Star Trek

Official Score: 1

        The prequel sequel installment of the Star Trek franchise is an exhilarating movie to watch. The plot captivates, the visual effects stimulate, and Leonard Nimoy kicks ass. Though this is not a serious film, I would imagine that Gene Roddenberry would be very pleased with this addition to the Star Trek realm. 

        There are a couple scenes that are masturbatory excess, but I’m willing to let that slide. Star Trek gets a 1. And yes, The Binary did get to see the movie before it was released. Watching movies for free before they come out also gets a 1.

Arlen Specter

 

Official Score: 0

             Senter Arlen Specter (Douche-Pennsylvania) has left the republican party to join the “winning” team, The Democrats. But, Senator Spector is not a Democrat. He may not be a be a hardcore republican, but that does not make him a Democrat. At self admission, Senator Spector is joining the democrats because he claims he wont win as a Republican. He is switching sides to stay in power, not because he believes in anything. He fits right in with the Senate on the left or right. 

           He is also giving the Democrats a filibuster proof majority. Hooray for unchecked power.

Joy Rides

Official Score: 1

      After a  sunset drive down Westridge Rd. in LA, I can easily say that a joy ride is a 1. I did not really have to go anywhere that day. I made an excuse to get something from the drug store. I just wanted to drive through the winding roads that can be found around there. It was a Sunny Day, the widows were down and the radio was playing…pure heavan. So what If my carbon footprint increased that day. If Natural Resource Economics has taught me anything, it’s that you can justify any fossil fuel use as long as it’s worth the cost. That drive was worth the cost. 

 

Pure Joy

BoltBus

Official Score: 1

This weekend I took the BoltBus from Boston to New York.  Owned by the Stagecoach Group, the BoltBus is the best thing to come out of Scotland since Scotch Whiskey. Amidst skyrocketing gas prices, the BoltBus offers non-stop trips between major American cities for prices as low as $1/seat.  (Boltbus guarantees just one $1 seat per bus.)  Still, I paid only $18.50 which is a bargain compared to Greyhound’s standard $40 from Boston to New York.   Amtrak usually takes an equal amount of time and costs $80-$100 (if you splurge on the Amtrak Acela, you can arrive an extra 15 minutes earlier).  The only form of transportation that rivals Boltbus in price is the Chinatown bus, but in terms of amenities included Boltbus can’t be beat.  They are equipped with free wi-fi internet access, standard power-plugs, extra legroom, restrooms (with flush toilets!), and air-conditioning.  It’s like Stuyvesant Town on wheels!

Of course, bus transportation can be prone to traffic delays depending on when you travel.  I arrived in New York in exactly four hours, as promised by Boltbus.  And blogging on a bus has put me on the vanguard of wi-fi technology (sorry, IPhone users, the 3G was so last week).

The Boltbus departs from 34th Street and 8th Avenue across from Penn Station in New York. Tickets are available online.  Tell all your yuppie friends.

Dell’Anima

Official Score: 1

      It’s loud, it’s hot, but Dell’Anima has incredible food. My favorites are their home made pasta dishes, that are more flavorful than anything you have ever tasted. And I do mean you, because I have been to Dell’Anima.

      This modern Italian restaruant on 8th ave. and Jane Street in Manhattan may not be the most romantic date place, but if she’s into food she will be into you after the meal (and maybe some of their fantastic Italian wines too.)

     Prepare to wait, or get a reservation a week or two in advance. Dell’Anima is a 1. 

Adress: 38 8th Ave, New York, NY 

Phone: (212) 366-6633‎

 

Just go, you wont regret it.

The Federal Aviation Administration

Official Score: 0

        Inspired by my Virgin America post, I figured I should weigh in on the Federal Aviation Administration. To me, the worst part of flying are the delays. We fly to get from one place to the next, and not getting there on time can be incredibly frustrating. The lay person might blame the airlines for all the delays, but they would be wrong. A lot of the delays are caused by the weather. Well, thats what the FAA would like you to think, but that’s also not true, sort of. 

        It is true that weather can create dangerous flight conditions and it’s impossible to predict the weather….right? Well let’s say you were in vegas and someone asked you if you thought it might thunderstorm in New York City on a hot summer afternoon. I’d bet on rain. The point is that the FAA treats everyday the same, and every part of the day the same. They allow airlines to fly where and when they want to with out factoring in the chance of a weather delay. So As long as the weather is perfect all across the country, the system works. As a result, one storm in NYC, can affect the entire air transport system. (NYC airports are frequently congested regardless of weather, but airlines factor in that extra time when they tell you how long it takes to fly from NYC to anywhere). You would think they would try and manage this problem, so far any meager attempt has failed.

          However at least flying is safe. Yes that is true, but how responsible is the FAA for the US’s incredible flight safety record? It’s hard to say. Most airlines operate on self-imposed restrictions that are far more conservative than what the FAA allows. Furthermore, a fatal accident attributed to airline or manufacturer negligence can bankrupt a company overnight. There is a tremendous finical incentive for the airlines and manufactures to make flying the safest form of transportation.

      Now if I were to tell you about a room way up in the air, where messages are written down on little place cards and sent from person to another via tubes, you might think i was talking about a tree house in the 1950′s. However, I’m talking about a “modern” control tower. The major airports in Canada have computer systems (with out vacuum tubes unlike in the USA) that allow air traffic controllers to transfer data electronically.

      The FAA cant even keep up with Canada, that is why the FAA gets a 0. I could go on forever, but the FAA is already way into 0 territory and there would be no point.

My goodness color screens.

1950′s technology for the modern Air Traffic Control World.

Virgin America

Official Score: 1

       As long as the Federal Aviation Administration exists in a similar fashion as it does today, flying will be miserable. Their lack of innovation and motivation are the main cause of the worst part of flying, delays. However, Virgin America is doing their part to help the flying public deal with delays better.

       Their new stylish planes are equipped with on demand food and entertainment as well as free satellite t.v. They do have some technical problems with their in-flight entertainment system, RED, but they always seem to fixed it in the end. Their staff, at least on the flights I have been on, were energetic and gracious, and attractive too (YES that does matter. I’m less likely to get upset when bad news come from a gorgeous 23 year old than from a bitter 57 year old.) They also plan to have internet on board starting this fall to go along with electrical outlets in every seat. 

      However I’ll give an example of why Virgin America gets a 1. My last flight with them was a couple weeks ago, LAX-JFK. About 1 hour from JFK, the captain told us that due to weather congestion at JFK ( The congestion is the FAA’s fault) that we would have to divert to Allentown, Pennsylvania. While we were on the ground in Allentown,  Virgin America made all of the premium movies and t.v., as well as all the buy on board food, free. That’s how you make flying a little bit more tolerable.  

A brand new Airbus A320 for Virgin America.

Mood lighting and entertainment on-board Virgin America.

An Inconvenient Truth

Official Score: 0

A Few steps to avoid when making a propaganda movie about global warming.  

1. Never show the main extoller of truth in a private jet. 

2. Never show the main extoller of truth talking about his family’s cattle farm. 

3. Never show the main extoller of truth in an SUV. 

4. Make it interesting, not preachy. 

          It’s not that Global Warming is a worthless cause, it’s that Al Gore is a worthless person. It’s that his movie is boring and more emotionally based than fact based. It’s about the fact that Al Gore buys carbon offsets from himself. It’s about a man asking the world to sacrifice potentially trillions of dollars of wealth to fight Global Warming and he can’t sacrifice that extra cheeseburger, or Gulfstream Jet, or Escalade, or mansion.

 

Each of those Rolls Royce turbofans blow a lot more than Gore does.

Tian Jia

 

Official Score: 1

           Beach volleyball overall gets a 1. There is no doubt about that. However, during the  2008 Beijing Olympic beach volleyball gold medal match, almost all of the attention from NBC was placed upon would be champions Kerry Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. Normally that be would appropriate, considering Walsh and May-Treanor are the best female beach volleyball players ever and they are Americans. But what about Tian Jia, The leader of the silver medal team?

            Right now she is arguably the third best player in the world. However, because she is Chinese there is very little we know about her, other than what she looks like in a beach volleyball uniform. (That alone gives her a 1). What we do know is that  this very pretty, athletic woman was born in Beijing and is 27 years old. When she is not playing volleyball she is in the Chinese Military. With Walsh and May-Trainer planning to start families, it is time for Tian to start winning tournaments with her partner Wang Jie. In the meantime, enjoy the photos. 

 

The Acela Express

OFFICIAL SCORE: 0

            I took the train to DC from NYC.  This is pretty simple. From New York to DC, the train takes 2 hours and 45 minutes. Other high speed trains in Europe and Japan cover this same distance in less than two ours. The train was dirty, and the round trip fare was $345 dollars(the Amtrak regional is considerably less expensive, but takes a little longer). The snack bar has a similar selection as the food stand in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. There are sections of the track that cross The Chesapeak Bay and the view is beautiful. Other parts of the track go through Camden NJ and West Philly. But  don’t worry, the conductor locks the doors when you pass through those areas.

            All of that being said, it beats flying. It’s easy and free to change trains. It’s a little more reliable than flying(is that saying much?) Although the experience on board Acela is not that pleasant, it’s not the same bend over and take it from behind fun that is flying in the North East.

            Then I found out that many bus services are starting to offer wifi onboard. For example, Bolt Bus (https://www.boltbus.com/) offers one way service (NY-DC) for about $15-$20. In light on this new evidence, combined with my ADD, The Acela gets a 0.