Author Archives: jik

BBYO is as bad about junk mail as they are about spam

I’ll give BBYO credit for one thing: they’re nothing if not consistent. Readers of my blog may recall my tale of woe of my many attempts over many months to get BBYO to stop spamming my wife. The spam finally stopped, but I’m sorry to say that I have now been attempting for more than… Read More »

“A message to my friends about Question 2, the Bottle Bill Update”

This is from my friend Phil Sego: Dear Friends, I’m asking my friends, neighbors, allies, and family to please vote YES on ballot question 2, update the bottle bill. If you care about litter, the environment, and saving money for our cities and towns, I urge you to join me in supporting this important ballot… Read More »

StoryPress: “Can we profit from your work product without compensating you?”

Much ado has been made recently about Lena Dunham’s intention to invite seven lesser known artists to warm up the crowds during her upcoming book tour, without actually paying them. More generally, it seems like there has been a growing backlash against the idea that it’s OK to offer artists “opportunities” for “exposure” without actually… Read More »

EZ-Pass Massachusetts credit card replenishment stupidity

I’ve had my share of run-ins with the incompetent bureaucracy of EZ-Pass Massachusetts (née “MTA Fastlane”), but somehow they’ve avoided being deservedly mocked on my blog. Well, the free ride is over. Several months ago, I had to change the credit-card number associated with my EZ-Pass account, because of a lost credit card. Unfortunately, EZ-Pass tried… Read More »

My analysis of 2014 Massachusetts ballot questions

Here’s my take on the state-wide ballot questions that will be on the ballot in Massachusetts on November 4, 2014. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments. UPDATE: I originally recommended a vote against  Question 2, but I’ve changed my mind. See below for the details. Question 1: Eliminating Gas Tax Indexing The… Read More »

MBTA’s “Transit Diary” a failure before it has even begun

The MBTA is currently beta-testing a project & corresponding web application called “Transit Diary“. Its purpose is to collect data directly from riders about their experiences riding the T, presumably to help the T evaluate how well it is serving riders’ needs and where service-improvement efforts should be focused. Unfortunately, Transit Diary employs obsolete, inferior… Read More »