I noticed a similar thing about cattle. When you've got a farm right next to a rural highway, the cows are quite used to cars going by. They don't even look at them. But when you ride a bicycle, which is a much smaller, slower sort of contraption, past a herd of cattle, they all look up and stare at you, tracking you as you go by. But if you had a bunch of cyclists training on a route regularly, I'm sure the cows would get quite used to them.
At least I didn't spook them. I'm a pretty fast cyclist, but I'm not sure I could outrun a cow.
When I signed up for Verizon in July, there was a 15-day return clause in the contract. If for any reason I had decided that I didn't want Verizon service or the particular phone I bought, I could take it back within the first 15 days and cancel the service, paying for only time used, or swap for another phone type.
I would wish to add that despite all the information available on the web, I really would like it all available by phone. Also, I think it's very important that basic schedule and route information be posted at every single stop that cannot have up-to-the-minute technology, so that anyone, anywhere can at least get an idea of how often busses are running at any time. They're beginning to implement this along certain lines in Portland, but is still woefully inadequate. I learned to appreciate and expect this information using public transit while travelling in Europe, especially Germany, and I feel that easily available information makes even mediocre transit service much easier and more comfortable to use.
All public transit in the Portland, Oregon metro area has some sort of tracking hardware installed, with several methods available for the public to view it.
Several years ago, TriMet (the main public transit service in Portland) installed GPS/radio units on every bus in the system. Originally, these units only gave information to drivers and those transit system managing folk, enabling them to know the exact location of each bus. The units are mounted next to the farebox facing the driver, and display the current time (I always set my watch from that), how early or late the bus is, and if the bus is on route. The boxes beep and alert the driver if the bus runs more than 1 minute early or 5 minutes late, or if it deviates from route. In the last year or two, they have begun to install 4-line LED displays at major bus transfer points, which indicates the time until the next few busses. A typical display might read something like "15 to Gateway TC due; 6 to Gertz Rd 6 mins; 15 to Gateway TC 8 mins; 15 to Gateway TC 4:50" (The display goes to "due" when the bus is within a block or two of the stop; any bus due to arrive more than 15 minutes from the current time has the scheduled arrival time rather than countdown displayed). This information is also available on the web for all bus lines at all stops at a page on the TriMet site. I'm not aware of telephone access to this information, though schedules are available from an automated phone system.
On the TriMet MAX light rail, the information is obtained from loops buried under the tracks. Time until next train arrival (Similar display to what was depicted above, with Red Line or Blue line and one of a few destination endpoints in place) is displayed at a few major stops. This is unfortunately not as accurate as the GPS system, and can be sometimes several minutes off. I heard one story where a bridge malfunction trapped all the Red Line trains on the wrong side of the river, yet the displays would count down to the arrival until "Red Line to Airport: Due" would come and pass and no Red Line train would come. This is obvious a serious breakdown in the system in a number of ways, and really shows that a public address system (something our city's transit lacks) is necessary. No matter how good the system, it will fail eventually. (For another example of that, read this amusing story about a conspiracy of a bus door, a mailbox, and safety mechanisms getting a bus stuck at one stop for several minutes.)
Finally, on the Portland Streetcar, a tram line overseen by the City of Portland rather than the regional TriMet organization, each streetcar has a NextBus unit onboard, which works by means of GPS. Perhaps the most comprehensive example of this sort of information available in Portland, every single streetcar stop (with the exception of perhaps two or three system which have no practical access to power and/or telecom) has a two-line LED. The display rotates between displaying: the current time, the NextBus URL, "Portland Streetcar: No Smoking on Platform", and the time until the next two streetcar arrivals (e.g. "Streetcar due in 3min & 18min"). This information is also available on the NextBus website for every stop in the system, and I believe this information is also available via WAP.
Well, first of all, Oregon is not a liberal place. It's just about evenly balanced between conservatives and liberals, with the conservatives clustered mainly east of the mountains and in some of the Portland suburbs. However, the more liberal ones of us have managed to pass (by slim margins) such measures as assisted suicide, medical marijuana, etc.
Eugene is one of the more liberal cities, sort of a hippie haven, and unfortunately home to a few violent anarchists. They have caused problems before: Last June, their anti-capitalism protest in Eugene turned into a riot. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/99/06/st061905.html
As for white supremacy gangs, I don't know. I am aware that there are several hate groups in Oregon, but they don't make themselves visible often.
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That place would be Baan Thai, located on SW Broadway between Harrison and College. It's excellent. They have good curries, too.
I noticed a similar thing about cattle. When you've got a farm right next to a rural highway, the cows are quite used to cars going by. They don't even look at them. But when you ride a bicycle, which is a much smaller, slower sort of contraption, past a herd of cattle, they all look up and stare at you, tracking you as you go by. But if you had a bunch of cyclists training on a route regularly, I'm sure the cows would get quite used to them.
At least I didn't spook them. I'm a pretty fast cyclist, but I'm not sure I could outrun a cow.
True, though China has had ICBMs since 1981.
When I signed up for Verizon in July, there was a 15-day return clause in the contract. If for any reason I had decided that I didn't want Verizon service or the particular phone I bought, I could take it back within the first 15 days and cancel the service, paying for only time used, or swap for another phone type.
I would wish to add that despite all the information available on the web, I really would like it all available by phone. Also, I think it's very important that basic schedule and route information be posted at every single stop that cannot have up-to-the-minute technology, so that anyone, anywhere can at least get an idea of how often busses are running at any time. They're beginning to implement this along certain lines in Portland, but is still woefully inadequate. I learned to appreciate and expect this information using public transit while travelling in Europe, especially Germany, and I feel that easily available information makes even mediocre transit service much easier and more comfortable to use.
All public transit in the Portland, Oregon metro area has some sort of tracking hardware installed, with several methods available for the public to view it.
Several years ago, TriMet (the main public transit service in Portland) installed GPS/radio units on every bus in the system. Originally, these units only gave information to drivers and those transit system managing folk, enabling them to know the exact location of each bus. The units are mounted next to the farebox facing the driver, and display the current time (I always set my watch from that), how early or late the bus is, and if the bus is on route. The boxes beep and alert the driver if the bus runs more than 1 minute early or 5 minutes late, or if it deviates from route. In the last year or two, they have begun to install 4-line LED displays at major bus transfer points, which indicates the time until the next few busses. A typical display might read something like "15 to Gateway TC due; 6 to Gertz Rd 6 mins; 15 to Gateway TC 8 mins; 15 to Gateway TC 4:50" (The display goes to "due" when the bus is within a block or two of the stop; any bus due to arrive more than 15 minutes from the current time has the scheduled arrival time rather than countdown displayed). This information is also available on the web for all bus lines at all stops at a page on the TriMet site. I'm not aware of telephone access to this information, though schedules are available from an automated phone system.
On the TriMet MAX light rail, the information is obtained from loops buried under the tracks. Time until next train arrival (Similar display to what was depicted above, with Red Line or Blue line and one of a few destination endpoints in place) is displayed at a few major stops. This is unfortunately not as accurate as the GPS system, and can be sometimes several minutes off. I heard one story where a bridge malfunction trapped all the Red Line trains on the wrong side of the river, yet the displays would count down to the arrival until "Red Line to Airport: Due" would come and pass and no Red Line train would come. This is obvious a serious breakdown in the system in a number of ways, and really shows that a public address system (something our city's transit lacks) is necessary. No matter how good the system, it will fail eventually. (For another example of that, read this amusing story about a conspiracy of a bus door, a mailbox, and safety mechanisms getting a bus stuck at one stop for several minutes.)
Finally, on the Portland Streetcar, a tram line overseen by the City of Portland rather than the regional TriMet organization, each streetcar has a NextBus unit onboard, which works by means of GPS. Perhaps the most comprehensive example of this sort of information available in Portland, every single streetcar stop (with the exception of perhaps two or three system which have no practical access to power and/or telecom) has a two-line LED. The display rotates between displaying: the current time, the NextBus URL, "Portland Streetcar: No Smoking on Platform", and the time until the next two streetcar arrivals (e.g. "Streetcar due in 3min & 18min"). This information is also available on the NextBus website for every stop in the system, and I believe this information is also available via WAP.
Eugene is one of the more liberal cities, sort of a hippie haven, and unfortunately home to a few violent anarchists. They have caused problems before: Last June, their anti-capitalism protest in Eugene turned into a riot. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/99/06/st061905.html
As for white supremacy gangs, I don't know. I am aware that there are several hate groups in Oregon, but they don't make themselves visible often.
-resident of Portland