The TAPture!

As you may or may not know, The Militant loves using his TAP Card as his preferred fare media during his various transit journeys around his City. He's been rocking one since June of 2008!  All has been going well until one recent day when he TAPped his wallet against the TAP target on one of the Metro Rail turnstiles, and instead of the usual "Go" green screen, he got the red screen you see on the left:

STOP
Expired Card
Purchase New Card

Hmmm.

As it turned out, there was a group of three other passengers after him who all TAPped and got the same screen.

Could this be?

It may or may not be...

The TAPture!

Now, The Militant, who was in quite a rush to get to his Downtown destination, either went back and bought a paper ticket or just illegally TAPped ahead on the unlocked turnstile and on to his train... Buuut all that is sort of irrelevant to the story. The whole point was...HIS TAP CARD EXPIRED.

Which is kind of odd, since the ticket vending machine, after TAPping to get the TAP Card Status, indicated that it expired on June 30, while the taptogo.net webiste, where he has his TAP card registered online, said that his card doesn't expire until early September 2012.

Hmmm.

Of concern to The Militant was the fact that his expired TAP card still had about $7.50 in stored value. Could he transfer that balance to a new card, or is it gone forever?

The Militant called Metro's Customer Service number and tried to find out for himself. His terse response:

"Sir, we don't handle TAP card issues. You would have to call 866-TAPTOGO."

Alrighty then. So he called the other number and got someone who sounded much more satisfied with their job. She told The Militant that he could go to a Metro Customer Service Center, buy a new TAP card for $2, and have his $7.50 stored value transferred from the old card to the new card (it would take up to four days to transfer though...). It is not gone forever in to the ether of space and time.

Phew!

Later that day, The Militant happened to be in close proximity to the Metro Customer Service Center at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall, so he merrily walked in with his TAP card and asked to have the old balance transferred to a new card.

"Umm, sir," the woman in the window said in her 'I Hate This Job' monotone Customer Service voice. "We cannot do this right now. You need to call TAP and have them send us a fax confirming that they have transferred the balance to your new card."

Whoa, hold it there. FAX?!?! WTF?!?!

Isn't the high-tech, 21st-century RFID-laden TAP card on the cutting edge of fare media technology? Why does one have to send a fax?!? WHO SENDS FAXES IN 2012?!?!

The fact that it was already 5 p.m. and the TAP center had already closed for the day didn't help things much.

The Militant asked Customer Service Drone Lady if he could just buy the TAP card for $2 and have the funds transferred later. She told him, "We can only sell you the card with a pass or stored value."

(The Militant only had $2 cash on him...)

"Can the balance be transferred online?" The Militant innocently asked.

"No," she replied.

Both The Militant and Customer Service Drone Lady briefly stared at each other with a, "I can't believe you're such a f'ing idiot" look on their faces.

The Militant told her, "The Militant had no idea this was so complicated."

"The Mill what?" Customer Service Drone Lady asked.

"Never mind," said The Militant, on his way out the door.

The next day, The Militant called up the TAP customer service line, where people sound much more happier and much more willing to help you out, and reiterated his dilemma.

Basically, all The Militant really had to do was buy another card at a Metro Rail ticket vending machine, pay $1.50 in stored value, and call the TAP customer service again, give his two TAP card numbers, and wait for the remaining $7.50 to transfer from the old card to the new one within four days.

The Militant had no idea this was so simple.

He asked the happy TAP lady if she worked for Metro.

"No, this is a call center, we work for TAP..."

Hmm, there is no such company as "TAP," but Militant research points to a San Diego-based company called Cubic Transportation Systems, which manufactures and operates similar contactless fare card systems around the world.

But The Militant was able to replace his TAP card after all.

The Militant took one for the team. Just to make things painfully simple, to avoid this mess, this is all you have to do when your card is within a couple months of expiring, in three easy steps:

1) Let the pass period expire or the stored value go down to $0.
2) Buy a new damn TAP card.
3) There is no Step 3!

Curious, The Militant compared his old TAP card (circa 2008; top) and his new one (circa 2012; bottom):

The older TAP card has a slightly more teal tint, whereas the older one has that "Expo Line" shade of light blue goin' on.

On the back, the differences are more pronounced; the older card has a bigger "TAP" logo and single column rules and regulations table. The new one has a smaller logo and a two-column table, with additional bullet points.

(Dude, was that being transit geek right there or WHAT?!)

So why do the cards expire in the first place? The Militant had a conversation with a fellow transit-using, technologically-literate Operative, who told him that the TAP cards have an RFID chip embedded near the edge of the card. Being a hardware device, the chip has to become obsolete over time so that the TAP system's software can eventually be upgraded with new features. So, it's assumed that with each generation of TAP cards, they embed a newer version of the RFID chip.

The Militant won't have to worry about updating his TAP card until July 2015 (according to the TAP card status feature at the station ticket machines)...or is that June 2016 (according to the taptogo.net website)?

And After All...You're My Paywall...

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times initiated a paywall to their website, requiring users to pay a fee starting at 99 cents a month to read any content beyond 15 articles and the main page.

Well you could assume that didn't go over well. The entire city scoffed, and while a few thought the 99-cent fee was reasonable, The Militant doesn't think the Times deserves even a penny as long as it's controlled by its Chicago slavemasters.

A newspaper dwindling in content and soul (Okay so they signed on The J-Gold, but what else have they got now?), it was especially, and most embarrassingly shameful that even The New York Times, of all things, had much better coverage of the LACMA Rock's arrival than our hometown rag did (and it pains The Militant so much to even admit that).

Ugh...let The Militant rest for a bit. That was too heart-wrenching.

[Breathes Deeply, drinks a glass of water]

Okay. Anyways, early Wednesday evening, after innocently clicking on a Twitter link, The Militant hit the much-feared Paywall and got the "Become a member to keep on reading" pop-up. Hmmm. He didn't even think he went through 15 articles thus far...So he clicked on the "No Thanks" at the bottom.

Now, The Militant surfs with two web browsers: One for himself, and the other for his mild-mannered alter-ego, named [Ahahahaaa, you thought he'd go there, did you?].

But The Militant pulled up the other web browser, went to latimes.com and even searched for the article that was blocked from him. He was able to read it in its entirety. He was even able to read another one!

He also tried deleting the "latimes.com" and "lat.ms" cookies from his main web browser and went back to the Times' website. But he got another Paywall warning (Update: Deleting ALL cookies, rather than selectively deleting latimes.com cookies, will work! Go for it!)

So there you go...if you want to circumvent Le Paywall, just clean out your cookies regularly and have your Firefox, your Chrome, your Internet Explorer, your Opera and your Safari browsers installed and handy. Among all those, you can read up to 75 articles for free! And if you got a mobile or tablet device, let the good times roll!

Of course, you l33t h4xx0r types can use an IP faker under one browser, but The Militant didn't tell you that.

So enjoy your freeeee latimes.com content, paywall jumpers!

Secrets of the Metro: Wilshire/Vermont's 'Metro PCS'

One of The Militant's favorite Metro Rail subway stations is Wilshire/Vermont, because it's so different. First off, it's the only 'junction' station in the subway, being the diverging point for the Red and Purple lines. Also, because of that, it's the only stations where the tracks run parallel on top of each other (as opposed to the perpendicular nature of the 7th Street/Metro Center and the Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks/Willowbrook/MLK Medical Center/Metro Central Control/Dennys stations. It's the only Metro Red/Purple line station to have a weekly farmer's market at street level (Though The Militant recently learned that one will also be coming to Hollywood/Western this Spring). It also sports the looooooooooooongest escalators in the state of California.

But most of all (and the whole dang point of this blog post), is the fact that it's the only Metro subway station that offers cell phone coverage.

Kinda sorta.

Metro bus and light rail riders currently enjoy chatting, texting, surfing and Tweeting from their phones during their journeys, and most of the time it makes the long ride a bit more enjoyable (unless you're not on the phone and sitting in close proximity to someone who's yapping louder on a call than they would talk to someone in person...). Even the Blue Line offers a place to charge one's mobile device.

But Red and Purple line riders do not have that privilege. Those QR codes on the subway car advertisements are useless. This all may or may not change in the near future though.

Some frequent riders who board at Wilshire/Vermont know what's up though. They can talk, text, Tweet and surf from 120 feet below the street - the deepest station in the entire system.  Because of the particular design of the station, which lacks a proper mezzanine level that would buffer cellphone signals from the surface, mobile users are able to get coverage here.

Cellphone reception is best near the escalators on either level, but if you're sitting on the train and your car is situated close to the escalators during your stop. you can send out that text or Tweet you were suddenly inspired to write while immersed in the zen of the whooshing of tunnel air and the acceleration and deceleration of the train's electric motors (Hey, at least The Militant finds those sounds to be soothing...).

So there you go Metro subway riders...you can use your mobile phone in at least one station. Of course, in that not-too-far-off future when those calming subway noises make way for the cacophony of People Yapping Too Damn Loud and the annoying din of Really Awful Ringtones, y'all gonna look back fondly at the days when only one station gave you the privilege of cell phone usage.

And lookie here, there's even a plug for you to charge up!

Secrets Of The Metro: A Gratuitous Plug For The Blue Line

Our 21-year-old light rail leg known as the (M) Blue Line is quite a workhorse. Shuttling riders daily from Downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Long Beach and back, it carries everyone from white collar commuters to homeless people, from seniors to infants. Though the Westside-based anti-rail publication known as the LA Weekly has given the Blue Line a bad rap, 90,000 commuters daily can't be wrong.

On a recent Blue Line ride, the Militant, a bit fatigued after biking several miles around Long Beach, plopped his ass down on one of the side-facing seats and saw one rider chat away on his iPhone, looking a bit worried. The train, just leaving Long Beach wasn't yet full of riders on this particular evening, so the iPhone-chatting rider lifted up the retractable three-seat bench (meant to be folded to accommodate wheelchair riders) on the right front side of the car and plugged his phone charger into a single power socket located in the wall underneath the seats to keep his iPhone juiced up.

The Militant, being a veteran Blue Line rider since 1990 and previously thinking he knew everything there was to know about the Blue Line, hung his mouth open in disbelief.

Of course, back in the early '90s, the people who could afford cell phones didn't ride public transit anyway, and the only portable items that riders used back then were portable Discman players and Nintendo Game Boys. If the power started to falter during that Color Me Badd CD or challenging Tetris round, one could buy a set of AA batteries from the various illegal vendors roaming the train.

Twenty years later, we live in a world of iPods, iPhones, iPads and iCouldnameahundredotherportableelectronicdevices. We need our juice and are useless without it. Being mostly above-ground, Blue Line riders can read their RSS feeds, update their Facebook statuses or read up on the latest Tweets to pass the time on their up-to-an-hour-long commute.

But there it was, a working plug (well two, one on each end of the car) in every Blue Line car. 

Being that the cars were made in the late '80s-early '90s, their use obviously wasn't for portable electronic devices but for cleaning and maintenance. When the cars go back into the North Long Beach Yard along the 710 every night, they get cleaned up. The plug was intended for maintenance workers to plug in vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners or various test machinery. They may or may not actually use them.

What makes the Japanese-built Blue Line cars extra special is that they're the only Metro Rail cars that have 'em: The Italian-built Red Line or latest-generation Gold Line cars don't have them, and the German-made Green Line/early Gold Line/eventual Expo Line cars lack them as well. Chalk it up as Japanese ingenuity, or just the simple fact that Japan has a compatible power voltage as the US does.

So now that the "secret" is out, feel free to plug in and charge up...But PLEASE do The Militant (and each other) a favor and LEARN TO SHARE. We certainly don't want anyone stabbing each other because of this!

GE3kin' Out At The Convention Center: The Militant Takes On The E3 Expo!

This week the Militant satisfied his inner geek as the Electonic Entertainment Expo, otherwise known as E3, descended upon the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The international trade-only convention, geared towards the video game industry, is one of the largest annual events at the Convention Center and has taken place here in DTLA for most every year since 1995 (it was held in Santa Monica in 2007).

Admittedly, the Militant may or may not be a diehard video gamer (well, he definitely was one back in the day), but definitely wanted to see what all the noise was all about, especially since an unspecified sibling of his got him a convention badge hookup on Thursday.

The West and South halls of the Convention Center were a whiz-bang whirlwind of lights an noise, as if a thousand video arcades blew up at the same time. For the past few years, the focus has been on the Big Three video game console manufacturers: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft (makers of the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, respectively). This year, Nintendo showed off their new 3DS portable gaming system; Sony unveiled its PlayStation Move motion controller (pictured right) and MS wowed all geekery by one-upping Sony with its Xbox Kinect controller-less motion controller.

One of the highlights of the convention were the premieres of cinematic-style video game trailer presentations (much to the same degree movie trailers are presented) -- most notably, the Tron Evolution and Star Wars: The Old Republic game trailers had the most OMG factor in the show.

The rest of the show featured free swag (the black convention bags were of the same design as reusable shopping bags -- the Militant grabbed a few!), hot chicks passing out free swag, robot statues, and even the random celeb sighting (LeVar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow fame was spotted hanging out at the IndieCade booth, pictured left).

It wasn't just the Big Three consoles represented, though, video games of all platforms and genres were featured, from PCs to iPads to a few arcade games (such as the 4-player Pac-Man game - now there's some games the Militant is familiar with...uhhh wait, did he just give away his age there?).

The Militant also found the time to meet up with some of his operatives who work in the video game industry. No word yet on whether a Militant Angeleno video game will or won't be released (but if it will, expect some freaking awesome combat action against a backdrop of beloved Los Angeles locales).

Thursday being the final day of the convention, come 5 p.m., the noise died down, the colored flashing spectacles gave way to the sobering houselights and the throngs of attendees spilled out of the Convention Center, only to cross paths with the throngs of purple-and-gold-clad ticketholders bound for the Staples Center to witness the Lakers usher in a back-to-back NBA championship. In other words, the scene on the street at 5:30 p.m. was, "LAKE3RS."

Next year, the mighty Lakers may or may not Three-Peat. But E3 will return, June 7-9, Twenty-Eleven.

Sigh'ns Of Life In Echo, uh Elysian Park

The Militant was driving back to the compound late Tuesday night and spotted these fancy new electronic gateway signs on Sunset Boulevard, that proudly display the community name of "Echo Park." Like similar signs in Downtown, it's meant to relay traffic conditions, road closures, and possibly community announcements or even maybe the occasional Tweet.

Only problem are their locations: One is located on Sunset and Everett St.; the other is located at Sunset and Sutherland St. Doesn't that technically make the signs heralding the entrances to Elysian Park? Looks like some messed up geography there. That's what you get when you have transplants make decisions!

Echo Park, as you may or may not know, is the community just northwest of Downtown Los Angeles that is oft-mistakenly identified as "The Eastside," mostly by the transplanted hipsters that have kind of taken over the place in the past decade. Of course, they do have a lovely eponymous park, which will once again host the Lotus Festival this July.

The Militant saw the signs yet again today on his way to the Stadium to pick up his Opening Day tickets, and was thusly inspired to write this here post. He thought about bringing this up with the local neighborhood council, but the geographical issue is apparently meaningless to them.

The Militant only hopes this is only phase one of the electronic Twitter sign project and that at least two more will pop up further west on Sunset, between Sutherland and a few yards east of Coronado. Otherwise, Epic Geographical Fail!

BREAKING NEWS: Google Transit Is Now Operational, Angelenos!

People have complained/campaigned for it, and more recently, were anticipating it, and it looks like it's finally arrived: Metro rail and bus trips are finally functional in Google Maps!

It's exciting, but not perfect; The Militant plotted a hypothetical route from Hollywood and Western in Los Angeles' Thai Town going to Marine and Inglewood avenues in Hawthorne. What was assumed as a Red/Blue/Green trip with a possible bus transfer or walk turns out to be a trip on the Red Line, the Harbor Freeway Transitway (Metro Express Line 450), the Green Line and Metro Local Line 40. Okaaaaay, then. There's still some bugs to iron out, or at the very least, a "rail only" option as is found in Metro's Trip Planner. But you heard it here first from the Militant! So far, so good, Google -- the Militant looks forward to more!

The End of a Rabbit Ear-a: The DTV Transition Begins!

Welp, Angelenos, the time has come. Are you ready for the DTV era? If not, the Militant hopes you know where to turn and what to do.

Today, various local televisions made the switch and shut down their analog signals forever, at their own specified time schedules. The Militant discovered that KABC had already made the full switch, and in the process, changed the frequency of its DTV channel so that it also no longer works. You have to re-scan your HDTV/DTV's tuner to pick up the new frequency.

At 1:10 p.m. today, the Militant witnessed history as KCAL 9 switched off the analog signal it has been broadcasting since August 25, 1948 (as KFI-TV, then KHJ-TV in 1951), and captured it on his Militant Cam!

Missed it? Watch the YouTube video below taken by the Militant himself to see it happen!





After KCAL switched, he also found his previously-viewed DTV Channel 9-1 was no longer viewable. A simple re-scan brought back KCAL 9-1 at the new frequency. Apparently you're gonna have to do the re-scan boogie for the next few days.

The Militant has been enjoying digital TV since he got the new Samsung HDTV set to replace the old cathode ray tube at the Militant Compound last year. He loves the new sub-channels, and awaits the creation of a few more in the near future. Being that the Militant does not have cable (Paying for TV that shows commercials is teh 'tarded, and honestly, if the Militant had cable, he would be more of a Militant Couch Potato than anything else...).

The Militant's Mess Hall: We Want (Kogi) Ta-cos! Clap! Clap! ClapClapClap!

Much has been said about the Los Angeles mobile food sensation known as Kogi. So much, that the Militant need not repeat what's already been said (or even re-tweet what's been on Twitter). But one thing he needs to say is that he's a Kogi late bloomer, and didn't get the opportunity to try one of them Korean-style tacos until Thursday night.

After relishing in the post-NBA Finals Game 1 Lakers victory (Whatup, all you Laker fans! Caaannn yoooouuu digg itt?!?), the Militant decided to take a bike ride for an unspecified distance and celebrate by partaking in all that is Kogi tacos. After all, aren't tacos synonymous with wide-margin Laker wins? It was a night of Kobe and Kogi, in other words.

He learned via Twitter that one of the trucks, "Roja" would be parked at Silver_Lake(r)'s 4100 Bar on Sunset. Fearing an onslaught of hipsters (especially anticipating a long line of 'em while waiting for his tacos) the Militant brought some protective gear.

When he got there, he discovered he needen't need the gear, as the line was only about five deep, and it was just a bunch of different kinds of folks more or less in the Militant's age bracket. Phew on both counts!

So the Militant ordered two Korean short rib tacos, one Korean spicy pork taco; a kimchi quesadilla and a Korean short rib burrito to go for one of the Militant's unspecified siblings.

Fearing his identity might be revealed, the Militant left the scene and headed back to his compound to consume his provisions.

The tacos were mighty tiny! But smelled amazing. It was like a whole new world. Yes, the Militant has had Korean food before, but not packaged like this. He took a good whiff of the tacos and the quesadilla before chowing down.

The Militant really wanted to see if Kogi is worth the hype. The Miltant can confirm that, yes it is (especially since he only had to wait all but 5 minutes from getting in line to getting his order, though the line grew to 18 deep by the time he left).

One little complaint; Kogi seems to pride itself in its Korean BBQ meats. After all, the name is a variant of "bulgogi." But the little tacos (pictured, right) are so covered in cilantro, onion, cabbage and spices that you hardly can taste the BBQ. Well you can, but the spicy pork and short rib tacos kinda tasted indistinguishable. They were still good though!

Same with the quesadilla. The cheese seemed too overpowered by the kimchi. Which is not to say that a kimchi quesadilla doesn't work, maybe they just need more cheese in there! Again, not bad stuff at all! Just nitpickin' here! The kimchi sauce and sesame seed on the outside is a nice touch though.

Despite that, the roving Korean taco truck has officially gained a new fan in the Militant. But mostly because of what it stands for. This is true fusion cuisine, and best of all you don't have to sit down in a hyper-pretentious upscale eatery to try it. It's street food, after all! Also, while it's great that Los Angeles can take pride in its In-N-Outs and french dip sandwiches, the Kogi experience is something truly, uniquely Angeleno. Surely the concept has already been imitated, and it's only a matter of time before you can find Korean tacos out in Queens (of course, they won't be as good), it's great to know that the concept originated right here, and that we're pioneers in this high-tech, mobile, multicultural fusion cuisine revolution.

It can't get any more real Los Angeles than that. Savor it, Angelenos.

Kogi
Locations vary; two taco trucks, "Roja" and "Verde" operate simultaneously in different parts of town.
http://twitter.com/kogibbq

Open Tuesday-Saturday

Items: Korean short rib taco ($2); Korean spicy pork taco ($2); kimchi quesadilla ($5)

The Militant Twitters!!!

Not to sound like a bandwagon jumper or anything, but the Militant has long resisited the microblogging phenomenon known as Twitter for the mere fact that he wasn't such a fan of people knowing the Militant's whereabouts. After all, the Militant operates in secret, right?

But instead, the Militant has come to grips with the thing and discovered it could be an advantage after all. The Militant keeps a busy and hectic Militant schedule, which may or may not (usually may not...) afford him enough bloggering time. So maybe a few lines texting here and there would drive the point in!

We shall see. Maybe it will be a total disaster - or worse - some enterprising and nosy reader will put two and two together and pinpoint the Militant's exact location and expose him once and for all (perish the thought!). But the Militant, none the stranger to risk-taking, is at least hopeful it will open a new avenue for him. Maybe a year from now you can only find him on Twitter?
As for right now, you can see his Twitters towards the lower right hand corner of this page, just above the "Rival Guerrilla Factions" links.

So, follow him now!

Get TAP'ped Today!

Happy March 15! Although it was a very unfavorable day for a certain Roman emperor, it's a great day if you're an occasional Metro rider. Today is the day you can purchase the $5 Metro Day Pass as a TAP card, which means like Julius Caesar, the paper Day Pass is officially history.

Until April 11, if you ride on a (M)etro Bus and ask for a Day Pass, they will give you a loaded TAP card (they will cost a one-time fee of $2 afterward). Keep This Card! you will be able to re-load it for $5 every time you go to a (M) ticket machine or on your next bus ride. No more fumbling for change and holding up the line to get into the bus (well, unless you pay for your $5 Day Pass with coins...)

And then you can do the cool stuff like this:




Actually, as an experienced TAP user, the Militant strongly recommends that you do not even have to take out the card. You can keep it in your wallet or purse, just as long as you place either of them directly on the TAP target. The Militant personally puts his wallet over the target and it does the beepy thing. And if you're slick enough, you can even keep your wallet in your pocket and plnt your ass on the TAP target...okay, the Militant wouldn't recommend that (especially on the bus), but it may or may not work when you have to rush to your train. TAP cards use an RFID chip embedded into the card to tell its value and to easily track ridership figures and patterns.

The regular monthly, senior, disabled, college and K-12 passes are all TAP-capable. Next comes the big test: TAP cards for cash fare riders, where riders can prepay a certain amount and have the appropriate fare cost deducted when they TAP. This is all part of a years-long program to eventually get all Southern California transit systems TAPpin.

So Stay Militant and Get TAPpin!

People Get Ready, There's A Train A-Comin'...

The latest episode of the TransitVue Metro subway info screens, which popped upon June 20, subsequently vanished and came back with a civilian vengeance, though the whole thing is still involved in its active beta-testing phase.

This past week, Metro added a new feature: An approaching train and destination info screen (pictured right; train schedule times have been pixelated in order to obscure details on the Militant's whereabouts) that appears about 30 seconds before a train's arrival and indicates where the train is headed - more practical in the Segment 1 stations under DTLA, of course. The screen image is not exactly new, as it has been appearing at Union Station since early June to inform passengers which side of the platform to board the next departing train. This time, they appear at all subway stations.

The Militant will say that they're a nice addition to the TransitVue screen features, though, of course, the Militant would like to add his pair of pennies just in case some of you may or may not be reading from up there at One Gateway Plaza:

• The screens disappear way too soon, usually right before the doors have opened. It would still be helpful to riders who have just descended upon the platform to know where the stopped train is going.
  
• The cute little cartoony train against the bright UCLA-themed background might be designed to get people's attention (especially riders of the Bruin persuasion, ironic since we're still years from the subway reaching Westwood), but it still fails to inform people which line the arriving train is representin'. So hows about this: Use a red background for Red Line trains and a purple background for...well, the Militant is sure you can put two and two together.
• If the solid background thing is too much, then at least have a red/purple circle and the name of the line above the main text. Anything would be helpful!

Additionally, the Militant might be imagining things, but he swears he's seen the screen briefly change into a CGI-animated (more Dire Straits video than Pixar though) sequence followed by a message about rail safety or riding procedure. But every time the Militant's mentioned it, people seem to have given him the same "yeah, right" treatment that the denizens of Sesame Street gave Big Bird during Mr. Snuffleupagus' "imaginary friend" phase, and efforts to capture the animated sequence with the MilitantCam have turned up fruitless...So can anyone confirm?

NEWSFLASH! They're Baaaaaack!

The train schedule info on the Metro Rail TransitVue screens hath returned. Looks like those little numbers ended their little strike and decided to go back to work this morning. An operative who works at Metro (Thanks, M.B.!) provided the Militant with this photo (pictured left). As you can see, it's in a more civilian-friendly time format, and they not only show the next train but the subsequent train as well. The Militant will hop on the (M) this afternoon to see it with his own eyes. Here's hoping the little numbers grew some more thicker skin this time around!

What a great way to celebrate the 18th birthday of the Metro Rail system! Now that it's old enough to vote, maybe it'll support the proposed sales tax increase this November to expand itself!

Militant Update: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Just 72 hours after the train arrival times went on the air on the Metro Rail subway TransitVue screens, they have suddenly vanished (pictured right)!

The Militant broke the news first, and a few other blogs caught wind of the story as well. But apparently it's caused a flurry of stinging criticism, and it looks like those little numbers got so hurt and offended, they all decided not to show up for the P.M. (or is that the 1500-1900?) commute. Even their alphabetic co-workers who daily assume the roles of such words as, "Union Station," "North Hollywood" and "Wilshire/Western" have all walked off the job in solidarity. LOOK WHAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE!!!

Okay, the Militant was not without his own nitpicks, sure. But some of you better apologize to those little numbers. They just want to feel appreciated, that's all.

NEWSFLASH! Metro Rail Subway Arrival Displays Now Operational! (Albeit Kinda Buggy...)

The Militant had some unspecified business to do Downtown, and armed with his trusty TAP card, he hopped on the (M) Red Line en route to his compound this evening.

When lo and behold, he saw it. He finally saw it.

The long-awaited arrival displays on the recently-installed TransitVue LCD video screens now display the arrival times of subway trains on the Red and Purple lines (pictured above). Yesssss!

The empty "Train to" column has now been filled in with the expected times the next trains to the respective destinations will arrive.

Although, as you can see, it's displayed in Militant Military time. Which is fine for this camo-adorned urban assault soldier, but not so convenient for the gas price-oppressed Civilian Angelenos on the platforms (Say what? Next train coming in 16 minutes 45 seconds?).

No make matters worse, the actual time/date display on the upper left-hand corner of the TransitVue screen shows the usual 12-hour civilian time. Very inconsistent! The Militant thinks, or at least hopes, the folks at Metro will change a few settings there.

And to be even more nitpicky about this, the Militant took another picture of the display, this time on the platform level, just prior to boarding the North Hollywood-bound Red Line train. As you can see, the time is off by 10 minutes from the mezzanine-level photo at the top of this post:
(And by the way, way to go with the cutesy cartoonish subway train icon. Does it have a name? Look out, Thomas!).

The Militant, being of the curious sort, wanted to see if this display was an accurate reflection of the train movements. So he disembarked at an unspecified Red Line station, and, taking advantage of a not-in-service escalator, got this vantage point of an arriving train:
Hmmmm. As you can or cannot see (click on picture to enlarge if the latter's the case), the time was 5:34 p.m. but the Union Station-bound train's arrival is listed as 17:35 (5:35 p.m. for you civilians). Which means they only use the predetermined timetable, and late/early/delayed trains are not reflected in the display!

What's also not cool is that there's no flashing "Train Arriving" notice anywhere (the Green Line and even the light rail wannabe Orange Line, both still bearing the archaic "silent radio" LED displays, though, do announce arriving vehicles, go figure...). When the displayed time passes, that particular display simply updates to the next train.

So as you can see, it's not really a user-friendly system. Military time aside, even if the 12-hour clock time was displayed, you still have to refer to the time/date on the upper left, or your own watch/cellphone/iPod. Why not "5 minutes" or "20 minutes" on the display? Talk about lazy!

The Militant has mixed feelings. He is obviously disappointed at a long-awaited transit amenity appearing so flawed, yet he thinks despite the flaws, it'll save him the Indiana Jones-like rush down to the train to beat the closing door (which may or may not have actually happened...more than once). To sum it up...and here comes the pun people...

...It's about time.

Take A Ride On The Trus!

Many transit proponents want more trains. Other transit proponents want more buses. So...why not...both? This contraption from the Land of the Rising Sun, called a DMV (Dual Mode Vehicle) operates like a conventional bus on the streets, but rolls on a rail guideway like a train, LRV or streetcar. This form of technology is not new, and even exists in this country today as a Hi-Rail Vehicle, usually in the form of a pickup truck with railroad-compatible wheels used as a maintenance vehicle for the railroads. So can you picture this thing rolling on the streets (and tracks) of Los Angeles? This "DMV" thing may or may not be the future, as long as they eventually make them much less butt-ugly.

OMG M74 H4XX0R3D!!!1

The Militant may or may not have joked about it the other week, but the old adage of "be careful what you wish for" couldn't have rung more true as the Militant passed by this ticket vending machine at an unspecified (M) subway station on Thursday afternoon (If there are any of you who work for Metro who need to know, so you can, like, get it fixed, email the Militant (militantangeleno at gmail dot com) and he'll tell you.

As you can see, what normally would display the trippy-looking Metro logo "screensaver" or the menu where you can "Purchase Paper Ticket" et. al., appears as what is known as a BSOD - the Blue Screen of Death, which plagues certain Windows PCs. Passenger inconvenience notwithstanding, it's a rather embarrassing sight for the public to see. Even moreso than having the MetroVue video monitors remind you to clean up your unused desktop icons.

The upside, though, is now that the Militant knows that each Metro Rail TVM is really just a PC (hey, it's got a monitor, a printer and all), maybe with some l337 h4xx0r skillz, he can learn to blog on one of these things. Now wouldn't that be something. To paraphrase a line from the movie Robocop, the Militant would buy that for a dollar...uh...dollar twenty-five.

Uprooted! (And The Far East Journey)

The Militant performed some operations of a classified nature in the Hollywood area on a rainy Saturday. No doubt, the much-anticipated downpour wreaked much meteorologically- related havoc on the city, such as an expected post-burn mudslide in Griffith Park. Likewise, the Militant, who just picked up a whole rotisserie chicken (con garlic paste goodness) on Saturday afternoon from the original Zankou was stumped to find more effects of the recent precipitation branch out into places he wouldn't normally bark at (pictured right). Yes, a tree went down at a Metro Local bus stop on Normandie Ave. at Sunset Blvd.

The Militant Ventures East of the 15 - STOP THE PRESSES!

The aforementioned chicken (and its accompanying immensely addictive trademark garlic paste) was purchased as a potluck item for a small party out in The Far East, a.k.a. the IE a.k.a. the Inland Empire, a.k.a the sticks. The Militant, who normally doesn't venture east of the 15, had to relent at least for this one day as a dude named Phil, a fellow member of a certain online forum the Militant frequents, invited some of his fellow Southern California-area forum denizens for a little party/BBQ at Phil's place in Glen Avon in Riverside County. Dreading a torrential trek in the rain (no, the Militant didn't bike there, LOL) and inevitable lane closures and sigalerts along the 60, it wasn't that bad and in fact not a drop of rain fell as he ventured way out east.

The party took place in Phil's backyard, which was a reasonably elongated piece of property in a humble neighborhood of single-story ranch-style homes, including a house next door (pictured left) that had horse stables (!) The normally hot and dusty nature of Riverside county was muted today by the recent rains and the cooler temperatures, which made for a pretty-looking sunset that illuminated the Martian-like hills nearby. Like the Militant's Chowhound meet adventure back in July this was a similar event where the Militant (known under a different name in this particular forum), exited the realm of virtual anonymity and entered the plane of visible, tangible existence. But unlike the July foodie meet, the Militant had no previously-known friends present and had to make some new ones there. He approached the host, who was gracious, hospitable and appreciative and before not too long met others who recognized his username.

Why all this trouble and a 55-mile trip to The Far East? Aside from natural curiosity, the Militant wanted to combat the effects of technology eroding healthy human contact and instead use technology as a means to forge friendships and relationships with other humans. It was a pleasant, jovial, drama-free affair (though not without offline gossip about a certain other forum user who possessed less-than-stellar interpersonal skills and was not welcome to the event).

The Militant, like the others in that forum, loves technology. But the Militant, like the others in that forum who attended the get-together, makes it a point to be in touch with his humanity.

The Militant Avoids Trap!

The Militant, ever low-key, has taken pleasure in anonymously enjoying, and writing about, this city -- incognito, but on Saturday night there was a very real, potentially serious threat to his anonymity.

It all started last week when a local artist emailed the Militant a press release of an art event he and a partner were staging in Echo Park on Saturday. Neither the actual concept nor the location was exactly clear, but from what the Militant understood, there would be an oversized cardboard box on display in the park, disposable cameras would be handed out and visitors would interactively partake in the display, and musical entertainment in the form of a DJ and live band would be provided. Sounded interesting, and the Militant wanted to support some local non-gentrohipster artists in doing something unique not only in the community, but for the community, and coming away with something nice and unique to write about. But when the Militant arrived, he saw nothing. No box, or anything even related to cardboard. There was a family birthday party on the picnic tables of the park and locals taking a stroll around the lake (by the way, two weeks after the Lotus Festival, still no progress on the growth of the lotus bed). The Militant even scoured all corners of the park but still found nothing.

The Militant, who relies on his instincts, suddenly sensed a moment of Ackbarian warning and came to the following conclusion: this art event was a staged trap organized by a larger conspiratorial force to get the Militant to a public event and somehow uncover his identity (assumingly through kidnapping, extortion, torture or all of the above). There was probably some van parked on the street with a mobile control center inside, monitoring the Militant's every move with the aid of piezo-electric bugs and night-vision cameras. But the Militant was able to rapidly flee the scene, unharmed, before they even had a chance to capture me.

The Militant will, from now on, have to be even more cautious and vigilant when he goes out in public. Short of wearing masks (the Militant will under no circumstances submit to cosmetic surgery, just in case you were wondering...I mean, that's just sooo un-Militant), perhaps he should double the number of operative decoys in his militia who he assigns to attend public events. Either way, whoever you are, you couldn't catch me this time, fools!!! =P

OMG, THE MILITANT TOUCHED AN iPHONE TODAY!
While visiting Farmer's Market to conduct Militant research on his Iced Dessert report, he passed by The Apple Store at The Grove and saw a table full of people, all clamoring to get their dirtly little hands on the iPhone. The Militant was able to hold one himself (pictured, left - no the Militant doesn't have some bizzare skin condition, he just pixelated his fingers so that whoever is trying to get him cannot make out the Militant's fingerprints from the picture). The instant access of GoogleMaps and YouTube were impressive, though a little confusing in terms of zooming on the former, but the Militant also noticed that one can easily wear out their fingers by constantly touching and sliding on the iPhone's touchscreen, not to mention getting one's sweat and oils all over it. And as an iPod user, this thing is gonna get scratched, you just know it. Is the iPhone cool? Hellyeah. Is the iPhone awesome? Hellyeah. Does the Militant need one? Hellno. At least the Militant won't get iPhowned, like one Dallas woman did.

If the 'Pod is any indication, the Militant believes that five years from now the iPhone (not to mention the inevitable iPhone Mini and iPhone Nano) will be affordable enough that they'll be just as ubiquitous as iPods today.

Final Thoughts - The Grove
Much has been talked about the artificial urban environment of The Grove, as well as Universal Citywalk and perhaps LA Live! - the Militant saw throngs of people either shopping, eating, heading to the movies or just chilling on a Saturday afternoon, the kind of thing you'd want your tourist relatives to see. The Militant does believe though that this might all just be a dress rehearsal for the real deal we've yet to see in the future Los Angeles. Remember, just 20 years ago we were confined to indoor malls. Things happen quickly here. Perhaps places like Grand Avenue Park and the Militant's favorite project, the Hollywood Freeway Central Park will prove our worth in the years to come.

Getting 'Hye' in Little Armenia

The 'ist gave you a glimpse, The Nerd told you about the event, now The Militant takes you there. On Saturday the good folks at LACommons in conjunction with the Armenian Center for the Arts organized a small festival and artwalk tour on the streets of E-Ho called, A Taste of Pomegranate: Sampling Art in Little Armenia. Named after one of the most culturally-significant fruits grown in Armenia, the event gave tourgoers some flavor of Armenian American art while at the same getting them Hye (FYI, "Hye" is Armenian for "Armenian" - now that you know that, be prepared for the "Hye" puns from here on out...).

The walking tour visited various Armenian businesses along Hollywood, Sunset and Santa Monica boulevards, some of which were turned into makeshift art galleries for the day. Roughly half a dozen arwtorks were displayed at each gallery stop and the GenX/Y-aged artists made presentations and answered questions for the visitors. Artists included paintings by Arpine Aleksanyan (pictured above) whose works contained iconic cultural Armenian images of pomegranates and Masis (a.k.a Mt. Ararat), and Sophia Gasparian, whose manga-influenced paintings on wood eschewed the likenesses of fruits and mountains in favor of more politically-oriented images from the perspective of a person raised in oppressive Soviet-era Armenia, where maintaining one's ethnic identity was a subversive act. The tourgoers were a diverse mix of Armenian Americans maintaining touch with their culture and non-Armenians (including a good number of Asians in this particular group), curious about gaining some Hye-r learning.

After two hours of walking in the hot July sun, a small festival took place at Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School (a.k.a. System of A Down's alma mater), which featured traditional Hye dance and music performances, such as oud player John Bilezikjian and his band (pictured right). There was even an unveiling of a public art mural, "Opening Eyes," done by local Armenian youths, which will soon be installed at Panos Pastry on Hollywood Blvd. The mural celebrated the ethnic diversity of the East Hollywood/Little Armenia community, though this Militant was just a wee bit miffed that a certain unspecified foreign language spoken by a good number in the community was not represented in the mural.

While many gathered and danced to Bilezikjian's music (pictured left), the festival also featured a mini-exhibit of black-and-white photographs by Ara Oshagan, who took pictures of the local Armenian American community from 2000-2004. This Militant, though not Armenian, was still able to Hye-ly identify with the photos, as there are many parallels between the images of daily life of the Armenian community and his own unspecified ethnic group. Best of all, true to the event's name and a great antidote to the hot weather, pomegranate-flavored snow cones were sold at the mini-fest at Pilibos School.

Though the Militant's compound was mere shouting distance away from much of the tour, the Militant was able to see his own 'hood through a different set of eyes, even learning more about the Armenian community, such as the cultural importance of Armenian American banquet halls, lavishly-decorated venues frequently rented for large, family-heavy events like birthdays, baptisms, anniversaries, graduations and wedding receptions (which make Greek nuptial celebrations as dull as a courthouse ceremony by comparison). The Militant even got to meet some cool folk during the tour, and even shared some of his own knowledge and experiences from his own unspecified culture. Because learning and exchange are some of the Hye-est forms of militancy.

The End of an Era
Friday was the day when the Militant's local cell tower changed its carrier ID signal to "AT&T" from the previous "CINGULAR." Always interesting, since AT&T, no, wait, I mean at&t was formerly Cingular Wireless, which bought the old AT&T Wireless. Cingular, for those of you who kept track over the years, started out as Pacific Bell Wireless, which is not to be confused with PacTel Cellular, which became AirTouch Cellular, which eventually became Verizon. Y'all still with me? Hey, that's just telesis -- progress, intelligently planned.

What's Goin' On: The Militant Calendar
As a public service, the Militant has declared the start of The Militant Calendar (no, it's nothing like the Julian or Gregorian (Gregorian?) calendar), a schedule of upcoming events listed on the right-hand column of this here blog that the Militant himself (or his network of clones and/or decoys and/or operatives) may or may not attend, and if attending, the Militant may or may not write a report thereof in this here blog. Got that? The Militant is open to calendar submissions via his gmail address (militantangeleno). However, his criteria for inclusion into the calendar is as highly secretive as his identity, so please do not take it personally if your event is not added to The Militant Calendar. One major tip: If your submitted event is predominantly gentrohipster in nature, then it ain't gonna be on The Militant Calendar. But then you already have many, many, many other ways of finding out that info, right?