Zev Mo Tech Blog

The Morning Commute- Teaneck to Brooklyn

Posted on 20. Oct, 2009 by zevmo in Commute

I thought it would be a little fun to make a video log of my commute to/from Brooklyn. Nothing of consequence happened on the way, this morning, but there is always fun in seeing the very slow and worn system that gets us where we need to go everyday.

The morning starts at 5:20am. Waiting for my friend Shmuel to pick me up at 5:45am for our trip across the bridge.

A little late, (5:51am pickup). No real traffic on Rt. 4 at this hour. Partially the reason for going in this early. The Hudson crossings change toll amounts at 6am, so there is a frantic rush, by some drivers, to get through the tolls by that time.  Often you will see cars awkwardly parked 50 feet from the tolls, waiting for 6am because they don’t have E-Z Pass, which is the only allowed payment method before 6am on the lower level.

(5:56am) Through the tolls and over the bridge.  The city is very beautiful at night, frankly because the dirt is harder to see.

(5:58am) Dropped off and down into the dungeon.  The NYC Transit system, one of the largest in the world, is a decrepit, slowly upgraded labyrinth of grime and pungent urine. The speckled floor is not a design, it is decades of unwanted gum shielded by layers of dirt.  Good Morning!

Swipe, and swipe, and swipe… ah, got it!

175th Street Station, the example of engineering wonderment. At least they tell you which side goes where, which is more than can be said of many stations.

Now usually there is a pigeon, who I call Pauly Breadcrumbs, there to greet me at my waiting place.  He wasn’t there today, but I am sure he was sad not to be in this post.  I’ll tell him about it tomorrow.

Almost empty, just as I like it.

Train in at (6:04am)

Same car, same seat, every day… unless there is a homeless dude(s) who stink up the 20 year old subway car; a common occurrence.

Arrival at Jay street at (6:40am). Some really big improvements are being done at this station.  It is really appreciated!

Blurry picture from the Metrotech quad, sorry about that.  But it is really nice here in the morning.

A dose of xanthine from Starbucks, or some mornings from Au Bon Pain, or I make it at home in the Keurig (I’ll write a post about the machine soon).  My home coffee is dosed with Hazelnut Coffee-mate.  I don’t make “coffee” at home, it is called a “hazelnut delivery system”.  But Starbucks is an enjoyable way to get going.  Grande in a Venti cup, thanks to Robbiethegeek for that tip.

My building.

Practically empty.

(6:46am) At my desk.  Slow today, usually I am at my desk by 6:37am.

This is for Alon.
Enjoy the commute home.

Tags: ads, Ai, Au Bon Pain, big, blog, Car, Car Pool, Coffee, Coffee-mate, Commute, Commute, Crestron, Design, Drive, Engineering, Geek, GWB, hazelnut, IE, Jay, Jay Street, Keurig, LAN, Mac, Metrotech, MTA, NYC, OS, park, post, Pre, RIM, Starbucks, Subway, Transit, UI, upgrade

Related posts

• Commute home- Brooklyn to Teaneck (0)
• Update: 2 weeks with my 13″ MBP (1)
• Disney’s Mobile Magic application- the future for WDW guests? (0)
• Apple, you need to hire an in-house crank (0)
• The Google Cloud and Android mobile OS… a marriage must be made (5)

Tags: ads, Ai, Au Bon Pain, big, blog, Car, Car Pool, Coffee, Coffee-mate, Commute, Crestron, Design, Drive, Engineering, Geek, GWB, hazelnut, IE, Jay, Jay Street, Keurig, LAN, Mac, Metrotech, MTA, NYC, OS, park, post, Pre, RIM, Starbucks, Subway, Transit, UI, upgrade