My business trip to Google was certainly the highlight of my trip to Mountain View, CA, but there is definitely one more point of interest I’d like to share for posterity – Caltrain. Caltrain is a Japanese baby bullet train system spanning about 50 miles from San Jose to San Francisco. These cuties arrive every 10 to 60 minutes depending on the time of day (probably 40 minutes on average), travel over 80 miles per hour, and are phenomenally comfortable. I hopped on Caltrains a few times during my stay – once to go for dinner in nearby Palo Alto (near Stanford U) and once to go to San Francisco – and as nice as my destinations were, I honestly enjoyed the trip even more!

Watashi wa Caltrain, desu! Kawaii!!

There are about 25 intermediate stops between San Francisco and San Jose, with a few more limited-use stations extending southeast to Gilroy. Rush hour trains stop at every station, while express trains blaze past as many as 85% of them. It’s well advised to grab a schedule pamphlet since you never really know whether the train you’re on will be stopping at your desired destination. The trip from Mountain View to Palo Alto as well as the ride back each took about 10 minutes. The trip to San Francisco from Mountain view, stopping at every stop, took about an hour and a quarter. The express train back, stopping at about 6 stops (and thankfully Mountain View) took only 45 minutes.

Stations are classified in numbered zones, and fares depend on the number of zones spanned. My trip all the way to Millbrae Station, near the San Francisco airport, cost only $3.75.

An automated Caltrain ticket kiosk

The ticket machines were rather nifty, though I emitted the distinct fragrance of eau-de-noob as I fumbled trying to figure the thing out. I was ticketing like a pro after the first round of confusion, though. Just insert card (but not Amex – no workey), press the button for the zone of your destination, and it prints the ticket and receipt.

Caltrain works on something of an honour system. Tickets are purchased in the station and must be kept on your person, but my ticket was only verified by a Caltrain employee on the trips to and from San Fran. The ticket checkers were exceptionally courteous, polite, and patient.

So was everyone, in fact. The driver announced each station in a ridiculously chipper demeanour, chittering little witticisms like “San Antonio station next! Not San Antonio Texas, mind you!” and “Brrrrrrroadway station next! If you can make it there you’ll make it anywhere!” He even announced that there were tourists from Germany onboard and asked everyone to assist them in finding their way! The attendants standing at some of the doors were friendly and chatty as well. It was truly refreshing to be in the company of people who certainly enjoy their jobs assisting people so much.

Once on the train I was treated to some very comfortable accommodations. The first feature that became apparent was the double-decker seating. By each door were two pairs of metal staircases leading up to the top floor of single-row seating. A flat metal storage area separating the upstairs seats was perfect for stowing luggage. I was sure to grab an upper seat to and from San Fran and I was not disappointed by the view! Seats on both levels were very comfortable, gave good back support, and were sufficiently moulded so that you don’t squish into your neighbour. Some seating quartets surrounded a little table for in-transit tete-a-tetes. Some cars had huge bicycle racks with bungee cords. Hallways were nice and wide so it was never uncomfortable to squeeze past the small crowds of standing travellers. Surprisingly, there were unisex bathrooms at the front of every car!

Between the screeching brakes and the blaring triple-horn there’s no question when a Caltrain is arriving at a station or speeding through an intersection, but onboard the vehicle is as quiet as a mouse. The ride was exceptionally smooth and not at all bumpy, and I felt very stable in my seat even while braking from full speed.

The passengers on Caltrain were awesome! I didn’t see a single suit-clad soul aboard, and EVERYONE was talking about nerdy computer stuff! No doubt this was due to my embarking in the heart of Silicon Valley, but it was really refreshing and entertaining to hear such candid conversation about local but enormous businesses like McAffee and A9.

Once again, the view from the upper seats was very lovely. I passed through some seedier areas peppered with anti-Bush graffiti and intricately lettered gang tags, but even those areas were rife with architectural and local charm. I passed by community centres, suburban areas, strip malls and mega stores, and they were built in an earthy-peach hue with deco-style patterned trim near the roofs. It was quite charming; especially as the mountains came into view (which they are not, ironically, in Mountain View).

Having lived in Calgary for 10 years I’m no stranger to mountains, but it was really lovely and majestic to see mountains devoid of snow in California. Some mountains were arid and brown with seemingly chiseled details, others were lush and green and the faraway trees appeared as a kind of mossy putting green. Some mountains were speckled with tremendously huge mansions and hotels, juxtaposing my feeling of homeyness with an aire of unattainability. Some peaks were crowned by thick fog, completely obscuring the vertex.

One of the most fascinating and beautiful sights revealed itself as I approached South San Francisco. What first appeared as a couple of neighbourhoods of humble square-ish houses, coloured in bland earthy pastels, became a rolling sea of uniquely coloured dwellings like donut sprinkles topping a wavy cake. I’m incredibly sorry that I didn’t have a camera to capture this sight (and disappointed that I can’t find a photo on Google Images) because it was this poorer suburb, not the towering stores of the city, that really struck me.

If you find yourself in San Jose, San Francisco, or somewhere between, plot a course somewhere along the Caltrain route. Caltrain is public transit done right.

This article was written by Brian at demodulated Original post:

Trans Nerdo Express

Torontonians love to tell everyone about our fair city’s two seasons: winter and construction. Being August, and not winter, it is clearly construction time, as my poor Civic will attest. On the way to pick up my girlfriend from work one evening I noticed some draggy whumping coming from my back end (of my car, jackass). A quick inspection with my finely honed mechanic’s eye revealed that the tire was flat. I called on a favour to have my girlfriend picked up and went back up to the apartment to call CAA.

I found their central switchboard number quickly enough on their website and rang them up, toll free. The phone was promptly answered by a charming young woman (Sabrina, if I recall) who spoke clearly and reassuringly. I described my vehicle and my problem and was told to expect service within the half hour. She let me know that she wouldn’t hang up with me until I was completely satisfied and had covered all my issues, so I thanked her and dismissed her.

I recieved a phone call about 25 minutes later advising me to stand by my vehicle as a service agent would be there promptly. By the time I waddled down the stairs he was already pulling beside my car. I greeted him and he asked me to pull the car out a bit and stay in the driver’s seat with my foot on the brake while he jacked my baby up. He was very pleasant and chitchatty and the operation was done in no time.

His prognosis was pretty positive – I’d somehow picked up a thin 4″ screw which lodged itself pretty snugly in my tire, but he was confident that it could be repaired for a fraction of the price of a new tire. When all was said and done HE THANKED ME for my patience and co-operation. What a guy!!

Spare-enabled, I dropped my car at Costco the following day and got a ride to work. At the end of the day I returned to Costco to pick up the car and pay my fees, but there was one problem – the repair was free! That’s right! Because I’d purchased my tires from Costco they backed up their product and service, like all their other in-store products, with a rock-solid guarantee that’s never ever caused me any inconvenience or hassle. This was incredibly welcome as I’d suffered a flat tire not long before, and recieved a replacement tire, installed and ready to go, for only $20 since Costco deemed the tread to be so new. Unbelievable!

And so, having paid annual fees for CAA and Costco, this one inconvenience seems to have awarded me my money’s worth in one fell swoop! I think I can pretty safely say that these companies have earned my business for a lifetime! My kudos to both companies!!

– EDIT –

I should go on a bit to describe my huge satisfaction with CAA.

My girlie and I were off “camping” in Severed Pinkie, Ontario (you know, that nondescript bumpkinville about 40 clicks away from Sixth Toe, Ontario) but were unfortunate enough to get stuck killing a very rainy weekend in stores and restaurants in town. One afternoon was so torrential that, in the middle of a lovely sightseeing drive, we had to pull off the road into the nearest Tim Hortons (you can’t drive 10 minutes in Ontario without finding one) for shelter. We literally had to brace ourselves and counted down to the moment of opening the doors, locking them, and running inside. Needless to say, I overlooked the oft-neglected step of removing the keys from the ignition.

When we got inside we sipped some hot chocolate and I called CAA. I was barely able to describe my surroundings – especially with the rain obscuring my view – but the man on the phone asked leading questions to help pinpoint me. A scant 45 minutes later, a CAA tow truck arrived. 5 minutes of fiddling with a coat hangery wire thing was all it took to open my door (dunno if I’m relieved or afraid of that) and we were free to return to our puddle of a campsite once again.

This article was written by Brian at demodulated Original post:

On the road again

But that’s not why I’m writing today. I thought I’d share a screenshot from my logs with my readers, and hopefully with Blizzard as well:

As you can see, this screenshot illustrates the top 10 search queries that brought people to my blog this week. The number one query is “wow trial”, and those people are sent directly to one of my several complaints about the horrendous service and awful patching ordeal I was subjected to during my own trial period. As a result, 41 people may have been deterred from purchasing the game this week.

Serves you right, Blizzard. Now that I’m a paying customer I hope you’ll coerce me to write something positive about my experience.

And now to cater to that rather quizzical Google query, just so that poor chappy doesn’t have to go home empty handed:

This article was written by Brian at demodulated Original post:

Don’t agro a blogger