2011-04-30
Vae Viator14
Let the work speak for itself.
A picture is said to be worth 1,000 words. Here (above) the words are Metro: We don’t do maintenance”. This trash can is located at the Slauson AV entrance to the section of La Cienega BL, which runs, eventually, to the WLATC.
Sorry about the poor definition, I was only carrying my 7 pixel :-) (NOT 7 mega pixel) camera that day.
When your Mole has a bit of free time he will often add to his skill set by means of self-study. In this case he needed a few minutes away from his study of Postgresql, which might be considered in the category of two other DBMS (Database Management Systems) in his skill set, i.e., DB2 from IBM and Oracle from Oracle. Postgresql has its roots at UC Berkley and is both industrial strength and free.
You can learn more at http://www.postgresql.org/
You can also download a copy for Windows there, too.
You can also download a copy for Windows there, too.
In any event, during his break from study su Topo thought about the Metro Store which he noticed, didn’t seem to be top level news anymore at the metro.net site.
Dutifully, he searched the site and found a nice link, clicked on it and, surprise, was presented with the unhelpful failure screen above.
Thinking that it might be a browser anomaly, la Taupe invoked his seldom used I.E. (Internet Explorer) with, pause, the same failure. This may be the manner in which the LACMTA announces that, like many other of their projects, this was a bad idea; not dead yet, just sleeping deeply.
It is also a good time to repeat my request for you to, please, tell everyone you know, that if they like their transportation from the LACMTA, they will certainly like the LACMTA’s newest attempt to separate its ridership from their money, the TDC (Tap Debit Card or what ever they call it).
One would hope that if they had time to think, they would use it to figure out a way to FULLY implement access control after spending lots and lots of our tax dollars, which expenditure resulted in the Potemkin system which presently stands unused and mostly unusable at rail and subway stations. I also ponder why access control installations are not managed by "Operations" instead of "public relations".
The systems failures detailed above is eloquently emblematic of the lack of follow-up at the LACMTA, buy or build, –but never maintain. They may be first reading about this problem here :-) .
Higher fares, fewer buses, less for more all equals “Taxation without Transportation”.
L'encens noircit l'idole en fumant pour sa gloire.
Louis-Sébastien Mercier (1740~1812)
[The incense blackens the idol as it smokes for its glory. Mole]
Source : Citations de Louis-Sébastien Mercier - Dicocitations ™
The Mole reads the papers and other things, so you don’t have to.
"$1.40 Cost per passenger to operate the city's subways the lowest rate in the nations 10 largest transit systems. Gotham's subways are one of the most efficient in the country, a survey by the Citizen's Budget Commission found."
Source: www.amNY.com 2011-04-07 issue, Page 03
Now, this Mole can assure you that the LACMTA cannot even begin to approach the aforementioned NYC MTA’s per passenger cost when the insist on building infrastructure, loopy lines like the 232 run-around Mariposa Station and paralleling of different modes along a nearly identical path, here think the 720 Line and the subway between downtown and the “Purple” line station on Vermont and Santa Monica BL.
Just as su Topo thought, too much tweeting turns the brain to gelatin desert. Please follow this link: See:
The Los Angeles Times tell us(Bloomekatz) about the ‘shortened” Expo Line’s test runs. The Expo Line is another less for more “deal” from the LACMTA. In this short but detailed piece, Mr. Bloomekatz sums up the usual LACMTA project like this: “Originally carrying a price tag of $640 million, the cost [for the Expo Line] has now reached $930.6 million." Mole: And it ain’t over yet. Your Mole calculates that this is a 45.4 per cent cost overrun, which wasted monies ($290.6 million) amount to 193,733,333 FFE. That’s right, close to two hundred million full fares go right into the, ah, <you supply noun here>.
In a droll, somewhat passively voiced sentence the reporter tells it all, “Some of Metro’s rail lines have not produced the ridership numbers officials had hoped for, and it’s unclear how many commuters will get out of their cars.”
In a droll, somewhat passively voiced sentence the reporter tells it all, “Some of Metro’s rail lines have not produced the ridership numbers officials had hoped for, and it’s unclear how many commuters will get out of their cars.”
Then we have an excellent example that happy marriage between bootstrapping and wishful thinking, where it is stated that: “The Expo Line could also gain more passengers once the Crenshaw Line, … is built.”
Mole: Then too, maybe they could build something that would give the Crenshaw Line more passengers, some of whom could ride the Expo Line. Let’s not forget we are the only very large city in the United States whose public transportation goes “everywhere but to the airport”!
How about a ballot measure to repeal Measure R? At least until we can put some adult fiscal conservatives in charge of the LACMTA, Oh, let’s make them professionals NOT politicians while we are at it. It could bring an end to this period of Taxation without Transportation.
Please consider "Measure Rx", a prescription for Measure R, as a title for the ballot initiative. The best intervention action for spendthrifts is to cut off their money supply and make them show how they deserve extra funding because of the excellent job they are doing managing our money and providing very good transportation at a reasonable cost; which is definetly not the case today!
Please consider "Measure Rx", a prescription for Measure R, as a title for the ballot initiative. The best intervention action for spendthrifts is to cut off their money supply and make them show how they deserve extra funding because of the excellent job they are doing managing our money and providing very good transportation at a reasonable cost; which is definetly not the case today!
Whereas, the LACMTA as presently constituted, is oriented towards finding different ways to put their hands in their ridership's pockets.
These actions on the part of the LACMTA can be reduced to: Less for More
and Taxation without Transportation.
Los Angeles Times?, when will you do an investigative series about the LACMTA? Which series is about twenty years overdue!
New York has been inflected with a Frank Ghery building at 8 Spruce Street, on the lower east side near City Hall, J&R Electronics, 1PP (1 Police Plaza of Law and Order fame [at least the NYC L&Os]) and the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The New Yorker(Goldberger) has a photo.
You will have to search it out yourself, because, as you know, this Mole is NOT a Ghery fan. The 8 Spruce building looks Daliesque to me!
Based upon the 60 Minutes broadcast on Easter Sunday night, Eli Broad had his problems with the Disney Center and fired Ghery [the reason(s) were not clearly stated] and Mr. Broad was overridden by the Disney family and Ghery was brought back to “finish” the structure, if Ghery’s structures are ever actually finished. If you haven’t seen this particular 60 Minutes broadcast, it should be easy to find on the Internet, first stop http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml.
As su Topo understood from the 60 Minutes interview, Broad’s problems with Ghery extended to a personal Broad project and this time the firing wasn't reversed.
Anyway the applicable phrase here vis-à-vis architecture, and it could be applied to the LACMTA for the “torture chairs” at Mariposa Station and other “works”, is “De gustibus non est disputandum”.
The New Yorker, in a section entitled, “ANNALS OF ENVIRONMENTALISM”, presented(Owen) an interesting article. The piece drew on the work found in an 1865 book by William Stanley Jevons, “The Coal Question”.
Jevons argument can be summarized by the sub title of the New Yorker piece: “If our machines use less energy will we just use them more?”
The New Yorker, as always, has published excellent writing, so I will only give you a very simple, short summary and ask that you find the article on the Internet or at your local library.
Producing almost anything more efficiently reduces its cost. Reduced cost leads, more often than not, to increased consumption. We humans are frequently not good at identifying unintended consequences, take for example how switching corn from food usage to ethanol production caused problems of shortages in the food sector.
The article discusses how making refrigerators more efficient led to producing larger units and keeping the old inefficient units in use, if out of sight. More refrigeration capacity led to storing more food. Storing more food led to more wastage, an alarming statistic in the article stated “… we now throw away forty per cent of all edible food we produce.”
Two terms of interest are introduced, (1) rebound, which denotes an increase in consumption to a point less than the prior value, which occurs after a decrease in say, consumption of energy which was driven by efficiency. And (2) backfire, “… where increased consumption cancels out any energy savings.”
Su Topo feels this is a “must read” article for a number of reasons: to sharpen your thinking and analytical skills; to better understand human shortcomings and to understand that “things will not get better”.
The Times reports(Man hit) that a 73 year old man was struck by three vehicles and killed. Another sad story. Your Mole knows first-hand the thrill of crossing a street, even with the walk signal, in Southern, CA. Drivers will race their engines, roll toward you and try to intimidate you in any way they cans so that they can get on with their important travel. When one vehicle cuts in front of you, trailing cars think the street is clear and follow the lead vehicle, leaving you stranded part-way across the street. Many streets have "too quick" walk signals which flash before you are even half way across the street.
This might be the case, but I fault the Metro driver for not checking the crosswalk before turning, other obviously followed him. Even if the pedestrian was crossing without the light he shouldn’t have to pay with his life.
Hoy (Please see above) has a nice anti-smoking California Department of Health advertisement(Cuál es). It asks the question: “¿Cuál es el más mortal?” The ad pictures: Escorpión Emperador (Emporor Scorpion), Mamba Negra Africana (Africian Black Mamba snake), Araña Viuda Negra (Black Widow spider), un Cigarrillo (a cigarette) and Ciempies Gigante Peruano (a Giant Peruvian Centipede) you select the correct answer. At the site
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¡Con muchas gracias a Los Ángeles Hoy! At the site, www.vivelohoy.com, one can peruse current and back issues of the paper using a state-of-the-art reader. One can expect brilliant colour, excellent writing and news that is relevent to the Spanish speaking community. All that and a paper which is distributed Gratis, each Friday in Los Ángeles. There are othe U.S. issues as well, e.g., in Chicago. |
Hoy (Please see above) has a nice anti-smoking California Department of Health advertisement(Cuál es). It asks the question: “¿Cuál es el más mortal?” The ad pictures: Escorpión Emperador (Emporor Scorpion), Mamba Negra Africana (Africian Black Mamba snake), Araña Viuda Negra (Black Widow spider), un Cigarrillo (a cigarette) and Ciempies Gigante Peruano (a Giant Peruvian Centipede) you select the correct answer. At the site
The ad goes on to inform us that the cigarrillo is the most deadly. I hope the ad, which I couldn’t find in English, will help people quit smoking. Too many people, mostly non-Latinos, smoke at bus stops, transportation hubs and etc. and leave the newly discovered dangerous third-hand smoke hanging in the air.
Oh, and while we are in the mode:
¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Chicsulub? This is old news, but it has been updated and in effect gives one a ring side seat at an event which may be repeated in the future.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/4158/a-very-big-bang
Oh, and if you like to think about UFOs, take a look at this report from FBI FILES.
Other life in the universe? Please listen to this, from NPR’s Freshair.http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=135040012&m=135040024
Please view a painting by Ingres (linked below), Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) work is truly photographic.
Here is a link to the Portrait of the Princess de Broglie, 1853.
Let’s take a music break,
¡Click here for some Puro Conjunto!
http://s1.insegliushosting.com/tunein.php/conjunto/playlist.asx
¡Click here for some Puro Conjunto!
http://s1.insegliushosting.com/tunein.php/conjunto/playlist.asx
It would be OK to look at it but, don’t get too close, Click below.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/66-billion-suns-largest-black-hole-ever-measured-could-swallow-our-solar-system
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/66-billion-suns-largest-black-hole-ever-measured-could-swallow-our-solar-system
The Mole Rides Again, so that you need not listen to a travelogue which the Metro driver thinks you will think is cute.
(All times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
2011-04-03 15:39: I ride a 232 Line bus, number-block, 11063-004 (the 004 is the “block number”, basically, meaning its sequence on the route) There are different ways in which drivers can place our lives at risk.
This one, number 71883, decides to stop on Sepulveda Bl, effectively blocking other traffic from making the right turn on to 96th Street.
She starts to “fiddle” with the overhead controls; la Taupe knows this because he recognizes the beep-beep-beep which signals operator input. The bus is running and su Topo waits for the crash of a 117 Line bus or some other vehicle as it impacts us.
I know this driver’s number from bad skills in stopping at the flag/curb, should have made the right turn and pulled into the regular stop to do whatever she decided to do on a busy Sepulveda BL. Or she could have waited the 2 or 4 minutes until we arrived at the LAXCBC. This Mole knows she has bad judgment and wonders if she is an accident waiting to happen.
2011-04-04 morning: The 439 Line bus has neither a headsign nor a tailsign but, it does have a nice large handmade sign in the front window.
I am finally on a 733 Line bus headed to Santa Monica. At Colorado and Ocean I dash to the 720 Line bus already at the stop. I reach the trailing edge of the door but too late, he pulls out. These 720 drivers know that 733 have passengers for them but, seemingly don’t care –I’m stranded.
2011-04-15 @13:00: A woman sits on the sidewalk behind the bus bench on Santa Monica BL just west of Veterans AV. It is hot, yet she sits in the sun. She selects some papers from one of the five plastic bags which surround her and begins to write. Will it be the next “Harry Potter”?
Her shopping cart is parked across the sidewalk away from the street. It is filled with many more plastic bags and other “stuff”.
Six school boys pass her location and begin to throw pieces of ice from their soft drinks at each other.
I ride a Culver City 6 Line bus and tow men get into an argument about whether man A is invading man B’s space and talking too loud too. Man B used quite a few bad words in order to express himself.
2011-04-07 @ 15:34: The LAXCBC, as I have frequently noted needs better signage at the south entry. Civilian cars constantly enter the area because they thin it is OK to pull in and drop people off. That was one of the thinks racing through la Taupe’s mind as the driver, number 28317, used the entry driveway as an exit. I was aboard a 111 Line, bus number 5327-004. We made it –but, next time? Who knows? This seems to be another driver who is an accident waiting to happen.
2011-04-10 15:52: Again! This time it was bus number 8430 driven by number 28444 who took the short-cut, out the entry at the LAXCBC. They really need cameras monitoring the exit and entry of the LAXCBC! Mr. Leahy, I hope you take action to correct these reckless Metro drivers, before someone is killed, please don’t wait!
2011-04-24 Easter Sunday at the LAXCBC, 8:30: A woman pulls her shopping cart from trash can to trash can and checks each one for recyclables. What a way to spend Easter morning! She babbles to herself in an Asian language.
There are posters placed around the Center offering a large, yet not clearly specified, reward for the return of a lost pit bull, Zeb. The posters don’t specify “no questions asked”, which this Mole feels would make the return less complicated –if it is not a simple case of “lost and found”.
A woman sits on a bench, crying. Another, likely not related, comforts her. Bad news? Lost job? Or some other of life’s many misfortunes.
It is a sad Easter Sunday!
2011-04-25 @12:10: I take a 120 Line BUS HEADED WEST ON Imperial. The driver, number 28594, must have been trained by First Transit; he makes lots of rough stop and introduces jerks along the way.
A young woman wearing king of a “track suit” boards and apparently, asks for a free ride. He is facing a green light and enters into what to you Mole is and interminable conversation with her. Satisfied that he has harangued her enough he allows her to ride.
My trip continues at about 1:10 on a 232 Line bus, number 11059 block 004. A man boards the bus at the last El Segundo stop, the driver drops the ramp because the man is pulling a “hand truck” with two oxygen bottles strapped to it. You Mole feels that passengers such as this should use the local “access Transit” because oxygen bottles are a real hazard; exposed to fire they can and will produce deadly shrapnel.
This driver must think that he works for universal studios as, after he finishes a long discussion with a woman about how she was injured, why she uses a cane and etc., etc.; he launches into tour guide mode telling us about how El Segundo got its name (from the Chevron refinery), about how you can shop ‘til you drop at El Segundo Plaza, which runways are above us as we transit the Sepulveda tunnel under LAX (24 and 25) and on and on.
I wish he would simply call the stops and leave it at that.
2011-04-28: Another 232 Line ride: I head for Manhattan Beach to meet someone for lunch.A man in mismatched, unseasonal jacket and trousers carries on a loud (aren't they all?) cell phone conversation. He seems to be talking about a "deal", his conversation is sprinkled with "attorneys for the principals", "my terms" and the names of NYC A-list musicians. "Real" deal makers don't ride a Metro buses, neither do they broadcast the details as this poseur did.
2011-04-28 14:00: I return from M.B. on another 232 Line bus, the driver on this one, number 74298, is also a talker and sings out the stop names. I gets old very quickly. Unlike the aforementioned, this guy doesn't talk too much beyond his stop "songs".
He would not even be included here except, at a stop after Plaza El Segundo, he halts the bus, leaves his seat goes to the open front door and starts punching transfers and allows the chad to drop to the sidewalk. This, in spite of the fact that he has a trash bag hanging from the fare box and could have easily captured the chad without leaving his seat! Mr. Leahy, is that the way you did it? This lack of common sense in not limited to contract drivers, in this case MV Transit is the contractor. I wonder what percentage of our population is ineducable and further what percentage of LACMTA drivers are in that category?
2011-09-29 12:30 @ LAXCBC: Almost unbelievably, a woman driver, number 70622, whose bus is parked, stands in the door and punches transfers, again, allowing the chad to litter the area. It is worth repeating that loose chad, blowing in the wind can injure a child's eyes, or anyone else's for that matter.
In closing, I would like to send wishes of support to Ms Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle!
Dedicated to the Dulcinea of my dreams2011-04-28: Another 232 Line ride: I head for Manhattan Beach to meet someone for lunch.A man in mismatched, unseasonal jacket and trousers carries on a loud (aren't they all?) cell phone conversation. He seems to be talking about a "deal", his conversation is sprinkled with "attorneys for the principals", "my terms" and the names of NYC A-list musicians. "Real" deal makers don't ride a Metro buses, neither do they broadcast the details as this poseur did.
2011-04-28 14:00: I return from M.B. on another 232 Line bus, the driver on this one, number 74298, is also a talker and sings out the stop names. I gets old very quickly. Unlike the aforementioned, this guy doesn't talk too much beyond his stop "songs".
He would not even be included here except, at a stop after Plaza El Segundo, he halts the bus, leaves his seat goes to the open front door and starts punching transfers and allows the chad to drop to the sidewalk. This, in spite of the fact that he has a trash bag hanging from the fare box and could have easily captured the chad without leaving his seat! Mr. Leahy, is that the way you did it? This lack of common sense in not limited to contract drivers, in this case MV Transit is the contractor. I wonder what percentage of our population is ineducable and further what percentage of LACMTA drivers are in that category?
2011-09-29 12:30 @ LAXCBC: Almost unbelievably, a woman driver, number 70622, whose bus is parked, stands in the door and punches transfers, again, allowing the chad to litter the area. It is worth repeating that loose chad, blowing in the wind can injure a child's eyes, or anyone else's for that matter.
In closing, I would like to send wishes of support to Ms Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle!
’Great was the pleasure the duke and duchess took in the conversation of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza; and, more bent than ever upon the plan they had of practising some jokes upon them that should have the look and appearance of adventures, they took as their basis of action what Don Quixote had already told them about the cave of Montesinos, in order to play him a famous one. But what the duchess marvelled at above all was that Sancho's simplicity could be so great as to make him believe as absolute truth that Dulcinea had been enchanted, when it was he himself who had been the enchanter and trickster in the business. Having, therefore, instructed their servants in everything they were to do, six days afterwards they took him out to hunt, with as great a retinue of huntsmen and beaters as a crowned king.
They presented Don Quixote with a hunting suit, and Sancho with another of the finest green cloth; but Don Quixote declined to put his on, saying that he must soon return to the hard pursuit of arms, and could not carry wardrobes or stores with him. Sancho, however, took what they gave him, meaning to sell it the first opportunity.
...
Ho there! brother courier," cried the duke, "who are you? Where are you going? What troops are these that seem to be passing through the wood?"
To which the courier replied in a harsh, discordant voice, "I am the devil; I am in search of Don Quixote of La Mancha; those who are coming this way are six troops of enchanters, who are bringing on a triumphal car the peerless Dulcinea del Toboso; she comes under enchantment, together with the gallant Frenchman Montesinos, to give instructions to Don Quixote as to how, she the said lady, may be disenchanted."
"If you were the devil, as you say and as your appearance indicates, " said the duke, "you would have known the said knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, for you have him here before you."
"By God and upon my conscience," said the devil, "I never observed it, for my mind is occupied with so many different things that I was forgetting the main thing I came about."
"This demon must be an honest fellow and a good Christian," said Sancho; "for if he wasn't he wouldn't swear by God and his conscience; I feel sure now there must be good souls even in hell itself."
Without dismounting, the demon then turned to Don Quixote and said, "The unfortunate but valiant knight Montesinos sends me to thee, the Knight of the Lions (would that I saw thee in their claws), bidding me tell thee to wait for him wherever I may find thee, as he brings with him her whom they call Dulcinea del Toboso, that he may show thee what is needful in order to disenchant her; and as I came for no more I need stay no longer; demons of my sort be with thee, and good angels with these gentles;" and so saying he blew his huge horn, turned about and went off without waiting for a reply from anyone.
They all felt fresh wonder, but particularly Sancho and Don Quixote; Sancho to see how, in defiance of the truth, they would have it that Dulcinea was enchanted; Don Quixote because he could not feel sure whether what had happened to him in the cave of Montesinos was true or not; and as he was deep in these cogitations the duke said to him, "Do you mean to wait, Senor Don Quixote?"
"Why not?" replied he; "here will I wait, fearless and firm, though all hell should come to attack me."
"Well then, if I see another devil or hear another horn like the last, I'll wait here as much as in Flanders," said Sancho.
Night now closed in more completely, and many lights began to flit through the wood, just as those fiery exhalations from the earth, that look like shooting-stars to our eyes, flit through the heavens; a frightful noise, too, was heard, like that made by the solid wheels the ox-carts usually have, by the harsh, ceaseless creaking of which, they say, the bears and wolves are put to flight, if there happen to be any where they are passing. In addition to all this commotion, there came a further disturbance to increase the tumult, for now it seemed as if in truth, on all four sides of the wood, four encounters or battles were going on at the same time; in one quarter resounded the dull noise of a terrible cannonade, in another numberless muskets were being discharged, the shouts of the combatants sounded almost close at hand, and farther away the Moorish lelilies were raised again and again. In a word, the bugles, the horns, the clarions, the trumpets, the drums, the cannon, the musketry, and above all the tremendous noise of the carts, all made up together a din so confused and terrific that Don Quixote had need to summon up all his courage to brave it; but Sancho's gave way, and he fell fainting on the skirt of the duchess's robe, who let him lie there and promptly bade them throw water in his face. This was done, and he came to himself by the time that one of the carts with the creaking wheels reached the spot. It was drawn by four plodding oxen all covered with black housings; on each horn they had fixed a large lighted wax taper,
and on the top of the cart was constructed a raised seat, on which sat a venerable old man with a beard whiter than the very snow, and so long that it fell below his waist; he was dressed in a long robe of black buckram; for as the cart was thickly set with a multitude of candles it was easy to make out everything that was on it. Leading it were two hideous demons, also clad in buckram, with countenances so frightful that Sancho, having once seen them, shut his eyes so as not to see them again.
As soon as the cart came opposite the spot the old man rose from his lofty seat, and standing up said in a loud voice, "I am the sage Lirgandeo," and without another word the cart then passed on. Behind it came another of the same form, with another aged man enthroned, who, stopping the cart, said in a voice no less solemn than that of the first, "I am the sage Alquife, the great friend of Urganda the Unknown," and passed on. Then another cart came by at the same pace, but the occupant of the throne was not old like the others, but a man stalwart and robust, and of a forbidding countenance, who as he came up said in a voice far hoarser and more devilish, "I am the enchanter Archelaus, the mortal enemy of Amadis of Gaul and all his kindred," and then passed on. Having gone a short distance the three carts halted and the monotonous noise of their wheels ceased, and soon after they heard another, not noise, but sound of sweet, harmonious music, of which Sancho was very glad, taking it to be a good sign; and said he to the duchess, from whom he did not stir a step, or for a single instant, "Senora, where there's music there can't be mischief."'
I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: 7587;
Note: No or few entries above do not necessarily mean all fare boxes are in operation.
I.D.Numbers of Distracted Drivers: 19970(i);
None included here, but observations of a minor nature may be included in the main posting;
Codes: (i) Extended conversation(s) with passenger(s) or (ii) cell phone call(s). Frequently, details can be found in the text above, (ii*) cell phone call(s) which are aggravated by some other action, (iii) Self-distracted. Codes (ii*) and (iii) will ALWAYS be explained in the posting.
I.D. Numbers of Buses Defaced by WhoIs stickers: ;
~UR or +UR = (+UR) whois sticker and the ugly residue left after passengers partly remove the sticker. (~UR) = Only the ugly residue left after passengers almost completely remove the sticker. +L = an old (legacy) sticker black letters on a plain white background –these are the original form of defacement.
* Another reason for displaying the operator's ID on the internal display and the headsign.
ID numbers of Buses whose Head and Tailsigns disagree: xxxxx ;
Format is Bus number followed by Headsign number/Tailsign number.
ID numbers of Buses without Braille signs: 8426;
METRO drivers Basic Technical Skills Report
The format is Driver number F[{Y/-n/+n} C[{Y/N}]. Meaning of F if Y the driver stopped with the Bus stop “flag pole” somewhere between the bus front door frame. A negative number, e.g., -3 is the approximate distance in metres (think yards dear readers) between the nearest bus door vertical frame member and the flag pole signifying that the bus stopped short of the flag. A positive number, e.g., +3 (metres) is the approximate distance between the nearest bus door vertical frame member and the flag pole signifying that the bus stopped past the flag. The value for C[{Y/N}], “Y” tells us that the driver stopped within an easy step from the curb to the bus, “N” means it was NOT an easy step from the curb to the bus. It is this Mole's belief that an average experienced good driver should be able to control his bus so as to position in near the curb and with the flag pole slightly to the front of the bus.
71883 F[+6], [Y]; 73753 F[+5], C[Y]; 76798 F[+4], C[N];
La Taupe's Abréviations
ADADO = Automatic Destination Announcement (on) Door Opening. This feature is installed on many buses and operates on extremely few. Another “money down the toilet” LACMTA investment. La Taupe that this is intended for the visually impaired because people who can see can read the “head signs”.
ASAS = Automatic Stop Announcement System the GPS (Global Positioning System) driven mechanism for generating audio for the upcoming stops. N.B. Because of the low power (read weak) processors used in the on-board stops may be too close to identify stops separately. This is known as a granularity problem. Then too, if the driver operates the bus at speed above the speed limit you will find the system “back announcing” stops which you have already passed. I find that this will NOT keep some drivers from complaining “that you didn’t signal (ring) in time. They don’t understand their relationship to the system and how, by driving faster than the GPS computer, they can bias it.
BBB = Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus
CC or CCMBL = Culver City (Municipal) Bus (Lines)
CCTC = Culver City Transportation Center this is the place formerly known as FHMTC = the Fox Hills Mall Transportation Center (Sepulveda & Slauson)
FFE = Full Fare Equivalent (presently $1.50)
LAXCBC = the LAX City Bus Center.
Rapid Transit = does not compete for right of way, that is, it will not run at grade unless it has EXCLUSIVE DEDICATED USE of the right of way).
TT = Torrance Transit.
T1 = the normal type of driver/staff.
T2 = is the non-stop talker type of driver/staff, on the phone or to passengers,
T3 = the uncommunicative type of driver/staff, sometimes surly.
WLATC = the West Los Angeles Transportation Center (Fairfax & Apple)
Su Topo’s Disclaimer and apologia
Your Mole always attempts to write an easy-on-the-eyes page using text input. Blogger.com however, has other ideas and will often not stay with a single font type or point size, produces extraneous spacing and etc. I wish I had time to debug the HTML which they produce, it is NOT the straight text which I pasted into the form, but I don’t. Therefore, I apologize on behalf of Blogger.com for the changes which they make, of which I do not approve. Sometimes, what I see, thankfully you don’t, is 24 point type –it is giant and other times they swallow my text, although it still seems to be there. In fairness to them, things seem better, although this is partly because I do understand which of their “features” do the most damage to me and consequently do not use them. Communicating these problems to them, for me, is something like having teeth extracted without the benefit of anesthetic, actually it is less fun than that. By their design, there is no simple e-mailing them with "Please look at my say, posting of 2009-06-28, it is weird!” I am hoping that one of their developers will some day read this, copy my code and improve their text to HTML engine. Until then, lo siento.
Mole’s Copyright Statement
All photographs and original written materials are copyrighted © 2007~2009 by LAmetroMole. ♪Clicking a photo will often* present you with an enlargement. *This feature is dependent upon the Internet browser which you use and possibly other factors.
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains or provides links to copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, sustainable development, environmental, community and worker health, public disclosure, corporate accountability, and etc. We have often included relatively brief quotes from articles and etc., sometimes in addition to a simple link, because we have found that links frequently go "bad" or change over time. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without fee or payment of any kind to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes and to those who access the site via any and all other channels. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Music or other recorded material on this site, or referred to by this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are made available here for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists you like by buying their commercial CDs, MP3s and downloads.
Your Mole’s Conflict of Interest Statement
This is to certify that I, the blogger who is known as the LAmetroMole, with respect to this blog, except as described below, am not now nor at any time during the past year have been, nor it my current intention to ever be:
1) A participant, directly or indirectly, in any arrangement, agreement, investment, or other activity with any vendor, supplier, or other party doing business with any of the entities about which I have written, which has resulted or could result in personal benefit to me.
2) A recipient, directly or indirectly, of any salary payments or loans or gifts of any kind or any free service or discounts or other fees from or on behalf of any person or organization engaged in any transaction with any of the entities about which I have written.
Any exceptions to 1 or 2 above are stated below with a full description of the transactions and of the interest, whether direct or indirect, which I have (or have had during the past year) in the persons or organizations having transactions with any of the entities about which I have written.
There are no exceptions.
Date: 2009-06-24 S/ LametroMole
Works Cited
Bloomekatz, Ari. “Expo line set to begin test runs”. Los Angeles Times. 3 Apr. 2011:A31. Print.Goldberger, Paul. “Gracious Living:Frank Ghery’s swirling apartment tower”. The New Yorker. 7 Mar. 2011:72. Print.
“Man hit by 3 vehicles”. Los Angeles Times. 15 Apr. 2011:AA3. Print.
Owen, David. “Tne Efficency Dilemma: If our machines use less energy will we just use them more?”. The New Yorker. 20 & 27 Dec. 2010:78. Print.
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Labels: 4/30/11 12:00 PM
# posted by LAMETROmole @ 12:20 
