Archive for February, 2007
Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
Little Big Board
Your guest editor is of a geekier bent than your regular virtual conductor, so here’s my favorite train-related tech tip. Did you know that the MTA’s Web site contains its own version of the Big Board — the Grand Central Terminal departure info displayed on monitors around the station?
Of course you didn’t. That’s because the […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Al Qaeda, Amateurs, Beer, Beer guy, Blackberry, Departure time, Metro North, Tech, Tech Tips, treo by G. Francis
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
Ask Engine Bob: The Secret Platform
Q: Engine Bob, is there any truth to that old story about a secret train platform beneath the Waldorf-Astoria hotel that Andy Warhol gave a party on? Or is this just urban legend?
A: Actually, the story’s true-a good portion of it, anyway. You’re referring to what Grand Central maintenance crew (and Metro North brass, though […]
7 Comments » - Posted in Ask Engine Bob, Engine Bob, Grand Central, Secrets, Track 61 by G. Francis
Monday, February 26th, 2007
Word of the Week: STENCHBENCH
STENCHBENCH \STENNCH-bennch\noun: The almost always available trio of seats directly across from the toilet.
Usage: I was a little late boarding the 7:22 to Southeast, so I had to sit on the f***ing stenchbench.
1 Comment » - Posted in Word of the Week by G. Francis
Friday, February 23rd, 2007
Checking Out Commuting Patterns in Cancun
Armed with SPF 1000 sunblock and my fluency in Spanish (”Dos cervezas, por favor!”), I’m off in a bit to conduct an in-depth study of the laws of commutation along the Caribbean in Mexico.
But worry not, dear reader (and I do mean “reader” singular). G. Francis is our very worthy guest editor for the next […]
No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by TJ
Friday, February 23rd, 2007
Drag Queen on the 8:22!
I know many of my posts start with “I’ve never seen this before,” and here I go again: A drag queen got on the northbound 8:22 at 125th last night! (S)he was ginormous–around 6′ 5″, with some huge heels as well, putting her pretty darn close to 7-feet. (S)he was black and wore a brown […]
7 Comments » - Posted in Drag Queens by TJ
Friday, February 23rd, 2007
Straphanger Joe Says Get Off the Subway Doors!
Leaners
I know, I know. The sign says, do not lean against the subway door.
But have you ever noticed how many people do? I did an informal survey today on the F train, 8 o’clock run from Jackson Heights. We averaged one person per door in a crowded car. In order to hold the study […]
1 Comment » - Posted in F Train, Jackson Heights, Straphanger Joe by TJ
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
I Though My Commute Sucked Vol. III
Our pal Al Saracevic has a very interesting feature on the San Francisco Chronicle blog about his tour of India to see how it’s coping with its new economy. Apparently commuting is quite the bitch, both for locals navigating the horrific traffic and woeful railroads, and for Americans checking up on their outsourced biz.
Regarding the […]
2 Comments » - Posted in I Thought My Commute Sucked by TJ
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
Mind-Naggling Report on Fox
Fox had a pretty soft report on its 10 p.m. news about the vulnerability of commuter trains to terrorism. If Fox reporters could stow suitcases in the overhead racks and then depart the train, the reasoning went, why couldn’t Al Qaeda?
Fox tried this experiment in Stamford, then went to an Everyman Commuter–”Tom,” 40, hair parted […]
No Comments » - Posted in Al Qaeda, Stamford by TJ
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
Paradise by the Blackberry Light
Much has been made of the demise of the newspaper: people get their news from Google and Yahoo, their jobs and used tennis rackets from Craigslist. But Gorgeous Francis of Mamaroneck posits another reason why the paper is going the way of the wine cooler.
While Engine Bob shared what it was like to commute 50 […]
No Comments » - Posted in Blackberry, Mamaroneck, New Haven Line, Wall Street Journal by TJ
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
Here’s a Guy I’d Like to “Baseline”
In my long-weekend giddiness last week, I forgot about this guy. President’s Day weekend had officially begun on Friday’s 5:27. The guy across the aisle–40, non-descript, flashiest thing about him his Burberry scarf–was yapping on his cellphone while quaffing a gigantic coffee from Junior’s in Grand Central. He was pulling off the multi-tasking triathlon: the laptop, the Blackberry, the […]