Just to let you know...

For that woman who was blasting that "Jars of Clay" song out of her ear buds, that song is soooooo 2010.  I'm just sayin'.

Charlie Cards expire, and you'd better know it...

Got the following from a friend:

Monday afternoon I was heading over to the airport to say goodbye to my sister.  I scoot down to the State Street station that is under the COSI, tap my card (which has a monthly pass for November on it) and get the error "EXPIRED".  I've never seen this before, and of course there is no one around to ask, or to help.  So, I figure the machine is busted, pull out my emergency card (for situations JUST like this), and am on my way.  A few hours later, I am leaving the airport and coming back to the office.  I go to enter the station, and again, my card won't work and is reading as "EXPIRED".  Again, no one is around to ask, I use the back-up card (loaded with cash), get through and on my way. 

 

Finally leaving work on Monday night I find an MBTA employee at Gov't Center!  I explain my troubles, explain that I have a monthly pass, and ask what is going on??  I am told that Charlie Cards expire, anytime between 5-10 years from when they were issued, and I should have been monitoring this using the Fare Vending Machines in the station.  I am then told that I can bring my card to either the Downtown Crossing, or Harvard station to see if I can get my monthly pass transferred.

So, not only are you supposed to kow that the cards can expire but you are also supposed to keep track of it. 

The SWAT team hits the T...

I'm a big proponent of fare enforcement and increasing penalties for those caught not paying.  But what I saw this morning was just sad.  I got to the stop and there were approximately eight employees scanning passes as people arrived.  C'mon, this is just overkill.  You could have had one undercover employee sitting on the train in the back doing the same thing and actually catch people who don't pay.  It looked like a small army.

Until they stop people from walking through the open gates at Government Center, you're going to miss the real fare evaders.

Fashion tips

Today's fashion tip: Don't do your make-up on the T.  I'll give her credit, she didn't go flying or poke herself in the eye every time the train moved, but the woman who was standing across from me really needs to find a better place to do her makeup.  Between the blush, the eyebrow tweezing and lots of other female things that I didn't fully understand, she spent a good 15 minutes prettying herself up.

And in other news, "that guy" turned out to be a woman today.  I'm pretty sure that if she had blasted her music any louder, the people in the next car could have heard.  Which leads to an interesting question: If you start to lose your hearing due to music volumes, thus causing you to turn it up, will that only accelerate the process?

It could be worse; it could be the Washington Street Silver Line

What a mess.  I had to take the Silver Line the other day and it almost made me thankful for the Green Line.  I don't know why these buses can't drive in the rain, but after the first bus showed up, which I just missed, it was almost twenty minutes until the second one came.  As usual, back to back to back.  Nice scheduling, guys.

The Green Line at night

I'm not sure who does the scheduling for the Green Line, but there have to be patterns that occur.  For instance, at 10pm on a Saturday night, there are people going outbound from the city.  All these little one-car trains?  Not so much.  It gets as bad as rush hour.  Now, I understand that you don't want to overuse your resources on a time of day that you don't get many people.  But let's get serious, here.  You should be able to mine enough data to figure out when something is going to go wrong.

The late commute

I made the mistake of going in late this morning.  Hey, the kids apparently want breakfast.

The train was packed, and with all the usual suspects.  To the person on my left: If you are carrying a large bag, it is polite to place it on the floor.  If you keep it in your lap, it will overflow into my lap.

To the person on my right: Hey, it's That Guy!  Dude, you're 50.  You're too old to have the Phil Collins blasting so loudly that I can hear it through your earbuds.