Evolve

Population boom and tech boom have exploded, but evolution takes a long time. There's no way evolution is keeping up. Stephen Hawking says we have 100 years to colonize another planet or perish, I'm inclined to agree.

Some people are skeptical of being able to colonize mars, and argue that we should just save Earth. It's made for us, we're already here, etc.. and those are good points.

But that's assuming we can control population growth and become sustainable, which is a dubious proposition knowing human nature, how short-sighted and tribal we are.

Colonizing Mars might not be the thing that saves us. It's how colonizing mars will change the way we think and act. As soon as we start sending people to mars, two things happen.

1. We start thinking and acting as a species, instead of as an Oregonian, an American, a Mexican.. we start thinking and acting as HUMANS. This is the mindset we need to take on climate change here at home. Mars could save us in this way.

2. On a ship, on Mars, in a really inhospitable environment, sustainability is a requirement that cannot be ignored. We simply will have to be sustainable. Recycle and reuse every resource or perish. Control population growth or perish. THE SAME THINGS WE NEED TO DO ON EARTH but in a much more tangible, immediate way.

think about it.

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Political Climate Change (updated my shared blog)

http://zeroemissioncommute.blogspot.com/2017/05/political-climate-change.html 

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Once more with feeling

Uber in Portland from a cabbie's perspective.

Cabs have been regulated by the city of portland for decades. They told us how many cabs we could have. How much we could charge. How we had to cover the rural areas. How many of our cabs had to be wheelchair accessible.

All we asked is that the rideshare companies Uber and Lyft be regulated too.

But Dan Saltzman, Steve Novick, and Charlie Hales voted to let them in. Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish voted against them.

Novick and Hales had a meeting with the Uber lobbyist and 'forgot' to put it on the public record.

Then they said 'This kind of thing should never happen again' Which basically meant to me that it was going to happen again. A very half hearted apology.

Now fast forward a year or two, There is new evidence that Uber intentionally created software to skirt Portland's regulations before they were approved.

Uber does not even make money. They are funded by billions of dollars in venture capital. Portland Cab companies do not have that luxury, we have to compete and prove it every night and find a way to be profitable.

Is it really fair for us to have to compete with these huge companies?

We basically got rid of Hales and Novick, Hales didn't run for reelection and Novick lost, the only reason Saltzman is still there is probably because he hasn't had to run for reelection since the Uber vote.

Now is it really fair for him to investigate Uber?

Should he be in charge of transportation at all? He obviously favors Uber.

Ted Wheeler, we voted for change, please don't wait for all the cab companies in Portland to go out of business before acting, we are hoping for you to help us.

Again we don't want any special favors, we only ask that our representatives do their job and regulate the rideshares like they always have the taxi companies.

Thank you for reading.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html?_r=1

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The numbers only work for the Billionaires (Uber and Lyft)

Uber and Lyft:

I've never understood how you can sign up an unlimited amount of drivers when there is only a limited amount of business.

Imagine a restaurant where they have an unlimited number of waiters, Ya you're going to get good service but the waiters aren't going to be able to make a living.

It looks like Uber is headed for a dead end. At some point people are going to wise up and stop signing up to drive for them. Or as their current drivers go bankrupt they will be unable to purchase new cars.

Don't get me wrong, taxi drivers have gotten the shaft for a long time, they drive long hours, usually as independent contractors, with no benefits.

The company I drive for treats their drivers pretty well, but I've heard horror stories from other companies in town. They fine their own drivers when they fail to pick up a customer, and the driver has no way to prove whether or not they actually did anything wrong.

So the cab driver would turn around and take it out on a customer by taking them the long way and running up the meter at every opportunity. Of course this pissed the customers off and that's one of the reasons Uber and Lyft have been successful.

But now there's a crunch. The cab driver can't control how much they charge, and they can't run up the meter, so they're going bankrupt.

Of course all of the personal bankruptcies won't bother the guys like Kalanick that have already gotten rich off the whole thing. Even if Uber fails they will still be filthy rich.

It's almost criminal, but that's just how capitalism works. That's why we need government regulations, to protect the little guy from being crushed by the billionaires.

I'm not trying to complain, I expect very little from the government. Just trying to explain things to people that might be interested.

I'm getting out of the cab game, maybe I'll see you at the drive-thru

Did you want fries with that?

http://katu.com/news/auto-matters/drivers-rebel-against-ubers-price-cutting-quest-for-growth-03-03-2017

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Autonomous cars, self driving 'smart' cars' (implementation)

edit: update: this video backs up my belief that self-driving cars and people shouldn't mix.. this warehouse has self-driving bots to move stuff around and they even do it in a 'human exclusion zone' bots and humans aren't going to really mix well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gy5tYVR-28

First of all, can we stop with the autonomous vehicles and the self-driving car? It's too hard to say, too many syllables etc...

If a phone with a computer is a smartphone then a car with a computer is a 'smart' car. Henceforth in this blog I will refer to these cars as such.

This is how I believe smart cars should be phased into our lives, and I will explain why.

Most people are not really ready for smart cars, and the streets and traffic systems we have are not really ready for them either.

The biggest problem is mixing the smart cars into regular traffic with human drivers. Smart cars cannot make eye contact or otherwise communicate with other drivers, other drivers can't always tell a smart car when they see one. A car being driven by a computer should be easily recognized as such.

So, mixing them into regular traffic. This might sound odd, but LET'S NOT DO IT. Bear with me a moment and I'll explain.

The smart cars could be phased in with limited trials in limited zones during limited times. During these times and in these zones, regular human driven cars would be prohibited. Smart cars would be limited to low speeds in pedestrian zones to familiarize people with the technology and insure safety. THE SMART CARS WOULD GIVE FREE RIDES TO PEOPLE IN THESE ZONES/ DURING THESE TIMES. This would further ingratiate people to the smart car.

After trial periods and safety/familiarity is established, the zones and times could be expanded. Also the speed limits could be increased.

The final implementation would be to allow the smart cars onto freeways IN LANES SIMILAR TO CARPOOL LANES SEPARATE FROM OTHER HUMAN DRIVERS. The ROAD WOULD BE A SMART ROAD, able to communicate with vehicles on it and ensure they are operating under computer control and operating safely. If a human driver had a compatible car, they could push a button and use these lanes... similar to toll lanes. These lanes would work wonderfully because all the cars would be going the same speed, they could be coordinated by computer to maximize speed and space, eliminating gridlock and stop and go driving that currently plagues our freeways.

Eventually, as people see the benefits of the technology and purchase new vehicles, the smart lanes/ smart freeways could be expanded. I believe in 10-20 years it may not be possible to use an interstate freeway without such a vehicle, much like airbags and seat belts are mandatory today.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Portland's mayor recently said he wanted to implement self-driving cars, so I thought it was time to put these ideas out there. I have driven in Portland as a cabbie for 10 years so this comes from a place of some knowledge.

Currently Portland has a policy that prohibits vehicles in Old Town on Friday and Saturday nights so pedestrians can safely club hop without worrying about getting run over.. this would be a perfect time and place to test these self driving cars. Google, Tesla, Apple, or Uber could test their vehicles if they are willing to limit their speed and give free rides in that limited zone.

Again, as the technology is proven safe and people become more used to the idea of the autonomous car, the zones and speeds could be increased/expanded.

Another great place to test these vehicles would be in gated communities and or senior living areas, Charbonneau in Wilsonville comes to mind. It's an area that allows golf carts to use the roads.. the autonomous cars, operating at low speeds, could easily mix into this kind of community and win over some of the people that are most dubious of this technology.

At first, these trials would be limited to certain times of day on certain days, until people accept the technology. When they do, and I believe they will when it's proven that computer driven cars are safer than human driven ones, the times and zones can be expanded.

I do NOT believe that people in general or our roads are ready for self driven smart cars to mix into regular traffic and use our freeways.

IF we want to put these cars on the freeway we should construct a 'smartcarpool' lane, physically separated by dividers, that allows these cars to use the freeway without mixing with other cars. A commuter could approach the smartcarpool lane (let's say in Portland), touch a button that would relinquish control of their vehicle, and regain control of the vehicle when they arrived in the suburb they are driving to (Vancouver, Hillsboro, Gresham, etc...)

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Letter to the new mayor and council; Portland needs an identity

Open letter to the new mayor and council in Portland: Dan Saltzman, Ted Wheeler, Chloe Eudaly, Amanda Fritz, and Nick Fish.

From a lifelong Portlander and cab driver since 2007.

Portland has no identity. Seattle has the space needle, the fish market, Cleveland has the rock and roll hall of fame and LeBron James. San Francisco has the bay and the golden gate. LA has the Hollywood sign and the walk of fame. Starting to get my drift? What do you think of when you hear Portland? Voodoo Donuts? Rain? A tram that doctors ride to the hospital twice a day? That's not an identity.

So here's some of my proposals to give it one, in somewhat order of importance. We need to think big.

1. Portlandia Statue needs to be moved to the waterfront, somewhere people can see it. This statue is our greatest symbol, it is the largest statue of it's kind made in america. The Statue of Liberty is the largest statue of it's kind in The States, but it was made in France. Such a unique icon should not be hidden away on the bus mall, obscured by trees, on top of a cruddy building that needs renovation or rebuilding anyways. Also, possibly renegotiate the contract with the artist to be less restrictive so we can sell little Portlandias to the tourists.

2. Bring back fareless square and EXPAND IT. Build parking garages all around the edges and charge for parking. If someone is willing to park their car their parking stub will act as their bus/MAX fare or they will just be in fareless square and not need one. If possible, make all Tri-met free. The money you will save on scrapping all the electronic fare-vending machines will go a long way towards paying the difference in money you make off of fares. Also, improved public transit will get people out of cars, reducing congestion and saving buses money on fuel. The drivers won't have to waste fuel idling while checking fares/taking money on the bus. And the fare-checkers won't have to shake down poor people for fares they can't afford. Instead make them all transportation ambassadors, helping people navigate the system. It's a win/win/win/win/win.

3. Redo the rose quarter transit station. It's terrible. I used to ride the max or bus into north portland. I could ride the yellow line or the 4 or the 35, AND THEY ALL STOPPED IN DIFFERENT PLACES. If I waited at one stop and saw the other bus/train arrive, I had to run across the street risking life and limb to try and catch it. I think the best way is to basically cap it so people drive over it, not through it. Maybe like a Grand Central Station or Union Station Eastside? Could the Memorial Coliseum become an awesome indoor transit station?

4. Since Vancouver and Washington have repeatedly voted down the MAX and funding for a new 1-5 bridge, start doing other things we don't need their help for. Rebuild the Amtrak bridge reducing 95% of the I-5 bridge lifts and put in a WES-like commuter train to Vancouver, possibly with a stop in St. Johns. The track could be doubled at some point to allow trains to pass each other i.e.; the express train could pass freight or non-express trains. Union Station to the 'couv in 15 minutes! Also, extend the Yellow line MAX at least to Jantzen beach with a train/auto bridge. This would allow us to close the very dangerous on/off ramps from I-5 to Jantzen Beach. Washington drivers would just have to exit one exit south and come back on the new bridge. This would allow a huge amount of development in Jantzen Beach without having to wait for a new I-5 bridge.

This idea is partly from the CSA to the CRC video 

(common sense alternative to the Columbia river Crossing bridge) 

5. Omsi could be expanded. We finally have a bridge/max /streetcar that goes there, lets make it something to write home about! Put Portlandia over here?

6. Consider a massive waterfront expansion/reclamation on the eastside and/or inner NW Portland. This could include a massive tunnel to bury some of the freeway that currently takes up all of that great real estate. Seattle's Bertha tunneler should be available soon, can we use it for a major project here? It's already proven to work and very close by! A Tunnel in NW would allow a park annexation from Forest Park all the way to the river! At least in some places.

Eastside tunnel as proposed by Sam Adams link

7. As a cab driver, I have spent many hours driving down roads named after ferries. Boones Ferry road and Taylor's ferry road are two common ones. What happened to the ferries? Why not restore a couple old ferries and bring them back as tourist attractions? They could actually be used for commuting during the week and tourist trips on weekends! How great would it be to see all of Portland from the water? Possible stops could be West Linn, Lake Oswego, Milwaukee, Sellwood, Omsi, Waterfront Park, Forest Park/Terminal 1, St. Johns? Epic Portland history brought back to life!

8. Do something with the tram on weekends? Maybe an observation deck and a gift shop up top? Would be great way to see the city at night and utilize the tram more than just monday thru friday rush hour.

Imagine coming into Portland on a train from Seattle and seeing Portlandia and a Forest Park entrance on your way in, or coming in on a ferry or boat and seeing Portlandia, it would be awesome from that angle.

Portland is known somewhat as a biketown, but actually we have very few bike lanes that are safe and divided from traffic like they have in Amsterdam or Copenhagen (with their own dedicated traffic signal phases) A two-way divided bike highway right down the middle of Burnside, from the zoo on the west side to where the MAX joins Burnside in the East? If the MAX can go right down the middle of a road why not a bike lane?

Finish the 40 mile loop that was first planned a century ago? Connecting marine drive to the springwater corridor? Why can't we finish a simple bike loop? Or at least finish the Fairview Gresham trail, connecting Marine Drive and the Springwater corridor?

bikeportland.org link to the springwater expansion 40 mile loop completion

If you're reading this and think it has some good ideas, please repost it to the city council and/or mayor.

If you're the city council or the mayor, I would consider a position as a consultant if offered. Thank you for reading. Ara Weller

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