The Worst Band Ever

On the train, there's a guy behind me screaming into his phone in Chinese. In front of me, there's a guy screaming into his phone in English. They should start an a capella band called Harmony Hell.

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Readers Sound Off: What Makes For a Good Or Bad Commute?

Hello again, friends and neighbors! It's time for "Your Opinion Matters." Yes, the best kind of post is the one that writes itself. I ask readers a question, gather up the responses, and make a story out of it. You get some variety in your TTIV read, and I get content that didn't have to come from my brain. We're all winners! Hooray for us!

When it comes to good and bad commutes, there are some standards on which most everyone can agree. For example, an uneventful ride in a quiet, comfortable car with clean seats makes for a good commute. Major delays make for a lousy commute.

TTIV wanted to know about other things that make the commute good or bad, and took a reader survey. As usual, TTIV protects the anonymity of contributors with Shakespearean pseudonyms.

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Escalator Guidance

Regular #TTIV contributor Octavius shared this photo. It's from a people mover in the Minneapolis airport. Those are some helpful instructions.

Attention MTA: This kind of guidance should be provided on every escalator.

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The Floppers

If you commute with any regularity, you know the floppers. A flopper is a person who makes a less
than graceful landing into his seat. The wheels of his 747 don't gently kiss the ground, the plane bumps and skids onto the landing strip. The final approach to the terminal is bumpy. You get the point.

In short, the flopper sits down with a THUD. The flop is so eventful that everyone in the vicinity is immediately aware of the flopper's action. #TTIV has characterized several distinct flops, and they're the topic of today's story. Let's get to it.

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Man Up, MTA

The MTA wanted to keep this a secret

Everyone makes mistakes. It doesn't matter what line of work you're in, role seniority, or how much of a professional you are.

On Friday, a Long Island Rail Road engineer made a mistake and sideswiped another train near Jamaica Station. Fortunately, no one was injured. All passengers were evacuated safely. As you'd expect, the evening rush was snarled and Penn Station filled up fast with stranded commuters.

We're human and stuff happens. It's how you handle your mistakes that make your mettle. The MTA proved their preference is to slink away from accountability rather than take the bull by the horns and own the situation.

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Guest Story: Even More Fun With Edgar

We've shared a few stories on TTIV about the "rental cop" who directs traffic into the Hicksville Municipal parking lot. Not knowing his real name, we've given him the moniker "Edgar Wrentilkoppe." It isn't Edgar's fault that his job is difficult and unnecessary, but the way in which he conducts his business is aggressive and often frightening.

A TTIV reader contributed his own anecdote about Edgar, and it's the subject of today's story. We'll call our contributor "The Duke of Albany." #TTIV always protects reader anonymity with a Shakespearean pseudonym. 

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No Photos Please

On the train, in 4 seater. Woman across from me is holding her phone across from her, presumably she's farsighted and can't see it well otherwise. It feels like she's taking pictures of me. Maybe I should smile.

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More Fun With Edgar

I used the Hicksville parking facility this past week, which I rarely do. I'm glad I did, because now I have a story to tell you.

Regular TTIV readers will remember the headache I'm going to talk about, which is dealing with the traffic director. I like to call him Edgar the rental cop, or "Edgar Wrentilkoppe." For those of you who aren't familiar with him, he was first introduced in this post.

Once again, Edgar's traffic directing skills amused me.

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