A lot of us were well-adjusted to a sick economy I guess… you know, the one where everyone was living high and getting high off our credit (debt) bubbles….
I haven’t been more sick any other year (except maybe overseas) than this year. I think it’s partly due to work and personal stresses. It’s also from traveling overseas and down to LA (note to self; never go back to the south coast shitter again), not getting enough sleep and not eating well. (workaholic and net addict) Seriously, there is NO good tasting tap water in LA/LB. This must be Brita’s largest US market. (my friend there who i stayed with has one.)
Of course, it’s also the macro economy. Everyone looks for a scapegoat when things are going badly. It must be in our genetics. As I said, we were all well-adjusted to being happy, well-fed, flying to Vegas or Disney every other weekend (okay, not me, but many people) and that sort of all ended for what’s left of America’s so-called egalitarian “middle class” in 2007-2008.
Lately I’ve had the flu, a cold, and now strep. All in less than two months. The receptionist at my doctor’s office recognizes me now. Every time I start working out and getting into better shape, I get sick, which negates any gains I had. Sound like the stock market to you? Perhaps your 201k? Or is it a 101k? (I have zeroed out my ‘k’ — not playing in the wall$treet casino ever again, even though I had a really great phd fund manager and was not losing very much… check out Hussman Funds on google.)
Now, about the OAC BOONDOGGLE
Sooo… expect more posts this season since I am sick at home. Do check out TransBay Blog’s post about the Metro Transportation Commission’s evil “oakland airport connector” proposal… you see, since there’s not enough money to fund this Airtrain-to-Nowhere, BART will have to take out a “TIFA” $150,000,000 (150 million) LOAN which is utter insanity.
We are in triage mode as a region/country right? (Everyone nods their head except Gold Man Sacks execs and their puppet Obama-man.)
So a much easier solution would be to grade separate the AirTrain BUS lane into a bus-ONLY lane. Make that a 6″ tall/wide cement “curb” or berm to separate the bus-only lane from the car lanes so car drivers (I know how you are on market street in SF) don’t jump in-n-out(TM) of the bus-only lane.
You know how cheap that would be? $10MM at most? A $490MM savings?? No kickbacks??? And saves travel times by the same amount.
Then start charging solo private auto/suv drivers $2-3 for the privilege of schlepping their ‘rides’ in circles around the airport while waiting for Their Precious to appear outside the terminal gates for pick-up.
http://transbayblog.com/2009/07/21/disconnect-the-connector/
Go read it, and write an appropriate letter to YOUR ‘MTC Rep’ today ahead of the MTC’s meeting where they will decide how much of OUR tax dollars to waste on this Airtrain-to-Nowhere!
The only people who benefit from this $500 million lame “OAC” project are the contractors. They are very highly likely wining and dining each and every MTC Board member. The one who voted AGAINST this asinine proposal was Mayor Tom Bates, for who knows what reason. Good for him for that bit of good behavior though.
***CAVEAT***
The ONE good reason to build the OAC long-term is that fuel prices will go up because of peak oil. If you don’t know what that is, click here.
However, that also means that hardly anyone will be able to afford to fly, either. Which means OAK will be a used parking lot with no future, except as perhaps Oakland’s version of Alameda’s monthly go-go Antique Fair.
Finally, we have a DOT Commish blogging that “not only does this country want high-speed rail, but also that this country is ready for high-speed rail. And it demonstrates a pent-up demand in America for the kind of fast, reliable, and sustainable transportation option people in Europe and Asia already experience every day.” — and we don’t have the money or energy to build it now. Too bad we paid for GM and all this car crap for 1945-2008 and have nothing to show for it. It was a wonderful life?
Retrofitting Oaktown 