Posted on Thursday November 12th by Alex Lessard-Pilon | 153
.
- A 3D visualization reconstructs the descent and emergency landing of Flight 1549, landed on the Hudson River by Capt. Sullenberger in April. The integration of raw radar data with the public docket and audio from the cockpit to Air Traffic Control makes for an incredible guided tour. (ExoSphere3D)
- Porn in subways, trains, planes, even basketball games…Public consumption of the carnal arts has reached new heights. Sometimes pilots intervene; says one, “I have never had anyone say, ‘I refuse to stop. I must watch this dirty movie.’” (WaPo)
- 60 million people suffered a blackout in Brazil on Tuesday. The rapidly-modernizing nation is realizing the necessity of fixing its mass-transit and power systems, especially as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics approach. (LATimes)
- Trucks carry about 70% of US freight, but they’re three times less energy efficient per ton carried–our 2.2 million semi-trucks average 5.1 miles per gallon. The trucking industry is a little concerned. (Reuters)
- Chicago won’t hike fares on mass transit, but it will cut service. 110 of 150 bus routes will see cuts because of the budget deficit; the CTA will borrow more than $160 million from the state to pay its bills. (Tribune)
- Sacramento’s getting the short end of the stick in high-speed rail planning, as it could be twenty years before an HSR line reaches the city. The Anaheim route is expected to be lucrative and so will be built first, and even Fresno and Bakersfield will see connection before the capital city. (NewsReview)
- New York may have the most pedestrian casualties, but per capita, the four most dangerous cities for foot traffic in America are Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Jacksonville. (ABC)
- A forum comprised of DOT Sec. Ray LaHood and airline industry execs convened today to talk about the future of the ailing business. Airlines have shed 130,000 jobs since 2000, and there are inclinations to create a new regulatory authority for them. (AP)
- The public weighed in vociferously at a hearing held to discuss the future of drilling for natural gas in upstate New York. One plan has been dropped, but many want a state-wide ban in order to protect the state’s invaluable watershed. (ProPublica)
November 12th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I saw a guy next to me watching gay porn on his iPhone on the Muni… got off at Castro.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Porn in subways, trains, planes, even basketball games…Public consumption of the carnal arts has reached new heights. Sometimes pilots intervene; says one, “I have never had anyone say, ‘I refuse to stop. I must watch this dirty movie.’”
Never been to Japan, eh?
November 13th, 2009 at 12:47 am
My roommate heard a guy on the T (so did everyone in the car) look in the back section of The Phoenix’s (Boston) adult advertisement section and call to arrange a meeting with a lady of the night. What’s weirder, that? or cell reception on the T?
November 13th, 2009 at 1:52 am
I was watching Teen Steam #9 on flight 1549 so I missed all the commotion.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:31 am
I wrote an article yesterday that stated that America’s waterways were a much more efficient way of transporting freight than trains and trucks, it’s just the condition of the US’s waterways that is letting down the system.
November 13th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Much more efficient, Timon, but also much slower. If you rely on slower transport, you have to have more warehouse space, and right now corporate America remains too much in love with Just In Time inventory management. That’s yet another piece of American infrastructure that needs redoing in the years ahead.
November 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Timon,
You’re actually wrong about waterways being more efficient than rail. At least in the U.S. rail consumes less energy per ton-mile than does water transport. U.S. railroads are amazingly energy efficient and have been growing more so every year. The energy efficiency of water borne transport in the U.S. is not especially high and has been gradually declining.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
See the trucking industry getting spooked, thats amusing. What I think might put the freight railroads in an even better position might be a collective effort on their part with the creation of an infrastructure bank of sorts for the upgrades and maintenance of the ROW they share.
There’s a 140 000 mile rail system owned and used by only 7 Class 1 railroads. There’s plenty of infrastructure there to work with. The trucking industry needs to come up with a truck that gets 400 mpg (at least a bit better than 5 mpg) or their trips are going get shorter by the year.
Intermodal traffic is the fastest growing segment in freight transport at present. I think the trucking industry could do a better job of using this to their advantage. Common sense would dictate that it saves money and time for the most part.
“…as it could be twenty years before an HSR line reaches the city…”
Wow the CHSR system touted to be in the most advanced stage of any envisioned across the USA is going to take 20 years to get to the State Capitol. Nice slap in the face. I’ve tried to follow the progress of the system and to be perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s getting built any time soon at the rate things are happening. I see ground breaking in 2015 and completion when in 2075.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
The CAHSR might want to get somewhat radical. They could build a demonstration project from Sacto. to Modesto fairly quickly. The terrain is flat, mainly rural, and the main drag, Rte.99 (I-5 bypasses Modesto), was (and probably still is) a rolling horror show due to the trucks.
Then their options are :
1) head west to San Francisco;
2) head south to L.A./San Diego; or
3) head east to Reno.
The thing that gets my goat is the mindset that MSR upgrades should be skipped in favor of HSR. Making the MSR upgrades with HSR elements means that we would get some benefit from HSR technology (it’s not just the rolling stock - there’s signal and track upgrades too) a lot sooner.
MSR = medium speed rail, up to 110mph