way to be healed, we will freeze ourselves in the hope that one day technology will be developed that will be able to cure our ailment.
But why do we go to these lengths? It seems that after a certain point, we would realize that it would be better, easier and cheaper to give up on life.
But no.
We don’t.
We continue to fight to stay alive and the important bit of this is that with our intelligence and determination, we will probably very soon raise the average lifespan to above ninety. However, humans would likely not stop having unprotected sex, and as a result, the population would increase even faster than it is, since there would be more people alive at any given moment. And as the lifespan continues to increase, as more cures for diseases are found, humans will die less frequently, which will lead to the population density increasing to the point where basic sanitation will become nonexistent and we drown in our own filth, our elderly bodies that have lived longer than humans were meant to live too aged to provide the strength that might once have saved us.
Now let me pause in my predictions of doom and catastrophe to insert some logic into my arguments.
Yes, excess will kill us unless we get our waste under control.
And yes, the population is growing at an absurd rate. As much has been said before. However, the apocalyptic scenario that I painted is probably a bit over the top.
. . .
This is why I never do sequels to posts. The fire, drive and inspiration that consumed me during the writing of the original post is gone, leving me to write a moronic, insipid, unenthusiastic piece of work.
Fuck.
* HamdenRice at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x111533
The thing about ants and beetles though, is that they have a clearly defined place in their habitat’s ecosystem. They leave a minimal impact on their environments, and daily, hundreds of thousands of them give up their lives after a short struggle to provide sustenance for some creature greater than themselves.
However, humans? We do not have a defined place in the ecosystem. We kill and eat almost every single animal on the planet, and are not consumed ourselves except by accident. We have caused untold harm to the Earth, harm that may be irreparable. But the most telling, significant difference between our philosophy of life and that of the creatures that operate solely on instinct is that human beings almost unilaterally refuse to give up living if another alternative can be found and we view those who have differing views as to this fact as in need of therapy and counseling.
And if we are injured and declared to be nearly beyond repair, we will turn all of our willpower, intelligence, and funds to find a way to cure ourselves in order to remain alive, even though we may be in incredible pain (Example: Chemotherapy). And if there is no possible way to be healed, we will freeze ourselves in the hope that one day technology will be developed that will be able to cure our ailment.
But why do we go to these lengths? It seems that after a certain point, we would realize that it would be better, easier and cheaper to give up on life.
But no.
We don’t.
We continue to fight to stay alive and the important bit of this is that with our intelligence and determination, we will probably very soon raise the average lifespan to above ninety. However, humans would likely not stop having unprotected sex, and as a result, the population would increase even faster than it is, since there would be more people alive at any given moment. And as the lifespan continues to increase, as more cures for diseases are found, humans will die less frequently, which will lead to the population density increasing to the point where basic sanitation will become nonexistent and we drown in our own filth, our elderly bodies that have lived longer than humans were meant to live too aged to provide the strength that might once have saved us.
Now let me pause in my predictions of doom and catastrophe to insert some logic into my arguments.
Yes, excess will kill us unless we get our waste under control.
And yes, the population is growing at an absurd rate. As much has been said before. However, the apocalyptic scenario that I painted is probably a bit over the top.
. . .
This is why I never do sequels to posts. The fire, drive and inspiration that consumed me during the writing of the original post is gone, leving me to write a moronic, insipid, unenthusiastic piece of work.
Fuck.
* HamdenRice at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x111533
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