Avian Gamers Network

Any of you guys in the DC area have a similar story to tell?

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"Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense

that is disturbing...

/makes a note to keep driving his car

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Parts of Metro are very good, parts are very bad. It's about the cleanest (other that that car) system I've ridden on, though it gets extremely crowded during rush hour.

Normally, my commute into Downtown DC is 1 hour 45 minutes if I drive in Rush hour. 1 hour 20 minutes if I take Metro, or 20 minutes if I drive in with no rush hour. So, you definately can save time if you Metro... though it's still about $12 round trip ($4 parking, $4 each way). And, the prices are supposed to go up even more.

I definately understand why so many people get frustrated with the system... the management of it is terrible.

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--The Hermit

The best one I've seen was in Vienna. The London underground, however, is not great (though you tend to only see the tramps urinating randomly) it also keeps breaking down, but that's not surprising considering that parts of it were originally built 70-90 years ago!

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X2-PB

Pathfinder Kingmaker Campaign:
Gednan Malithanar - Wizard (1)
Dukin Thunderstrike - Ranger (1)

Star Citizen: - https://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/
AntanKarmola on their forums

Star Wars: The Old Republic: - Not really playing
Antare Karmola - Jedi Guardian (32)
Antan Karmola - Jedi Shadow (21)
Arianae Karmola - Gunslinger (20)

My aunt is an urban planner working for the Baltimore and DC areas and... well, she's really busy!

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TheMole
Section 5
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Now Playing: WoW
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That's cool.

My wife works at the zoo with the new Cheetah babies, and Metros to it. Tell her to stop by if she's ever in the area and say hi!

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--The Hermit

I worked in DC for a year. I liked the seats… especially if you are coming out of Rockville or Gaithersburg which is a good ways away in Maryland.

The DC metro was very nice and clean when I was there.... it was a shock really as TV had given me a bad impression of subways. Most people I saw were pleasant and seemingly well to do. I saw homeless people on the streets but not the subway facilities.

Only bad thing I can say about DC Metro is one time Danyale left her Metro Pass in her seat... I went back in the car to retrieve it. Upon coming out the door shut on my arm and hurt pretty bad. It was not like an elevator which would detect something in the door then release. I guess a sensor was out because I doubt the door was working as intended. Some strangers had to help me rip my arm out… very embarrassing.

My family is thinking about taking a vacation to DC. I would like to show them to the sights around the mall and try to tour some of the places I did not have time to tour. The Metro will be a key part to my plans. Parking is hell around the mall, and it is basically a hike anytime you do find parking. The metro however is like a groundhog complex below everything you want to see. Rain, Snow, Cold, Heat, Miles in-between sites… no matter what elements you face, you can avoid them all by going down to the metro and pop back up at your chosen destination. I really felt like a groundhog.

Traffic is smooth around DC. It is even better when you are in a truck big enough to force your way around the smaller cars. However 7 lanes merging with another 7 lanes all packed with traffic….Not a pleasant obstacle when you do not know your way. If you live there you can anticipate when you will need to start making your exit…. But a noob tourist like myself will end up missing more exits than we make.

Noobs should take the metro. I hope pissing in the Metro is not a new fad.



PDF Washington Mall Map

Arm caught in the door eh? Explains the typing a bit.

Well, here's my rant about the Metro. I've never been on it, so I can't tell you anything about the quality, other than what you guys have said.

According to the Washington Post, only 9% of the citizen of the area use it. But how many people pay for it? Every single citizen. And then the 9% who use it regularly still have to pay an arm and a leg to ride. That doesn't seem out of whack to anybody?

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"Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense

But.... (and I hate socialism, so just playin angel's advocate here):

- Most people using Metro seem to be tourists, or in town for some convention
- That extra 9% of people all going to downtown DC through the crappy road system on the roads would make the normal 1.5 hour commute into a 5 hour commute
- It's great for drinking in town then riding home at 2am (though I only do that every few months)
- They don't have door sensors on any of the doors, many people other than Cyrus DO actually pay arms and legs to ride.

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--The Hermit

It was cheap to ride when I was there.

Also from my observations, most people in the area are not citizens of the area. DC is a travelers town were group from all over the country have to come periodically for one reason or another.

Also many people in the area not US citizens at all. I met more people from around the world at a DC McDonalds than I met any other place in my life.

More Metro-bashing... fun stuff.

http://www.ravnwood.com/archives/004677.php

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"Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense