A Super-Delicious Pie

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I was invited to dinner by my girlfriend and her family.  Since I didn't have anything else to do yesterday (that's one of the things I was thankful for) I decided to bake a pie from scratch.  I googled "best pie ever" and this was like the second or third link:  Sour Cream Apple Pie with Streusel Topping

I decided to make the crust from scratch too, which was a time-consuming decision, but I thought "Why do something half-way?"  Turns out there's a reason that they sell ready-to-use pie crusts - because it takes forever to make a pâte brisée.  Actually, it probably would have taken less time if I owned a food processor like it calls for (an electric mixer is NOT a substitute for a food processor in this recipe... I ended up using two steak knives as a substitute).

Overall, it's worth the effort.  So if you're looking to make a really tasty pie, I definitely recommend this one.

University of Baltimore Adds to I-83's Architectural Corridor

UB has announced the proposed designs for their new law school to be build at the corner of Charles St and Mount Royal Ave.  The Baltimore Sun has a bunch of pictures of the designs that were under consideration and they look pretty awesome.  (For actual facts you're going to have to go to the Baltimore Sun Article I'm only going to talk about how cool the building looks).

Driving south on I-83 in Baltimore is going to be quite the architectural tour once this is completed (in 2013... about the same time they finish bricking the sidewalks along Charles Street).  I'm still a huge fan of the new MICA building, but this could be pretty damn impressive.

Here's the design that won the international competition:

(This picture is blatantly "borrowed" from The Sun - if this is a problem I assume someone at The Sun will contact me and let me know.)

That build is so bright that the three people in the lower left foreground are fully illuminated despite standing in the shade!  You'd think that for $107 million and all the time they spent rendering the building they could have at least photo-shopped people into the picture a little better.

I have to say that it looks like MICA and UB are in a competition to see who can build the coolest modern building (the UB student center at the corner of Mount Royal and Maryland Ave. is pretty sweet too).  Either way, Baltimore wins.

Now that the competition is in full swing I expect JHU to purchase some land adjacent to I-83 and build a gigantic building for no good reason.  I'm sure they'll fill it with labs or something and make grad students ride another shuttle to it, whatever it takes, I just can't see them sitting idly by while MICA and UB grab all the attention.  Of course, I suppose there is the fact that JHMI is a city within the city...

Comment on the Red Line

If you have ever visited a major metropolitan area with great public transit (such as Washington DC, Boston, or New York City) you probably returned to Baltimore thinking "Why can't my city have efficient, convenient mass transit?"  The ridiculous mish-mash of transit modes is a joke to almost anyone who looks at it.  We have heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, buses, express buses, and commuter buses.  Nothing connects to anything else (unless you count the stunted offshoot of the light rail that takes you to Penn Station, which I don't - see below).

In the next 6-8 years, however, Baltimore will build the Red Line.  It's actually a really good idea.  Basically it's a transit corridor stretching from Woodlawn, down Security Blvd., along the US 40 corridor through West Baltimore, cuts across downtown, Fells Point, and Canton before reaching the JHU Bayview campus.  Along the way it will have legitimate interchanges with the MARC Penn Line (in 2 places!) and the existing light rail.  Finally, Baltimore is going to invest in some transit that will connect areas where people live to area where they work and wish to go for entertainment!  It's a revolutionary concept, but let's give Baltimore the credit it deserves, as the City Paper recently pointed out, "the Red Line is, remarkably, on schedule."

In fact, this is where you, the blog-reading public, come in.  Right now we are in the public comment phase of the AA/DEIS phase of the project.  I forget what DEIS means, but AA = Analysis of Alternatives.  This is where they do a super in-depth study of the alternatives for this transit corridor.  Then they solicit community input.  Then they decide which option they will propose for Federal funding.  So right now (until January 5th, 2009), is your big chance to help campaign for a good choice.

They considered 12 different options, which I have conveniently summarized for you.  The format is "Alternative #: Title = My Interpretation"

Alternative 1:  No Build = No one wants this, but you have to do it as part of the process for getting Federal funding

Alternative 2: TSM = Don't build anything, but time the stop-lights better.

Alternative 3A-F: BRT = Bus Rapid Transit, because what we really need is yet ANOTHER mode of transit in Baltimore.

Alternative 4A-D: LRT = Light Rail; the best option

It is imperative that you go to the Baltimore Red Line website and submit a comment endorsing Light Rail, preferably Option 4C.

Pretty much everyone in their right mind realizes that 4C is the best compromise.  1 and 2 are only included for completeness as part of the Federal funding process.  Alternative 3 is included because, apparently, the Maryland Secretary of Transportation was a big fan of bus rapid transit (source is wikipedia for that).  Let's face it, buses just seem cheaper and crappier than light rail.  I don't think any upwardly mobile urban professionals have ever thought "I like this apartment because it's near a bus stop!"  But how many people do you know who live in a certain part of DC because it's close to a Metro stop?  Light rail is not as cool as a functioning subway network, but it's a hell of a lot better than some funny looking buses.

Here's a list of the organizations that endorse Option 4C:

• The Greater Baltimore Committee (a business consortium)
• The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance
• The University of Maryland, Baltimore
• Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
• Mercy Hospital
• Baltimore City Community College
• Sojourner-Douglas College

It's pretty much the only option that is both reasonably affordable and will actually change the way people travel across the city.  It's not a completely done deal though, there is a lot of concern among community residents about how this transit corridor will work out.  However, in my view, the most important thing is that this transit corridor happens at all.  Sure, construction won't begin until 2013, but there is no way to make something this expensive go any faster.

In case you want to be more informed before you submit an online comment, there are 4 different light rail options:

A - Dedicated Surface

B - Downtown Tunnel and Dedicated Surface

C - Downtown Tunnel and Cooks Lane Tunnel and Dedicated Surface

D - Maximum Tunnel and Dedicated Surface

Here's my take on each of these:

A - Can you imagine if Baltimore and Lombard Streets had light rail tracks like Howard Street?  This is a BAD idea.

B - This is a good idea, unless you have ever been down Cooks Lane in West Baltimore, then you realize that...

C - Is the best option.  Light rail is what you want, it has tunnels to get it past bottlenecks, but is not out-of-this-world expensive.

D - Probably too expensive to get Federal help.

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Idiocy of Light Rail Connection to Penn Station

So it is technically possible to get from Penn Station to other places using the light rail, but my question is "Why would you?"  It's impossibly inconvenient.  It is only effective if you are at Penn Station and want to go to one of a few light rail stops along Howard Street.  Otherwise you will have to get off the light rail train you're on and wait for another train that actually goes somewhere useful.  It's design flaws like this that make Baltimore public transit a case study in how NOT to design transit.

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This is how the opening message on Mayor Sheila Dixon's Red Line Website:

Baltimore... We Got Next... The Next Generation of Light Rail that is.  The Red Line... OMG!

Generally I think Sheila Dixon's doing an all right job, but I think that's just embarrassing.

Things You See While Running

So I've become something of a distance runner over the last year.  It's a pretty good sport, really clears your mind after a long day at work.  However, if you're going to run over the winter, you're going to have to do some running after dark.  If you're going to do some running after dark in Baltimore, you're going to have to run towards the harbor.

So it's winter, it's probably pretty chilly, so the harbor promenade is essentially deserted.  However, one of the unique experiences of running on the chilly, deserted harbor promenade is that every so often you run through a break-up.  Literally, you'll come up behind a couple walking together.  You're not really paying attention, but when you get close you can feel the tension in the air.  It's pretty clear that you're definitely interrupting.  You probably startle them as you pass, but it's over quickly enough - for you.

This has probably happened a half-dozen times or so for me.  I think it's a damn shame.  On a fall evening the harbor is really quiet, the air is crisp, it's really a nice place for a stroll.  But there's no one out there but me and the occasional couple breaking up.   I guess you see a lot of people walking their dogs too.  But my point is, it's a shame that people that get outside and enjoy the night a little more.  It's not nearly as dangerous as you think (at least down near the harbor).  Don't wait until you're breaking up with your significant other, get outside for a walk!