I was reading an article in the new Wired magazine called "Socialism - redefined". It looked at how people were pooling their talents for free in what were traditionally paying jobs - like Wikipedia instead of Encyclopedia Britannica. So I got thinking. If people don't have to work harder to earn more money to but things - if day to day items get less expensive and more common - think of i-Tunes instead of a record collection, or digital photos instead of paying for film; what will the average wage earner look like in 10 years? In the past, rising wages came from people making things - manufacturing items that other people bought. Now we find ourselves in the information age and sharing, renting and combining resources. For example, the average car is idle for 80 % of its life. What if we shared cars instead of owning them. The cars would be used to 100% of its capability, but we would only need 20% of them. Who is is going to make money on that? The person who organizes it, the person who designs the tools that allow us to share. In that sense, there will be fewer and fewer people making more money. How is this going to affect our life? Our tax system? Some things to think about.
ChrisZ
15 min
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
They still don't get it
The outrage over the AIG bonuses (real or not) just points out how out of touch everyone is.
AIG (and Wall Street in General) - Okay they had contracts, and you have to remember that even on a losing baseball team, you could have a superstar that needs to get paid, but guys, did you ever take a course in marketing? You had a whole year to inform everyone, temper the reaction, explain the situation, cut back or renegotiate the bonuses - did you really think nobody would notice?
The Government - Same marketing question as above, if you give out money (and those blaming the Democrats, remember; this deal for TARP was under the previous administration, this was a modification in the stimulus plan to restrict compensation, with the infamous clause). Keep you mouth shut till you know the facts and then be honest - If AIG pulled one over on us, shame on them. If it happens again shame on you.
The Average Citizen - Give me a break - the last place Baltimore Orioles in 2008 had more that 10 players who made over 1 million dollars. The highest player made over 8 million. Do you think that they shouldn't be paid? What about all the financial companies that went out of business? Did those guys get bonuses? We don't even know what the people who got the bonuses did. Maybe they saved the company billions of dollars. Grow up and start being responsible yourself.
The real problem, and nobody has spoken about this, is the salary gap between the average person and the highest wage earners. Where was all this outrage when things were good? They were getting even more obscene bonuses then, but nobody cared, because times were good. If we are going to make any changes we have to be consistent and vigilant. Learn from our mistakes and not keep making the same ones over and over and over.....
ChrisZ
10 min
AIG (and Wall Street in General) - Okay they had contracts, and you have to remember that even on a losing baseball team, you could have a superstar that needs to get paid, but guys, did you ever take a course in marketing? You had a whole year to inform everyone, temper the reaction, explain the situation, cut back or renegotiate the bonuses - did you really think nobody would notice?
The Government - Same marketing question as above, if you give out money (and those blaming the Democrats, remember; this deal for TARP was under the previous administration, this was a modification in the stimulus plan to restrict compensation, with the infamous clause). Keep you mouth shut till you know the facts and then be honest - If AIG pulled one over on us, shame on them. If it happens again shame on you.
The Average Citizen - Give me a break - the last place Baltimore Orioles in 2008 had more that 10 players who made over 1 million dollars. The highest player made over 8 million. Do you think that they shouldn't be paid? What about all the financial companies that went out of business? Did those guys get bonuses? We don't even know what the people who got the bonuses did. Maybe they saved the company billions of dollars. Grow up and start being responsible yourself.
The real problem, and nobody has spoken about this, is the salary gap between the average person and the highest wage earners. Where was all this outrage when things were good? They were getting even more obscene bonuses then, but nobody cared, because times were good. If we are going to make any changes we have to be consistent and vigilant. Learn from our mistakes and not keep making the same ones over and over and over.....
ChrisZ
10 min
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Future is the Past?
Where to we go from here? Is Suburbia dead? This article thinks so:
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106732/Suburbia-R-I-P
And the recent concept of Suburbia may be dead. Of people living in bigger and bigger houses with more land, living farther and farther away from the center of cities. But is there a new model of suburbia that will work? Here is my idea:
1. Cities will build new communities within their center. Projects like Co-op city in NY (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-op_City,_Bronx) but on a much smaller scale. These communities will house many different people. There will be students, young singles, married couples with small families, professionals and some older residents. The buildings will have garages, playgrounds, pools and open space area.
There will be small, multi family housing, this may go back to the days of families living in separate houses but on common property. Zoning laws will need to be changed to accommodate this. In addition, some larger houses will need to be modified to multiple occupancy. The challenge to zoning laws is will this be restricted to relatives or opened up to anyone?
For standard single family housing, children will stay longer and contribute to the household costs. Houses will be retrofitted with energy saving devices. There will be more solar collectors for heating. Second floors will be converted to storage and sealed off with doors to keep the main floor either cool or warm depending on the location. People will live simpler, with less grandiose houses. Americans will start looking around the world for ideas and then in our own manner, adapt and expand on them to suit our desires.
As the infrastructure changes, transportation will also change. Highway design will freeze as extra lanes will no longer be necessary. Car will be come smaller with rentals becoming more popular with shorter rental times. You might carry an entertainment center and plug it into a generic rental car. These rental centers will be centrally located. So you may take your car to a train, take the train to destination nearby where you want to go, and then rent a car locally. Or maybe, we will see more auto trains that can carry smaller autos between common destinations, like New York to Boston, or New York to Chicago.
Industrial Parks will move back within city lines and production will move back closer to the final distribution point. There will be more car pooling and buses, but only where the volume of use will make economic sense. In other locations, people will still have multiple cars, but they will be more diverse in thier function. One might be a small truck and the other a high mileage hybrid.
More ideas on the city of the future to come.....
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106732/Suburbia-R-I-P
And the recent concept of Suburbia may be dead. Of people living in bigger and bigger houses with more land, living farther and farther away from the center of cities. But is there a new model of suburbia that will work? Here is my idea:
1. Cities will build new communities within their center. Projects like Co-op city in NY (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-op_City,_Bronx) but on a much smaller scale. These communities will house many different people. There will be students, young singles, married couples with small families, professionals and some older residents. The buildings will have garages, playgrounds, pools and open space area.
There will be small, multi family housing, this may go back to the days of families living in separate houses but on common property. Zoning laws will need to be changed to accommodate this. In addition, some larger houses will need to be modified to multiple occupancy. The challenge to zoning laws is will this be restricted to relatives or opened up to anyone?
For standard single family housing, children will stay longer and contribute to the household costs. Houses will be retrofitted with energy saving devices. There will be more solar collectors for heating. Second floors will be converted to storage and sealed off with doors to keep the main floor either cool or warm depending on the location. People will live simpler, with less grandiose houses. Americans will start looking around the world for ideas and then in our own manner, adapt and expand on them to suit our desires.
As the infrastructure changes, transportation will also change. Highway design will freeze as extra lanes will no longer be necessary. Car will be come smaller with rentals becoming more popular with shorter rental times. You might carry an entertainment center and plug it into a generic rental car. These rental centers will be centrally located. So you may take your car to a train, take the train to destination nearby where you want to go, and then rent a car locally. Or maybe, we will see more auto trains that can carry smaller autos between common destinations, like New York to Boston, or New York to Chicago.
Industrial Parks will move back within city lines and production will move back closer to the final distribution point. There will be more car pooling and buses, but only where the volume of use will make economic sense. In other locations, people will still have multiple cars, but they will be more diverse in thier function. One might be a small truck and the other a high mileage hybrid.
More ideas on the city of the future to come.....
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Working hard just to keep up
When we are young, we spend most of our time trying to improve ourselves. Like a new car we put on fancy hub caps, install new radios, maybe even a exciting new paint job. The problem is we are not interested in the basic maintenance or strengthening the chassis. I am now finding that this relates to our bodies also. Rather than eating well and working out, keeping our blood pressure low and watching how we act; we do crazy things and they rely on our young body to pull us through. Then, when we get old, we spend just as much time just trying to maintain what is falling apart, that we have no time for improvement. Oh the follies of youth......
3 min
3 min
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Chris's Words of Wisdom (WOW)
“This country will collapse economically, when the government cannot pay for the seemingly reasonable demands of the people .”
ChrisZ
1 min
ChrisZ
1 min
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Out in the 'Burbs
I have been reading about the move back to the cities from the suburbs. While I an not going to make a blanket statement, I want to throw out some observations about suburban living and how it has changed.
Disclaimer - I grew up in Mineola, Long Island. At one time it was farm country, then was developed, not so fast as Levittown to the east, but it was considered the suburbs. My friends in the city called it the "sticks" because you could not walk out your door and get on the subway, although we did have a bus stop at the corner and the train was within walking distance.
The suburbs have changed in the last 50 years. What was once 1/4 acre lots have become 2 - 3 acre lots. What was once grid style road layouts have become mazes of cul-de-sacs and dead ends. Town like Torrington, where I currently live, even have a fading suburbs, as growing out from a central town, the developments change as they finally fade into real rural areas.
The families have changed also. From the, father works while the mother stays home, modern suburbia is a virtual ghost town during the day, and actually, most all of the time. As families got smaller, kids no longer could find entertainment in their own house or neighborhood, but now have to be driven to group activities, whether band or soccer. Older people no longer retire to Florida or an apartment or move in with their kids, but hang on to their homes much longer.
Financially, taxes are going up as municipal services are stretched thin, citizens are less connected to their government (despite the advent of the Internet), and schools are dealing with kids needing extra services.
Now is any of this bad? If so, what needs to be done? That is for another time.
ChrisZ
10 min
Disclaimer - I grew up in Mineola, Long Island. At one time it was farm country, then was developed, not so fast as Levittown to the east, but it was considered the suburbs. My friends in the city called it the "sticks" because you could not walk out your door and get on the subway, although we did have a bus stop at the corner and the train was within walking distance.
The suburbs have changed in the last 50 years. What was once 1/4 acre lots have become 2 - 3 acre lots. What was once grid style road layouts have become mazes of cul-de-sacs and dead ends. Town like Torrington, where I currently live, even have a fading suburbs, as growing out from a central town, the developments change as they finally fade into real rural areas.
The families have changed also. From the, father works while the mother stays home, modern suburbia is a virtual ghost town during the day, and actually, most all of the time. As families got smaller, kids no longer could find entertainment in their own house or neighborhood, but now have to be driven to group activities, whether band or soccer. Older people no longer retire to Florida or an apartment or move in with their kids, but hang on to their homes much longer.
Financially, taxes are going up as municipal services are stretched thin, citizens are less connected to their government (despite the advent of the Internet), and schools are dealing with kids needing extra services.
Now is any of this bad? If so, what needs to be done? That is for another time.
ChrisZ
10 min
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
We've come so far - so far to go
At this time in history - a point that will not just be a sidebar in future history books, there are signs that, as far as we have come, we have a long way to go.
Listening to the callers and "conservative" talk show hosts I realize that we have been divided so savagely, that I don't know how it can be healed. In the age of information, the flood of mis-information is so great, and people are so willing to believe what they want to believe, that the truth is still hostage.
I have hope, but it will take another generation.
Listening to the callers and "conservative" talk show hosts I realize that we have been divided so savagely, that I don't know how it can be healed. In the age of information, the flood of mis-information is so great, and people are so willing to believe what they want to believe, that the truth is still hostage.
I have hope, but it will take another generation.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
My House - Is a Very Fine House
I was always wondering where I could put the combined wealth of knowledge I have accumulated during the course of owning a house - well here is the perfect venue.
Maybe nobody reads it, maybe no one will ever head my pleas, but here goes:
1. If you are going to buy a house, try to look at it in the fall - especially when leaves fall off. Raking leaves can be a big expense, either monetarily or in time. (It seems like all the leaves in the neighborhood blow to my property!)
2. Never have a perfectly flat driveway if you live in an area of snow or freezing rain. Also, if you pick one with a flat drive or walkway, make sure it is on the south or west side. Nothing more interesting that to shovel snow in the morning, have in melt and then freeze in the afternoon (no sun) and come home to an ice rink.
cmz - 5 min
Maybe nobody reads it, maybe no one will ever head my pleas, but here goes:
1. If you are going to buy a house, try to look at it in the fall - especially when leaves fall off. Raking leaves can be a big expense, either monetarily or in time. (It seems like all the leaves in the neighborhood blow to my property!)
2. Never have a perfectly flat driveway if you live in an area of snow or freezing rain. Also, if you pick one with a flat drive or walkway, make sure it is on the south or west side. Nothing more interesting that to shovel snow in the morning, have in melt and then freeze in the afternoon (no sun) and come home to an ice rink.
cmz - 5 min
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Deja Vu all over again
After listening to the reviews of the VP presidential debate, I wondered where I heard it before - right -the presidential debates of 2000. The bar was set so low for now President Bush that any show of competence was seen as a win. hmmmmm.
ChrisZ
5 min
ChrisZ
5 min
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pay not attention to the man behind the curtain!
During the last several Presidential terms, there has been some crisis or another near the end of their term.
This is because the country rode a wave of success that was an illusion, and it had to crash eventually.
President Reagan rode the buildup in the defense industry. It is fairly well accepted that we beat the Soviet Union by outspending them. At some time it had to come to an end, and in this case the loser was President Bush (I) who paid the price when the economy could not sustain the spending.
President Clinton rode the Internet bubble. I remember sitting with the CFO of the company I was with and we were watching the stock market (and our 401K's) go through the roof, and thinking "what is wrong with this picture?" We we found out. Besides Tyco and Enron, many companies were built up with paper profits and speculation. When it started to crash, President Bush (II) and maybe Al Gore had to take the fall - at least President Bush could claim to be of the other party and thereby dodge some of the blame.
Now President Bush has been riding the housing boom. We don't know who is ultimately to blame, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that at the least, the current administration was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they pushed for regulation, they would be going against the tide of less government regulation. If they didn't push for regulation, they knew the house of cards would come down, could they just not have it on their watch. My feeling is that we will find they took the middle road. They talked a good game in order to cover themselves, but at the same time did nothing to push for changes.
The next president is going to have to convince people to lower their expectations, to return to a simpler life, to put value in actions rather than possessions, so we can dig ourselves out of this mess.
ChrisZ
10 min
This is because the country rode a wave of success that was an illusion, and it had to crash eventually.
President Reagan rode the buildup in the defense industry. It is fairly well accepted that we beat the Soviet Union by outspending them. At some time it had to come to an end, and in this case the loser was President Bush (I) who paid the price when the economy could not sustain the spending.
President Clinton rode the Internet bubble. I remember sitting with the CFO of the company I was with and we were watching the stock market (and our 401K's) go through the roof, and thinking "what is wrong with this picture?" We we found out. Besides Tyco and Enron, many companies were built up with paper profits and speculation. When it started to crash, President Bush (II) and maybe Al Gore had to take the fall - at least President Bush could claim to be of the other party and thereby dodge some of the blame.
Now President Bush has been riding the housing boom. We don't know who is ultimately to blame, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that at the least, the current administration was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they pushed for regulation, they would be going against the tide of less government regulation. If they didn't push for regulation, they knew the house of cards would come down, could they just not have it on their watch. My feeling is that we will find they took the middle road. They talked a good game in order to cover themselves, but at the same time did nothing to push for changes.
The next president is going to have to convince people to lower their expectations, to return to a simpler life, to put value in actions rather than possessions, so we can dig ourselves out of this mess.
ChrisZ
10 min
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Trust but verify
This was supposedly the mantra of Ronald Reagan. Not a bad one to apply to the Internet.
Everyone assumes that if something is on the Internet it is true. Far from it.
When someone wrote a book, there was at least a process that they had to go through, and this separated the serious person verses the joker. Today, anyone with a computer and a blog can set off a firestorm before anyone else can confirm or deny the accusation.
Rather than take things you see as fact, maybe the new mantra, at least as it relates to the Internet, is "look and research".
ChrisZ
5min
Everyone assumes that if something is on the Internet it is true. Far from it.
When someone wrote a book, there was at least a process that they had to go through, and this separated the serious person verses the joker. Today, anyone with a computer and a blog can set off a firestorm before anyone else can confirm or deny the accusation.
Rather than take things you see as fact, maybe the new mantra, at least as it relates to the Internet, is "look and research".
ChrisZ
5min
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Ground rules
7. Nothing radical happens overnight.
8. No one person is to be congratulated or blamed. (similar to #2)
1 min
8. No one person is to be congratulated or blamed. (similar to #2)
1 min
Monday, June 02, 2008
They just don't get it
>>Ramping up its efforts to build search market share, Microsoft signed a deal to embed a Live Search toolbar on all Hewlett-Packard consumer PCs in North America starting next year.
In addition, Live Search will be the default search engine on browsers on the computers, the companies said. Both features will be included in HP PCs in January 2009.<<
From:
Microsoft, HP Do Search Deal for PCs
>>Some Microsoft competitors have cried foul at previous efforts by the software giant to tie its search platform into its browser. Two years ago when Microsoft launched IE7 in beta, it set Live Search as the default search provider in a toolbar in the browser, although users can hit a drop-down menu to change the search provider to a handful of other companies. At the time, Google complained to the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that the default setting removes choice for users. Google has a similar setup in Mozilla's Firefox browser, which comes with Google as the default search bar. The DOJ found that Microsoft makes it easy enough for users and computer makers to change the default setting. <<
The problem is not that it is easy to change the default setting - it is that it is the default setting at all! Imagine a car that would only run on a particular brand of gas until you took it somewhere and had the default changed. Most people do not have the ability or the patience to change the default - they will just leave it as it is. Way back when, you had a choice of three or more browsers when you bought a computer - now it is handed to you and you are told to use it.
Sorry, but they just don't get it.
6 min
In addition, Live Search will be the default search engine on browsers on the computers, the companies said. Both features will be included in HP PCs in January 2009.<<
From:
Microsoft, HP Do Search Deal for PCs
>>Some Microsoft competitors have cried foul at previous efforts by the software giant to tie its search platform into its browser. Two years ago when Microsoft launched IE7 in beta, it set Live Search as the default search provider in a toolbar in the browser, although users can hit a drop-down menu to change the search provider to a handful of other companies. At the time, Google complained to the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that the default setting removes choice for users. Google has a similar setup in Mozilla's Firefox browser, which comes with Google as the default search bar. The DOJ found that Microsoft makes it easy enough for users and computer makers to change the default setting. <<
The problem is not that it is easy to change the default setting - it is that it is the default setting at all! Imagine a car that would only run on a particular brand of gas until you took it somewhere and had the default changed. Most people do not have the ability or the patience to change the default - they will just leave it as it is. Way back when, you had a choice of three or more browsers when you bought a computer - now it is handed to you and you are told to use it.
Sorry, but they just don't get it.
6 min
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Next Blog
I am very dissapointed that Google has no way of qualifying content on their blogs. While I do not fall into the catagory of all web content should be restrictive, I do feel that you should be warned if content is for adult eyes only.
In that I have removed the "Next Blog" feature from some of my blogs, especially the ones that I do for other people or organizations. This way they don't accidentally click on something they don't want to see.
I have left it active on this page but will be putting in a warning. I hope Google and Blogger see this and make some changes soon.
ChrisZ
4 min
In that I have removed the "Next Blog" feature from some of my blogs, especially the ones that I do for other people or organizations. This way they don't accidentally click on something they don't want to see.
I have left it active on this page but will be putting in a warning. I hope Google and Blogger see this and make some changes soon.
ChrisZ
4 min
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Great Quote for Life
From the movie "Grand Prix" (1966)
Scott Stoddard: Y'know one of the most beautiful things about a car? If it isn't working properly, you can strip the skin off, expose the insides, find out exactly where the trouble is, take out the faulty part and replace it with a new one. If only we could do that with people!
2 min
Scott Stoddard: Y'know one of the most beautiful things about a car? If it isn't working properly, you can strip the skin off, expose the insides, find out exactly where the trouble is, take out the faulty part and replace it with a new one. If only we could do that with people!
2 min
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Driving in the snow
This is both for my general blog and my driving blog
Driving Professor
Here in the Northeast, people do not prepare their cars for the snow.
Specifically, here is the story on tires:
1. You must use snow or all season tires
2. The tread must be at least 6/32 deep (The Lincoln penny test is only 2/32, you need 3 times this to drive in snow).
3. The tires should not be over 5 years old.
If you don't meet all 3 criteria - YOU SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD IN THE SNOW.
ChrisZ
4 minutes
Driving Professor
Here in the Northeast, people do not prepare their cars for the snow.
Specifically, here is the story on tires:
1. You must use snow or all season tires
2. The tread must be at least 6/32 deep (The Lincoln penny test is only 2/32, you need 3 times this to drive in snow).
3. The tires should not be over 5 years old.
If you don't meet all 3 criteria - YOU SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD IN THE SNOW.
ChrisZ
4 minutes
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
He's back
Yes,
It had been many weeks since I have written anything. It was so long I even forgot my password....
There is a lot going on in my life and in the world - trying to make sense of them will be the topics for the next few entries
ChrisZ
3 minutes
It had been many weeks since I have written anything. It was so long I even forgot my password....
There is a lot going on in my life and in the world - trying to make sense of them will be the topics for the next few entries
ChrisZ
3 minutes
Monday, October 22, 2007
Top Ten Movies
Everyone as a top ten movie list. So here, in no specific order, are my top 10 movies:
1. Twelve O'Clock High
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Stairway to Heaven
4. Inherit the Wind
5. Chariots of Fire
6. Three days of the Condor
7. Horse Feathers
8. Mr Blandings builds his Dream House
9. Apollo 13
10. To Sir with Love
These are the ones off the top of my head.
I will add and subtrack as required. In fact here are some that just missed the cut:
Harvey
Sleeper
The Wrath of Kahn
Local Hero
The Swimmer
Cool Hand Luke
The verdict
A Few Good Men
12 Angry Men
Patterns
Command Decision (1948)
My Life
The Battle of Britain
The Money Pit
Catch me if you can
Operation Petticoat
More will be added as necessary....
20 min
1. Twelve O'Clock High
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Stairway to Heaven
4. Inherit the Wind
5. Chariots of Fire
6. Three days of the Condor
7. Horse Feathers
8. Mr Blandings builds his Dream House
9. Apollo 13
10. To Sir with Love
These are the ones off the top of my head.
I will add and subtrack as required. In fact here are some that just missed the cut:
Harvey
Sleeper
The Wrath of Kahn
Local Hero
The Swimmer
Cool Hand Luke
The verdict
A Few Good Men
12 Angry Men
Patterns
Command Decision (1948)
My Life
The Battle of Britain
The Money Pit
Catch me if you can
Operation Petticoat
More will be added as necessary....
20 min
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Facts of Life
No not those, but ideas that I have found to be 95% true and usable as practical methods of living your life.
Don't worry about missing something on sale. More often than not it will be back on sale next week or even cheaper in the future.
Corollary: That once in a lifetime offer isn't. Your life may or may not change but you should not have any guilt about passing something up.
Don't worry about missing something on sale. More often than not it will be back on sale next week or even cheaper in the future.
Corollary: That once in a lifetime offer isn't. Your life may or may not change but you should not have any guilt about passing something up.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Easy Rider - Not!
I passed my road test for my motorcycle license today. However; it was not as easy as it sounds - let me explain.
In Connecticut, you can apply for a motorcycle learners permit by paying $40 and passing a written knowledge (computer) test. Actually there is another $15 to update your regular license also. Why? I don't know......
Now you have 2 months to practice your craft with a few restrictions. You must wear a helmet (CT has no helmet law normally), stay off the highways, can't ride after dark and cannot carry passengers. Besides that you are on your own. At the end of the 2 months you can renew the permit for another $15., but you can only renew it once in a calendar year. This leads to problems that I will get to later.
After you feel capable of passing the road test, you make an appointment. Here is gets complicated. Road tests seem to be scheduled at the DMV branches on a rotating basis. Now I live 3 miles from a branch, but they did not have a test day scheduled before my permit (renewal) ran out. So I had to schedule a time at a location 50 miles away. Now, since I had already renewed my permit, if I failed, I would have to have the bike trailered back home; I decided to bring it in the back of my pickup. So I built a ramp and wheel holder and got straps to secure the bike. Not a fun thing but I was not the only one to do this.
I was scheduled for 8:30 and arrived a little after 8am. I got the bike off the truck (easy) and got in line in the DMV. I had to fill out some forms and they sent me out to wait for a few more riders to show up. Note - since we were the first ones there, we could have ridden the course - but we didn't know that - if you can do a practice ride, it would help.
They lined us up an we went through a series of exercises. Now there are some penalties. Putting your food down was 2 points, stalling was 3, I think, dropping the bike was a go home and not obeying instructions was 5. If you get more than 10 points you fail.
We all went through the first exercise, which was a sharp turn and stopping with the front tire in a 2 x 2 foot box. So far, so good. The next exercise was a slalom though a series of cones followed by a "U" turn in a half box. The first person was taking the test on scooter (Hint - I think it must be 125cc but this is a great idea - you will see why soon). The second person had a large cruiser and had to put his foot down twice in the exercise. 4 points already. I went next and went through clear (note under 500 CC and you have a slightly smaller half box to turn around in - so the smaller the bike, the better). The 4th person put their foot down twice and went wide in the turn and was told to try again another time. The fifth driver went through the cones the wrong way (after watching 4 people before him) and then went wide in the box. Bye bye to him also. Now, I will admit, that this is the toughest part of the test and really not representative a real world riding. More on this later.
Now there were 3. The next test was a quick stop. You had to accelerate up to 15 - 20 mph and then at a certain point make a "panic stop". The instructor could not see the brake lights but the riders ahead of me were braking too early. So I said I would do it right. I went up to 15 mph and then hit the brakes. The inspector came over and said I was going too slow! So he allowed me to do it again (he seems to give one mulligan to each rider per test). This time I went too fast and but still stopped fairly short, but he gave me 5 points for a long stop. I didn't know this until later.
The last test was swerve through a set of cones. I felt comfortable but there was always that doubt in your mind. After completing the maneuver, the inspector gave me my score sheet and told me to go inside. After parking the bike I looked at the sheet and it said "PASS" with the 5 point deduction. Now the guy on the scooter got a perfect score (0) and the other rider a 6 so I felt pretty good.
After await of about 45 minutes back in the DMV office, I walked out with my motorcycle endorsement on my license. Wheeew! Put the bike back on the truck and head on home.
Now there is an alternate way of getting your license - that is to take a safe rider course put on by the state. Here you don't need a permit, you take the course on their motorcycles and if you pass the course, the road test requirement is waived. The cost of this basic course is $165 or there about. This is a great program and how I would do it if I had to do it over.
If you are going to go the private route, make sure you practice and also pick a bike that you can handle. At this DMV (I understand each test course is a little different) the slalom was VERY tight. Renting or borrowing a scooter is a sure way of passing.
Now the editorial - Virtually nothing on the road test has anything to do with riding on the road. It is a purely skills test and a low speed test at that. Maybe the assumption is that if you can handle a bike at these speeds and show balance and coordination it will transfer to street riding. But there is no test of speed, lane presence, signalling, handling traffic, etc. I know it is complicated since you cannot take an instructor with you, however; maybe a State Trooper could follow you through a designated road and observe as part of the test. If I had just practiced the skills for the test, I would have passed, but be in no shape to ride on the street.
Also, if you don't time your permit and road test right, you might find yourself waiting a year to do it again. The 2 months is not enough time to properly learn and being able to renew it only once in a calendar year is impractical. I can see they don't want to have "professional permit riders", but unless they are going to force you to take a test after a certain time, that is what you end up with. People will get a permit for the summer and never have to take the test. Oh, and the bikes were not inspected as was expected, nor was rider gear required (besides a helmet). I think having full gear has to count for something, so I would wear it anyway.
So good luck and safe riding. Later, more reflections on the difference between a motorycle and a car - things I did not expect.
ChrisZ
PS: I just found this on the DMV web site:
"If your motorcycle permit has expired, the permit can be renewed once, for an additional 60 days, during the same calendar year in which it was issued. If this additional permit expires, you may obtain an additional one-day permit on the day of your test. "
http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?a=805&q=244752
This has magically appeared and evidently the operators who schedule the tests are not aware of this. I have sent a e-mail asking for a explanation as to why I had to take a day off from work needlessly, when I could have taken the test a mile from where I work...... TBC
1 hour
In Connecticut, you can apply for a motorcycle learners permit by paying $40 and passing a written knowledge (computer) test. Actually there is another $15 to update your regular license also. Why? I don't know......
Now you have 2 months to practice your craft with a few restrictions. You must wear a helmet (CT has no helmet law normally), stay off the highways, can't ride after dark and cannot carry passengers. Besides that you are on your own. At the end of the 2 months you can renew the permit for another $15., but you can only renew it once in a calendar year. This leads to problems that I will get to later.
After you feel capable of passing the road test, you make an appointment. Here is gets complicated. Road tests seem to be scheduled at the DMV branches on a rotating basis. Now I live 3 miles from a branch, but they did not have a test day scheduled before my permit (renewal) ran out. So I had to schedule a time at a location 50 miles away. Now, since I had already renewed my permit, if I failed, I would have to have the bike trailered back home; I decided to bring it in the back of my pickup. So I built a ramp and wheel holder and got straps to secure the bike. Not a fun thing but I was not the only one to do this.
I was scheduled for 8:30 and arrived a little after 8am. I got the bike off the truck (easy) and got in line in the DMV. I had to fill out some forms and they sent me out to wait for a few more riders to show up. Note - since we were the first ones there, we could have ridden the course - but we didn't know that - if you can do a practice ride, it would help.
They lined us up an we went through a series of exercises. Now there are some penalties. Putting your food down was 2 points, stalling was 3, I think, dropping the bike was a go home and not obeying instructions was 5. If you get more than 10 points you fail.
We all went through the first exercise, which was a sharp turn and stopping with the front tire in a 2 x 2 foot box. So far, so good. The next exercise was a slalom though a series of cones followed by a "U" turn in a half box. The first person was taking the test on scooter (Hint - I think it must be 125cc but this is a great idea - you will see why soon). The second person had a large cruiser and had to put his foot down twice in the exercise. 4 points already. I went next and went through clear (note under 500 CC and you have a slightly smaller half box to turn around in - so the smaller the bike, the better). The 4th person put their foot down twice and went wide in the turn and was told to try again another time. The fifth driver went through the cones the wrong way (after watching 4 people before him) and then went wide in the box. Bye bye to him also. Now, I will admit, that this is the toughest part of the test and really not representative a real world riding. More on this later.
Now there were 3. The next test was a quick stop. You had to accelerate up to 15 - 20 mph and then at a certain point make a "panic stop". The instructor could not see the brake lights but the riders ahead of me were braking too early. So I said I would do it right. I went up to 15 mph and then hit the brakes. The inspector came over and said I was going too slow! So he allowed me to do it again (he seems to give one mulligan to each rider per test). This time I went too fast and but still stopped fairly short, but he gave me 5 points for a long stop. I didn't know this until later.
The last test was swerve through a set of cones. I felt comfortable but there was always that doubt in your mind. After completing the maneuver, the inspector gave me my score sheet and told me to go inside. After parking the bike I looked at the sheet and it said "PASS" with the 5 point deduction. Now the guy on the scooter got a perfect score (0) and the other rider a 6 so I felt pretty good.
After await of about 45 minutes back in the DMV office, I walked out with my motorcycle endorsement on my license. Wheeew! Put the bike back on the truck and head on home.
Now there is an alternate way of getting your license - that is to take a safe rider course put on by the state. Here you don't need a permit, you take the course on their motorcycles and if you pass the course, the road test requirement is waived. The cost of this basic course is $165 or there about. This is a great program and how I would do it if I had to do it over.
If you are going to go the private route, make sure you practice and also pick a bike that you can handle. At this DMV (I understand each test course is a little different) the slalom was VERY tight. Renting or borrowing a scooter is a sure way of passing.
Now the editorial - Virtually nothing on the road test has anything to do with riding on the road. It is a purely skills test and a low speed test at that. Maybe the assumption is that if you can handle a bike at these speeds and show balance and coordination it will transfer to street riding. But there is no test of speed, lane presence, signalling, handling traffic, etc. I know it is complicated since you cannot take an instructor with you, however; maybe a State Trooper could follow you through a designated road and observe as part of the test. If I had just practiced the skills for the test, I would have passed, but be in no shape to ride on the street.
Also, if you don't time your permit and road test right, you might find yourself waiting a year to do it again. The 2 months is not enough time to properly learn and being able to renew it only once in a calendar year is impractical. I can see they don't want to have "professional permit riders", but unless they are going to force you to take a test after a certain time, that is what you end up with. People will get a permit for the summer and never have to take the test. Oh, and the bikes were not inspected as was expected, nor was rider gear required (besides a helmet). I think having full gear has to count for something, so I would wear it anyway.
So good luck and safe riding. Later, more reflections on the difference between a motorycle and a car - things I did not expect.
ChrisZ
PS: I just found this on the DMV web site:
"If your motorcycle permit has expired, the permit can be renewed once, for an additional 60 days, during the same calendar year in which it was issued. If this additional permit expires, you may obtain an additional one-day permit on the day of your test. "
http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?a=805&q=244752
This has magically appeared and evidently the operators who schedule the tests are not aware of this. I have sent a e-mail asking for a explanation as to why I had to take a day off from work needlessly, when I could have taken the test a mile from where I work...... TBC
1 hour
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)