I did Casual Carpool this morning driving back after dropping Emmett off. I have to say, I really like it. Its something that just evolved naturally without official sponsorship. It gets everybody into the city more cheaply and more quickly. It's easier on the environment and the transit system. And it's all civil and polite and everybody understands the rules.

Is that like slugging in DC/NOVA?

ETA: [link]

Is that like slugging in DC/NOVA?

Yup.

Folks line up at the North Berkeley BART station, and the cars cruise up in line (like a taxi que).

I take on two riders. They say, "Good morning" and get in.

I head to the freeway, and once there I can take the carpool lane (since we have three passengers). That means I skip past all the backed up traffic and the slowdown in front of the toll booths.

It used to be free to go through carpool, but now my electronic reader is charged $2.50 instead of $6 to go into the City. Sometimes the riders will pitch in a dollar. Sometimes not. I don't ask but am happy to receive.

I drive downtown and drop them off. Since I'm headed out to the avenues, I usually let them know I'm crossing Market street and heading up Pine, so they have an option of getting off just below Market or a couple blocks above it depending on where their office is. (Both my riders this morning wanted off above Market.)

They say "Thank you," when they exit and the whole thing took half an hour (instead of 45 mins to an hour), and cost them either nothing or a dollar. My cost is reduced from $6 to $2.50 and I'm back in the city much more quickly.

How in the hell did I escape having lice all my childhood? It seems impossible.

I think for me it was being reluctant to be touched by any of my grubby snot-dripping little classmates. I didn't develop my aversion to kids in adulthood, it was right there when I was one as well.

what is your protection against crazies, though?

le nubian, I'm watching that same cat thing right now. Poor cat.

what is your protection against crazies, though?

None!

In Almaty, all of the taxis work exactly the same. You raise your hand. A driver stops. You talk about where you going and you either get in or not. It worked for all our USAID people there and whenever I had to visit.

Please make me stop poking the crazies on Facebook. (I am, BTW, "immature and irrational." Well, DUH.)

Steph, he's not worth arguing with.

I'm just feeling froggy today and want to poke. I haven't even tried to argue; I'm just name-calling. (Which, he's right, is immature. Though not necessarily irrational.)

Perhaps I will go make granola and it will take away the desire to feed him his spleen.

I've managed to never get lice, and my sister got them at least twice. We never worked out how, since she's not supposed to be able to get the same lice as the other kids in her class, as far as we were informed. Maybe she has had secret white people hair this whole time...

I am putting off sending an email to the CIO, even though we've been exchanging them all morning.