[FRIAM] the Commons and Convenience

[Steven A Smith]

I'd say "it's hard to share"... any "Commons" and maybe even moreso when
the Commons in question require big investment and technological
development...   but I'm not quite sure why... it is as if whatever the
Commons delivers, we expect more?

It is also hard to give up "convenience", once habituated toit.   I can
barely imagine tying up a hardwired phone line to get 300 or 1200bps
internet service today... I think I'd probably do without somehow.  I
once walked, ran, rode my bike miles and miles to get where I needed to
go (school, work, etc.) but now that I have been conditioned to jumping
in a heated/AC car and driving 60-80 mph with a good quality sound
system and dozens of radio stations, hundreds of CDs ripped to the hard
drive and Bluetooth audio to allow me to chat with family and friends or
do some business or listen to a podcast, I'd have a hard time even going
back to driving 55 or having to leave my windows down to keep from
feeling a little hot on a warm day, much less live with my own singing
or a small handful of scratchy AM stations.

I think if I *lost* some of those conveniences for a while, I'd welcome
the lesser things back in a heart beat.

> Of course. And it's not only with broadband:
>
> Separate and Unequal Train Service Returns
> https://www.dcreport.org/2019/10/18/separate-and-unequal-train-service-returns/
>
> Yet another personal anecdote -- Up until about a month or so ago, I was an advocate for public transportation, in particular trains, buses, light rail, etc. But Renee' needed her car worked on, the shop being *VERY* close to a trolley stop in Portland. So, rather than me burning lots of gas driving my 12 mpg truck up there to pick her up [†], then driving it back up there to drop her off, I recommended she take the trolley to the light rail, then I could pick her up at the light rail stop, here. It's important to note that her employer provides free public transit rides and all she needs is her nursing badge to board any bus or train in the Metro area.
>
> But even though the auto shop is only a few blocks from the trolley stop, she *refused* to take it. It was much more convenient for her to have me slice out 2 hours (1 hour per trip) of my day, burn a bunch of gas, etc. than it was to ride the train(s). And she's (ostensibly) also an advocate for public transportation.
>
> This episode challenged my understanding of infrastructure. I don't think Renee's alone in this. I've heard people complain of the tiniest things about their public trans trips ... someone smacking their food ... someone with body odor ... the drunk guy passed out on the seat ... someone clipping their toenails ... etc. They all sound like rationalizations, to me. Whatever the deeper cause, there's something about us as a people that prevents effective sharing. So, I'm now considering changing all my advocacy from public transportation to massive swarms of publicly owned, self-driving, electric cars. And I'll start trashing Amtrak and Portland's TriMet every chance I get. 8^)
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> [†] I could have picked her up on my 55 mpg motorcycle. But my guess is she would have chafed at having to carry and put on her gear for such a short ride ... plus it was a bit cold and all that other "discomfort".
>