View from Chicago hotel

Three weeks, three trips, less than 24 hours at home. View from Chicago hotel (leg two) is pretty rad, though.

Y’all. People who answer (seemingly non-urgent!) phone calls in public restrooms with the sound of flushing all around you: WHY?? And those initiating the calls, why are you not hanging up?

Yeah. Amtrak pricing is just absolutely insane.

I’m sure you’re correct about that, but IMO they should update the maps & audio announcements in the trains to say “Fed Hill/Stadium” rather than Hamburg Street for consistency.

4) Oh, one plus. Unlike MARC trains, clear signage about what station you’re at, and very clear audio announcements. I take MARC Penn line all the time and it’s horrible on both those counts.

3) Had no idea they were such baby trains. DC metro riders, this feels like the equivalent of a 2 car train.

2) Stops are not labeled consistently, which IMO is pretty user unfriendly. 🧵 2/x

First time taking the light rail from BWI. Some thoughts as a frequent public transit rider: 1) it’s pretty dirty relative to other systems bc shitty people leave trash, even though the trains themselves are nice. 🧵 1/x

Ope, never mind, I see you’ve been traveling.

Where are you even finding that sando in Baltimore?

Okay, Charleston. Get to Edmunds Oast right this very minute to get their softshell crab over grits. Holy cow was that good.

Today I learned the Saskatchewan slang term for a hoodie, and it’s pretty charming: a “bunny hug.”

Here’s a link to the actual bill, which is about prohibiting the practice of dynamic pricing where a company would be able to set prices specific to individual shoppers based on their consumer data. Which is a v v bad thing that we should absolutely prohibit.

mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/L...

Just in case anyone else gets this ridic and misleading text about grocery coupons…

Cherry blossoms at fort McHenry

Sure wish Ft. McHenry would have extended hours during cherry blossom season - 9 to 5 is tough for folks with office gigs - but Saturday was pretty darn beautiful.

Hmmm, I guess I missed whatever it was!

I’ll try most foods at least once (including fish eyes in the Philippines) but the only food I have big regrets about was burgundy beef aspic. Will never do that again.

To add insult to injury, you can only authenticate for a maximum of 30 days, so you have to log your household members in again each month. Super annoying.

You're really telling me the only way to give a household member access to a Blink doorbell camera is to just give 'em your username and password? Like, there's no way to add a household member to the account??

Text asking me to review a parking garage

Baby I ain’t taking time to review a parking garage. Be so for real.

Genuinely, how is Amtrak still in business? Thought about booking a weekend trip to NYC (from Baltimore). Coach seats for 2 were ~$400 rt, even months in advance. If I book a luxury bus (reclining seats, power outlets, etc), it takes 30 mins longer, but rt tickets for 2 was $85.

We need more beverages that are 1) not diet with Stevia and aspartame shit, but 2) not full on sodas, either. Spindrifts and the Topo Chicos with sparkling water + juice are great!

Private events shouldn’t disrupt regular commuters. And why didn’t MTA offer more advance notice so commuters could plan appropriately?

💯

"RFK Jr was quoted in Politico as having said he really liked this accreditation agency. Have there been any communications between HHS and Ed about this agency?" (Answer: no.) #NACIQI

Idk who the camera operator is for #NACIQI, but they are kind of behind the eight ball during conversations. Makes it harder to know who is speaking.

David Barker and Jeffrey Andrade opening #NACIQI by lambasting Biden administration. 🙄

I have sympathy for the degree creep conversation, tbh. It’s remarkable how many professions have moved to the doctoral level without evidence supporting better outcomes. (Not to mention pay.)

Why is it not standard practice to identify your name before posing your question? So annoying for listeners. Can't always see name plate and camera doesn't always catch up in time. #NACIQI

Alioto's role on this committee this meeting seems to be posing questions about cost (first, the funeral group, now MACTE) that have nothing to do with federal regulations or compliance. #NACIQI