Alex Krogh-Grabbe

Google just released a staggering new feature to Gmail: the ability to make free phone calls to any real phone in the country from your computer. At least for people like me who are online a fair portion of the time, this changes everything in the area of telephones. It’s really, really cool.

But then I remembered: wasn’t Google just in the news recently about something else? And wasn’t that piece of news that they were cheating on their users with a telephone company? The news (in case you missed it) was that Google and Verizon announced a deal whereby Verizon could fast-track some content to your browser (if the creators of the content pay up), leaving other content to languish at slower download speeds. It’s a deal that’s been universally panned as directly transgressing net neutrality. See the video below for more information.

“Can you hear me now?” is Verizon’s ubiquitous ad campaign, whereas “Don’t Be Evil” is Google’s corporate motto. If you’re concerned about the prospects of this deal, go to SaveTheInternet.com and sign their petition! There’s also a video there of Al Franken explaining net neutrality in a less shouty tone. Or if you’re scornful of petitions, get involved in a bigger way! Put your time where your ethics are.

Anyways, the phone-in-your-inbox thing that Google just came out with is fantastic, but I am very suspicious that it’s causally linked to their deal with Verizon. And if this fantastic new bauble was intended to make us forget our recent outcry at Google’s corporate misbehavior, it may have worked, temporarily. But let’s be adults, too. Learn about net neutrality, and remember on Election Day. It’s the actual current battlefront in the fight for freedom of speech.

One of my big interests over the time that I’ve been keeping this blog is how to live a better, more fulfilling life. I figure, if I get a lot of that figured out when I’m 24, the benefits will be greater than if I just let the wisdom trickle in over the course of my life. So I’ve been collecting proverbs and reading about happiness and lifestyle design, and the process has been fulfilling in its own right.

But though I might treat them with reverence, the proverbs and maxims I collect are more ground rules than they are Rules. That is, they suggest a path, and what’s important is not that they are followed to a T, but rather that you let them guide you gently. It’s okay to break the rules sometimes. A couple rules I’ve felt good about breaking recently:

• Live in the moment. I am currently at an idyllic camp, where for a minimal amount of work I can play games much of the time, eat wonderful food, swim in a lake, and breathe in lovely ocean-infused and pine-cleansed air. But I’m also extremely excited about seeing my sweetheart in the near future, starting my graduate program, and moving to Boston in three short weeks. While I’m enjoying my present surroundings, I’m also full to brimming with anticipation, and I feel like that’s okay.
• Don’t procrastinate on your personal goals. Shouldn’t I be reading more? Going running? Practicing my calling? I probably should be. But I was just on the go for months and months, having once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It’s okay to relax now and not push myself. It’s important to take breaks, too.

Putting a ground rule aside for a little while doesn’t invalidate it. I’m curious, though: what are some of the ground rules you try to live by?

I’m a nascent transit geek, so one of the coolest things for me about visiting so many cities around the continent was comparing the transit systems in each. I’ll attempt to give a brief overview here of my thoughts on each.

New York City

The only transit I took in New York was the subway which I’ve taken multiple times before. Judgment is always clouded by familiarity, but generally the New York subway works pretty well. Trains come pretty regularly (though occasionally I’ve had to wait longer than I’d like) and the fare system makes sense to me. In case you’ve never used it, New York has these paper “Metrocard” tickets, which you swipe upon entering the turnstiles. The one complaint I have about the New York subway is that it’s dirty and smelly and noisy. The stations are kind of icky to wait in. But considering how well the system works otherwise, I really don’t mind. Slightly more frequent trains are the only other suggestion I have.

Washington, DC

From my previous visits to the capital, I had positive impressions of the metro there. This time, though, I had a lot of confusion buying my ticket from the machines. DC has a paper ticket system similar to New York, though apparently it also has the “proximity cards” I’m familiar with from Boston. According to Wikipedia, the Washington Metro is the second busiest in the country after New York. I believe, though, that the New York system only requires swiping upon initial entry, whereas the DC system requires swiping upon exit as well. It’s more convenient to only have to swipe once, but other than that, I think the Washington Metro is pretty good.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has no subway system, instead relying heavily on buses. You pay in cash, mostly, and the fare is based on how far you are going (how many zones you’re traveling through). Some times of day you pay when boarding the bus, other times you pay when getting off. I figured it out eventually, but this sort of system is one of the most difficult for visitors to decipher, I believe.

Chicago

The L in Chicago is the second-largest rapid transit system in the country, and has similar efficiency and ease to #1, New York. Downtown many of the lines are elevated, hence “The L”. While it’s necessary to switch lines to get to some of the close suburbs during much of the day (I was going to and from Evanston), the stations are very clean, and the day passes I used worked just fine. Upon first entering an L station, I was confused about how to proceed, but a very friendly transit worker helped me out, telling me where I could buy day passes at a nearby convenience store. One trip I took from Hyde Park back to Evanston late one night took well in excess of an hour, but that’s to be expected going from one side of a city to the other on multiple lines. And it’s great that the L has good late-night coverage.

Vancouver, BC

I only took one bus in Vancouver, though that one was very clean and intuitive (if late), and had many easily-recognizable sheltered bus stops. What impressed me the most about Vancouver was its infrastructure for bicycles. There are bike lanes on the majority of roads, and one of the primary tourist attractions (which I enthusiastically engaged in) is circumnavigating the bike path around Stanley Park. The coolest thing, though, is that Vancouver has streets that are designated as bike routes, and on these streets bicycles are the primary vehicle, with the few cars driving slowly and giving bikes a wide berth. Just read this quote from the city government’s website:

Expanding the bicycle network is an important strategy in the City’s effort to reduce traffic congestion and support a clean, green and healthy mode of transportation that can be an everyday choice for our citizens. Over the past 10 years, our bicycle network has more than doubled in size, and cycling is the fastest-growing type of transportation in the city.

They’re great. Enough said.

Seattle

I had trouble in Seattle. There is no subway, only buses which go underground in parts of downtown. There was no ticket vending machine on the platform I was catching the bus from; you purchase your ticket upstairs and outside before coming down the escalator. The vending machine itself was confusing, and the only option I could fine for the buses was to buy the five dollar Orca Card (similar to Boston’s CharlieCard). Then, because I was unsure and wanted to check my balance, I tapped the card on one of the kiosks scattered everywhere on the platform, thinking of the swipey machines in New York where you can check your Metrocard value. Unfortunately, these unlabeled machines deducted money from your card for the light rail system, which was also being heavily pushed in the interface of the ticket vending machines. I was flustered and displeased. After that initial trouble, the buses were all right, though. It would just be nice if such a sprawling city had something faster (like a subway) connecting it with its close suburbs.

Portland, OR

Portland’s city planning is three decades ahead of most other American cities, due to the power of its “Metro” planning board and the urban growth boundary mandated by the state. The ticket vending machine I used near the train station was incredibly intuitive and easy, and while I had to wait a bit for the buses, the entire time I was there they worked quite well. I wish I’d had reason to ride the MAX, Portland’s clean-looking light rail, but it was never the best way to get where I was going.

San Francisco

The Bay Area has several disjointed transit systems: the BART (subway), AC Transit & Muni (buses), and CalTrain (light rail). The biggest issue is that they’re all operated independently, meaning they aren’t synchronized and you can’t buy tickets or get information about all of them from the same place. Other than that, though, they all work all right. San Francisco is a big city, and the bus rides across it take a while, as does the BART ride under the bay. The CalTrain only runs once an hour, doesn’t accept debit cards in its ticket machines, and gives change in dollar coins. But other than those quibbles, the transit in the Bay Area is one of the better systems I used.

I didn’t use the transit in Denver, so that’s the extent of my reviews! Do you have similar or different experiences with these transit systems? If you care to, leave your comments below!

Greetings! I write to you from Pinewoods music and dance camp in Plymouth, Massachusetts! I am volunteering here for the rest of August, sometimes doing grounds and sometimes washing pots in the kitchen. I’d like to use this blog post to tell you a little about what it’s like here.

Throughout the summer, the programming at the camp is run by four different user groups: the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS), the Country Dance Society – Boston Centre (CDS Boston); the Folk Arts Center of New England (FAC); and the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS). The majority of the summer is run by CDSS. Each week is a different thematic area of tradition. Folk Music Week just ended, and now it’s English Week. Next week is English & American Week.

Campers and staff live in cabins that have electricity but no internet or insulation. Three delicious meals a day are prepared by the kitchen crew, and there are lakes on both sides of camp where you can swim at all hours of the day. There is constantly music drifting through the trees from one source or many, and the escape from technological interference allows you to slow down and relax. It really is a utopia.

There are two main crew jobs: working in the kitchen and working on grounds. In the kitchen there are cooks, kitchen aides, one dish washer, and one pot washer. There are a dozen or so paid crew, and a number volunteers who fill in the gaps and provide days off. I’ve learned how to wash pots, and on some days I clean bathrooms or check cabins on changeover days. The crew are almost all college-age or just graduated; I am one of the oldest. The demographic of the campers ranges from week to week, but by and large the majority are retirement age or middle-aged, with some number of younger folks depending on the week.

I’m having a great time, getting to know the other crew members and playing lots of board games in my off time. I’m not getting paid, but I get free room and board for minimal work, and I get to be in this beautiful place with music and dancing and great people. Cleaning toilets in paradise.