Recently the LA MTA debuted their new blog The Source. It covers general events with the LA Metro system, like the upcoming Gold Line Eastside Extension, long range plan topics and other related topics. Yesterday, however, was I believe the first that it was used to provide semi-real time updates on delay problems. The particular problem was that an umbrella blew onto the power lines of the Gold Line, preventing trains from running either to Union Station or to Pasadena. This was of particular interest to me as I ride the Gold Line as part of my regular commute.
So I watched the posts to keep an eye out for my evening commute plans, but luckily at 4:40pm the trains were up and running again in both directions. I left work at my normal time only to start crossing the train tracks as the train approached. It was a few minutes earlier than normal. I hopped on and ended up at Union Station in time to catch the Red Line train I normally miss by 2 minutes! As a result of service delays on the Gold Line I ended up getting home EARLY!
On one hand, I guess I can't complain because hey, it's nice to shorten your commute and get home early, if only for a day. On the other hand, it's somewhat frustrating to see that simply by increasing service frequency or altering schedules slightly, I and many others that scramble to transfer from one train to another at Union Station every day could gain a decent amount of free time in our lives. Kinda sad, isn't it?
That's not to say I don't use my time on the train. I'm a huge fan of the Pasadena Library, which is less than a mile from my work, making it super easy to access a large number of books for no cost and my work has a "Book Swap" shelf where people deposit books they are done reading for others to pick up. Sometimes I just look out the window (especially on the Gold Line) and think. Sometimes I talk to a random train person or someone I know from work. From time to time I work on art and craft projects like colored pencil drawings, crocheting, knitting and needle felting. But even despite those things, sometimes it would be nice to get home and do something else instead. A car ride from my apartment to my work would take about 20 minutes. The train ride and walk to and from the stations takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It's easy to see why I have difficulties convincing others that even live on my street and work in the same area, to take public transportation instead.
I've been riding the train for over 4 years and it has improved in that time, but sometimes I am also a little discouraged to see so much time pass by and nothing really changing to make my ride more efficient or better in any other way. It's not that I keep my mouth shut either - my line of work both enhances and encourages me to exercise my skills at letting people know where there are problems in their system.
Oh well. Off for another day's commute, this time with How Trees Die: The Past, Present, and Future of our Forests in hand.
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Book Review - Corvus: A Life with Birds
Corvus: A Life with Birds by Esther Woolfson is a beautifully and lovingly written memoir. After receiving a few doves, Woolfson and her family soon take in a variety of wanted, unwanted and fallen baby birds including a cockatiel, rook, magpie, starling and crow to become members of the family. Woolfson understands both the costs and benefits of keeping some of these wild birds at home, but takes the time to understand and love these birds as best she can, especially the Corvids. The book itself is a mixture of her personal stories mixed in with natural history of the birds species. She researches the way they are portrayed in culture compared to their nature and personal quirks. She pulls you into her world, describing the sometimes minute details of the birds and their behavior, putting a smile on your face or tears in your eyes at the appropriate moment to make you feel something a bit more for some of the few wild animal we still interact with regularly when outside.
I must admit that I have a fascination with birds, so this book was especially relatable and touching to me. I grew up with a parrot at home, who is the closet thing I'll ever have to an older sibling, so I understood some of the relationships being described of man and bird. I also know a couple people who have had crows before and seem to gush with the same sort of love that Woolfson does. Although this book doesn't have such an intense "green" leaning, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in birds, understanding the relationship between man and other animals, nature or if you need a little bit of light reading between some of those more intense environmental books.
birds, Solvang, CA 2007
I must admit that I have a fascination with birds, so this book was especially relatable and touching to me. I grew up with a parrot at home, who is the closet thing I'll ever have to an older sibling, so I understood some of the relationships being described of man and bird. I also know a couple people who have had crows before and seem to gush with the same sort of love that Woolfson does. Although this book doesn't have such an intense "green" leaning, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in birds, understanding the relationship between man and other animals, nature or if you need a little bit of light reading between some of those more intense environmental books.
birds, Solvang, CA 2007
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
impact echos
Today I finally got my hands on a copy of the much talked about No Impact Man book by Colin Beavan, which goes along with the blog and movie of similar names. Although it's been out for a few weeks, I was number 3 or 4 on the library waiting list. I visited the library at lunch, so it wasn't until the train ride home that I had time to start reading. If you're not familiar with No Impact Man's story, a man and his family decide to live the most environmentally friendly life they can, while living in New York City. They decide to do this for a year, unaware of what it actually means to do so. This book seems to appeal to both those that are already on this same path in that it gives them another's view point and how they got there as well as those that aren't sure where to even start. This post isn't really meant to be a review of the book though.
In Chapter 2, Colin begins with the story of his first day as "No Impact Man". In the first 10 minutes of being awake he's felt bad about using a dead tree to blow his nose, felt bad about using a diaper for his 1.5 year old daughter and realized his milk came in a disposable container. I think about the handkerchief I have tucked in my purse and how I need to remember to replace it when I do laundry tonight. I don't want to use a paper tissue at work as I quickly learned that handkerchiefs are so much more pleasant to use. I think about the plain white cloth napkins I grabbed on impulse at my most favorite thrift store ever when my total purchase didn't meet the debit card minimum and how I quickly grew to rely on them as napkins and handkerchiefs. I think about the brand new set of Hankettes I bought my boyfriend for his birthday, a month late, but handmade with organic cotton in Canada. Out the corner of my eye I see, the woman sitting next to me on the Red Line train digs in her bag and pulls out a wadded, bright white paper tissue. She rubs her nose and drops it on the floor between her legs.
I look and point at the tissue and say, "you dropped something" as I pull my eyes away from the book, the event all the more obvious as I just finished reading one of the few book passages I've ever read about blowing one's nose. She says "oh ok" and does nothing.
I can't help but to try to understand her actions. Did she really just not understand me? Does she not care because she doesn't want it anymore? Does she assume someone else will take care of it? Does she not know what else to do with it? Is she embarrassed that I said something? I realize that this No Impact Man book might be more helpful in a way I wasn't expecting. Although I try to keep others perspectives in mind and trying to understand, I know I suffer from assuming others have certain bits of information in their heads. People were brought up different ways. I pull out my handkerchief and blow my nose and tuck it back into my bag. I hope if nothing else, I can lead by example some of the time.
In Chapter 2, Colin begins with the story of his first day as "No Impact Man". In the first 10 minutes of being awake he's felt bad about using a dead tree to blow his nose, felt bad about using a diaper for his 1.5 year old daughter and realized his milk came in a disposable container. I think about the handkerchief I have tucked in my purse and how I need to remember to replace it when I do laundry tonight. I don't want to use a paper tissue at work as I quickly learned that handkerchiefs are so much more pleasant to use. I think about the plain white cloth napkins I grabbed on impulse at my most favorite thrift store ever when my total purchase didn't meet the debit card minimum and how I quickly grew to rely on them as napkins and handkerchiefs. I think about the brand new set of Hankettes I bought my boyfriend for his birthday, a month late, but handmade with organic cotton in Canada. Out the corner of my eye I see, the woman sitting next to me on the Red Line train digs in her bag and pulls out a wadded, bright white paper tissue. She rubs her nose and drops it on the floor between her legs.
I look and point at the tissue and say, "you dropped something" as I pull my eyes away from the book, the event all the more obvious as I just finished reading one of the few book passages I've ever read about blowing one's nose. She says "oh ok" and does nothing.
I can't help but to try to understand her actions. Did she really just not understand me? Does she not care because she doesn't want it anymore? Does she assume someone else will take care of it? Does she not know what else to do with it? Is she embarrassed that I said something? I realize that this No Impact Man book might be more helpful in a way I wasn't expecting. Although I try to keep others perspectives in mind and trying to understand, I know I suffer from assuming others have certain bits of information in their heads. People were brought up different ways. I pull out my handkerchief and blow my nose and tuck it back into my bag. I hope if nothing else, I can lead by example some of the time.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Book Review - The Organic Food Shopper's Guide
The Organic Food Shopper's Guide by Jeff Cox, a former editor for Organic Gardening Magazine is a straightforward book that gives one information on the basic components of a healthy organic diet. The book begins by explaining what it means for good to be considered organic. This includes an explanation of the wordings you might see on food labels in the U.S., how pesticides, compost, genetic engineered foods fit in with organics and some information on how grocery stores must handle organics.
The rest of the book is divided into 6 sections on vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds/grains, herbs & spices, meat/fish/dairy/eggs and kitchen staples. Each has a similar structure in that foods in that category are organics in alphabetical order. Each food has it's own section with information including:
-when the food is in season
-notable varieties of the food
-how to pick out the best/ripe foods
-how to store and prepare the food
-major nutritional highlights
-complimentary foods/flavors
-general information on the food
-the "organic advantage"
-uses
-recipes featuring each ingredient
Some of the information in this book is truly interesting. I had been searching on information about eating wild fennel I see all the time while hiking and this book finally told me what parts were usable. Some of the organic advantages were interesting, but some of the reasons were a little weak and repetitive when reading from the beginning to the end. The end of the book includes a list of resources to buy organic varieties of the food, mostly through the internet.
Even for someone like me that's been visiting the local farmers market for years and cooks nearly every meal at home, there was some new information in this book for me on ingredients I just wasn't sure about. I'd recommend this book for anyone that is just learning to cook at home or becoming more interesting in whole food and organic food cooking. I don't know if I'd read this book from beginning to end, but it's a good reference book. I could see using it as a compliment to discovering new farmers market foods, especially here in California. This book is also a bit refreshing in that you don't feel as if there are hidden motives in this information.
The rest of the book is divided into 6 sections on vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds/grains, herbs & spices, meat/fish/dairy/eggs and kitchen staples. Each has a similar structure in that foods in that category are organics in alphabetical order. Each food has it's own section with information including:
-when the food is in season
-notable varieties of the food
-how to pick out the best/ripe foods
-how to store and prepare the food
-major nutritional highlights
-complimentary foods/flavors
-general information on the food
-the "organic advantage"
-uses
-recipes featuring each ingredient
Some of the information in this book is truly interesting. I had been searching on information about eating wild fennel I see all the time while hiking and this book finally told me what parts were usable. Some of the organic advantages were interesting, but some of the reasons were a little weak and repetitive when reading from the beginning to the end. The end of the book includes a list of resources to buy organic varieties of the food, mostly through the internet.
Even for someone like me that's been visiting the local farmers market for years and cooks nearly every meal at home, there was some new information in this book for me on ingredients I just wasn't sure about. I'd recommend this book for anyone that is just learning to cook at home or becoming more interesting in whole food and organic food cooking. I don't know if I'd read this book from beginning to end, but it's a good reference book. I could see using it as a compliment to discovering new farmers market foods, especially here in California. This book is also a bit refreshing in that you don't feel as if there are hidden motives in this information.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Review for Go Green by Nancy Taylor
Title: Go Green - How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community
Author: Nancy Taylor
Published: Jan 2008
Other: Printed on recycled paper
The first thing that struck me about this book was that it simply looked different than most books. It had a soft back, but was made completely out of matte (not shiny) recycled paper, has rounded corners and the whole book is printed with an aqua colored font. I do a large amount of my reading standing on the train and I found the book to fit easily in the palm of my hand while holding it open with the other.
The book begins with a simple call to action. You are seeing there is climate change occurring, something must be done about it. This book has some easy steps and ideas to get yourself and your community going in that direction. The author covers a variety of basic topics including saving energy, building remodeling and green buildings in general, transportation, food and water. Each chapter is a quick read at 20 pages or less. Each briefly explains the things that are targets of attention and why these behaviors are causing some issues. She then explains some easy steps and ideas to get yourself and other thinking about what can be done. The chapters then conclude with a list of action points. Some ideas are for the home while others are definitely more long term projects that take the support of a group of others in your community.
I would recommend this book to people looking to get into more green living. It is a good place to start for ideas for action, but is just an introduction. This book has the advantage of being more than a blurb from someone trying to sell you their "green" item while still not jumping full into a history of garbage in the U.S., for example. After picking a topic, to really get some of these projects going I'd do more research.
Author: Nancy Taylor
Published: Jan 2008
Other: Printed on recycled paper
The first thing that struck me about this book was that it simply looked different than most books. It had a soft back, but was made completely out of matte (not shiny) recycled paper, has rounded corners and the whole book is printed with an aqua colored font. I do a large amount of my reading standing on the train and I found the book to fit easily in the palm of my hand while holding it open with the other.
The book begins with a simple call to action. You are seeing there is climate change occurring, something must be done about it. This book has some easy steps and ideas to get yourself and your community going in that direction. The author covers a variety of basic topics including saving energy, building remodeling and green buildings in general, transportation, food and water. Each chapter is a quick read at 20 pages or less. Each briefly explains the things that are targets of attention and why these behaviors are causing some issues. She then explains some easy steps and ideas to get yourself and other thinking about what can be done. The chapters then conclude with a list of action points. Some ideas are for the home while others are definitely more long term projects that take the support of a group of others in your community.
I would recommend this book to people looking to get into more green living. It is a good place to start for ideas for action, but is just an introduction. This book has the advantage of being more than a blurb from someone trying to sell you their "green" item while still not jumping full into a history of garbage in the U.S., for example. After picking a topic, to really get some of these projects going I'd do more research.
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