Good news for a change

Received today from one of my mailing lists:

In the past week, TLC received some great news about public support for transit. According to a new statewide poll conducted by the Itasca Project business group, more than three quarters of Minnesota voters are willing to pay higher taxes and/or user fees to fund transportation investments. Even more significantly, Minnesotans prefer a transit solution far more than highway expansion or even a combined approach.

When asked about short-term solutions in the next five years, 66% of respondents chose transit as the preferred solution, 13% chose highway expansion, and 19% chose a combination of transit and highways. Surprisingly, preference for a transit solution was higher in greater Minnesota, with 69% of respondents favoring transit, than the Metro, where 63% favored transit.

Focus groups conducted in conjunction with the polling suggested that there has been a large positive shift in the general public's perception of transit mainly due to the success of the Hiawatha light rail line. This shift is so important when arguing for a balanced and inclusive transportation system.

****

Needless to say, I'm a huge supporter of public transit. Mostly because I go to cities that have it and they are inherently cooler!
Think about it:
New York City has the Subway
Chicago has the El
London has the Tube
Paris has the Metro

Besides that, as someone who grew up poor, I can tell you how much a good bus sytem is key to survival.

More on that Tech Theatre Position

POSITION: Auditorium Technician

RESPONSIBLE TO: Assistant Director of Community Education / Performing Arts

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: Facilitate the operations of the school auditoriums and provide technical direction for school events and community rentals.

LOCATION: Community Education

START DATE ASAP

WORK YEAR /LENGTH OF CONTRACT: Full-time, 44 weeks per year
Hours and days may vary each week dependent upon needs of the program.

SALARY RANGE: $18.00 - $20.00 per hour

LICENSURE / REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND / OR EDUCATION:
· A bachelor’s degree in Technical Production is preferred. A candidate with equivalent experience will be considered.
· Advanced interpersonal communication skills required. The ability to communicate effectively with many personality types is a must.
· Candidate must have the ability to work independently and assertively while still maintaining the standards of the District and meeting the needs of the clients.

ESSENTIAL ACCOUNTABILITIES,SPECIFIC TASKS, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES
· See position description.

DATE OF POSTING: September 30, 2004

APPLICANTS ARE INVITED TO APPLY IN WRITING (LETTER OF INTEREST, RESUME, LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMPLETED APPLICATION) TO MAUREEN LaMONE, HUMAN RESOURCES TECHNICIAN, CENTRAL SERVICES BUILDING, OR E-MAILTO lamonem@stillwater.k12.mn.us , BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 AND ENDING AT 4:00 P.M. ON OCTOBER 13, 2004

More Conspiracy Fun

There's a new conspiracy theory wending its way through bloggers as only the best internet rumors do.

Covered in today's Salon, the rumor is:

Bush was wearing a wire during the debates. Specifically, so that he could be fed answers.

The "proof":


See between his shoulder blades?
You have to admit, it is rather odd looking. What in the world would be causing that bulge? It's not like there's a pocket back there. Maybe it's a radar tracker in case Bush gets lost...

The author of the article says that he investigated (cuz even he immediately thought "photoshop") and went to the original footage from C-SPAN and he found the image himself at minute 23.
Questions have been asked, but nobody official is responding.

Now, I will say that this would completely in character for what I believe about this administration: spin over substance.
And it's a well-known trick for on-site reporters, and lord knows the technology is there.

But mostly at this point, I'm amused by it. True or not - I enjoy the idea and that's enough for right now.

Kicking myself

How easily a decent, content mood can be shat upon.

I'm kicking myself for being lazy about picking up a new process here at work. Apparently, I somehow missed the rollout or announcement or something to tell me that yes, we're using this new system now and here's how to use it.

I'm supposed to be ahead of the learning curve generally, and yet I was lazy and not on top of this.

Hm. Let's face it. When I know how something works, I'm pretty content to keep using it as long as it keeps doing what I need it to do. So, I'm not that much of an innovator if I'm not feeling any pinch points.

So, I'm feeling stupid and like a failure - for something really SMALL! (Shut up. I do not have perfectionistic tendencies. Shut. Up.)

I'm on it now, so I guess that's a good thing.

I'm also kicking myself for eating a big lunch of pasta and cheese and bread when I haven't been getting enough sleep lately.
But I'm not kicking myself as hard about that one. I'm too torpid.