Off Topic: Things That Make One Go "Hmmmm?"

[Realgirls4me]

Here's my Caltrans question: When are they going to stop building these freeway monstrocities (15 lanes on the I-15 at one point, freeways on top of freeways,etc) and start placing monorails in the center of these freeways instead? Can you envision the 405 with a monorail down the center of it? I can. Hell, hire Disneyland to build them, just don't allow them to Mickey Mouse it!

OMG..... I've been saying that for years! In fact, when D-land was being built, Walt offered to put monorails around Orange County..... he was told "no thanks".


.

I thought you would comment on the nail salons.

On the monorail thing, one guess of mine as to why that isn't studied, is that the concrete industry does some serious lobbying up in Sacramento.

Right after 9/11 in the ruins of the Twin Towers, I expected Dubya to tell the country that this was a wake-up call for this country to start developing not just more fuel efficient technologies(Listening Detroit?), but also to look into developing mass transit systems such as light rail, maglev, and monorails,etc., around the major cities of this country. He had the country in the palm of his hand, but what did the fucking dunce do? He invaded a country.

[ottorocket]

Here's my Caltrans question: When are they going to stop building these freeway monstrocities (15 lanes on the I-15 at one point, freeways on top of freeways,etc) and start placing monorails in the center of these freeways instead? Can you envision the 405 with a monorail down the center of it? I can. Hell, hire Disneyland to build them, just don't allow them to Mickey Mouse it!

OMG..... I've been saying that for years! In fact, when D-land was being built, Walt offered to put monorails around Orange County..... he was told "no thanks".


.

I thought you would comment on the nail salons.

On the monorail thing, one guess of mine as to why that isn't studied, is that the concrete industry does some serious lobbying up in Sacramento.

Right after 9/11 in the ruins of the Twin Towers, I expected Dubya to tell the country that this was a wake-up call for this country to start developing not just more fuel efficient technologies(Listening Detroit?), but also to look into developing mass transit systems such as light rail, maglev, and monorails,etc., around the major cities of this country. He had the country in the palm of his hand, but what did the fucking dunce do? He invaded a country.

Real...not to get into a political discussion as you seem to be drawn into but, if you Google the Bush administration and fuel efficient mandates you'll see a host of public statements, documents, and initiatives in the energy bill supplied to Congress that outlays millions into R&D above that of previous administrations on the issue. One can argue about the seperate issue of Iraq, but a President (D) or (R) does not act alone without Congress' final check in passing overnight energy policy or convincing the majority of Americans, investors, and stockholders to dump their daily habits and financial investments for technologies that have no basis for reliance. I'm not making any excuses for the last 40 years of our National dependence on foreign oil for any administration...just putting it in context.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/energy/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea.../20050516.html
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...704110358/1148

[TrueBeauty TS]

Here's my Caltrans question: When are they going to stop building these freeway monstrocities (15 lanes on the I-15 at one point, freeways on top of freeways,etc) and start placing monorails in the center of these freeways instead? Can you envision the 405 with a monorail down the center of it? I can. Hell, hire Disneyland to build them, just don't allow them to Mickey Mouse it!

OMG..... I've been saying that for years! In fact, when D-land was being built, Walt offered to put monorails around Orange County..... he was told "no thanks".


.

I thought you would comment on the nail salons.

On the monorail thing, one guess of mine as to why that isn't studied, is that the concrete industry does some serious lobbying up in Sacramento.

Right after 9/11 in the ruins of the Twin Towers, I expected Dubya to tell the country that this was a wake-up call for this country to start developing not just more fuel efficient technologies(Listening Detroit?), but also to look into developing mass transit systems such as light rail, maglev, and monorails,etc., around the major cities of this country. He had the country in the palm of his hand, but what did the fucking dunce do? He invaded a country.

............ don't even go there.......


I just don't understand how, as we are supposed to be the most powerful, richest country in the world, we can't (or won't) figure out a decent mass transit system for Los Angeles. Every other developed country in the world has something better than LA. And don't tell me LA is "too spread out". If there is a will, there is a way. What happened to the American spirit?


People have no vision anymore. They can't look beyond the next 6 months, let alone the next 60 years.


.

[Realgirls4me]

Real...not to get into a political discussion as you seem to be drawn into but, if you Google the Bush administration and fuel efficient mandates you'll see a host of public statements, documents, and initiatives in the energy bill supplied to Congress that outlays millions into R&D above that of previous administrations on the issue. One can argue about the seperate issue of Iraq, but a President (D) or (R) does not act alone without Congress' final check in passing overnight energy policy or convincing the majority of Americans, investors, and stockholders to dump their daily habits and financial investments for technologies that have no basis for reliance. I'm not making any excuses for the last 40 years of our National dependence on foreign oil for any administration...just putting it in context.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/energy/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea.../20050516.html
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...704110358/1148

Otto,

Your defense of Dubya is awfully transparent, if not shameful given the embarrassment he's turned out to be. ...Trust a man who lied this country into a costly, unneccesary, unprovoked war because of that country's oil? Trust an oilman whose family has ties to Saudi Arabia? Trust a man who had to be told by a reporter a couple of months ago that $4.00 gas prices were on the horizon (Would you like the YouTube link?)? Trust a president and administration who allowed energy companies to dictate energy policy? A president -- and I use the "president" term very loosely -- who brought us the No Child Left Behind (look up how funding for that program has stacked up) act, but failed to follow through and fund it, etc.? I seem to remember a lot of public posturing and statements about that bill also. Get my drift so far? You mentioned other administrations, but other administrations did not have a 9/11 on their plate as its horrified citizens collectively looked to them for answers and leadership, did they? Other administrations did not have a tragedy of this scope to bitchslap its citizens collective attention that not only must we Americans find more ways to conserve (How many speeches has the dunce had on CONSERVATION?) on every front possible, but in the Kennedyesque way (remember placing man on the moon before the end of the decade?) at this unfortunate yet opportune time to tell the country that it was time to pry ourselves from dependence of foreign oil by whatever means neccessary by investing heavily -- HEAVILY -- on mass transit systems that have worked, and to research and develop other fuel technologies that are part of our everyay lives. How many times has AMTRAK had their funding cut, or been put on the chopping block in recent years? How many of those billions -- hundreds of BILLIONS -- spent so far in Iraq could have instead been sent to the premiere universities of this country to study MagLev rail systems, or even sent to Detroit specifically geared toward increasing CAFE standards? I believe it was MIT which started looking into MagLev possibilities decades ago, and yet, why has Japan for years -- and not the United States -- been on the forefront of research and development? By the way, I noticed that in all of your maundering and shell game diversions about investors, stockholders, and "unreliable technologies", that you left out links from environmental organizations who seem to think this administration has failed horribly on the energy front. He hasn't done anything to reduce this country's dependence on oil except to try to control it by force in Iraq.


Just putting it in context.

[Realgirls4me]

I just don't understand how, as we are supposed to be the most powerful, richest country in the world, we can't (or won't) figure out a decent mass transit system for Los Angeles. Every other developed country in the world has something better than LA. And don't tell me LA is "too spread out". If there is a will, there is a way. What happened to the American spirit?

People have no vision anymore. They can't look beyond the next 6 months, let alone the next 60 years.

.

That's just it. We don't have leaders with either the vision or will to look that far down. We're reactive, not proactive. If we're lucky, they might hire expensive consultants to study the issue at hand, but that's as far as it gets for the most part unfortunately.

We're fucked, in other words.

[ottorocket]

Congrats REal... In one long paragraph you've accomplished pretty much what I expected. You've incorrectly made your political character assassination of me, and dodged focus from the statistical and historical facts (vis a vis current and past administrations oil dependency and alternative fuel bills) that I presented without bias towards any political ideology. After all I am a registered independent who drives a car that would benefit from lower gas prices. ::sigh:: Alas, you again ignored the realities of government fundamentals of bill making of energy policies in such a divisive atmosphere where alternative fuel sources have to butt heads against environmental, corporate, and geopolitical heads around the world.

But me thinks for you, its far easier to just bring up Iraq..make your jabs, and shout to the world on a transexual forum that Bush as the sole problem for the world oil demands and "crisis". That is ok...if it makes YOU feel better. I just think people can google themselves and find that our energy policy hasn't changed in 40 years and raving about Bush...again as if its going to change it, or if Hillary or Obama will change anything is just rather naive...if not masochistic.

[Realgirls4me]

Congrats REal... In one long paragraph you've accomplished pretty much what I expected. You've incorrectly made your political character assassination of me, and dodged focus from the statistical and historical facts (vis a vis current and past administrations oil dependency and alternative fuel bills) that I presented without bias towards any political ideology. After all I am a registered independent who drives a car that would benefit from lower gas prices. ::sigh:: Alas, you again ignored the realities of government fundamentals of bill making of energy policies in such a divisive atmosphere where alternative fuel sources have to butt heads against environmental, corporate, and geopolitical heads around the world.

But me thinks for you, its far easier to just bring up Iraq..make your jabs, and shout to the world on a transexual forum that Bush as the sole problem for the world oil demands and "crisis". That is ok...if it makes YOU feel better. I just think people can google themselves and find that our energy policy hasn't changed in 40 years and raving about Bush...again as if its going to change it, or if Hillary or Obama will change anything is just rather naive...if not masochistic.

Excuse me, but without digging up any of my college Political Science books that I have as a result of having Political Science as my minor in college, I believe I remember a little something about how a bill goes through the halls of the Senate and the House without your little take on it. I didn't care for your condescending tone in other words, so you can stop trying to muck this up with your defeatism as to what a bill faces, or explanations about shareholders and such.

What statistics and historical facts did you present besides trying to cover for Bush by playing the "previous administrations are at fault also" game? You provide links to the Whitehouse, but none from, say, the Sierra Club? The fact is that this moron allowed the horrific attack of this country go without confronting its citizens that we Americans -- the world's mouth -- have an addiction to fossil fuels and that we Americans are way overdue in confronting that fact and moving on to conservation and other energy alternatives. The fact is that this man and his administration DID allow energy corporations to basically write the energy bills. The fact is that this dunce has done nothing -- NOTHING -- if even symbolic, to plant in our collective American psyche the need to conserve and look to other possible sources of energy, and therefore decrease this country's dependence on foreign oil. He could have proposed billions -- like those BILLIONS being spent on Iraq -- in immediate spending towards R&D and light rail,etc., and Congress would have not batted an eye in light of the 9/11 attack. Under this administration oil consumption has not decreased.

One more thing "Mister Independent" without getting into Iraq: Who did you vote for in the last two presidential elections? ...You'd be amazed at how many former hardcore neocons have suddenly started identifying themselves as "Independent" after their dunce (Dubya) has proven to be the biggest bust in presidential history.

[Daponster]

Airplane food. What's the deal with that?

[peggygee]

This is one of those questions in everyday life that just make one(me) go "Hmmmmm???" :

Why is it that banks, credit unions, savings and loans, and other financial institutions, seemingly have the worst in close circuit camera recording? I mean, why not just have some court reporter artist sit far off in one corner of the bank drawing pictures of everyone as they come in? It would amount to the same thing quality wise. Their pictures and video taping of bank robbers is always so poor and grainy -- as if the signal of the image was being bounced off the moon or as if the disc was being reused for the tenth million time. One would think that given they are targets for robbery(that's where the money is, after all), spend lavishly every few months outfitting the place, and pay their tellers so little, that they of all businesses could afford and therefore have state-of-the-art cameras that could dissect a hair follicle of anyone walking in from 300 feet. Aren't home recording security systems relatively inexpensive? What's up with that?

Here locally there has been a rash of robberies at several Radio Shacks. The thieves don't make out with money, but with portable display cases with Ipods in them. And just like banks, the images of these perpetrators comes out so weak and grainy. This is RADIO SHACK, folks. RADIO SHACK !!! You mean to tell me that Radio Shack couldn't rig up something to not only deter but also provide better images of those stealing from them?

There are mom and pop liquor stores with better equipment than both of the aforementioned examples. ...Just what am I missing? Anyone here from either industry that can explain this?

Yes, I'm bored.

I love the banks that say "no hats, hoods, or sunglasses".

What would Willie Sutton do?