Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Got Gas?

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We got home today and found this note from Washington Gas informing us that our service was off because a line had been damaged across the street (presumably amid the home building in the neighborhood).

When the power goes out, they just turn it back on when they fix the problem. Apparently when gas gets shut off, they don’t just turn it back on when they’re done. I think it has something to do with the fact that gas can explode. Go figure.

Anyway, Melissa got a hold of the company while I did a few errands, a guy came out and hooked everything back up and made sure the heater worked, and now we’re good-to-go. It was a big, goofy waste of time really.

Catoe to Step Down as ‘Metro’ GM

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Local media report that John Catoe will be resigning as General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, ‘Metro’). He will step down on April 2.

Catoe became Metro GM in 2006, inheriting an already-failing transit system. During his tenure, Metro’s precipitous slide in quality and safety continued unabated—culminating in a deadly MetroRail crash last June. Metro has habitually ignored safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Many area residents (myself included) now consider the system unsafe.

Metro has never implemented a redundant fail-safe train detection system, so single failures can cascade into deadly accidents. In fact, there are multiple single points of failure in the system that have caused documented accidents and near-misses. In the aftermath of the June crash, Catoe claimed that no transit system has redundant train detection systems, but here in the real world we know that many have them. In fact, San Francisco’s BART system—often called a ‘sister system’ to Metro because of their technical similarities—implemented a fail-safe mechanism in the 1970s.

When Catoe’s contract was extended by the Metro Board of Directors in September, I issued a call for accountability. I renew that call today. This would be a great opportunity both to replace Catoe with a strong, capable leader and reform the structure of the unaccountable Metro Board. If you’re a D.C.-area resident, write your representatives and tell them so.

Massive Destruction in Haiti

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Reports are emerging from Haiti of incredible death and destruction in the wake of yesterday’s earthquake, which measured 7.0 magnitude (BBC coverage; CNN coverage). Countless buildings—including the presidential palace and parliament building—have been destroyed or severely damaged in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Hospitals, schools, churches, homes, and more are in ruins.

The Prime Minister of Haiti estimates that over 100,000 have been killed. Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of the Catholic Archdiocese of Haiti is among the dead.

As the magnitude of this catastrophe becomes clearer, I urge all of my readers to donate to reputable private and religious aid agencies. Haiti is among the poorest countries in the world and its people are in desperate need of assistance. The government of Haiti is, however, among the world’s most corrupt, so government-to-government aid may just go to waste. Our efforts are better spent on non-governmental aid groups.

I recommend making a donation to Catholic Relief Services (especially given the large Catholic presence in Haiti) or the Red Cross, both of which can very quickly put the money to good use.

The Ugliest Cars of the 2010 Model Year

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It’s shaping up to be a big year for ugly cars. Many manufacturers have introduced stunningly bad new models for 2010 and, meanwhile, most of the cars that graced my 2009 list are still in production. Only the Pontiac G6 Coupe has been discontinued, and I’m not sure if that even counts since the G6 was only discontinued because the entire Pontiac brand was.

Because of the surprising number of new additions for 2010, some really revolting cars like the Chrysler Sebring Sedan have been squeezed off the bottom of the list. If this glut of ugly vehicles continues, I may need to expand the list to 15 or 20 next year to make sure I capture everything. This year’s list also has a fair amount of ‘churn’ from previous years; some cars have started looking better to me with time, others . . . haven’t.

The criteria for this list is simple. I don’t include models that aren’t sold in the United States. I don’t include models that sell in low volume (and volume is defined subjectively based on how many I see on the roads in the Washington, D.C. metro area). I don’t include exotic, military, or special-purpose vehicles (so no super-cars, tanks, or postal trucks). It’s based entirely on my personal opinion of what looks good and what doesn’t.

Enjoy!

Read more . . .

Anyone Experiencing ‘Avatar’ Withdrawal?

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I haven’t seen James Cameron’s new film Avatar yet. I generally like Cameron’s films—The Abyss is one of my favorites—but I really, really hate movie theaters. I’ll catch it on DVD someday.

While reviews of Avatar have been mixed, to say the least, there are clearly a lot of people who like it. Having said that, I think that some people have taken the film a bit too seriously. Quoting from an article that appeared today on CNN.com:

James Cameron’s completely immersive spectacle Avatar may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

Seriously?

I suspect I’ve made myself much more depressed by reading this article than I would have by watching Avatar and suffering from fictional world withdrawal.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.