No longer needed for Non-Verizon users (photo courtesy Flickr user brownpau)

When my high school pal David asked if he should get an iPhone or Blackberry, I gave him my DC opinion.

While I’d love to have an iPhone, the AT&T exclusivity has always been a barrier for me taking the plunge. When I moved into the area three years ago, I sported a Motorola Razr and a Cingular cell phone plan. However I noticed that my service was lacking around my Clarendon neighborhood and at the office. So I switched to Verizon.

One of the added benefits of Verizon was it’s service underground on the Metro system. To this day I enjoy checking e-mails on my blackberry as I zoom (or wait) along the Orange line.

Of course my friend Dave doesn’t have this problem since he’s still in Boston but now I won’t have that problem as WMATA recently unveiled plans to phase in cell service from other major providers.

Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile will work together to install service in the follow stations: Ballston, Bethesda, Columbia Heights, Crystal City, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom-GWU, Friendship Heights, Gallery Pl-Chinatown, Judiciary Square, L’Enfant Plaza, McPherson Square, Metro Center, Pentagon, Pentagon City, Rosslyn, Smithsonian and Union Station. The goal is to have wireless access up and running by Mid-October, and complete system-wide service by Fall 2010.

It’s too bad I recently re-upped my Verizon plan for two more years, otherwise I’d be thinking about making the jump. How about you? Will the expanded service in Metro make you think about changing cell phone plans?

“In the aftermath of the crash on the Red Line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations, Metro officials analyzed track circuit data and found that one circuit in the crash area intermittently lost its ability to detect a train. The circuit would report the presence of a train one moment, then a few seconds later the train would “disappear,” only to return again.”

It sounded to me like the same problems that have been encountered on the Space Shuttle, nuclear power plants, and various military systems. And that problem is tin whiskers.

The backstory:  When people first started building electric circuits, they used tin metal to solder the interconnections between the copper bits.  It wasn’t long before they noticed the tin would get “furry”, growing spiky whiskers as the part was used.  These spikes could grow long enough to short out the circuits, and then were so weak that they would break off right after doing so.  A smart metallurgist figured out that adding a small amount of lead to the tin alloy stopped this behavior.  And so the electronics industry grew, and electronic circuits got so small and fast and reliable that they ended up in nearly every control system – with a bit of solder in every one of them.

In the early 2000’s two things happened:  Europe passed legislation that prohibited lead in consumer products, and at the same time, the production of interconnection technologies went global.  So even though only European markets mandated this change, producers all over the world had to comply.  And that means that consumers all over the world were getting lead-free electronics, many times without knowing it.  Many times the same part number started showing up with lead-free solder, making this trend very hard to track.

So yesterday, I dropped a note to one of my expert friends, who agreed with me that the circuitry in the Metro replacement part, more likely than not, contained lead-free solder.  And then, he pointed out the likelihood that the latest Airbus crashes had lead-free solder components in their flight controls.

Hence the cold chills.

Yes, it’s a bad thing to have lead where kids might put it in their mouths (especially drinking water).  Yet the activists admit that the amount of lead in electronics isn’t at dangerous levels; they say their ultimate goal is to shut down lead production entirely.   (In the interest of full disclosure, I facilitated a study back in 2005 that predicted this, and only now is the military starting to address those findings.) 

Hey, guys, maybe technology might need to trump politics for once?

Dude, where's my bus?

So, according to NextBus, the “next bus” (see what I did there?) heading for the Metro from my office will be arriving in a mere six minutes.  Unfortunately, I don’t get to go home for a few more hours.

The utility shows arrival times for the next three buses at the desired location, which you can select by stop number (those little signs on every bus stop signpost) or just use the dropdowns to select your route, direction, and intersection.  You can access the service from your computer, or a mobile device; and if you have a favorite location that you’ll be checking all the time (your home, your office) you can bookmark that custom location as well.  Neato!  Earlier this week the DC DOT introduced a similar system for Circulator buses as well.

Have a look and let us know what you think, DC.  Is it worth it after the years of waiting?

Red Line service will be severely impacted on Tuesday, June 23, as a result of a fatal collision on the Red Line on Monday, June 22, between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations.

Red Line riders will have several options on Tuesday morning, however if they are able to avoid the Red Line, that may be the best option for Tuesday.

The Red Line will be operating in two sections on Tuesday. Trains will run back and forth between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations and between the Shady Grove and the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metrorail station. All trains will be six- and eight-car trains on the Red Line and they will be running about 8 to 10 minutes apart. Trains are expected to be very crowded.

The Brookland-CUA, Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations will be closed to Red Line traffic.

Free Metrobus shuttles will be available to take customers around the incident between the Silver Spring, Fort Totten, Brookland-CUA, Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood and Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metrorail stations. People can expect long waits for buses as a full Metrorail train often carries 100 people or more per car and a bus can only hold about 50 people at a time.

Metro officials recommend that customers who normally use the Red Line between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations should commute to Metrorail stations between the Shady Grove and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations, or to use the following Metrobus lines to avoid the service disruption:

• Metrobus C8 line (Glenmont to White Flint)
• Metrobus Q2 line (Wheaton to Rockville)
• Metrobus C2, C4 line (Wheaton to Twinbrook)
• Metrobus J1 line (Silver Spring to Medical Center)
• Metrobus J2, J3, J4 line (Silver Spring to Bethesda)
• Metrobus L7, L8 line (Friendship Heights)

Metro officials also recommend that people utilize the Green Line from Greenbelt to the Fort Totten Metrorail station for service into downtown DC.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Be careful Red Line Metro Riders! RT @metro_man Red line crashed!

That was the tweet I got from MeggiePoo as I wrapped things up at my office. I wrote it off as a routine fender bender that causes most of the Metro Fails we all experience on a daily basis. I drive home from my office down the street to my home, thinking how lucky I am not to be stuck in the Metro system.

I arrived home and turn on NBC4 to see the dramatic image of two Metro trains collide and stack on top of each other. I listen and watch while eating dinner and started to take it all in. Mid-bite I realized that the accident happened on the same line my roommate takes from her Silver Spring office back home to Arlington. I drop my things and run to my cell phone.

Those were the longest 90 seconds of my life as I waited to see if she would answer.

My roommate finally did, she missed that train by five minutes and was stuck on the platform, however she was safe and found a ride home.

Here’s what we know now (see update below)

• At least 4 people are dead (one confirmed to be a female WMATA employee- a train operator), over 100 are injured
• One train has appeared to rear end the other- this is not a head to head collision
  
• There have been reports that there was track work scheduled on the Red Line earlier today
  
• FBI is on the scene to assist but there is no reason to suspect that this was a criminal act
• The rest of the lines appear to be working but they are moving slow
• Adrian Fenty will hold a press conference soon
  

Here’s the official word from WMATA:

A six-car Red Line train headed in the direction of Shady Grove derailed between the Takoma and Fort Totten Metrorail stations today and was involved in a collision with another train at 5 p.m. today, Monday, June 22.

Metro officials advise that people avoid the Red Line this afternoon. Trains are operating between Glenmont and Takoma Metrorail and between Shady Grove and Brookland stations for the remainder of the day.

There are preliminary reports of injuries on board, some serious. Emergency officials are responding to the scene.

This being said- avoid the Red Line at all costs.

Twitter has been crazy and DCist is all over the situation.

As I return to watch more, my hopes and prayers go out to everyone in the District- I hope everyone makes it back home safe!

UPDATE 8:59 PM: As the night winds down let’s do a recap and review of the latest

• A correction on an earlier title of the post, the Metro crash occurred on the Red Line between the Takoma and Ft. Totten Stations.
• More detail and the actual accident: around 5 PM today a train was waiting on the tracks for the platform ahead to open up when another train slammed into it from behind. The trains were six-car trains and were headed in the same direction. The female operator of the trailing train died.
  
• The Washington Post reports that at least six people are dead and scores of passengers are injured and are being described as “walking wounded” in what is being called the deadliest accident in Metro history. The last time two trains crashed was back in November 2004.
  
• The Metro is still operating between Glenmont and Silver Spring and between Shady Grove and Rhode Island Avenue. Around the accident scene Metro is offering a shuttle bus service.
• If you are seeking information on anyone that may have been riding on those trains should call the Metro Emergency Information line at 202-737-4404. If you live in Washington DC you can also call 311.
• Metro reports that the sections of the Red Line where the accident occurred will be closed through tomorrow, so plan your commutes accordingly.

Here is video of the Mayor’s press conference earlier tonight:

After the Mayor was on, the Metro Chief provided more details on the accident:

The bag tax is designed to limit pollution in the Anacostia and its tributaries — proceeds will be used for the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund.  Will the city distribute any reusable bags to its residents to get them started?  Businesses who sell reusable bags will qualify for a rebate of one penny on each bag sold (or, of they offer a discount for using the bags, two cents).  Will they subsidize the price of reusable bags for their customers?

I’ve seen reactions to the news ranging from, “Hooray!  Let’s dance with glee,” to “Oh great.  Another tax for District residents.”  Regardless of the means or how one feels about the bag tax, though, I hope we can all agree that we don’t want the Anacostia looking like this any more:

Anacostia River, near Poplar Point

The Council will need to vote again on the measure before it goes to the Mayor for his signature.  What do you think, DC?

Siiigghhh.   WMATA has shot down the proposal I wrote about a few weeks ago regarding vendors at Metro stations-well, food vendors anyway.  The discussion regarding dry cleaning etc. has been tabled.

Well, not really-I’ll just keep eating on Metro like I always have (carefully and cleaning up after myself).  I guess Metro just doesn’t want any of the money I spend on food and drink before I get on the train.

Oh right, they could fine me I guess-but in 7 years of living in this city and riding the train I have never even seen someone get in trouble for eating on the train-let alone been fined myself.  Metro’s very own paper bag law-as far as I can tell, as long as they don’t see it they don’t care-and that’s the way we’ll continue to play it.

This does seem to be, however, what the people want so I will keep my complaining to a minimum.  Hopefully the revised proposal without food will pass and other types of vendors will be allowed in a few of the stations.

Okay, well I’m glad somebody at WMATA is reading my posts-now if they’d only give me some credit!

NBC Washington is reporting that as early as this fall Metro might feature retail stores at 12 Metrorail stops.  Everything from dry cleaning to food will be available if things go according to plan. 

A plan they clearly got from my post a few weeks ago.  Okay-maybe we just had the same idea, but I’ll take credit for it until someone shows me different.

Here it is though, commuters of DC;  there isn’t much separation between selling food and drinks and being able consume them on the trains.  My opinion was made pretty clear in my last post, but just to restate it-I think the eating and drinking ban was pretty ridiculous anyway and at least Metro will see some money out of it.  Sadly, my gut says that it won’t bring a reduction in fares-but maybe it will keep prices from going up any time soon.

The  idea will be brought to the Metro Board later this month and, if approved, proposals for retail shops will be solicited in June.  Shops could start as early as late this fall.

Whoops!

As we leave another tourist-filled, sports heavy weekend behind us here in the District I’d like to share a few thoughts I have about eating on the metro.  Throngs of people packed into tiny spaces, tourists collecting at the bottom of escalators and failing to understand that the train extends all the way along the platform-you may think that, as fed up as I already sound about PT in DC, that I’d be calling for you all to not bring your snack on the train.

On the contrary-I’m all for it.  Full disclosure here- what follows is an updated post from my personal blog that posted just about a year ago (before my Metblog rebirth).  Still, it was time to update and reintroduce the topic to a much wider audience (that’d be you). 

The reason it all came back to me now is the picture above-taken during the cherry blossom weekend rush.  Some kid spilled his smoothie (which he wasn’t drinking) over the rug.  People had to step around it.  So why am I okay with it?  Well-read on!

To read all of the signage in the Metro system, it’s clear that the main reason they don’t want people to eat and drink on the trains is the mess.  Food spills and similar messes bring bugs and rats-a problem of some “other” subway systems they don’t directly mention in their ads.  Us clean, right, proper Washingtonians don’t want that.

Well if that’s they case, why is the prohibition against eating and drinking and not food and drink.  You can bring as much food and drink on the train as you like.  You can do your grocery shopping and get home, or bring you lunch and morning coffee to work-so long as you don’t eat or drink it on the train/platform.  But if you can spill your morning coffee by drinking it, you could spill it just by holding it (or you could drop your grocery bag, or leave your lunch on the train on accident or whatever.)   So if we are really worried about attracting vermin, shouldn’t this prohibition stop all food and drink coming on the train?

Well of course the next step is to say “Ah, but there is something in the act of eating and drinking that is more likely to cause a mess.  There is the movement of liquid and the potential for crumbs…it becomes more likely to cause a mess.”

First, this doesn’t undo my point that bringing any food onto the metro creates a potential for a mess.  Second if we think about the act of eating and drinking they, by definition, require both the taking into the mouth AND the swallowing of the food or liquid.  This means that if you put something into your mouth before you get on the Metro, and don’t swallow until after you are on the train you’re okay-you’ve only completed half the act.  Similarly, and more importantly, you could put food or drink INTO your mouth, not swallow until you were done and you’d be equally clear of any charge of eating or drinking.  You could even chew or swish if you like (which is why we can have gum and, potentially, use Listerine on the train), so long as you don’t start and finish the whole act of eating or drinking within the bounds of metro.

(See what happens when a lawyer who teaches an argument class has too much commuting time?)

That’s still going to make crumbs and have a potential for making a mess, even though you’re not eating and drinking.  (By the way, if you were following the rules you wouldn’t be allowed to swallow your gum or have a cough drop on the metro.  That seems a bit lame to me.)

Lastly, I’d like to speak to the unnamed metro system with the rats, or as I like to call it, the New York Subway system.  To hear Metro tell it, New  York’s public transportation is a toilet with a third rail and the people there just go to the bathroom on the floor and throw their food to the wild vermin that are so big they have to buy a fare to get into the stations.  This is totally plays into our biggest collective insecurity in Washington-namely the “We are inferior to New York” complex some walk around with.  If you can find away to tell a DC resident they are better than people in New York, they’ll vote for you ever time and sign up for your newsletter too.

First-let’s let go of the whole need for external validation by comparing ourselves to New York.

Secondly, let’s completely compare ourselves to New York…

The truth is the New York Subway isn’t that bad.  The trains are actually pretty clean, (I think the whole “no carpeting“ helps with clean up) the platforms aren’t really that dirty and rats don’t try to sell you the newspaper. Same in Boston-the T is slow as hell, but it isn’t filthy-and they sell coffee right in the stations!  Further, if we were to suppose that New York’s metro is a bit dirtier than the DC one, could it maybe have something to do with the fact that, I dunno, they have almost 17 times as many people as we do? Okay, if we look at the comparative metro area’s of New York and DC it’s more like 3 and a half times as many people, but the DC Metro area is huge comparatively.  Looking at the population density between the two cities, New  York is packed (three times as many people per square mile).

Also-look at the tracks here, you’ll see some rats.  And bugs.  The trains are in dark underground passages-it’s where they like to live.

I say that if a city with as many people as New York can keep its system as clean as it does while allowing food and drink on the train, we can handle the responsibility here in DC.

And Metro knows we can-that’s why there are trash cans on the platforms now.  They are there because Metro and all of the riders know that the Eating and Drinking prohibition is just a brown paper bag law-Metro employees have a lot better things to do than to enforce some nonsense law regarding food and drink.  The prohibition could just as easily (and more sensibly) be against making a mess, or littering.  I’d be much more inclined to pay a $25 cleaning fee than I would a $25 fine.

You want these astronomical metro fares to go down?  Well if we could eat and drink on the metro, we could set up a few coffee and newsstands inside to defray the costs of riding the train.

Back to the picture above-didn’t matter if the kid was drinking the smoothie or not.  It was going to spill or it wasn’t.  Why bother having a rule that is completely ineffective?

So I eat on the train.  I don’t make a mess, and I throw my trash away.  If I do make a mess, I promise I’ll do something to clean it up.  You should too.  Otherwise, I don’t give a non-existent rat problem’s ass if it bothers you.

I started out the morning well bundled. I wore many, many layers and had hand/toe warmers, water, snacks, and maps ready to go.

At 8:30 AM my friend Carrie and I proceeded down to the Clarendon Metro stop to check out that option, if everything appeared all right a possible entry route was to simple Metro into a station and walk to The Mall. While that option was the simplist it was also one of the most popular and I expected to see the Clarendon stop overflowing with people as we walk the short two blocks to the station.

I was surprised to see the station empty, like it regularly looks on a holiday in the morning. The station appeared almost inviting as we walked but we decided against it, we wanted to check out one more option I thought up.

My secret, dark horse plan to get try and get on one of the Metrobuses running special routes to The National Mall. I figured that buses would have no problem getting over the closed bridges and roads, and that the Metrobus would be a less popular option, and thus possibly less crowded. I was wrong.

We started to walk down Clarendon to check out what the bus scene was like. We got out answer when a packed Metrobus drove by the bus stop we were at. Others at the bus stop heard from others that the buses weren’t even stopping in DC as planned. Instead they were dropping off patrons at Rosslyn. At that point we decided to give the Metro a look before plan C- walking all the way.

We continued walking down Clarendon to Court House, I was happy to see that there were hardly anybody at the station except a few other celebrators. The Metro was running trains at rush hour pace so each train was only 2 minutes apart. Good thing because when the first train showed up it was absolutely packed, with no chance of anybody new getting on. We were lucky that the next train had some space for us at the end of the train. We rode it all the way to Foggy Bottom.

We had to wait a bit on the way to the station because Vice-President’s motorcade was traveling by and they temporarily closed the station. Excitement filled the car when the conductor passed along the news.

From Foggy Bottom we made a quick bee line to The Lincoln Memorial. The plan was to just get to The Mall and once on the ground, figure out how far up we could  go while still getting a good view of the Jumbotron screens.

As we exited the station we saw a Vienna train arriving, traveling away from the city. It was quite a sight to see the packed train unload opposite an empty one.

As we made our way to The Mall, it was cool to see the road closures enforced by the National Guard, a little bit cooler than the usual Metropolitan police. When we arrived we were greeted by happy and excited volunteers wearing red hats. Once at The Mall we saw that everything appeared to be open to the Washington Monument. I was expected crowds reaching the World War II memorial at this point, so I was excited and quickly made my way to get a spot.

Some people decided to sit on the steps of the Lincoln and enjoyed the Jumbotrons left standing from the concert, which was playing on the screens. We made our way to the Monument to U2 and it was awesome.

Once we reached the Washington Monument we saw that we reach pretty much the end of the line. Everything past the Washington Monument looked like a sea of people. So we just found a nice open spot to view the Jumbotron and got ready for the ceremony.

I was a geek and I wanted to try and call my mom- cell phone reception was spotty as expected but I was able to get a call through.

The Inauguration ceremony itself was great. There were lots of funny moments such as when the audience was told to sit (obviously meant for those with tickets and when Rev. Rick Warren said, “We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.” He added some extra emphasis on Sasha’s name.

All the former Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and even Speakers of the House were on hand. Everybody booed anytime George W. Bush was mentioned. I got some video and it was quite the scene. It was also weird but still sinister to see Dick Cheney in a wheelchair. It appears that he pulled his back moving- why didn’t he have movers take care of that job? It’s not like he doesn’t have the money.

The audio wasn’t all that great on The Mall but we were able to hear the moment everyone was waiting for: the oath of office. The crowd rumbled with glove covered applause when it happened. I thought the muted clapping was funny.

After the address the escape began. We made our way past Independence heading towards Eastern Market. The plan was to have lunch and watch the parade from a much warmer locale. The street closures left Inauguration goers with lots of space to make their way. At one point I was on 395 south walking in the middle of the highway. It had that post-apocalyptic feeling.

Unfortunately I under estimated the crowd in thinking they wouldn’t make it all the way to Eastern Market, but they did. All the restaurants on 8th street were crowded and the station was already over flowing. We walked over to Northeast but we found nothing but a ghetto.

We ended up back in Eastern Market and managed to snag some bar space at Cafe 8 and we watched the parade and enjoyed a well deserved lunch. It was sad to see Kennedy carted off during the Inaugural lunch, as a Massachusetts native I hope he’s ok. Joe Biden was a class act, choosing to walk the rest of the route and really hamming it up with his smile and pointing out of people he must of knew.

The escape back into Virginia was painless, after all the walking, eating, and parade watching, crowds died down and we rode an empty train all the way back.

It was a fun weekend to celebrate a historic event. The day after I was talking about the Inauguration with a co-worker who offered the smart-ass comment, “so you basically saw what I saw.” It really got under my skin. Why did I decide to go out? Well besides the point everyone else was doing it, I really wanted to say, “I was there.” Others can say they were with their family or their closest friends, I can say I was there and I was with 1.8 million people. Neither chose is right or wrong, there are just different and “where you were” when it happened is simply an individual choice every makes, much like a favorite color or movie. And despite all the cold, walking, and hassles I endured, I’m glad I made it.