Samir Luther

Federal loan forgiveness for public service -- finally implemented

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:56:00 +0000

It seems the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 is finally getting fully implemented, and is retroactive to October 2007... It's about time! Have I mentioned I'm a big fan of John Berry?

A new program allows people who work in federal and other public service jobs to reduce their monthly federal student loan payments and have the balance of those loans forgiven after 10 years of service.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Option, announced July 1 by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, will cover full-time federal and other public service employees with federal student loans in the direct loan program, where the Education Department is the lender. Federal direct loans covered by the option include Stafford, Grad PLUS, or consolidation loans.
Public service employees with federal loans in the Guaranteed Federal Family Education Loan program, where lenders are private entities such as Sallie Mae or Citibank, will be able to consolidate their loans into the Direct Loan program to qualify for loan forgiveness. Information on how to consolidate loans can be found at http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov.
{snip}
People who work for state, local or tribal governments, public schools or universities, nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or are enlisted in the military would also qualify for loan repayments.

Program reduces employees’ student loan tabs, Federal Times, 15 Jul 2009
"Federal Student Loan Repayment Assistance/Forgiveness for Public Servants," my post from February 2008

Determining Salary

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:45:00 +0000

I've never liked how many organizations, particularly non-profits, approach salaries. Too many people don't know what they should be earning (and don't negotiate salary), particularly at non-profits that presumably can't afford to pay as much as for-profits (which doesn't work for me as a long-term strategy to retain good non-profit workers).

Here's what I think: all employers can be more up-front about their salary structure, but most organizations just don't know how. Ultimately, not having a clear salary structure leads to frustration and wasted energy as employees question their compensation relative to others.

Joel Spolsky presents a really interesting approach to determining salary in this month's issue of Inc. magazine. Although I imagine it would be hard to fairly implement and assess where people fall on the experience/scope/skill scales, the idea of an open system is really appealing.

One thing that struck me repeatedly when reading this was the beauty of transparent and consistent systems. Imagine a non-profit hoping to hire someone with a for-profit background, presumably for a higher-end position. Without a clearly defined system, it would be easy to simply hire that person at the higher end of a salary range (if there is one). Spolsky's system could clearly accommodate this within all three tiers of evaluation: the person probably falls on the higher end of the experience/scope/skill scales, but you need to evaluate these scales respective to the position the person will fill and relative to others in similar roles and project areas.

I'd be really interested to see how this would play out. Now I need a promising mechanism for keeping and developing talent in-house rather than permanently relying on consultants.

"Why I Never Let Employees Negotiate a Raise," Joel Spolsky, April 2009 Inc.com
"Finding Non-Profit Work as an Experienced Professional," my December 2007 post
Salary guides Salary.com and Glassdoor.com
"Non-profit Salaries: What Should I Earn?," CommonGood.com

Corporate Equality Index 3.0 - New Criteria

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:32:00 +0000

There's not much to say that I haven't already said in my Bilerico post and comments, or the actual HRC page. Please check them out:

And of course, check out my SlideShare presentation, which I think is awesome:

State of the Workplace 2007-2008

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:48:00 +0000

My latest report was released today!

I'm proud of it -- it was one of the fastest turnaround publication's I've done (I authored and designed the content, my fabulous coworker Sarah Streyle did the cover design, bosses edited), although a lot of this represents work/research that my team and I have accomplished over the last year and a half -- and it's quite a dynamic team!

I'm already coming up with things I should have done with the report and the press release, but I'm really proud of the meat of it, still -- the most exciting fact being that 60% of the Fortune 100 prohibit discrimination against transgender workers. That's change I can believe in.

This is the first time I've done a SlideShare presentation, ever -- I basically used it as a teaser that I hoped other people would post on their blogs, etc, but so far no bite :(. I have no idea if it's the content or just that people aren't used to SlideShare (SlideShare's "play" symbol and "embed" button are hidden at the bottom, rather than showing up at the beginning and end of the presentation over the content screen, respectively, like YouTube). I guess I would have done a YouTube video (with no sound...) but I don't know of a good way to get PowerPoint to YouTube yet.

Any thoughts?

Weekend Wrap-up: 8 Feb 2009

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:42:00 +0000

My favorite articles from this weekend...

Google Search is History, Twitter Search is Now?
Google next victim of creative destruction?
Fast forward to today and take a simple example of how Twitter Search changes everything. Imagine you are in line waiting for coffee and you hear people chattering about a plane landing on the Hudson. You go back to your desk and search Google for plane on the Hudson — today — weeks after the event, Google is replete with results — but the DAY of the incident there was nothing on the topic to be found on Google. Yet at http://search.twitter.com the conversations are right there in front of you.
Finding your career in a terrible economy
What Should I Do with My Life, Now?
For those who want it boiled down to Seven Simple Steps? Step One: stop pretending we're all on the same staircase.
Goverati!
Government 2.0: The Rise of the Goverati
What is the goverati? It is made up of people with first-hand knowledge of how the government operates, who understand how to use social software to accomplish a variety of government missions, and who want to use that knowledge for the benefit of all.

And two new (for me) favorite songs

Stimulus - what are we really talking about (not) funding?

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 07:04:00 +0000

I haven't been the biggest fan of the stimulus, I'll admit -- not being an economist or an expert on all of the policy issues, I've been loathe to get too annoyed by the expenditure of money and the seemingly little debate that was/continues to be given to certain aspects of the stimulus. From Speaker Pelosi's office on Friday:

I got annoyed to the point of complaining, though, once I saw the cuts in the stimulus that were negotiated today -- see "List of spending "cuts" in Senate bill" on Politico, my favorite (read: least favorite), in no particular order, include:

$16 billion School Construction
$1.2 billion in Retrofiting Project 8 Housing
$3.5 billion Higher Ed Construction
$100 million Distance Learning
$2 billion broadband
$1 billion Head Start/Early Start
$5.8 billion Health Prevention Activity
$2 billion HIT Grants
$3.5 billion Federal Bldgs Greening

I could go on from the list, but you can read it yourself. I'm not certain if this markup of the Senate vs the House stimulus bills is what's currently in play, but I'd recommend checking it out -- lest you doubt the source, it appears to be a PDF copy of this Excel file from Sen. Nelson's office.

Clearly, these line-items need some meat to substantiate the millions/billions of taxpayer money that's being bandied about. I need to look for a more up-to-date summary, but this House Appropriations summary document from Jan 15 provides a breakdown of what these billions of dollars are estimated to create, in terms of jobs and job training, etc.

I'd normally turn to OpenCongress for a good summary of the info, but I think the best info seems to be from the conservatives, ReadTheStimulus.org. If anyone can point me in a better direction, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Women Who Tech / Lead

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:16:00 +0000

FastCompany published a "Most Influential Women in Technology" list a few weeks back, with categories as fun as The Entrepreneurs, The Activists and The Bloggers and The Executives.

Speaking of women executives, USA Today (of all newspapers!) ran a story on Jan 2, "Women CEOs slowly gain on Corporate America," that intros the new CEO of DuPont and tracks stock performance of female CEOs over time:

It's not just that the number of female CEOs is barely inching up. Women now receive about six in 10 college degrees, yet near the top there remains slow progress in the number of female directors, officers, highest paid — and women in the pipeline, according to research by Catalyst, Corporate Library and others.

Great stuff. In the interest of promoting even more great women in technology and leadership, I'd recommend following these women on Twitter, whom have great things to share:

Allyson Kapin of the Rad Campaign
Marta Kagan who did this awesome SlideShare presentation I love, What the F**K is Social Media? (see below)
Amy Southerland, who's just fun
Nerdette, I haven't figured out her name just yet, but she's fun, too

Here's Marta's SlideShare presentation (btw, this single-handedly sold me on SlideShare as a viable delivery format):

On a vaguely related but less-vaguely fascinating note, Inside Facebook published a report on Feb 2 about how women over 55 are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook. Judging by the number of my friends' mothers who have added me as a friend on Facebook lately, I can't argue.

Twitter: I'm (Reluctantly) Sold

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:58:00 +0000

After using Twitter for the better part of December, I'm sad to say that I'm already sold. Sad because I don't want another social network to maintain (side note: Twitter just joined up with Google Friend Connect -- but my patience with Google's user data empire is wearing thin). But sold because out of all those small bits of insight into people's lives, there's quite a bit of useful information in there. Plus, at the most basic level, it outsources the "status update" function on Facebook (just install the Twitter application so that your "tweets" automatically update your Facebook status).

This Common Craft YouTube video pretty much explains the basics of Twitter, and why I've come to enjoy using it as a means of personal expression (it also uses the same style of simple illustration I talked about in my post about UPS Whiteboard ads):

YouTube: Twitter in Plain English

So, friends, I'm curious to know: has anyone joined Twitter recently but subsequently decided to drop it? If so, why?

Why Advocates for Change Should Understand Wikipedia

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:59:00 +0000

I did not begin my Wikipedia-editing journey for altruistic reasons. I was in a business meeting, bored out of my mind, thinking about my then-upcoming visit to ExxonMobil's annual shareholder meeting in Dallas where I would present HRC's shareholder resolution to amend Exxon's non-discrimination policy. (If you care about LGBT issues and own or rent a car, buy your gas elsewhere). I'm responsible for updating a lot of our website's information, so it occurred to me during this fit of boredom that perhaps I should see what the good book of Wikipedia says about my favorite corporate mega-behemoth.

Although Exxon's entry was rather thorough, it turned out that I actually had something to clarify about the company's stance on same-sex couples. So, a little warily, I clicked the "edit this page" at the top of the screen for the very first time in my life, created my username/login information, and got started. Two hours later (still bored in the meeting), I was still gleefully plugging away, having jumped naturally to domestic partner benefits and same-sex relationship recognition in the United States.

I've been meaning to write this post ever since, but kept getting caught up in the best way to explain how to edit Wikipedia pages. But, thankfully, I don't have to explain it for you -- Gina at Lifehacker did an unsurprisingly great job back in 2005. I'll say briefly, though, if you've ever had to create web pages by hand using HTML code, Wikipedia is much easier. That's not to say that Wikipedia will make sense to everyone off the bat, but it's not rocket science by any means.

So what am I getting at? A few things:

Tons of people use Wikipedia as a starting point, and the pages are often the first results in search listings (which came first?).
If you're fascinated by anything in particular -- maybe it's a hobby or maybe it's relevant to your job -- you probably know enough about something to be able to contribute to a Wikipedia entry.
If you read entries on Wikipedia, you're benefiting from someone else (probably many others) having contributed something for you.
If you're working for a cause, why not make sure Wikipedia's information about your cause is as accurate (and balanced) as possible?

So it's been about nine months since my first, crazed day of Wikipedia-editing. I don't go to Wikipedia every day to make edits, for sure. But every once in a while, usually when I've just finished working on a new issue alert for work, I'll check out related pages on Wikipedia and see if I can add any useful information. I generally find that the most interesting (and neutral) things I can add to Wikipedia aren't my final products, but rather aspects of the background research that took some time and effort to find. Why make someone else scour for the same things I did when I can just put it out there for everyone to do with it what they will?

I'm perhaps being a little vague here. This is the challenge of writing a personal blog when the line between my personal and professional lives is hardly well-defined (or, in fact, barely existent). But I promise you, it's been extremely gratifying to see other Wikipedia editors improving upon my contributions (or arguing over things like whether they're appropriate for the particular entry I've edited as opposed to being an entry of their own).

So, in closing, I urge you to try it out yourself. The next time you think "wow, this entry really should mention something about X here," go ahead and click it: "edit this page."

Whiteboards, Napkins and Index Cards

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:09:00 +0000

I avoid advertisements whenever possible (forget TiVo, I'll wait for the DVD), but this UPS "Whiteboard" ad caught my attention from beginning to end:

Why so special? Without using a single stock photo, this guy caught my attention and explained something complex in layperson's terms using simple visual imagery -- connecting a service to something you can understand and perhaps consider for your own business (the Postal Service background music doesn't hurt, either).

Turns out folks aren't just using this technique for customers. According to "The Napkin Sketch" (Fast Company, April 2008), companies are using it to break down, analyze and improve internal processes.

Today, my friend Avni (who has been posting a lot of useful content via Facebook lately) pointed her loyal Facebook readers to This is Indexed, which features a new visualization on an index card each morning -- some serious, some not so serious, but most generally intriguing.

I've been trying to use this technique in my own presentations this year and hope to be able to share some of them soon. For now, I leave you with my favorite of the UPS Whiteboard ads (it's so simple!):

Happy Thanksgiving!

Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:57:00 +0000

I don't normally post about work stuff on here, mostly because we have a blog at work, but I've found myself thinking I should at least do a quick blurb here for several months, so here goes.

"Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace, 2nd Edition" is the culmination of my years of work at the Workplace Project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The person who wrote the first edition is actually the person to whom I owe thanks for helping me get this job in the first place, Catherine Sheehy. In many ways, I stand on her shoulders in terms of knowledge, commitment and passion for workplace equality, transgender issues, and employers as change agents. But this second edition represents years of my own work and effort to put pen to paper (so to speak) in a way to help communicate these issues to broader audiences in a clear and effective manner. Well, at least it's the best that I can do. And I'm honored that Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss, a transgender workplace advocate, has reviewed the publication on her blog.

The aspect of this edition that most excites me is that it's all integrated into our website and is constantly updated (not Wiki-style, but as close as I can get!). I'm working on my third set of updates over the next month. And this work continues to challenge me in creating new and thoughtful presentations to get the message of workplace equality out to new and broader audiences -- look for more postings on this from me, soon.

Please take a look, if you're so inclined!

I should add that, although it's already November 9, my friend Addie has challenged me to National Blog Posting Month. The great thing about challenges in general is that they at least get you thinking. I don't know if I really have something useful to share every day, but I'm thinking about it!

E-mail Addresses in E-mail Signatures (also: how to quickly grab contact information from e-mails)

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:50:00 +0000

I'm constantly focused on simple habits and practices that somehow make life and work simpler for everybody.

One of those things that happens to make life easy is having your e-mail address in your signature, so that the e-mail address always appears along with the rest of your contact information.

"But Samir," you say, "I'm sending the e-mail, surely the person receiving it will have my address!" Too true, too true. But what if the person forwards your e-mail to someone else, or perhaps prints it, and the e-mail address gets lost to just your name?

Also, the "LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar" has this fantastic but little-known feature called "Grab." As someone who goes to great lengths to capture and organize contact information at the hundreds of companies I work with in a year, Grab is my savior. You simply highlight the person's signature and contact information, click "Grab," and poof, you've got a new Outlook Contact that has all the highlighted contact information placed within the appropriate contact fields.

Except it won't capture an e-mail address if there's not one in the signature. (Indeed, this is the only major problem I have with the "Grab" feature -- it could conceivably capture the e-mail address of the sender if no address is in the signature, although you could be grabbing contact information that is not the sender's).

The moral of the story: putting your e-mail address in your signature might seem redundant, but it is a thoughtful thing that can save people time and effort.

Yes, I realize I'm a dork.

India and U.S. Immigration Policy

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:54:00 +0000

Although I got back from India on September 2 (over a month ago! .... still feels like last week), I'm still processing the whole experience. When I first got back, I was more relieved than I thought I would be to have returned to my own bed (especially since the last week with mom in Delhi turned out to be more luxurious-feeling than life in D.C...). Then Addie went and climbed the Himalayas, and things in my professional and personal life took a turn that made me want to re-evaluate whether or not I go back soon.

I very pointedly started reading The World is Flat while I was in India (though I started off with The Interpreter of Maladies for some nice U.S./India immigrant/emigrant/citizen thought-provocation), and while it became clear fairly quickly that Thomas Friedman isn't totally off-the-mark, he also manages to somewhat de-emphasize the role that poverty and massive changes are playing in India.

In my last week there, The Times of India reported on a new World Bank report that showed the percentage of Indians living on less than $2 a day was higher than in Sub-Saharan Africa -- although not surprising, still astounding, given all of the progress that people point to in India.

My favorite moment in Delhi was when my mom left me at a bar (where I planned on journaling) while she went shopping. I was having a moment of weakness, and this bar happened to play "classic American Rock" (which somehow translated into U2 and Alanis...). I was sipping on my diet coke, waiting for my fries when I realized six guys were sitting at the table next to me, clearly animated about something. I went up to them and asked their advice on where to get a haircut around there (needed one badly, actually), and they asked me to sit with them. All of them were engineers, about 20 or 21, and each one of them planned on staying in Delhi after graduation. "Where do you want to work," I asked. "What kind of work do you want to do?" The answer? "Wherever we get paid the most." Really. I tried to dig, but got nowhere. These guys were great, though, and I look forward to seeing them again one day when I go back to Delhi.

It's tough to think about that kind of ambition and drive, the seemingly (although clearly not) endless opportunity and growth in India, and compare that to the incredible mess our own U.S. economy is in. I hear/read about these economists and business experts who are talking about Americans having tighten their belt and wonder what all this will come to. We're expecting corporations to cut jobs, salaries, bonuses... but yet our companies can't hire enough skilled engineers... and then we're not even able to keep PhD students in the U.S.

So while I may not totally agree with Thomas Friedman, I do appreciate many of his points. Last week, I had the pleasure of hearing Rachel Tiven of Immigration Equality address the HRC Business Council during our working lunch. She pointed to Thomas Friedman as saying it's a shame we aren't keeping PhD grads, so I had to go and find his statement:

Laughing and Crying

So I leave you with that, and some pictures of the trip!

EveryBlock

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:52:00 +0000

I went to the NetSquaredDC (www.net2dc.com) event last night at the Google DC headquarters -- nice officespace, but it was even niftier in the conference area we used. They were serving fruit and fondue (as well as the more standard vegetables and spread) in a large space with huge (perhaps 50-60"?) flat screens lining the walls and two projectors on the front wall, all wired to the same source -- maximum viewing potential. It was great to be in Google's space -- I had done a blog posting on Google's opposition to the California ballot measure that would end marriage for same-sex couples there earlier that day (Google's statement actually came in the form of a solid statement from co-founder Sergey Brin).

At any rate, we were treated to a presentation by Kristen Taylor of the Knight Foundation (relation to Knight Ridder) on their Knight News Challenge, which is an impressively aggressive grant opportunity for individuals interested in open-source-based media innovation that serves a geographic community. If you're curious where media is headed in the 21st century, definitely check out some of the previous winning projects.

The one project that Kristen happened to show us was EveryBlock, a dynamic aggregator of various forms of information specific or relevant to your actual street and close surroundings, starting with the most recent happenings including police reports, city service calls, restaurant and store reviews, and Flickr photos.

Interestingly, the first thing I noticed and decided to click on was a local blog posting describing a shooting/homicide literally just one block north of me on Sunday, which I happened to pass by on my way home from the gym. Turns out the blog is devoted to safe streets in my neighborhood (8 block radius?). Funny, I didn't think our streets were that bad, compared to elsewhere in DC.

Clearly, this goes far beyond the mashup I blogged about years ago that combined police blotter info and Google Maps (which I think has long since vanished, or I'd link to it). I'm hooked already.

Interestingly, EveryBlock hasn't yet made its platform open-source, but has somehow still gotten the Knight Foundation's blessing because they've promised to do so "when it's completed." When is something like this ever complete, as compared to a constant work in progress like everything else on the web?

Remember this?

F11 and Presentations

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:50:00 +0000

Do you know what happens in a web browser when you press the F11 key? (clearly, I'm not talking about Macs) Well, try it.

You can also just go to the "View" menu on your browser and select "Full screen" (last I checked, this functionality was available in Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome).

Muppets on the web

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:50:00 +0000

It's so cool to see the Muppets with web-specific content!

"What To Do When You're Fired," brought to you by the NY Times

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:24:00 +0000

They told us Gen Y'ers that we'd see a lot of change in our lifetimes, but thus far I haven't been impressed with it.

The New York Times thought it would be helpful to share tips about getting fired, just in case you need it [Bank X/Starbucks/U.S. Automotive/Airline/...] employee:

"If you find yourself being fired, the most important thing to remember (besides that it’s actually O.K. to cry) is that you’ll be in shock, and you won’t be thinking straight, so don’t feel the need to ask every question then and there.

You should make sure to leave the room knowing how to contact someone who can answer your questions later on, when you have a chance to calm down. Try not to become defensive or argumentative; if there are issues to be disputed, you can do that later."

Also, tips for those doing the firing (I hope this never comes in handy):

"The same general advice applies to those charged with doing the firings, namely, keep things short and calm. [...] "It's time for us to part company," is Ms. Flagg’s preferred phrasing."

"Dear Valued Worker: You're Fired" (NYTimes.com, 24 July 2008)

I have no idea what to label this... so let's go for "Tips and Tricks."

In Case of Emergency

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:21:00 +0000

So, I went skydiving (tandem jump) on Saturday morning in Orange, Virginia. The experience was beautiful and thrilling, and I would highly recommend it to anyone, pointing out that the tandem jumpers there that I spoke with were all comforting and extremely experienced (one guy I talked to has nearly 8,000 jumps under his belt).

I never, ever would have done this if my colleague and friend Sharon Groves didn't pester me to hell on a busy workday. The stars aligned in her favor. But once I knew what I had gotten into, you better believe that I finally made a living will and thought about emergency contacts.

So, you've probably heard about ICE - In Case of Emergency. Store emergency contacts in your phone starting with ICE so that if you're in an accident, someone can alert your contact immediately by going through your phone. Apparently the concept is fairly well known, going by the comments to a LifeHacker post on the topic. I'm still skeptical, though.

To further complicate matters, what about if your cell phone is locked and requires a code to use? Many (if not all?) cell phones have a feature that allow you to make an emergency call (911) if the phone is locked with a code (in fact, you can call 911 from any working cell phone even if the phone is no longer enrolled with a service provider).

So, why not make it a requirement for all phones to have a designated emergency number to call that would be clearly accessible to anyone (particularly people who don't know about ICE) even if the phone is locked with a security code?

I'm going to talk to my congresswoman about this. In the meantime, make sure to include emergency contacts on your phone, and also on a card next to your ID or drivers license (that should also include allergies and medical history, if necessary)!

Moonwalking

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:10:00 +0000

Watch this!

Bicycles and Cars -- A Calamitous Coexistence?

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:56:00 +0000

Today, a 22-year old cyclist was killed by a garbage truck as she crossed a sidewalk just 5 blocks from my home, about an hour before I biked to work. I'm normally hard to phase and distract from work, but this definitely got my attention. (I had no idea before today that riding on sidewalks is so dangerous, but I tend to avoid doing it anyway; as an avid pedestrian, I loathe bikers on sidewalks and, in particular, the ones that don't warn you when they're about to pass from behind.)

And I spent last Friday night in the E.R. because Michael got hit by a car door that opened as he passed -- fortunately, he only needed some stitches on his hand (and lots of ice, elsewhere).

I tell lots of folks to join the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. They advocate for bike lanes, bike parking, trails and safety in general in the metropolitan D.C. area, and membership in the organization (only $35!) also gets you 10% off any purchase at most bike stores in the area. They also have lessons and materials on riding safety (that I should probably make more use of, apparently...).

So, do it. Join, and be safe out there...

"Woman Killed by Garbage Truck in Dupont" (8 Jul 2008, DCist.com)
"Cyclist, 22, Dies After Being Hit by Truck Near Dupont Circle" (8 Jul 2008, WashingtonPost.com)

(For fun, check out this happy place the DCist commentary led me to: MyBikeLane. Not certain I'll be contributing...)

California High Speed Rail

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:52:00 +0000

I want high speed rail, I do.

California High-Speed Trains: Visual Tour (YouTube)

Hillary's Goodbye (& Gender Equality)

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:00:00 +0000

I watched Hillary's speech on Saturday at the National Building Museum via CNN at my conference in Minneapolis. I normally get drawn into these speeches but from a purely political perspective; I want to hear what was not said more than what actually was said.

That being said, Hillary had my emotional attention from the moment she took the stage. It was the first time she truly spoke to me about the significance of her campaign with respect to gender equality in the United States. And her acknowledgment of the gay supporters of her campaign (see Associated Press video highlights of the speech below) -- not once, but twice -- managed to incite a surge of pride even in me, an Obama supporter.

We have a long way to go to attain gender equality, where men are equal to women and vice versa, in the United States (thinking of it merely as making women equal to men is insufficient, really -- think about paternity leave for fathers whose spouses are working, for example). But, as Hillary suggests, there are now 18 million little cracks in that glass ceiling.

The full text of Hillary's June 7, 2008 speech at the National Building Museum.

The full video of Hillary's June 7, 2008 speech at the National Building Museum

Highlights of Hillary's speech

Laughing Babies

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:42:00 +0000

These commercials play on CNBC a lot during my morning breakfast. They never fail to get me smiling, no matter how groggy I am, so I thought I'd share them. They're also interesting because they appear to be videos picked up from YouTube uploads from "everyday people." Has anyone else seen mainstream media advertisements that do this?

Also, in case you're wondering who does the voiceover, it's Stockard Channing (took me forever to place the voice...). Now, if only AIG would do better than a 30 on the Corporate Equality Index.

AIG Laughing Baby Ethan Commercial

AIG Laughing Baby Jack Commercial

Review: EnviroCab for Arlington, VA

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:58:00 +0000

I had to go to an urgent care facility today because my foot has been hurting and it got really bad this morning. Problematic because (a) I live in D.C. and I walk everywhere, (b) I have two flights of stairs between my bedroom and my bathroom, and (c) my doctor's office is closed on weekends and it turns out that my HMO's oft-touted "Urgent Care" facilities don't actually exist anywhere in the District of Columbia, nor are they metro accessible. So, I needed a cab. Fortunately, Lubna was able to drop me off (thanks, Lubna!!).

Earlier this week I saw someone getting out of a shiny-looking Toyota Camry hybrid taxicab with a web address (www.envirotaxicab.com) and logo emblazoned on the side. I love when a mental note stored away for that blue moon moment actually comes in handy so quickly...

In the end, it was a great service, but I think a little too new... The positives/negatives:

it was easy to call for a taxi, probably because it's so new I didn't have to wait on hold forever
the service is targeted to Arlington, so I'm not sure I could make inter-DC taxi requests
there's a clear 7" LCD screen for the driver that shows the GPS location of the cab, and the call dispatch information -- which is probably why the taxi showed up so quickly, even though I was at some obscure place off the beaten path
unfortunately, the driver was clearly new and when I asked to be dropped off at 14th & P NW, he asked me how to get there -- utterly bizarre. Especially since he had a GPS thing. Oh well.
so the clincher is that, aside from driving more fuel-efficient cars than other taxi companies, the company also purchases carbon offsets. And it doesn't charge more to its customers. So I just wonder how sustainable this is.

The end. Check it out: www.envirotaxicab.com. Oh, and my foot will be fine. Yay.

Disturbing Video about Train Riding in Japan?

noreply@blogger.com (samir) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:39:00 +0000

"Disturbing" is the only word I've got for this one... (watch video)

glumbert - Rush Hour Squeeze

"Transit Overcrowding Could Always Be Worse" (Governing.com: 13th Floor, 21 April 2008)