777 crash analysis

The Older Gentleman wibbled:

So you can have a blackberry moment - ie: stop where you cause the
maximun inconvenience to all and sundry, pull the bloody thing out and
start fiddling. SWMBO's nearly got lobbed yesterday - feckin thing

 

*Don't* mention the ticket prices. I bought a weekly ticket to London
last week and I still haven't recovered from that experience.

 

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:59:43 +0000, Wicked Uncle Nigel

"I THINK THE CHAP IN ROW C IS A TERRORIST! YES, A BEARD! AND HIS
SHOES! DIE? PROBABLY! WELL, REMEMBER I LOVE YOU! NO, YOU HANG
UP!................... NO, YOU!...... NO, YOU!"

 

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:02:45 +0000, Paul Corfield

Heh.

I think some people fear they would simply cease to exist if they
weren't permanently at other people's beck and call. Can still see the
look of complete befuddlement on a friend's face when I told them I
often forgot to even switch my mobile on, let alone check it.

 

or is it the vast quantity of nasty radiation causing that look?

The old ones could take out Tandberg video conference units if they got
too close and will certainly interfere with all known sound systems.

 

I didn't think the price from Bedford to St Pancras along with the
tube ticket was bad at £99.50 for a seven day ticket.

 

Erks. Is that first or second class?

My main problem with the fares is that they've gone up another 10% in
January for the same shite service. Last year it was touch-and-go if
train or bike was more cost effective for my company, it now looks like
the bike wins.

My main problem is that unless I either want to either leave the
client's office rather later than I want to or get to the station a long
time before the train leaves, I have a very good chance that I'll be
standing from London to Sevenoaks because there aren't enough seats in
cattle class.

As I've got an iffy back and iffy knees, I don't want to do that so I'm
pretty much stuck with buying a 1st class ticket. And that's a cool 130
quid/week, plus 4.50 parking/day at the station.

Unless we're getting more really shitty weather this week I'll be back
on the bike on Tuesday.

 

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:04:36 +0000, Paul Corfield

Heh. "Me so important, me must reply now!"

I know. Maybe we're the only ones who see that the emperor is naked?

I only have/had two reasons for a mobile - most important one is that
I tend to travel alone and it's useful to have some recourse to rescue
(although when I had a BMW-ditch interface, neither of my phones had a
signal and I had to use a nearby farm). And until I had broadband, I
wanted to be sure I could be contacted in an emergency when I was
online (which is why I have "phones" as opposed to a phone).

Aside from travelling, I now only carry one when I'm on call.

 

Andy Bonwick says...

Flitwick to Gatwick is £26-50 single

 

That's not unusual. I have none of these things.

(Companies have tried to get me to have company mobiles: I've managed to
fob that off by my 'creative inertia' tacitics. Same with company credit
cards)

 

Cattle. I buy a weekly ticket because it's cheaper than buying a daily
x 5

It's only short term for me and the company pays so the cost doesn't
matter to me. I didn't think it too bad though.

I catch the 06:20 from Bedford and usually get a seat, the 18:15 home
is a different matter, if I'm at the front of the queue I get a seat.

I'd forgotten the £6.10 per day for the parking. It's only about 1.5
miles from home to the station so I could cycle or use a motorbike but
it's not my money so I drive.

I could use my bike if I wanted but because I've got a company van I
have to get prior permission to use my own transport. They'd go with
it because it's cheaper than the train but even after claiming mileage
I wouldn't gain anything financially and I'd have the stress of
commuting into central London on a motorbike.

Getting the train's the soft option, I sit and read the paper on the
way down and either read a book or a magazine on the way home. The
tube time is only about 15 minutes and I walk 5 minutes from the tube
station to site.

 

Snowleopard wrote:

I thought I was the only one. I usually recommend people don't call me
in the morning because it takes lunch to remind me I haven't switch it
on. Next, is don't bother SMSing me, I probably won't hear it and
probably can't be arsed to reply even if I do. If it's important call
me. Oh, and I turn it off overnight, so after 11 it's odds on you won't
get me.

I am an uber Luddite.

 

I think the daily ticket for my journey is around the £40 mark but
even though it's not my money I still buy the weekly ticket.

I could claim £40 in petrol money each day if I used the bike and take
an hour/day out of my commute but I really can't be arsed with the
hassle of fighting my way down the Edgeware road and past Hyde park to
where I'm working.

We're supposed to finish next week then return mid-late February for
about 3 more weeks and to be honest it's a doddle. We don't have to
work hard, there's a good canteen on site and I'm doing Hollywood (1)
machining. I'd do this all year if they asked me to

(1) Every fucker keeps taking my photo while I'm working, they've
never seen anyone doing the stuff we're involved with so they don't
know how long it should take.

 

When I've met my date, I turn the mobile off, usually publicly, the look
is something to behold.

"Why are you turning your mobile off?"

"Because, unless I miss my guess, you're sitting in front of me".

"But what if someone calls you?"

"Then they can talk to my ansering service."

"But what if it's important?"

"Hmmmm...so shall I put you below my mates that started at lunchtime and
have just hit the nightclubs or above them, but below TeleSales?"

Good things, but people should learn what they are for. Hang on sec,
the phones ringing....

 

Accompanied by the sound of a chisel on slate Andy

Jeez. I am /so/ glad I don't go to London often any more. I already charge
£200 per day just to drive inside the M25

 

And pavements ...

 

Yep, same here.

That's exactly the problem for me - the trains around 6pm are packed and
I can't always be there at the front of the queue.

Well, obviously for me asking the management of the company for
permission to use the bike is quite easy . I've commuted by bike in
London since 1998 so I'm pretty much used to it. Doesn't mean I do like
it but it doesn't overly bother me anymore. Plus I get to ride, which I
enjoy even if it's mostly on the motorway.

Well, that's another expensive part of the journey for me - I read quite
fast so I tend to go through a couple of books or more a week...

 

I used to have a work mobile. I would turn it off if I was driving and
"forget" to turn it back on. After a few comments from management, I got
into the habit of leaving it on and answering most calls with "Can't talk!
Driving!" and hanging up.

 

Do you discuss confidential or commercially sensitive stuff while on public
transport?

 

Nah, it's people using them on the tube that gets me. I know there's
**** all chance they've got any way of actually sending or receiving
email at the time, so what *are* they doing other than feeding their
thumb-scrolling addiction?