Speaking of ads…

It's not even August yet, and there are Back to School ads on the radio! It's still too early for that! These advertisers seem to be advertising these things earlier each year. There should be a law that prevents advertisers from advertising holidays and other events too early.
 

Holiday	Earliest Date Commercials, promotions, store displays, etc. should start
Back to School	August 15
Halloween	October 15
Thanksgiving	November 1
Christmas, Kwanzaa	The day after Thanksgiving
Hanukkah	The day after Thanksgiving, or three weeks before the first night, whichever is earlier.
Valentine's Day	The Monday after Martin Luther King Day
St. Patrick's Day	March 1
Easter	March 18
Mother's Day	April 25
Memorial Day (Start of Summer)	The day after Mother's Day
Father's Day	May 25
Independence Day	June 15

That way, the ads were sensible.

Changes Are Being Made to the Transfer Point Family of Web Sites.

The B24 Blog, a member of the Transfer Point Family of Web Sites, is pleased to announce certain changes which will be taking place among the other family members. The blog itself will not change. I will continue to make posts to the blog as I see fit. However, there are some changes that need to be done on the other web sites. Many of these changes have already taken place.

Here's a summary.

• Transit Sounds Millennium has been discontinued. Its content has been archived into a freely downloadable file hosted on ^zShare.
• The following pages are MOVING from the Bravepages server to the Prohosting server: Gallery of Absurd Stuff, Rollsign Gallery, Subway Bullets 
• The following sections will be DISCONTINUED: Bus Signs, BVE, Download Center, Transit Cow! Pictures, Transit Info, Voting Place.
• There will be some reorganizing on the Bravepages server as the site there is dismantled. The dismantling is expected to be complete some time in August.
• Work will be done on all pages to ensure compatibility on the four major web browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.

Now a little explaining as to why this is being done. When I first uploaded my site to Bravepages, I had it good. Advertising was kept to a bare minimum, and I could upload any kind of file I wanted. Then, they put the squeeze on me. There were the very annoying pop-up ads. Then the pop-under ads. Then the file type restrictions. Then came the most annoying thing: Those DHTML ads that pop up and appear directly over my content. Those things are spreading like cockroaches. It got to the point where I had to warn people to turn on any and all ad blocking software before clicking onto my site. Then, I discovered that Wikipedia was linking to my Rollsign Gallery. By this time, the only option I had was to move my files off of Bravepages onto some hosting service that wasn't committing such an atrocity.

The answer came recently. I was reading a thread on some new 6 train announcements, and I posted that I had recordings of older announcements. I later commented, "I should put them online somewhere." That's when I remembered I had a site called Transit Sounds Millennium, which was separate from the Bravepages site, and wasn't updated in several years. I Googled it, and discovered that it was still there. The Java applet at the top of the page was gone, and I discovered that not only were my pages and images still there, the pages were all ad-free! I turned off all my ad blocking software to see if it truly was ad free, and it was. This discovery sparked the movement shown above.

Now, a little bit of explaining as to why I'm discontinuing some sections of my sites.

Bus Signs: There was a big following a few years back when I posted a GIF image of a bus sign with an improper text layout. There was a QuickBASIC program, and even a Visual BASIC app written to simulate bus signs. There's even a project on the back burner (which is currently set to OFF) for a version written in Java. Since that following has diminished significantly, I've decided to pull the plug on it.

BVE: The Japanese train simulator Boso View Express also had a big following. My first route, the G was quite popular, and it was the second New York City Subway line to be released for the program (the first being the 7). I followed it up with the E (which I released either late 2001 or very early 2002 as the "9/11 Tribute Version," which turned out to be the only version), then the L. I released the L as a skeleton version because I was preparing for a mission, and I wouldn't have time to complete it fully before I left in late February 2002. Upon returning, I found the BVE-New York crowd very into making BVE routes, and there were some nice creations. The most notable one is the 2, which, at the time of its release, ran from Flatbush Avenue to Times Square. There was talk of making an extension, but there was no action. The only action done was by me, extending it (as a skeleton) all the way to its northern terminal (Wakefield-241st Street). No other full version of the line was ever released. Later, the developer of BVE, who called himself Mackoy, released more advanced versions of BVE that completely depreciated the file format the route builders were used to making routes in. Additionally, since the G, E, and L are no longer hosted anywhere, and my various standardization efforts seem to have deflated, I'm pulling the plug on BVE.

Download Center is going simply because the hosts won't allow me to put anything available for download.

Transit Cow! Pictures is a weird one. In the summer of 2000 (Yes, seven years ago! I can't believe it either.), a bunch of fiberglass cows were placed throughout the city, and I set out taking pictures of these bovine creations. Nobody seems to remember it anymore, so I'm putting it out to pasture.

Transit Info. Not much of it here, just an outdated subway map and other junk.

Voting Place: When I first put it up, I thought it was cool. Then every few months, I would get some random notice in my e-mail about some random visitor casting a vote for some old question, like "What's your favorite subway car?" Your choices are Redbird, Brightliner, R40 slant, R42, R44, R46, R62/A, R68/A, R110A/B. No mention of the arriving R160 cars. They weren't even a major point of discussion as they are now. Since I'm not going to bother updating the questions, I won't bother keeping it anymore.

As for browser compatibility, I think it's quite obvious. There are browsers out there that are far superior to Internet Explorer. Much of the site was written when I believed the opposite to be true. The four browsers I listed ("The Big Four") are ones that I see being used all the time. Now that Apple has released a version of Safari for Windows, I'll be able to check compatibility on Safari as well as the other browsers which have versions for Windows. Way to go, Apple!

In conclusion, new and (hopefully) exciting changes are in store. Stay tunes, and keep watching the B24 Blog for the latest.

My Latest Video

It's a bit of a departure from my previous videos, but there's not much video in the video. See for yourself.

The Quest for Unknown Songs

Have you ever heard a song on TV or the radio and wondered, "What is that song?" I recently found two such songs after receiving some hints.

First, the song from the Geico commercial were a caveman is on one of those moving walkways in an airport, and he passes a Geico ad with the tagline, "So easy a caveman can do it."


The song here is "Remind Me" by Röyksopp. I found this out by turning on the Closed Captioning feature on my TV, and there it was.

Then, there's this song I first heard on Elvis Duran and the Morning Zoo. Then I heard it in several commercials for shows like "On the Lot." I recently heard it on the Victoria Beckham: Coming to America show on NBC. When Victoria is finally reunited with her husband and children, and they return to Los Angeles as a family. After the show aired, I went over to NBC's Featured Music page and discovered a song that kinda sounded like what I heard, so I Googled it, and found the music video. I then hopped over to the iTunes Store and picked up "The Adventure" by Angels & Airwaves.



I wonder what I'll find next.

It's Survey Time: The #7 Line

The MTA is issuing surveys for subway service. The first is the for the 7 line, which I use most frequently.
The survey featured generalized questions about service, announcements, etc. Here's the list of questions.
 
 

1. Minimal delays during trips
2. Reasonable wait times for trains
3. Adequate room on board at rush hour
4. Sense of security in stations
5. Sense of security on trains
6. Working elevators and escalators in stations
7. Signs in stations that help riders find their way
8. Signs in subway cars that help riders find their way
9. Cleanliness of stations
10. Cleanliness of subway cars
11. Station announcements that are easy to hear
12. Station announcements that are informative
13. Train announcements that are easy to hear
14. Train announcements that are informative
15. Lack of graffiti in stations
16. Lack of graffiti in subway cars
17. Lack of scratchitti in subway cars
18. Courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel
19. Comfortable temperature in subway cars
20. Ease of use of subway turnstiles
21. Availability of Metrocard Vending Machines
22. Overall Performance

Then the survey asks the three areas above that need the most improvement. There was one thing I was hoping would be on there that wasn't: comments. There are several things that are consistently nagging on this line that I wish to acknowledge.

A. Delays

In the morning, some Flushing-bound 7 trains don't even make it to Flushing. They terminate at 111th Street and then proceed into the nearby Corona Yard after leaving passengers on the platform. However, there are two things wrong with this. The first is that usually, it seems that not even the train crew knows the train is terminating at 111th Street. It is an unpleasant surprise for everyone, this causes the second problem. Because the train is stopped there for about 5 minutes, the train behind it usually waits outside the station for 5 minutes. This causes a backup along the line, with train after train being delayed by either discharging its passengers, or taking on passengers that the previous train discharged. Now, these delays have been so bad at times, that trains were backed up all the way to 40th Street! That's when the transfer at 74th Street comes in handy for me.

What should they do?

In the afternoon rush hours, when a train terminates at Willets Point, there's an across-the-platform transfer to an arriving express train to carry passengers to Main Street. My idea follows a similar vein. Instead of terminating at 111th Street, they should terminate on the middle track at Willets Point. Manhattan-bound expresses would platform on the default Manhattan-bound platform to allow this move, and would switch to the express track south of the station.

Graphics to come soon.

Until the graphics are posted, here's a text description.
7 Express Southbound: On C2 or CM track at Main Street. Switch to CM at Main St. Interlocking. Switch to C1 north of Willets Point. Switch back to CM track south of Willets Point. If Local and Express depart Main Street at or near the same time, Express has priority at the merge point.
7 Willets Northbound: On C2 at 111th Street. Switch to CM south of Willets Point. Discharge passengers and reverse direction. Switch to CMc south of Willets Point and relay on CMa or CMb at 111th Street. Reverse direction and proceed into Corona Yard.

This way, trains to Main Street may arrive across the platform from the terrminating train, and nobody (especially the train behind it) would to wait 5 or more minutes for the train crew to make sure the train is empty of passengers.

B. A Certain Station

 The worst thing about the 7 line can be summed up in three words: MAIN STREET STATION. This three-track malady of a station has crowd flow issues. In the afternoon, it's sometimes impossible to determine which track the next train will depart from. Logic dictates the first train in will be the next train out. The mezzanine signs say it will be on another track. The signs on the platform say it will be on another track. And the guy on the platform will tell you it's on yet another track! And when the train does come, it's usually packed, and that means that the crowds will make a mass exodus out of the station. It gets to the point that you have to yell and scream at them to have them get out of your way.
Ugh! I hate that!

What should they do?

Logic should dictate train departures. First in is first out. Stairs closest to the turnstiles are designated Down staircases. Remaining stairs designated as Up staircases. The policy should be tightly enforced. Platform signs, mezzanine signs and all announcements should clearly and unambiguously announce which train is leaving next. If a train leaves from a wall track, the next train to leave must not be on the opposite wall track unless the middle track is occupied with a standing train of revenue service cars with doors open on both sides. If a train arrives on the middle track, doors are to open on the side opposite the track where the next train out is standing. If an arriving train is to be taken out of service, clear and consistent and constant announcements should be made from the time the train enters the station until the train doors close. Such train may not arrive at a platform where signs indicate the next departing train, unless the arriving train is on the middle track, in which case the train doors will open only on the side opposite the next departing train. A departing train should receive the "line-up" (clear departing signal) within 20 seconds of receiving the starting lights (green lights hanging over the platform adjacent to each track).


There. Now that I've vented about Main Street station, a bit on the good things about the 7. The express is fast, you never have to wait long for a train during rush hour, and the views are great. That's about it.

Safari for Windows

The ubiquitous web browser for Mac, Safari, is now available for Windows. It may not replace Firefox as my top browser, but at least my computer can be more

A New Version of iTunes is upon us

With Apple releasing the iPhone on Friday, they also released a new version of iTunes, version 7.3. One of the "features" of the new version of iTunes is an "improved" sorting method. It now takes those songs, albums, artists, etc. which start with a number or punctuation character, and sorts them to the bottom of the list. For example, it would sort "311" after "ZZ Top" instead of before "Ace of Base." Now, I'm very particular with how my library is sorted. I actually like the numbers on top. So when I found The Veronicas' "4ever" somewhere after The Cranberries' "Zombie," I wasn't too pleased with it. I basically spent about 20 minutes changing the sort order back to something I could live with. Otherwise, I'm quite pleased with iTunes 7.3.