The irregular and disjointed rantings and ramblings of a lifelong inside-the-loop Houstonian, dedicated urbanist, enthusiastic traveler and loyal University of Houston Cougar fan, who also roots for the University of North Texas Mean Green.
The full and lasting effects of Katrina on the New Orleans area and the Mississippi Gulf Coast cannot be measured or understood in years, but rather in decades. However, in reading today's Chronicle article regarding the five-year anniversary of the worst natural disaster in recent US history, I did want to look back at some predictions regarding that city's fate that, five years later, turned out to be rather wrong:
After Katrina, some pundits wondered aloud whether New Orleans was all but dead, or whether it was even worth rebuilding. Now such talk seems silly, not just because its beloved Saints are Super Bowl champions, and not just because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a $14 billion project, its largest ever, to protect the city from future storm surges. Katrina's wake exposed a vein of intense loyalty that runs deep, in many cases generations deep. Allowing the city to die or worse, contract into a living tourist attraction — the seedy sister of Colonial Williamsburg — was unthinkable.
I remember well some of the prognostications regarding New Orleans's eminent demise in the months after Katrina. I read numerous articles (here's one) suggesting that the city should not be rebuilt because it was in such a geographically-vulnerable area or because it was such a socioeconomic mess; that the diaspora of people - especially the poor - from New Orleans should actually be encouraged because, removed from an environment of concentrated poverty, crime, poor schools and corruption, those people would thrive; or that New Orleans was destined regardless of rebuilding efforts to become the underpopulated, economically-irrelevant "living tourist attraction" the article mentions. I recall reading numerous predictions that Baton Rouge would permanently surpass New Orleans as Louisiana's principal city, much the way Houston surpassed Galveston as Texas's principal city after the Hurricane of 1900.
That, of course, hasn't happened. New Orleans has regained over 70% of its pre-Katrina population - 2009 Census estimates put the city's population at about 355 thousand but more accurate numbers won't become available until this year's census results are reported - while Baton Rouge's 2009 population is estimated to be about 225 thousand. This article mentions that more than 90% of the entire metro area's pre-Katrina population has returned.
In retrospect, the idea that people would, or even should, decide to simply abandon an entire city - even in the face of the devastation wrought by disaster or the problems the city faced even before the disaster - seems pretty foolish. Aside from the social, cultural, familial, economic, legal, capital and generational ties that bind people to their city, there is also the very basic and powerful concept of "home." New Orleans, for all its problems, is "home" to a great many people, and that's why the overwhelming majority of them have moved back. While it's true that many pre-Katrina residents have yet to return - the Lower Ninth Ward, for example, has recovered less than a quarter of its pre-Katrina population - and while it's true that, as the residents have returned, so have the city's pre-Katrina problems - the city's poverty rate of 23% is double the national average and the Crescent City has resumed its role as the nation's murder capital - the simple fact is that New Orleans will not be the Galveston of the 21st Century.
There are post-Katrina success stories to be found in New Orleans - for example, a charter school system that is improving educational performance - but there is still a lot of work left to be done and a lot of questions left to be answered (including these five issues that will affect the city's abilities to withstand the next hurricane). The twin traumas of the recession and the BP oil blowout have hampered recovery efforts, and the psychological strain of a recovery that is now beginning its sixth year cannot be understated. But humans are nothing if not preserverant, and that's why, even after came Hell and high water, New Orleans remains.
USA Today has a rather interesting interactive multimedia site about the effects of Katrina and the recovery effort.
If at least one online travel publication is to believed, Houston has the best airports in the United States:
You don’t have to be an oil baron to get the most out of Houston’s top-ranked airports—but it helps. The Texas city tops the charts for its VIP-friendly airline lounges, found mostly at George Bush Intercontinental (IAH). For everyone else, both IAH and Houston Hobby came in at No. 2 in the AFC survey for their food and drink (don’t miss the Tex-Mex or Cajun fare at local chains Pappasito’s and Pappadeaux) and second for entertainment—which may reflect that free WiFi. Best of all, Houston’s airports get the job done: they come in third place for on-time performance and second for their competent and down-home-friendly staff.
WooHoo!
I think part of the reason why Houston's airports rate so well is because they are so comparatively modern; over the last decade or so, a great deal of investment has been made at both airports, including the opening of Terminal E and, more recently, significant renovations to Terminal C Bush Intercontinental; and the Central Concourse and new ticketing area at Hobby. These improvements aren't over yet; work on Hobby's new baggage claim area continues (hopefully it will be completed soon, because, the temporary claim area is kind of cramped). My only gripe about Hobby is that there needs to be more economy parking; otherwise, the airport is a breeze to get into and out of.
Airline staff has a lot to do with Houston's high ranking, as well. Southwest (Hobby's main carrier) has always made their staff's pleasant and cordial service a key part of their corporate, and as somebody who flies Southwest frequently I think that's generally true. Continental (Intercontinental's dominant carrier), likewise, seems to have a reputation for staff that is courteous, at least when compared to the industry average. Whether that changes when the merger with United (which does not have a reputation for good customer service) remains to be seen.
Local airports were rated on a variety of factors, including design and functionality, food and drink options, shopping, entertainment amenities (such as free WiFi or VIP lounges), on-time performance, ground transportation and the efficiency and demeanor of airport employees. New York, Los Angeles and St. Louis were rated the worst airport cities. A slideshow of the entire list is here, although for some reason many major airports, such as Detroit, Baltimore or Salt Lake City, weren't included.
Earlier this summer, while my parents were out of town on an extended vacation and I had free reign of their living room, I put up a new Rokenbok build. It was more extensive than the award-winning one I created last year, and was real challenge to make everything fit together. But I was pretty happy with the results. Click on any picture for a larger view.
It stayed up for several weeks and we got plenty of use out of it, but Kirby and I were nevertheless sad when it had to come down. Fortunately, it lives on in pictures, both here as well as on the Rokenbok Forum.
It's hard to believe that another college football season is upon us already, but it's true: the University of Houston Cougars kick off their 2010 campaign on week from tomorrow.
I realize that I never wrote an end-of-year review of the Coogs' 2009 season. For one thing, I had a lot going on earlier this year (as evidenced by my overall lack of posting in general this spring). For another, the Coogs' pathetic performance in the Armed Forces Bowl left such a bad taste in my mouth that I simply didn't feel like writing about a season that ended on such a sour note. My disappointment has waned with the passage of the offseason, however, and I'm hopeful that the Coogs can put the past behind them and embark on a 2010 season that ends on a much better note.
But before putting the past completely behind, it's useful to take a look at what happened last fall. 2009 was in many ways an amazing year for the Coogs. There were many fantastic victories: the amazing upset of then-5th-ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater, the thrilling win over Texas Tech before a packed crowd at Robertson (thesevideos of the "Two Day Drive" still give me goosebumps), a quality win over Mississippi State on the road, a thrilling last-minute victory over C-USA nemesis Southern Miss on Halloween, and this come-from-behind performance at Tulsa that I would not have believed I not seen it with my own eyes:
With the euphoria, however, came the heartbreak. A week after the wild and amazing finish in the video above, the Cougars went to Central Florida and fell to the Golden Knights, 32-37. That loss could be excused by the fact that they were playing back-to-back games on the road, that they were emotionally spent after the miracle at Tulsa, and that the Central Florida team they were playing was pretty good (the Golden Knights ended the season with an 8-4 record). The Coogs' other regular-season loss, a crushing 41-58 defeat at UTEP, is less excusable. While they were coming down off their emotional win over Texas Tech the week before - I even wrote after that game that UTEP had "'letdown' and 'trap' written all over it" - the 2009 Miners turned out to be so bad (a 4-8 record with losses to C-USA cellar-dwellers such as Memphis, Rice and Tulane) that the Coogs should have handled them easily. Then there were the two losses to end the season: a bitter 32-38 result against East Carolina in the C-USA Championship, and of course the 20-47 meltdown against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. While it's certainly true that the Coogs had trouble getting motivated for that game - their reward for their 10-win season was a trip to the same bowl game to play the same opponent - the fact is that the team still had a lot to play for: a bowl win, a final victory for the seniors, momentum heading into 2010, a probable end-of-season top-25 ranking for the first time in two decades, and good old-fashioned team pride.
A better understanding of what went right and what went wrong for the Coogs in 2009 can be gained by reviewing the statistics.
On offense, the Cougars were (literally) the best in the nation. They were first in the 120-team Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense (563.36 yards per game), tied for first in scoring offense (42.21 points per game; they also led the nation in touchdowns with 77), and first in passing offense (433.71 aerial yards per game). Quarterback Case Keenum led the nation in total offense for the second consecutive year, and was sixth in the nation in passing efficiency.
But even then there were some weak spots. The Coogs were only 83rd in the nation in rushing offense, managing 129.64 yards per game). The lack of a ground game was clearly a factor in Houston's losses to Central Florida and East Carolina, where they managed only 46 and 30 yards, respectively.
While the Cougar offense is clearly a pass-based operation, and while the fact that RB Bryce Beall was playing with injuries for most of the season was probably a factor, the fact remains that the Cougars could have used a more robust ground game in 2009 to keep defenses honest, eat up more clock time (Cougars were 114th in the nation in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of only 26 minutes and 51 seconds per game) and conceivably win those games against Central Florida and East Carolina. A stronger running attack is an offensive priority going into the 2010 season.
I do want to take a moment to recognize the offensive line. The line had lost three starters off the 2008 squad and was a point of concern going into the season, but they performed superbly, protecting Case Keenum by giving up 18 sacks all season - better than 2008's 27 sacks allowed and, at 1.29 sacks per game, good for 24th overall. (The Coogs were also second-best in the nation in tackles per loss allowed, but that's probably an artifact of the pass-oriented offense's ability to get the ball out of the backfield quickly more than it is the line's ability to protect the backs.) I'm hoping to see similar results in 2010, along with improvements in creating holes for the ground game.
While the offense was the nation's best, however, the defense was one of the nation's worst. The defense was 111th in total defense, surrendering 451.29 yards per game, and only marginally better in scoring offense, at 95th with 30.07 points per game allowed (and this average includes the good performances against some of the weaker teams on the schedule: 7 points to FCS Northwestern State, 14 points apiece to Memphis and Rice, 15 points to SMU and 16 points to Tulane). The rushing defense was particularly dreadful; they gave up 226.57 ground yards per game and ended the season ranked 115th. They were somewhat better against the pass, coming in 72nd with 224.71 passing yards per game allowed. One of the defense's problems was the inability to get behind the line; they were 85th in the nation in sacks, averaging only 1.64 per game, and 105th in tackles for loss, managing only 4.64 TFLs per game. The defense also had trouble getting the opposing offense off the field; they were 97th in third down conversion defense, allowing the opponent to convert 43% of the time, and even worse on 4th down, allowing the opponent to convert fully 50% of the time.
Of course, as everybody who followed the Coogs last season, there were reasons for the defense's dismal performance. They had very little depth or experience; three true freshmen were playing on the defensive line. The defense was battered and bruised - the fact that the team's bye week occurred early in the year, forcing the players to go 10 straight games as well as the conference championship without a break, might have played a role - and injuries, especially to the front seven, were especially painful. Notably, the loss of senior Matt Nicholson towards the end of the Texas Tech game robbed the squad of critical on-field leadership and experience.
Given those factors, Defensive Coordinator John Skaladany really didn't have a lot to work with and therefore felt limited as to what kind of schemes he could call. Even so, towards the end of the season I was one of many UH fans who begged for Skaladany to try something new - blitz more, take some risks - do something, anything - to stop the bleeding. The fact that he did not, as well as the fact that the defense's struggles were nothing new - they were 100th in the nation in scoring defense the year before - led head coach Kevin Sumlin to decide to make a change. Skaladany was let go after the season ended, and in his place the Cougars brought in Brian Stewart, a coach with NFL experience who set to work retooling the defensive squad over the offseason, notably by switching to a 3-4 alignment that should work to the defense's strengths.
As for the other aspects of the team's 2009 performance: during Art Briles' tenure I became increasingly frustrated with the "unholy trinity" of turnovers, penalties and lousy special teams play that perennially plagued the team. Under Sumlin, however, there has been vast improvement in those areas. For example, the Cougars were 8th in the nation last season in total penalties, averaging only 4.5 flags per game. That's a far cry from a few seasons before, when they were among the top ten most penalized teams in the nation. Turnovers have also been reduced; they lost the ball 26 times last year, which ranked 83rd in a category where a lower ranking is better (and 9 of those turnovers occurred as a result of Case Keenum interceptions the last two games of the season, which is hopefully just an aberration). The Coogs ended the season +4 in turnover margin (their 30 balls recovered were good for the 11th spot nationally), a good improvement over 2008's -6 margin.
Special teams have become markedly better as well, although there is still room for improvement. Houston has done well with kickoffs, coming in at 35th in the nation in kickoff returns with 23.21 average yards per return and five kickoffs run back for touchdowns, and ranked 44th in kickoff return yardage allowed, at 20.91 per opponent return and only a single kick return touchdown allowed. Punting is a different story, however, as the Coogs' punting return defense allowed 12.15 return yards per punt and ended the season ranked 101st, while Cougar punt returners averaged only 8.81 yards per return - 60th in the nation - and did not return any punts for touchdowns last year. Place-kicking could use improvement as well; Matt Hogan was a perfect 12 for 12 on field goals after replacing Jordan Mannisto, who had missed 4 of his 10 ten attempts, but Hogan was only 88% on extra point attempts, including those three misses against East Carolina in the championship game that were a factor in the Coog's six-point margin of defeat.
There's also the focus factor. In 2008 the Coogs had a problem with slow starts in games; oftentimes they'd come out flat, fall behind by several scores, and have to rally in the second half to try to win. That wasn't really an issue in 2009. What was an issue was motivation for certain games, i.e. UTEP and Air Force, where the team simply didn't come out to play at all. While keeping a group of kids motivated and focused for every game is a tough job for any coach, the momentum-killing letdowns like UTEP and Air Force were clearly dark spots on an otherwise-respectable 2009 season and Sumlin and his staff need to ensure that they don't happen again in 2010 if the Coogs are to achieve their goals: namely, winning Conference USA.
So that was 2009. Considering the team's defensive woes as well as the schedule they faced, I actually believe the Coogs overachieved last year (their ten wins were two more than what I had predicted before the season started). It's just too bad that the season did not end on a more positive note. However, perhaps the feeling of "not finishing the job" will provide the team with added motivation and incentive in 2010.
The offseason has generally been a good one for the Coogs, including an impressive signing day haul, the acquisition of a few JUCO transfers (such as DE Matangi Tonga and LB Sammy Brown) to plug some holes on defense, a good spring practice and recoveries to defensive players such as Matt Nicholson and Jackie Candy. There were some disappointments; WRs L. J. Castile and A .J. Dugat and OLs Ari Tatum and Jarve Dean left the team, and RB Charles Sims (ineligibility) and DL Zeke Riser (injury) will have to sit out the year. The losses of the two receivers and offensive linemen probably won't be much of a factor because the Coogs have so much depth at those positions, but the losses of Sims, who was last year's leading rusher, and Riser, who played admirably in spite of being a true freshman last season, will hurt. However, the Cougars got a late break when RB Michael Hayes transferred in from Blinn Junior College at the beginning of August. He was impressive during fall practice and his presence will at least somewhat mitigate Sims' absence.
Now it's time for the fun to begin. I'll have my 2010 preview up in the newxt few days.
Just when I thought the latest round of conference realignment was over, along comes a new episode of conference-hopping, this time involving the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC). There are rumors that Conference USA in general and the University of Houston in particular could somehow become involved as well.
The seeds for the latest and greatest collegiate sports reshuffling were sowed by the previous round of conference realignment, which saw the Big Twelve reduced to ten teams and the Pac-10 and Big Ten expanded to twelve teams. Utah's jump from the MWC, a conference that does not automatically qualify for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), to the Pac-10, a conference that does, apparently didn't sit well with Utah's big rival, BYU. As they saw how Utes stood to benefit from their association with the Pac-10, the Cougars grew green - as in money - with envy.
So BYU decided to explore leaving the MWC and becoming an independent in football. The LDS-owned school, given its reasonably successful track record as well as the support it enjoys from Mormons nationwide, apparently fancied itself as the Notre Dame of the west; becoming a football independent would allow the Cougars to control their own television revenue stream, Like Notre Dame, play a "national" schedule of their choosing, like Notre Dame, and perhaps even achieve special status relative to the BCS, like Notre Dame. Whether that last part actually happens, however, is open to debate, as si.com's Stewart Mandel explains:
In nearly any season, a 10-2 Notre Dame team will get a BCS berth, no questions asked. It's doubtful a 10-2 BYU team playing its own version of a "national" schedule would get similar treatment from voters. It is possible, however, that just by separating itself as an independent -- by shedding that "non-BCS" stigma -- BYU's perception among voters would improve. It's also possible a couple more years of national rankings might merit an invite from the remodeling Big 12 or another look from the Pac-10.
Then again, it's also possible voters would treat the Cougars like Navy, which won 10 games last season and didn't even crack the final Top 25.
It's easy to see why BYU, as a religious institution with a passionate fan base, would choose to emulate Notre Dame. But the weird reality of college football is that winning more games than Notre Dame (as the Cougars have each of the past four seasons) doesn't turn you into Notre Dame. Playing on national television every week (as nearly every Big Ten and SEC team now does) doesn't turn you into Notre Dame.
If BYU were to go independent, it would need a need a place for its other sports, i.e. basketball, baseball, volleyball and the like, to play, much the way Notre Dame's other sports play in the Big East. It was obvious that the MWC would not be amenible to such an arrangement, BYU began having discussions with the WAC.
The prospect of losing a high-profile program like BYU, however, obviously hasn't been sitting well with the MWC and its commissioner, Craig Thompson. In a move that would make Machiavelli proud, he and the presidents of the remaining MWC schools threw a wrench in BYU's plans by inviting WAC schools Nevada and Fresno State to join the conference. Both schools have long desired to join the MWC and quickly jumped at the opportunity; Wednesday night the presidents and athletic directors of both schools held press conferences to that effect.
Needless to say, the resulting damage to the WAC has been immense. Not only have their dreams of having onetime WAC member BYU rejoin their conference, if only for the non-football sports, been dashed, but they've also now lost one-third of their membership to the MWC (Boise State, you'll recall, made the jump from the WAC to the MWC during this summer's previous realignment rumble). WAC Commissioner Karl Benson, needless to say, is not happy. He intends to punish Fresno State and Nevada any way he can:
Fresno State and Nevada should not expect any parting gifts from the other members of the Western Athletic Conference when the Bulldogs and Wolf Pack leave for the Mountain West.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said Thursday that each departing school will have to pay a $5 million fee to his league and wait until 2012 to move after accepting the MWC's invitation and dismantling an agreement the WAC was on the verge of completing with BYU.
The Cougars were in line to rejoin the WAC in all sports other than football, in which BYU would have become an independent.
Benson called Fresno State and Nevada's decision "selfish."
Benson is right. It is selfish. But it's clear that he also understands that it's part of the business of modern college football. The inherently unfair BCS system has left schools ruthlessly scrambling for access and advantage, as ESPN's Pat Forde explains:
The root cause of this particular form of conference cannibalism is none other than the BCS. If college football had an equitable means of crowning a national champion, one that was at least in theory open to teams from all leagues, would all this be happening?
"Probably not," Benson said. "That's a fair question. I think we're all chasing the BCS; we're all chasing recruiting exposure and notoriety and the financial windfall that comes with the BCS. We're all positioning ourselves for a bigger piece."
That's why, in this decade, conferences have attacked each other with a remarkable degree of avarice and a general disregard for collegiality. All the high-minded ideals university bigwigs like to talk about have been tossed aside in the brass-knuckles fight for increased revenue.
And in the bigger-is-better world of college sports, the painful side effects trickle down to the weak. The ACC attacked the Big East, which responded by gutting Conference USA. The Big Ten nearly poached the Big 12 out of existence. And once the Pac-10 destabilized the Mountain West by pilfering Utah, that left the MWC and WAC in an eye-gouging struggle to survive.
"In today's intercollegiate environment," Benson said, "[raiding other leagues] has become fairly routine and fairly standard."
Ironically, there's word that the MWC actually tried to lure an additional school away from the WAC: Utah State. The folks in Logan, however, apparently turned down the offer out of loyalty to their current conference:
In an open letter posted on the school's website Thursday, Utah State athletic director Scott Barnes wrote that, upon learning earlier this week of the potential for BYU to leave, "MWC leadership contacted three WAC members inquiring about their interest in joining the MWC."
Then, in somewhat of a surprise, Barnes wrote that "Utah State was the first of these three contacts." Barnes added that Utah State declined the invitation because they were "committed to uphold[ing] our agreement with fellow WAC members", in part because USU "believed all WAC members would remain committed" to the solidarity pact reached by the member schools last Friday.
Utah State's dedication and commitment to its existing conference is refreshing and admirable. But it's also very quaint. The Aggies now risk being on the outside looking in when the dust settles.
And the dust isn't close to settling yet. BYU reportedly has until August 31st to inform the MWC that it is going independent in football, and now that the WAC-for-other-sports option is apparently off the table, a lot of serious consideration is going to have to take place in athletic offices in Provo and church boardrooms in Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, there's late word that Conference USA could become involved in the ongoing realignment mayhem:
Two sources with knowledge of the discussions told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday one of the scenarios being discussed includes a possible merger of 20 teams from the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA, with the champion claiming an automatic BCS bowl bid. However, the sources stated such an agreement is complex, could easily fall apart and is far from being completed.
A 20-team conference seems a bit far-fetched to me, but one thing I've learned about conference realignment is to expect the unexpected. Another possibility being rumored is a BCS play-in game between the MWC and C-USA:
Late Thursday night, a source close to the situation said that representatives from the Mountain West and another league -- believed to be Conference USA -- met in Colorado to discuss a plan to match the two conferences' champions in a title game, with the winner gaining an automatic BCS berth.
"You're on the right track," said the source. "The lawyers have told them [the BCS] that it's time to give someone else a chance."
There's also been speculation - including tweetsfromvarioussportswriters - that the University of Houston could be called upon to round out a 12-team MWC if BYU can be persuaded to stay. Needless to say, these rumors have sparked a flurry of discussion on Cougar message boards that normally would be spending this time of year discussing starting lineups and tailgate menus.
This isn't over yet, and it's likely to get even more interesting in the days ahead.
My cousin, who follows all things China, sent this to me a couple of weeks ago, and it's since been making the rounds in the blogosphere: a bus that straddles the roadway, allowing cars to pass underneath it:
Proposed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd, the model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4-4.5 m high with two levels: passengers board on the upper level while other vehicles lower than 2 m can go through under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can speed up to 60 km/h carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time without blocking other vehicles’ way. Also it costs about 500 million yuan to build the bus and a 40-km-long path for it, only 10% of building equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.
Here is a video of the proposed vehicle with an English translation:
At first glance, I think it's a fascinating concept. But the devil is in the details, and the information currently available about this concept provides precious little in the way of specifics. For example:
How does this massive thing turn? The video indicates that the vehicle is articulated, but given its size it still seems like it would need a tremendous turning radius.
What about the time and cost associated with the removal and relocation of traffic lights, bridges, power lines, trees, etc. necessary to give this 4.5 meter (about 18 feet) sufficient vertical clearance?
What about the manner in which other motorists interact with it? Moving through a tunnel that itself is moving is bound to be a disorienting experience to drivers. There are supposed to be sensors on this contraption to warn motorists if they get too close to the edges of the vehicle or if a truck is approaching that is too high to enter the tunnel. Whether motorists pay attention to these sensors is a completely different story, however. It seems to me like a massive motorist education campaign would need to be undertaken to prepare drivers for interaction with these vehicles. And don't even get me started on pedestrian safety.
The vehicles can be guided by rails or by optical guidance using painted lines. However, optical guidance has run into problems in other applications, due to the paint being obscured by oil, dirt and weather-related fading, so I'm not sure I'd trust optical guidance to reliably guide vehicles of this size. Rail will probably need to be laid, and that's not cheap.
These vehicles are obviously going to be very heavy. Will the roadways - or at least the edges of them where the vehicle's wheels are located - need to be rebuilt in order to support the weight of these things? And if so, does that mean that underground utilities will need to be relocated?
The video suggests that the straddling bus can be parked anywhere along a road when it is not in use, so cars will pass under it and it will not impede the flow of traffic. But what about when the bus needs routine maintenance? I imagine there will still need to be maintenance and storage facilities built to support these vehicles.
I really can't speak to the cost savings this concept claims to produce relative to a traditional subway, given that the economics of infrastructure construction in the Peoples Republic of China are completely different than what I'm familiar with. But fully 90% cheaper than building a subway? Color me skeptical. As expensive as subways might be to build, they are at least a proven technology. This concept is not, and hidden or unforeseen costs are all but certain.
Anyway, the video claims that construction on this concept is set to begin in Beijing later this year. I'm very curious to see if this is true and, if so, what the results will be. If it actually gets built, and if it is successful, it is something that can be economically and politically implemented outside of the People's Republic of China?
Everything else seems to come with warning labels these days, so why not warning labels for news as well? British comedian Tom Scott has created a set of labels intended to warn readers of "sloppy journalism and other questionable content." There's even a .pdf of these labels for people who want to print them out and place them on their favorite (or least favorite) newspaper articles. Unfortunately, there is as of yet no way to place these warning labels on online articles, which is probably where they're most needed.
Here are a few of my favorites:
I found these labels to be humorous and depressing at the same time, because they're so true.
Although the journalism profession has fallen on tough times as of late (i.e. the rise of the internet and the decline of print media), I should be fair in noting that most of the problems these warning labels address are not new to the profession; they've existed as long as journalism has existed. Whether these problems are becoming more prevalent in the industry's current environment is another story.
By now everybody has probably heard about the story about Steve Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who walked off the job in dramatic fashion early this week:
After a dispute with a passenger who stood to fetch luggage too soon on a full flight just in from Pittsburgh, Mr. Slater, 38 and a career flight attendant, got on the public-address intercom and let loose a string of invective.
Then, the authorities said, he pulled the lever that activates the emergency-evacuation chute and slid down, making a dramatic exit not only from the plane but, one imagines, also from his airline career.
On his way out the door, he paused to grab a beer from the beverage cart. Then he ran to the employee parking lot and drove off, the authorities said.
He was arrested at his home in Belle Harbor, Queens, a few miles from the airport, and charged with felony counts of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
In the days since, Slater has become a folk hero of sorts. A Facebook page created for him now has over 190 thousand fans, and some people have even offered to donate towards his legal defense. While I can't defend Slater's actions - they were illegal and possibly dangerous - I certainly have empathy for him. Flight attendants are on the front lines of a mode of travel that is growing increasingly unpleasant, and his encounter with a rude passenger sent him to the breaking point.
Speaking of the incident that set Slater off:
One passenger stood up to retrieve belongings from the overhead compartment before the crew had given permission. Mr. Slater instructed the person to remain seated. The passenger defied him. Mr. Slater reached the passenger just as the person was pulling down the luggage, which struck Mr. Slater in the head.
Mr. Slater asked for an apology. The passenger instead cursed at him. Mr. Slater got on the plane’s public-address system and cursed out the passenger for all to hear. Then, after declaring that 20 years in the airline industry was enough, he blurted out, “It’s been great!” He activated the inflatable evacuation slide at a service exit and left the world of flight attending behind.
Isn't disobeying and interfering with a flight crew, which she obviously did, a federal offense? Why wasn't this passenger, who felt she was too important to obey Slater's instructions, arrested as well?
She shares blame for this incident, and it wouldn't bother me in the least if authorities made an example of her to the flying public.
Laura's obituary ran in yesterday's edition of the Conroe Courier. As is my tradition, I am posting it here as well:
Laura Edwards, 36, of Alexandria, Virginia, passed away July 25th 2010 with her family by her side. She is survived by her parents Mr. and Mrs. D.V. Edwards of Conroe, her brother Michael Edwards, brother-in-law Christopher Bride of Dallas, and her boyfriend Josh Rouch of Washington, DC as well as her second family, Tom and Sue Burgess and their children Seth, Zeke and Paul. Laura was surrounded by a strong network of co-workers and friends and will be sorely missed.
Laura was born February 14th, 1974 in Seguin, Texas, grew up in Conroe, Texas, graduating from Conroe High School. She earned a BA in Architecture from the University of Houston before embarking on a successful career in architecture. She designed as well as managed projects focused on the healthcare industry for HKS in Dallas, CSD in Baltimore, and Ellerbe Becket in Washington, DC. Her skill and dedication has left a legacy that will be felt in hospitals across the country.
Laura's memorial service will be held on Saturday August 14th at 2:00pm at the First Methodist Church in Conroe. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center or St. Jude Children's Cancer Center.
It's been almost three weeks since "Monsterchick" passed away, and I still can't believe it. She will be greatly missed.
A couple of months ago, we learned the unfortunate news that Houston-based Continental Airlines would be merging with United. The Continental name will disappear, and the merged airline's corporate headquarters will be located in Chicago. Now comes word that Houston's other hometown airline, ExpressJet, is set to vanish as well:
Consolidation in the U.S. airline industry has trickled down to the nation's regional carriers. The USA's largest regional operator -- SkyWest -- today announced that it plans to acquire Houston-based ExpressJet, another regional carrier.
The Houston Business Journal writes that "as per the agreement, ExpressJet will be folded into SkyWest subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines, based in Atlanta. It is expected that ExpressJet will move its corporate headquarters to Atlanta, but maintain an operational support structure in Houston."
ExpressJet was once a Continental Airlines subsidiary known as Continental Express. It later became an independent company but has continued to serve as Continental's regional carrier under the Continental Express brand. It also provides regional services for United Airlines under the United Express brand, operates charter services, and provides the aircraft for Branson AirExpress, an airline serving the Missouri entertainment hub from several cities. ExpressJet attempted to operate some services as a stand-alone carrier in 2007 but ended that experiment the following year.
This is SkyWest's second attempt at an ExpressJet takeover; the first attempt in 2008 was rejected. However, given the ongoing trend towards airline consolidation in general and the United-Continental merger in particular, this time the acquisition made sense from a business perspective.
Nevertheless, it's another blow for Houston, which will lose another corporate headquarters as well as some jobs. For example, a friend of mine who works for ExpressJet has indicated that he expects to be relocated to Atlanta sometime in the future.
