The Off Topic Topic

[Barrister]

On ice hockey, I sometimes did see people with ice hockey equipment on public transport in Switzerland.

But I think all this backs up my point really. We live in a society designed around the idea everyone will have a car. Living without a car is far more difficult than it needs to be.
When you visited Brazil you should have been able to just hop on a train to go see wherever. That's the ideal that we should be shooting for - at the very least if you are just living in a city needing to have a car is an absolute travesty.

Unless you're dealing with really remote areas or have to carry some heavy equipment there should be no reason to have a car beyond being into cars and /or driving.

It's not cars I'm against. It's the basically mandatory nature of car ownership.

So lets talk about Brazil.

My brother's in-laws lived in a place called Dias d'Avila, which is a suburb of Salvador, Brazil.  Salvador is still a big city, but it's no Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro (I think it's Brazil's 5th largest city).

Salvador does have a train system.  I remember my brother's father-in-law explaining that it had been under construction for 10 years and wasn't functioning when I was there (South America!  woo!) but it was up and operating by the time for the World Cup.

It's just not enough to say "well there should be great train systems everywhere".  I love trains.  I love subways and LRTs.  But they can't be the only answer.

I have totally embraced the motto of "don't make the perfect the enemy of the good".  We can do more for public transit even though it'll never eliminate the need for cars.

But that doesn't mean that having your own car isn't also totally awesome.

My ideal would be taking the train to work Monday to Friday - but having my own car to roam free on weekends.

[crazy canuck]

All those bikes coming from every which angle? Amsterdam is no dream unless talking nightmares

Back in the day I lived in Amsterdam, and back then bike traffic was not erratic, it was very orderly, with its own designated part of the road and lights.  Has it changed that much?

[Maladict]

All those bikes coming from every which angle? Amsterdam is no dream unless talking nightmares

Back in the day I lived in Amsterdam, and back then bike traffic was not erratic, it was very orderly, with its own designated part of the road and lights.  Has it changed that much?

Not really, just more people and more bikes. And a lot more clueless tourists disrupting the traffic flow.

[Savonarola]

Trains help, especially good lines, but you'll never get away from cars (and the need for them). For some areas/nations.   I don't drive, so I'm. It a gung ho "woo cars" guy, but I do understand the necessity of them. It's not even just a density things, it's also just purely a size issue. England is tiny.

Throwing some mor numbers, southern Ontario alone is 9000 square km bigger then all of England

This is a pretty irrelevant number when it comes the most important part of transport though - getting around in cities.
Canadas national density is something stupid like 2 people per square kilometre. But look at the cities, even in their current poorly designed state, and it's far more reasonable levels of a few thousand (still broadly bad. But not so much so the thought of change is a joke).

And hey. If we are looking at big countries with trains, Russia, China, and India are into them.

Toronto does have a subway, commuter train system as well as trams and busses.  It was designed for a much smaller city, since no one foresaw the growth the city has experienced in the past 20 years.  Both the subway and the commuter trains are being upgraded but, in rail, nothing ever happens quickly.

[Savonarola]

Trains help, especially good lines, but you'll never get away from cars (and the need for them) for some areas/nations.  I don't drive, so I'm not a  gung ho "woo cars" guy, but I do understand the necessity of them. It's not even just a density things, it's also just purely a size issue. England is tiny.

Throwing some more numbers, southern Ontario alone is 9000 square km bigger then all of England

Sure - and half the population live in two cities. That's exactly the sort of thing trains are very, very good at From what I can see the train journey takes 4.5 hours. The distance is about London to Manchester which takes about half that time (and, as you may have heard, we haven't even built a high speed rail yet). That's what I mean by a political and social choice.

As I say look at Russia or China - or, indeed, countries in the Americas before the advent of cars - and you'll find a different model.

Which is true, in North America our model is geared towards freight; and our railroads went to single tracking back in the 1960s.  This means that long distance passenger trains will always be excruciatingly slow, unless additional track is built.  As was mentioned in a few other threads a high speed train from Montreal to Toronto is being investigated, but even if approved that's a lo-o-ong way off.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah and from what I can see that's a little less than London to Edinburgh which isn't high speed here but takes just over four hours on the fast train.

High speed makes sense but I think even just having separate passenger routes could be transformative.

[Neil]

Here's a question:  Is there as much of an economic case for passenger rail in a time where telecommunications has reduced the volume of short-haul business commuters?

[Barrister]

So here's a personal anecdote mixed with some political news:

Donald Trump has named Linda McMahon as his nominee for Secretary of Education.  McMahon is of course an interesting pick as she is former CEO of WWE (and ex-wife of Vince McMahon), although she also ran for senate twice in Connecticut.

But there's reports of a separate controversy: that McMahon falsified her credentials.  In particular, that she falsely claimed to have an education degree.  In fact, however, she instead has a BA in French, and also a teaching certificate.

So a couple different thoughts.

I really am no Trump apologist.  I really don't think Linda McMahon is qualified to be Secretary of Education (although she did serve in the first Trump administration as Small Business something-or-other and did not embarrass herself).

But she's of a similar age to my mother, who was a teacher for many years.  My mother did not initially get a BEd - she instead got a teacher's certificate.  At that time just a teacher's certificate was quite common.  My mother did however go on to get her BEd in her 40s.

But also - I've sometimes said I have a BSc in Geology.  That's not technically correct.  Instead I have a BSc in Environmental Science, with a specialization in geology.  Back then the Environmental Science program was brand new so you had to take a specialization that was quite honestly about 80-90% of the way to a full degree, because there weren't otherwise enough courses in Environmental Science itself in the mid-90s.

But that took me like 4 lines to explain, so sometimes I just go with "geology degree".  But I'd hate for someone to think I was trying to falsify my credentials.

[mongers]

All those bikes coming from every which angle? Amsterdam is no dream unless talking nightmares

Back in the day I lived in Amsterdam, and back then bike traffic was not erratic, it was very orderly, with its own designated part of the road and lights.  Has it changed that much?

Not really, just more people and more bikes. And a lot more clueless tourists disrupting the traffic flow.

That'll likely be me the year after next. 

[mongers]

... snip ....

But also - I've sometimes said I have a BSc in Geology.  That's not technically correct.  Instead I have a BSc in Environmental Science, with a specialization in geology.  Back then the Environmental Science program was brand new so you had to take a specialization that was quite honestly about 80-90% of the way to a full degree, because there weren't otherwise enough courses in Environmental Science itself in the mid-90s.

But that took me like 4 lines to explain, so sometimes I just go with "geology degree".  But I'd hate for someone to think I was trying to falsify my credentials.

Can't see anything wrong with that: if I have to mention it I say I've a history degree, rather than using the full two part joint honours title, which is just confusing to most people/employers.

Though generally I prefer to just say I lived in Wales for three years, which covers it and is far more accurate. 

[Josquius]

Here's a question:  Is there as much of an economic case for passenger rail in a time where telecommunications has reduced the volume of short-haul business commuters?

Yes. Though the traditional model of all focusing on the central business district is loo...

Wait wait wait.
Neil

[Neil]

I really don't think Linda McMahon is qualified to be Secretary of Education (although she did serve in the first Trump administration as Small Business something-or-other and did not embarrass herself).

What do you believe qualifies someone for a job like Secretary of Education?

[Barrister]

I really don't think Linda McMahon is qualified to be Secretary of Education (although she did serve in the first Trump administration as Small Business something-or-other and did not embarrass herself).

What do you believe qualifies someone for a job like Secretary of Education?

some kind of actual experience in education would help.

[Tonitrus]

I thought Trump and the GOP wanted to close the DoE...so why would a qualified candidate matter?

[garbon]

Do we not have enough threads on Trump?