Proposition 1A will allow California to build a bullet train between San Diego and San Francisco/Sacramento. This project is the best option to fulfill California's growing transportation needs for the next 50 years.

You see, in California, we have a problem: Over the next 22 years, the population is expected to grow 50%; by 2050, our population will nearly double to 60 million. Yet even today, our transportation infrastructure is quickly reaching its limits. Both our intracity highways and airports operate near capacity. Nowhere is this more striking than in San Diego, where our airport will within a year will be operating at 92% of clear-weather capacity, with replacements predicted to cost over $10 billion.

In the year 2000, 600 million trips longer than 100 miles were made along the high speed rail corridor. By 2030, that number is expected to grow by 2/3rds to 900 million. While some of that can be absorbed into the existing infrastructure's capacity, we clearly must also work to increase it, or risk constraining our economy.

High speed rail can play a huge part in this for many reasons:

Developed Technology: The technology behind high speed rail was developed 40 years ago, when Japan opened its first bullet train. It has been refined and implemented in country after country: France, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Italy. There are no theoretical challenges to overcome -- we know how to build it; we just have to do it.

Low construction costs: Since we're using developed technology, relatively little engineering need be taken on. So, the train can be constructed for half the cost of equivalent highway capacity.

Low operation costs: Ridership would only have to be 1/3rd of the predicted numbers for the project to be self-sufficient, meaning the state will have broad leeway to lower fares, pay the project's principle, or buy out our public partners. Every high speed project in the world is profitable, and recent projects in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Italy all became profitable within a decade of opening.

Oil Independence: Despite the current respite from expensive oil, the long term costs of driving long distances look grim. As we speak, OPEC nations are gathering to cut production to ensure that prices don't stay below $100 per barrel long term -- and this means our "low gas prices" are as fragile as a house of cards.

As a result, train ridership projections estimate that 90% of passengers will come from automobiles. The bullet is electric, and can be powered by locally-harvested solar power -- or whatever form of electricity is least expensive at the time. Even if that option turns out to be oil, the train requires 1/4th of the oil per passenger as driving, and 1/3rd as much as flying. So as we enter an age when $100 oil will be but a pleasant memory, rail transportation will ensure that we aren't held over a barrel by high energy prices. (Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun)

Speaking of oil:

Environment: Air quality is a major problem in California. The high speed train will save tens of millions of cross-state car and plane trips a year, potentially replacing oil consumption with solar, nuclear, wind -- really, any kind of power that proves to be feasible.

Geography: California is perfectly suited to a high speed train. With two large population clusters separated by 400 miles, our population is spread out just enough that it is grossly inconvenient to drive from one end to the other, yet close enough that the hassles and delays of airport travel make flying inconvenient relative to the time spent in the air. A train from LA to SF should only take 15 minutes longer than flying when you include door-to-door times.

Convenience: Ever driven from San Diego to San Francisco, Sacramento, or Monterey? I have, probably 7 or 8 times (enough that I've lost count). The biggest problem: Los Angeles is in the way. My options are to either add an hour and a half of travel time and try to drive through after rush hour arriving at my destination when the day's already over, or leave at 3:30 AM to get past LA before traffic hits. The high speed train will be entirely grade-separated, so a trip to San Francisco will take the same time no matter what time I leave. Plus, you don't need a gallon of caffeinated beverage to stay awake through the trip.

Comfort! Because space is not an issue, trains can offer passengers comfortable spaces -- Leg room, elbow room, reclining chairs, room to stand up and walk around, or sleep comfortably. Travel becomes a pleasure rather than a chore.

So, pay no attention to the "Reason Foundation" (a think-tank funded by oil lobbyists), or the "California Rail Foundation" (three guys who formed an 'organization' to sound official).

Pay attention to the numbers, which show how quickly this project will pay for itself. Pay attention to the economy, which would otherwise grind to a halt costing Californians billions of dollars a year. Pay attention to your wallet, and how much you stand to save compared to flying or driving. Pay attention to your city's wallet, as they won't have to pay for highway and airport projects.

I suppose it's good the election is held just as Winter is coming to bear; it puts voters in a more somber and contemplative frame of mind.

Most people would say that talking doesn't distract them from driving. What about if you're deaf?

I saw a woman driving up the I-15 in a rented Aveo with the inside light on. That always stands out after dark... so I figured, "they're probably from out of town, maybe they're reading a map?"

It turns out the light was necessary because they were carrying on a conversation in sign language. The driver was actually signing with both of her hands. I didn't peer in long enough to check if she was holding the wheel with her knees or just letting the car choose its own path.

Also, it's not unusual to see a vehicle make a sudden move across two lanes. How often do you see a gasoline delivery truck doing that? It's the first time I have, at least. Since it was driving away from the gasoline depot, it's not outside the realm of possibility that it was completely full.

Mira Mesa's not a bad place to live, but getting anywhere sucks. There are only a few main thoroughfares to serve tens of thousands of people, and all the freeways are a long ways away. Those who get sick of the lights might be tempted to meander through the side streets, but our fabulous citizens have solved that problem: all the side streets people might be tempted to use to circumvent the arterials have been defended with speed bumps.

Well, I wanted to get over to Jack in the Box for an Extreme Sausage Sandwich in a minimum of time. In true fashion for an over-thinker, I spent half an hour scouring Google Maps (satellite view) for streets with bumps, and marking them in a custom map overlay (the redlines, below). I then found a fairly easy route I can take avoiding these annoying barriers (the green line).

Voilá!

View Larger Map It involves a lot of turns, but only 3 lights and 3 stopsigns, as opposed to 9 stoplights and one sign if you go down Mira Mesa Blvd.

Anticipation is high for November's election, and it's my turn to play Talking Head.

Like any reporter in the traditional media, I will tell you that the election is tight (after all, I don't want you to get bored -- I need ratings!), and could go either way, depending on October Surprises, the turnout, voter excitement, the Bradley effect, the anti-Bradley effect, the economy, the stock market, and the candidates' ground games.

About the best case McCain can hope for, if everything goes his way:

And likewise, the best Obama can hope for:

The maps were made on RealClearPolitics, a site run by republicans and largely highlighting anti-Obama news stories (from sites like the National Review). They assemble all the various polls into composite scores. There has been some question about the neutrality of the polls they select to include in their composite, but overall it's pretty good. Not nearly as cool as Five Thirty-Eight, but then 538 doesn't have a tool where you can select who you think will win a particular state.