Since last Tuesday, October 27, our beautiful Bay Bridge has been closed to traffic.  I happened to be heading back to Berkeley from San Francisco on Tuesday and was forced, like many commuters, to go all the way up to Marin and over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.  I feel very fortunate that I don’t need to commute.

The commuters, on the other hand, have been forced to find alternative transportation until the necessary maintenance has been completed. And the BART has been very accommodating.

This past week’s riders have set all-time records in BART ridership–all days up roughly 55% in transbay ridership and 25% in overall ridership, something that I believe may help the Bay Area in the long-run.  Wednesday’s (10/28) ridership set a record at 437,200, only to be trumped by 442,000 on Thursday (10/28).  Friday’s (10/29) ridership slid slightly past Wednesday’s to achieve the 2nd-highest ridership title at 437,700.  Saturday’s ridership was noted as the fifth-highest Saturday at 227,100 riders.

With the Bridge closed indefinitely we can probably expect to see these same numbers, or higher, for Monday’s (11/2) morning commute.

What is unclear and intriguing is how much these numbers will change after the Bridge reopens, and how well BART is reacting.  BART officials have a real opportunity to introduce BART to commuters who have never used it and position BART as a faster and cheaper alternative to driving over the Bridge.  Being proactive during this emergency closure and by providing riders with information and resources, BART can attract would-be drivers to using BART as their primary method of commute.

Of course, some drivers will just be too afraid to drive on the Bridge.  And BART could drop the ball.  But with it’s twice-daily news releases since the Bridge closure and its often-updated Twitter feed, there’s no lack of information.

In the meantime, the lack of cars on the Bridge have given us a “Spare the Air” WEEK.  And that, at least, is something that we can’t complain about.

iPhones and iPod Nanos in the gym are a common sight

Apple continues to innovate in ways that we never dreamed of just a few years ago.  With the recent launch of it’s iPod Nano with video capability and the sustained popularity iPhone models, we continue to see the death of the standalone music player.  But while as an iPhone owner I love being able to easily switch between listening to music and chatting with my friends on the same device, there comes a huge liability.

Bathrooms, Gyms, and other Non-Camera Areas

Many iPod and iPhone users (including myself) love being able to take music with them anywhere they go–including to the gym.  I’ve even spotted audiophiles plugged into their devices while standing at a urinal.  You and I would probably think nothing of it.

But imagine if you saw someone walking around a gym, bathroom, or child’s playground with a camera or camcorder.  Would you do a double take?  Avoid the person?  Confront the person?  Report them?

The reality is that as time goes on, more and more handheld devices like phones and music players will incorporate cameras and camcorders.  So while you may naively assume that the guy at the back of the gym is rocking out, he might also be taking pictures or video of the people in front of him.  What about when he takes that device into the bathroom, dressing room, or showers?

It’s not a new concern, but it’s one that gyms in particular will need to tackle as the threat of iVoyeurism continues to grow.

What is Being Done?

In short, not much.  Self-regulation and reporting suspicious behavior are the best ways to keep these areas safe for everyone.

Many gyms have for years banned cameras and camcorders for obvious reasons.  Some have gone on to ban camera phones like the iPhone.  But with the iPod line of Apple music players being ubiquitous among gym-goers and the new iPod Nano’s tiny size (less than 4″ x 2″) the hardest part becomes policing.

Some gyms–such as Life Time Fitness–have banned the iPod Nano from use within locker rooms.  It will still be allowed in the gym workout areas.

But let’s face it, while we certainly don’t want pictures or videos of us changing in locker rooms to show up online, who wants a video of them sweating like a pig on an elliptical on the web either?  Not me.

What do you think should be done to combat this problem?

Color-coded map of the same-sex marriage laws in the United States.

If you didn’t hear the news today, Maine became the fifth U.S. state (sixth if you count the brief time that it was legal in California before Proposition 8 passed) to legalize same-sex marriage, and the third this year alone.

I really enjoy looking at the map above. Too much red and not enough purple!  But to put it in perspective, let’s consider this map:

I hate to break it to the doomsday-fearing, apocalyptic types (actually, wait, I LOVE spoiling their fun with a nice dose of reality) but this whole Swine Flu Pandemic thing is ridiculous.  The more I hear about it the more I just want to throttle the media for their epic bid for coverage.  Will they stop at nothing?  Is it a conspiracy by Tami-flu and face mask manufacturers to hype this outbreak up and blow it WAY out of proportion?

I’m not claiming to be an expert on the subject or a doctor.  And if all the sudden the world becomes infected and we all turn into zombies then I’ll be happy to say, “my bad.”  But until that happens, lemme put this in perspective:

There have been 257 confirmed cases of Swine Flu worldwide according to CNN as of 4/30/09.  Most of those were in Mexico and there have been 109 confirmed cases and 1 death in the United States as of the same date.  There are about 310,000,000 people in the U.S.  As a percentage, about 0.0000351612903% of the United States population is currently receiving treatment for Swine Flu.

As Jack Cafferty noted in his blog today, “More than 13,000 people in the U.S. have died of complications from seasonal flu since January; and it’s expected to continue killing hundreds of people a week. In total, about 36,000 people a year die from the flu in this country; and worldwide, the annual death toll is somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000.”

Also dying in the United States this year are:

936,923 due to cardiovascular disease (McDonald’s is a much more threatening pandemic)

553,091 due to cancer (Why aren’t we wearing masks whenever people smoke around us?  The sun is even a pandemic!)

43,354 due to motor vehicle accidents (Is the auto industry going bankrupt because it’s causing a pandemic?!)

13,322 due to falls (Watch out!  Those stairs are a pandemic!)

3,842 due to drowning (Don’t go swimming…it’s a pandemic!)

etc. etc. etc.

For reference, and to compare side-by-side to the “Swine Flu Pandemic”, since February 2003 about 675,000 men, women and children have been raped and murdered in the Sudan.  Break it down further and that’s  300 people a day.  300 people are murdered every single day in the Sudan with no end in sight. If anything is a “pandemic” it’s the war and genocide that kills thousands every day across the world that the media and world governments turn a blind eye to.  It’s the deaths and murders that occur right here in the U.S. because of poverty, or lack of education, or lack of psychiatric/medical care, or race, or sexual orientation, or…

So if I hear anything more about this “pandemic” of a flu virus I’m going to go insane.

Craigslist is pretty hit-or-miss.  If you’re familiar with the free online community then you know that you can go on it anytime you want to find anything from a free couch to a place to live to a date to a date.

I recently moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area and Craigslist is essential out here.  It’s all but replaced printed classifieds.

My first experience with Craigslist out here turned out to be a sordid mess.  Long story short, I was looking for a living situation with a roommate in the Berkeley area and found what seemed to be a great situation.  Great price, great house, great roommate.  As they say, it was too good to be true.  While the price and the house were great, the roommate turned out to be a complete wacko.  It should have set off red flags when he wouldn’t disclose his full name until I demanded that he do so.  I lived there for exactly one week before packing everything up and moving into a friend’s apartment until I could find another.  But, you live and you learn.

Reluctantly,  I went back on Craigslist.  This time I searched for a studio, just for me.  I found a great place and I’m happy to say that I’m now safe and sound.

With the news lately about the Craigslist killer (I hate to cite Fox News, but here is a link to the article) I’m really beginning to wonder what types of things Craigslist can do to ensure the safety of its visitors.  It’s quickly becoming the hitch-hiking of the 21st century where you just don’t know anything about the person that you are dealing with and its becoming more dangerous every day.

As it stands now, you need only provide as much information as you want in any ad, and you don’t even have to put your “real” email; Craigslist will generate an anonymous email that forwards replies to your ad to your email account.  And while I think that it’s important for the seller to be able to be anonymous (from potentially sketchy buyers) I also think that buyers should have some ability to gauge the sketchiness of the seller.

So, as with many online merchant communities there is a seller rating.  Perhaps this would be an option.  Or, as with CouchSurfing, there are levels of verification.  Perhaps to get a 1-star verification level, a seller or buyer puts in a credit card number that establishes–to Craigslist–the identity of the person.  A 2-star verification could include feedback from buyers/sellers from previous transactions, etc.

The only hinderance to this would be in the sex trade that Craigslist is also known for.  Would people disclose their identity to Craigslist only to post a sexualy explicit ad?  Who knows.  But in the meantime, there is real danger in entrusting your personal information (even your name and address) to random strangers on Craigslist.  My advice would be to make sure that you get full name, address, and/or phone number BEFORE you meet someone for ANY type of transaction found through Craigslist and provide that information to friends along with where and when you’ll be meeting.  That way, if things get sketchy you can say, “My friends have your information and know exactly where I am and what I’m doing right now.”