The best thing about an aimless walk is seeing the things you normally don’t.  Here are a few.  Click “FS” for full-screen shots.

I spotted this new NJ Transit ticket machine at Hoboken Terminal (despite the IHOP camouflage, I wasn’t fooled).  The picture is blurry because I took it on the sly, all the while worried that a transit cop would taser me for an authorized photograph.  I don’t know what they say you can or can’t photograph these days.  I was on the light rail this past weekend and the conductor yelled at someone for “taking pictures on the train”.  Seriously.

I don’t know whether NJ Transit is upgrading the all of their ticket machines, but I genuinely hope the wretched dinosaurs at the light rail stops are upgraded soon.  They are slow beyond comprehension - credit card authorization is procured via carrier pigeon, and the tickets are hand-written by blinded orphans caged inside.   Sometimes they take cash but not cards, sometimes it’s the reverse, either way, unless you get to station with a ticket in-hand, you can bank on missing the next tram as you wait helplessly for your ducats.

There’s nothing about new ticket machines on the light rail website, but there is an arcade there …  ?

I was somewhat surprised to find this survey in the lobby of my building.  My graduate thesis centered on community policing, and I used to be a prosecutor, so I know a little about this subject. 

I think it’s safe to say that sending out this survey is about the only element of  “community policing” the HPD has deployed during my time in this town, as far as I know (notably, the HPD’s “Community Policing” page is “under construction“).  Setting aside the SWAT scandal and the larcenous salaries paid to some officers, it’s not a community-friendly force.  I almost never see an officer outside of a patrol car (except when they’ve parked in the cross-walk outside of Luca’s to run in and grab food).  Granted, during the summer, I see a few of them on a Segway (or HPD’s steroid-bulked version thereof), but that’s little different than driving.

One of the fundamental elements of community policing is actual interaction with the populace (beyond billy-clubbing obnoxious drunks on St. Patrick’s).  Quite frankly, for a town this small, there should be foot patrols, at least on Washington and a few of the more heavily-trafficked streets.  I’ve never seen a foot patrol in town (standing around on Pier A doesn’t count) but I would like to see them.  A police force that insulates itself from the populace (sitting in cars and roving around town all day) does little to engender trust with the community (especially in the wake of the SWAT scandal).  An insulated force  doesn’t police effectively, either.  Citizens stop being people and are collectively viewed as “them”, guilty and innocent alike.

If the HPD website is any indication, the community policing program is mere lip-service, but there’s no harm in filling out the survey.

One thing I genuinely love about living in Hoboken is not needing a car.  Given the horrendous parking situation and the velociraptor ticket patrols around here, this is a town that aggressively dissuades you from owning a car.  Setting those issues aside, you really don’t need one anyway unless you work somewhere other than Hoboken or the city.  Zipcar, people.

And then there are days like this, when I desperately wish I had a car.  Of course, today was my day to take the kid to school, and as Western society more or less dictates that we sacrifice for our children, I knew which one of us would be getting doused this fine, horrible morning.  Kiddo got the umbrella, and I got the shaft.  She actually had the audacity to complain about having to hold it, and I found myself wishing she was old enough to hit.

Calling for a cab in this weather is futile; I made the obligatory call, only to hear, “Wait, you want a WHAT?”  They couldn’t even give me an estimate as to when I might expect a cab to show up, so I shelved the idea without bothering to try other companies.  I’ve been this town long enough to know better.

At least we’ve put the terrible flooding problems behind us.   Of course, every intersection on my route featured a “storm drain” choking like Jimi Hendrix, so crossing the street required a huge parabolic arc on my part, walking halfway down the street to find a dry-ish crossing.   Pushing a stroller while sharing the road with SUV”s on slick pavement is a little unnerving, and especially annoying when just about every one of those SUV’s is toting a toasty, dry parent and said parent’s kid, on their way to the same school.   Jerks.

At least my water-proof boots kept out everything except the rain., and my pants should just about be dry in time for the commute home.

It’s either procrastination or OCD, but I need to get somewhat comfortable with the WordPress interface before I get rolling.