NYC Transit Museum
Friday was my birthday, so on Saturday we took a field trip to Brooklyn and Manhattan.
In downtown Brooklyn, we went to see the transit museum, which--appropriately--is located underground.
I didn't know this, but the first leg of the subway (beneath Manhattan) was built in 1904. Over 7,000 workers for a 1.5 mile length of track.
Given working conditions back then, I don't know how anyone survived.
You can click on this (and any of these photographs) for a larger image:
Here's a selection of employee badges from many different eras (as the subway has been expanded almost continuously for the last century):
When I first saw this next exhibit, it seemed wild. Why would your employee badge have a designated hospital on it in case of compression sickness? Then I remembered--from an earlier exhibit--that Irish, Italians, and blacks were the primary frontline workers. Because of segregation and ethnic discrimination, I'm almost certain there would have been different hospitals for each group.
Here's a beautiful poem:
I don't remember who did this lithograph (I think it's a lithograph), but it's spectacular:
This is one of those underrated museums that seems to be around every corner here.
Memories of a Death
Mom 96.0 told me a poignant story on Sunday.
Her dad died when she was about four of a sudden heart attack. I'm not sure how old he was, but I'm guessing he was very young, probably still in his thirties.
Mom was so young that she doesn't remember much, but two details still stand out.
The first was chocolate cake. Everyone in the neighborhood brought food over, and one of the items was a chocolate cake. Mom had never had it before (she grew up in the Depression, when desert wasn't exactly a priority), and she said it was the most delicious thing she'd ever eaten.
The second detail was that in those days, the body was embalmed and then returned to the house for a few days. I know this is still done, at times, but it seems so chilling to me. You're four years old, your father died suddenly, and now he's in the living room for a few days? It sounds emotionally devastating.
This Doesn't Feel Like the Future
I worked with a developmental editor and she gave so much excellent feedback that the book will be much, much better after the next draft.
It's also going to be a ton of work.
The best part of working with her is that she understood the book. She knew exactly what it was trying to do, she was fully invested in the narrative, and she gave me enough praise to soften the critical blows.
I still think I'm looking at completion by the end of the year, but I now have a rare opportunity to improve the manuscript beyond what I thought was possible. Both her comments and my reflection on her comments have generated a ton of new ideas and connections.
I still have one thing in particular left to solve. I finally had an idea today that should move me in the right direction.
This shit is hard.
Queens
When I was in Austin, I only heard English (mostly) and Spanish (occasionally).
I'd walk down streets and hear person after person speaking English, and it felt strange. This is what happens when you live in the enormous melting pot that is Queens.
I missed hearing five languages a block. Not just a little, either.
I was walking back from somewhere on Saturday (after I'd gotten home) and saw a little strip center that is the epitome of this borough:
If you can't quite make it out, here are the stores (in order from left to right):
--laundromat (everywhere here)
--Irish tavern
--Chinese halal restaurant
--pharmacy
--Thai restaurant
--French cafe
--Moroccan restaurant
That's totally on-brand for what it's like here. If it was closer to where I live there would be at least one Greek restaurant, too.
Airports and Casinos
I bet I've written about this before.
I was struck by how there was no concept of time in the Austin airport. No concept, that is, except in relation to when one's plane leaves. It was before 9 a.m. and bars were packed. People were eating barbecue and burgers and fried chicken and pizza and it didn't matter that it wasn't breakfast time.
That's when it hit me: I was inside a casino, basically, where time doesn't exist. Want a hamburger at 6 a.m.? No problem. Want to drink before breakfast? Also no problem. Airports are on a near-24 hour schedule, just like casinos.
The logical step here is to start putting casinos inside airports. Surely that can't be far away.
Travel
I went to Austin Mon-Thursday last week to see my sister and Mom 96.0
I heard wild stories about security wait times at both airports (JFK, Austin-Bergstrom) before I went.
My wait at JFK: five minutes.
My wait at Austin: twelve minutes.
I believe I understand why I missed the massive lines, and maybe it will help you if you're unfortunate enough to need to travel before the funding standoff is resolved.
1. Do not, under any circumstances, take an early morning flight
Those flights before 7 a.m. may seem super sexy because you'll have most of the day at your destination, but those are also the flights where security lines are, by far, the longest. 3+ hours at some airports. No matter how tempting they sound, just don't.
2. Late morning flights appear to be your best bet
Both of my flights left between 11-12 a.m. The lines were so short they barely existed. A TSA agent told me it was the best time, by far, to travel.
3. Get TSA Pre or Global Entry
At both airports, TSA Pre was still functioning. It can make an enormous difference, and it's much less stressful on a regular day. It's not expensive, and it's valid for five years.
4. Finding out wait times in advance is tricky now
Most airports have real-time updates on current security wait times (the one for JFK is fantastic), but those aren't being updated until the standoff ends. So it's not something you can check on from home.
If you do need to travel, good luck. I was lucky, but it's crazy out there.
Returning
I'm coming back today from Austin (I went to visit Mom 96.0 and my sister). It was in the 90s every day, which felt like heaven.
I'm assuming the world burned down while I was gone. I'll find out soon enough.
Back to normal next week. Friday Links is queued up to post soon and have a great weekend.
Crimson Desert: Bonkers
I've been following Crimson Desert closely.
The control scheme is almost universally regarded as terrible. There are loads of bugs. Parts of the enormous world are almost empty. Reviews were very mid.
You can pet cats. You can fish. You can use the sun's reflection off your sword to grill food. You can climb mountains. You can ride dragons and use them in combat. There is seemingly an endless number of NPC's to interact with. Players have reported spending 10-20 hours in just the first town and still not doing everything.
Random quotes from a ResetEra thread on the game:
I sold my mining knuckledrill.
Found a forest area where children tranquilize you if they spot you?
Jinro the dog is right at the north entrance into Hernand.
Use a grindstone and anvil before boss fights.
You can buy a Hernandian Banquet Cloak from the tailor merchant in the first town.
Picked up a beehive club from somewhere, when you hit something with it bees come out and attack you.
Its totally bizarre, the arm wrestling for example
You can carry animals on the horse? I've been running them on foot.
It also looks spectacular or awful, depending on your platform and settings.
It's Breath of the Wild and Wither 3 and Dragon's Dogma. On meth.
I still want to play it.
[POLITICS] A Bold New Tactic in War
Has there ever been a war where the attacking country told the defending country to "show restraint?" What's the thought process behind that, exactly?
It sounds like something from a Marx Brothers movie, which makes sense, since the theme of this Administration from day one has been, "Who do you believe? Me or your own eyes?"
[also, I wrote this late last week, so I had no knowledge of what happened the last four days when I made this post.]
Pucks
Eli 24.7 told me that someone in the student hockey organization (a friend of his) was able to get the puck from the Varsity Match.
I didn't even think that was a possibility, since Cambridge won. I assumed they'd take the puck. He has it now, though.
He told me the pucks he's gotten since he started playing for Oxford:
--Finals puck from a tournament his team won in Prague where he was MVP
--Puck from the game where he had his 1,000th Oxford save
--Puck from the game where he became the all-time Oxford saves leader
--Puck from last year's Varsity Match (a 3-2 win where he had 65 saves)
--Puck from last weekend's 101-save game
I told him they'll look great in a trophy case someday, and even though it normally wouldn't be his style, he said he was thinking the same thing.
