SB2006 – Shigeru Ban, originally uploaded by Purple Cloud

the filter project, originally uploaded by samba.

The Rostrums of Congress, originally uploaded by bryanboyer

Follow Bryan Boyer on his GSD Thesis:

You wouldn’t expect it, but this information is not so easy to track down. The senate posts a map of the chamber which outlines where everyone sits, but the House map was nowhere to be found… until I visited the law library and looked through books intended to teach lobbyists. How’s that for scary / unfortunate?

AGFA – Jsolette – 1947, originally uploaded by Paul Desmond

See more Camera Collection photos on Flickr.

Underwood Ribbon, originally uploaded by uppercaseyyc

Vintage Typewriter tins (background).

L’Enfant Station, originally uploaded by plemeljr

Go and read Ryan’s comparison of D.C.’s Metrorail Fares in Context with other systems:

The D.C. Metro and San Francisco’s BART are often described as sister systems. They serve similar sized cities, were built at a similar time, and provide a similar type of service to their riders. They both also use a graduated fare system rather than a fixed fare. Like Metrorail, BART has recently adopted fare increases.

I too would be interested in see what controlling for frequency and quality of service does to the value, real or implied.
Naturally, I don’t actually need to do this comparison, but rather I can ask the lazyweb to help out.

Hello Card, originally uploaded by queenbeeamy

Lantern, originally uploaded by plemeljr

More photos from Tokyo.

Neste Oy – corporate annual, originally uploaded by Grain Edit.com

See more at Grain Edit (via).

Motorway Mayhem, originally uploaded by Steve.Haigh

As previously linked, it seems that the Federal Transit Administration is on the course to derail the Washington DC Silver Line which would connect the urban core to Dulles and National Airport by heavy rail transit. It appears that the rationale isn’t due to the necessity or the viability of the project, but rather an ideology against certain mass transit:

Others point to a long-standing desire in the Transportation Department to move away from public investments in infrastructure. Peters, the transportation secretary, for example, refused to endorse a report published Tuesday by a bipartisan national commission on the future of the nation’s transportation system. She instead issued a dissent decrying wasteful spending and the federal government’s large share of the investment. She said she favored private investment and more tolling to control congestion.

This illustrates the direct effects of electing governments comprised of people who do not believe in the beneficial nature of government, or sometimes, government at all. By this logic, any money for the upkeep of highways, airports, port facilities is also wasteful. Q.E.D.
What is most unnerving about mass transportation in this country is best summed up by the Simpson’s episode Marge vs. the Monorail where the townspeople of Springfield decide to build a monorail instead of cleaning up Main Street. Who remembers when Light Rail was the solution and any other transportation solution wasn’t worth discussion. Similarly, now the FTA has decided that Bus Rapid Transit is the way to proceed everywhere. This same thinking is both wasteful and stupid, and emblematic of an Administration which doesn’t feel like doing its homework.
In a world where the Federal government takes policy and implementation of policy serious, then we all could work together to tailor transportation solutions to the local requirements, instead of building Monorails everywhere.