Spokane Transit Authority

The south hill is a very nice place for Spokane. The houses up in the hill are well maintained and the general opinion is that the snobs live up here. Also those who do not wish to live in many of the more crime ridden portions of town. This is the reason my wife and I decided on this area

I have been riding the bus for a month now as a means to avoid the mass of traffic commuting down the hill. It has been very convenient as a bus stop exists five houses from our home. Due to the nature of this neighborhood, the clientele on the 6:55AM city loop from 29th Ave to the STA plaza is made up of commuters.

A man just got on the bus. He is carrying a green grocery bag from Super One Foods. It is obvious that he hasn't just woken up and is on his way home to consume his purchase. Based on the shape and silhouette of the bag, it would appear he has obtained a forty ounce beer.

The forty is a unique beverage choice for a number of reasons. Firstly it is seven in the morning in a Tuesday which carries its own set of issues. It also is a specific quantity of beer which ensures the goal of the drinker isn't just trying to enjoy a delicious malt beverage on a hot day (which the news promises to be over one hundred degrees). If one simply wanted a cold beer to quench their thirst, almost any beer is a better alternative and is likely of a reasonable quantity not to inebriate you. The goal of the forty beer is to get you drunk.

Alcoholism isn't something to laugh about but it gives an insight into some of the issues one might have on the bus. Riders who are drunk or on drugs can make the experience less than desirable. Even those just exposed to lifestyles connected with these issues seem to have less ability to cohabitate with their fellow human being. These people will undoubtedly end up at the bus plaza as a central "hang out" to loiter at.

The bus plaza is a bizarre place to me. When I am riding the bus, my goal is to arrive at my destination by minimizing my time spent on the bus. Even if I miss my transfer, the next bus is less than twenty minutes away (on a weekday). It seems I am of a minority of riders who actually use the plaza as a means to catch a bus or transfer buses. It always astounds me to see people to hanging out there. This issue of loitering is what makes it such a sketchy place to visit as people with no agenda often cause trouble for those of us that do. Getting bored and hassling people isn't fun for someone who just wants to be left alone. This is why I often leave my headphones on and ignore everyone I encounter on my commute.

To be fair, I have never had a negative experience riding the STA in Spokane. It is actually a rather convenient alternative to driving. Though its routes and frequency leave something to be desired as it typically takes three times as long to get anywhere, even if you plan your route meticulously. I hope to see it improve and plan on using it more in the future.

Hope this gave some insight into a brief thought I was having.

See you on the 33

Currency

Up until a few weeks  months ago I had a few misconceptions about the state of the financial world that is the United States. Some of those misconceptions have made me blind to very serious problems that have been growing for as long as I have been around and before. It has really come to bear this past decade but mostly since the financial crisis of 2007. Namely, the fact that the US Dollar is effectively worthless.

The purpose of money is to give a medium of exchange for people. This makes transactions more simple as people don't always need or want things at the same time nor should they be expected to. For example, a dairy farmer needs milking equipment to help milk his cows more effectively. The dairy farmer cannot pay the manufacturer of milking equipment in milk as he would likely be all set with milk from previous transactions (if he accepted milk in payment) but would prefer to have clothing for his children or theater tickets to take his wife out with. By having a common payment method, the milk farmer can pay in cash which the manufacturer of his dairy equipment can then exchange for the things he needs or wants. Cash makes this possible.

There are some elements that make a monetary system effective. The most important of these is the common acceptance of a currency. Since the US Dollar is the standard currency by law in the United States, it is "encouraged" for everyone to accept it. This has been the number one issue regarding the widespread acceptance of alternative currencies in the United States. People use money that people accept. Everyone accepts the money that people use. It is a cycle that has been perpetuated by the fact that our money has not been overprinted. This leads to the second thing a monetary system needs, finititude. For something to work as a currency, it cannot exist in excess. Imagine a world where people could pay for things in dirt. Everyone would go outside and dig up their yards. Eventually it would require dump trucks of dirt to pay for a roll of toilet paper as everyone would have access to a seemingly infinite supply of wealth and the only way to limit this wealth is by making the medium of transaction worth very little for a volume of it.

The solution is, of course, to have value associated with things that are rare in terms of volume and mass and cannot be brought into the monetary population easily. Colored stones, gems, and of course, precious metals. Gold has often been the medium of exchange in the world as it takes a good deal of effort to extract from the earth (which limits its rate of quantity increasing). Everything else about gold (its chemical properties and beauty) are secondary to this first property of finititude. A person walking up to your business with a sack of gold, you can reasonably expect that a massive quantity of gold didn't suddenly flood the market making the small amount you are about to accept is worthless. This is the reason many people invest in gold and silver today as well.

Gold isn't worth anything on its own. Think about the things you will need in the next week to survive. Oxygen, water, food, shelter. These are things that "cost money" and what we typically mean is that they do not simply exist within yourself, nor in such a way that they come to you without you "paying" for that. This payment can be that you have to forage the woods for these things (obviously we are fortunate to have oxygen in a relatively 'free' supply [of course I say relatively as an engineer because nothing last forever, damn you heat death of the universe]). We pay others to break down the process of creating all of the things we need and want. Gold isn't edible, it is simply a rare material in which things can be 'traded' (see: bought) for. There was a story I recall about the Spanish returning from the new world with large stores of gold expecting to be rich and be able to buy all they wanted. They in turn devalued gold and made things cost more as the quantity of gold increased but the production of things people actually used did not change. This was due to the fact that just because the quantity of gold went from x to (x+y) this didn't change that the entire value of the market was x = z where z is the products to be sold. The value of gold decreased by y due to the same quantity of z being spread out over more material.

The US dollar is worthless in the same regard as gold except for the detail that there isn't a single entity controlling the creation of gold like their is with the US dollar. Ultimately, money is what it is and it isn't the important part. The things that are important are the things we buy. Even if something did happen to our financial system like in the 1930s, there will always be a need for food, clean water, shelter, and clothing. As long as we maintain this belief, our currency system is an arbitrary means to and end.

Some food I cooked.

I uploaded this picture here about two years ago with the intention of talking about it. I am pretty sure it is stir fry I made with chicken. I don't have anything to say about it, but it is a draft and I wanted to make it not a draft. So here is a picture of food.

The Four Types of Ice Skaters

Whether the ice is well Zamboni'd or there are terrible chunks missing from the ice from over-use, there will always be at least these four types of skaters out on the ice whenever you attempt to use a rink.

The typical American skating rink found throughout the country during the winter months

Wall Hugger

This particular skater will be seen circling the rink at a snail's pace, hugging the edge of the rink like his life depends on it. This person has likely never seen ice before, or at least has no affinity for it. They have been dragged to the rink by a friend or group of friends. Is likely a member of the following group of skaters.

The Group Skaters

This skating obstruction typically congregates in large groups on the outskirts of the skating circle and less commonly in the general path of the rest of traffic. This is a result of groups of high schoolers having nothing else to do on a Saturday night, so the group-think inspires everyone out to the skating rink to have some fun in lieu of the movies or bowling. Usually the pace of this group is either stand-still or slow as a result of following the pace of the Wall Hugger. This group will impede everyone's ability to skate in a smooth and orderly fashion and is hampered even more when the Wall Hugger is coaxed from the safety of the edge and is led arm in arm by the rest of the group, before falling and taking everyone else down with them.

Aspiring Figure Skater

This group is always at center ice, practicing twirls, waltz jumps, single axles, and lutzs. While they appear to be pros to The Group Skaters they likely are just more adept at skating than the average person due to having access to a season pass as a means to practice for a competition. This group typically doesn't get in anyone's way and is a very good member of the ice skating rink population.

The Hockey Douchebag

This guy is usually a member of The Group Skaters and is the likely catalyst for the group making their way out to skate. This person has played hockey since elementary school and feels more than comfortable cutting people off and weaving through the traffic on the ice. This may not be an issue if everyone was a static atomoton on the ice, however while The Hockey Douchebag feels no danger, he cannot react on behalf of the Wall Hugger who falls down when passed at 20 mph within inches. This species is often showing off for his friends and trying to hit on the Aspiring Figure Skater who has no interest in hockey players, as they are often like The Hockey Douchebag.

Whether you fall into any of these categories or another unmentioned one, the winter sports complex can be a fun evening event for everyone despite the number of hassles that come with skating in close proximity to idiots. This is often an inexpensive way to spend an evening and a surefire way to have fun without going to the bar.

Cleaning up speech or lecture in Audacity

Something I learned today: I had an audio recording of a lecture for a class I had taken which was very poor in quality. I wanted it to sound better so I did some digging on audio cleanups for voice. What I ended up finding was a neat little feature in Audacity

Here is how to make it sound better:

Install Audacity and the LAME plugin for MP3s

Import the audio file in question

File > Apply Chain > CleanSpeech > Apply to Current Project

This will do a bunch of things. It will remove long pauses, clean up the range for human speech. It doesn't seem to remove echoing, but it is much better to listen to after running this quick plugin.

I had a hard time finding this, so I figure giving something back to the Google cause would be nice.

The original posting can be found HERE. The author goes into a little more detail on what it actually does.

Daylight saving

Today we fall back an hour. It is such a strange phenomenon, that of DST. We simultaneously change our clocks twice a year with the worry being that someone forgot to change theirs. I find it amazing that the world continues mostly unaffected by this change. Since it was originally done for farmers, in a society were less a percentage of people are farmers, why is it done anymore?

Thanksgiving blend at Starbucks

Just wanted to post that I had it this morning, Thanksgiving blend that is, and it tasted like a burrito. Adds a whole new meaning to the term "coffee beans"

That is all.

EDIT 2011-11-2
I got it again today lol