EcstaticE 2.0

After some experimentation, this blog finally has a new look!  After 3 years, 5 months since my first post (quite short) of the same, somewhat bland, blue and green and white backgrounds, it has a fresh design, using Blogger's somewhat new template designer.  Links you haven't yet visited are in an easy-to-find Red, while ones you already have clicked on turn to Blue.  I chose blue instead of the default darker color to still allow you to be able to find a particular link in the future.  In addition, a more concise footer (eliminating the redundant comment info), instant feedback, and new share toolbar! Also started using a page break feature to help redirect traffic to the site when people use RSS/shared links - Subscribe to see for yourself!
Let me know what you think by commenting!  And take a look at the before/after comparison after the break to judge for yourself!

Happy 200!!!

HAPPY 200th PUBLISHED POST!!!!!

Yes, the 200th post is finally here and is a confirmation that I am still alive. Apologies for the extremely long hiatus since my last official post on 11/11/09, school work and a sense of lethargy on writing a blog that no one really reads made me reluctant to continue blogging. However, with Summer break here and a enormous list of bookmarked websites and news articles in my browser's "ToBePosted" folder have persuaded me to resume. Although I will try my best to include everything I have wanted to talk about (politics, entertainment, rants), I can only include items that have been preserved in that aforementioned bookmark folder; stuff I thought about while in the shower maybe forever lost to time. Details/opinions may also be brief. I will also add a date to give it some context.

Now, on to the celebrations! A quick recap of the last 100 posts! (The 100th post was published 2/5/09.) Get ready for a barrage of hyperlinks but trust me, it is worth the read:

• Cooper Union builds, completes behind schedule, and gets 'Ugly' (future posts show Cadillac and Time Warner Cable are lovin' it too)
• Health Care Reform: Why I Fought for my Uncle Gen
• My growing love for livability
• Re-electing Bloomberg on my own, but was it a mistake? (future post)
• I'm there for you, MTA, but we can all help
• My attempts at super-local reporting
• And I'm still looking for my Obama button :(

Here's to another 100 and thank you for stopping by and hope to see you again soon!


Post 200 Dated 5/19/10, see 200th post for reason
Comment below! - and leave an ID/email to get replies

Thank You Streetsblog!

After posting about how one city's innovation can make bus lanes in New York City better, Streetsblog featured me as one of their headlines for today. That post got over a 150 hits-a record! And in this economy, bloggers are having an even harder time trying to get people to spend some of their time getting infotained. Thank you Streetsblog! (Of course, whether or not people may have subscribed or will return remains another issue)

Published Post Number:130/136
Feel free to comment below! - and use an ID/email to get updates on responses!

HAPPY 100!!!

HAPPY 100th PUBLISHED POST!!!!!

Yes, this is my 100th published post (more about the number at the end) and I just wanted to give a recap of my more than a year of posts while being a little self-congratulatory! My first post was published Wednesday, January 23, 2008 (Oops, forgot to celebrate that) on Mayor Bloomberg's new coalition with California Governor Schwarzenegger to build a better America (I misspelled the title when I first published it, hence the 'ayor' in the URL. :P)

Shortly after that, I started posting about the shortfalls and criticisms of the Bush Administration. Throughout the year, I published more of that but also included events in my personal life (such as my graduation), politics-especially about the 2008 Presidential Election, my position that the environment needs to get more attention and action, and better healthcare. I also moved my news reporting from my site to the blog.

As the year progressed, and I became a commuter, I began to be very passionate about the funding woes for New York City's (and the nation's) mass transit systems. I have watched the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's fiscal situation (MTA) go from somewhat hopeful (May) to desperate (today).

If I had to pick my most descriptive and passionate posts, I would have to go with Car #1224, and my series of posts about what an extraordinary mayor Mike Bloomberg is (he is one of my heroes.)

So, although I know that I don't have that much of a constant readership, and no one really does comment (maybe I should switch to Wordpress?), I will continue to blog about everything that happens in my life and in the world. I have always been lost before I started blogging; I've always wanted to share some info or thought with the rest of the world, but never truly had the means until this blog (I did experiment with posting my thoughts on a Geocities page, but haven't maintained it in a long while.) So thanks for reading through this celebratory post and for reliving my thoughts with me and I hope you will continue to come by every now and then. And of course, comments are always welcome. Just be nice. :)

---
Last but not least, posts in the past week or two have included a "PostID." This is mainly for administrative purposes; a way to let me know the # of published posts / the # of unpublished posts (drafts). This has now given way to the "Published Post Number (PPN)," that is until I, in my rush to send a post hot from my keypad out inadvertently change it to something more easily remembered (PPID).

Published Post Number (PPN):100!/106

Second Avenue Subway, Maybe Not All the Way

As the transport politic puts it, the Second Avenue Subway is definitely needed to relieve overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue Lines (4,5,6) but should be amended to provide a crosstown connection as well as better serve those further away from Second Avenue. He believes that there should be two major changes to the plan:

1. A crosstown route from 125th St. on the East Side of Manhattan to the West Side, connecting the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, A, B, C, and D lines in Upper Manhattan. It makes it a lot more convenient for riders, as this would eliminate the need for waiting for a bus as well as increase ridership overall. (Presently, none of the lines in Upper Manhattan truly enable East-West travel there.)
2. A slight diversion from Second Avenue south of 14th St. and down Avenues B/C into the East Village, where it currently maybe just one of the few remaining parts of Manhattan that do not come within a short walking distance of a subway stop. The East Village is also home to many mixed small and medium density residential buildings. In addition, politic stresses that the planned SAS is only two avenue blocks away from the Lex. Ave. Line, making little difference anyways and would attract more riders if shifted East (plus one more station than currently planned). The SAS would then return to its namesake avenue at Chatham Square.

"But the most important point is this: since all three stations will be built where subway service already exists, no new areas of the city become more easily transit-accessible...The Second Avenue Subway’s downtown route should be significantly revised to provide two significant improvements: one, increasing subway access to currently transit-deprived areas of the city; and two, improving transfer opportunities for passengers who currently have trouble moving between lines."

Although the 125th St. Fault may present a problem for the Westward expansion of the SAS, and a deviation from the MTA's plan may cost more money that they do not have, the proposed scheme is of an interesting note and should be taken as an alternative by the MTA. Since the proposed changes do not affect the current Phase of construction, changes would not be met with cries of wastefulness.

A tip of the hat to the transport politic for this and many thought-worthy suggestions. Each day, he provides a lengthy and well-researched article (but a good read nonetheless) with independently made diagrams and maps. Bravo! You have earned my respect!