Drew's View

Abandoned Subway Stations Around the World

Infrastructurist has yet another great pictorial posted. This urban exploration is abandoned subway stations around the world. I'd love to explore some of these.

ARTICLE: Infrastructurist: Abandoned Subway Stations Around the World

Does Cheap Gasoline Make America Fat?

In the new book $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better, Chris Steiner claims that an increase in the price of gasoline could go a long way toward reducing obesity rates in America. An excerpt of the book was recently published in Forbes magazine.

The amount is hardly nominal: A sustained $1 increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline equals a 10% dip in the nation’s obesity rate--that’s about 9 million fewer obese people clogging up health care systems and costing society (and themselves) money. “The price of gas is a powerful lever when it comes to medical expenses and mortality rates,” Charles Courtemanche [an economist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who recently published a study on the topic] says. “There’s a savings in this for all of us.”

Courtemanche found evidence in his data that rising gas prices resulted in more Americans walking and more Americans bicycling. Perhaps just as important, he noticed that, as gas prices increase, people eat out at restaurants less. In addition to more strolling and cycling, people use public transportation more, Courtemanche says, and that, too, burns far more calories than sitting in a bucket driver’s seat, sipping coffee, and flipping through radio channels. People who use subways, buses, trolleys or commuter rail services need to get to and from mass transit stops, and that probably means more walking on both ends. A $1 rise in gas means 11,000 fewer lives lost to obesity-related causes and $11 billion per year saved on health costs, Courtemanche says.

He goes on to postulate that the effect might accelerate as gas prices increase beyond $4/gallon. Sounds like yet another good reason for a hefty gas tax.

EXCERPT: Forbes Magazine: A Skinnier, Safer America

BOOK: $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better

How Many Types of Highway Interchanges Can You Name?

The always-interesting Infrastructurist blog has a great article on the various types of highway interchanges. Even though I grew up in Southern California, I had no idea there were so many of them. My favorite:

The Lofthouse: A roundabout over two grade-separated highways. Less expensive than than a stacked interchange, but also has much lower capacity.

ARTICLE: What’s A ‘Spooey’? A Field Guide To Freeway Interchanges, Part 1

(via BoingBoing)

The Abandoned Town of Centralia, Pennsylvania

Readers of my blog know I am fascinated by urban exploration. (See Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline and Amazing Rooftops in NYC). Centralia, Pennsylvania is an all-but-abandoned town (Population: 9). The town sits above an underground coal fire that has been burning since 1962, leaking toxic smoke to the surface. Most of the buildings have since been torn down, roads are cracking and overgrown, and in some areas the forest is returning.

Wikipedia entry: Centralia, Pennsylvania
Photo Essay: Jet Set Tramp: Fire Down Below
Via Boing Boing

The Economics of Seeing a Yankee's Game

I've been doing a lot of thinking and talking about the economics of sports tickets lately, both as a NHL season ticket holder and for a side-project I've been working on. So, this tidbit caught my eye: Tickets to the new Yankee stadium are so expensive that a Yankee fan might be better off going to see the team in another city--even clear across the country:

Choose one of the two options to see a Mariners-Yankees game this season, and from the very best seats:

Option 1: Two tickets to Tuesday night, June 30, Mariners at Yanks, cost for just the tickets, $5,000.

Option 2: Two round-trip airline tickets to Seattle, Friday, Aug. 14, return Sunday the 16th, rental car for three days, two-night double occupancy stay in four-star hotel, two top tickets to both the Saturday and Sunday Yanks-Mariners games, two best-restaurant-in-town dinners for two. Total cost, $2,800. Plus-frequent flyer miles.

Article: New York Post: Kay Shills as Fans Get $oaked
(via Kottke)

Ever heard of Photoshop?

You probably saw in the news that last week one of the 747 airplanes used for the President did several low-altitude flyby's of New York City while being trailed by two fighter jets. The intention was to get some publicity photos of the plane with the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan in the background. Somehow, it did not occur to anyone that some New Yorkers might find this unannounced activity startling.

Perhaps just as surprising, someone thought this was the simplest way to get the required image. The US spent $360,000 of taxpayer money on this photo opportunity. Skott Kelby, the editor-in-chief for Layers Magazine, Photoshop User magazine and the president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, spent less than two minutes creating this composite in Photoshop:

Skott has also made the following offer to the White House on his blog:

Rather than spending $360,000 somewhat foolishly (wink, wink), whatdayasay we work out a deal?

I’m trying to raise money for furniture and household appliances for an orphange in Kenya (run by Americans), and I’d be happy to actually take 90 minutes (or more; whatever it takes), and really do the compositing job right, and all you have to do is buy a freezer for around, say $360. You can keep the other $359,640 or give it to GM.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

Urban Exploration: Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline

French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre have a photo essay on Time Magazine's website. They explore the formerly magnificent buildings of Detroit that are now abandoned, decaying, and empty. I am always fascinated by the exploration of urban decay, and this is a great example of the haunting images that can be found.

TIME: Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline

Buying Train Tickets via Mobile Phone

Deutsche Bahn, the train system in Germany, has an innovative new way for commuters to purchase tickets on the go. You can even reserve a seat on the sometimes crowded trains.

After registering with the service, the traveler can visit a mobile site from their cell phone. After specifying the ticket and seat they desire, they receive an MMS (picture message) with a barcode and confirmation of their ticket.

Once on the train, the traveler can show their phone to the conductor, who simply scans the barcode on the screen to verify the ticket.

Besides the convenience, the system reduces lines at ticket booths and eliminates the need for paper tickets and the associated litter problems.

Cool stuff, and another reason to add to The Case for MMS on the iPhone.

Fictional Restaurant wins a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence

Robin Goldstein pulled one over on Wine Spectator magazine. Robin was curious about how Wine Spectator magazine selected the winners of its Awards of Excellence for the world’s best wine restaurants.

Robin submitted an application for a fictional restaurant called "Osteria L’Intrepido," including a cover letter, menu, wine list, and the $250 application fee. Osteria L’Intrepido won the Award of Excellence, was published in the August 2008 issue of Wine Spectator, and subsequently got a call from the magazine's ad sales department.

Wine Spectator was clearly fooled by what could be called an elaborate hoax. But the facts remain that the magazine never visited the restaurant or verified the contents of their wine cellar. Perhaps most embarrassingly, the wine list Robin submitted included a reserve list comprised of some of the worst-reviewed wines from the magazine.

Unsurprisingly, the fake restaurant has since been removed from the Wine Spectator website and the editor has posted their side of the story.

NTEN NTC

Next week, I will be attending the NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans. This will be my third year attending the conference on behalf of Bring Light. It's been interesting to see this show evolve over the last few years with the advent of SMS, Twitter, Blogging, etc. This year, they have introduced this widget to help keep track of the agenda, as well as blog entries, twitters, and photos tagged from the event:

The Inanity of Airport Security

Finally, someone tells it like it is. Is there any way to make this better?

All the latest on green transportation

WorldChanging has a great roundup of all the latest news on green transportation.

Hybrid Car Services

When traveling, I often use car services to go to the airport or to get around a busy city like New York. Typically, these car services use Lincoln Town Cars. I've been doing some research on car services that use hybrid cars instead.

PlanetTran was the first hybrid car service, and serves the Boston area. They are priced competitively with taxi service, and reservations can be made online or by phone.

In Manhattan, OZOCar operates a fleet comprised of 100% hybrid vehicles, including Toyota Prius, Lexus RX400h, and Toyota Highlander hybrids. Their cars are also equipped with high-speed Internet access, Apple laptops, and 150 channels of Sirius satellite radio in the back seat.

Eco-Limo is based in Los Angeles. Their fleet includes a Chevy Suburban modified to run on natural gas, in addition to Prius hybrids. All their vehicles are black with tinted windows and have all the luxury appointments usually found in limousines.

San Francisco is home to one of the newest green car services. Green Car Limo just started up in 2005.