u/MyNameCannotBeSpoken

Before the remodel of the Metro entry area at Union Station, there used to be a video display board of departing MARC/Amtrak trains. People relied upon the monitor when they were running late from Metro to discern which track their train was departing.

After the remodel, they never replaced the monitor. You can see where the elevated electrical outlet is placed. It's all configured, they just won't install the damn screen.

Seconds are crucial to prevent missing your train, the board was vitally important.

I walked to the MARC customer service area to complain and they said that it was Amtrak who removed the monitor as they own Union Station.

So I walked to the AMTRAK customer service who said it was not replaced because people had been stealing the old monitors. I never saw the monitors missing before the remodel . Even still, that is the cost of doing business. Amtrak has a responsibility to its customers and should replace the missing monitor. The rep did say if enough people complained, it may get replaced.

So if enough people complain to AMTRAK, they will feel some obligation to replace the monitor.

If you are ever at Union Station please complain to the AMTRAK customer service desk by Starbucks.

This photo perfectly captures my zero bag ethos.

Here's my abridged recap of my two week, three stop, zero bag trip to Chicago, Arizona, and Las Vegas. For the full report, you can read my blog post here.

Clothing

Merino wool turtleneck: Worked well in Chicago. Wool buff made the turtleneck part a little redundant, so might go light wool sweater in the future. I gave the turtleneck to my family to bring back home when I went to Vegas.
Wool & Prince T-Shirt: Wore pretty much every day during trip. Great performance. Highly recommended.
Bluffworks Departure Jeans: Bringing the Bluffworks Departure Jeans instead of the Ascender Chinos was a good, last minute decision. They were more rugged which was useful with all the outdoor activities in Arizona. The extra side pocket along the right leg meant I didn’t have to put my MagSafe Wallet and power bank in my back pockets. The back, zippered security pocket held my hotel keycards, which kept them away from being demagnetized by a MagSafe magnet or a chip-enabled credit card.
Lululemon running shorts: Convenient elastic side pockets and a zippered back pocket meant I could carry the essentials when running or walking on hot days (with the rest of stuff in the hotel).
Wool buff: The wool buff was also a very versatile piece of clothing. I could dry my hair with it, cover my face and neck on cold days, and overall give a little splash of style to my outfit. Gray is a neutral color, but I’m already thinking of getting a few more in different colors to mix things up in my future travels.
Shoes: My Kinvara 15 running shoes, which I only used for running prior to this trip, look and feel like they’ve aged 300 miles from all the walking. I’m going to test them out for a run now that I’m back in the Bay Area, but they will likely need to be replaced with another pair.

Toiletries

Toothbrush: I really wish someone would make an electric toothbrush that cleans as well as my Oral-B but is travel-sized. I used the seconds hand on the Miltado watch to tell me when I needed to switch quadrants every thirty seconds.

Tech

iPhone 15 Pro Max: Battery life was a concern in Vegas. Had to use the power bank in the afternoon every day since I was taking lots of photos and giving demos of my apps.
iPad mini (7th-generation): Worked well for my presentation in Chicago. Didn't really use it in Arizona or Las Vegas and I could have sent it back with family. A cellular version would have been better than using Personal Hotspot with my phone.
RODE Wireless Micro: Use it for my presentation. I'm currently looking into other ways to get my audio into my app that has good voice isolation and noise reduction. Did not need to bring it with me to Vegas.
Wired Headset: Didn't really miss the AirPods. Used the wired headset a couple of times.
Nomad Slim 65W Charger: Highly recommended. So slim compared to the chunkier Anker Prime chargers.
Miltado ML05 Watch: Less bulk and no need for charging cables. Sure, I missed seeing notifications and I had to be more mindful of the time and where I needed to be, but I didn't miss my Apple Watch Ultra all that much on this trip.

What I Didn't Need

Apple Pencil: This was never used, and I could have left it at home
3-D printed belt clip: The Fegve did the heavy lifting, carrying my water bottle and, on occasion, my hat
Extra hair band: I could have gone with two instead of three
One floss string: I had brought one extra just in case

Finally, here's a fun zero bag story. Once I landed in SJC, I found myself racing against the clock to catch the VTA bus. After getting off the plane (was stuck in the back), I walked briskly from Gate 19 to Gate 27 where the exit to the baggage claim and ground transportation is located. Down the escalator, out to the pedestrian crosswalk, and 25 meters or so to the bus stop. I saw my bus right when I reached the pedestrian crosswalk.

Were I more encumbered, I would have missed it, but thanks to having no luggage, I got to the stop right as the bus was pulling up. In my own small way, I felt like the NASA team pulling off the recent Artemis II mission. The stars aligned, the correct calculations were made, and everything ran to perfection in order for me to walk onto the bus seconds after it pulled into the station.

Mama squirrel nursing baby

Just realized that Rush 'n Attack is a pun for Russian Attack

I'm going to start saying this whenever I see someone on their smartphone

Mapped: Where Young Americans Still Own Homes

We all love Frontier right? Because I like it a lot!

Is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror the only remaining attraction with intellectual property (IP) not owned by Disney? It's shared with CBS/Paramount