The invisible hand at work!

Help mock up, and come up with a title for, my 20s-themed slashdot parody, whose mascot will be "news for birds. stuff for flappers".

That looks more like a slogan than like a mascot.

I'd love to rewrite Diebold's mission statement to insert at least the word "intimidate" into their methods of providing core-content deliverables and etc.

God, is any corporation in the history of the universe more corrupt than Diebold?

These people make Halliburton look like a gaggle of Mother Teresa's purer nuns...

God, is any corporation in the history of the universe more corrupt than Diebold?

These people make Halliburton look like a gaggle of Mother Teresa's purer nuns...

2: It should probably be called "The Skinny".

Right, slogan. Not mascot.

Why on Earth would Diebold hope to have the state of Massachusetts testify as to why a competitor's product is superior? There's bad PR, and there's bad PR compelled under oath.

They must (if intimidation is discounted, which I wouldn't) belief in their own superiority such that testimony couldn't possibly demonstrate otherwise.

Cases motivated by complete arrogance are always great. In the obscenity trial against Robert Mapplethorpe, the prosecution was so convinced that by merely introducing his photographs as self-evident exhibits they would win over the jury, they didn't even make the case. The defense, of course, called art expert after expert and convinced a panel of laymen that his art was, in fact, art.

Still, even abject arrogance doesn't quite explain the Diebold case. Maybe this is mere bluster? Aren't their ramifications for precedent in introducing a lot of testimony about how defective their product is?

They'll just make sure the judge is a Bush appointee. Problem solved.

Bush doesn't appoint MA state judges.

Trying to overturn contract awards isn't that uncommon in government contracting - procurement regulations frequently require that the criteria on which a product will be selected be laid out before the competition begins, require documentation of the selection process, and in other ways remove discretion from the purchasing agencies.

This is Diebold we're talking about. Some mucky-muck got an update that a big deal hadn't gone through because a competitor had gotten the gig and said mucky-muck interrupted the update halfway through with a response of "Oh yeah? Sue 'em!" and when the underling presenting said update tried to raise the point that this might be unwise s/he was shouted into a whimpering mass for daring to contradict. Next thing you know the company is suing because no one is willing to point out how stupid this is.

This - just keep your head down, say "yes, sir!" and do the thing - was in many ways the culture at Ma Bell and it's got that vibe, IMO; it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that at Diebold the squeaky wheel gets replaced and so no one objects even to self-evident stupidity.

Let's hope that's true, so that to some degree the condition is self-correcting.

Reason #212,653 that privatization of government services yields us the worst of both the private and public sectors. It's a lose-lose.

Still, I'll bet it's really good for those campaign contributions and soft landings for top staffers in cushy well-paid post-government jobs.

privatization of government services

Wait... what? I think the concern here may be a little more narrow than that. Or do you really think the government should set up factories to manufacture its own voting machines?

2: Not 20s themed, but I think this is the last word in Slashdot parody. And it's six years old....

Gee, some folks just can't rejection. So I offer a drink to the blond bombshell, named Sue, two seats down at the bar, and she tells me to buzz off, do I have the right sue Sue? And all those business proposals I used to write and never got, does this mean I can now sue retroactively? Can we sue to get election year 2000 overturned? And if the fine folks here who dis my comments, do I get the right to sue Ogged? LB, you're in the wrong line of work.

I've been wondering if MA government work turns up more of these bid-overturning suits than is normal for governments, but I don't really have a measure for comparison. The other notable one is that the new MBTA automatic fare collection system (the CharlieCard/CharlieTicket) was delayed about six years because the losing bidder for the AFC system sued and had the process restarted - twice. And they still didn't get the bid.

CharlieCard/CharlieTicket

Isn't this an undesirable association? If I recall correctly, he was the guy who rode the T endlessly because he didn't have the nickel to get off -- what's the message? Use your fare card and be trapped for eternity?

OK, I have a proposal to make. Since I procrastinate here as much as anywhere else, why not offer an Unfogged screensaver with all comment windows open so I can at least get some work done. The contract must be awarded to me, of course (with royalties), or else ...

His fate is still unlearned.

Your recollection is correct. A lot of people have commented on this, but mostly it seems like having a name and a character associated with the AFC system is helpful. I think they may have tried some "With the new CharlieCard system, you can't be trapped!" spin or some such, but nothing that really stuck in people's heads. They did do away with the few remaining exit fares as they introduced the system, though.

I think they may have tried some "With the new CharlieCard system, you can't be trapped!" spin or some such

That's certainly how I read it.

They also did away with 'have a guest ride free on Sundays' deal for monthly pass owners. That sucks.

Also, 23 is best solved with a custom Yahoo Pipe. Just filter on the names of the commenters whose comments you want to read, and find an aggregator which delivers the content in a form you most appreciate.

27- they also did away with the FUCKING MONTHLY SUBWAY PASS. That really sucks.

filter on the names of the commenters whose comments you want to read

But you'd miss not only self-promoting spammers and trolls but also de-lurkers, occasionals, presidential confessors, and various other forms of name-play.

29 -- right, there's also that.

Can we all just agree that the T is one of the worst American subway systems?

I think we can.

Losing the monthly subway pass is kind of bad for the people who only used subways, but I think they made up for it, overall, by making transfers sensible and automatic and making the combo pass cheaper. Buses are great; more people should use them, and having a single declining-balance smart card for buses and subways (and someday, commuter rail) is pretty neat. In my past life I was a monthly subway pass user; these days, I don't have a daily commute and just use stored value.

31 - There seems to be much agreement, even among critics of the T, that Chicago is worse.

31: and let me just add that whoever did the illustrations for the Charlie system is a twisted freak.

Right. The bus pass prices went up, and so did the subway passes, but because the subway thing comes with bus service, I'm better off, since I don't have to pay for a combo pass any more.

They do seem to have monthly passes that don't require a charlie card still. I now have a special credit card for adding value to my charlie card, since I used to get a pass sent to me in the mail by my employer.

Here's a really annoying feature. If you have a monthly link pass, and try to use it again too quickly, the machine won't let you through. I guess that this is a fraud protection feature, but it still sucks.

I found this out when I went through the turnstyle in Harvard Square, realized that I had a donut craving and then tried to go back in after a period of about 5 minutes. The machine said that I had insufficient funds. The MBTA worker told me that it's a 20 minute delay; she let me through and told me that I should call to complain.

34 -- exactly! shouldn't he have a nose, and maybe a second eye?

I think the wind is blowing his features toward the back of his head.

Okay, next Boston-specific T-question: is anyone else weirded out by the two giant wooden Jesus-hands mounted above the red-line tracks in Park St. station?

Perhaps inspired by the late Terry Sawchuk.

Steen Eiler Rasmussen, in his book London: The Unique City had pictures to illustrate his claim that the designs, particularly of the signs for The Underground and their lettering, was public art of a very high order.

37 -- also, his right arm seems like it'd be significantly longer than the left one. He's so misshapen.

And what's that Dilbert-tie-like object springing from his armpit? It can only be part of his tie if his tie is 5 feet long (after tying).

It's not a tie, it's his tail.

Yes clearly the new passes are better if you formerly used a combo pass, because they're cheaper. But if you formerly just rode the subway you're now SOL.

I still get mailed a monthly pass by my employer, it's just got an ugly charlie on it now. I don't know why everyone else seems to have some sort of permanent card.

And those damn gates DO NOT RE-OPEN if they start to close with one of your body parts inside. One closed on me the other day and it really hurt. I momentarily considered giving them the sue.

And now the stations are all littered with those stupid single-use cards that everyone just drops on the ground after running through the machine.

The London underground signage is famously excellent. The MBTA is on crack.

We should have another Boston meet-up, to complain about all this stuff in person.

Right -- 39 is best understood in the context of the Boston 'underground' when you realize that most of the signage in the T consists of hand-scrawled cardboard placards taped to various obscure parts of the trolleys and buses.

And I do mean scrawled.

Hey Boston people, when are we going to have another meetup?

pwned by 45.

Great minds think alike -- and so do ours.

We should start by asking if there are any normally-out-of-towners who are planning trips to Boston in the near future.

Perhaps that's a futile hope.

And then, after that, we should coordinate with Brock so that he doesn't ditch us again.

Great minds think alike -- and so do ours.

Good one.

Yes, Brock, I will gladly give you my cell phone number and real name so that you won't get lost.

Can we all just agree that the T is one of the worst American subway systems?

You can strike "American" from that sentence.

The worst part (as a used-to-be-frequent-visitor of Boston) about the Charlie Card roll out was when they made you buy a $5 card at Logan, that was only good for the line out to the airport. Drove me nuts to walk around with a card for the T that I couldn't use on the green line.

The w-lfs-nian Institute (mentioned in these parts last week) is devoted (almost) exclusively to Art Deco design (being in South Beach, this makes sense...). One of the more prominent pieces is a giant tube sign, as well as one of the old-school NY subway turnstyles.

Yes, meet up! When I get back from NY I'll be in a position to dish, although sadly I always fail to notice the interesting stuff.

When do you get back from NY?

I'm going Wednesday, coming back Saturday.

Well, last time we met on a weekday night -- that might not be a bad idea this time around too, since it probably decreases the probability of being stuck in the corner of a loud, crowded bar somewhere.

So, to get the ball rolling (and to subtly steer things so that they match my own schedule): how would people feel about, say, the evening of April 4th or 5th?

Lurkers, if they are reading this, should definitely pipe up.

Oh, sure. Everyone disappear now. -gg-damnit.

Calm down, Arthegall, we're just scrolling through our immensely crowded calendars.

The 5th would work for me, but not the 4th.

Let's go to Miracle of Science this time--I wonder if they still have those atomic matches I used to like.

Not worked up, just joking a little bit.

Sounds like the 4th is out for you, and the 5th is out for Bostoniangirl. Conversation continued here.

Getting back to the discussion of subway aesthetics --

Check out this picture of Park St. station, circa 1898.

I think it's significant, that the current station is clearly recognizable in this photo. And Park St. isn't some out-of-the-way satellite station -- it's one of the central downtown stops, at the confluence of the green and red lines.

"The Boston T: Virtually Unchanged in Over a Century."

That's an amazing photo. I'll be taking the red line from downtown crossing to the meetup, so I'll be on the lookout for the giant praying hands, which I don't think I've ever seen.

Flickr has failed me -- maybe my search-fu is just not strong enough, but several minutes spent looking around revealed only one picture of one of the hands.

They're mounted separately, one above each track. They're on a vertical part of the ceiling, at the part (near the south end of the tracks) where the vaulted part drops to a lower level. They're both wooden (or wooden-ish), like the one in the picture.

Also, speaking of Chicago's system, the NYT had this, today.

I see. So rather than praying, the hands are poised to swat the red line train--to crush it, in fact, like a bug.

My daughter was caught up in the tunnel fire mentioned in 62, and calmly walked out. We didn't know about it until later. She's had some adventures all right, and now my son takes it too.

I've been late to interviews in recent years because I haven't adjusted to the slowdowns, not riding every day.

"and now my son takes it too."

Well, here's the thing... I mean, I've seen people get in fights on the T, I've seen someone get stabbed (or rather, someone who had just been stabbed, and came onto the T car in order to get away from his attacker), I've been stuck underground for long periods of time (no fires yet though). But if you actually fear for your childrens' lives when they take the chicago el... then I'm willing to concede that Boston's system is #2 in the rankings of America's worst subways. Damn.

No, I don't have any more than the normal fear. I would say cellphones make it much easier to allay fears, but my wife and her brothers rode it freely as kids, and we'd probably have been ok with it anyway, now that they're teenagers.

Suburbanites, whose kids will eventually careen around in packed cars drunk in the middle of the night, are often terrified of the idea we let our kids ride the el whenever/wherever they like.