Okay, this is probably my favorite XKCD comic this year. Be sure to read the popup text as well, for the punchline.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Mass Transit Echoes
Yesterday, Renee and I took the bus (and the Max light rail) to Lloyd Center Mall, and back home. Why? Because she'll be turning 18 this coming summer, and doesn't yet have a driver's license. This was a dry run for what her life will be like when the mom-pop express closes its doors.
Many years ago, when we first came here and my workplace was in Beaverton, I used to commute by bus, and I told Renee that my solution to the monotony of riding the bus was to bring a really difficult book along (I distinctly remember struggling through this book, and this one -- I still have both of them!). Sinking into the books made it possible to wait at a bus stop in whatever weather and not fret as to whether the bus would show up on time or not.
And now, a slight diversion... A few years ago, I took Renee to Kumoricon, and we attended a concert by some knockoff Asian pop band. The music was loud, so much so that I really couldn't tell what they were playing. But I was amused when I discovered that the old tradition of holding a lighter aloft had been updated: now everyone was holding up cellphones with their backlights turned on. Très amusant.
Back to the present! So we are sitting at the bus stop at Martinazzi and Mohawk, and I'm reading the poster in the back of the shelter. It tells me what phone number to call, and what code to enter, to determine when my bus will next arrive at my stop. What a difference a decade makes! That really improves the mass transit experience for me. Kudos, Trimet!
Oh, and the trip was uneventful. Renee didn't really want to be there, but we both got there and back safely.
Many years ago, when we first came here and my workplace was in Beaverton, I used to commute by bus, and I told Renee that my solution to the monotony of riding the bus was to bring a really difficult book along (I distinctly remember struggling through this book, and this one -- I still have both of them!). Sinking into the books made it possible to wait at a bus stop in whatever weather and not fret as to whether the bus would show up on time or not.
And now, a slight diversion... A few years ago, I took Renee to Kumoricon, and we attended a concert by some knockoff Asian pop band. The music was loud, so much so that I really couldn't tell what they were playing. But I was amused when I discovered that the old tradition of holding a lighter aloft had been updated: now everyone was holding up cellphones with their backlights turned on. Très amusant.
Back to the present! So we are sitting at the bus stop at Martinazzi and Mohawk, and I'm reading the poster in the back of the shelter. It tells me what phone number to call, and what code to enter, to determine when my bus will next arrive at my stop. What a difference a decade makes! That really improves the mass transit experience for me. Kudos, Trimet!
Oh, and the trip was uneventful. Renee didn't really want to be there, but we both got there and back safely.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Substitute Meditation
So the evening activities run on beyond the normal routine, and you don't have the energy to do your normal night time meditation. What to do? Slip on the wireless headphones, close your eyes, and listen to Baby's on Fire (the original, not Die Antwoord, ugh, Google!).
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