Maryland

[DeaconG]

I used to live in Landover Hills when I worked at GSFC in the 80s.  I'm not surprised.

I worked at GSFC in the 1970's for CSC. Building 23 in image processing - Landsat, HCMM and Nimbus 7.

The stuff that we processed the spacecraft location and attitude and similar data was mostly junk - Xerox Data Systems Sigma and Modcomp IV computers. 

The equipment that did the actual image processing was state-of-the-art from IBM.

Yep, I'm quite familiar with Modcomp, Landsat and Nimbus 7. Building 25, Greenbelt Tracking Station/NTTF. Left just before the axe fell (thank you TDRS)...

[cpzilliacus]

Darwin rule?

Motorcyclist killed in crash into his house

A Montgomery County man was killed Friday when his motorcycle went out of control, crashed into his house and went through a window,the county police said.

They said the man lost control of the motorcycle in the Montgomery Village area while doing a "wheelie."  In such a maneuver, the motorcycle is balanced for a time on its rear wheel.

[1995hoo]

I find amusing that the Post reporter felt the need to explain what a wheelie is.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: BWI busier than Dulles last year

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport leapfrogged ahead of Washington Dulles International Airport in terms of passenger counts in 2012, according to Airports Council International.

BWI was the nation's 22nd busiest airport in 2012, bumping Dulles down a place, according the council, which released passenger data for North American airports on Tuesday.

Passenger volume at BWI rose 1.25 percent to nearly 22.7 million last year, while Dulles slipped 2.89 percent to 22.4 million.

[iwishiwascanadian]

I wonder if that will change once the Silver Line opens at Dulles in a few years.

[froggie]

Doubtful.  Most of the Silver Line pull is to Tysons, not Dulles.  MWAA already recognizes this and has been trying to push Dulles more as a cargo hub, as evidenced by certain Virginia politicians pushing for "improved freight access" to Dulles via the proposed highway mentioned in other threads.

Furthermore, as I recall, international air travel has taken more of a hit than domestic travel...that would be a factor.  Another factor:  BWI is a Southwest hub.

[jeffandnicole]

Southwest doesn't have hubs, but they do fly to a limited number of airports.

[BrianP]

Two road reasons contributing could be the ICC making access from Upper Montgomery County to BWI easier (permanent), and the beltway construction in Virginia (temporary).  Having to cross the AL bridge also favors going to BWI from the MD burbs. 

[froggie]

Southwest doesn't have hubs, but they do fly to a limited number of airports.

Neither is true anymore.  65% of BWI's flights are Southwest, and it's a core of Southwest's activity on the East Coast...tell me again that isn't a hub.  They also fly to a much larger number of airports than they used to.

BrianP:  that hasn't really been cited as a factor in the past.  A stronger argument could be made that National is pulling more passengers from Dulles than BWI is, especially given some recent high-profile flight approvals in and out of National.

[BrianP]

GOVERNOR O'MALLEY ANNOUNCES NEARLY $1.5 BILLION IN TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS FOR BALTIMORE METROPOLITAN REGION
http://www.marylandroads.com/pages/release.aspx?newsId=1632

[1995hoo]

Southwest doesn't have hubs, but they do fly to a limited number of airports.

Neither is true anymore.  65% of BWI's flights are Southwest, and it's a core of Southwest's activity on the East Coast...tell me again that isn't a hub.  They also fly to a much larger number of airports than they used to.

....

I think this may be a distinction of terminology (similar to how some people on this forum object to uses of "freeway" and "expressway" that don't match the MUTCD's definition of those terms). Southwest does not use the term "hub" in describing their operations because they don't operate on a "hub and spoke" system that requires lots of passengers to fly to particular cities and connect there to other flights (consider how with Delta if you're on the East Coast you'll often have to fly to Atlanta or Cincinnati and then connect to some other flight). Anyone who's flown on Southwest for more than a minimal distance has probably encountered how you sometimes make multiple stops but stay on the same plane–for example, going from St. Louis to Baltimore might require you to fly from St. Louis to Chicago to Cleveland to Baltimore (some flights will skip Cleveland).* This brings to mind a further wording distinction that is often misunderstood by a lot of people–the difference between a "direct" flight and a "nonstop" flight. Lots of people think those words are interchangeable, but they aren't–if you stay on the same plane, that flight from St. Louis to Chicago to Cleveland to Baltimore is a "direct" flight under airline industry terminology.

Southwest uses the term "focus city" to refer to locations in which they have a particularly large presence, and Baltimore is one of those; I think Chicago—Midway is another.

But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.



*I use this route as an example because in May 1998 I boarded a Southwest flight at Midway that was operating this route. I actually wound up sitting down next to someone who turned out to be a high school friend I hadn't seen in seven years. Nowadays there's a nonstop from St. Louis to Baltimore, but back then there wasn't.

[BrianP]

BrianP:  that hasn't really been cited as a factor in the past.  A stronger argument could be made that National is pulling more passengers from Dulles than BWI is, especially given some recent high-profile flight approvals in and out of National.

I didn't say either of them were significant factors.  I was only trying to find road related factors. 

[cpzilliacus]

But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.

You can call it what you like, but Southwest's operations at BWI meet my  definition of a "hub," even though Southwest is not a hub-and-spoke airline.

[cpzilliacus]

Two road reasons contributing could be the ICC making access from Upper Montgomery County to BWI easier (permanent), and the beltway construction in Virginia (temporary).  Having to cross the AL bridge also favors going to BWI from the MD burbs.

Travel time from the City of Rockville to BWI was enormously reduced, especially in the afternoon peak period with Md. 200.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: 85,000 Redskin fans + rush hour = traffic headaches

Before there was science, there was human intuition. For example, intuition told the caveman that living in a cave was a better bet than, say, living under a rosebush. A caveman's intuition also could tell you that traffic will stink when 85,000 people head to the Washington Redskins game Monday night.

Now, science can tell you that, too.

Using data from past Monday night games at FedEx Field, a company that collects traffic data from thousands of transponders in trucks and fleet vehicles has crunched the numbers in better-than-a-caveman fashion to aid your Monday-night game plan.

"If it usually takes 45 minutes to get home or get to the stadium, count on nearly 90 minutes on game night between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m,"  said Jamie Holter, a traffic analyst for INRIX, which provides much of the information in radio, television and Internet traffic reports.

[1995hoo]

But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.

You can call it what you like, but Southwest's operations at BWI meet my  definition of a "hub," even though Southwest is not a hub-and-spoke airline.

Isn't that more or less what I said?

[cpzilliacus]

But as a general matter, for everyday discussion it would probably be reasonable to regard BWI as an operational "hub" for Southwest as long as the term isn't being used in the "hub and spoke" sense where large numbers of that airline's flights fly into that city so that passengers will change planes.

You can call it what you like, but Southwest's operations at BWI meet my  definition of a "hub," even though Southwest is not a hub-and-spoke airline.

Isn't that more or less what I said?

Yes, it is.

[hbelkins]

The episode is now the subject of an ethics complaint, with Henry arguing that Vallario – whose roles as both legislator and defense lawyer have long drawn scrutiny in Annapolis – had an egregious conflict of interest.

The Maryland media should have been paying attention to Joe Vallario's representation of drunk and reckless drivers in Annapolis a long time ago.  I have no problem with him representing them in court (he's a criminal defense lawyer, after all), but I have a major problem with his activities in the General Assembly.

Kentucky's legislature is full of criminal defense lawyers. I've never counted, but I'd not be surprised if the majority of Kentucky's legislators aren't lawyers.

However, I don't think a lawyer being in the legislature is as much of a conflict as public school and university employees being in the legislature, since they vote on funding for the institutions for which they're employed. Kentucky does not allow state employees to hold or even run for partisan office -- they have to resign or retire before they can even file for office and run for election -- yet school and university employees can run and many serve in the legislature.

[1995hoo]

I don't know. In Virginia, as in so many other places, we have multiple attorneys serving in the General Assembly. It's caused problems. I don't know if you recall the uproar about the "abusive driver fees" a few years ago. They passed a law imposing "civil penalties" of up to $3000 on in-state residents (only in-staters) who were found guilty of certain traffic offenses (among them, driving 81 mph in the 70-mph zone on I-85, which was at the time the only Virginia highway posted at 70). The bill's chief sponsor was Delegate David Albo, whose primary employment is as an attorney specializing in traffic ticket defense work–meaning the law would have driven significant business to him as more people hired attorneys to fight tickets.

It caused a major rebellion and it was quickly repealed and all "fees" were refunded. But the idiots in Albo's district are still re-electing him. I guess people get the government they deserve.

[froggie]

IMO, part of that was a desire to "raise revenue" without "raising taxes".  There is a very noticeable sect of taxophobics in Virginia.

[1995hoo]

IMO, part of that was a desire to "raise revenue" without "raising taxes".  There is a very noticeable sect of taxophobics in Virginia.

Absolutely correct. Doesn't make what Albo did any less odious, though.

[cpzilliacus]

IMO, part of that was a desire to "raise revenue" without "raising taxes".  There is a very noticeable sect of taxophobics in Virginia.

Absolutely correct. Doesn't make what Albo did any less odious, though.

I agree with both Adam and Hoo. Very much consistent with my memory.

[froggie]

Not all of them.  You only hear a very small subset of the voters, because they are the most vocal against any taxes.  Most Virginians realize that the roads are going to crap and something needs to be done to get the revenue to fix it, but they aren't the ones you hear.  The only ones you actually hear are the anti-tax or anti-toll folks.

[cpzilliacus]

Not all of them.  You only hear a very small subset of the voters, because they are the most vocal against any taxes.  Most Virginians realize that the roads are going to crap and something needs to be done to get the revenue to fix it, but they aren't the ones you hear.  The only ones you actually hear are the anti-tax or anti-toll folks.

Adam, there has not even been an honest debate about this in the Commonwealth of Virginia in a very long time.  What nobody seems willing to accept is this - even if there is no expansion of the highway network at all, what is out there now is enormous in size and extent, and must be maintained or it will fall apart.

About 10 years ago, when then-Gov. Mark Warner proposed regional tax increases for transportation, the anti-tax types formed an unholy alliance with Virginia's Smart Growth industry to oppose (on the grounds of supposed "induced" demand for highway capacity) and defeated the proposals in the  2004 election.

At the start of the 2005 General Assembly, a bill was introduced to double the "stealth" gas tax rate that NVTC collects (unlike the statewide motor fuel tax in Virginia, which is per-gallon, the "stealth" NVTC tax is a percent of the sale price), all of which goes for transit subsidies.  It had the support of the Smart Growthers, but not the anti-tax coalition, and it quickly went down to defeat (I do not think it made it out of committee).

[froggie]

Yes, CP, I recall those (was stationed in Norfolk at the time).  The lack of an honest debate stems in no small part from the General Assembly (especially the House of Delegates) still being largely rural-based and NOT where the bulk of the population lives.  True, urban areas made some inroads in the last Census, but the GA jerrymandered the districts so much that there is still a large and powerful rural bloc in the Assembly.