People surprise me sometimes. It surprises me that driving has dropped 3.7% over the past year because this is the first time I have ever seen a decrease. Americans are actually being serious about *gasp* not driving their cars everywhere. The majority of Americans already spend upwards of $5000/yr on car ownership and it keeps climbing. With each dollar increase people are letting go of their car-driven lifestyles and moving to a more car-lite one. Our transportation policy needs to reflect the change. We need to stop building new highways and start taking care of our old ones. We need to start putting more money into our transit agencies and Amtrak. Why are will still funding our dying airlines so earnestly when we could be building high speed rail? Why are we making it so hard for people to change? Build the new transportation infrastructure now and give them transportation choice!

Off the cuff Apple rant

It seems funny to me that Apple inc. is such a praised corporation.  Why do people clamor over an Ipod and shun a common Mp3 player?  Why do graphic designers demand an apple as industry standard?  Why is the Iphone considered so innovative when PDAs have been around for years?  To answer all these questions: its marketing.  Steve Jobs always gets it right and hits all the right notes.  Itunes was not the first online music store, but it was the first music store with the Apple brand.   It was the Apple name that won the trust of the RIAA to sell music online.  Ipod was not the first Mp3 player, but it was one of the first to feature a decent menu system.  Ipod shuffle is just pointless because an Mp3 player for a third the price has the same amount of memory and can shuffle just as well.  Macintosh computers cannot boast better PPC processors anymore, because they are now under the same x86 arcitecture as intel.  Iphone looks pretty but it really isnt all that innovative, just another touch screen PDA.  It would seem the only claim to fame of owning anything made by Apple is for the bragging rights of having something your friend cannot afford.  I will give the Apple design team credit for making all the products really shiny, because everyone is drawn to shiny things.

Intro

Most of this blog will be about alternative transportation (mostly bicycling) and other topics I feel like talking about. As of this post I have been a full time bicycle commuter for three years and I recommend it for everyone. The reason bicycling is so important to me is that it is quick and dependable. During my childhood, my bicycle was my primary means of getting to school, and now as an adult I see no reason to stop. I live in a relatively bike-able area. I love talking to other people about cycling and I’m trying to put myself out there. I ride a recumbent most days but I have a standard diamond frame for winters and crappy weather. Maybe I will post some pictures later.