h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, since they named the enterprise after Central Texas, I do suspect Austin and San Antonio to be in their future plans, but I wouldn't hold my breath for those plans to be actualized.

I'm sure you're right, especially bearing in mind all the construction I saw along I35 on my trip last week. Trains are just too... socialist for this Texas legislature

That was a reply to TC, by the way, but it works equally well with BG's comment too.

Is there a full moon today? despite Monday being being my Friday I am starting to utterly despise and dread the journey to work on Monday morning now

Well, there was a full moon Saturday, and since it was "Super" moon, it should cause 6% more mayhem than the average full moon.

If that was the cause of all this morning's aggro, it certainly caused me 6% extra I honestly can't remember the last time I was as as I was this morning. It's getting to the point where the degree of on the bus is starting to outweigh the degree of I'd get from dealing with Austin's drivers.

And it's all completely unnecessary.

Tomorrow all the schools will be back in earnest.

On top of which they are bringing in new timetables, which I fully expect them to use as an excuse to cut some services and make the rest even more busy. I don't know what it was last week, but the trains were claustrophobicly packed.

I thought it might have eased up by the time I go home tonight. It can't be that bad all the time, right?



Time to next 300: 25 minutes. This is the bus that's supposed to run every 15 minutes but which frequently (at least once a week, sometimes three days running) runs 15 minutes late, so two come along at the same time, one of which (the one running late) will be DROP-OFF ONLY And I got off work on time today so I could catch the earlier bus

I've just remembered that I won't have to mess with Monday (or rather, Monday won't be able to mess with me) next week because we get Labour Day off and I get a three-day weekend

Result

And two weeks after that I'm off for a whole week

A little bit of schadenfruede this morning. Two actually.

When I get on the bus in the morning there are always three blokes already on it, all three sitting in an aisle seat. There's one stop down the line where anything from a dozen to 20 kids get on. Those three blokes never move and the kids (or anyone else) ever seem to ask them to move over. Except this one woman who gets on at the next stop after the kids. Today she asked one of them to move, but rather than slide across to the window seat he just moved his legs into the aisle for her to squeeze past. And as she did so her shoulder bag smacked him right in the boat race

When I got on my second bus there was a woman and a kid in front of me. Now, one thing that often happens on Austin buses is that people cannot make up their mind which seat to take, and will sometimes walk almost to the back of the bus and then suddenly turn around and decide they want that seat right at the front they already walked past. Which is kind of what she did, except the seat she decided to take was the one across the aisle from me, so as I was turning to sit in the one I'd chosen, *my* backpack gave her a pretty good whack

Incidentally, when someone turns around in front of me and decides to walk back down the bus I'll often just stare them down with a stern look

oh if I get in the aisle-seat scenario I ALWAYS make sure to smack them in the face with my bag and somehow stumble so I either kick them right in the ankle or stand on their foot (always more fun in high heels)


once I said "it's much more sensible and safe for you to move over, isn't it" and forced the chap to move.

It's especially irritating when you know that the person is getting off after your stop.

Although that does, of course, give opportunity for the Reverse Bag Face Smack and Foot Squash Stumble routine.

The sheer ignorance, stupidity and downright orneryness of the people I share the buses with never fails to take my breath away.

Like the woman today, at a stop where four or five others are getting on. She hangs back, stands in the vicinity of the door but doesn't get on. The driver closes the doors and starts to move off, which is when she decides that yes, she'd like to get on this bus, so she raps on the doors (at first I thought the driver was going to ignore her and keep going). She doesn't produce a pass or any money, instead she does that thing that so many people here do now - walk straight past the driver and then start looking for their fare, or scrolling through their phone for their online pass, which is what she starts to do, at least I presumed so at first.

By now, of course, we're between stops, and she decides this would be a good time to show the driver her phone, so she shoves it under his nose WHILE WE'RE MOVING! The driver has no choice but to slow down and then pull over while she quizzes him, and then her takes her phone off her to show her how the thing works. We crawl along to the next stop where he pulls in (no-one getting on or off here), we wait for a few moments, and we get going again, all the time she's showing him her phone.

A few bus lengths beyond this stop I guess it became apparent to her that this wasn't her bus after all and the driver stopped once more to let her off.

All in all, a truly staggering display of selfishness

I know in the past you've mentioned that bicycle commuting isn't really an option for you due to joint issues, but maybe a bike with an motor, electric or gas, might be an option for you. This guy has been my local bicycle group's boofcake page. http://bikebug.net but I've seen other bikes with electric assist motors that might work well for you. Actually, after trying to take a look at his website and tapping on "More" for more info and just being sent to the "More" button image I want it made clear that I'm not making a personal recommendation for his product.


Anyway... Just a thought.

Drat! I neglected to perview again.

^"This guy has been *spamming* my local bicycle group's boofcake page.^


That was a rather vital word omitted.

If that pillock hadn't taken a full change of lights to get his bike on the rack and another full change of lights to find his crumpled dollar bills and fed them into the reader, I'd have got home a couple of minutes before the heavens opened and soaked me to the skin

Just take solace in the fact that he got soaked as well (I'm assuming he got off the bus after you or had a long enough bike ride).



That said, I have a similar bike rack to those I've seen on Houston buses, so I think that experience would help me to be quick and not annoy someone like you in such a situation. However, my bike is so different than others I would definitely have to adjust the wheel chocks so I'd definitely annoy folks like you.

He got off about seven minutes before I did, so if he had a ride home (or wherever he was going) longer than five minutes he would have got soaked too

There was nothing odd about his bike, he was just one of those people, of whom there are many, who can't seem to organise themselves to do anything simply, whether it's putting his bike on the rack or keeping his money in a wallet.

Oh... I know the type. They're the ones inline in front of you who doesn't look at the menu above the clerk until she asks what he wants to order. They're the ones at the grocery store who leave their check book filled with coupons on their purse until the checker at the grocery store twlls them the total. They're the ones in the exact change only lane without exact change.

That's the one. About 50% of bus passengers.

Saturday morning. No schoolkids taking five minutes to get on