Riding the NYC Subway

A few weeks ago, I boarded the train and noticed an empty stroller at one end of the car. A woman was sitting across the aisle from it, but the stroller did not seem to belong to her. I looked at it warily. This wasn’t exactly a suspicious package, but it was suspicious nonetheless. Why would someone leave an empty stroller on the train? Did its owner get sick of it and ditch it on the train, deciding to carry the child instead? Was the woman seated nearby homeless? But why would a homeless person want a stroller?

Apparently I wasn’t alone in my thinking because a few stops later, two men got on together. They walked to my end of the car, where there were plenty of seats, but then turned around and took seats toward the other end of the car.

I wondered whether or not I should tell someone. The NYC transit system is always broadcasting announcements about reporting suspicious packages in the subway. But if it turned out to be nothing, I knew the other riders would curse at me for messing up the rush-hour commute.

The other problem is that even if I’d decided to alert someone, I don’t know how I would have gone about doing it quickly. There’s the train operator who opens and closes the train doors — I could have called out to this person when the train stopped at the next station. But the lack of call systems in the individual cars is worrisome. The trains on the 4/5/6 lines, which I occasionally use, do have intercoms. But if there’s an incident where immediate action is necessary, it seems that riders on the older, crappier trains have their work cut out for them.

Stock People and the Fastest Way from A to B

Noticed this picture in an online ad for a dating service. Too bad for those interested because I could have sworn I saw “Heather” shilling for GoDaddy on the company’s Web site a few months ago.

[Later in the day]
Another Reason Why I Hate the MTA
I’ve always loved the Travel Information Center, which will give you the fastest route or the route with the least number of connections when using public transportation in the Chicago area. The center’s database includes information not only for the CTA but for Metra and Pace, which are operated separately.

However, there is no such online system for public transportation in New York City. If I want to get from point A to point B, I have to refer to the paper subway map and a separate paper bus map. The online maps are useless, at least at home, because the PDF files are so large and noticeably slow down my computer. And then I have no way of knowing which route would be fastest. A route might look fast, but if I’ve never been to a section of the city, I won’t know what the traffic situation is like there.

Tiny Cars for Tiny People

I was a little caught off guard when I saw my first Scion xA:

Scion xA (photo from Consumer Guide)

For the briefest moment, I thought I was looking at a Geo Metro, which my friend Jojo drove before she traded up to a Honda Civic. That is, I thought it was a Geo Metro before I saw the sleek Scion logo on the back of the car.

The humble Geo/Chrevolet Metro, also Ned Flanders’s car on The Simpsons (photo from Consumer Guide)

It’s nice to know that consumers now have more options should they choose to size down from their SUVs. A report I read or heard recently indicated that the popularity of cars like the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Mini Cooper and declining sales of SUVs along with increasing gas prices are spurring automakers to focus more upon developing small cars.

Things You Didn’t Know You Needed

I never used to pick up SkyMall, but then I realized I like looking through catalogs (more so than shopping in person). On my latest airplane trip, I was flipping through SkyMall when I noticed this item:

WonderVase

According to the catalog, WonderVase is made of a “stury, thermal-plastic material” that can be molded into a vase shape when exposed to warm water. Once molded, it can be filled with cold water and flowers. I’m not sure I’d go so far as the catalog to claim that the product looks like glass. But I like the fact that WonderVase can be stored flat. The catalog suggests that it can be used while traveling to brighten one’s hotel room, but for someone like me who gets flowers fairly infrequently, a vase like this would definitely cut down on the clutter factor.

On the other hand, this item might look nice, but I wonder whether or not it merely makes people more fearful:

EVAC-U8 Smoke Hood

Though the hood is recommended for when one is traveling, I wonder whether or not something like this might make more sense for one to keep at home or at work, given the fire that occurred in a Chicago high-rise in 2003.

On an unrelated note, after my airplane ride I had a hell of a time navigating the MTA (New York City) with my suitcase. Even though I was using one of those suitcases with wheels (for the very first time!), getting to and from the airport was still a hassle. For one, I was stymied every time I got to a turnstile. At least the CTA (Chicago) turnstiles at O’Hare Airport are wide enough to accommodate a grown person with a suitcase. But I had to lift my suitcase over the MTA turnstile every time I went through. Then there are the numbers of stairs that I encountered. I actually don’t know how someone in a wheelchair could have navigated the route I did because I don’t recall seeing any escalators and very few elevators. I’ll probably go back to traveling with a duffle bag. It’s slightly lighter than the suitcase, and I can carry it on my shoulders instead of having to watch out for this thing behind me.