Category: USA

Decade Without Police Sirens: A Personal Observation in Public Safety Trends | August 02 2025, 23:48

Interestingly, I haven’t heard a single car siren in almost ten years, except from medical and fire vehicles. At least around here, it seems even the police don’t use them for their purposes. Apparently, the reason is that a police car with a siren behind is perceived as a command to stop and be ready to show your documents. But fire trucks and ambulances, it seems, always use theirs.

Many people don’t know that what we think of as an ambulance doesn’t really exist here. That is, you can call 911 and request a medical vehicle, and they will come, but it’s usually only done in truly critical situations—like a heart issue or if you’ve fallen from a staircase and can’t get up.

This service, EMS, always sends a bill. The minimum is $550, but typically more than $1000, depending on the type of vehicle sent—which depends on what was said on the phone—and how many miles it is to the hospital.

If transportation to a hospital is necessary, an insurance company, Medicare, or Medicaid initially pays for it. The patient might only need to pay the difference—for example, a co-pay or a deductible. If the person is unable to pay due to financial hardship, CNS will not send the bill to collections nor will they recover the debt.

If you call 911 and report that someone has fallen from a ladder, especially with a suspected head, neck, or back injury, the dispatcher will send a full fire & EMS response. That means, besides the medics, this big red fire truck shows up. It arrives not because there’s a fire, but because it is staffed with EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) who can begin assistance even before the ambulance arrives. Additionally, fire stations in the area are positioned such that the nearest fire truck can get there faster than a free ambulance.

In various incidents, if you can get to the hospital on your own, experience shows that it’s often necessary to go if you want results. This is not free either. Every such visit costs me $200 (insurance pays ten times more), but as it turned out later, it was always worth it. You just need to know where to go, and choose large facilities where the queues are shorter.

Alaska Airlines Omits Boeing Branding from Safety Cards: A Strategic Move? | July 31 2025, 13:18

When I flew to Seattle and back on Alaska Airlines, I noticed that the Safety Card in the seat made no mention of the plane being a Boeing (left picture mine, second one from online). Not even in fine print. Only the model was specified — in my case, a 737 MAX, incidentally the same model from which a door detached mid-flight on an Alaska plane. So, from the inside of the plane, it’s impossible to tell whether it’s a Boeing, an Airbus, or a McDonnell Douglas, unless you know that 737 is only made by Boeing.

My first thought was, of course, what else could Alaska do to salvage its reputation, except to remove the word Boeing wherever possible.

But it turns out this has been the case before. One of the Alaska flight attendants mentioned that it’s been like this for about 8 years, at least. Another flight attendant confirmed that this is the case with all planes.

It seems that they simply don’t want to promote another company for free, and Boeing certainly doesn’t want to pay all the airlines for such advertising, meanwhile charging them for every little thing. And they cannot oblige them either. An interesting case indeed.

Understanding American Politics Through Washington’s Farewell Letter | July 23 2025, 23:33

To better understand American politics today, here’s a fact. Since 1862, the farewell letter of the first president and founding father George Washington is read annually before the opening session of the Senate.

Among other things, it includes the following (I’m paraphrasing in my own words because the oddly complex sentences, in which it’s hard to track what is being talked about, are the normal written language of that time. I hope I didn’t misrepresent):

* Foreign interference is one of the worst threats, and you must constantly be paranoid about it. However, be cautious to be fair and wise in this matter, otherwise, you will focus so much on one country that you will slide into alliances with others.

* Avoid permanent alliances and foreign policy commitments. Trade with everyone, but avoid permanent political and military alliances with other countries, especially European ones. This allows you to avoid being drawn into others’ wars and conflicts. We obviously must keep our promises, but let’s try not to make new ones in the future.

* Europe has a bunch of problems that mean nothing to us. So they will fight, and we must make sure we do not get involved on any side. We can make ourselves unpleasant enemies, which we do not need.

* Since we are here, across the Atlantic, we can mind our own business. And if we just hold together a little longer, we might become strong enough to stand up for ourselves. And if we are cool enough, other countries will not want to start anything, so the choice of starting a war or maintaining peace will be ours.

* Political parties are evil. Namely, the party system leads to infighting, distracts from real problems, weakens the government, and exposes the country to foreign influence, as other countries can manipulate one of the parties.

* It is impossible to build a successful state and trust people (e.g., their oaths) if there is no strong moral and religious foundation in society.

* Do not accumulate large state debts during peacetime. It is necessary to pay bills on time, and for this, taxes are necessary, which citizens should approach with understanding.

Seattle’s Monorail: A Vintage Transport Still in Motion | July 22 2025, 16:28

Seattle’s two-station monorail (a world record!), reportedly self-sustaining and extremely popular among tourists despite being arguably the city’s most pointless form of transportation, features the same Alweg trains that have been in operation since its inauguration 63 years ago for the World Fair.

Interestingly, even the one-station monorail has a driver. I recently saw a job posting for a Monorail Driver, paying $20/hour (with a minimum wage of $18.67). Roughly the same hourly rate can be earned by stocking shelves in any supermarket in the USA.

However, the only major accident on the Seattle monorail in 2005 was due to a driver’s error. According to authorities, the driver of a train heading into the city failed to yield to another train at a spot where the tracks are too close together for simultaneous passage.

The problem was that the tracks were installed without the gap necessary for the free passage of trains. Imagine that! At one spot, just so:) This was deliberately designed to allow loading ramps to extend beyond the carriages. For 40 years, careful attention ensured that trains never traveled simultaneously on this section. But then one day, a driver decided to leave early — and the rest is history. As always, Murphy’s Law applies.

Nearby in 1988, the construction of the Westlake Center mall uncovered an issue just days before its scheduled opening. Engineers found the west track was two inches (50 mm) closer to the platform and building than it should have been, making it impossible to use. The issue came to light when a retractable loading ramp at the terminal scratched the blue train during a trial run; the misalignment was caused by a pin in a hinge that did not fold properly. The ramp was repaired in November, but other technical issues and prolonged safety inspections delayed the new terminal’s opening by four months. To avoid redesign, trains were simply not allowed to run simultaneously. As of 2025, bi-directional movement is still NOT anticipated above the narrow gauge section at the southern (Westlake) station:-)

By the way, exactly a month ago, the monorail at VDNKh in Moscow, opened 21 years ago, was permanently closed. There, too, nobody understood its purpose, and moreover, it was brutally unprofitable.

In the photo, Nadia enjoys Seattle