Mr. Zero Sum

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

Today *** writes,

"The price of regular at the local BP gas station is $2.99.9 a gallon. The Cheap Oil Age is gone... Americans will have to become less dependant [sic] on petroleum... fast. They will have to walk and ride bikes. They will have to take trains and buses." Source


We can't wait for ***'s new blogs, "Plug-in Electric Cars are a Joke," and "Biodiesel, Ethanol, CNG & Hydrogen-Powered Cars are Bogus."

It ain't a conspiracy pushing people to find ways to preserve their individual mobility-- it's human ingenuity. *** can't blame PRT for that. But let's hope he tries.

Errata:
We now have a motto! Dig it: "PRT Is a Joke Is a Joke" is perhaps the leading skeptic of Personal Rapid Transit skeptics.

3266 visits


gPRT

Avid, or just jealous? (Project Balatro #1)

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

We are proud to present, in all its glory, the first piece in the puzzle that is *** ******, anti-PRT activist unextraordinaire. It is an apt place at which to begin our group-written biography of ***, as it attempts to reconstruct the seminal event he often cites as the reason for his crusade.

But first a few words of wisdom from a big-time author:

Since 1934, any number of films have used some version of this disclaimer: "The events and characters depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."...

Clearly, the "coincidence" and "fictitious" disclaimers are inadequate summaries of the truth status of many films to which they are appended. Nor do they fully protect against a defamation suit, as the makers of the World War II movie They Were Expendable were to learn when sued by Commander Robert Kelly in 1948, and as the makers of The Bell Jar learned when sued earlier this year.

But the other guise in which historical films often present themselves is not wholly satisfactory either. Here no one can be held liable... Words roll across the early frames, attributed to no one, setting the stage with an available historical past. Sometimes the claim to veracity is explicit. Truffaut's finely wrought Story of Adele H., drawn from the journal of Victor Hugo's daughter, opens: "The story (histoire) of Adele is true; it is about events that really happened and people who really existed. "Near the beginning of Roland Joffe's The Mission, we read, "The historical events represented in this story are true and happened in Paraguay and Argentina in 1758 and 1759." And not long after the opening images of The Return of Martin Guerre, an unknown voice tells the audience, "This is not a tale of adventure or imaginary fable, but a pure, true story (pas un conk aventureux ou invention fabuleuse, mais une pure et vraie histoire)." True history simply exists out there, and is as available to be drawn upon as legend.

-Umberto Eco
The Yale Review, 86 (1986-87): 457-82

And now, on with the show. This piece of intel was received on super-dooper double-secret background from "R," we hope you find it instructive, as well as enlightening:



Few know the real story behind ******'s anti-PRT obsession. He claims an angry PRTer disrupted a work-shop put on by him and his wife and decided then and there to confound PRT at every turn. The truth is more interesting:

He was putting on his work-shop on transit alternatives when one J.E. Anderson spoke up to offer the alternative of PRT. He eruditely and compellingly laid out the case for PRT. He dazzled one and all with his technical expertise.

****** was smitten by the good doctor's charm and intellect. After Anderson finished, ****** offered to leave his wife and elope with Anderson on a torrid love affair. Anderson was flattered but replied that he could only have one true love, PRT.

******was enraged, he then and there decided that if he could not have Anderson, no one would, including PRT. So began his life-long vendetta against PRT.

Hell hath no fury like an ****** scorned.

The truth is out there. Follow the guideway.

Keep sending those stories! Remember when using the email link at right to replace the "AT" in the address with a "@"--an anti-spam precaution.

Erratum: 3167 visits


gPRT

"Project Balatro"

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

Just a quick note to let you know that submissions have been coming in on the big *** ****** investigation, which for now will go by the name Project Balatro (Latin for "fool").

Information being received is trending toward two main types-- historical reports or anecdotes about ***, and opinion about ***. While the latter are welcome, we already know what you think about *** ******. What we really need are facts about his past that we can collate and derive a life story.

So keep those stories coming! The first one will be posted soonish.



gPRT

Quis custodiet ipsos balatros?

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

"I also hope a reporter from the Seattle P.I. investigates these claims and other claims of PRT proponents." Source (#679)

...is one of ***'s newer talking points. It makes him sound so reasonable, does it not? Just int'rested in the truth, is what he wants us to think. Too bad for him every online forum in which he's posted is also a record of his distortions, thanks to the facts posted by yours truly and others.

But by all means, let's have an investigation--of both sides. In fact, let's start now! *** has pointed the desk lamp in PRT's face for years, can he stand the same scrutiny?

Everyone out there who has stories about ***--his past and present, good or bad, happy or sad--send them to the Editor. I mean it, we're unreeling the 'scope and shoving it up there for a good, long look.

What was he like as a kid, young *** Weiner (his old surname, I understand)? What's his favorite color? His favorite food? Smoker? Teatotaler? What kind of videos does he rent? Did he go to his senior prom?

Why did he move to Minnesota? Is he a dog person? A cat person? Top? Bottom? And why the fascination with air conditioning, heating, and Sen. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater)?

Just use the handy email link at right (you have to replace the "AT" in the address with a "@"--an anti-spam precaution). We look forward to your submissions.

Erratum: 2951 visitors

Purrfect

A reader has informed us of the possibility that anti-PRT Seattlite "serial catowner" (see "Is stuck... is stuck... is stuck," 8.24.05) is a nurse.

Here's a What If question for catowner. Suppose someone has an operable brain tumor. Would you want the surgeon to use the latest surgical tools and most up to date techniques? Or will you insist on the proven, state of the art neurosurgery c.1930?

All we are trying to do with PRT is advance the state of the art of transit. Because since when is state of the art anything immune from eventual improvement?

gPRT

Egg Salad on his face

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

*** reminds me of a gag from the classic Woody Allen movie, What's Up Tiger Lily:

"At one point during the planning of a break-in, a spy unfolds a map of their quarry's residence, explaining that the man "lives here." "He lives on that small piece of paper?" questions one of the henchmen. It's that silly." Source

When *** writes about "dorky little wheels" on a scale model of a PRT vehicle, I almost expect him to ask, "how can three people ride in something so small?"

When I explain to him that a PRT vehicle has been designed with places to mount HVAC equipment, the makers know what equipment to use and how much it will weigh, he acts as though the very idea is impossible. It's as if 45-50 pounds of equipment that works in cars WON'T work in PRT, simply because it's PRT. Or he'll write that the amount of weight HVAC will add is a mystery-- 45-50 pounds suddenly becomes indeterminate!

What supernatural qualities does he ascribe to PRT that it possesses such powers? It's just engineering. Maybe to *** ****** it's one of the Black Arts.

Flyp-Flop-ocrite

*** recently allowed that:

"If those people want to pursue PRT with their own money, that's okay with me." Source, #356

How nice of him to say--now. Too bad his PRTJ website has a page titled "Don't Invest in Bogus PRT!" (roadkillbill.com/PRT%20PigNPoke.html)

Plus, you also have to take his LTO3 about "PRT is impossible" as an attempt to discourage private investment as well.

So busy; so bossy; so concerned about what other people are doing with their own time and money (see also: "The O.C.," 7.29.05, below).

gPRT

Is stuck... is stuck... is stuck...

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

The Seattle P-I has given *** ****** another opportunity to make a fool of himself: they decided to publish El Rueda del Chirrido's usual Talking Points.

What more can you say? It's the usual LTO3s: misrepresentations, distortions and ad hominem attacks. He even calls journalists "gullible." Niiiiiice. The only new wrinkle was his strange claim that the contractor Short Elliott Hendrickson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Well, Olsen is a very Minnesota surname.

But the byproduct of this battle was that the feedback forum accompanying his propaganda became a flame war almost from the get-go. This was unfortunate, because most people wanting to educate themselves about PRT would surely have been put off.

There was one amusing sidenote. A poster named "serialcatowner" tscott@s...net couldn't distinguish between PRT and a cable gondola.

Erratum: 2701 visits



gPRT

His Tonearm is Stuck

Originally published at "PRT Is A Joke" IS A JOKE v.1
Words written with wildcards (***, !!!, etc.) was the way we originally wrote Ken Avidor, Ken, and Avidor.

Good day PRT world! Our buddy *** is at it again, clogging up a Seattle P-I feedback forum with his usual catechism of Talking Points.

Like an "anti-PRT insurgent" (they hate us for our ondemand, nonstop service!), he is doing his best to snipe at a pro-PRT guest editorial.

Fortunately, his 'best' is the same old disinfo, LTO3. It's all there. The TPs:

"PRT is a scam"
"a PRT fanatic disrupted a workshop my wife and I were conducting"
"PRT is all about spreading disinformation about conventional transit."
"Taxi 2000/Skyweb is mired in a lawsuit against its founder"
"I written [sic] to the editors... and asked them to assign an investigative reporter to find what exactly PRT is, who is promoting it and why. I suggest other readers... do likewise."
The links to long-since-debunked propaganda:

"Personal Rapid Transit -- Cyberspace Dream Keeps Colliding With Reality"
"The Road Less Traveled: The pros and cons of personal rapid transit." by Troy Pieper
...blah blah blah dee blah. You get the idea. *** is fond of calling PRT a "waste of time." Seems like he's the waste of time, no contest.

We're getting into it pretty good; and here he said wasn't going to talk to me anymore (Comment 3).

Erratum: 2457 visitors

Update (16:25 PDT): I thought the thread was nearing an end, but then he threw us an amusing little sinker (#381). I think I got the bat on it pretty well...


gPRT