Slow and Steady Wins the Transit Race?

In the wake of the very, very delayed Metro Line LRT project, We have now learned that the newer and grander Edmonton Transit Valley Line, Will travel as slow as 30 Km/hr, (Global News Story about slow LRT).  It feels like every time Edmonton tries to get more people to use transit, or provides a new way for people to get around that they just can't quite deliver.  This project was supposed to be a shining beacon of great P3 (public, private, partnership) transit and a great way to get from Millwoods into the heart of downtown.  Now I wonder if anyone will take it if it has to go so slow.....  Hopefully the City of Edmonton can find a solution to this otherwise..  the train may look more like this....

Anyways, I'm a big believer is good transit, and especially fond of LRT and train service.  I just hope that city council can see their way to making sure this isn't the Turtle Train and ensure that it is actually a rapid transit solution that will get people out of their cars and using transit.

It's been a long time....

I'm going to try to restart my blog and try to publish a short musing every week.  We'll see what I come up with.  I hope to restart next week, spend the summer blogging and see where it goes from there.  My plan is to publish at least every Saturday starting from right now. Items of local interest, and photos, hopefully it will be interesting to you too.

The world isn't really imploding. Currently it's only Europe

As Greece prepares for another day of a general strike and massive protests, One wonders, Is taking the day off work and causing millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure and public buildings really a good way to show that your serious about solving a debt problem that really is created by the people.  Also is it really a good move to just go out and take a break when the government is considering massive public sector layoffs.  If you're not coming to work it may just make that job a whole lot easier.  It's strange to see people suggesting that the "Government" is making the cuts and bowing to pressure, especially when the people are the ones that put the very very spendy governments in place to begin with.  It's hard to imagine too that Greece and other European governments got to this point all of a sudden, cause the world of trouble they find themselves in doesn't really come about overnight. Sure 5 years ago creative solutions like job sharing and adjusting benefit shares could have been done but at this point there's no time for that and it's not like the public sector unions would listen anyways.  Oh yeah and Italy's next so hold on to your Riot Shields it's going to be a bumpy few years.

Jack Layton

I remember watching the winding down of the last election and seeing the camera on CBC of the inside of Jack Layton's Hotel room headquarters where he was watching the numbers roll in. Some time after it had become clear that he would gain a respectable second place the phone rang and he answered it with something to the effect of, Her Majesties Loyal Opposition. It was a candid and funny moment that characterized how many Canadians felt about Jack. They felt he was the kind of person they could sit down with, have a joke or chat with and he would listen and do something for their concerns. Jack Layton was a man who stood for his principles and stood for what he believed in, a quality often lost on politicians. It is a true shame that he never really got his chance to steer the course of the country, to lead us to a fairer and better Canada. He will be missed.

HP Touchpad Dead

Well one thing is certain no amount of advertising can replace the fact that your product isn't an i-pad. You can work as hard as you like and it still won't matter because all people are talking about is what color the new i-pad will be and what features the currently unannounced product will have. It's just hard to compete when your competitor's product has taken on a life of its own.  Of course HP and others got caught flat footed and still were only trying to catch up when the axe fell.  So long Touchpad, you made a valiant attempt to slay the dragon and failed. Will anyone else take up the challenge?  Can anyone sell a tablet that can beat the i-pad on price and features? Or will the also ran parade continue?

A Wakeup Call for the US? or Just another chance to press the snooze button?

It seems like the US is trying to blame everyone else for it's problem.  If American politicians could solve their debt problem with the same passion and vigor that they attacked the downgrade of American debt, there wouldn't be a debt problem. The basic answer is that American politicians are attacking the S&P because it's put the spotlight on them.  S&P has said it's not about the short term ability for the US to pay it's debts,  it's about the US ability to, in the long term, solve it's dependence on borrowing money.



One thing that has come out of all this is that S&P has been criticized for getting it wrong on subprime mortgages before when they rated them as AAA right up to the very end.  I guess I would say that maybe they're just being more realistic now and rating things as they see them rather than getting caught up in the hysteria or excitement of the moment as they did in the past.

Of course it's not as if the S&P is the only one calling the US government on the carpet for it's dependence on debt.  China, the US's largest creditor, has also criticized the US dependence on debt.  While the S&P downgrade is a problem, one would wonder what would happen if China suddenly pulled the plug and showed up to collect?