We've gone through a number of New Year's "traditions" over our years of living in the Midwest. There were several party years, until one year, the day before the party, the hosts announced they were breaking up, and the party was canceled. That was the year I convinced my friend Susan (also an attendee of the former "party") that we should all go to a New Year's Eve contra dance. That started a new tradition of dancing the night away — four hours of high octane dancing followed by a midnight dessert potluck. We did this for more years than I can remember, and it was great fun. Then, with my parents getting older and living in a condo in Florida, we started spending the holidays with them. New Year's Eve consisted of an early dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and that was pretty much it. After my mother died, we continued spending the holidays in Florida with my father, and later, my father and Rose. The restaurant would occasionally change, but not the scenario. The evening was mostly quiet and early, except that there was usually an "incident" involved. My father was not a patient man, and the incident may have been precipitated by something as seemingly insignificant as having to wait too long at the restaurant, or having the menu options changed from the last year, but it always created a bit of discomfort. My brother and sister-in-law, who live in Florida, sometimes joined us, but occasionally the "incidents" would become too much for them, and they would skip a year or two, much to my dismay.
One "incident" I particularly remember was the year I broke off the key in the lock to my father's front door. We had just gotten home, and it was cold, dark and later than usual (for us) and we had no choice but to go back to Rose's condo to get a phone book and seek out an emergency locksmith. (My father needed all sorts of medications that were inside his condo, and there was no way he would have waited until morning.) After several failed attempts, I finally reached an unlucky locksmith with a cell phone. He was obviously at a New Year's party with his wife, and I could hear celebration (and her distress at his leaving) in the background. He was a good 45 minutes away, and when he finally arrived, he could only do a temporary fix on the lock, which would have to be replaced the next day. Whew. I won't go into any more details but it was quite a night.
Last year was the first New Year's without my father, and my two brothers and I spent our time in Florida emptying the condo. I honestly don't even remember where I was on New Year's Eve. It seems erased from my memory. This year we will spend a quiet evening at home. We went to a "night before New Year's Eve" contra dance last night with Susan and her new fiancé, and had so much fun my husband and I decided we should start dancing again. But today I'm feeling quiet and a bit nostalgic.
I hope all of you have a happy and healthy New Year. I look forward to reading your wonderful blogs in 2009.
P.S. Don't forget to eat black eyed peas for good luck in the new year! Here's an easy and delicious recipe for Texas Caviar, or Black Eyed Pea Salsa.
I've only been to Mexico once, and it wasn't what I'd consider a "real" travel experience. I went to a conference in Cancun with my husband. He was a keynote speaker and the conference organizers had offered to bring the spouses of the main speakers to the conference all-expenses paid. At first I declined the invitation, not being a fan of large resorts in artificial settings, but then I had a last minute change of heart, and decided it would be more weird to not go than to go. After all, it was January and cold here, and January and warm there.
The resort was pretty much what I expected, but I did my best to be friendly and join the other spouses each day for beach going, shopping and relaxing. I took the bus to the tourist malls and bargained for jewelry (a bracelet that I still wear every day), and soaked up the rays and breezes on the beach. I do love to walk for a couple of hours on a beautiful beach, but the previously storm-battered and sadly eroded beach was not what I had envisioned. It was very narrow and filled with cabanas, and the sand at the water's edge, where I like to walk, slanted at about a 45˚ angle and was mushy instead of firm. After a short stroll, one leg hitting the sand at a much higher point than the other, my hip began to ache, and instead of enjoying the sight of miles of ocean lapping at sand, I envisioned a chiropractic adjustment table in a sterile room, and knew it was time to return to my cabana.
The resort was unwilling or unable to make vegan food accommodations beyond plain pasta with no sauce, so we opted to bus into town for our meals. We found a small chain of natural foods restaurants that served amazing local foods. The meals were so delicious that we tried repeatedly to lure other conference attendees to come with us, but they were all frightened of the word "natural" and chose to eat at the hotel instead. Interestingly, a large number of the group started disappearing. We later found out they had succumbed to dysentery and were recovering in their rooms. Although we ate enthusiastically, neither one of us ever had any problems. I just wish I had taken notes and photos so I could remember and recreate the wonderful traditional Mexican food we ate.
And this brings me to Rick Bayless. At first glance, Mr. Bayless seems to cook only animal-based Mexican dishes—with lots of chorizo and lard. Not exactly vegan food for thought. But, if you look beyond that first impression, you can find lots of inspiration for amazing meals. He was recently in Madison for a fund-raising event at which I was supposed to help, and I was really excited to meet him and watch him cook in person. At the last minute, I was unable to attend. I was very disappointed, but had a post-event opportunity to purchase one of his (signed) cookbooks for half-price. There were two choices, and I poured over each one, trying to determine which I was more likely to use. I chose "Mexican Everyday" instead of "Authentic Mexican 20th Anniversary Edition," because it contained meals you could make in 30 minutes. But the latter contained a treasure trove of information and would be a wonderful reference book. He provides so much insight into the flavors, ingredients and techniques involved in authentic Mexican cuisine, it's relatively easy to adapt the dishes into vegan versions without losing the fabulous taste. Plus, for many of the dishes in the book I selected, he offers vegetarian alternatives. And the side dishes and vegetables sound amazing. For example, you can skip the pork but make the Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Guajillo Salsa. I'm looking forward to substituting tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, avocados and eggplant or other veggies for the animals, and using the preparation methods and sauces from the book, to create exciting flavors.
Our first try was Tomatillo-sauced enchiladas with spinach and mushrooms. We had only a few tomatillos in the house so we supplemented them (as per Rick's suggestion) with bottled tomatillo salsa. For the spinach we used a 12-ounce bag of chopped frozen spinach. We used eight ounces of white mushrooms, and we substituted vegetable stock for chicken stock and left out the shredded chicken (which is listed as optional in the recipe). We have lots of frozen jalapeños and other hot peppers from our garden, and we used those instead of fresh. This dish was easy to make and so delicious I had to force myself to stop eating. And following Mr. Bayless' easy method for softening corn tortillas, the tortillas were so much better than any we had prepared before. If you would like the revised recipe, e-mail me.
After reading about so many of your amazing Thanksgiving celebrations, I'm finally getting around to noting ours. We went to a potluck celebration at our friends' house in the country, and the amount and variety of food was astounding. Naturally, I forgot to bring the camera, but you can get a little sense of the celebration here. For our contribution to the meal, I made stuffed roasted seitan and apple-cranberry sauce. My husband made delicious chocolate chip cookies.
I photographed the seitan still in its baking dish (top photo) before we left the house, and we took the serving platter with us. On the plate l'm showing leftovers that we had the next night, since as I said, I didn't bring my camera to the event. The seitan was stuffed with brown basmati rice, wild rice and whole wheat bread cubes with onions, mushrooms, garlic, celery, chipotlé, dried apricots and I can't remember what else. One of these days I should write down a recipe so I can make it the same way twice, but it hasn't happened yet.
And this is my after Thanksgiving breakfast—oatmeal topped with cranberry-apple sauce. Wisconsin is a big cranberry growing state so both the cranberries and the apples were local.


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Home	Classic Movies	San Francisco Symphony: Alfred Hitchcock Movies and Movie Scores
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San Francisco Symphony: Alfred Hitchcock Movies and Movie Scores
Andre Soares 8 years ago
San Francisco Symphony & Cary Grant in 'North by Northwest.'
1. San Francisco Symphony salutes Alfred Hitchcock: Halloween movies and Hitchcock movie music
1.1. Eva Marie Saint to introduce San Francisco Symphony's 'Hitchcock! – Greatest Hits'
1.2. Upcoming San Francisco Symphony film presentations
San Francisco Symphony salutes Alfred Hitchcock: Halloween movies and Hitchcock movie music
The San Francisco Symphony will celebrate Alfred Hitchcock movies and their music scores beginning at 8 p.m. on Halloween eve, October 30, 2013, at Davies Symphony Hall. During Hitchcock Film Week, the San Francisco Symphony will perform the scores for Hitchcock's Psycho, The Lodger: A Tale of the London Fog, and the world premiere presentation of Vertigo's full score performed live, in addition to excerpts from To Catch a Thief, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, and North by Northwest.
Alfred Hitchcock's granddaughter Tere Carrubba will introduce the Psycho presentation on October 30. Hitchcock received his fifth and final Best Director Academy Award nomination for this cheaply made – but highly successful – 1960 thriller starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee Janet Leigh.
Presented with live organ accompaniment on October 31, The Lodger: A Tale of the London Fog is probably Hitchcock's best known silent film. In this 1927 suspense drama, London stage legend Ivor Novello stars as a man who may or may not be a Jack the Ripper facsimile. Organist Todd Wilson will be making his San Francisco Symphony debut "improvising an accompaniment to the film on Davies Symphony Hall's Rufatti Organ."
Vertigo will be presented on November 1, with the San Francisco Symphony performing Bernard Herrmann's score. Considered by some not only Alfred Hitchcock's best film but also one of the greatest movies ever made, the San Francisco-set Vertigo is a tale of mad love/obsession starring James Stewart and Kim Novak – who was mightily pissed when she heard snippets from Herrmann's music in Michel Hazanavicius' eventual 2011 Best Picture Academy Award winner The Artist.
One hour before the presentation of Vertigo, producer and journalist Steven Smith, author of A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann, "will give an informal talk from the Davies Symphony Hall stage to shed light on the working relationship of Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann."
Eva Marie Saint to introduce San Francisco Symphony's 'Hitchcock! – Greatest Hits'
Alfred Hitchcock Film Week comes to a close with the presentation of "Hitchcock! – Greatest Hits" on November 2. None other than North by Northwest's Eva Marie Saint – Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner for Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954) – will be the evening's host "to guide audiences through some of the most famous scenes from Hitchcock's films, with their unforgettable scores performed live by the Orchestra."
David Lloyd George + Ivor Novello: Wales Movie Classics Festival
Gary Cooper & Lilli Palmer + Carroll Baker & Alfred Hitchcock Movies
A Hatful of Rain: Script + Acting Spoil Drug Addiction Movie
Bette Davis Sings & Anthony Hopkins 'Hitchcock' + Bergman & Liv Ullmann Doc
On "Hitchcock! – Greatest Hits" night, the San Francisco Symphony will perform excerpts along with the respective clips from the following:
To Catch a Thief (1955), with music by Lyn Murray, and starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly;
the Dimitri Tiomkin-scored Strangers on a Train (1951), starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker, and Dial M for Murder (1954), featuring more Tiomkin music, and starring Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, and Robert Cummings;
and scenes from Vertigo and North by Northwest (1959), both scored by Bernard Herrmann; Eva Marie Saint stars in the latter movie, alongside suave hero Cary Grant and equally suave villain James Mason.
Joshua Gersen will be making his San Francisco Symphony debut conducting the three orchestral presentations (Psycho, Vertigo, "Hitchcock! – Greatest Hits").
Upcoming San Francisco Symphony film presentations
Upcoming San Francisco Symphony film presentations include Stanley Donen's Singin' in the Rain (1952), starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor; "A Night at the Oscars," described as "an evening of excerpts from Academy Award-winning films"; Charles Chaplin's City Lights (1931), featuring Cary Grant's future wife Virginia Cherrill; and "Fantasia in Concert," a compilation featuring "the most memorable clips from Disney's 1940 classic and Fantasia 2000."
For more information on the San Francisco Symphony's Alfred Hitchcock Film Week, visit the SFS website.
San Francisco Symphony and Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, and Eva Marie Saint photos via the San Francisco Symphony website.
Alfred HitchcockAnthony PerkinsEva Marie SaintIvor NovelloJohn GavinRay MillandRobert CummingsVera MilesVertigo (1958)
'Rebecca' Remake in the Works? + Alfred Hitchcock Movies' Reboots
Alfred Hitchcock British Films + Charles Chaplin & All-American Nazis + Berlin Classics
Alfred Hitchcock Movies: 'I Confess' & 'Strangers on a Train'
Frozen: Creepy But Problematic Metaphysical Thriller
Jill Haworth: Cabaret Star on Broadway
Edward Albert Jr.: Butterflies Are Free + 40 Carats Actor

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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spoonman Apr 14, 2012 5:26 PM
Anyone been to this site? It details the vision for new Trolley/Subway routes through 2050.
http://www.sandiegorailproject.com/
Some of those lines make too much sense.
They'll never happen.
mello Apr 14, 2012 6:59 PM
^^^ Question regarding this kind of thing, where is LA getting all of the money to build its rail projects the last few years? We are struggling to build that rinky dink line up to UTC that already has a right of way for most of its length and they are building stuff like gang busters.... What gives, LA is broke as shit just like the City of SD so how are they able to have all of those funds?
LA freeways are very neglected and in need of maintenance. SD seems to be balancing roads and rail more equally. Orange County is focused solely on roads.
True, but really the only thing we have been doing lately is expanding the 15. The 5 hasn't begun its expansion yet. The 78 could also be widened from Vista through the 15, that has become a terrible backup both east and west bound.
Has the 52 been extended to the 67 yet? Anyhow you didn't really answer my question as to where the money is coming from for this LA rail boom.
OneMetropolis Apr 14, 2012 10:18 PM
Thats really not the reason. Huge funds were used to fix up the 405 freeway in LA like a year ago, and it was dubbed carrmageddon, and I am sure they also have other projects and money being used to fix up their plethora of freeways as well. It's beacause of a measure that was passed in LA like years ago called Measure R, which raises taxes to help pay for transportation projects in LA. Also their mayor has huge support for transportation development, and has made a measure called 30/10 which is like 30 projects in ten years which would get funding from the government, as LA pays it back with the money made from Measure R. So basically like a pay check in advance.
mello Apr 14, 2012 10:47 PM
So why hasn't anyone floated a measure like this in San Diego. It is obviously working just 120 miles to our North "hello McFly." Pass a measure and boom rail up the arse lol. :shrug:
OneMetropolis Apr 15, 2012 12:09 AM
Not enough effort on San Diego's part I am guessing.
bmfarley Apr 15, 2012 3:55 AM
Here is why:
LA has funding with Measure R, a local half-cent sales tax measure
10 million people as a tax base
Decision to focus on mass transit
SD County has:
A bit less for sales tax for transportation
3 million people as a tax base
Decision to focus on highways for improvements
Only 5 floors? This looks like a decent project for Sherman Heights of Barrio Logan but in my opinion not downtown worthy. Very uninspiring, and dull. I think anything built in downtown should be atleast 7 to 8 stories to get that Madrid/Paris streetscape going.
5 floors above podium. Any taller and they go into a different type construction = more $$. Bare minimum in this economy.
202_Cyclist Apr 15, 2012 1:06 PM
OneMetropolis:
You're correct that LA County voters agreed to raise their sales tax by one-half cent in 2008 to pay for transportation (mostly transit but some highway) improvements: http://www.metro.net/projects/measurer/. The 30/10 Plan would be a federal commitment to provide low-interest loans to LA County to be paid back with the Measure R sales tax revenue over several decades. Although Antonio Villarigosa has articulately and forcefully been advocating this to Congress, it has so far gone largely nowhere, with the Republicans in Congress more focused on how they can provide more tax loopholes to billionaires and oil companies, than on how we can build (or even maintain) our infrastructure. LA's Crenshaw line, which would connect to LAX (or near LAX) has received a $546M loan from the federal government in 2010. Construction on the Crenshaw line is expected to begin this summer.
As noted above, part of the difference between San Diego and Los Angeles is different priorities of the local political leadership. Former mayor Tom Bradley had a very large role in getting the Red Line built (http://metroprimaryresources.info/25...s-ground/1755/) and today, the commitment from Antonio Villariagosa has been essential to the planning and construction of these other lines for LA County.
Another reason for the difference is likely political commitment in Washington. LA County has a much larger and more unified congressional delegation in Washington than San Diego County does and with more seniority. Here is a map showing Federal Transit Administration New Starts funding in FY2010:
http://www.iwillride.org/wp-content/.../09/image4.png
Image courtesy of www.iwillride.org.
Los Angeles County has received a small amount of New Starts transit funding, but as you can see, even cities like Salt Lake, Phoenix, and Houston, all of these not usually thought of having extensive transit systems, have received considerable New Starts funding in recent years. An effort by local citizens and the local business community to inform the San Diego congressional delegation about the importance of transit would probably be helpful.
S.DviaPhilly Apr 15, 2012 4:27 PM
Then I say wait do not build it, it is boring and pretty drab and ugly. 13th and Market is 6 stories and even though it is not my favorite at least it has some character. Why build the "bare minimum" in our city? San Diego is way too nice for bare minimum. Bare minimum to me is the building between Park and 13th off Market where the 711 is and that building is hideous! (my apologies if anyone lives in there)
Not sure why, but I understand that construction loans are going through a lot easier for rental buildings than condo buildings. We need more condo buildings asap, there are only 175 condos on the market in all of 92101! A couple years ago there was well over 600! If SD keeps building these low-rise rentals, soon that is what downtown will turn into, or at least East Village and thats just not right!
So what do you guys think is there any political will for a Measure R type of program for San Diego County? I understand LA County is bigger etc. but if they have 4 to 5 lines under construction you think San Diego could have 2 going right now. What is going on with our city leadership?
S.DviaPhilly: I agree the bare minimum is not what SD deserves and this building should definitely be taller and of better quality. Look at Vancouver, Melbourne, and Toronto proposals and current U/C's that is what we need here not this crap. I disagree with you as far as rentals though, San Diego County absolutely needs a ton of new quality rental housing units as well as for sale condos.
Originally Posted by S.DviaPhilly (Post 5667204)
The downtown community plan (the governing document for all development downtown [among other documents]) sets out the min and max for density. If they're within that range what's keeping them from moving forward? The argument would be more effective if you advocate against the community plan (something I want to do at CCAC Predesign this year) as opposed to the building itself.
Not true cause Measure R covers freeways in LA i.e. reason for mass freeway projects happening now in LA.
Question about San Diego freeways and the connector ramps I have always wondered why: I-8 - can't go west when coming from 5 south and can't go north on 5 when going east out of Ocean Beach.
SR - 52 same scenario with I -5 Northbound access getting screwed coming from LJ and can't take it in to LJ when heading south.
SR - 56 can't go north on 5 when going westbound on 56. Can't go east onto 56 when coming south on 5.
Highway 78 - Have to sit at a stop light to take 5 south when the freeway ends in Oceanside.
I have never seen a freeway interchange in OC or LA county where you couldn't go in all directions no matter what direction you approach an interchange.
eburress Apr 16, 2012 8:48 PM
NIMBYs and preservationists, mostly.
For example, CalTrans is working on adding direct connectors at the I-5/Hwy 56 interchange, but the community (frustrated Carmel Valley moms, I imagine) is fighting them tooth and nail. They are concerned about the aesthetic of additional freeway ramps...
...ignoring the fact that there are *already* ramps on this interchange, but why worry about the details.
It's amazing. They'd rather have cars causing traffic and polluting more on city streets than having the ramps...insane. That said, if Caltrans got the 15 Freeway project done, it can get anything done.
On the bright side, I think a ramp from the southbound I-5 to the eastbound Hwy 56 will eventually happen because the two other alternatives really aren't an option. A tunnel underneath the existing exchange is cost prohibitive and they can't do a loop connector because of its impact on the nearby wetlands. So, battling Caltrans on this is futile, but it has delayed the project and cost the state additional money.


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Yes, properly inflating your car's tires can help improve your gas mileage
Keeping your tires properly inflated, driving the speed limit and removing excess weight from your car are all ways to help improve your gas mileage.
Author: Erin Jones, Mauricio Chamberlin, Trevin Smith
Published: 7:18 AM PST March 10, 2022
Updated: 12:51 PM PDT March 15, 2022
On March 8, President Joe Biden announced that the United States will ban all Russian oil imports in retaliation for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden also acknowledged during his announcement that the ban would bring additional costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump, saying, "Defending freedom is going to cost."
The average price of gasoline in the U.S. hit a record $4.25 per gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA data. A. Whitney Brown, a writer and comedian best known for his work on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, claimed on Twitter that if people properly inflated the tires on their cars, "it would more than make up for the oil we're not getting from Russia." Brown suggested that doing so would help people save around three to four percent of total fuel consumed.
If everyone properly inflated their tires it would more than make up for the oil we're not getting from Russia. Seriously, it will make a huge difference, like 3-4% in total fuel consumed.
Do it! @DiscountTire in Austin does it free, you don't even get out of your car.
— AWhitneyBrown (@TheWhitneyBrown) March 9, 2022
Can properly inflating your car's tires help improve your gas mileage?
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
AAA Automotive
E. Dan Dahlberg, Ph.D., professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Minnesota
Shean Huff, staff researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Yes, properly inflating your car's tires can help improve your gas mileage.
A person can improve their vehicle's gas mileage by 0.6 percent on average — or up to three percent in some cases — by keeping their tires inflated to the proper pressure, according to information on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency's website fueleconomy.gov. That's the equivalent of saving more than 10 cents per gallon of gasoline.
The DOE also says that properly inflated tires enhance safety, improve vehicle performance, wear evenly and prolong tread life.
"Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by about 0.2% for every 1 PSI (pounds per square inch) drop in the average pressure of all tires," the DOE wrote. "Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also says drivers can save money by properly inflating their tires.
"Properly inflating your tires can save you as much as 11 cents per gallon on fuel. Yet only 19 percent of consumers properly inflate their tires. That means four out of five consumers are wasting money because of underinflated tires," the NHTSA wrote.
"Additional proper tire maintenance, such as rotation, balance and alignment, can help your tires last longer, which will in turn save you money. In fact, properly inflated tires can extend the average life of a tire by 4,700 miles," the NHTSA said.
Shean Huff is a staff researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory — the largest multi-program science and energy research lab in the U.S. Huff also helps maintain fueleconomy.gov. He explained the science behind why tire pressure affects a car's fuel economy.
"Properly inflating the tires is a way to minimize the amount of energy it takes to push the vehicle down the road. So as the tire pressure goes down below the optimum pressure, the tire deforms or flattens… and as the tire flattens, then it's more difficult for the tire to roll on the pavement, and then that requires more energy to move the vehicle down the road," Huff told VERIFY.
The proper tire pressure for most vehicles is typically found on a sticker in the driver's side door jamb, the glove box and in the owner's manual, according to the DOE. The agency and AAA warn against using the maximum pressure typically found printed on the tire's sidewall because this indicates the pressure needed to meet the tire's full rated load-carrying capacity, not the pressure specified for your particular vehicle.
Outside of making sure your tires are properly inflated, the DOE and EPA share more fuel-saving tips online, such as removing excess weight from the inside of the car, avoiding excessive idling, using cruise control and avoiding aggressive driving, such as speeding, rapid acceleration and braking.
"If you look on the freeways today, everybody goes over the speed limit — but by just driving the speed limit, you would save gas. By leaving a greater distance between you and the cars in front of you, and not being so aggressive on the brakes, you'd save a lot of gas," E. Dan Dahlberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Minnesota, told VERIFY.
More from VERIFY: No, you can't tell if the gas at the pump comes from Russian oil


There's a new online dating app out there, and it's called Carrot Dating. It's Suggar-Daddy-Lite, giving women gifts to get "things" in return, which amounts to bribery at its base and prostitution at its awesomest level. Yet again, the media comes out waving the banner of "we must protect our women from being taken advantage of!" but what they seem to miss is that nearly everyone (except some really stupid women) know exactly what they're doing when they participate in this website. They act like Carrot Dating randomly forces wholesome, virginal women to respond to these horrible dating inquiries. Any woman who gets so far into membership at Carrot Dating before she realizes how it works is probably only barely capable of using a mouse in the first place, so there's more to worry about her than online dating and this is the only electronic carrot she should be following.


A decade has yet to pass since Malaysia and Cuba inked a scientific agreement but both are already reaping great rewards and benefits through this mutual cooperation with greater possibilities looming on the horizon.
The greatest achievement for both nations so far is in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields where a dynamic relationship has evolved with Malaysia's expertise in the production line goes hand in hand with Cuba's research capabilities and experience in the medical and intellectual realm.
"We (Malaysia and Cuba) are like two sides of the same coin. Malaysia has the capital to assist the development of Cuban scientific discoveries", observed Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Carlos Amores in an exclusive interview with Bernama.
The cooperation between Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the Finlay Institute from Cuba to develop a halal meningitis vaccine, which was unheard of up to two years ago holds great potential.
According to a USM's website article dated 20 Jan 2008, former Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed noted that the vaccine is critical for Muslims performing their Hajj or Umrah since it is derived from plant cell culture instead of animal cell culture.
The Malaysian government approved a grant of RM2 million while the Cuban government contributed RM1.6 million (400,000 Euro-dollar) for this project.
"Instead of injecting the bacteria or the virus into the human body, a synthesized polysaccharine cell culture is introduced to simulate and produce the immune reaction in the human body, generating the antibodies required to combat the disease", explained Amores when asked to comment on the latest developments.
He further said that the key in creating this substance was reprogramming the cell at the genetic level.
The vaccine will only be introduced into the market between the next one and two years time due to the approval procedures involved to ensure the safety of the vaccine which includes proper certification, registration and other relevant requirements.
The next stage for this potentially successful two-nation joint effort would be the establishment of a vaccine plant in Malaysia for mass production, warranting technology transfer from Finlay Institute.
Thus with Cuba's assistance, last year a Malaysian bio-tech company Bioven Sdn Bhd began conducting Malaysia's very first clinical trials for a lung cancer vaccine which can quite possibly be developed to treat other cancers as well.
Bioven chief executive officer Dr W.Shermal Perera stated in a Bernama article dated 7 April 2008; "We are equally excited because this is the first time Malaysia will go through a clinical trial period organized by a local company.
"We also have Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Cuban Ambassador, His Excellency Signor Carlos Amores to thank for because they have helped us bring here this product. Should we succeed with Malaysia and the clinical trials are approved by the regulatory bodies, our next plan is to go into Europe to conduct the trials there.
In the same article Cuban Center of Molecular Immunology Project Manager Dr Gisela Gonzalez Marinello stated that around 200-350 patients have been treated in Cuba with the vaccine during its clinical trial period and the treatment has proven successful.
"The vaccine helps prolong the life of the patient. Sixty percent of the patients treated with the vaccine have a continued lifespan of 12 months in comparison to only six to seven months with only chemotherapy.
"Another 30 percent of the patients treated have survived up to two years while an astounding 10 per cent have managed to continue living a good life for up to six years. Best of all, there are very minimal side effects unlike chemotherapy. There have been no reports of hair loss or organ damage", added Dr Marinello.
To date, 10 Malaysian hospitals have agreed to conduct the clinical trials and recently Ambassador Amores reported that 38 patients have been undergoing the vaccination and the results have been quite encouraging.
Amores added that another new Cuban medical product could heal diabetic ulcers on the feet. Prior to this, diabetic feet ulcers were extremely difficult to treat and in many cases the feet had to be amputated.
Amores confirmed that this medication has the capability to heal the foot ulcer and is being sold in the open market in Latin America.
Cuba's biotech strength and experience however does not lie only within the medical and pharmaceutical services. Being an agrarian island nation, the nation's bio-technology expertise obviously covers the agricultural sector as well.
"Cuban scientists have recently developed a new complex amino acid for fish farming. The acid is introduced into the fish at the larval stage and this enhances the survival rate by 15 percent. With the acid, the fishes become more active, eat more and grow to their maximum weight and size, producing greater yield.
"And best of all, this product seems to work with shrimps as well. This is another product that we would like to market here", explained Amores.
Although the possibilities for a very profitable relationship between Malaysia and Cuba is unlimited, Amores commented that importing bio-tech products and services here could be costly.
"The best method is for the government to handle this. I believe a G2G (government to government) effort can make things easier.
"Cuba has reached high development in bio-tech and Malaysia has made it a top priority to develop its own bio-tech industry", explained Amores.
When asked regarding the best industry for Malaysian investors who are interested in Cuba, Amores stated that it would be tourism as the beautiful Caribbean island nation with its magnificent beaches, colorful culture and friendly people is perfectly suited for this.
"We receive around 2.5 million tourists every year and this number is rising. We need to develop the tourism infrastructure - hotels, resorts, golf courses and more. This would be a very good industry for Malaysian investors who are interested in Cuba", added Amores.
Malaysia first established diplomatic relations with Cuba on 6 February 1975, with the Caribbean nation opening its embassy here in 1997 and Malaysia opening a diplomatic mission in Havana in 2001.
Both nations strengthened the diplomatic bond during the 1990s and the ties became stronger at the onset of the new millennium with former Cuban President Fidel Castro's visit to Kuala Lumpur to sign the Commercial, Economic and Scientific-Technical Exchange Agreement and the Intergovernmental Commission was created.


I really am so ready to start taking on some springtime recipes with the early vegetables coming out of the gardens and markets. Unfortunately, there is snow on the ground so we will have to continue braising and slow cooking for now. This recipe for Hungarian chicken paprika will not disappoint — with basically 5 ingredients, you can create this meal to satisfy a hungry family of 4.
E.A.T. Tip: Buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself or just take it to the butcher as they will generally cut these up at no additional charge. The ones that are already packaged and cut up are typically more expensive.
Salt and pepper chicken pieces well and start by melting 4 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Cut onions in half and slice long ways about a 1/4 inch thick.
Once butter has melted place the chicken skin side down in the pan and let it rest at medium high heat without moving for about 8 minutes. This will sear and brown the skin. Flip and cook the other side until also brown. Remove from the pan to let rest on a plate and leave the drippings in the pan.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and melt over medium high heat. Once melted add the onions and stir to coat. Mix in paprika and stirring to combine. Reduce heat to medium and allow the onions to sweat and soften about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Return the chicken with accumulated juices to the pan and cover — I switched pans forgetting I did not have a cover for the one above. Cook on a low to medium heat allowing the onions and chicken to simmer for 30-40 minutes. The chicken and the onions will make their own gravy.
Prepare noodles or nokedli and portion into bowls. Top with the chicken and gravy. Dollop with sour cream and sprinkle with parsley to garnish.
Serve immediately — sit back while your family says köszönöm szépen (thank you very much).
My grandfather was a Czech who was apprenticed to a Hungarian butcher. He taught my grandmother to make Chicken Paprikas. We make it the same way you do, except we throw it in the oven so we don't have to worry about it scorching. And we stir the sour cream into the juices. Thanks!
Wow an apprentice to a Hungarian butcher. How I would love to have had that old world opportunity. Thanks Jan for commenting.
I have a quick question, what is the difference, flavor-wise, between hungarian paprika and regular paprika? I'm wondering whether I need to go out and by myself some before I make this.
Well honestly I post a lot about using Hungarian paprika because I feel if I don't my Hungarian grandmother might roll over in her grave! Do know that smoked Spanish paprika is different than sweet Hungarian paprika. Thanks for asking!
Yes! I am not even exactly sure why that happened. It just did.
No place to print this recipe. Annoying!


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This fun cookie mix is super easy to make! You can use m&ms of different colors to match what ever holiday your are celebrating.
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs then fold in M&Ms.
Form dough into 1″ balls and place onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet. Enjoy!


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Check out this video for a simple way to save time and still get maximum results when you work out.
Supersets are simply alternating between two exercises, usually non-competing movement patterns (but not always) so you save time because you are active during a rest ;). White that may not seem to make sense, it really does. At Her Fitness in Flemington, NJ, we often super set exercises in our large group personal training setting during our strength phase.
Alternate a lower body with an upper body exercise. In this video I show a Sissy Squat alternating with a Single Arm Band Row.
You get 50 seconds of rest for your lower body – the 20 seconds after completing the Sissy Squat (A1), the 30 seconds while you are doing the Single Arm Band Row (A2) and the next 20 seconds of rest and switch time after A2.
This gives your central nervous system and muscle fibers enough time to recover and be ready to work hard for the next set.
Depending on experience, current fitness level and your individual goals, you might do 2-6 sets.
*these exercises work the glutes, hips, thighs, back, arms, abs and core, shoulders…hmmm, it sounds like a full body workout. A1 is considered a knee dominate exercise and A2 is considered a horizontal pulling exercise.


Loren Radis is a Central Coast native who has loved writing and performing music since he first heard the Beatles at age 10. His blend of acoustic/rock music has been compared to artists like Simon & Garfunkel, Iron & Wine, and Damien Rice. In 2009 his song "If You'll Be Mine" was one of the winners at the inaugural New Times Music Awards. He was also winner of Best Song in our contest at the Wine Seller. "He's a gifted and engaging songwriter," says Glen Starkey of the SLO New Times.
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News Roundup: The Case for the Subway
The subway built New York; now it must be repaired at any price ($). Jonathan Mahler's survey of the history and present of the New York subway is a tour de force. If you read only one thing this week, make it this.
Transit riders in Wenatchee ($) can now use their smartphone to buy a bus pass.
Tim Eyman initiative ($) to toss Sound Transit car-tab tax fails to collect enough signatures.
Philly begins phasing out use of transit system token coins.
Nearly one-third of Toronto's older streetcars were unable to leave yard due to frigid weather.
DC is mulling a Houston-style revamp ($) of their bus system. Having used it as a visitor, I support this idea.
Did Trump kill the plan for a Hudson rail tunnel? ($) Its backers hope not.
Stick a fork in it, it's done: Tim Eyman's latest initiative to gut Sound Transit fails to qualify. NW Progressive gets their dunk on.
Straightening of curve at Amtrak derailment site in Dupont ($) had not been state priority.
Spokane responds to hot real estate market with housing infill. More of this, please.
Seattle's Neighborhood Parking Reform — reduced requirements, unbundling of costs, shared parking. More of this, too.
Another Danny Westneat column spent bellyaching about a transportation problem without offering a serious alternative ($).
Seattle Bike Blog gives a departed SDOT Director Scott Kubly a glowing send-off.
Colman Ferry Dock reconstruction underway, ferry schedule changes ahead.
28 story residential tower (eventually) coming to 8th & Cherry.
At last, you can hail a rideshare from Pasco airport.
Daily Hive Vancouver has a wide-ranging, meaty interview with Translink (and former Metro) CEO Kevin Desmond.
This is an open thread.
76 Replies to "News Roundup: The Case for the Subway"
Mark in Kenmore says:
I was pretty pleasantly surprised that Eyman's initiative failed to get enough signatures in what you would think would have been easy. Maybe the outrage about car tabs isn't as high as assumed. Or maybe Tim Eyman's just not very good at his job anymore.
Regardless, I'm still going to assume that the legislature is going to change the valuation schedule. The question is: Will they make up for lost revenue somehow, or do nothing and let Sound Transit figure it out?
No new ST-bashing bills have been pre-filed for this session, which begins Monday at noon.
Since the House Dems voted for a bill that would have reduced ST3's total funding by $2B over the same period, their need to negotiate the issue with a Republican-controlled Senate has gone away. The Senate Dems never voted on that bill. The House Dems listened to then-Rep. Jessyn Farrell. She subsequently came in 4th in the mayor's race. Perhaps they will re-think how toxic voting to slash ST funding could be with their base.
I'm sure they are also paying attention to the federal Transportation Department reneging on Lynnwood and Federal Way Link funding agreements. Passing ST-bashing bills doesn't send a very good signal that the state stands behind these projects.
Farrell's support of reducing the MVET is the number one reason I voted for Moon in the primary instead of her. I doubt I'm alone here.
The MVET panic (led by the Seattle Times, of course) is smelling like one of these issues where a small number of people care very passionately, but most people are fine with it and want ST to be left alone to build out ST3. Similar to protecting the character of our single-family neighborhoods, which gets a lot of people yelling at the city council, but never wins – or even gets close – a council election.
RossB says:
It really is sad that so many people don't understand how politics works. This lack of understanding leads to less and less experienced politicians until you end up with people who have absolutely no experience (like Trump).
Farrell voted in support of the measure knowing full well that it wouldn't become law. This should be obvious to everyone, but I guess it isn't. The governor is a Democrat, and a strong environmentalist. Farrell is a Democrat and was a powerful member of the state house. She had regular meetings with the governor, and even if she didn't, could easily arrange for one. She knew very well that he wasn't going to sign that bill. That is the part of this that some people just don't understand. It was all just political theater. The Democrats and Republicans knew very well that this wasn't going to become law. But the Republicans could go back to their constituents and talk about how they tried hard to change the law, while the Democrats could appear to be bipartisan. Both would then blame the governor, but only the Republicans meant it. The Democrats (especially Farrell) also knew that by passing the bill this wouldn't be used as a wedge issue in swing districts (that actually care about car tabs).
Since this didn't become law, and the Democrats now control both chambers, and the issue is of course dead, you should be praising the way that Farrell played the game.
"Farrell voted in support of the measure knowing full well that it wouldn't become law. This should be obvious to everyone, but I guess it isn't."
Depending on bills to fail is dangerous. You may be right in Farrell's case but I wouldn't be so confident. It (or anything) may pass anyway, or it may give some people on the D side ideas that lead to something similar in the future. A lot of people voted for Mr T believing he wouldn't be as extreme as his rhetoric sounded, but it turned out he was serious about a number of things.
Ross, you posted this same train of (IMHO) nonsense last time we went through this. Want to provide any cite this time, or just admit it's your own idle speculation?
@Steve — It didn't become a law. That isn't speculation, that is a fact. Anyone with any sense knew that Inslee wasn't going to sign it. I don't have evidence that Farrell knew that (that she had sense that even a casual observer can gather) but given her experience working with the governor, and years in the legislature it stands to reason she did. Meanwhile, does anyone have any evidence, or any indication of the opposite? Did anyone think that Governor "I want a carbon tax" Inslee was going to sign that thing? Seriously? Right before the legislature was going to pack up for the year, Inslee was going to screw up Sound Transit funding, with no alternative? That is just ridiculous.
Look, if a chess master sacrifices her pawn, but takes her opponent's queen, does she really have to explain what happened? Apparently to some she does.
Willis says:
I wouldn't be so confident that these bills are dead. It's an election year, and the prime sponsor is from the 30th district a very swing district, who may feel that his ability to be reelected is tied to "doing something" about ST. And Farrell isn't in the caucus to moderate that impulse anymore.
Don't count your chickens…..
It's not an election year for the governor, which is my point. There is no way he is signing anything like this. To be clear, a revenue neutral plan that changes the way that car tabs are calculated could easily pass (with wide spread bipartisan support). But a bill that cuts spending approved by voters won't be signed by a Democratic governor, especially a guy like Inslee.
RossB, of course it didn't become law – the Republican-controlled Senate wouldn't pass it. No one's disputing that.
Would Inslee have signed the House bill, had it come to him? No one knows for sure, but I would say probably, yes. Which is not to say he liked the House bill or personally wanted it to be law – he almost certainly did not. But there was a fear that if Democrats didn't seem like they were fixing this MVET schedule 'problem', that there would be a price to pay at the polls, or that an Eyman initiative would be even worse. Would Inslee have stood his ground in face of that political pressure? I don't know for sure. Neither do you. What I do know for sure is that Farrell did not.
Chess master… Sheesh.. Get a grip!
Ross – you're assuming that Inslee gives two shits for Sound Transit (hint, he doesn't). And if Chopp tells him that he needs to pass it to protect swing district Dems, then I suspect he'll sign.
The point is that people are assuming too much about what Inslee and the other legislators would or wouldn't do. We know some of the factors and can estimate the probability, but we don't know all the factors or how they'll interplay, and our probabilities may be inaccurate. I have no problem with saying Inslee or the other legislatures "will likely" do something, but saying they "will" do something sounds too uncertain. Inslee is keen for a carbon tax, but MVET is not exactly a carbon tax, and cutting MVET might boost reelection chances. Or at least that has been the conventional view, which said politicians might believe. Now that Eyman's initiative has failed to get enough signatures, it may be turning around, but we'll need a couple more confirmations before we can say it's a definitive trend.
JayH says:
I like Westneat's idea of reverse tolling the Alaskan Way tunnel during peak commute times. No idea if it will work as intended, but it is a possible way of reducing gridlock when drivers refuse to pay the toll. I've never driven across 520 bridge since tolls were set and I won't take the tunnel either if I must pay.
If one wants to not have tolling, proposing that drivers be paid to use a highway is the way to move the Overton Window as a negotiating tactic.
So, I would like to propose that everyone who rides the bus during peak get paid 25 cents to do so, as a credit on their ORCA card. I know, it's a ridiculous idea, but it is where negotiations have to start in order to bring back a Ride-Free-Area on 3rd Ave (but without the pay-as-you-exit that necessitated the previous incarnation's removal).
I would also propose that 3rd Ave be painted pink instead of red. And then we'll settle for red.
Mark Dublin says:
Will do you one better, Brent. My $36 senior pass is obscenely cheap. So I'll be glad to trade it in for a high school kid's benefit. Several months ago, a fare inspector found that since I'd forgotten to "tap off", my "tap on" registered as "One more time and it'll cost you $125."
Oh, and Sound Transit doesn't get any. Whole thing goes to the court, just to punish me and make an example of me. So here's what I'm offering. Make my monthly pass $125 a month in return for blanket immunity from a theft charge- which the little paper pass I always buy before I board LINK 100% gives me.
Any quibble about that, I'll offer $125 cash to Peter Rogoff in front of TV cameras and watch him tell me rules are rules. Bet me. And word to Sound Transit right now. ST Express works fine. So does my car I've got an excellent car. Reason I don't drive every visit to Seattle itself is for most trips motion is necessary.
Like the mentality that invented it, LINK fare system scares the crap out of me. Like the city it more or less personifies. I'm sorry for every effort of mine in the service of either LINK or Seattle. Now back to the DBT. Put a bus lane in it both tubes, which I'll gladly pay to ride.
Mark Dublin
I have long been in favor of tolling under certain circumstances. I would gladly pay a toll to drive I 90 from Seattle to Spokane for example. Tolling, when there is a free alternative literally a few feet from the tunnel is a deterrent to taking the toll route.
I don't. Westneat is confusing the fact that we want fewer cars clogging up our surface streets and I-5 with the non-fact that we want more cars taking the tunnel. The is simply no public interest in the latter.
Jeffrey Baldwin says:
I suspect that once the East link extension launches, ST will fix Mark's issue, since if you are for example going from Redmond to Kent, you'd need to get off at Chinatown and transfer from the Westbound train to the Southbound train.
KB says:
I don't agree with Westneat's premise that the tunnel will mostly be empty and everyone will instead sit in the gridlock just to save the toll. While there will be some who will never pay toll, the backups in both direction on 520 bridge and the higher than expected toll collections from 405 ETL show that a lot more won't mind paying for a faster ride.
Of course they will. The reverse tolling idea is tongue in cheek, but his basic premise is crazy. People will pay to avoid traffic (they always do).
asdf2 says:
If Westneat got his way, anyone with a car could just cruise up and down the tunnel all day, simply to make money. Paying people to drive is just complete garbage.
It's an interesting idea but Westneat is missing part of the picture, in fact the essential point. He's focused on traffic, but the toll is to pay for the tunnel. Where will the money come from to replace the revenue and pay drivers? Increase the gas tax, maybe?
Charles B says:
Better idea: Just toll more of downtown in general. Fewer toll avoiders and greater funds to fix deferred maintenance.
Lazarus says:
@Charles B,
You could toll the entire DT business zone, but if the goal is simply to deal with DBT tolling diversion, then all you really need to do is set up a mid-block tolling screen-line running from the waterfront to somewhere a few blocks on the Cap Hill side of the freeway.
Such a tolling screen-line would be cheaper to implement (only a single line of hardware, not an entire perimeter) and would more directly be focused on the diversion problem. And it would have less impact on the average person who is actually going downtown. However, people who are actually heading through downtown trying to evade the toll would have more difficulty doing so.
And, ya, DBT tolling plus a tolling screen-line in DT Seattle would probably divert a lot of people to I-5, but that is the state's problem. And they could solve that problem easily enough by implementing sound congestion management practices (tolling!)
The toll pays only a tiny fraction of the construction cost and there is question as to whether a toll will even cover ongoing operations of the tunnel. Westneat's column points out that the only reason tolling is being implemented is because the legislature insisted, I assume as a fig leaf for allocating State funds.
Observant says:
"I've never driven across 520 bridge since tolls were set and I won't take the tunnel either if I must pay."
Either your typical trips don't necessitate crossing the 520 bridge or you value your time at a very low price.
In an Uber or Lyft, it is much cheaper to pay the toll than to pay for the miles and time to drive around. Even in one's own car, depending on the type of car and price of gas, the extra gas to drive around could end up costing almost as much as the toll.
I routinely go over 520, when headed to the mountains (on weekdays). The choice is arbitrary for me, as I start in the north end (neither bridge is out of my way). I simply choose the best bridge from a traffic standpoint (typically 520 in the morning, I-90 in the evening). Obviously I'm not the only one who pays the toll.
Actually I live equidistant from both bridges. Travel time, usually, is a wash.
There you go. Given equal time, of course choosing the toll-less route is the obvious answer. You'd be surprised how many people, where 520 is clearly the quicker option, choose to fight traffic and waste their time to go either 90 or 522, usually to save a couple bucks on the tolls.
Would you rather pay for these corridors in taxes? I've never really liked term "user fees." Because -like the human circulatory system, a burst or blocked artery anywhere in the body is death if left unattended. Look at a fair tax system- with income being the fairest- as a user fee for the whole system.
Same, incidentally, for transit. Reason I keep asking for a pass good for at least a month, that counts as no-more-questions-asked prepaid admission fee to the entire system. If Edgar Snowden and Julian Assange hadn't broken my cover, the world would never know my feelings about the epitome of Government by Punishment.
But now that secret's out….see elsewhere. As ST considers adequate notification, there's a link to the right RCW. But lost the link to the link to the link to where it is.
That assumes the roads are wisely chosen. There are certainly regions where most of the roads and transit go to the optimal places and have an appropriate balance between them, but then there are roads that don't really have that function, and if we're making an expensive tunnel for them that may not be a very useful thing.
Highway 99 is basically where the planners drew the first highway in 1900, when the population was much lower, when highways turned into Main Street in towns, and when running along the shore seemed like a great idea because it the shore useless for anything else. Since then it has become an expressway between NE 73rd Street and somewhere in Tukwila. The main reason proponents use it now and wanted the tunnel was to avoid I-5 traffic. It has been touted as a solution for trucks and long-distance drivers but that's not really true because you have to traverse city streets between 73rd and I-5. So it's mainly useful for local drivers living in north Seattle or West Seattle. All that is fine except for the cost of the tunnel, the missed opportunity of the Boulevard+Transit alternative, the way it slashes through Fremont and doen't serve it well, and to a lesser extent the way it slashes through Queen Anne (although that's a lesser deal because the steep hillside precludes most other development: viz. how isolated Dexter and Westlake are from each other). But the tunnel is finished now so I guess we might as well use it. But let's remember that it's a minor issue in terms of the city's mobility. The idea of "let's put lots of buses on it" is ridiculous because the only feasible routes are from the southwest to SLU. So a few routes make sense, but not a lot of routes or all downtown routes. I don't care much whether the tunnel has a toll or how much it is, although I'm hesitant to break the agreement that "drivers will contribute to the cost of the tunnel" which was a basis of the project.
Where's the money going to come from to bring the New York subways up to at least Third World standards? The way I look at it, anything a foreign enemy would target, that's a legitimate defense expenditure. Then somebody tell me there's no budget for it.
Brian in Seattle says:
I'm not sure if this was posted in a previous week's news thread or not but this article in the nytimes last week really gets to the heart of the matter as to why public projects are extremely expensive in the US compared to Canada and Europe.
A re engineering of the process is sorely needed going all the way from the unions to the politicians to the engineers. They all need to come to the table and figure out a way to do this more efficiently otherwise we are going to bankrupt ourselves constructing these projects.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html
Tlsgwm says:
I caught that article when it was published last week. Excellent piece. Glad you posted about it here on this blog.
A couple of excerpts…..
"Consulting firms, which have hired away scores of M.T.A. employees, have persuaded the authority to spend an unusual amount on design and management, statistics indicate."
"Public officials, mired in bureaucracy, have not acted to curb the costs. The M.T.A. has not adopted best practices nor worked to increase competition in contracting, and it almost never punishes vendors for spending too much or taking too long, according to inspector general reports."
I have some of these same concerns about soft costs and lack of competitive bidding with Sound Transit.
"Even though the M.T.A. is paying for its capital construction with taxpayer dollars, the government does not get a seat at the table when labor conditions are determined. Instead, the task of reining in the unions falls to the construction companies — which often try to drive up costs themselves."
This alignment of stakeholders, by design, is obviously not in the taxpayers'/public's interest. It's no wonder that inspector general reports after the fact uncover such incidents of fleecing in such projects.
Vive la France.
Back in the days when labor unions, and the decent wages and working conditions that had never occurred without them, addressed affordability by paying people, a TV moderator interviewed an associate of Jimmy Hoffa, President of the Teamsters' union, about his union's connection with organized crime.
Answer: "Contract says I have to deal with the representatives Management chooses to send me." Remember, these are only hearsay and allegations from witnesses wit' really, really bad memories. But the most corrupt of the unions were known to be the closest allies of the worst management.
If the people of New York City, who are hardly a minority of anything, demanded a leader in an organized campaign to save their city by doing same with transit…who would accurate poll tell you will be chosen for the job? Fact that present answer amounts to nobody..,it means that nobody yet thinks problem is bad enough.
But who'll be chosen for the leader- because leaders are always chosen when people decide to be led- hundred percent certain who'll get the job. Whoever wants it least.
•Straightening of curve at Amtrak derailment site in Dupont ($) had not been state priority.
…and anyone who knew about this curve was left scratching their heads as to why it wasn't improved as part of the project. It was mind-boggling then and mind-boggling now.
@GK,
No head scratching required. It's called money. There simply wasn't enough money to do everything else and also straighten the curve.
And the curve is perfectly safe for any train operating at the posted speed limit — this train wasn't. Why it wasn't is the subject of the investigation.
Little early to be using past tense, @GK. Any chance somebody made a mistake about the curve's safe operability?
And head scratching can also be called dandruff and fleas. Also negligent homicide charge for whoever decided to let cash available determine amount spent on passenger safety?
Because other alternatives were always open, including bring speed limit down to what Tacoma Rail freights had always handled without derailing a single oil car headed for the Capitol. Or :
If BN came out and said openly that passenger trains were in the way of its freights- JP Morgan once said that his railroads needed passenger service as much as a male hog needed mammary equipment, Amtrak could just treat it like a very long land-slide clean up and use buses.
Mark Y. says:
It would have cost $230M, or 1/4 of the total cost of the project for that one curve. They went with smaller incremental changes up and down the line. You can argue with their solution but I don't think it's "mind-boggling".
Richard Bullington says:
OK. Mark Y says it would have been only 1/3 more to fix the curve not double, so I presume that detailed engineering had been completed. I'm surprised that the project cost $1 billion. Does that include the original segment for Sounder to Lakewood?
Chris I says:
$800 million, and that included track improvements in at least a dozen spots along the line. Bypass tracks, crossovers, sidings, 3rd main lines, and yes, the whole segment from Tacoma to Nisqually. I believe it also included the cost of the new trainsets.
Thanks for the total actual cost totals. I was thinking only of the reconstruction west of Lakewood when I said "it would double".
I would assert then that the curve would actually have more than doubled the cost of the Amtrak-only portion west of Lakewood. A large part of the cost of the entire project is the double-track elevated section between Tacoma Jct and the new Sounder station and the station itself.
Also, I understand that the section up the hill west of Pacific Avenue was regraded and had curves eased as well.
Since Sounder doesn't yet continue to Dupont and, honestly, may never do so, it's only appropriate to assign the costs west of Lakewood to the Amtrak service. I can't believe that rebuilding five miles of single-track railroad — even including as it did some curve easing through the Fort — could have cost more than about $100 million.
Then there's the new Amtrak station which is probably $25 to 30 million, but still that's less than $150 million that was not going to be spent for Sounder anyway.
It would have roughly doubled the cost of the project. Either I-5 would have had to be depressed or the existing railbed raised beginning somewhere near Center Boulevard in order to overpass I-5 to the east of Mounts Road overcrossing.
That in turn would have required re-building the Mounts Road interchange to accommodate the trackway on the south side of the freeway.
And finally, there is nearly as sharp a curve just north of the junction with the main line which there is no plausible way to widen without a large cut or tunnel through the hillside above the trackway.
Should the bypass ever become a part of an HSR line, these improvements will likely be completed. But reducing speed to 30 miles per hour for the roughly 3/4 of a mile between the easternmost curve and the junction with the main line is not enough of an operating issue if the trains can reliably be slowed to the determined speed limit.
PTC will do that assuming that it can be made to operate reliably.
It looks like the best way to rebuild it for high-speed would be to build new flyovers down the hill (west) of the existing bridges. This would eliminate both tight curves and replace them with a 60mph sweeping curve. Any speed above this is not necessary, since I believe the switch back onto the mainline is only 50mph. This plan would require the acquisition of some private property on the north side of I-5, west of the existing curve.
Yes, that's the best way to ease the curvature; make it one long curve.
But there is some difficulty with the grade change that doing so would require. I-5 is rising somewhere between 2 and 3% from a bit west of the mainline overcrossing. The Bypass has a pretty steep grade from the junction up to the top of the easternmost curve where things flatten out somewhat.
I guess you could do a sizable cut on the north side of the freeway to accommodate the belly of the curve, but it wouldn't be cheap.
The speed-limit design may be an issue. If it required operators to notice one sign and make a sharp slowdown, that's bad design, and in an airplane context it would be fixed so that we're not dependent on flawless operators. Maybe it can do what managed highway lanes are doing: several signs before it that gradually lower the speed, so it's unlikely the operator will miss all of them. That will all come out in the NTSB report. Or at least will if they're as forward-thinking as the FAA. II it doesn't, we should get that into the public comments.
Considering that it would have cost $230 million, and likely would have only shaved a minute or two off of the transit time (because there is a 50mph switch just south of the curve), I think it was quite logical of them to not rebuild the bridges. Hindsight is 20/20, of course…
We can critique their training, or the decision to launch service before PTC was in place, but it's hard to critique the decision to not rebuild the flyovers. $230 million spent in other areas of the corridor will yield much more time savings.
Somehow "mind-boggling" doesn't quite "get it" to describe pure, cold fury. What priority, and, whose, knowingly pointed a train straight down the throat of that curve at 80 miles an hour?
With a man at the controls who should've had the training, and union protection, either to refuse to get in the cab, or with his hand on the lever, to hold that train at 30 from Lakewood 'til the trailing locomotive cleared that curve?
I don't doubt for a second that events like this are intended consequences for the budget cuts the Legislature is reddening our State's collar with. But claiming political or administrative pressure as an excuse for killing passengers is exactly what the perpetrators want us to do.
Steve O'ban's constituents pull my coffee in Steilacoom. And I have at least one friend in Olympia who 'til recently wore same uniform as the troops who pulled our passengers out of our ripped up wheeled beer cans. Who'd think a lot less like Steve if we'd left him nothing to yell about than money wasted on slow trains.
I have an idea for parking reform that I think might make sense in Seattle. That, require all "big box" stores within 1/3 mile of an HCT station to build housing above their parking lots. It's a win-win; during the day when the stores need the parking, residents will drive their cars to work. In the evening when sales are lower, parking spaces will free up for the returning residents.
No, it wouldn't be 100% perfect; during the Christmas season there might be times when residents have difficulty finding parking right by their particular elevator. But overall it would mean that there could be a bit more than half as much large-scale parking scattered around the city, half of which (the residential) is empty during the day and half of which (the retail) is empty at night.
z7 says:
I like it! Ideally, units would be affordable for employees of those stores, further reducing the number of driving commutes.
It would work great, if it weren't for the fact that the residents of the building would need parking too.
Most likely, the residential parking would need to be dedicated spaces behind a locked gate, so the residents get the security of the gate, and the guarantee of always being able to find a parking space at their home. Now, you would need two levels of parking, one for the retail, one for the residential, on top of the housing.
Construction costs would be expensive. And, the neighborhoods where the housing market would support these prices tend to be the downtown neighborhoods that big box stores don't want to locate in because land for the store itself (and the parking for the store's customers) is expensive, and people driving in from the suburbs don't want to deal with all the traffic.
IrvingParkBrownLine says:
I think you're being overly pessimistic about this idea, asdf2. Was just reading a survey of parking policy that specifically discussed this kind of shared arrangement as a growing trend in zoning codes (not required, mind you, but allowed). It didn't identify specific codes, unfortunately, though that shouldn't be hard to research. And certainly big boxes are no longer as uniformly opposed to urban contexts as they once were.
baselle says:
A similar idea for, say, the 522 BRT would be for ST to scope out and pay local business with largish parking lots abutting 522 (eg Safeway) for their spots along the outer edge.
The businesses need the parking spots at the outer edge to comply with the municipal parking code, regardless of whether anybody actually ever parks in them.
Maybe, maybe not (unless you're saying you're familiar with the relevant codes and parking lots along the corridor). Sometimes chains overbuild parking to satisfy corporate policy, not local code. More importantly, baselle merely pitched an idea: even if that idea runs counter to current zoning regs, local parking codes weren't exactly handed down from the mountaintop carved in stone. Cities amend parking codes all the time, often — of late, at least — for the better. Cities also can and do reduce parking requirements near transit.
Joe "AvgeekJoe" Kunzler, A 12 for Transit says:
Some content thoughts as well I decided to drop in this open thread…
1) Really great Sound Transit photo. I want to see more photos this year from me and other Sound Transit 12s like that.
2) Great podcast this time around, but I also recommend http://www.transitunplugged.com if you want to listen to North American transit CEOs opine and talk tech. I'd rather post the link on an open thread at an attempt – perhaps meager – at class.
3) Thanks for mentioning the Daily Hive interview w/ Desmond. I was going to if you didn't. Big Skytrain fan here, even bought their model trains.
East Coast Cynic says:
Re Mahler's piece on NYC's subways, could you imagine the head of Sound Transit making a call to Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos asking them to take a first hand look at the state of public transportation in the region? Or could you imagine Gates or Bezos making a call to the leaders in both parties in Olympia asking them to spend the necessary dollars to facilitate the completion of ST3? Could you imagine the noblisse oblige?????
Does Kemper Freeman want more light rail:)?
Bezos and Gates(?) did make a call to Olympia and asked for a high-speed rail study. And Allen made a call to Seattle and asked for a streetcar. Unfortunately none of the tech lords are passionately concerned about general rapid transit or commuter rail in the region, except right at Microsoft Station. If they were, the possibilities for ST2 and 3 could have been much greater and sooner.
Could be generational prejudice, but really wonder if people whose entire stock and trade is virtual are ever really comfortable with machinery. Maybe it's been cured over the decades.
But when the wind-down of the Viet Nam war left Boeing Vertol in need of contract, became apparent that the engineers had no "feel" for dirt, heat, and abuse by either cargo or drivers.
Since DC3'd were still flying where these factors applied, maybe Boeing could've buried the hatchet with Douglas for awhile.
But unfortunately, no matter how much of a plane could be shot away and still land wheels-down, average freeway noise barrier would've been pulverized to concrete dust.
Meantime, somebody ask Elon whether we can go to Fred Meyers when the tubes need cleaning, or if we have to use top-grade Windex? Incidentally…has anybody asked for details about maintenance at all?
Because real danger if same firm gets cleaning and maintenance as now work on our vertical square-shaped glass-coated driverless conveyances.
Obviously you meant "noblesse oblige", eh?
From the context of your post, were you implying a faster completion of ST3 projects?
Yes I meant "noblesse oblige." That can happen when you don't have an edit function:/. I not only implied a faster completion of ST3 projects, but an expectation of stronger support for sound regional public transportation from our local moneybags in line with such pragmatic support from a plutocrat from the past (Rockefeller); support that advocates for serious dollars going into the system rather than some mealy mouthed request for a study or some selfish half measure of a streetcar.
Regarding the Lynnwood Link project budget woes, let's be sure we get our figures straight.
FTA New Starts rating from Nov 2015:
Total capital cost in YOE$ (incl financing)
$2,345.93 million
Subtracting out financing costs
-$194.3 million
Capital cost only
Finally, as recently reported in the Seattle Times, per ST board motion 2017-162:
$3,069 million
-$135 million (assumed)
Thus, taking this latest figure supplied by ST,
$2,934M, and comparing it to the 2015 FTA ratings figure, $2,151.63M, one can quickly ascertain that the agency has blown a far bigger hole in the estimated budget for this project than the narrative they have been trying to push since last August.
$2,934M – $2,151.63M = $782.37M
That's a far cry from the figure that keeps getting reported.
While I appreciate the Seattle Times' transportation writer Mike Lindblom's pieces and generally think he does an admirable job of covering local issues fairly and accurately, in this particular situation that's not quite the case.
The estimated budget miss is some 50% higher than what has previously been reported.
Amtrak train with 311 passengers derails in snowy Savannah, Georgia</a
Nobody injured. Yes the weather is unusual for GA but an inch of snow shouldn't derail a train.
Glenn in Portland says:
Ice builds up in the flangeways and if you don't have flange ice cleaning equipment this can happen.
They had freezing rain prior to the snow. This type of event happens in Portland from time to time and it has derailed light rail trains in the past.
Typo again besides the double names. Maybe it's like the Emmylou Harris song about "feeling single, seeing double" . Condition best avoided by always feeling married, especially while driving, since a single man over thirty not happily married is a form of a homeless person.
But big "miss" was alleging that the DC-3 could howl a highway structure to talcum powder. Or land on its wheels with as much of it shot off as the A-10 Warthog. Might've been moot because the "Dakota's" natural runway was so often mud and grass. But come to think of it, aircraft engineers might've helped out with tbe Burlington Zephyr.
Mike, why wouldn't you use the usual railroad signals to on this line- which I don't think ever include printed signs? Or better, cab signals that show up on the driver's control-board, whatever the hour or the weather.
Also, recent lesson about training should last us awhile when service starts again: Run it for a couple of years with an engineer who knows their location to the individual railroad tie the whole route. There's a very old transportation precedent.
In his book "Life on the Mississippi", Mark Twain details, from personal experience, that with no night navigation equipment but hearing and sense of smell, a steam-boat pilot had to be able to get out of his bunk and take the wheel on a pitch-black night. Even in parts of the river which had no posted signs at all.
Unfortunately, going though so many suburbs, will be very hard for a BN to discern whether the dog they're hearing is the one barking at the bridge still standing, or the one that just fell in the Nisqually.
I'm not a railroader so I don't know what the usual railroad signals are. As it was described in the Times there's a little speed-limit sign, smaller than the ones on streets. The engineer may have missed it — that's what the investigation is asking. They've already said the training was minimal and at night so they couldn't see the landmarks and they may or may not have known about the slow zone. I don't know what other "signals" there are to complement the sign, but whatever they are weren't effective then. So this particular speed-limit sign may be less visible than other train speed-limit signs, and in any case the sharp deceleration of over 50% is one more factor that can go wrong, and apparently did. So spreading out the deceleration and having multiple signs may help.
And ending the night with a word of welcome and encouragement, ECC. Your comments are 'way too positive to be a cynic- which our English lit. class learned came from the Greek word for "dog", connoting lying around whining and growling. Purpose is undeserved self-justification for inaction.
East Coast "Skeptic" much better, since it suggests a constant need for a lot more information, like a year, under penetrating sustained interrogation, before believing anything. War-cry?: " Is thaaaat right?" Perfect for PA announcements, Next Bus Away, and cost projections.
But what Seattle transit scene needs most, second only to fresh newcomers who pronounce "stupid" like it's got two "o's" instead of a "u", is the Patient Self-Confirmatist. Hallmark is single definitive word: "Toldjaso!"
I had another one of those nights coming from from the airport that reminded me of why mass transit is so important. Looking out the window of the Link train as we pulled out of the airport, the line of cars waiting to pick people up was stretched out at least half a mile, and was barely moving. There was an additional line coming out of the main line of cars snaking into the parking garage, which I can only assume is Uber and Lyft.
Taking Link home, I was on the train and moving just 15 minutes after walking off the plane. Had I ordered an Uber or Lyft instead, I probably would have been stuck in the parking garage for a good 20-30 minutes, waiting for the driver to show up.
Bottom line: individual cars – driverless or human-driven – just doesn't scale the way mass transit does.
The only situation when I'm taking Lyft/taxi from the airport is business travel (so I'm not paying) and it is late at night when I'd rather not wait for a transfer on 3rd Avenue to save my company $60.
I have, however, thought about taking Link downtown and then getting a Lyft/taxi home, which is more like $15-20. The "TNC" pickup zone in the garage is getting to be very annoying and staggeringly inefficient.
Even people going to places like Kent, where Link is all but useless, I suspect, could save a fair bit of time by just walking across the Link overpass and meeting the Uber/Lyft car in the parking lot across the street.
kevin22 says:
I agree re: your point on scalability, but Sea-Tac traffic flow is the WORST of any airport I have ever seen. It's as if the airport is trying to make it difficult to drop people off and pick them up.
As noted, the other great argument for Link v. TNC/cab is direct out-of-pocket cost. I take Link to Mt. Baker and Lyft/Uber from there to home. Total cost = Link ticket(s) + about $10.
As bad as the pick-up line at SeaTac is, I'm pretty sure that LAX is worse.
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kinda late but, at 2:47 its a spirit plane to berlin?
That infomercial had me dying! 😂😂😂 well played!
Kinda killed the moment that the people were set up.
There's a secret, skip to 7:49 and you will see a Tesla shop.
Was that ZAC from Zach and jay show?!?
Who else is German and was super exited when they said Germany?
It is the most annoying thing when Youtubers decide to exploit a (clickbaity) video in order to advertise their "sick new merch bruh!"... If anything, you should advertise it at the *very end* and let us know that the actual video's content is over prior to doing so. We didn't come here to watch a cheesy skit about some clothing line.
It is crazy thinking I have walked on the same path Yes theory walked on!
Holy.. Thomas my dude you just gave the best recital eveR!!!
2:33 Why does the girl behind him kinda look like an older Emma Chamberlain?
Apparently everyone speaks English in Berlin.
It's not embarassing if you're not embarassed.
Yes Theory in N. Korea...?


text:
Nokia-resurrect Newkia gets warm reception
Following his interview with ZDNet, Newkia's investor Thomas Zilliacus says he received several e-mail from Nokia employees asking to join the new company and has been offered free office space to set up in Finland.
Written by Eileen Yu, Contributor
Eileen Yu Contributor
Eileen Yu began covering the IT industry when Asynchronous Transfer Mode was still hip and e-commerce was the new buzzword. Currently an independent business technology journalist and content specialist based in Singapore, she has over 20 years of industry experience with various publications including ZDNet, IDG, and Singapore Press Holdings.
Posted in By The Way on September 16, 2013 | Topic: Smartphones
If you've read my piece about Thomas Zilliacus' plans to start a new company called Newkia, and rejoiced that Nokia designs may finally run on the Android OS, then you'll be happy to hear the startup has been garnering much interest.
A former 15-year Nokia veteran, Zilliacus was adamant the Finnish handset maker would have seen a much better fate if it had taken the Android route , rather than one tied exclusively to Windows. In fact, he was so certain Android was the missing link that he created Newkia the day Microsoft announced plans to buy over Nokia's devices and services unit for US$7.2 billion.
Nokia is dead, Newkia rises from its ashes
Singapore-based Newkia was formed the day the US$7.2 billion Microsoft-Nokia deal was announced, with the sole aim of acquiring Nokia employees and know-how but focusing on the Android platform.
Core to his plans for Newkia--"New" plus "Nokia", yes, it can't get any more blatant than that--was to bring over as many Nokia employees and expertise as possible, ranging from smartphone design to logistics to manufacturing.
The Monday after my story went up, Zilliacus dropped by my office for a visit and had several more nuggets to share. Thanking me for the coverage, he said he had received some 50 e-mail messages from Nokia employees on the morning after the interview was posted , with their CVs attached, asking to join the new company.
Grinning widely, he also revealed the mayor of a Finnish city called to offer him free office space in support of his plans to retain an R&D facility in the country. He explained that this would better serve Nokia employees who prefer to remain in Finland and do not wish to move to the company's headquarters in Singapore, where he himself has lived for 27 years.
He said members in Newkia's core management team, including its CEO, have been identified. He won't be heading the team, serving mainly as a consultant and investor, as he will be busy prepping his other investment and social media aggregator, YuuZoo, for its IPO next month.
Asked if Windows Phone was anywhere on Newkia's roadmap, he didn't completely rule it out. He admitted he had yet to try out the Microsoft platform, but said the company's primary focus would be Android.
On my request, during his office visit, Zilliacus brought along a Nokia prototype that never made it to market, but which he had boldly said would have matched up to the Apple iPhone. Built as early as 2003, four years before the first iteration of iPhone was launched, the handset had a full touchscreen and ran on a system similar to Nokia's old Symbian OS. The screen rotated based on the position of the phone--a function which Zilliacus reminded wasn't common among handsets at that time.
The Nokia prototype built in 2003 which Zilliacus said was comparable to Apple iPhone but was never launched. (Photos credit: Aloysius Low/CNETAsia)
While it was about the same length as the iPhone, the prototype was thicker and heavier--but remember that this was built a decade ago in 2003. And despite sitting somewhere in Zilliacus's drawer all these years, it could still boot up after I inserted my SIM card and was functional...I was still able to make a call using the phone.
Smartphone design needs to start getting bold, again
I'm keen to see what Newkia, armed with former Nokia employees and know-how, can come up with. If the lukewarm response to Apple's new iPhones is anything to go by, smartphone options in the market today are way too uniformed and increasingly boring.
Walk into a phone shop today and you'll see a lineup of options that sport the same rectangular shape, full touchscreen, single button...it's a major yawn fest.
I've owned about 10 different handsets since I bought my first mobile phone in 1995, including Ericsson's iconic flip phone T286, Nokia's "butterfly keypad" 8250 and 6210 Navigator, Motorola's Razr v3, and Sony Ericsson's Experia Mini Pro. They all looked different, and I remember spending weeks trying out the various models available at that time before deciding on the final one.
That's no longer the case today. In fact, I held on to my previous handset for over two years because the available options bored me. It eventually conked out and I had to replace it.
During its heydays, Nokia offered an eclectic range of designs including several that were truly bizarre, but they were each different, unique, and bold. That's something you don't see much anymore because smartphone makers today choose to chase shipment numbers, and fear straying too far from the commercially proven.
So I'm stoked to see what "the new Nokia" has to offer and hope it stays true to Nokia's old roots. Newkia's goal is launch its first handsets within a year and it should hurry, before Microsoft comes to its senses and decides its handsets should be OS-agnostic .
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