Complaint Submitted to Caltrain

I ride the train to work from San Francisco to San Jose 1-2x/week because I enjoy it. Today, the VTA lightrail was a few minutes late, and there wasn't time to validate my 10-ride ticket before boarding the train in Mountain View because the validators are all the way on the opposite side of the platform. The 2 female conductors (373) were incredibly unpleasant about it. 20-30 people ran to make the connection that is usually seamless. We in no way delayed the train. In fact, the train was 2 minutes early to Millbrae and had to sit and wait.

I understand there must be some kind of policy about onboard validation; Caltrain employees have also instructed me to do this. But that's not the point. I ride the train because it is pleasant. If Caltrain attendants are going to be unpleasant, I believe a lot of people will find another way to travel.

One of these attendants made the statement: "that has nothing to do with us," which indicated to me a complete lack of understanding of how public transit works. People ride one form often to access another. In addition, VTA funds part of Caltrain. They have everything to do with each from both functional and administrative perspectives. I'm not even suggesting something so radical as timing the transfers (gasp!) -- I'm suggesting not being a jerk when people need a few seconds of your time onboard because another service is delayed and didn't even delay your service.

I noticed one attendant talking on her cel phone immediately upon arriving at 4th and King -- perhaps she was having a personal crisis. This was also not my fault.

Please train your employees in how public transportation works and in how to be pleasant to customers. If they can't understand that, please transfer them to cleaning toilets or something. There is just no excuse for having unpleasant staff onboard the train.
Thank you.
Lilia

PS, the new bike cars are also bad. Most people need their bike on both ends of a trip. Caltrain's multimodal capabilities were always its best feature (until these new cars!).

My sister Ilana's project in the news

'Sesame Street' unites Kosovo youngsters

Hipster Olympics

Sleep

Time: How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
A recent study found that people who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours/night live the longest. I can imagine how people who sleep less might use themselves up, but I think the shortened lives of people who sleep more should be associated with other health problems that cause them to need more sleep. The study did not suppose any reasons at this release.

Meanwhile, G found this napping diagram:

Source: Boston.com

I love the graphic display of information. But more than that, I was fascinated to read their suggestions for when and how to sleep. For example, they note that most animals typically sleep in several short naps over the day's 24 hours rather than in one long stretch. Perhaps that is healthier and more effective.

People seem to have a lot of judgement about sleep esp when and how it should be done. I wish I could sleep 4 hours in the night and 4 hours in the day, but I would need the rest of society to cooperate bc it's terribly boring to be awake when everyone else is sleeping. The last time I went to Europe, I had a lovely experience with no jetlag after a 4 hour afternoon nap and plenty of exercise. In fact, I think most sleep problems are really exercise deficits... and that becomes a matter of priorities. Just please don't use that assertion to judge anyone's habits. The result is just misery and insonmia resulting from worry about not sleep or exercizing enough.

Gas and Food

I worry a lot. I worry about where my food and wine comes from and how the farmers and their families who produced it are doing. I worry about the ozone and global warming. I worry about wildlife losing their habitat to development. I worry about my weight. I worry about the streets not being safe for children to play in, about people not knowing their neighbors, about living a fulfilled life. I surprised myself recently by feeling worried about the price of gas.

Most people know that I don't own or drive a car. So, why should I care? ...Well, it's not all about me. People I love drive cars. I worry about them spending all their money on gas. I worry about the transportation of food becoming too much. I worry about the public transit systems and their bottom lines. Someone on one of my carfree lists recently expressed the desire for drivers to stop being able to afford gas and to have to just stop driving right in the middle of the road. I'm more frugal than I am idealistic, it turns out.

The other day, I spent a few minutes scouring the web for a community supported agriculture system we can join to support a local farm. No luck. I found some, but they are all fully subscribed. I got on some waitlists. What kind of a place is this that you can't even promise to buy overpriced vegetables from a farm for a year and pay in advance? Frickin' hippie San Francisco!

I finally got some space in a community garden. It turns out the gardeners have decided that the whole garden should be a service to the community, and no one is allowed to grow vegetables for themselves. They told me I can only grow tomatoes (or raspberries or potatoes -- I choose tomatoes). As a member of the community, I'm not sure how I benefit from being limited in what I am permitted to grow. Gardening brings me joy, and I'm not letting myself get annoyed by the hippie dogma. I planted a bunch of tomatoes at the garden and some lettuce in a planter box in the apartment.

A while back, my friend Mitja sent me this link which recounts an argument that buying local food loses its benefit if you cook it inefficiently... and then refutes it. It made me want to plant more lettuce seeds in the apartment. Would it be possible to grow all my food right here?

The issue makes me feel anxious and itchy. I have a lot of projects, but I crave more. Farming in my Mission studio doesn't seem like the right on tho -- I'll keep looking.

Hummingbirds

My close family friends, David Rowland and family, say: In May, 2008 a hummingbird built its nest in our back yard in easy reach of the camera....
photo also by David Rowland

Update and Carpool

I got home last night at 7:10 which is the same time I got home yesterday. I've been trying to watch Les Enfant du Paradise; so, I put it on and lay on the couch. The movie is 190 minutes long, in black and white, and French, and I try not to read the subtitles. I was sound asleep within minutes and woke up again at 11:30. I must have been exhausted.

I began this blog when I quit my job in 2004 to record my adventures. Since then, I haven't worked full time for more than a few weeks. Now, with plenty of work and a 3-4 hour commute (RT) on days I go to the office, I'm not even getting enough sleep. I always say it's about priorities. I'm just amazed at how much my life has changed in the last few months.

I found a carpool on 511 rideshare which was my employer in another iteration. We put so much energy into marketing and trying to engage employers, running PSAs, phone numbers on the highway, posters, prizes.... I asked my carpool buddies how they heard about it. They said:
* I knew something like that must exist; so, I did an internet search and found it.
* I heard about the (casual carpool). I was checking if there was one for our route and found the site.
* A friend or coworker mentioned it, I think.
We've had some challenges with agreeing on pick up location. Some people's schedules are erratic (mine, for example). So, that requires flexibility. It won't last forever, but I think it mostly works for now because we like each other. Strangely, one guy was friends with Tyler in college at Berkeley -- the world is small.

Brown Tights

I saw this couple one Tuesday morning. Their look is typical SF bike punk, with the hoodies and all, but I liked her brown tights under short cutoff shorts, fashionable sunglasses, and dainty shoes.
I also liked it that they seemed happy I was taking their photo....

I'm still alive.

I even still have interesting things to say. I just don't have time to say them. Please check my other blogs for more info on me.

Dreamboat

Great bodies of literature support the idea that women love moody, thoughtful men. Exhibit Mr. Darcy and Heathcliff. Why do you think the pages of Jane and Emily get so much play. It's the way we are.

I saw this dreamboat from the train window, clearly solving some major world problem, in his black dress shoes, chinos, and collar shirt. I also have a weakness for red bicycles -- this one is a fixie.

We love this band.

NPR: Rupa and the April Fishes

Human Extinction

A friend recently got a vasectomy. He referred me to the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement as we discussed it. I’d definitely heard of them before, but I took the time to read through some of the site this time. They make some good arguments. I take a slightly more existential view of the matter. Nothing really matters; so, I do what I want to do regardless of the selfishness of that act.

Of course, as a carfree advocate, I combat this very same reasoning when I try to convince people to make smarter transportation choices. People get a lot of joy from children and cars. I just see cars as, hopefully, slightly less personally meaningful. Social pressure supports both desires. Reproduction has an additional push from hormones.

In one section of the website, they discuss the purpose of sex no longer being for procreation but instead for pairing. Pairing requires consistency to build trust. Another friend mentioned last night that men are biologically predisposed to want to have sex with as many women as possible. This also happens in women. Trust me. This desire combats the desire to pair; each precludes the other. Choose one.

But more than anything I found the site mean. Meanness is not compelling. …Even in elementary school bullies. See how that works? Did I lose you?

Pierre the Peguin and His Wet Suit

Pierre Sheds Wet Suit for Real Penguin Suit

Green Pigeon Control Hatches on Earth Day

San Jose City Hall bird watchers welcome three new peregrine falcons, By Mark Gomez and Denis C. Theriault, Mercury News, 04/22/2008 07:23:40 AM PDT
The falcons are so cool in so many ways not the least of which is that they keep the population of flying rats (and therefor the spread of disease) down around SJ City Hall.

Bus Wrap Art

Pierre Lapointe - Deux Par Deux Rassemblés

Yellow Summer with Baguette

You know I love it when bikes match clothes. I also love it when a person carries a baguette in her messenger bag... and, for that matter, when people bike in skirts. Sigh.

The Eligible-Bachelor Paradox

The Eligible-Bachelor Paradox: How economics and game theory explain the shortage of available, appealing men. By Mark Gimein, Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Gimein applies auction/game theory to the lack of eligible men in their 30s. "Where have all the most appealing men gone? Married young, most of them—and sometimes to women whose most salient characteristic was not their beauty, or passion, or intellect, but their decisiveness." While I plead guilty to being hopeless indecisive (and an excellent catch), I don't see his theory supported in my social circle and neither did the Slate Gabfest Members. It's true that I know many eligible women in their 30s and very few men. But I agree with the Gabbers that most people marry within their bidding rank (5s marry 5s, 8s marry 8s). I also note that just as many of the "bad ones" are taken as the "good ones". And, as alluded to in the essay, maybe getting married isn't the goal. Maybe it's just something we haven't done yet.

Peninsula Bike Chyck Uniform

In SF, people wear hoodies and chains. I noted the other day that in Palo Alto, people wear girl-tees with arty, comic prints and animal socks.

To Wear a Helmet or Not to Wear a Helmet, that is the fashion (and safety) question

I ALWAYS wear a helmet. I have ALWAYS ALWAYS worn a helmet. My mother got a head injury once standing over her bike without a helmet when a dog ran into her, and she toppled over on her head. My whole family suffered for years from her injury. She was not, however, in motion at the time.

It's true that wearing a helmet flattens your hair. It also can look dorky. On the other hand, I once knew this really cool guy who wore his helmet all the time. We were sitting at a cafe for hours, and he never took it off. That said, I was compelled by this research that scientifically proves that helmets do NOT make you safer.

From Velo Mondial:
The active promotion of helmet use by cyclists is a fiercely controversial and often emotional subject, with views put forward with great conviction both for helmets and sceptical of their value. Controversy is particularly acute with regard to mandatory helmet laws. But the heart of the matter is: Less cycling increases risk for those who do cycle: Safety comes in numbers! It is also logic to wear a helmet if you are a child or a speed cyclist. Helmets do not help when in collision with cars; the difference in speed between car and cyclist or pedestrian cannot be compensated by a helmet. Helmets can even suggest to car drivers that the cyclists are safe. Then they are better off without. Read more at the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation.