Fables of the reconstruction

Don't Take the Riverlink Ferry From Philly to Camden for a Concert

A kind of non sequitur to post about on here after such a long hiatus, but if you're going from Philadelphia to the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey, for a concert, don't take the Riverlink ferry that runs from Penns Landing. What a nightmare after the concert lets out. There is only one ferry boat, and it loads and moves very slowly, so you will be guaranteed to be standing in line for hours waiting. Just take PATCO, assuming you're not so suburban that you find walking 1 mile from Camden City Hall to the venue frightening.  Otherwise, drive if you have $25 for parking plus money for the toll. 

Comforting Sound

Philly's Stadium Zone

Duncan laments the fact that the Phillies' ballpark was built where it was:

As with many places, my stupid urban hellhole powers that be located the baseball stadium in-the-city-but-not-in-the-city, that is in a mostly isolated stadium complex not near anything else. It is served by the subway, so there's that, but it doesn't inspire people to come before or stay after and spend money in neighboring establishments because, well, there are no neighboring establishments.

Part of the problem is that nobody wanted it in their neighborhood. Locations considered for the baseball stadium included one just north of Chinatown which that community fought successfully. They saw the ballpark as a threat, not an opportunity, mainly because it would change the character of the neighborhood.

People like making more money, but they don't want anything to change to get it.

Marketing [Insert Here] at Work

The perils of email marketing:

Tastykake May Fold

Tastykake has delayed the filing of its annual report with the SEC because its accountants and lawyers are focusing all of their energy on trying to sell the company. Tasty Baking has been restructing its debt agreements since early January, partly as a result of problems they're having with their new production facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard but also because of the downstream effects of the bankruptcy of the company that owns SuperFresh, A&P and Pathmark. As part of the restructing deal, Tasty Baking agreed to try to find a buyer by June who could pay the bills.

Tastykake promises to file the annual report within 15 days, and says it will include a warning from its auditors that the company may not be able to continue as a going concern.

Set Clocks Forward One Hour

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday.  I wanted to set this post to appear at 2:05 a.m. just for the hell of it.  It's a time that doesn't exist! Turns out Typepad won't let me. 

Obama Declines to Get Involved With NFL Contract Negotiation

Good:

"I'm a big football fan, but I also think that for an industry that's making nine billion dollars a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way," Obama said. "I've got a lot of other stuff to do."

I'm glad.

1. He's right. Presidents should stay out of trivial crap like this.
2. Most white (and a few black) NFL players that I have met or heard talk are raging wingnuts. The overwhelming majority of black players would side with Obama. It would split the union and make a pro-owner result more likely. Also, Republican voters and politicians presumably would take up the cause of the owners more fervently than they already do. If Obama urged compromise (I know, inconceivable), Republicans would call for drone attacks on Kevin Mawae.
3. It would definitely hurt him politically.

 

Things I Think About Instead of Working

1. The French word for "packaging" is "emballage".  I am 12.
2. A GE proofreader can't tell the difference between French and Spanish.

Back to work.

Night Landing

 

Ignore the song lyrics and this is really cool.

Jingle for Plastic-Wrapped Snack Cake at Wawa

Never goes bad

Never was good

It's Odious

Odious is the brand name.  That's the joke.

Weather Is So Interesting, I Know

The rate of snowfall after the ice storm in center city Philly is rather alarming. My flat roof is the least of it; I'm hoping the weight doesn't bring down wires.

The Distinctive Sound of Fighter Jets Over Philly

I was just now trying to do some work, when I hear a noise that sounds like something I haven't heard since 9/11: Fighters flying CAP.  Scary for a second. Then I remembered today is Army/Navy, and realized it's probably the halftime fly-over.

Back to work.

Relationships: A Guide

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Good News/Bad News: Southwest Airlines Acquires AirTran

I love Southwest for its prices, its lack of a change fee, its employees, its on-time record, its lack of luggage fees, its checkin system, its boarding system, and its planes, in about that order. But I may be losing out on some of the price benefit.

The boards of directors of Southwest and AirTran have agreed that Southwest will acquire all of Airtran's outstanding common stock for $1.4 billion, subject to approval by AirTran shareholders and regulatory clearance (more on that below). The deal gives them $7.69 per share in cash and stock, well above Airtran's Friday closing price of $4.55 per share.  Southwest will also acquire AirTran liabilities like corporate debt and aircraft leases, making the whole deal worth $3.4 billion.

Southwest says this will be a boon to travelers. It is true that it will put Southwest on small destinations like Wichita, Portland, ME and Knoxville and for the first time Southwest will have international destinations (in the Caribbean). It also gives Southwest AirTran's Atlanta hub, and Atlanta is a strategic business travel route. For the people who fly those routes, it's a plus.

But AirTran and Southwest also used to fly to a lot of the same destinations, and this move will eliminate competition between the two most important discount airlines. Southwest says otherwise:

Southwest executives say there is minimal overlap in service between the two carriers, but the deal will have to receive approval from U.S. anti-trust officials. 

(Emphasis supplied.) Oh, really? Let's compare the two carriers' route maps. Southwest:

 

AirTran:

In terms of destinations, there is a very large amount of overlap.  In terms of routes, Southwest is technically correct.  AirTran's routes (if you go to their page and mouse over the cities) go through Atlanta, while Southwest often flies nonstop. But a route with a stop is still an alternative to a route without one.

For example, I use Southwest to fly (nonstop) from Philly to Ft. Lauderdale, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. Those were all places I could get to on AirTran, too, albeit with a layover in Atlanta, and that competition kept Southwest's prices in line. The next largest carrier flying out of Philadelphia is USAirways, which is not a discount carrier and, in any case, routinely gives a bad flying experience. I anticipate flying out of Philly is going to get more expensive for me.

There are two other airports that are viable alternatives for Philly: Baltimore and Newark. This writer from the Baltimore Sun says that the deal would give Southwest a "stranglehold" on Baltimore/Washington International Thorgood Marshall Airport; he estimates that Southwest would handle 70% of the passengers at BWI. He anticipates that the government will alter the deal on antitrust grounds, which I think probably means a portion of AirTran's routes being auctioned to other carriers. I doubt this would give Southwest anywhere near as high as percentage of the Philadelphia airport's business.

On the other hand, Southwest's arrival in Newark means that fares on some routes there will drop by 20-30%, the Star-Ledger says.

Zoe

Bioshock Infinite

WANT.

Can't Give It No Credit

Kampfkatze

(Via.)

Zoe Strauss

Untitled

Dancing Pigeons - Ritalin from Blink on Vimeo.

Apply for US Passport Before July 13th to Avoid Higher Fees

On July 13th, new US passport costs increase from $100 to $135.  The cost of renewal goes from $75 to $110. 

Need This

You Get Used to It

As I get older, I find joy in even minor appliances.

Three things: I can't read up close, hair is going gray, and I'm getting increasingly pompous. Solution: Bifocals without the line, keep the hair cut short, and never miss an opportunity to keep my mouth shut.

Mashing

The More People I Meet, The Better I Like My Dog

This.

Golden Oldie

Unreal is Here

Cigarettes Are Really Bad for Everyone's Health

Oh jeez:

Federal officials were investigating an incident aboard a Washington-to-Denver flight on Wednesday involving a passenger who caused a disturbance.

ABC News reported that the passenger had been identified by the authorities as a diplomat in the Qatar Embassy in Washington.

A federal official said that the man went to the bathroom to smoke a cigarette, and was confronted by air marshals on board the plane. The passenger understood he had diplomatic immunity, and made sarcastic comments that the marshals took as a threat, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Oh jesus fucking christ:

Two F-16 fighters from Buckley Air Force Base, in Colorado, were scrambled to intercept the plane, the authorities said. They escorted it for the last five minutes of its flight, and it landed safely in Denver.

Aircraft around the United States were alerted about the incident, a federal official said.

If there is any possible way all parties to this incident could have behaved more stupidly, please explain how.

If Only the Romans Had Better Nails

Watch Winston the Bulldog Chew Front Bumper Off a Patrol Car

Not shown: He also chewed off both front tires. I think it's a testament to the Chattanooga police force that they didn't shoot the dog and that that they managed not to cackle watching this happen, as I did.

SEPTA's Fame

see more Epic Fails

Reminder: Spring Forward

Check all your clocks. Set them forward one hour if you haven't already.

Most of the Ones Who Voted for Him, Anyway

(Via P6.)

No Wonder It's Dark

(Via Cyn.)

I Don't Get Today's xkcd

A geek joke translation service: Explain xkcd.

Protégez-vous

(Via my friend Gloria.)

Tuesday Hopeless Optimism

Playing For Change: Song Around the World "Stand By Me" from Playing For Change on Vimeo.

(Via Sheila B. Scheuerman at TortsProf Blog.)

Local Programming: MLK Day of Service Monday

Monday, January 18th
Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, January 18th
Last January, 65,000 volunteers served in some 900 projects in the 14th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, the largest King Day event in the nation. Since 1996, some 500,000 volunteers across our region have celebrated Dr. King’s legacy by turning their community concerns into volunteer service and ongoing citizen action on King Day and beyond. Consider coming out and volunteering this January 18th at one of the hundreds of MLK Day service projects, or register a project of your own, at the event's website here.

Local Programming: Inquirer SEPTA Story Features Albert Yee

It's nice to see good people get exposure. Albert Yee, a professional photographer and food blogger, also runs a blog which collects horror stories about the local transit agency.

[P]eople like Albert Yee, a Philadelphia photographer, say that when SEPTA provides fast, courteous, and clean transportation, the agency is merely doing what it was designed to do.

"That's what's supposed to happen," he said, wondering at the occasional rudeness of bus drivers. "I don't expect them to smile and laugh and tell a joke and shake my hand every time, just to do their job."

Yee collects riders' tales on his Web site, www.SEPTAfail.com. One early post was a photo from Market East Station: A sign that advised passengers, "Direct line to telephone information." And below it, a wire and empty jack. No phone.

"It was," said Yee, "what SEPTA embodies to a lot of people."

Plus, Buddhism Ruined the Beastie Boys

Wholesome and Bizarre

This will either make you laugh or feel like you're high, I guarantee:

Pocket Car

It's a single-seat Volkswagen, they say it's crashworthy, it gets 258 mpg, and it costs $600. Available initially in China. Frank says it's not a car, "It’s a motorcycle with a roof and rollover capability." Actually, that's clever and interesting, but unfortunately federal regulations say that a motorcycle can have only three wheels at most. No way this passes current U.S. car safety standards. But although abandoning the wheel-count method of distinguishing automobile from motorcycle is probably not feasible, I wonder why you can't say that any motor vehicle capable of transporting only one person is a motorcycle no matter how many wheels it has?

01/02/2010

Happy Palindrome Day!

2010 Starts Well

Congrats to Booman and CabinGirl:

 

Delivered at home.

Jenny Owen Youngs

Maybe I Dreamed It?

For years now, I have had this line from a book stuck in my head:

"The only things I am afraid of are cowards with guns and Cape Buffalo."

Which definitely sounds like something from Hemingway, except a search turns up nothing.  No point to this post other than now when I google it at least my own post will come up.

It's the Most Random Time of the Year

Enabled by Facebook and such, this is the time of year that people who you used to know years ago come out of the woodwork.

Extreme Sheep LED Art

As Gloria says, the real stars of this bit are the dogs.

Eagles Game Sunday Delayed 3 Hours; Kickoff 4:15 p.m.

That and other NFL schedule changes:

Kickoff for Sunday's game between the 49ers and Eagles in Philadelphia has been moved to 4:15 p.m. ET from 1 p.m. ET, the second such change in as many days. The NFL announced Friday that the Bears-Ravens game in Baltimore also would start at 4:15 p.m.

Both the Eagles and Ravens requested the changes in anticipation of the storm. As a public-safety concern, the changes were made to accommodate fans and allow more time for city and stadium personnel to clear streets and walkways in and around the stadium. Both games still will be televised on FOX.

Also as a result of the storm, the Bears' flight from Chicago to Baltimore late Friday night was canceled, and the team will look for a window of opportunity to travel Saturday to make it in time for Sunday's game ... .