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Typical Lack Of Manners

Posted by
on September 24th, 2007 at 5:59 am

This entry also focuses on the ride I blogged about in the entry below this. I wanted to separate this entry because this is more of a rant & it didn’t fit the vibe of the previous entry. I find baby strollers annoying! I said it so sue me! Why does it seem that common sense disappears when one operates such a device?

I boarded the 6 at Parkchester to head on down to the San Gennaro Feast. I sat across from a woman who had a baby stroller. She had a young kid inside of it while sitting next to what I assume was her daughter. She had the stroller as close to her as possible so she didn’t take up much room. The train was not crowded so she was not a problem.

The woman stands up & prepares to get off as the train pulls in the Morrison-Soundview Avenues station. As the train comes to a stop she is preparing to depart however cue in “typical lack of manners” straphanger from stage left. As the doors opened, you had your typical straphanger rushing to get into a train. The unfortunate part is this idiot also had a baby stroller & almost crashed into the woman departing the train with her stroller.

We were about 2 inches at most from them running right into each other. This would not have been a pretty site considering the force being used by the woman entering the train.  Thankfully the collision was avoided due to the quick reflexes of the woman departing the train. Unfortunately of all the seats available, this woman had to sit across from me.

What annoyed me the most is how she looked at me as if I should have moved my foot in. I am 6’4″ so naturally my legs are long & stretch out. However I was well within my own space so I did not move my foot so she worked her stroller into her space. My feeling is that all baby strollers should be folded up to begin with! Why should I be uncomfortable because you choose to keep your stroller open?

Seriously can the police start ticketing these idiots already?

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Opinions
0

6 Train Eye Catcher

Posted by
on September 24th, 2007 at 5:38 am

Yesterday marked the end of The 80th Annual Feast of San Gennaro. Like I did last year, I attended the festival with my best friend Dawn. Unlike last year I noticed a more sizable crowd riding the subway but not an uncomfortable amount. However this entry is mostly about debuting an entry in th e “Eye Catchers” category.

I was enjoying music on my mp3 player while riding the 6 down to Canal Street. I knew I was running late but I felt in no rush to get to the festival. I knew it was not going anywhere so being late would not be a big deal. As my destination neared, I noticed quite an attractive blond checking me out. We played the typical eye games although this round was much more intense than usual.

I was 95% sure she was checking me out in approval. I had a little bit of doubt which was quickly erased. She got off the train at Bleecker Street & pulled the infamous “shoe” maneuver. If you don’t know what the shove maneuver is, you purposely act like something is wrong with your shoe so you are forced to stop in a spot. When you stop, you will follow that up with whatever idea you had in mind. As she stopped to “fix” her shoe, she looked at me one more time & presented a nice big smile.

The quick eye game was fun & a nice surprise on my way to the feast. If you are wondering why I didn’t talk to her, I have a legitimate reason. I’m talking to someone now &……………….

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Eye Catchers
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Eerie….

Posted by
on September 21st, 2007 at 7:50 am

I was browsing Subchat this morning & spotted a thread posted by “Terrapin Station” which caught my eye. The thread title is what led me to open it & discover quite an eerie story. The story was about a mother who was found dead around the same area her daughter was found dead 5 weeks earlier. Here is the story courtesy of the BBC:

Joanne Coombs (Mother; 40 years old) Natasha Coombs (Daughter; 17 years old)

The mother of a teenager who died on tracks near a railway station in Essex five weeks ago has been found dead on the same stretch, it is reported.

Joanne Coombs, 40, was reportedly found dead at Manningtree, Essex, on Tuesday.

Her 17-year-old daughter Natasha was found dead near the same spot on 10 August. Police were at the Coombs’ Harwich home on Tuesday night.

Insp Ed Purchase of British Transport Police said a train driver found a body after a track fault was reported.

“On Tuesday evening the driver of the 1900 BST Liverpool Street to Norwich train service reported a possible track fault,” Mr Purchase said.

“The line was checked by the driver of the following freight train. He found the body of a woman near Manningtree station.

“We can confirm that this is the same location where the body of 17-year-old Natasha Coombs was found on 10 August.

“It is believed that the woman was struck and killed by the train reporting the track fault. The incident is not being treated as suspicious.

“The deceased has not yet being formally identified and an investigation is under way by British Transport Police.”

Meal with friends

A postmortem examination showed Natasha died when she was hit by a train.

She was last seen alive while traveling home to Harwich following a meal with friends in Ipswich on 27 July.

Natasha had separated from her boyfriend two weeks before and police believed she might have been upset about the split on the night she disappeared.

Natasha Coombs
Natasha’s body was found in undergrowth near the station

Her body was found two weeks later in undergrowth a mile down the line from the station on the London side after a report from a passing train driver.

A coroner has launched an investigation into her death.

Mrs Coombs appeared at a press conference on 2 August with her husband Gary, 48, to appeal for help in finding Natasha.

She broke down as the couple discussed Natasha’s disappearance.

“The house is so empty without her,” Mrs Coombs said. “It’s unbearable.”

She said the family had been due to go on holiday to Canada on 4 August and added that Natasha had been excited by the prospect of the trip.

Mrs Coombs said her daughter had also been looking forward to turning 18 later in the year.

‘Constant fear’

Natasha was Mr and Mrs Coombs’ only child.

Mrs Coombs told of her last conversation with Natasha when the teenager had called on the night she vanished to say she would get a taxi home from the station.

In the days following Natasha’s disappearance, her grandparents, Peter and Wendy Clackett, also made an appeal for help to find her and offered a reward to anyone who had information.

On 8 August Mr and Mrs Coombs made a second appeal for help in finding Natasha and said they lived in constant fear of “what tomorrow will bring”.

What an eerie story……..

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Death
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I Have My Doubts……

Posted by
on September 21st, 2007 at 3:39 am

This entry can be considered a continuation of the entry below which focused on the MTA’s vow to improve storm performance. I decided to reread the entire report & develop further opinions about their suggestions. The key suggestion that caught my eye referred to developing capacity for real time text alerts.

I applaud the idea on merit but question the reality of it getting done. The MTA already has such a system in place for LIRR commuters. The LIRR system has 24,000 subscribers & it takes up to 1.5 hours to send out alerts to all of them. New Jersey Transit has a similar system in place & it sends alerts to approximately 46,000 subscribers. The major issue is can any of these agencies handle a real big upswing in subscribers?

Considering the amount of straphangers who depend on our system in the tri-state area, their current levels are quite low. They have problems pushing alerts out fast enough to such a small number of subscribers. What happens when the number of subscribers doubles, or goes into 6 figures? The current timing of alerts reaching everyone will not cut the mustard as such data will probably be outdated by time it reaches everyone.

The other major factor is character limits when it comes to cell phones. Most cell phones have a character limit of 160 for text messages. I would speculate at minimum, 90% of the MTA’s service alerts would surpass that limit with ease. Unfortunately the option to scale back on characters can not be considered as a solution.

In reality, can the MTA really produce a system with legitimate real time capacity & execute it as it should be? I have my doubts……

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Opinions, System Conditions, Transit Failures
3

MTA Vows To Improve Storm Performance

Posted by
on September 20th, 2007 at 10:22 pm

Today the MTA put out a press release in relation to its performance during the August 8th storm that crippled mass transit throughout NYC. The report which was submitted to Gov. Spitzer today focuses on how the storm caught them off guard & the changes they plan on implementing. Here are a few sections of the report:

To directly address these issues, the MTA will pursue a series of improvements in operations, engineering and communications. Operationally, Doppler radar is being installed in each agency’s operations center, an MTA-wide Emergency Response Center has been created, and new storm protocols will be put in place to guide alternative service.

To begin implementing these solutions, the MTA has committed $30 million to fund initiatives that can be put into place quickly. Just as importantly, the MTA will quantify the costs of the longer-term capital fixes needed to permanently prepare the system for operating in future storms and communicating with customers in all types of emergencies. These initiatives will be considered for inclusion in the MTA’s expedited Capital Program, due to be presented to the State Legislature early next year.

Create Early Warning and Response Capability – The MTA agencies will collaborate on a common and redundant weather forecasting system/capability and install Doppler radar monitoring in all agency operations centers. This will allow pre-deployment of operating personnel when potentially threatening weather is indicated. (30 days)

To see the full release, click here.

I have a bone to pick with the MTA. Why did it take a major storm to implement such changes? How many times has the MTA performed poorly during rainstorms? The number is so high, I have lost count. One would think that the MTA would learn to be more proactive instead of reactive with this issue. I understand that the MTA is not fully to blame as far as floods go. We all know that a good percentage of straphangers are also to blame with the littering of our system. However this does not change the fact that the MTA should have severely fixed this issue years ago!

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