Boston Crazy Driving: December 2005

12.24.2005

A Big Dig Christmas surprise

Newspapers usually can't control when government decides to announce bad news. In a recent example, the Globe reports today about a possible increase in the cost of the Big Dig. It's Christmas Eve; who is reading the paper (besides me)?

I remember once a former Boston cop who had become a criminal defense lawyer telling me that the BPD would release its disciplinary actions against its cops on a Friday afternoon. They would become part of the public record then, but wouldn't be reported until Saturday, if they were reported at all. It was a way of minimizing the chance that the actions would become big news. I don't know if this is common practice, or if it is even true, but I am willing to accept this guy's word. It seems that perhaps the federal government follows a similar practice with the Big Dig. And here the biggest news of all is that the tax- and toll-payers of Massachusetts will have to pay for this because the feds have capped how much they are spending on this money pit.

What's most sad, is the expected $75 million increase to the project cost doesn't even touch the front end of the bottom line number. Unlike increases in the past that pushed the project from $2 billion to $14 billion, this only moves the decimal part of the $14.6 billion project to $14.7 billion apparently. Who cares when it's only one-tenth of something, even if it is one-tenth of a billion dollars. One tenth of one billion is 100 million, more than the operating budgets for many, many cities and towns in Massachusetts. How's that for perspective?

Take a look at just the bottom line of your town's budget, and think of all the complaints of low staff in the various departments, or the justification for a Proposition 2 1/2 override for a few million dollars. Think about it. These towns claim they are really struggling on the property taxes, excise taxes and state aid they are receiving, and yet the cost of a flawed construction project in Boston increases by an amount equal to the town's budget, and the Massachusetts tax- and toll-payers have to foot the whole bill. How's that for priorities?

While we're on the subject of the Big Dig, and while I'm on a roll, I figured I would mention one of the audio books I listened to recently. It is called "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins. It is non-fiction and the author tells about his role in helping to set up enormous public works projects in foreign countries that would benefit American corporations like Bechtel, which is the lead firm in the joint venture of the Big Dig, Bechtel/Parsons-Brinkerhoff. Though the book doesn't make this connection, I'm beginning to think a similar type of economic hit was perpetrated on Massachusetts as is described in Perkins' book.

12.19.2005

Christmas music a la coche

I have tuned in to Oldies 103.3 since about the second day it started playing Christmas music 24/5 (it takes a break on weekend nights). It's the most I have tuned into that station ever. Ever. Being under 30 (for the next week at least), the Oldies station is more a novelty stop on my preset than a must-press. The Christmas music changed that (It should be noted that Mrs. Boston Crazy Driving thinks me a bit of a Scrooge, so it's important to get into the spirit as early as possible). I started listening nearly every time I was in car, but I noticed a couple of things: the station's catalog of Christmas music is woefully limited, there are many versions of the same song meaning we need some new Christmas music, and I found out that two of the jocks are voices from my youth making me wonder if I should listen to Oldies on Dec. 26 and beyond.

As a wee lad, I would tune into the afternoon cartoons on channel 56 (back when it was WLVI and it had the "Living 56" slogan), and Uncle Dale Dorman's disembodied voice would serve as a bumper between commercials and "Tom and Jerry." I was never naive enough to think he was my real uncle or anything, but he was a welcome familiar voice in my adolescence when I started to listen to pop music. He was the afternoon jock on KISS 108. But everyone in my suburban middle school believed that KISS was too "urban" and 94.5 WZOU (The Zoo) was way better. I didn't understand until I was older what the former meant, but I agreed with the latter nonetheless.

The Zoo it was for me most of the time, especially in the evenings when "The red light is on and the madam is in." Of course, I had no idea what this meant either, except that there was a song called "Roxanne" that also talked about a woman who didn't have to turn on the red light. (I am much more worldly now.) The madam was Karen Blake. She was my evening siren. When The Zoo gave way to WJMN, Jammin' 9.45, so did my listening. I moved on to what I termed real music at WZLX 100.7. What can I say? I was in high school and confused.

A few years passed and Ed McMann took over for Uncle Dale, who, as far as I knew when off to the radio nursing home. Karen "The Madam" Blake turned up on Star 93.7 in the morning, and although she dropped the madam persona, I always expected her to say it on the rare occasions I tuned in. When Star 93.7 became robot radio known as Mike earlier this year, I wondered what would happen to her. It was the second time that she was programmed off the air. Turns out Dorman does the daytime slot leading into the afternoon drive slot with Karen Blake on Oldies 103.3.

So, two personalities from my youth are spinning on the Oldies station. Yikes. Who's next? Lisa Traxler ("Trax spins great wax.")? Joe Martelle?

Rear-end ogling

I stare at a lot of rear-ends every day. Each one is different. Some are big and wide. Some are squarish. Some have little identifying marks. And still some are very nondescript. Some make me laugh. Some make me think. Some even make me angry or sad. Who knew rear-ends could be so diverse, but they are. I write, of course, of car rear-ends; not the type that will get me in trouble with my company's HR department.

Usually, there's the run-of-the-mill faded "Support Our Troops" ribbon magnet, something Patriots or Red Sox related or some while oval sticker with some three or four letter abbreviation of some place made to mimic country codes on European cars under the old registration system.

Tonight I saw something small that made me laugh. It was an advert for a company that I will post later when my memory is working again. But the saying was: "It's about Folk N' Time." Say it aloud real fast. I thought it was clever enough to share.

I feel her pain

Beth at Grand Mental Station shares a particularly unique driving experience on Route 128 recently. Although most of my commuting is done on Route 93, I do drive Route 128 once a week, and I can totally sympathize with her initial agitation. The post itself is a bunch of sundries, but the driving part is a grand example of Boston Crazy Driving. Here's an excerpt:

I looked over to see what the fuss was about. And my confusion and anger surged again--what the hell is this guy doing?!?! He's just sitting there with his lights on holding up traffic? What the--
Which is when I saw the swan.

Thank's, Beth, for sharing. And thanks for the Blogroll!

12.18.2005

I'll second that emotion

The Boston Globe Magazine has named it's man of the year, a retired judge who blew the whistle on the Big Dig's tunnel leaks. I will think of his name every time I use those tunnels.

12.17.2005

Driving in circles

I saw an article recently that the famed Jimmy's Harborside Restaurant next to Fish Pier in South Boston is closing at the end of the year, but it will return as part of a major new development among many major new developments in Boston's much-ballyhooed Seaport District. For uninitiated, Jimmy's Harborside, like its chief competitor a block away, Anthony's Pier 4, is a famed old-school surf and turf fine dining restaurant with a dining room that looks through 12-foot tall windows onto Boston Harbor. The lobby is lined with photographs of Kennedys and other famous folks who have dined there, and the interior evokes a time gone by.

After reading the news, I spread the word around the family and it turns out that my in-laws had a gift certificate hanging around. My mother-in-law suggested her husband and I use it this weekend while she was in New York shopping with Mrs. Boston Crazy Driving. So we did. The food and service were great, even though the dining room was mostly empty. We were 20 minutes late for our reservation, and it didn't seem like a problem at all. In fact, we probably didn't even need a reservation.

So, how does this relate to driving? Well, it's the driving that made us 20 minutes late. My father-in-law and I got on 128 South near the Westwood Amtrak station and started heading towards 93. There was a ton of traffic from the Patriots game heading north, but we soon learned that it wasn't just volume slowing us down. There was a four-car accident at Granite Avenue in Milton holding everything up. It was gone by the time we got there, but the backup ate up all of our "get lost time." Whenever using a new part of the tunnel system downtown, I always build in some get lost time because it's inevitable, and we needed it tonight.

Invariably, ever since the major portion of construction started about nine years ago, the roads have changed so frequently they seemed to move around more than the staircases inside Gryffindor Tower (see the first Harry Potter movie to get the reference). A northbound road can change to a southbound one in a flash, or it could disappear altogether. In tonight's example, we took the new ramp to South Station, which ends at Kneeland Street almost about where the old offramp for South Station used to. We drove straight ahead a couple of blocks and then tried to turn right onto Surface Artery, but the right took us only to a downramp into the tunnel. Our next chance to get out was for Storrow Drive. We took that exit and emerged near Leverett Circle and had to come back around by the TD Banknorth Garden, left on Causeway and right onto North Washington. We wended our way through the still maze-like Surface Artery until we got to Congress Street where we were permitted to turn left and enter South Boston.

All in all, the roads were very well marked except for the point where tried to get onto Surface Artery and instead turned down into the tunnel. I'm used to these little impromptu adventures, but I think it wore my father-in-law down real quick. He's not a fan of Boston driving as it is, and this was no welcome mat. He said more than once that he can't wait to see it when it's done, and I don't know if he intended that to mean that he, like me, can't wait for the Big Dig to be over.

12.16.2005

We need more signs like this

Driving home tonight I was behind a driver who came to a complete stop, at a green light. The first beep got no response. That was the polite, "Hey, it's still green" beep. Finally, on the second beep, which betrayed a bit of irritation, the driver moved. A bit further down the road, she stopped again, but this time for a second before putting on the left turn signal. After the traffic passed, she turned into the driveway at Milton Academy and I got a good look at her. She was having as much trouble maneuvering herself out of the car as she was on the road because she was busy chatting on the phone. I could go on about cell phone etiquette (perhaps I will in another post when time allows), but I will leave the story here and with this picture that should become as ubiquitous on our roads as speed limit signs (thought people will probably ignore them the way they ignore speed limits).

Speaking of signs, here's a link to Universal Hub, which links to a blogger who got lost on her way Wellesley College thanks to poor sign postings

12.15.2005

UPDATE: There oughta be a law

Here's an example of what I posted earlier about lazy people who don't clean off their cars. This was taken this morning on 93 North in Dorchester. It's only been six days since the last storm. No rush.

12.14.2005

When driving and politics collide

On my way to work this morning I passed a Volvo Cross Country near Lexington with a hand drawn sign in the back window that read "Tune to 1200 or 1430 AM." I tuned to 1430 AM because it was closest to one of the factory presets on my AM dial (I only have three since there's so few AM stations in Boston anymore). It was AirAmerica, the "progressive" (read: Democrat) answer to the so-called vitriolic conservative talk radio. I laughed. I'm not some left- or right-wing screaming mimi who gives a damn either way about political radio. I listen to Howie Carr. I listen to John DiPietro. I used to listen to Brudnoy (boy do I miss him), and I listen to NPR, which is said to be liberal, but I don't hear it.

Anyway, I was reminded of this when I read this post on 3mote. I think it's silly that people feel the need to respond to other people's bumper stickers.

Non-driving post

I have tried to keep this blog on topic since I started it eight months ago, so please forgive me for an off-topic post. I recently received a response to a complaint I made to Netflix that I would like to share with you. Netflix has deliberately slowed down my service, and they told me so. Now, I'm going to the attorney general's consumer protection division.

For those who don't know Netflix, it is a mail-order DVD rental company. Members pay a monthly fee to rent a certain number of movies at a time in a revolving fashion; send one in, get one back. I pay $17.99 plus tax for this service that is said all through the Netflix literature to be unlimited. Theoretically, I can rent a movie a day from them if I move them fast enough. But like an all-you-can-eat buffet, eventually the customer reaches a limit and it plateaus.

Understanding the cost benefit of Netflix (which doesn't charge postage -- it's built in to the monthly fee) over, say, Blockbuster's bricks-and-mortar operation, I want to make sure I am maximizing my cost. In relation to Blockbuster's rental fees, which are around $4 or $5, I would need to rent four or five movies from Netflix a month to make it worth my while. So, I'm quick about returning the movies. After all, the quicker they get the movie back, the quicker they can send it out again. Being quick about returning meant I would get about four or five movies a week, or about 12 to 18 a month, depending how quick I was at returning them.

Recently, though, Netflix has been slow to check my movies back in (I would mail two from the same mail box on the same day and they would arrive to the same location on different days). Then, when my movies were checked back in, it would sometimes take a day or two for them to send a new DVD, even though it was marked as "available now" online. So, I e-mailed customer service. The first response suggested I change my delivery address, as if that would solve the problem of them being slow to send out new movies. I sent back an e-mail saying they needed to check their operation instead because they weren't living up to their advertising claims of getting DVDs to the customer it about one business day. Their response: they give preference to their lighter users, and I should be happy about that because I am still getting a good value.

So, wait, I'm good about returning my movies quickly so you can satisfy your other customers quickly, and you are penalizing me? Further, you deliberately slow down my UNLIMITED service? Doesn't that mean you are essentially LIMITING my service? And I should feel good about that because you are still giving me a good value? Indeed it may be a good value, but it's true to the advertising. Netflix isn't getting my movies to me in about one business day. I received the typical "your DVD has been shipped" e-mail today saying that my movie would be delivered Saturday. That's three days from today. The movie it is replacing was received yesterday, therefore making it a FIVE-day turnaround.

Am I just going to sit here and rant? No. I'm going to file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division in the attorney general's office, and I'm looking for others who have found their Netflix service to be slower than promised in their advertising. Comment here, or send an e-mail to the "Honk at Me" link in the upper right. The larger the number of complaints, the more likely the AG's office will take this seriously.

There oughta be a law

Driving home in the snow last Friday during the storm (my 40- to 60-minute commute took me 2.5 hours, but that's not the point), I was reminded of one of the things I have about winter driving: that people don't clean off their cars.

I did the best I could as I left work on Friday afternoon, but the freezing rain created an ice layer on my hood, roof and trunk. There wasn't anything I could do except wait for the heat of the car to melt them. As I rolled through the tunnel at slower than a snail's pace, the snow melted off and silently slid down my windshield or off my hood. Slowly, after an hour in the southbound 93 tunnel, the snow-covered logo and business name of the work van in front of me was revealed, too. It was kind of interesting because what little was visible under the snow at first looked almost like it would be a Starbucks logo. It turned out to be a heating and ventilation company from Malden instead.

It's not the slow melt and slide off that bothers me. It's the people who clean only the driver's front window and the windshield. I have even seen people driving with a porthole in the windshield. Why not drive with your eyes closed? That's about the same. It's just plain dangerous, and that's why there's a law against it. But, to my knowledge, there's no law about cleaning snow off the rest of the vehicle, and there should be.

The snow ended in the evening on Friday, but as I drove to work on Monday and Tuesday, my car was nearly hit twice by flying snow chunks flipping off vehicles flying down the highway. On Tuesday I was one lane over from a box truck with the company logo Lan-Tel Communications that hadn't been cleaned off, and an island of snow flipped off nearly hitting the car behind it. I am really surprised we haven't heard more on the news about cars being damaged (and people hurt) by patches of snow and ice flying off trucks and minivans at 60, 70 or 80 mph. But there oughta be a law. If there isn't one already, I propose a $100 fine for any personal vehicle, a $300 fine for any 2-axle commercial vehicle and a $200 fine per axle for any vehicle with more than two if they fail to clean the snow off their cars 24 hours after the storm. Anyone else with me on that?

12.05.2005

Yield. It's that red triangle sign

I wonder sometimes if in a past life I was a driving instructor, or if I will be one in a future life. Although I don't believe in reincarnation as a rule, it helps to explain my penchant for teaching people how to drive, even if I'm not in the car with them.

This morning, for example, I was approaching a fork in the road that I pass through every day on my way to work. I bear left at the fork, which would normally mean I must yield to all oncoming traffic. But at this fork, the cars coming at me on road on the right have a yield sign. Although more often than not, they don't see (or ignore) it. I always approach with my left turn signal on, and count on the driver coming from the right not yielding. Many do, although with hesitation. They try to figure quickly whether I am coming too fast and too insistently before they stop.

A lady driving a white car this morning never even hit her brakes this morning (of all mornings), and I almost slid right into her because she cut me off so close. I wasn't going fast either. Maybe 25 mph. If the road were any more slippery, both of us would have been goners. I, of course, blew my horn in indignant protest and pointed to the yield sign. I spewed a few obscenities too, for good measure, and I said "That sign with the red triangle isn't pointing to the nearest YMCA!" The other driver couldn't hear any of this, of course, because both of our windows were closed and I was already moving away from the offense. This was one time I wish I had ticket-writing powers. A nice failure to yield fine would have worked just fine in that situation. If any cops read this blog, what's that fine about $75?

Update: There was an accident the next morning (Dec. 6) at that intersection being tended to by a state trooper (since it involved a DCR-owned parkway), and I had a good mind to tell the trooper that people fail to yield there all the time (assuming that was the cause of this apparent head-on collision). I didn't. Meanwhile, I got cut off again by someone who had yielded, but decided she could get her mini SUV moving fast enough across my lane of travel once she saw my left turn signal. Right in front of the trooper, who was watching. Nice.

Praise for the T. What? Yes. Praise.

Just want to note that I saw something totally unexpected tonight at about 6:20 on LaGrange Street in West Roxbury: A T bus driver with heart.

The driver, I couldn't see him or her, of the 37 bus had stopped a red on LaGrange just after turning off the VFW Parkway when a guy came running down the hill pell mell to catch the bus. He waved and as the light turned green, the bus started to move. The look on his face said it all: The driver didn't see him and he missed the bus by seconds. It was clear he wasn't looking forward to waiting around for the next 37 bus in the dark and cold evening.

None of the above was unexpected, but the next was. The driver went through the light and stopped just on the other side of the intersection so the man could board. Perhaps it was Christmas spirit. Perhaps it was genuine kindness. Or, perhaps this is the type of improved service I have hoped for since Dan "The Fix-it Man" Grabauskas became the MBTA general manager.

For all the blogs out there that complain about the T (and there seems to be a new one every week), I figured I would take a moment to point out something nice. The gesture won't get the driver any special recognition, except in the heart of the poor rider who got a second chance at getting somewhere on time. I hope his faith in public transit was restored. Mine was. At least for today.