Endless Gibberish

I live right outside New York City and hurricane Irene was the first major hurricane I can remember experiencing. I lost power in my neighborhood for only a full day and I’m grateful that it wasn’t longer as some people lost power for days. Here are some lessons I’d like to share:

• Write down important phone contacts. A lot of people who regularly use cell phones don’t memorize a lot of important numbers. If you lost power and your cell phone died you’d have problems contacting people even if you had access to anther phone.
• Don’t forget to get a water filter. Lots of people just focus on getting bottled water but you’d be surprised how fast you go through bottled water. If you have a Brita filter or equivalent you can even start storing water in various containers in preparation beforehand. You’re also able to do things like fill your bathtub with water in anticipation of bring cutoff from water and safely filter that water for consumption.
• Keep some cash on hand. It can be useful for buying things not only from other people but from stores where the power might be out.
• Have plans on where to meet up in case of evacuation. In the case of an evacuation have multiple plans on where to meet up.
• Have a backup method of cooking food and boiling water. For most people with a backyard grill this can easily be done by a bag of charcoal or gas of propane. If your gas is cutoff you might be stuck eating cold food.
• Get portable flashlights for walking outdoors. When my power went out the street lights went with it. I noticed some people walking around outside without any flashlights in hand. This is extremely dangerous as drivers may not see you.

I was fortunate to not have any food spoilage because when my power went out I was able to hook up a portable generator my father uses for camping to the refrigerators. The Verizon FiOS device in my house had a battery backup unit which allowed it to continue working despite the blackout. I was able to get internet by plugging the router into the backup generator. Having a laptop and access to the internet made the blackout easily bearable.

On May 16th, 2010 I will be participating in the AIDS Walk New York which is a charitable event to raise money for organizations that promote prevention and fighting AIDS. AIDS Walk events will also be in San Francisco (July 18th), Wisconsin (September 19th) and Los Angeles (October 17th).

Here’s the deal. The minimum donation is $25. If you donate $25 or more I will create a new post linking to your blog thanking you for your donation and giving a general description of your blog. You get to feel good about yourself in addition to the link to your blog. Put your blog’s title in your donation so it’s easier to tell who it’s from. Leave a comment on this post also.

You’re also free to donate if you don’t have a blog and just want the good karma.

Here’s a link to my fundraising page.

In January I took a trip to Boston. I took Amtrak to Boston from New York City and got back using a bus line called the Bolt Bus. I decided to take both methods of transport to compare the experiences.

Pricing

First let’s see how much it costs to get to Boston and back using various different methods available (Rail via Amtrak, Bus via Bolt Bus and commercial airlines).

Amtrak charged $64 for a seat in coach on their regular train service and $92 or so for the express train (less stops). The difference in time is that the express train gets to Boston 45 minutes faster at 3 hours and 30 minutes versus 4 hours and 15 minutes.

The Bolt Bus charges $8-$15 each way. Tickets are on the cheaper end if you book earlier (a week or two in advance). The ride is approximately 4 hours give or take depending on traffic conditions.

As a reference airfare tickets from NYC area airports to Boston are generally $250-$300 and duration of flight is 1 hour and 15 minutes. However let’s not forget what a hassle air travel is compared to bus/train due to airport security.

I was surprised at how pricey Amtrak was. Sure it’s cheaper than taking a flight but when comparing against longer distances such as NYC to Chicago it’s cheaper a lot faster to take a flight. Also the Bolt Bus is astronomical cheap compared to Amtrak. I’m surprised it’s not more economical to move people in bulk using the rails or Amtrak can’t figure out how to get prices down to that level.

Amenities

The Amtrak train is spacious and has big windows letting you enjoy the scenery. Each row of chairs had it’s own power port and an overhead rack for small baggage. There are bathrooms in every car and a snack car offering various snacks. What’s truly disappointing is that there’s no wifi at all! I expected wifi because the Bolt Bus amazingly offers free wifi.

The Bolt Bus was truly a bargain in terms of pricing and amenities. There are leather seats and power ports to accompany each seat. The free wifi also helps in keeping you busy for the 4 hour ride. Although not as spacious and roomy as Amtrak it’s not exactly cramped either.

Conclusion

I’m going to avoid taking Amtrak in the future. For short haul trips such as Boston I’ll take the bus. For longer destinations I’ll fly. It’s a huge deal breaker that Amtrak doesn’t have wifi and the prices are out of line with what they should be. The extra comfort space offered by Amtrak doesn’t justify the price and time it takes to get from point to point.

Here’s the real kicker: Amtrak is a government owned and subsidized entity. I don’t know if that means they should be able to offer cheaper tickets or the state they are in now is right where they should be.