News and notes from around the interweb:
- California High Speed Rail turned into a $100 billion boondoggle they cannot actually build… so they’re now talking about high speed buses. This is not The Onion. It is impossible to parody. Also, potential new grift!
Caltrans is studying the possibility of high-speed buses traveling up to 140 miles per hour on California freeways, an idea transportation leaders say could one day transform long-distance travel across the state.
…The concept envisions connecting locations such as Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego through dedicated freeway lanes, transit hubs and long-distance express bus service. …The preliminary Caltrans review found current U.S. freeways are generally designed for speeds up to about 85 miles per hour, meaning faster bus travel would require significant infrastructure upgrades, dedicated lanes, redesigned vehicles and advanced safety technology. Researchers also pointed to the need for automated driving systems, advanced braking technology and vehicle-to-everything communication systems to help improve safety at higher speeds.
- Free drink every Monday at Capital One cafes through September 7 (HT: Doctor of Credit
- MrBeast only books flights that offer Starlink. I remember when United’s Scott Kirby explained at the Phoenix Airport Symposium why US Airways was finally adding wifi – he didn’t believe they’d ever make money offering it, so they weren’t going to do it, until they finally saw that they were losing ticket sales by not having it. Not having Starlink is now like not having wifi.
MrBeast just gave one of the strongest endorsements possible for Starlink:
“I will only book flights exclusively on planes with Starlink. I don’t care if it means an extra layover – I’ll sit in the back of the plane if it gives me Starlink.”
He says Starlink has become the… pic.twitter.com/LJfaJoz0vy
— X Freeze (@XFreeze) May 13, 2026
- Ex-Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein joins the board of WestJet
- Stop it.
Forced to Check Bags
by
u/Willing_Tomato_8492 in
SouthwestAirlines@SouthwestAir
New baggage policy making me check my bag when I bought a mid level fare and plenty of room in overheadBe better pic.twitter.com/jGa1WvvY6K
— Scott Merkord (@Cubedartist) May 13, 2026
- Woman gets TSA secondary screening for using the wrong soap tests positive for gunpowder.
- Before the latest update to American Airlines premium cabin wine I’d have regarded this as a massive upgrade:
Note for less-cultured Europeans: you can only call it Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon if it comes from the Costco region of the United States. https://t.co/7CJBKUAzPJ
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) May 14, 2026
- If a working elevator were included in the resort fee, they might have to refund it, but it is not…
17 tourists were trapped inside an elevator at Rio Las Vegas for nearly an hour last weekend.
"No airflow, it kept getting hotter, and we had to crack the door open just to breathe," according to witness Melissa Elicio.
"There was no urgency from Rio's security or employees…" pic.twitter.com/645hTejAqf
— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) May 14, 2026
- California High Speed Rail turned into a $100 billion boondoggle they cannot actually build… so they’re now talking about high speed buses. This is not The Onion. It is impossible to parody. Also, potential new grift!
Caltrans is studying the possibility of high-speed buses traveling up to 140 miles per hour on California freeways, an idea transportation leaders say could one day transform long-distance travel across the state.
…The concept envisions connecting locations such as Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego through dedicated freeway lanes, transit hubs and long-distance express bus service. …The preliminary Caltrans review found current U.S. freeways are generally designed for speeds up to about 85 miles per hour, meaning faster bus travel would require significant infrastructure upgrades, dedicated lanes, redesigned vehicles and advanced safety technology. Researchers also pointed to the need for automated driving systems, advanced braking technology and vehicle-to-everything communication systems to help improve safety at higher speeds.
Protein powder registered as explosive years ago at BOS, we were heading to Nashville for a marathon and had some protein (PreJym brand) actually shut down a security line, they wouldn’t open it or let me touch it to show them.
Missed our flight, the gate was just on the other side of the wall from security. Eventually they opened the container, looked at me and said it was just protein powder then 8 security and police just walked away.
If you bring some kind of powder (protein, baby) through the Security line it normally needs to be checked. Most of the time there’s no alarm but it can alarm for either explosives or drugs. It’s happened to me. They take you aside, pat you down, take your ID and ask questions. Then the cop comes down to TSA, runs a drug test on the powder and of course it’s negative and then you’re free to proceed. After giving flyers a live drama show.
As far as California. They most certainly can spend $150 billion on high speed buses and not one will ever be built. But the voters have a choice and my money is they will vote for this again come fall.
Back in the day i used to host a lot of parties.
If that Cabernet was in a ten liter glass jar or some sort, I think it would be a great party asset.
In plastic the wine reacts with the plastic, disgusting.
It actually was an Onion spoof about 15 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1FrA9BWzOA8
Though parts of it are intriguing. If autonomous tech can enable faster speeds for buses and other things on existing roads, why not consider the possibilities.
If you’re having a good faith discussion on high speed rail, that’s one thing, but this feels more like blue-state bashing. Red meat for the View from the Right Wing base. What next Gary? Dogs on planes? That’ll get folks goin’ again!
California can built high speed rail; it just hasn’t yet. FL built MIA-Orlando, but Brightline is failing financially. Meanwhile, Acela is doing quite well on the DC-NYC-BOS route; Amtrak’s financials have actually been great recently.
“This is not The Onion. It is impossible to parody.”
Actually, The Onion already did, in 2010:
“President Obama announced changes to his proposed Recovery Act today, replacing his national high-speed rail plan with a national high-speed bus plan. The switch to the new buses which cruise at speeds of up to 165 mph will save $17 billion.”
https://youtu.be/QNixDlRoMvA
Born in North Hollywood Ca. in the 60’s, lived here all my life, in the past 35 years there is nothing this state won’t do to give away taxpayer dollars to grifters and criminals. We have (no) highspeed rail, but we spent billions. That didn’t work, so now let’s spend billions on busses that will never be delivered. Seriously? 140 mph busses? Even if they could deliver this system, that’s roughly 2x the speed of traffic on the open highway, what is that going to do for anyone? As Forrest Gump said “Stupid is as stupid does” It never ceases to amaze me how dumb and gullible the California voting public is. The pure definition of stupid is: “Doing the same dumb thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome”….. Smh Trust me, people in this state will probably approve it, fast forward 10 years and billions of dollars and nothing will come of it,
@D Fray — Ahh, yes, just call ‘em dumb. That’s brilliant. Why didn’t anyone else think of that yet! Sounds like you should run for office and ‘be the change you want to see in’ your home state… or do you have a better idea?
Blue state bashing? Hahahaha!
Come on, @1990, the jokes on 21st Century California governance write themselves. What a disgrace.
My kid was on a farm and it set off problems in the line. Apparently the fertilizer there had nitrogen-based chemicals that mimicked explosives . So that is something to consider if you are planning to visit one before a flight.
The difference @1990 is that the Brightline is a private enterprise. From a hearing:
It’s not publicly funded at all,” Brightline executive Michael Reininger said at a 2017 congressional hearing. “It’s completely an investment of private‑sector capital.”\
However, the state paid for station and line improvements of approximately $486 million. That’s far less than the $150 billion the state of CA put in. Not to mention Brightline has actual trains running on actual tracks.
Again, you spout off nonsense without checking your facts.
@George Romey — You mean public-private partnership (P3)… c’mom, man. If/when they fail, FL taxpayers are on the hook, regardless. Sure, a few investors will also lose their shirt, too.
@stogieguy7 — You added nothing of substance and proved my point.
I’ve planned and help implement freeway based express bus services, including station design.
The 140 mph bus thing is going nowhere. But if it proceeds, I’m sure in the end it will be “value engineered” back to Greyhound standards.
Regarding California and their rapid rail/fast buses…the dumb masses that voted for the crackpots in Sacramento are getting what they deserve. That goes for Albany, Olympia and Salem, too! Meanwhile, the “brain trusts” and the corporate dollars aren’t leaving these states…they are running away! “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” is attributed to Albert Einstein.
Kalifornia. Where the mayor of LA wants to be re-elected after watching her city burn with fire hydrants that didn’t work. Maybe she should have stayed in Ghana.
@Coffee Please — So, just bigotry?
C’mon, fellas, choo-choos can work, even in red-states. I’m sure Gary might take high-speed-rail, occasionally, if one existed between Dallas-Waco-Austin-San Antonio-Houston…
Why are we letting the Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Koreans, Europeans, Indonesians, and even Moroccans have all the fun?
@1990
Until you have lived here for 60+ years, watched Sacramento waste $15 billion over 16 years on a nonexistent high speed rail system that was supposed to cost half of that and now projected to be $35 billion, paid ridiculously high state taxes, pay $6.50+ per gallon of gas, watched politicians squander the state budget on unimportant pet projects while the infrastructure falls apart… You have nothing to contribute to the conversation about California. This place has become a complete mess. Yes, DUMB and DUMBER are at the wheel.
@1990. What was bigoted about what is said? Was she not in Ghana? When the truth hurts your side raises the racist, bigot, fascist, flag.
@D Fray — Oh, so, doubling-down, gatekeeping, and moving goal posts… No, you don’t have to live anywhere 60-years to ‘get it.’ Likewise, you can live there 80 years and still ‘know nothing.’ Any actual ideas on how to do anything better, or just more whining and name-calling?
@Coffee Please — You know better. ‘Go back to Africa,’ especially to a black person, even if they have ancestry or have visited there, isn’t a good-faith sentiment, at all.