Amtrak - no "quiet car" on weekends

This past weekened I went from Newark to DC on Amtrak. The 12:22 left
Newark 30 minutes late and never made up the difference - guess
because if trains ahead are late, there are limited opportuninites for
passing. But execpt for that it was a truly comfortable trip.

Anyway, the quiet car was virtually empty.The seat set ahead of mine
had been revered, making it into a "mini-compartment." So I took off
my shoes, put my jacket on the seat ahead of me, put my feet up,
leaned back and was able to sleep most of the way.

At one point some fool started talking on his cell phone. "Hi - I'm on
the train now. Yes we are late. Hmmm, hhmmm. And I . . "

At this point people in the car were shussing him and the conductor
came from his own quiet car seat (no fool he) and told him to either
turn off the phone or go to a non-quiet car.

On the way back from Washington Sunday bnight, Amtrak does not offfer
a quiet car. The woman behind me spoke on her cell phone all the way
from Washington to Wilmington. And she did most of the talking - about
nothing.

First thing I did on arriving home was google for "cell phone
jammers." I found some that promise an effective zone of up to 50
meters. I'm probably going to buy one and use it.

Highlight of the trip, my 15 year old granddaughter, a high school
freshman, took the gold medal for the girl's 1600 meter (that's also
0ne mile) in 5.38 seconds. That was a regional invitational for
schools from North Carolina to NJ and schools with up to 3,000
students. So it was tough competition.



CaribeJoe - Moderator
Non-commercial My Caribbean.Info Forums
Free Caribbean Destination Directories
Free advice from Travel Writers
Post your own trip reports and photos
Hotel and Air Deals and Rough Guide Reports
http://www.mycaribbean.info

> Highlight of the trip, my 15 year old granddaughter, a high school

May i suggest sending her to the olympics in Athen this summer?
1600 meter in 5.38 seconds gives an average speed of 1070 km/h,
which is about the speed a jumbo jet comes up to at it's best.

In fact, forget the Amtrak - let her carry you. It will be far less
expensive and faster than a train. Also, you won't have to worry
about people talking on the phone. It might get a bit windy, though.

--

Kindly
Konrad
---------------------------------------------------
May all spammers die an agonizing death; have no burial places;
their souls be chased by demons in Gehenna from one room to
another for all eternity and more.

Sleep - thing used by ineffective people
as a substitute for coffee

Ambition - a poor excuse for not having
enough sense to be lazy
---------------------------------------------------

<caribejoe@REMOVEmycaribbean.info> wrote:


Ai carrumba! To cover 1600 metres / one mile in 5.38 seconds is no mean
feat for any age class. Unfortunately, you have neglected to tell us
what sport this was! Rocket sleds?

cheers,

Henry

On 04/05/2004 11:59 AM Henry wrote:

Maybe it was a spelling bee. :-)

--
________
To email me, Edit "xt" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

<caribejoe@REMOVEmycaribbean.info> wrote:

Let me know where you're sitting so I can sit across from you!

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 12:58:56 GMT, caribejoe@REMOVEmycaribbean.info
wrote:


It is not widely recognized that in the USA our government has decided
that all "minutes" are now "seconds" just as all former "dollars" are
now valued as "cents." Also all "wars" are now "incursions."

Everyone agrees this is better all around. Anyone who questions these
policies should post their name, address and various other personal
data so corrective instruction can be provided. Educational facilities
are under construction in centrally remote locations to allow for
concentrated campaigns.

That's why I'm hoping my granddaugfhter learns to run as fast as she
can.


CaribeJoe - Moderator
Non-commercial My Caribbean.Info Forums
Free Caribbean Destination Directories
Free advice from Travel Writers
Post your own trip reports and photos
Hotel and Air Deals and Rough Guide Reports
http://www.mycaribbean.info

<caribejoe@REMOVEmycaribbean.info> wrote in message
news:0dd47d3819f1fbb2a43c7bc812bfbe39@news.teranew s.com...



wow, you can buy these?! woo hoo! revenge on mobile-phone-shouting-turkeys.

ant

On Tue, 6 Apr 2004 10:04:59 +1000, "ant" <a_kerrisonREMOVE@yahoo.com>
wrote:

Yep - google the phrase "cell phone jammers" and you will get 4,510
results. I am seriously researching the reviews for an inexpensive one
that has a reasonable range and as wide a spectrum of phone types as
possible. I'm fed up with the rudeness and lack of social comity. I'm
fighting back.

Some of the web pages describe how they were developed first for
specific venues such as an entire restuarant or theater but now are
available small enough to be carried in your pocket, creating a 50
meter quiet zone.

Although the devidces are illegal in the USA (interference with
FCC-approved communications) one recent posting says that no one has
yet been arrested for the crime of causing a zone of silence.

On a related topic, earlier this evening, I was eating dinner at a
restaurant with an unobsructed view of a busy intersection. After
noticing how many drivers were on their handheld cell phones, I
started counting. Despite the fact that doing so is a saftey hazard
and a blatant violation of our state motor vehicle code, approximately
one out of every twelve drivers was yapping away.

CaribeJoe - Moderator
Non-commercial My Caribbean.Info Forums
Free Caribbean Destination Directories
Free advice from Travel Writers
Post your own trip reports and photos
Hotel and Air Deals and Rough Guide Reports
http://www.mycaribbean.info

ttt