No Ticket to Ride (Aka jon the media *****)

[macgeek]

NY Metroland Online:
Jonathan Gleich loves his Segway.

“I love the fact that I am not trapped in a train,” says the Brooklyn native. He has been using his Segway for the past two years to traverse a 15-mile commute to work. “I love that I am out in the air. I am out in the sun.”

There are always curious people, he says, peppering him with the same questions over and over. Gleich eats it up.

“If you are shy, the Segway is not a thing for you,” Gleich continues. “It is the ultimate conversation starter.”

“I am an attention *****,” he admits. “I love attention.”

He has made the trip nearly 200 times, and every time he has broken the law.

http://www.metroland.net/techlife.html

[bentbiker]

http://www.metroland.net/techlife.html
This is the strangest article on Segways yet. You are left really scratching your head as to whether it is positive or negative. I guess it is generally neither as the writer suggests people should be allowed alternatives. However, he seems highly critical of both the Segway and those opposing it.

He starts off by saying, "Mostly these self-balancing, two-wheeled conveyances are just goofy, “futuristic” playthings of geeks and attention whores like Gleich." Then, he attacks the opposition, saying:
So naturally there was little fanfare when Gov. Eliot Spitzer vetoed legislation that would have allowed Segways onto public streets and sidewalks. No public outcry. No media backlash. The Segway lobby proves to be not so very formidable. What was noticeable, however, and worth getting worked up about, was the sanctimonious applause that followed from the activist section of the crowd. One primary concern put forward by transportation activists is that by allowing Segways onto sidewalks that state would be endangering pedestrians. But this argument is simply erroneous. The legislation Spitzer vetoed would have left it to individual municipalities to decide where Segways would be allowed to roll. A suburban community might have chosen to allow them on sidewalks. Cities, such as Manhattan, might have chosen otherwise. Another concern, one that transportation activists share with health and environmental advocates, is that, by allowing another unnecessary motorized vehicle onto the streets, we will just be enabling fat, lazy American loathing of physical exercise.The most interesting point for me, however, is a quote attributed to the American Lung Association’s Michael Seilback: “This bill is about providing people with an alternative to walking.” This is higly illustrative of the poor job that has been done positioning the product in the mind of the populace. It is seen as an alternative to walking and biking, instead of an alternative to driving.

Overall, the writer is quite well informed (if not a fan), and I'm guessing that is due to Jonathan.

[hellphish]

This was my favorite part, and was well said. (He was speaking of Segway enabling people to become fat and lazy)

This argument, as well, rings hollow. How does anyone know that by legalizing these vehicles people will walk less? How is this an alternative to walking? It is easy to make that claim, playing on the image of the portly computer geek riding his Segway to Burger King or to the local comic-book store, but, besides being mean spirited, it is intellectually dishonest. By assuming that the same person, not afforded a Segway, would chose to walk or ride a bike, the advocates are willfully ignoring the reality that they probably just jump in their car.

[bentbiker]

This was my favorite part, and was well said. (He was speaking of Segway enabling people to become fat and lazy)

This argument, as well, rings hollow. How does anyone know that by legalizing these vehicles people will walk less? How is this an alternative to walking? It is easy to make that claim, playing on the image of the portly computer geek riding his Segway to Burger King or to the local comic-book store, but, besides being mean spirited, it is intellectually dishonest. By assuming that the same person, not afforded a Segway, would chose to walk or ride a bike, the advocates are willfully ignoring the reality that they probably just jump in their car.
Although I certainly agree that it is interesting and well written, I'd love to hear his explanation of how he reconciles this with his equally mean spirited statement that "Mostly these self-balancing, two-wheeled conveyances are just goofy, “futuristic” playthings of geeks and attention whores like Gleich." Chet Harding would appear to be a master of inconsistency.

[hellphish]

Although I certainly agree that it is interesting and well written, I'd love to hear his explanation of how he reconciles this with his equally mean spirited statement that "Mostly these self-balancing, two-wheeled conveyances are just goofy, “futuristic” playthings of geeks and attention whores like Gleich."

I'm sure he hasn't done the research to know exactly what percentage of Segway owners are geeks and attention-seekers vs. regular boring people, but I would imagine the number is quite high, possibly more than 50%. Of course that is mostly the geeks, not the attention-seekers.

So I would say that mostly he is right!

[macgeek]

I was trying to keep the interview Light and informative, "Attention *W*h*o*r*e*" may have been a bit too strong a word, But it DID get a laugh.

the geek part is 100% correct, I also stressed the fact that Since getting my segway I have lost about 100 lbs and am in better physical shape.

but you win the battles, you can win.

I'm pretty happy with the article

Jonathan