More Transit Stuff

I'm sitting on a train as I compose this. I'm also a little annoyed that I didn't get my preferred seat like I usually do because the train is crowded. This is happening more and more frequently, and likewise, on the rare days I drive to work, it does seem like traffic is a bit lighter (but still super aggravating).

I'm thankful that the Chicago area has such good (by American standards) public transit. It allows us to live relatively far from my work and still avoid the frustrations of a long drive. Of course the transit situation isn't ideal, and there's plenty of room for improvement, just not plenty of money or political will. My train line shares track with the busiest freight line in the region, so we're constantly delayed by slow moving or disabled freight trains.

There are grand plans to improve freight traffic through Chicago (CREATE), but progress has been slow. One obstacle to rerouting traffic is NIMBYs who object to increasing train frequency through their downtown areas. If I were king I'd lay additional (triple and quadruple) track along my route to allow segregating of freight and commuter trains. The existing right of ways are plenty wide enough and historically had more than the existing double and triple tracks. (I'd also have a nonstop express train from Oak Park to work with a sushi bar.)

Of course nationally, we still favor the auto. Due to falling tax receipts from the gas tax, there's even talk of taking funds away from mass transit to plug the gap. I understand money is tight all over (especially since we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars blowing up/reconstructing Iraq), but this really is a misprioritization of resources.

Time Flies

Where has this month gone? It seems that ever since we got back from Boston, we've had visitors and/or birthday parties for the kiddie. Its been fun but also tiring. We've got more visitors for next month too. Perhaps this is becoming the new normal for us. Julia definitely likes the extra attention she gets.

iPhone Update

Well, I haven't gotten in line to buy the new iPhone 3G yet. I did, however, download the software update and have been playing around with it for a few days. The best part is, of course, the app store. I've downloaded several of the free apps and they're great. There's this useless, but cool program that turns the iPhone into a Star Wars light saber. Its pretty damn cool. I also downloaded the Facebook and New York Times applications (for free). Now I can waste even more time--yay!

New Census Estimates

The latest annual census estimates are out and for the first time this decade, Chicago is estimated to have gained population, a fairly modest 0.3% or 8,000 individuals. Of course, the actual hard count will have to wait for two more years. The last census count of 2000 showed an increase in Chicago's population contrary to prior estimates of population decrease.

After seeing all the high rises being constructed in Chicago its hard to believe that Chicago has lost an estimated 60,000 residents since 2000, but apparently a lot of the non high-rise neighborhoods are losing population to the burbs. Poor and moderate income families are being pushed out and replaced by yuppies (who have fewer children). Demographic geek that I am, I'm looking forward to 2010 (or actually 2011) to see the census results. I'll be very curious to see if high fuel prices and renewed interest in urban living result in real population shifts or not.

Rogaine Song

We were driving home from our favorite place when Kelly pointed out the Rogaine song that came on the radio. Now, I almost always have NPR on the radio when I drive, so it was only because Kelly was in the car with me that we were listening to music instead. For the first time, I heard almost the entire length of the song (I've heard short snippets before), and I immediately found the lyrics quirky and captivating.

I probably spent the next few hours at home surfing the web finding out all about the singer, Ingrid Michaelson. Her rise from obscurity is really amazing and epitomizes the way that the internet is changing all aspects of our life. She starts out with a myspace site and ends up with her music on Grey's Anatomy and one of the top downloads on iTunes.

Happy 4th!

Lazy day here at home. I suppose this is entirely appropriate since part of our birthright as Americans is to be lazy and pay someone else (or buy something else) to do the work for us. (Just kidding.)

Anyway, I was lying on the couch, exercising my right to be slothful and browsing the web, when I found this interesting post by Matthew Yglesias. I have myself wondered what America would be like had the Revolution never taken place. Would we be more like Canada, except with better weather? Would the Monarchy have relocated from London to New York City back in the 1800s, as the economic center of the British Empire shifted to the New World? With the entry of America into World War 2 in 1939 (as part of the Commonwealth), Hitler would have lost much earlier, possibly preventing the rise of the Soviet Union and much of the Cold War. The possibilities for counterfactual history are boundless and require too much thinking for me on this holiday.