Spotted on the 3 Train

I am such a sucker for any sort of defacing of ads or official MTA signs in the subway.

Destructive Behavior

I really hate it when people hold open subway doors during rush hour. The worst offenders are people who do it as a favor for someone else, thinking they are doing a good thing. In reality, they are delaying hundreds of other people! Classic tragedy of the commons?

Where your MetroCard money goes

I took my first ride on a new R160 subway train today. Unlike most of the new trains (which are on the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and L lines), this was an N train, a welcome sight for many riders I'm sure. Overall, I would give the cars high marks, as the FIND system is a good upgrade over the previous electronic maps. However, I would still say that I prefer the maps on the cars in Hong Kong.

No Going Dark

For better or worse, there is excellent mobile phone service on all of the subway systems in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Do you guys think that this would be a good thing to have in New York? I guess it probably would be...although I often like the idea that I am unreachable in the subway...(I know that I could always turn my phone off, but if service is available, people always expect to be able to reach you)

Doing something about the stench

I have long hated the smell of Subway sandwich shops. The smell is overpowering outside of every single franchise and I am not above crossing the street to avoid it. This is why I am extremely proud of the condo board at The Waterford on the Upper East Side for suing Subway because its store is causing the building to be "inundated with strong and nauseating food odors." Fight the power! And besides, the idea of purchasing a Subway sandwich in New York makes little sense when there are so many superior delis and specialty shops everywhere.

Entering the virtual marketplace

On the subway today, after not making onto an overcrowded train, I struck up a conversation with a couple of guys who also missed the train and ended up talking like someone out of an infomercial.

Man #1: Yo, good thing we missed that train, right? It stinks in there.
Me: Yeah, I'd rather wait the 3 minutes for a train without a BO problem.
Man #2: They're packed in there like sardines bro. Sardines.
Man #1 (addressing me): So check this out (shows me Sprint Pocket PC...which is way more valuable than I realized it was).
Me: Whoa, that's a pretty baller phone.
Man #1: Yeah, but my brother gave it to me and I don't have Sprint so I wanna sell it. You know how I can do it? Should I go back to the Sprint store?
Me: Well I'd say you're best off selling it online.
(At this point we get on the next, much less crowded train.)
Man #2: Now this is more like it.
Me: So, Craigslist is probably your best bet, you fill out a form online, take a picture, and hopefully get some good responses.
Man #1: But what about that identity theft and stuff?
Me: The great thing about Craigslist in this case is that you will be the seller, so you just have to wait for the offers and you only have to give someone the item once he or she actually pays you. So you can't get ripped off.
Man #1: Wow, that sounds perfect, I'll hook that up as soon as I get home.
(We arrive at 77th street. I give both guys fist bumps, wish them luck, and I'm out.)