Posted: Fri 14 March, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: A428, Commuting, Domestic, Driving, Fog, Travel, Work-related |
Today has been an excellent example of why (sometimes) it’s a good thing for my commute to be getting me in to work earlier than usual.
Despite it being even foggier than yesterday, and a pig of a drive (still unlit idiots, or people shitting themselves at not being able to see) it was a smooth run, and I got in on time.
Other colleagues coming in for ‘normal’ times though have been absolutely screwed. Apparently two trucks collided in the fog on the dual-carriageway near the infamous Black Cat Roundabout, which led to epic screwage of all relevant traffic in the area. (Even better, soon afterwards the other end of the same road was equally screwed up by a truck shedding its load all over the entry roundabout. Well played…) It’s taken them two to three hours to do the drive that takes me 45 mins on average.
Hopefully it’ll all be sorted by the time I head home. It should be – there’s plenty of time yet – but all the same, it’s been a useful example.
Posted: Thu 13 March, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, A428, BMW Drivers, Commuting, Driving, Fog, People, Travel, Weather, Weirdness |
This morning’s drive in to work was foggy – foggy enough that you could see maybe three or four car-lengths ahead, and not much more.
So it left me quite gobsmacked to see how many drivers today weren’t bothering with their foglights – and in some cases without any lights on at all.
Considering how every pisswit fuck-knuckle in Christendom seems to put their fog lights on when it’s misty – and then leave them on for three damn days afterwards – it’s pretty amazing when you come across cars today (and particularly bloody silver ones) with no lights on at all.
What on earth are these drivers thinking? (And yes, I know, they’re not thinking) After all, it’s not like they can see any better than I could – I just don’t get the mindset of “Oh well, other people will be able to see me, even if I can’t see them”
I don’t mind people being stupid, inconsiderate, and fuck-witted. If they want to die on the road, that’s fine with me. What I do mind is the other people affected by those decisions. And that’s just cuntish.
Posted: Thu 13 March, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Commuting, Cynicism, Domestic, Driving, Thoughts, Travel |
Over the past year, much has been made of the HS2 train route, and how it’ll improve transport links in the UK. It’s absolute balls, as most common sense would tell you. Mind you, what *would* be useful would be a route going across the country, rather than up-and-down it.
An example…
My current contract is in Cambridge, and I live near Milton Keynes. Road-wise it’s an OK run, takes me 45-60 minutes each way.
But by public transport? Oy, fuck me, what a nightmare. For fun, I had a look.
Milton Keynes -> Cambridge isn’t a direct route (because there’s no ‘across’ rail line) Instead, I’d have to go :
- From Milton Keynes into London Euston
- From Euston to Kings Cross
- From King’s Cross to Cambridge.
Now that is madness – it’d be 3 hours in the morning, and at least two on the way home. (Weirdly, trains seem to run better on the return journey)
And then you get to the real madness. The price. Because it’s a ‘via-London’ route, and at ‘peak time’ the cost was always going to be high. But it turns out that a day return comes to £73.70. Yep, just under seventy five quid. Per day. I don’t pay that for a week’s fuel.
And if you think I’m lying – here’s the screenshot from Trainline.com…
Posted: Tue 4 March, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Commuting, Cyclists, Driving, Health, People, Stupidity, Technology, Weirdness |
As I’m now working in Cambridge, I’m seeing a lot more cyclists. And a question occurred to me…
If a cyclist has one of those flashing/strobing LED cycle-lamps at a high-flash-rate, and they ride towards a driver prone to epilepsy through strobing (which isn’t something one would normally/usually expect to encounter while driving) who is responsible for any damages etc. should that driver suffer a fit at the wheel?
I’ve seen four or five cyclists already with these super-bright LED lamps set to a *very* high strobe rate, and it just made me wonder…
Posted: Tue 25 February, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: A428, Commuting, Domestic, Driving, Travel, Work-related |
On my commute, there is one road that is always a pain in the tits – the A428 between St Neots and Cambridge. It’s single-carriageway (i.e. one lane in each direction) and thus is the main sticking point on the entire journey (the rest of which is dual-carriageway). Because it’s also the quickest/shortest link from Cambridge to the A1, it’s prone to use by a lot of heavy vehicles – trucks, lorries, and even cranes.
On the journey in this morning, there were a lot of cones by the side of the road, all laid out and ready to be deployed. Oh bollocks.
It turns out (not that you can tell from the Highways Agency website, which is unutterably fucking shit, and a nightmare to get information from) that there’ll be work going on there for the next month. They don’t say what’s going to be done, or whether it’s limited to non-stupid hours (it won’t be) but it may just make the commute a bit more interesting.
I’ll know more tonight once I’ve done the drive home, and see how it all goes. Alternatively, it’s going to be a case of finding alternative routes for the next month…
Posted: Fri 21 February, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Change, Commuting, Domestic, Driving, Insomnia, Sleep - or lack thereof, Travel, Work-related |
At the new contract, my hours are somewhat different to usual. It actually works out pretty well – both for me, and for the business – but it’s rocking my body clock a bit in this first week.
Based in Cambridge, I’m working 7.30 – 3.30. We work with development teams around the East Indies, so when I’m starting work, they’re just finishing – it means we can do meetings without extra hassle. It also means I’m avoiding all the really crap traffic (although this week is somewhat non-standard, as it’s half-term, and I suspect it’ll be a bit different leaving during ‘school run’ hours in the afternoon)
However, starting at 7.30 with a 45-minute commute means I’m leaving the house at 6.30-6.45, and getting up commensurately earlier. It’s not a massive change, but it’s enough that I’ve noticed it this week. I’m sure I’ll get back into the swing of things though.
In fairness, I’ve left home at earlier times than that though, for far longer commutes (in both time and distance) and getting home much later as well – although I have somewhat got out of the habit of those over the last couple of years.
It suits me for now though. I’d rather do 11am-8pm or similar, which would actually suit my body-clock, but that’s not on offer this time round. We’ll see though.
Posted: Sat 1 February, 2014 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Commuting, Domestic, Getting Organised, Public Transport, Travel, Work-related |
This week I’ve been working in London, near to Farringdon station.
I’ve been commuting in by train from Milton Keynes, which is fine in general, although it’s a pretty busy route.
However, today (i.e. after the main bulk of the work has been done) I’ve had a look, and it turns out I could have actually been going from a more-local station, and getting in direct to Farringdon. It’s nearly £10 cheaper too – which is a bit of a bummer, even though I get the travel costs back anyway.
The actual travel time isn’t much different, interestingly. I assume this route stops at more stations, thus negating the speed of the MK to London express route, and then use of Underground etc. However, if it’s direct it’s a lot easier.
It’s something I’ll remember for future contracts, I think.
