Month: June 2007

iPhone Birthday

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Today at 6pm Eastern, the iPhone goes on sale. SUBWAYblogger will actually be in the area of “The Cube” to witness the insanity.

The iPhone really is a dream toy for me since a majority of this blog is written remotely via Blackberry. I wonder how easy writing on it would be?

It would be sweet to have the “real Internet” on my phone too. It would be helpful for making other updates and changes when above ground. All the other functions would be fun to have too!

Unfortunately, I won’t be getting one any time soon. It’s complicated, but I would have to break my current contract. Also, it aint cheap! I don’t believe it is compatible with my work’s email setup either. Booo.

One day though. One day in the not to distant future.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

BREAKING NEWS East Side Subways Shut Down

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The entire East Side has been shut down due to power outages.

The 4, 5, 6, E and V lines are shut down in all directions. A reported outage on the Upper East Side and/or Bronx has brought the East Side to a halt.

The intense storm in the area will likely not help things!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

——

UPDATE (6:40pm):

All trains on the East Side are running locally only. There is no express service.

The 4 and 5 trains terminate at 86th Street.

CLICK HERE for delay details.

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All trains running normal (for now).

What is the dirtiest subway station

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So here’s a question…what’s the dirtiest station in the subway system? Every regular rider knows a stop that just makes their skin crawl to think about it.

One I can think of is 96th and Broadway on the 1, 2, and 3. That stop is old and disgusting. It fills up like a toilet any time there is a good rain.

59th Street Columbus Circle used to not be too bad until they started destroying everything to remove the asbestos.

Most parts of the Grand Central subway are gross too. Mostly the main concourse. It just smells like homeless feet and ass. It looks pretty run down too. However, branches off of it like the walk to the S train are in fairly good shape.

Your thoughts???

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

Poloshirts are heaven

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Guys that can get away with just wearing a poloshirt to work have no idea how lucky they are. While they have no problem dealing with the oppressive subway heat, the rest of us are dying a slow death in our suits.

The powers in charge that mandate full dress attire in the peak of summer are tools. Honestly, can we all just get together in the boardroom wearing some light weight kakis and polos or will that make Bob from accounting cry?

There’s no need! Besides, no matter how nice your suit is, it looks like shit after you’ve sweat through the ass of your pants.

Offices that require full business wear should provide full locker rooms for the men to store their clothes. That way, we can wear shorts and t-shirts to work, and change when we get there. Otherwise, the subway is going to kill us, and we haven’t even reached the hottest point of the year!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

Sweat like a hog

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Have you ever seen a man sweat so much that it was painful to look at? He’s dripping wet to the point that you actually begin to gag? Yeah. Me too, but I’m looking at it right now.

This guy is sweating buckets. Thank goodness the train isn’t over crowded today or I might have gone crazy. With my luck, I’d be pressed right up against him.

This morning, it’s warm on the platforms. It certainly isn’t so hot that you’d be near heart attack like this guy.

He’s a larger fellow…but I’m sure you figured that out. He’s in a suit, but he isn’t wearing the jacket anymore. He’s carrying it over his arm. However, it’s clear that he sweat right through the jacket already. His entire blue button down shirt is soaked like he got hit with a firehose.

Ok, it’s making me ill, so I have to stop.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

Well that only took a week

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Today was the first day this week that I was able to catch my morning train to work!

This line has been f-ed up all week long. Twice, I got to the platform just as a train was leaving, only to wait 15+ minutes before an announcement of service changes.

Even after walking 20 blocks to the closest express stop, I was still screwed. There was a “sick passenger” that kept me from being able to transfer back to a local service line. So I had to say on the express train and catch a local back uptown.

When getting to the station where the alleged “sick passenger” was, I saw the “victim” surrounded by police. It wasn’t a sick passenger at all. It was an old, drunk woman who was screaming and yelling. She couldn’t walk 5 steps without tipping over. Then she would scream and try to squeeze out a slurred demand or racist rant.

Today, so far so good. I’d like to just forget this morning ever happened.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio… .

State GOP Says “Not So Fast” to Spitzer’s MTA Chairman Nomination

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State GOP Chairman, Joseph N. Mondello, is promising a tough investigation into the nomination of H. Dale Hemmerdinger for MTA Chairman.  Hemmerdinger and his wife are regular financial contributors to the Democratic party and Democratic candidates.  So this raises red flags for Republicans.

From SAS:
“Last week, Dale Hemmerdinger opened his home to host a big money fundraiser for Governor Spitzer. This week, the Governor is nominating him to head the MTA when his mass transit experience appears to be limited to suggesting fee increases on hard working New Yorkers,” State GOP Chairman Joseph N. Mondello said in a statement. “Governor Spitzer appears to have instituted a brazen ‘pay to play’ culture in Albany that is disappointing and shocking to the people of New York State.”

You have to admit that it is a little suspect that you throw a big party for the Governor and then get a huge nomination.  I’m not saying there’s foul play involved, but it just doesn’t look good.

Hemmerdinger to be new MTA Chairman? Oh c’mon…that’s not a real name!

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mta_chief.jpgDale Hemmerdinger, real estate mogul, has been nominated by Gov. Spitzer to be the new MTA Chairman to replace Peter Kalikow.  That’s right, another huuuuge real estate giant in charge of the MTA.  Not the end of the world since the MTA owns an ass load of property.  However, a property guy might not be the best at managing infrastructure…no? 

Wouldn’t more of a civil engineer type be better at this kind of gig?  Personally, I think what the MTA needs is someone that has a focus on improving the service technology of the system.

It’s not a done deal yet.  The State Assembly still needs to approve the nomination.  So, you never know, but he’ll probably get in.

Of course, I’ve got nothing against the guy.  As a matter of fact, he shows many Bloomberg like qualities in the way he runs his business.  He appears to be a very straight forward guy that looks out for his people. 

Little Campers Everywhere

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The mystery of where all the kiddies have gone has been solved. They are all of in summer camp-like programs that must all start at the exact same time in the morning.

I get down to the train at virtually the exact same time every day. So usually, I see the same usual suspects. A couple weeks ago, all the high school age and younger kids seemed to have disappeared. Obviously, school’s out for summer…or at least it’s exam time.

Today, however, I was just a few minutes earlier to the subway. I’ve found all the missing children. There they were with their mothers in tow. They are all off to their summer finger paint and basket weaving classes. So now I know exactly what time to avoid the subway like the plague. Luckily, the kids window is plus or minus five minutes.

From all directions, they flooded toward the subway entrance. It was as if a bell rang in the neighborhood, sending the signal that it was time for them to board. It was a little scary because it was one of those, “wait a minute, what am I missing” moments.

So it shall only take me this one time to learn my lesson. It only takes one time to hear an entire ride’s worth of poopy jokes to know that there’s no way in hell I will get on the train at this time again. That, combined with shrill screams and morning temper-tantrums (not by me) have also solidified my desire to never have kids in this city.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…