Now you KNEW that those service cuts were just grandstanding on Metro’s part…
3 minute read
April 30, 2010, 10:49 PM
I was saying it all along, that the proposed Metro service cuts were just grandstanding in order for the public to support a big fare increase. And the public took the bait – hook, line, and sinker. And now it looks like the riders will be forced to eat most of Metro’s budget shortfall. I cringe when I think about what my commute will cost once this fare increase goes into effect. I already pay $9.90 for a day’s commuting with Metro’s “temporary” ten-cent increase in effect. And with this increase being “the largest fare increase in its history” according to The Washington Post, it’s going to cost a lot to get from my house to the office and back.
Now one thing that I find interesting is that one of the options on the table is a $4.00 flat fee for late night service on weekends. I’ve been saying for a while that Metro needs to implement a flat fare for the rail system. Most other rail systems are like that, including the New York Subway. Ride anywhere, and it costs the same amount. It would make figuring out your fare so much easier, and eliminate all the large signage about fares that have to be individualized for each station. All you have to say is “Peak fare is $3.50” and “Off-peak fare is $2.50” (pulling these numbers out of the air here for purposes of illustration) and you’re done. Load $7 or $5 for a round trip, and you’ve got it, regardless of where you’re going. Of course, if Metro Board member and DC councilman Jim Graham has his way, there won’t even be a late-night flat fare.
Continue reading…Categories: WMATA
Okay, move it or lose it…
3 minute read
April 29, 2010, 7:55 PM
Categories: Amusing, Washington DC
Sometimes one wonders who that “Ms. Right” might be…
3 minute read
April 27, 2010, 3:14 PM
As you may know, I am currently 28 and very much single. I have not been in a relationship since the Clinton administration, and that was the only romantic relationship I’ve ever been in. And it lasted three weeks. And I will openly admit that at the age of 17, when I was in that relationship, I was totally scared, because this whole dating thing was new to me, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do or how to do it. We never kissed – I was too scared. Eventually, she dumped me, claiming that I “don’t know how to communicate.” I was crushed. And I’ve not dated since.
Lately, though, it seems that much interest has come about in addressing my singleness. First of all, with my sister now married, my mother is now trying to get me married, too. She may very well end up with Lysy grandchildren one day, but then she’s said to me on more than one occasion, “I want Schumin grandchildren.” That’s putting the cart a little bit in front of the horse, don’t you think? I mean, forget having children – I don’t even have a girlfriend. I also don’t have this tremendous urge to be anyone’s father at this point in time. I like not having children.
Then my mother also has said that I might have a problem with forming those kinds of relationships, and mentioning the word “sex” in there a couple of times. Yeeew! My mother said S-E-X! I’m sorry, but there are a few things that one does not want to think about. One does not want to think about one’s parents “doing it” (though it obviously did happen to produce my sister and myself), and one does not want to hear one’s parents talking about S-E-X. However, Mom may have a point about the whole relationships bit. I have met numerous women over the course of protests and what have you, but have never asked any of them out socially.
You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance…
2 minute read
April 22, 2010, 8:50 PM
Through intense training and meditation, I have learned the secret… and here’s the result:
HADOUKEN!
Categories: Video games
Epic wind!
5 minute read
April 20, 2010, 9:23 PM
On April 17, Anonymous DC raided the Founding Church of Scientology’s “Ideal Org”. This was to be a fun raid, once we figured out how to deal with the weather conditions. It was windy. Really windy. If it gives you any idea about how windy it was, the wind was blowing so hard that we couldn’t wear our Guy Fawkes masks. Anyman tried to wear his Guy Fawkes mask, but actually lost it to the wind. Seriously. It blew right off his face, and blew down the street and out of sight before anyone could recover it. And it was a pretty cool take on the Guy Fawkes mask, too, with half of it colored black, seen here in this June 2009 file photo:
Categories: Gas prices, Project Chanology
Someone explain to me why people think that I lose my right to criticize Wal-Mart, a horrible corporation that ultimately fired me, because I once worked there.
4 minute read
April 14, 2010, 8:49 PM
Someone explain that to me. Someone explain to me why I should not criticize Wal-Mart because I once worked there, despite having been treated rather poorly while there, and ultimately fired for nonsense reasons. Someone explain to me why the fact that they once employed me makes them above criticism as far as I should be concerned.
I was on the phone with my mother today, as I usually am right after work while walking to the Metro, and the conversation today turned to Wal-Mart. I came down pretty hard on the Wal-Mart issue this time, as I was quick to call them a horrible corporation that does not buy American, squeezing their suppliers so hard that many of them are forced to move production overseas to cut costs in order to meet Wal-Mart’s demands.
And let’s not forget Wal-Mart’s stance on labor relations, as written on page two of Labor Relations and You at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center #6022: “Wal-Mart is opposed to unionization of its associates. Any suggestion that the Company is neutral on the subject or that it encourages associates to join labor organizations is not true.” In addition, from the same document, “We firmly believe we are capable of running our own Company without any assistance from an outside third party.” Additionally, from page two of A Manager’s Toolbox To Remaining Union Free, it states, “Wal-Mart is strongly opposed to third-party representation. We are not anti-union; we are pro-associate. We believe in maintaining an environment of open communication among all associates, both hourly and management. At Wal-Mart, we respect the individual rights of our associates and encourage everyone to express his/her ideas, suggestions, comments or concerns. Because we believe in maintaining an environment of open communication through the use of the Open Door policy, we do not believe there is a need for third-party representation. It is our position every associate can speak for him/herself without having to pay his/her hard-earned money to a union in order to be listened to and have issues resolved.”
I have conquered the 4000-Series…
3 minute read
April 12, 2010, 12:19 AM
Yes, I have conquered the 4000-Series. And by that, I mean these:
(By the way, the truly dedicated Metro enthusiast ought to be able to tell me what day I took this photo)
Categories: WMATA
A fun time was had by all…
9 minute read
April 7, 2010, 9:06 PM
So I got back from Stuarts Draft last night, and all in all, it was a pretty good trip. First of all, on the way down, I visited my friend Bergit, who I first met at the National Equality March back in October. We had a good time, chatting it up, and visiting a few stores in Charlottesville’s Corner district. Perhaps the most amusing part of the whole trip was the discovery that UVA sold a Snuggie with their logo on it, which Bergit modeled for the camera:
Categories: Charlottesville, Friends, Harrisonburg, JMU, Katie, Roads
I think I probably know why I blocked this fellow…
2 minute read
April 6, 2010, 11:29 AM
As many of you know, I am an administrator on Wikipedia, and with that comes various extra tools that allow me to roll back vandalism, protect pages, and block disruptive editors. There are occasions when administrative actions get some feedback. Some think I may have been slightly too close to a dispute. Or maybe I protected a page on The Wrong Version. Or maybe I speedily deleted something that wasn’t as clear-cut as I thought. It happens.
It’s the people who get blocked that are amusing. This bit of hate mail recently came across my inbox, from a person named Jim Cooper, from Email address cooper7069@yahoo.com, and with an IP address of 76.123.26.105:
hello, 1st, i would like to say that i really enjoy your website. 2nd i noticed that you went to james masdison university, many of my friends attend JMU currently, and its a beautiful place. 3rd, i like were you state that people should act their age, not their shoe size. i wear a size 15 shoe, so i hope that my age wouldnt show.(haha) 4th, im pretty sure my size 15 shoe with proper force would fit up your ass. (jk) 5th, block me on wikipedia for no reason again and i will make sure that it happens. (lol)
take care.
Sincerly, Jim Cooper
Categories: Wikipedia
See, don’t tell the allergies that it’s their season, because maybe they’ll forget and it will be too late then…
2 minute read
April 3, 2010, 10:10 PM
First of all, hello from my parents’ house in Stuarts Draft. This ought to be a fun weekend. I saw my friend Bergit in Charlottesville on the way down (that was a lot of fun), and then I’m spending tomorrow with the parents, then Monday I’m spending with Katie, and then Tuesday, back to DC.
The drive down here was kind of interesting. Usually I don’t hit traffic on a Saturday, but this time, the Beltway was awful. Almost as soon as we crossed into Virginia, pow. Slowed to a 10 mph crawl. Once I hit I-66, though, no problems, and except for some moderate congestion on US 29 through Gainesville, we were good. Smooth sailing right down 29 to Charlottesville. I noticed that they were expanding the Charlottesville Wal-Mart, and also noticed that an Exxon station at the corner of US 29 and Barracks Road had been demolished and seeded. Very strange seeing a vacant corner lot like that…
Categories: Charlottesville, Driving, Family, Friends, Personal health
So I got pranked this April Fool’s – big time…
6 minute read
April 1, 2010, 9:02 PM
So this year, April Fool’s Day was a bit more active on the prank front than usual. This is my third April Fool’s with these people, and the last two were fairly blah.
The first prank that I knew about was an Email that I sent out to the staff outlining some new kitchen procedures:
Greetings, all…
I’ve been reviewing how we run our kitchens, and am implementing some changes.
1) All food containers in the kitchen may only be orange in color. I did some research on this, and came to the conclusion that orange containers preserve food better than any other color, and therefore we will be switching to orange containers, effective immediately. The kitchens will be purged of all non-orange containers at 3:00 today.