Bought a new bike... because I nearly got killed

I learned a hard lesson about riding a bike that doesn't really "fit" you as opposed to riding one you can dismount quickly and steer swiftly.

Long story short, last Thursday night, a driver ran a stop sign. Then he STOPPED in the middle of the intersection when he finally saw me approaching, quickly, downhill. I screamed at the top my lungs for him to move. He accelerated (honest to GOD, was he stupid???). I whizzed past his back-end and nearly wrapped myself and my bike around a lamp post. I came home, told my husband I had to get a proper bike and I got a proper ROAD bike.

It's a Giant Cypress LX W. It's the most amazing bike I've ever owned. Last night, I rode 16 km up hills and over bumps like it was butter. Nothing hurt. I can stop, dismount and hop off in seconds. I almost wept.

And I want to be honest with you, I am only taking a 5-day vacation but my mental health break started much earlier. So many of you are freaking out about PAN AM. I have no idea how to help anyone deal because I have no idea what the impact will be.

How I've been coping is I imagine Friday nights when a Raptors game, Jays game, Slipknot concert and Disney on Ice are all letting out at the same time. I have done many of these nights.

Those of you who haven't, yes, you will probably become alcoholics.

I've already beat you to it.

Vacation notice

Hey friends!

ThisCrazyTrain.com is taking a break. Content updates will return July 6.

Happy Canada Day!

+1 for the doors opening. If this was GO, we'd be held hostage or have to use the ax and sledgehammer

Sauce

And now MORE about Tuesday's 5:20 LSE

And here I was, ready to pull out my board game of Clue and toss the candlestick into the library with Colonel Mustard to figure out why Tuesday's evening rush for the LSE became a gong show (I had the email to my contacts at GO Transit all drafted up) when this email came in:

What is a "temporary technology blip"?

Good christ. Did someone in Customer Relations phone down to I.T. mentioning he or she was drafting an apology to customers and needed an explanation and some clown in I.T. barked out "temporary technology blip"? What is this? 2001?

There is absolutely no need or this kind of vague jargon in 2015. We're all smart these days. Computer databases run about 85% of our daily lives. And we know they can fail.

How about you try some transparency, my friends in I.T.? I worked in your industry for 13 years and fought against this crap. I believe in telling clients the truth.

Someone screwed up. If not someone, then the software failed. Full stop.

In this case, what the email could have said is, "The software GO Transit relies on to feed information about train schedules such as their departure times and platform numbers failed to function properly during the period of 5:15 pm and 6:15 pm on Tuesday, June 23. We have taken measures to correct the problem and we do not anticipate this will happen again. We profusely apologize for the confusion this caused, as well as the inconvenience."

And even if I.T. doesn't know what the problem was, then say that. Then conclude with it appears to have been resolved but the situation is being further investigated. It's not hard.

Don't write to us about "blips". We deserve better than that.

Union Pearson Express hits ridership targets but can be tough to find, survey of riders finds

Toronto's new airport train is hitting its ridership and approval targets.

But nearly half the riders say finding the stations isn't as easy as the journey between Pearson and Union. 

"Our feedback is really good but we're getting some good, practical advice about wayfinding, " said Metrolinx spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins.

The provincial agency's own survey…

Health update

There's a country song here somewhere. But seriously, who doesn't like #cycling fresh asphalt? pic.twitter.com/v9B4Dg6f9A

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 23, 2015

It's been a while since I've mentioned where I'm at with my struggle to be healthy and fit. In October I had a setback when I fell down the stairs of a Double Decker GO bus when the driver accelerated to leave the bus stop as I was making my way down to exit. I slammed my right knee into the fiberglass wall and hobbled off the bus after exchanging angry words with the driver. He admitted he didn't look at his monitors to see if anyone was exiting from the upper deck. A week later, I went to put on my shoes at my sister's house after Thanksgiving dinner and my knee screamed, I screamed, and just like that - BURSITIS.

What an absolutely awful condition. There have been days when I could not walk. Days when I cried just from going down a few steps. Days when I could barely get out of my office chair after sitting for an hour. Nights where I couldn't sleep because of the pulling and swelling sensation. Days of sobbing and feeling sorry for myself because I lost my stability, had trouble with balance, and was stuck with limited mobility and range of motion. It's taken close to 40 physiotherapy sessions, a dozen acupuncture treatments and months of stationary cycling to get where I am today - walking, standing, climbing stairs, descending stairs and being able to bend the knee and put full weight on my right leg. I'm not out of the woods yet as my knee is out of alignment after months of a poor gait, and I am experiencing hip pain and joint pain that I am told should eventually subside. I've also been warned that surgery may be necessary.

You know that saying, a body in motion stays in motion? There was no motion so my body became a body at rest, and even though I restricted my caloric intake to 1800 calories a day, the scale moved up and before I knew it, I gained 20 pounds between November and May. I blame the weight gain to reintroducing bad foods into my diet - sugar being the main culprit. This month, after turning 41 on the 14th, I literally slapped myself in the face. Self-pity isn't my style but it's easy to be swallowed up by it. My lowest recorded weight in the past three years was 238. My highest weight (2010) was 328 (rough estimate). I am now 260 -- so no where near the shit show of 328, but far away from the best weight of 238.

I'm back to cycling since long-distance walking is still off the table. And I mean hardcore cycling, with hills and steep inclines that stretch for two kilometers or more. Living in east Courtice, surrounded by long stretches of country roads, I can cycle for 15 to 20 kilometers and burn 1000 calories in an hour. Of course, some of these roads are narrow and with no shoulders, just deep ditches, it can be nerve-wracking when drivers act like douchebags. I am not an aggressive or entitled cyclist. I am a "share the road" cyclist. I am a"stop at the stop sign" cyclist. I am a "helmet always on" cyclist. I am a "always uses hand signals" cyclist. I am a "wears a light when it's dusk" cyclist. I am the type of cyclist that motorcyclists will go out of their way to stop me and tell me they appreciate I follow the rules of the road. I don't do it because I'm a nice person. I cycle the way I do because it's the right thing to do, and in some cases, the law. It's a shame that law-abiding cyclists have to be thanked for being law-abiding.

As it stands, I think I am back on track. No more sugar. Lots of cycling. And more weight training. I've been told when it comes to cardio, your body eventually becomes efficient of whatever exercise you undertake and you have to "switch it up". For me, that means more challenging bikes rides and lifting weights in my ghetto home gym.

Wish me luck!

I went and thanked all these smokers for their co-operation before I boarded the bus

@metrolinx had a contractor come by and install a butt stop for the smokers at @gotransit Oshawa station. A+ pic.twitter.com/TgsKS6Lo3e

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 24, 2015

... Then I told the asshole sucking cancer right outside the bus door that he can walk 40 metres to the smoking area and puff there. I didn't even let him get a "but" in before I told him he was compromising the health and safety of the bus driver, who is at work, in his office, and who is protected by the law to not be subjected to harmful second-hand smoke while he operates his vehicle. I could see a "fuck you" forming on this ape's lips so I told him if he had any further objections, we could wait for the police to decide who has the upper hand.

And seriously, rather than just move over to where  he could smoke - freely - he threw his cigarette to the ground, tossed his hands up the air and started yelling at me about his "rights". I boarded the bus. I couldn't listen to his shit anymore.

Needs more description

This happens a lot. A person submits a photo with no description and doesn't respond to texts or emails I send in response asking for context.

I'm going to assume that the area of interest to the photographer stems from the logogram on the bag. Otherwise, I can't see what the subject was doing wrong in this photo. Sitting sideways isn't objectionable so .... yeah. I got nothing else.

Meow

Hi Cindy. Thought you might get a chuckle from this photo.

I've made a poem/limerick to accompany.

"Heading home on the GO and needing a nap,
But wait, what is this? Could that be a cat?
I'm settled in my seat,
Yet I feel such defeat,
As for MY sleepy head, where do I put that?!"

Some further commentary about last night's 17:20 disaster (5:20 pm LSE)

from:		T
to:		"cj@thiscrazytrain.com"
date:		Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 11:50 AM
subject:		Tuesday's 1720 LSE

Tuesday night's 1720 started off bad, but got worse in a way that could have been avoided. Problems on the LSW line meant that the screens were showing it arriving 1730. It turned up about 1733, having vanished form the on-platform screens at 1730 (what's up with that?). 

The 1720 stops at Danforth, Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa. The 1735 makes all stops from Danforth to Pickering. Ideally, GO would have dropped the Danforth and Scarborough stops from the late-running 1720, and those passengers could have used the on-time 1735 instead (for about 2 minutes delay), and the 1720 could have made time up (about 5-7 minutes). This didn’t happen.

The 1720 and 1735 depart from adjacent platforms, and both normally use the same track east of the Don (the right-hand one, as the engineer sees it). The sensible thing would have been to let the 1720 go first, so that it would be in front of the all-stops 1735, and the 1720 not be delayed on its express potion. (This would have delayed the 1735 by about 3 minutes). This didn't happen.

Somewhere west of Danforth, the 1740 VIA train went by on the centre track. Once that had cleared, the centre track has nothing scheduled until the 1753 LSE express. The 1720 could therefore have used that track to overtake the 1735. It could have been switched onto that track either at Danforth or at Scarborough. This didn't happen.

So, instead, the 1720 was stuck behind the 1735 all the way to Pickering, and hence was half an hour late at Pickering to Oshawa. This train forms the 1838 form Oshawa, which consequently started its trip late (about 1850). Any further hiccup, and it would have ended up 15+ minutes late, triggering service guarantees for all its passengers too.

What started out as a mild delay (10-15) minutes ended up as a major delay eligible for service guarantees, because of the way the dispatchers handled the trains. GO will have to pay out service guarantee money that it could have avoided through some better actions by dispatchers.
 
Grrr...

Service Guarantee Claims - the system struggles to be "up to date" so you should always call if you're denied

from:		Squiggles
to:		"cj@thiscrazytrain.com"
date:		Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 9:05 AM
subject:		LSE 17.20

Just an FYI: I spoke to someone at GO this morning because my train last night was late.  Again.  Second day in a row.

Monday's delay was ok for the Service Guarantee and I am now waiting my 5 days for my refund.

Last night's delay is a bit different.  The train was 15 mins late leaving Union.  Then it pretty much crawled to most of the stops.  When we were getting close to Pickering, the CSR reminded everyone to check the website and claim the guarantee.

This morning, I went to do just that.  And was greeted with this message:

So, I called.  I gave up after about the third option menu and hit the "0" several times to actually talk to someone.

The Representative (I wish I remembered his name) was very kind and couldn't figure out why the system was coming back with  message.  He checked in the back end, thinking someone entered incorrect information in the back end.

In the end, he took my information and said he will reimburse the fare for last night.  

But I think if anyone else was on that train last evening and sees the above message they need to call and talk to them and claim it regardless.

Do transit planners really want to hear community objections?

It should be a moment of unreserved civic optimism, with the public being asked to consider four multi-billion-dollar transit projects that could transform the Toronto region’s mobility.

Instead, a pervasive skepticism hangs over this month’s combined public consultations on SmartTrack, GO regional express rail, the relief line and the Scarborough subway.

There’s a sense among some…

It's true! GO Transit allowing smokers to smoke on platform at Oshawa station

I was told by several people yesterday that the far west end of the platform at Oshawa GO had a green smoking sign indicating smokers could light up.

I saw it with my own eyes this morning as my train pulled out of the station.

How does this help non-smokers avoid inhaling second-hand smoke? It's called wind.

If smokers need to smoke so badly, they can do so in the location Metrolinx set up for them near the bus loop.

Unless this was done to accommodate Bombardier and GO Transit employees, there was no need to bend the SmokeFree Ontario Act to do this. Metrolinx would have had to map out where their "place of business" ends in order to determine where it would be acceptable to have passengers or employees smoking.

How do you feel about this?

Me, I'm finding this ridiculous. Where's my designated drinking area?

Bring all the drank!

Tokens give way to Presto starting next year on TTC

The TTC will begin phasing out the sale of tickets and tokens next year as it progresses with the wide-scale roll-out of the Presto smart card.

The old fare media will be sold until the end of 2016 and accepted until mid-2017.

But at some point, those tickets and tokens will be phased out completely, said…

Will GO Transit wait for a serious injury to happen before policies are actually enforced?

from:		Peter S
to:		Greg Percy
cc:		Cj Smith
date:		Sun, Jun 21, 2015 at 9:26 PM
subject:		Another GO Transit Friday afternoon fiasco

Dear Mr. Percy,

The following comments pertain to bus trip # 12570 and its 16:37 connection with train trip # 726 on Friday, June 19.

The bus arrived at Fairview Mall, St. Catharines approximately 15 minutes behind schedule.  The trip was further delayed when a young lady asked the report driver to wait for her father who was making his way from the parking lot to the bus platform.

Once on the highway, there seemed to be no urgency to make up for lost time.

At Grimsby, there were more passengers than normal waiting to board.  There was a problem completing the cash sale of a ticket for one passenger.  After we left Grimsby, I sensed a greater speed toward and through Stoney Creek and on toward Burlington.

We arrived at the Burlington station at approximately 16:35.  It took but a minute to exit the bus from where I was seated on the lower level of the double decker, but other passengers were not so fortunate.  As I reached the door of the train station, I saw the eastbound train arriving.  I ran down the stairs and along the tunnel to Track 3.  As I reached the ascending stairs to Track 3, the train schedule monitor at that location showed the time was 16:37.

I made it onto the cab car and heard the CSA announce "Stand clear of the doors.  The doors are closing."  Since I was in the cab car, I banged on the conductor's door and yelled "Hold the doors.  There's a connecting bus."   Passengers were still ascending the stairs to the platform when the CSA repeated his prior announcement.  The doors closed, and we left.

Why did the report driver not radio Operations and request a Watch and Hold?  Customer Relations previously committed to another passenger that W and H requests would be honoured for this connection, because the next eastbound train is not for another hour, i.e. 17:37.  Are report drivers not apprised of this requirement for the trip?

Why did the conductor not contact the CSA with the information that passengers from a connecting bus were still coming?

Because GO transit management and front line personnel didn’t take the time to communicate effectively, passengers’ safety was put at risk – we had to race down and up stairs at Burlington station to make a train connection – again.  What will it take to correct this untenable practice – a 911 call because a passenger fell on the stairs, or worse, incurred a myocardial infarction?

Other questions pertaining to this trip:

1. Next stops were not announced on the bus – neither by the automated system nor the driver.  Why?
2. The sequence of next stops was not displayed on the bus' monitors.  Why?
3. The scrolling message board stated the bus was equipped with WiFi.  I checked – it wasn't operational.  Why?
4. It was a busy afternoon with many passengers heading into Toronto, so why did the train come in too fast and overshoot the platform at Port Credit?

Please, no perfunctory platitudes from Ms. Edwards’ department.  I’ve had my fill of those responses.

Increasingly disappointed,
Peter

I guess it will take more then a bus driver to make the designated smoking area a success at Oshawa GO

I will tell you all, people are PISSED this actually happened. I won't publish all the comments because some of them are too profane, some of them are mean (people are blaming me for not taking a stronger stance - like I tell Metrolinx what they can and can't do!?) and some are just so poorly written I won't subject you to this butchering of the English language. It makes me weep.

Yesterday I had high hopes the smokers would corral themselves into the mercy (I really want to say f--k here but I promised my mom, and all her friends that now that I'm a Z-list celebrity transit blogger, I'd watch my language) pen given to them at Oshawa to butt-suck in but alas, the anarchy is strong.

This morning, I exited my DRT bus and passed several smokers puffing away right under NO SMOKING signs posted at the bus loop. I politely informed all of them of the designated smoking area is now open which one smoker glanced at in disdain. "Really," said said sarcastically. "I'm not 12".

One smoker told me he planned on complaining as he found it offensive he was being singled out and forced to stand in an area not convenient for him since his bus loads several metres down the platform.

Poor baby.

You had one job!

A photo posted by Abigail Stargirl Wallis (@stargirl_and_thesnake) on Jun 18, 2015 at 12:31pm PDT

Shut up and take my money!

The All Day Breakfast Burger

Posted by SOML on Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Designated smoking area opens up today at Oshawa GO. Bus driver takes the lead to set example

Looks pretty lonely, doesn't it?
A+

But they've got a bench and I'm pretty sure they'll get a canopy for shelter from the rain. (I'm not being sarcastic - this has been a long time coming).
B+

Only a bus driver took the lead to sit down and have a smoke while reading the paper.
A+

Where Metrolinx chose to put this area is close enough to the entrance to the platform that a butt can be extinguished, a Prestocard tapped, and hopping on the train can happen in less than  2 minutes.
A

The only thing that bummed me out a bit is the smoking area is right next to where the 90 bus boards. If the wind is just right, lining up for the bus is going to suck.
D

I also took note that there isn't a refuse receptacle for extinguished butts.
F

On-board announcements at Oshawa also began today reminding Oshawa passengers smoking is not permitted on the platforms (which how this bullshit fight started). This is a personal request of mine and several others who wrote into GO Transit asking for advocacy measures.
A+

We just wish it didn't take 11 years.
D-

Totally done on purpose

A special parking spot just for this guy, Whitby #GoTrain #parkingdonkey @GOChronicles @TheGoShamer @ThisCrazyTrain pic.twitter.com/StvStct9Ht

— Julie Schleich (@juleschleich) June 15, 2015

York Concourse finally getting some "fud"

A photo posted by @hairball97 on Jun 4, 2015 at 4:34pm PDT

It may be witty but it's still vandalism

A photo posted by gurms (@gurmsss) on Jun 10, 2015 at 7:53am PDT

You know, people touch those armrests. With their arms. And their hands.

Meanwhile on a #octranspo bus. Cc @ThisCrazyTrain pic.twitter.com/hGjyQlW38q

— Ottawa_Biker (@Ottawa_Biker) June 17, 2015

When it's hot, do not ...

Source

Last night I was stuck on a coach, or as you UK folk say - carriage - where it was pretty clear that someone responsible for HVAC at the maintenance yard forgot to set the thermostat for coach 2330 on the 16:53 LSE. Funny side story about using the 24 hr clock for the train departure: I helped a woman on Monday figure out the 15:20. "Math is hard," she said. It sure is, honey,

By the time we rolled past the Home Depot, it was so hot, my pants had ironed themselves.

I bolted from the coach once we reached Pickering, where I could climb over the people sitting on the stairs, only to discover that the next coach was also steamy. I'm halfway through my monthly fare of $335. I agree with fellow passengers who were also sweltering on coaches on other trains and on other corridors and expressing their rage on Twitter -- we pay a lot of money to sweat. We also pay a lot of money to sit on stairs...

A few weeks ago, I tweeted about a young businessman who had unbuttoned his dress shirt and rode the train the rest of the way to Oshawa like Fabio on a Harlequin romance novel cover. I had been sitting across from him. It was awkward. Yes, it was hot, but riding bare-chested? That's a lot of nope.

When I was walking through the coaches as the train left Whitby to find at least one that didn't feel like a sauna, I spotted Fabio. His dress shirt was off, but at least he had a white tank on. Still looked weird but perhaps someone said something to him?

Good.

His reaction when he realizes who's operating the train

Looks nothing like the cartoon! So disappointed. I was waiting for the bus when this guy showed up. He didn't even laugh.

Please stand well behind the yellow line... or in the case of Whitby, please stand behind the yellow dots

Whitby GO Station's platforms are in immediate need of a paint job.

So apparently commuting in from the GTHA suburbs is a better love story than commuting in from the Boston area suburbs

My ThisCrazyTrain.com roving US reporter sent this in after salivating over photos of the new Bombardier coaches we're set to be rolling along in soon.

That paneling! Those two-tone leatherette seats! But seriously? +1 for luggage racks.

Read the comments (even perverts are told where their feet don't belong)

View post on imgur.com

And you thought we could have nice things...

Apparently we can't.

Friday night after a night of light, and I mean very light drinking, I accompanied Squiggles and Bicky through the York Concourse to catch our LSE train home.

I'm no building or "water is bad we should divert it" engineer, but we were surprised and dismayed to see that the brand-spanking new facility can't handle rain.

Will this be fixed before we host the world in July?

All aboard the UPX party train

When it comes to birthday party themes, William Canu is on a different track. All the train-obsessed youngster wanted for his 7th birthday was a ride on Toronto’s newest train, the UP Express, with his friends. Besides some of the usual features of a kids’ party — colouring, magic tricks provided by 8-year-old brother Nicolas, and…

Thank you GO Transit/Metrolinx. For listening to us (updated)

To those of you taking @GOtransit who are smokers, "I didn't see the sign(s)" is not a valid excuse. The fine is $60! pic.twitter.com/uUECfmkjVb

— Brandon Turner (@GOTurner64) June 12, 2015

AND IT ONLY TOOK TWO YEARS FOR THIS TO BE ADDRESSED.
Doesn't matter now. It's time.

Below are the emails I sent to GO Transit recently ("Paula" is Paula Edwards) about the smoking situation at Oshawa.

from:		Cindy (Cj) Smith<cj@thiscrazytrain.com>
to:		GO Transit Customer Relations
cc:		Greg Percy bchiarelli.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

Hi Paula,

Let me stress how immensely pleased I am with the entire Transit Safety team. I have seen how hard they work and how dedicated they are to ensuring a comfortable ride for GO Transit customers. They are not at fault for this mess.

They have been present for the past four business days at Oshawa.
Unfortunately, their presence was not a deterrent.

I would like to hear more station PA announcements reminding passengers smoking is not allowed on GO Transit property. Similar to the prerecorded announcements now being played at Union Station intermittently reminding customers to stay back behind yellow platform lines. These began shortly after the unfortunate death of Daniel Pannicini in late April.

I believe that the agency's approach to smoking infractions is mired in 1970s policy which no longer has merit in 2015. Smokers who run afoul of the bylaws don't deserve to be treated with kid gloves.

These are adults. They should be treated as such. I highly doubt a passenger is going to change his or her commute because of a fine. The agency shouldn't be worried about a smoker no longer contributing to the fare box considering the monopoly the agency has on regional transit.

The agency has never taken a proactive approach to illegal smoking despite the Smoke Free Ontario Act having been in force for 11 years. That is far too long to have waited to put a plan in place.
And the reaction method of sending TSOs to chase away adults from platforms because passengers went public on Twitter with complaints is getting tiresome and yields no results. I am certain the TSOs would prefer a more positive Twitter experience.

The tools are there. They are swift and inexpensive. They were brought into full force after the Union station fatality.
So I know the agency is fully capable of implementing grand scale advocacy campaigns in a short time frame.

My question is, why not in 2006? Why not in 2009? Why not just get ahead of the curve?

Thank you,
Cindy

from:		Cindy (Cj) Smith <cj@thiscrazytrain.com>
to:		GO Transit Customer Relations
cc:		Greg Percy
date:		Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 10:55 AM
subject:		Re: GO Transit, A Division of Metrolinx EM0018001651

Hi Paula

There was a TSO at Oshawa this morning doing exactly as I had asked. Writing tickets.

Thank you!

The woman didn't rip it up. She didn't run to her car, screaming, "Screw you GO Transit." And headed to the 401.

She boarded the train.

No fare loss. 

Needs more bagel

Guy beside is manspreading so hard Imma call him Becel. pic.twitter.com/EuiOQai78E

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) June 12, 2015

Um...

A photo posted by Mauricio Alvarez (@blameitonmauricio) on Jun 10, 2015 at 4:02pm PDT

All aboard the Feels Train (Note: If you have a dog, clear your schedule as you're about to spend the rest of your day hugging it out.

Denali from FELT SOUL MEDIA on Vimeo.

Skytrain delay makes national news. GO train delays go unnoticed

from:		MS
to:		CJ Smith
date:		Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:08 PM
subject:		Well it seems transit woes aren't limited to Toronto

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/skyhostage-transit-glitch-snarls-vancouver-evening-rush-1.2415139

from:		Cindy (Cj) Smith
to:		MS
date:		Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:29 PM
subject:		Re: Well it seems transit woes aren't limited to Toronto

Scary how we know this pain. Even more amazing how GO woes aren't national news.

from:		MS
to:		Cindy (Cj) Smith
date:		Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 2:46 PM
subject:		Re: Well it seems transit woes aren't limited to Toronto

There's a general disdain for Toronto out west due to the whole "Toronto thinks they're the center of the universe" mentality.

But yeah, we should be making more noise when our commute turns into a gong show.

We're more important than Vancouver, right? ;)

The claw firm has discovered technology. Jazmin Diamond's first #catselfie

Redneck elecktronicks - never be without juice again

by Billy Bob
Special to ThisCrazyTrain.com

Hidy ho, Ms. Cindy!

Billy Bob here in St. Catharines.  My missus, Daisy May, was feelin’ right badly for you the other week, cuz your phone lost juice and you was forced to GO it incommunicado.  Daisy May understands why them older coaches – with the “rich Carinthian leather” seats – don’t got no wall plugs, but she don’t get why them new train cars don’t come from the factory wired with outlets for you folks.  Daisy May says findin’ a power outlet on a GO train is like a Easter egg hunt, even when you got the list of wired coaches put together by that GO Voyageur person.  So, Daisy May turned to me ‘n’ said we gotta do somethin’ for that nice Cindy ‘n’ all her LSE friends, so they never gets stuck like that again.

By “we”, my missus meant me, and I knew I was in way over my head, so I got on the CB radio to my cousin Herb.  Maybe you heard of him?  Back in the 60s, he hosted his own local TV show called Handyman Herb's DIY Hacks – with Herb Hellfinger.  After explainin’ the situation, Herb laughed and said he knew right off what the fix was.

Herb said, “Every GO train car has outlets, Billy Bob.  The problem is folks don’t have the right plugs for ‘em”.

Huh?

O’ course, Herb was right – he always is.  He told me every GO train car he’s ever been on has these plugs:

  

I figured I’d be real smart, so I told Herb that folks just gotta buy one of these connector doohickeys off Amazon.  Well, Herb split a gut when he heard that, followed by, “Folks ain’t gonna part with their hard earned dough for that!  We’re gonna show ‘em how to build an adapter for way less!”

Huh?

We hopped in my Ford pickup and headed over to WallyMart (that’s what we call Walmart down here) and got us one o’ these here mini power bars:

Next stop, Home Depot, where we bought the all-important lockin’ plug:

 

Back at Herb’s workshop, he cut the cord on that mini power bar about 6” from the regular plug and tossed it in his “keeper bin” – Herb don’t throw nothin’ away.  Then he stripped down the insulation on the wires and connected the lockin’ plug and we was done!  Herb says make sure you connect them wires to the right prongs, like black to “hot”, white to neutral, and green to ground.

Here’s the project all set to GO:

Herb says if you’re goin’ this route, you might wanna upgrade your DIY project and invest in a surge protector, too, cuz you don’t want dirty power on them trains fryin’ your valuable ‘lectronics, eh.  Even them regular outlets have green lights to tell you if it’s safe to plug in your gear.  The higher the number of joules on one o’ them protectors, the better, or as Daisy May says, “Size matters.”  WallyMart gots this one that’s good enough to protect your fridge:

So, there you GO, Ms. Cindy.  Toss that in your bag and you’re never frettin’ about that cell phone dyin’ on you again!  And Daisy May will be feelin’ a whole lot better, too.

Best wishes from the other side of the lake,

Billy Bob

The gift that keeps on giving

It's NOT okay to paint your nails on the #gotrain. If I pass out from the fumes, it's this moron's fault. 😷 #lse pic.twitter.com/qdQlLeNCiL

— Kip (@Kip_Rose) May 28, 2015

Why are benches not a priority for GO Transit's first-class passengers?

#gotransit #gotrain Question:When will Metrolinx do the decent thing and provide seating for informal smokers clubs? pic.twitter.com/ysYiBjMSVo

— Michael Methot (@d33pfish) June 9, 2015

Please. Stretch out.

Yes indeed @GOtransit he just takes up residence. Shall we give him a blanket. pic.twitter.com/yAP5qAwdsK

— Steve Kee (@steve_kee) May 28, 2015

I have asked how these headrests accommodate tall torso passengers

New GO Transit train cars and layover facilty unveiled in GTA http://t.co/XDKxCoxxot pic.twitter.com/fzF1WXdMBq

— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) June 3, 2015

These should be at every station (edited) Turns out, GO is rolling them out system-wide

Great to see this signage at Burlington @GOtransit pic.twitter.com/ARFVoQcKwI

— Josh Rivett (@GORivett94) June 7, 2015

People over 40 should avoid these things

Sunday I hosted a backyard BBQ party for my husband's 40th birthday complete with food truck (Stuttering John's Smokehouse) and a bouncing castle.

I promised my daughter I would go in at some point and jump with her.

I barely made it out alive.

Once in, I couldn't stand up and the recoil from the kids jumping "waved" me over to a corner where I lay wedged between the mesh wall and a hump.

It didn't take long for my guests and the kids to clue in as to where I had wedged myself and the ensuing fallout. I had cut off the air intake valve. The castle began to deflate. Kids ran out screaming as the roof started to fold in on itself and with the help of my friend, Sandra, who was trying to pull me up, I managed to move away from the air supply tunnel and then slid myself out of this awful death trap. A few men fixed the hose and I laughed off my near death experience.

Never again.

And what does that have to do with public transit? One of my guests took the GO train in from Oakville to get to the party.

The beginning of a bad joke

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More GO Transit Service for TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games

TORONTO: June 8, 2015 — Metrolinx is making it easier to get around during the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games with more GO service on routes that serve major events.

Schedules are now posted for these enhanced services, which include extra GO train and bus service for the Pan Am Games and extra GO bus service for the Parapan Am Games. Visitors and residents are encouraged to take advantage of these services to make getting around during the Games as easy and comfortable as possible, and are also reminded that Games tickets can be used as valid fare on GO and other participating transit systems on the day of the event.  

Extra GO train service for the Pan Am Games will run from July 11-26, 2015. It will include:

·         more Lakeshore East and West service to and from the new West Harbour GO Station for the soccer events taking place at the CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium; 

·         more trips to Exhibition GO Station, the site of Pan Am Park, which will be a hub of many free and fun activities for the public throughout the Games as well as the site of the Games media centre; and

·         more Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West service on weekends, particularly in the morning, for easier travel across the region and to events. 

There will also be extra GO bus service for the Pan Am Games on several routes to accommodate increased passenger volume to and from events, including:

·         more trips to serve events in St. Catharines, Hamilton, Milton, Mississauga, North York, downtown Toronto, Scarborough, Markham, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa;

·         more buses along the Lakeshore East and West corridors for early  morning and late-night events;

·         standby GO buses at key locations across the system throughout the Games, ready to be put into service if required to carry more passengers.

Extra GO bus service for the Parapan Am Games will run from Aug. 8-10, 2015, and again on Aug. 14. It will include an extra late-night GO bus trip from Port Credit GO Station express to Union Station for events at the Mississauga Sports Centre.

“Adding extra GO bus and train service is part of our plan to help keep people moving during the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. It will be a busy time, and I encourage people to plan ahead and consider carpooling, taking transit, working flex-time or telecommuting to help make the Games a success,” said Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation. “I would also like to thank those already planning ahead for the Games.”

In addition to increasing services, Metrolinx will have staff serving as ambassadors at Union Station and other GO locations near major event venues to provide information and help new riders and spectators get where they need to go during the Games.

“These increased services will play a critical role in keeping our region moving throughout the course of the Games,” said Bruce McCuaig, President and CEO of Metrolinx. “Whether you’re a Games visitor who’s new to the GTHA or a regular GO commuter, we’re committed to doing all we can to get you where you need to be when you need to be there during what promises to be a very exciting time for our region.”