hankcharles

NYC's subway may be much older, but I find it much more effective. Something Beijing lacks are express lines. If you need to travel the length of Manhattan in the middle of a workday, you can easily jump on 2,3,A, or D and get there quite quick. It is not the same in Beijing. Traffic gets terrible and trains are no faster because there are no express lines. traveling to different parts of the city during the day is a major undertaking no matter who you are.

Where Jing-Jin-Ji really excels (and the New York Area really struggles) is in regional train travel. The regional high speed rail connecting Beijing to Tianjin; Shanghai to Hangzhou, or Suzhou is affordable, frequent, and quick. Affordable: last time I was there a one way ride was about $6 Frequent: they run at least every hour, typically every 1/2 hour. Quick: Trips between Cities like Beijing and Tianjin or Shanghai and Suzhou are about 30-40 minutes, and more important use stations in downtown locations.

I don't know if there are any economic impact studies done on this, but the effect to me seems pretty profound. Not long ago, It would be a full day trip to visit Beijing from Tianjin if you are fortunate enough to have a car, and almost impossible to do in a day otherwise. Now it is almost thoughtless to go between the two.

working on something similar for chicago with a bit less load time: citypulse.io

it is an interesting effect, but I don't see how it will ever add anything to the experience for either the writer or the reader. I guess you are supposed to imagine yourself watching some captivating writer craft a brilliant post and feel some inspiration as you peer into the surroundings that inspired such vivid thought. But who would ever want to watch someone else write? Especially when 'watching' them is just seeing some set of fuzzy colors drawn from their forehead and walls. The only time I can imagine this becoming interesting is when they can convince some upper shelf write like <insert contemporary novelist here> to participate, and at that point you are basically just turning them into a zoo animal.

I like Kevin Rose, but I wish he - and most of the other great minds that have already hit it big once or twice - would learn to think a bit out beyond pictures, blogs, and aggregating news sites. There is still so much that can be improved through creative thinkers pushing the boundaries of how we use the internet; blogs, picture sharing, etc... though are quickly approaching the limit of how immersive they can currently be.

The one possible exception to the rule outlined in this piece is probably Xiaomi. They have successfully cornered a really meaningful market, specifically middle class Chinese that is responsible for a big push in revenue. I believe their phones currently run on Android, but with a very strong revenue stream and probably government support where they need it, in time I wouldn't be surprised if they round out their own platform.

I got to Scroogled.com and thought it was some anti-google site cobbled together by a cranky blogger out looking for some corporate interest representing 'the man' to pick on. I can't believe it was assembled by the marketing department of one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

I think the actual ad is at least a bit clever, but this 'scroogled!' catchword and in particular this absurd website they came up with just makes the whole thing nauseating.

Computers are now part of basic literacy and ensuring all students have consistent access to them should be an absolute top priority for all school districts. If we can get students coding at a young age, even better!

It certainly can be dangerous, as can any country, and I consider myself lucky to not have had any problems, but I can't think of another country I have been in that felt safer to me. And more time there only verified that feeling. There is a certainly a strong chance I would feel otherwise if I was a woman.

I love everything about this proposal is relatively low-cost and will utilize technology in a way that will transform the relationship of the two communities and solve a real growth issue: nasty conjestion on an relatively new stretch of highway.

Not at all.

Nothing terribly unusual or that I haven't encountered in the US, but the frequency with which it happened was really alarming.

Twice a guy drove up next to me on more quiet roads and starting asking questions about how to get around or something other general that I can't remember (in English, btw). I always tried to keep running and they just rode along next to me. The topic would quickly change to sex and then I would get angry and sprint back to a busy street and go away. A couple other times guys drive past me in cars and were more direct. It was never violent or particularly scary.

mostly people riding after me on motorcycles, and pretending to ask a question and then turning the conversation elsewhere. It only happened a few times, but I also only went running a few times.

It is really amazing. Collectively, I have spent over two years in China, and have never been particularly cautious about what sort of situations I work my way into. Never once have I felt threatened or unsafe. It is what I admire most about the country.

Everything you mention in problem 2 is likely true, but these are generally true in most countries around the world, regardless of phase of development: in any country most crime results from the poor or uneducated because they have an impetus for wanting to do it, and ultimately believing they can get away with it.

Regarding problem 1 this might make sense if crime (violent, in particular) was notably higher in India than in other countries with similar income levels, but I do not think that is the case - in fact I would guess it is on the whole on the lower end. Yet women do seem to be heavily objectified ( as pleasure). This is what I found so surprising and upsetting while I was in India.

I don't understand your logic, or what democracy has to do with the matter.

I am no expert on India, but I spent enough time there to observe a clear and disturbing trend in male behavior and I have spent enough time in other - developed and developing - countries to have appropriate context for comparison.

An easy place to start would be China, which exhibits some similar demographic issues, but you really never come across this type of behavior there.

having recently traveled in India for three weeks, I heard remarkably similar accounts all too frequently from groups of women travelers.

Even as a man, I was approached for sex several times while out running. It was gross.

Having traveled a fair amount, I have never personally experienced behavior consistently this revolting in other countries. The behavior of Indian men was easily the most dissappointing part of my time there.