March 6, 2007
Ice Missiles Keep Falling On My Head, All TTC Delays Are YOUR Fault, Alpacas: Cuter Than Bunnies
The Gardiner Expressway re-opened this morning after closures due to deadly "ice missiles" falling from the CN tower. One ice sheet was reportedly 50 metres tall and 6 metres wide!
Canadian and British troops launched a massive offensive attack against Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, a mission titled "Operation Achilles".
This time, dinner's on us. City Council voted in favour of having food provided for their monthly meetings, which will cost taxpayers $20,000 a year. Councillor Kyle Rae supports the decision, saying "I don't think there would be great outcry if people saw the modest meal we will have."
TTC Subway delays aren't caused by overcrowded trains, they're caused by passengers. According to a new TTC ad campaign, the top 5 reason for train delays are: blocking doors, holding doors, people not "minding the gap", pieces of litter catching fire on the tracks, and passenger illness. Wait, really?
Remember that guy who let a huge cobra escape into a neighbouring apartment in North York? He's also being charged with sexually assaulting two teen girls. What a winner.
In related news, GTA resident Ozzy the Alpaca is charged with being totally cute, and an excellent therapy animal for special needs children and seniors. Aww.
"So it was only after I tried to probe her mid-Atlantic hole that I realized she had no oceanic crust!" A British team of oceanographers are investigating a large gap between tectonic plates at the bottom of the sea where the earth's mantle is exposed. "We are beginning to realize that there are probably millions of square kilometres where the ocean floor is missing," explains one cool science guy.
Photo of the CN Tower ice is courtesy of rob_hrrs in the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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I find that at least once a week, the train I am on stops at St. Clair West, and the guard gets out and leaves. Five minutes later another guard appears and takes the place of the old one, gets settled in, and eventually the train takes off again.
This is easily the #1 cause of train delays that I personally experience.
[1] Posted by: james | March 6, 2007 12:15 PM
Took an out-of-town friend sightseeing on Sunday. We went up to the CN Tower's Observation Deck and I couldn't believe the size of this huge icicle just swaying in the wind about to drop to the ground. This one would've hurt!
Here's my vid clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYYaGx8ml4M
[2] Posted by: mishka![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.torontoist.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 6, 2007 12:22 PM
I also found the new ads to be hilarious. "God, if only we didn't have any stupid passengers, trains would run faster!" I mean, I know, TTC. I know.
I find that one of the top five reasons trains are slow is because the driver insists on being snarky and making pointed, huffy announcements after we pry open the doors to help dislodge someone's trapped backpack. Sometimes those doors close wicked fast.
[3] Posted by: Gloria | March 6, 2007 12:32 PM
Re: The attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan. On the BBC last night, they reported that last year, poppy yields went up 160% and that is expected to go up this year even more, along with an increase in cannabis growing. Afghanistan's poppy's help supply, what accounts for, over half of the heroin sold in Britian. I can imagine what it is here or Canada.
So, my question, if we are attacking the Taliban and we are making progress...Who is finding all this time to farm and grow poppy's and cannabis in Afghanistan?
[4] Posted by: Steve | March 6, 2007 12:45 PM
..And as long as we're on the subject, if you look at the back of the corresponding pamphlet explaining how stupid people are, it says "Copyright Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York"
So in truth, the TTC doesn't think you are stupid. New York does. :)
[5] Posted by: james | March 6, 2007 12:46 PM
I must concur with james. I hate it when they do that. DItto to TTC Bus drivers pulling to the side of a busy street, getting out, and getting a coffee, while we all wait semi-patiently.
Sorry guys, take your friggin coffee breaks when they are scheduled. Geez.
[6] Posted by: brokenengine | March 6, 2007 12:47 PM
Not a smart move, TTC, for playing the blame game with your paying customers. For example, maybe if you had more than one eastbound Gerrard car per 32 minutes (my average over the past 4 weeks) that WASN'T short-turning at Coxwell during rush hour, you wouldn't have 85 people rushing the car @ Broadview/Gerrard. Some days, it'll be 2 or 3 light cycles before everyone is aboard and settled!
Oh, and those mornings when I'm headed westbound @ 7:00 am, only to have the driver proceed at 10 kp/h all the way to Carlaw, that's not the customer driving, Bub. ( . . and don't use the "it's the frozen tracks" excuse - the same thing happens regadless of weather, or whether there's another car 100 metres or 1 km ahead - I've been on streetcars that actually exceed the 40 km/h speed limit on Gerrard - rare, but it has happened!)
Some riders do deserve the scorn, but to the level that we're all primarily responsible for delays? C'mon. Give your heads a shake.
[7] Posted by: yodaddeo | March 6, 2007 1:02 PM
Every time I am delayed on the subway, it's because of "switcher problems". How is that our fault, exactly? That campaign is insulting. But then again, I kind of stopped expecting smart, commuter-oriented things from TTC long time ago.
[8] Posted by: Alchymyst | March 6, 2007 1:12 PM
I usually give the TTC the benefit of the doubt but this new campaign pissed me off. Holding the door open happens at maybe one stop on my 11-station commute. And takes about three extra seconds.
In other news, I wish they'd stop trying to close the doors when you're still trying to exit the damn train. And I'm going to take a step back before I start iterating all my transit-related annoyances.
[9] Posted by: Devi | March 7, 2007 12:39 AM
For every step forward they take, the TTC seems to stop, put on a pair of oversized shoes, and start hopping backwards.
[10] Posted by: rek | March 7, 2007 6:20 AM