Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 10mGas went under 1GW yesterday, too, although we didn't wind up exporting (the "Costanza Line"). Notably it's a fall day and not a weekend day; for whatever reason not showing any pump load … @jglarusso.bsky.social 000
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 10hYeah it's much more New Brunswick French-Canadian influenced since he's from … basically Canada. 160
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 10hThe train was still faster until the highways were built in the 1960s, prices were half that of flying, but once I-94 was built, not having a 4:30 train was a death knell. 000
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 10hThe current route mostly uses those old ROWs. If the railroads had been nationalized at some point and there had been one single route it may have been able to keep enough improvements to hang on. Not sure how this could have happened, but after the war and Naperville things slowed down. 110
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 11hProbably the 777 we saw being met at the gate by fire apparatus. 110
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 12h[10 minutes into watching Bluey with my 15-year-old headphones my toddler broke them, so there's that. I have backup and, yeah, probably time for new ones.] 010
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hSo while the marginal trip was longer, the overall travel time was probably about the same. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hAlso a rental car plus gas, tolls and parking would have been $500 at least. Without adding it up I think we probably spent about $100 on transit fare. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hAnd then when the toddler fell asleep, we wheeled him into the hotel room and kept him in the stroller until it was time to transfer to bed. 110
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hC) if kiddo falls asleep in the car the options are to take them out and wake them up or wait in the car. With a stroller they can sleep in the stroller. D) we can nurse on the train! E) the train is a jungle gym! We walked up and down Caltrain and the BART and got a lot of energy out. 220
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hRenting a car A) adds a lot of overhead on either end to check bags. +2 hours. B) Plus rental car line and drop off. +1 hour if we’re lucky. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hAnyway, how did it go? Not too bad! Two 30ish minute delays, one Caltrain, one BART. Didn’t bother us too much since they were just our final trips to the hotel. Why didn’t we just rent a car? 110
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hWell even better is the half full plane so we have two full rows for us and the kiddos and maybe a bassinet currently in the overhead. Even if we’re delayed 45 min. (Typing this from the penalty box at sfo.) 130
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hNo pacific view because fog. But when we went to look out the front we got a cab ride into sfo. Great way to close out the trip! 130
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 14hAnd our elections are run on the ground by basically-volunteer retirees who take their jobs very very seriously. 043
Reposted by Ari OfsevitJohn Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 16hLook, this is bad. Yes. But the Trump admin sent six (6) people to Maricopa and Pima. Where, by my count, there are 404 polling places, spread across 18,000 square miles (each county is ~9k sq mi). What they want is the FEAR to discourage the voting they can't actually prevent. 231149378
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 16hSo the whole thing about “bikes obey the law here” is true, but much more important, the cars that are in the center of the city *also* obey the laws. 000
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 16hCopenhagen has good but not great bike infra (great is the Netherlands). But it also has: * no cars ever turn on red * cycle tracks on every major street * no highways downtown * a very functional new metro system as well as a frequent suburban train network 100
Reposted by Ari OfsevitMark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization 429280
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 19hThen BART up to Berkeley for a trail run this morning before we head back to sfo. Cross platform timed transfer (on a train I caught be seconds). 110
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 19hThey have elevator attendants in the city now so at least the elevators are not a mess (but jeez that can’t be cheap). Putting them inside fare control would help. Lake Merritt sunset. 110
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 19hThe elevators here … clearly pre-ADA given the long routes. Also not enough of them and very slow. We made a Muni-BART transfer and had to wait for multiple people ahead of us, then ride up since it had been called up. Love the single fare gate too. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 19hMonday after my wife’s talk was an easy trip across the bay for lunch with a friend. She was too tired and we had too many strollers to take the PCC pull in on the J-Church, but we did ride a Siemens car to Embarcadero. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 21hI don't think CIG projects every really get near those %ages for matches, so it's mostly for show anyway. 000
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 22hYeah congestion pricing is not just "put up toll gantries" you need geography and good transit. Here is London, New York and Stockholm, which have similarly-sized congestion areas. And similarly-sized areas in Vancouver. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 22hBeto's polls did not improve. He trailed every pill in October, by 3, 444, 55555, 66, 7, 8, 99, 10, avg or 5.3, so overperformed his October polls. Beto led 2 of 30 polls after July 1. Talarico has trailed in 2 of 33 polls since July 1. 000
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 22hHopium for the day: 2018 Texas polling in September: Cruz +333, 44, 9, Tied, Beto +2 Avg: Cruz +3, result Cruz +2.6 2026 Texas polling in September: Talarico +11111, 22, 33, 4, 55555, 66, 7, Tied, Paxton +3 Avg: Talarico +3 100
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026Most tolls are, adjusted for inflation, far lower than they were when implemented. Congestion pricing takes all different shapes in different cities. And more! 020
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026Pennsylvania built an $85 million toll booth in 2016 and abandoned it four years later. Maine is still building new toll booths despite all evidence showing they're a bad investment. Most toll agencies seem to have skipped Econ 101. 140
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026There's a company which keeps buying bridges in the midwest, tolling them, and losing money. Including two in Bay City, Michigan, which people there are boycotting. 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026Some highlights: One-way tolling on the Dumbarton Bridge probably costs $12 million per year (and this money is lost: the toll revenue and the time cost people spend taking a longer route) 120
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026I believe this is my longest blog post ever, and one of the longest things I've ever written. Long-form lives! ariofsevit.com/apb/2026/10/...ariofsevit.com The Road Pricing Post | "Amateur" Planner Blog 283
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026Yeah, Harvard is not going to build a satellite campus in Miami. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/u... 010
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026Oh cool I definitely didn't just run through there with a jogging stroller. 000
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026And here's the article from the otherwise dead link (missing graphics though) web.archive.org/web/20240330...web.archive.orgThe pumped hydro storage potential of the Great LakesThe potential energy contained in the waters of the Great Lakes amounts to approximately six thousand terawatt hours, enough to supply the US and Canada with electricity for an entire year were the… 020
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 06/10/2026Fun fact is that varying the level of Lake Erie with pump hydro by a few feet would store enough seasonal power for most of the northeast, with the slight downside of flooding Montreal when a lot of power was necessary. 130
Reposted by Ari OfsevitERIC COOPER @ericooper.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Did not know this. What a pathetic A-hole. 022
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 05/10/2026And radar is often taken down for maintenance when minimal adverse weather is expected. But sure let’s privatize a public good because reasons. (No one is keeping the private sector from building radar sites anyway.) 040
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 05/10/2026This story is kind of wild but also I just want to know about who is walking around with nearly $1000 in their wallet? (I feel like I’m an outlier because every so often I have more than $100, whereas my wife’s median cash reserve is $0.) 230
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 05/10/2026They know a subway line is completely infeasible and will never happen so if it gentrifies anything it will be the next generation. 050
Ari Ofsevit @handle.invalid · 05/10/2026“We want more investment in our community.” “How about rebuilding a derelict stadium?” NO TOO MANY PEOPLE IN CARS “Okay how about rebuilding this street with bus lanes?” NO NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR PEOPLE IN CARSstatic.klipy.comAmerican Chopper: Paul Sr. & Jr. Chair FightALT: American Chopper: Paul Sr. & Jr. Chair Fight 330
