SICK

This is stupid.
The T is just now coming up with a computerized system to track employee absences?
Some people that read this may think that my comment reeks of conservative republican politics, but 2 fingers to you, my friends, you can't pigeonhole me into one ideology.
The problem is the unions. You can do no work, and someone will try to defend you so you keep your job. Why are they even unions anymore? The company I work for doesn't have one, and I get 5 sick days per year, and 10 vacation days. If I use them up, that's my problem.
21 days absent? Unless you have a short term disability, then that is insane.
From today's Boston Globe:

http://tinyurl.com/9fulw

A Diversion

I'm pretty much all about travel by train, but sometimes I have to fly somewhere, like Chicago, which you can read about in the previous post.
All I'd like to say about plane travel, no matter where you are coming from or going to, is that PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS.

The scenario:

You're in the gate area, waiting for your row, or group, to be called. What do you do? You SIT DOWN UNTIL YOUR GROUP IS CALLED. YOU DO NOT GET UP AND STAND IN A GIANT GROUP AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE GATE.
The wife and I were in group 3, and of course everyone got up and stood around, so that we couldn't tell where the line began to get on the plane.

Query to "up-talker" girls in front of me:

Me:"Are you in line?"
Her:"Uh, as much as anybody else is."
Me:"Are you even IN group 3?!"
Her:"No."
Me:"Then get out of the line. Jeez."

Then we get on the plane. It's packed, and people are standing in the aisle, as if they have no idea that there are people trying to get by them. The stewardess is announcing to NOT PUT YOUR JACKETS IN THE OVERHEAD BINS SO THAT BAGS CAN FIT THERE.
What are the people directly opposite me putting in the bin?
THEIR JACKETS.
When some people couldn't find an empty bin to place their bags, the stewardess went from bin to bin and asked who owned the jackets within. Who claimed a jacket?
NOBODY.
So the woman just chucked them on an empty seat.
Anyway, that's that.

The Windy City

Went to Chicago last weekend. It is not actually the windiest city. The award goes to the Blue Hills area of Milton, MA, but I digress.
As you probably have heard, Chicago's transit is called the el, even though only a small portion of it is elevated.
Only had the chance to go on the Red Line, but it was ok. Nice stations, smaller trains than Boston, and certainly a bad map design. They try to use the real dimensions between stations, so that the downtown loop area needs to be on a seperate inset.
They should take a cue from London Transport and map a diagramatic map and get it all in one area.