Today was the last day of "freedom" for casual carpool. Starting tomorrow they're charging $2.50 for carpoolers (and $6 for everyone else during peak hours) on the Bay Bridge. I'd made my opinions known about the skewed logic in charging carpoolers when one of the cited reasons by the Bay Area Toll Authority is to make up for lost revenue due to decreased ridership (original post here). But now that the inevitable is happening tomorrow, how do we move forward? It will likely be awkward at best, I sincerely hope the BATA move doesn't kill casual carpool. Judging by the lively debate, it is a good possibility that there won't be consensus on this, at least at first.

My path forward is this: As a driver, I do not plan on out right asking for a buck, but will accept if riders offer. As a rider, I'll offer a buck, but not $1.25. If the driver makes a stink, I'll wait for the next car.

Thanks to a last minute offer, I'm going to see the Giants beat L.A. today. And I've decided to whip out the old Giants cap. For those of you who know me, when I decided to come back to baseball in earnest in 2002, I decided I would be an A's fan because I love Oakland and the Green/Gold colors as a long time Packer fan. The Brewers had left the AL so all the old rivalries I knew as a kid were gone anyway, and baseball lost me after the 1994 strike. But in 2000, none of this had been decided. However, I was working at Dennis McQuaid's law firm at the time and they had an extra ticket for the initial walk through of Pac Bell Park before it opened for the season in earnest that year. It was cool to tour the stadium and have a beer (or two). So I bought a Giants cap. I only bring it out for special occasions. In this case it's because they're playing L.A. and I will not remain neutral in that contest. There is another reason I keep this cap, and let this be a warning to Lew Wolff: I will bolt if you move to San Jose. Keep the A's in Oakland! Maybe my threat is counter-intuitive, but it's my threat and I can do what I want. Or maybe I'll be a fair-weather Brew Crew fan. Still love listening to Ueck calling the games, but my heart is in Oakland now.

What was the third thing I was going to talk about? Ah, I forget.