Hygiene and smoking...

New rule:

Any Gelato establishment with a sign that says:

"Due to hygienic reasons, it is not possible for us to let our customers taste the ice cream. Thank you for your understanding. The staff"

Well, such a place ought also to ban smoking, don't you think? I don't care if they do have a full bar, also. (Wait, why does a Gelato place have a full bar? And why is that sign only in English? Well, I'm guessing I can guess at the latter answer - only Americans expect the option, perhaps. But still...)

Rauchfreizone

To all restaurants and the like who exist within a locality which has not banned smoking within such establishment (and to the localities: please do), yet which have a smoke free area:

First off, thank you for at least going part way on being smoke free.

Would you like a tip on making it even better, though? Since this is a mostly of one-way form of communication, I'll just hope you answered yes to that, and give you this suggestion:

If you make sure that all the critical sections of your establishment (and especially: entrance, cashier, and WC) are in the smoke-free zone, you'll surely make your non-smoking customers much happier, while costing little to your smoking customers.

Thanks.

- David, in Wien.

Global transit passes

Imagine putting money on a card that you could then use at any transit system anywhere on the globe. Different fares would be deducted, depending on the system - and fares in different currencies would somehow have to be figured out. Perhaps disabled and age-based (youth, senior) fare flags could be applied on the card - and either just transfer that data, trusting any authority, or have the authority of one system at least give you a temporary use on a new system until such time as one could b re-certified locally.

And then, too, perhaps passes would automatically be granted on an as-useful basis: Ride once, pay one-ride fare. Ride again, a few hours later, pay again. Ride a third time in the day, pay a half fair (or whatever it happens to be) to upgrade you to unlimited-rides-for-one-day rate. Ride a couple times the next day, auto-upgrade to two-day unlimited. And then 7-day. And then monthly. And then yearly. Or not... Always paying the lowest possible fare for what you're actually using.

And maybe, just maybe, if you auto-upgrade in, say, Los Angeles on a Wednesday to a 7-day pass that started on Monday, and then you're in Berlin on Thursday, you'd pay at most the delta in weekly fares (as adjusted for US$ to € conversion) to get unlimited rides through Sunday.

Or maybe just have the TAP cards they use in LA actually work on all the buses in LA. I just had to pay a cash fare on a "big blue bus" #3 to the airport after using my TAP card just fine to board a Metro 33 to get to that 3. Sigh.