Archive for December, 2007
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
Maria Bartiromo Is Concerned For My Safety
Was that none other than the Money Honey–CNBC star reporter Maria Bartiromo–instructing me to watch the gap upon exiting the train? I first started hearing Maria’s voice late last week in Grand Central.
Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker said he didn’t know much about the campaign, that it’s “an LIRR deal.”
I love that Grand Central deems me–and […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Money Honey by TJ
Monday, December 17th, 2007
Fondest On-Board Holiday Memories
As holiday train shows go down at Grand Central and the New York Botanical Gardens, I find myself calling up one of the finest train-related holiday memories in my vast reserve. It was Christmas eve, around 1995. I’d spent the last two weeks indulging friends who were in New York for a few days, and […]
No Comments » - Posted in LIRR, Santa by TJ
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Times I Like New York Vol. XXIXVX
Walking back from holiday party at Black Rock (Moonves a no-show due to a funeral, but pigs-in-a-blanket delightful), lamenting just how slippery the whole of midtown is when it’s precipitating. Thick stone slabs + worn down soles + rain = all the unintentional comedy one could want.
I cross 50th on 5th, and my consternation turns […]
No Comments » - Posted in 30 Rock by TJ
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Straphanger Joe: From One Guy in a Blue Cap to Another
Cowboys
Returning from Southeast at 5:09 p.m., I sat in a quarter-filled car, reading my book, Hindu Gods, The Spirit of the Divine [Editor’s Note: Whahh??], coming down off my gig speaking to drug court practicioners when the conductor came by to take my ticket.
He stopped and I smiled at him as I handed him my […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Straphanger Joe by TJ
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
Toward a More Clever…And More Drunk…Commute
Much like the train-riding tipplers at BeerTrainFriday.com, the good souls over at Clevercommute.com–they of the real-time service updates sent to mobile devices–are thinking about group happy hours. Drop ‘em a line if you’re interested.
From CleverCommute:
I’ve been thinking about pulling together a “Clever Commute Happy Hour”. Just a casual opportunity to get together on a weeknight…probably […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Clever Commute by TJ
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
The Knicks Park As Well As They Shoot
There was a surprisingly fascinating look at the Knicks and the Rangers and their commuting patterns in the NY Times yesterday. The crux of the article was, both teams have the same employer (Cablevision) and practice facility (Madison Square Garden Training Center on Old Saw Mill River Road on the Tarrytown/Hawthorne border). Beyond that, they […]
No Comments » - Posted in Knicks, Rangers by TJ
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
Spirit of Giving Strikes LIRR
From MonsterAJR:
Leaving the office 10 minutes later than norm to (hopefully but unlikely) catch my 5:23 out of Flatbush. The Gods/Stars seemed to have aligned for once in my favor. My elevator came right away, the subway arrived as I ran down onto the platform, nobody held the doors at any stop even though the train […]
No Comments » - Posted in LIRR by TJ
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Putting Token Booths to Good Use
We almost forgot to mention, the freebie NYC paper Metro thought enough of our take on commuter angst to run our essay about subway misbehavior in its “Voices” section last week, the part of the paper that influences policy-makers, informs CEOs and decides presidents.
Since we can’t seem to dig it up online, here’s the unedited, slightly […]
No Comments » - Posted in Subway by TJ
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Maybe Straphanger Joe Should Stick to the Subways
Mystery Men
I don’t take Metro-North too often on weekdays, but found myself heading up to Southeast on the 10:48 a.m. last week to speak to some drug court practitioners about relapse issues.
I was way, way too early and wandered around Grand Central for a while, marveling at all the neat shops, the Starbucks coffee […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Metro North, Straphanger Joe by TJ
Monday, December 10th, 2007
Say Hello To Beer Train Friday
If you’re tired of those solitary less-than Happy Hours that involve you, Mr. Sam Adams, and someone else’s copy of the Post, here’s a gang of souls intent on bringing commuters together: Beer Train Friday.
“We’re just a small group of train commuters that enjoy a cold one at the end of a long workweek and even longer commute,” […]