July 05, 2004
Downtown For Democracy
Erik Stowers, 31, the political action group's one full-time employee, who works
at its headquarters on North 11th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, said that the
group's research indicates about 85 percent of its contributors have never given
to any candidate or party before.
"It backs up our suspicions that you have this huge class of people who work in
culture and information industries that are driving our economy, who are liberal
culturally, but they really weren't doing very much," Mr. Stowers said. "A lot of
people have worked on the environment or gay rights, and those things are
important. But unlike the Christian right, which tends to focus on winning
elections, liberals have tended to place their energies into issue advocacy and
have not directly engaged in elections. It's a famous quote that `the left won the
culture wars, the right won the elections.' "
-- on Downtown For Democracy
NYT.
February 29, 2004
Waiting at EWR trainstation, Newark, NJ
Note the good lighting, sheltered waiting area, stairs and escalators
for accessing the platform, and the multiple tracks to allow overtaking
express trains to pass through at speed.
And kudos for the well-oriented train arrival information screens
visible from the platform, and inside the lounge.
Photo taken from the EWR AirTrain concourse.
February 20, 2004
Amtrak ticket machine doesn't run MS Windows
Ticket machine at Penn Station NYC, Amtrak's busiest station
tries to run MS windows, and fails.
Technical note: the extended handle of my Tumi rollaboard functions
as a great adjustable camerarest for non-flash indoor photography.
[click on thumbnail for popup-fullsize image]
Previously: MS Windows seen at Oakland Airport (OAK)
February 09, 2004
Dynamic Three Layer map of NYC
Dynamap of Manhattan uses three interlaced images to display three different
maps of Manhattan -- a street map, a subway map, and one showing landmarks
and neighborhoods -- all onto the same surface. Tilt it to one side and you see the
street map, tilt it another way and you see the subway map. Easily determine
the exact street intersections of subway stops.
Buy your own for $17 from Dynamap.
January 16, 2004
NYC Co-op: qualifying a buyer
The NYT draws examples from various demographic strata, commonly
upmarket. The NYT wants its advertizers to believe such content is relevant
to its readers. Also, FSP is pleased to see MOTOKO RICH on firmer ground
after her ill-fated detour into cultural criticism.
Let's say there's some 38-year-old guy on Wall Street who makes $1.2 million a
year in salary, has three kids and wants to buy a $5 million condo," Ms. Brainerd
said. To qualify for a co-op, she said, the buyer would probably have to show that
he had $10 million to $15 million in liquid assets. "He hasn't had enough time to
sock away $10 million or $15 million in cash," she said. "But if you're buying a
condo, you just need enough money for a down payment and to be able to pay
your monthly mortgage. The higher the prices get, the higher the stakes are with
the co-op boards.
See also New York Wiki and NYT.
January 01, 2004
LIRR system, fare maps
LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) publishes various maps, some showing routes
and branches, some showing fare zones. I haven't yet found a map combining
fare zones and routes.
Also, I haven't yet found a map showing transfer points for each route.
Sure you might have to transfer at Hicksville, and Hickville is indeed shown
on the map, but Hicksville is not shown as a transfer point, so you cannot
learn from the map that your transfer will be at Hicksville.
Compare to this example map showing explicit transfer point:
Other LIRR maps: Fare zone map.
Combined map: fare zones 1 though 14 (NYC to Montauk)
December 30, 2003
JFK-AirTrain Part 2 - LIRR Access Information
The entrance to Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) from JFK AirTrain Jamaica --
this station ingress enjoys a number of well executed features.
Wayfinding:
In addition to the colour coded signs, the lighting and geometry
of the antechamber, the large logo and collection of monitors and
ticket vending machine all combine to focus attention on this corner
which leads to the LIRR tracks.
Ergonomic:
The monitors are placed overhead so passengers simply look up
rather than queue to choose a train, and to see the specifics of their
train. These monitors are tilted down to maximize readability and
reduce glare.
Task Oriented:
By positioning the monitors and the ticket vending machine together,
passengers can make an informed decision about where and
when to buy tickets, and whether to rush or dawdle to the train
platform.
If a passenger has a few minutes to spare, he can buy more
tickets. If he's about to miss his train, he can rush ahead and
buy a ticket on the train (for a service fee).
The overhead monitors list the next train to DESTINATION at
TIME on TRACK, sorted by direction
(one monitor for westbound, one for eastbound).
Each monitor is then sorted by time of departure, and the various
destinations are represented by a consistent colouring scheme.
eg Huntington is always dark blue.
The monitors also show the correct local time, so there's no asking,
I see there is an 8:44 PM train to huntington, and it's on time;
has it left yet ? Is 8:44 before of after now ?
Eastbound (aka 'Outbound') train info:
(different destinations are represented by different colors)
Note that these colors are consistent with the line/branch colours
used on the system maps.
Westbound (going into the NY City) info:
Previously: JFK AirTrain Opens Part 1: dream vs reality
December 21, 2003
JFK AirTrain opens (Part 1 of ?) -- dream vs reality
The JFK-Jamaica AirTrain, New York City's first transit link
to a city airport opened in December 2003. Here's a comparison
of some architectural drawings to what passengers actually experience.
JFK AirTrain Jamaica station: the dream from kennedyairport.com.
1. The foyer.
1. The Dream:
1. The Reality:
Analysis: It's spaceous, but not as cavernous or illuminated as hoped for.
2. The atrium:
2. Dream:
2. Reality:
Analysis: Again, not as ambiently illuminated as promised, but succeeds
as a directional beakon. If you can see the glowing globe above, you
should probably be walking towards it.
Continued: Part 2: JFK-AirTrain - LIRR Access Information.
December 05, 2003
EWR, waiting
New York/ Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Though 14 miles southwest of NYC, EWR offers a midtown Manhattan to airport security
gate trek in less than 30 minutes by train. That's better situated than actual NYC airports
JFK (Idlewild) and La Guardia.
Picture: EWR, waiting at gate c-80.
See previously: Morning sky at EWR.
October 22, 2003
October 14, 2003
Grocery Strike
Dierbergs is a good grocery store for the masses when it's fuctioning normally.
Bright, clean, spaceous, orderly, well stocked. Alas they have locked out their workers,
and I won't be shopping there this week.
Pity there's no Adronico's, Draeger's or Ranch99 (oh, how I miss Yaohan) in STL.
The outstanding fresh seafood; your selection cooked for you as you wait.
But not in STL.
And WebVan and Kozmo, RIP.
For now I have to make due with Whole Earth Foods on Brentwood and
Wild Oats on Ladue.
Perhaps it's time for another trip to the coast.
For now, there's Ko's Lemmongrass and Pho Grand.
July 10, 2003
Driving, NJ, not in a SUV
DRIVING: An S.U.V.? Oh, That's So Over!
The hills around the Vernon Valley in northern New Jersey have curving stretches
of graded, tree-lined back roads, and almost no traffic. It was here that Mitch
Joseph led a group of other car owners on a Sunday afternoon drive. Mr. Joseph,
38, an electrician from Elizabeth, N.J., likes to explore, looking for hidden roads
with what he calls rhythm, and a couple of times a month he shares his
discoveries.
As their all-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza WRX's hugged the twists of the two-lane roads
against a backdrop of autumn's peak display, the scene looked like a car commercial set
to a turbo-charged beat.
''I like the stealth aspect of my car,'' Mr. Joseph said. ''It doesn't look like a sports car, but
it performs like one.''
By ANNA BAHNEY, NYT, 2002 Nov. 11.
The WRX is great. Review forthcoming.
And the rear differential looks lie a mace. Great fetishizable kit.
Here's Keith Casey of Somerset, MA, in his WRX Hatchback/wagon.
April 24, 2003
Good Web: StrapHangers.org
straphangers.org is a great website for NYC Subway fans.
Clean, everything above the fold, no cascading DHTML springing out at
you, no broken Javascript navigation, no images as text. A site map
up front with understandable topic labels, and several ways to drill
down and get involved, all on the front page. Much better
than most transit agency sites. Well done.
