An Internet Globetrotter

Living out in the tall timbers has its advantages, the wildlife, the peace and quiet, the isolation.
The isolation is a double edged sword though, in that it is a technology isolation as well. Take the Internet .. please. As a starving student, imagine my excitement after checking ATT's website to find digital subscriber line service was available?

photo by Gary d. Brune copyright (c) 2008

I ordered the equipment, and after three service calls, I discovered my residence was an estimated 0.000 linear feet from the central station. That means service with the consistency of a party line, and a need to use my road tools.
Road tools come from PortableApps.com, are free, legal, and run off a jump drive or any universal serial bus device. Last summer I ran both my weblog, An Internet Globetrotter and my jpgmag.com site from this improvisation,
A long bus ride to Chico State, and I could plug my jump drive into the college's network, use the bookmarks in Firefox for reference, and Thunderbird to collect my email.
When California was growing as a state, The Big Four set up the Southern Pacific Railroad and charged merchants whatever the traffic would bear to haul their goods. Comcast has the major transit service down the Information Superhighway, and they can again charge what the traffic will bear. Internet is still considered a luxury, so there are no lifeline provisions available for poor people.
In addition, contending with Microsoft's crap code in Windows is enough to turn a man bald. I can't afford the toll on the cable road. So it's time to improvise again.

photos by Gary D. Brune (c) copyright 2008

The gravity of 9-11-01 still rings through this country as we honor the people who lost their lives on this day. The Paradise Veteran’s Council will set up a circle of flags at the Veteran’s Hall today.

The gravity of this day is personal for me, as the radio reminds me what happened seven years ago, just like it reported the events that Monday. My wife and I were as shocked about the events as they transpired as the rest of this country, just as those of us who do remember where we were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

The gravity of 9-11 reverberates through the land today. One of the first actions congress subsequently took was to pass the Patriot Act. A mindset was imposed on us -national security is now as much a concern as the Bill of Rights. Our computers and emails are monitored, cheaper high definition cameras are now on the street, in police officers’ badges, and will soon be linked with their tazer weapons.

The result is that technology has, in effect, obsoleted the Constitution of the United States. The citizens are still afraid, and think nothing of going through airport screenings. Their common line of reasoning is that as long as they do nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.

Balderdash! The privacy of the American citizen should be more precious than their paycheck, more guarded than our borders, and more of an ideal to them than the Bill of Rights.

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Today B-Line assigned the new Orion buses to general routes including the 40 Route going to Paradise. One of the best photography platforms I've experienced, riding the new buss is almost like riding a living room on wheels. In the lower section, the passengers conversed as though in a friend's living room.

It may be because of the newness of the buses, but there was a much better feeling on the new buses than on those they will augment/replace. These buses may make the daily commute much more convivial.

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

New Orion buses hit Paradise and the Ridge today at 5am on the B-Line 41 Route to Magalia. Instead of having the large block four cylinder engines the original Orions had, which frequently crawl up Skyway, the new buses have six cylinder compressed natural gas engines, and are reportedly lighter than their older linemates.

Entry in the new buses is much easier. Riders no longer have to negotiate steps upon entrance. The balcony is in the last third of the bus, over the engine. Originally an order of seven buses, the new low profile buses now number eight. Rider reaction has been largely positive so far.

The new Orions have been on order with Butte County Association of Governments (BCAG) for the better part of a year. B-Line is now checking out drivers to drive the new buses, and expects to put more into service before the end of the month.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

it crossed the New York Times silicon this morning that they have a new security program under the headline of "City Would Photograph Every Vehicle Entering Manhattan and Sniff Out Radioactivity". Project Sentinel will install over 3,000 public and private security cameras to keep track of traffic in the moneyed section of New York City, Manhattan.

This isn't any different from the new camera badges approved for Paradise Police. While the official excuse for both is Homeland Security, which will satisfy most of the pigeons out there, the real reason these measures exist is to collect information and intimidate the citizenry. As long as the powers that be can keep the masses at arms length from the classes, they can exploit the masses without worry.

I've already written on this as all of the technology used here, until directly challenged in the United States Supreme Court, has in effect obsoleted the Constitution of the United States. When did security become one of the Bill of Rights, or for that matter its need become part of the Constitution? Is life more important than honor?

Or more likely, is all this a means to keep the people in control so that any possible objection to what they want to do will be flagged for early warning so that they can do something about it without difficulty, or without serious consequence to the uber-rich?

One of my jpgmag correspondents calls pigeons rats with wings. but as this picture shows, even they have concerns. Well, if the shoe fits...

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Only the fifth Smart car sited in Butte County, this little convertible was parked at Safeway in Paradise. The closest dealer is still in Sacramento, but according to Mari Buckley, these cars are the rage in Europe.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

Traffic was diverted this morning by Paradise Police after a power cable was cut on Clark Street between Wagstaff and Bille. Pacific Gas & Electric had the incident repaired and power restored before 10 am. The B-Line 40 route bus was delayed 20 minutes during the repairs.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

My corespondent in England, Mari Buckley, observed at jpgmag.com; "Awwww !! It looks so tiny on your spacious American roads !!!"

photos by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

These shots came from my latest bus ride home including; "As presently designed, the new transit center seems about as useful as costume jewelry. It dazzles and looks to be designed for the politicians to feel good and not for the bus riders to use."

Since I moved onto the Ridge in 2000, there was one stop sign on Skyway between Chico and Inskip. That was a very convenient landmark for me, as i could tell people to turn at the stop sign and get to my house.

The march of time and technology has finally changed that. While the powers that be declare that the intersection is now safer, once more Paradise has lost something that has made it special.

photo by Gary D. Brune copyright (c) 2008

When a bank replaced a video store on Clark and Wagstaff a few years ago, they quickly leveled an old wooden bus shed. The Town of Paradise helped them by promising and building a metal bus stand, under the reasoning that modern is better.

What this shows is that the voice of the people does not matter around here. Money is all that counts, and it is better to move money faster than help people. Only when it is convenient for the rich to do a thing does it get done for the poor.

Just like the dog and pony shows that were BCAG's Unmet Transit Needs meetings, where the people came to speak to their needs, only to find that BCAG ruled that there were no needs that they could do reasonably, this is an indication of how Butte County deals with the poor folks.

We have no voice, so why bother?