The Off Topic Topic

[Admiral Yi]

Good time to pick up the habit Syt.

[DGuller]

The last two days, as I was entering the PATH train station coming home from work, there was a long line of people waiting to refill their cards in the machine.  Yesterday the line was snaking well into the staircase. 

Were some machines down, causing the backup?  No, they were all functioning, or at least functioning as well as they can.  The answer to the mystery was by the turnstiles, where a couple of cops were standing and letting their presence be known.  I guess so many people got used to jumping the turnstiles that they didn't even bother keeping their cards filled.

[Admiral Yi]

I had a similar experience in Amsterdam on the trams.  You buy your ticket at the stop but no one checks it when you board.  So no one buys one.  I was riding it one day and I noticed some dudes in trench coats waiting at the next stop.  Every single person on the tram got up from their seat and exited by the rear door so they could avoid ticket control.

[Barrister]

I had a similar experience in Amsterdam on the trams.  You buy your ticket at the stop but no one checks it when you board.  So no one buys one.  I was riding it one day and I noticed some dudes in trench coats waiting at the next stop.  Every single person on the tram got up from their seat and exited by the rear door so they could avoid ticket control.

I'm still vaguely pissed at my experience in Prague in 2008.  We buy our tickets and get on the bus.  Some guys ask us to disembark.  They know English as least.  I ask to see some ID, which they provide.  They ask for our tickets, which we show.

Turns out we hadn't validated our tickets by getting them stamped when we got on the bus.

Like fuck off - we're tourists.  We're clearly trying to comply with your rules.  I had no idea you needed to validate my ticket.

So they fine us on the spot, which we had to pay immediately.  As a result we get something that allows us to ride transit the rest of the day - but again fuck off, you're just shaking down tourists.

[Syt]

Maybe not now, Boeing

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Boeing-aims-to-bring-flying-cars-to-Asia-by-2030

Boeing aims to bring flying cars to Asia by 2030
April 19, 2024 02:51 JST

U.S. aircraft maker opens office in Japan's Nagoya to boost local R&D

TOKYO -- U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing plans to enter the flying car business in Asia by 2030, looking to tap demand for the fast, short-distance travel the vehicles could provide in the region's traffic-choked cities.

Boeing Chief Technology Officer Todd Citron revealed the plans to Nikkei.

The company is developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) craft at subsidiary Wisk Aero. The aircraft will adopt autonomous technology, rare among eVTOL craft.

The plan is to first obtain certification in the U.S. before expanding into Asia. Details of the Asia business will be finalized in the future, including whether Boeing will sell the aircraft to companies aiming to provide eVTOL transportation services or operate the services itself.

Boeing is currently selecting its first Asian market, including Japan.

In Japan, domestic startup SkyDrive and Germany's Volocopter are scheduled to operate air taxi services at the 2025 Osaka World Expo.

Boeing opened a research and development base in Nagoya on Thursday. It first established R&D operations in Japan in 2022 but had been renting space from other companies until now.

The new Nagoya base is the company's seventh R&D facility outside the U.S., following locations in Australia, South Korea and India.

Citron signaled potential collaboration with automakers with experience in fuel cells or electric vehicles. The auto sector is a major industry in the Chubu region around Nagoya.

Boeing Japan President Will Shaffer pointed to the advantages of basing operations in Nagoya, including the presence of suppliers in Aichi prefecture and neighboring Gifu prefecture. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Subaru, which manufacture key parts for Boeing, all have factories nearby.

"The other real opportunity here in this region is the access to talent and we've partnered very closely with Nagoya University as well as other places to find and access very good talent," Shaffer added.

Boeing currently employs 27 R&D staff from 12 countries in Japan and plans to increase that number to around 50 in the future.

The company will use the Nagoya base to develop digital tools for aircraft design and manufacturing, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen fuel cells. It will also research composite materials used in aircraft bodies -- including recycle technology and methods to boost production capacity -- and factory robots.