The We Will Miss You, Chohole Complaint Thread
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Nt sure what Amtrak route your looking at, but when you say "compartment" were you lookimg at their "bedroom"? A rommette should be a fair bit cheaper. I know that Amtrak is having a problem meeting demand as part of the Superliner fleet is being refurbished (whoch means less shorter consists, fewer passenger spaces avilable., and they are definitely being affetced by the whole COVID scene. Up here on VIA, current prices from Edmonto to Toronto in Sleeper Plus class (whoch includes melas ) for $1331 (tax incl) Cdn one way, that's a 2 night trip.
...the route is the Empire Builder from Portland connecting in Chicago to the Capitol Limited on the unbound trip. The return has me on the Capitol Limited connecting in Chicago to the to the Southwest Chief connecting Los Angeles to the Coast starlight for the return trip .Yeah really odd that the travel planner didn't show the direct connection back to Portland from Chicago which would save a day an a half of travel and I would expect to be reasonably lower in price (see below).
The roomette price is what I used. The other options are the bedroom and family bedroom, which are not only larger, also having a their own private shower and dunny, but are far more expensive. Reserving a bedroom for example made the full trip come to 5,786$US for the same itinerary on the same trains.
As I mentioned, the round trip base coach fare on that same routing is 462$US The markup for accommodations for the trip comes to an additional 2,646$US which divided over the 7 nights averages 368$US for each night..
I was back on their site just while composing this to verufy those costs and noticed that since this morning they added the more direct return connection from Chicago to Portland. While again, it saves an extra day and night, it only reduces the cost to 2,985$US for the full round trip. What I find odd is for some reason, even with one less dayand night of travel the, per night room cost us higher at 420$US compared to 368$US as mentioned above for the more roundabout trip. I would think that the accommodation prices per day/night would be about the same on both routes. particularly as on the swing through California I'm being handled and fed for an additional day and a half on the trip up the coast to Portland. So on the entire trip I save 113$US on the overall trip cost with the shorter routing but pay more per day/night for accommodations. Sounds sort of like Daz sale pricing strategy.
Meanwhile the base coach fare for the more direct route is only 394$US, less than even "steerage class" airfare. The train would be nice not just because I find it more relaxing, but I also only live a couple blocks walk from the station so don't have to deal with getting to and from airports or though security lines at the terminal (and worry about my luggage [which I pay an extra fee for] not arriving or being damaged). Just don't think I can handle 4 days and 3 nights travel there with little to no sleep, with no shower, while sharing a "bed" (seat) with a stranger every night and expect to be refreshed and ready for the event I plan to attend..
I made a resolution a decade or so ago to never fly again.
I absolutely hate the modern airport experience, and the plane's seat size is inhuman.
I remember flying during the golden days of consumer flight, the '60s, 70s & '80s. (especially the late '60s) Real, hot food, on china plates with stainless flatware, big padded seats, only about 100 people at the gate
instead of a warehouse of thrice that number like cattle awaiting shipment or slaughter.
You didn't feel so much like cattle in chutes waiting for the killing stick.
And the airports were navigable by foot in less than a day, and you didn't have to undress to get frisked, and you could arrive in full leather complete with decorative chains and metal belts, and you could carry your orgy equipment bag with you without worrying about X-Rays or snoopy TSA agents identifying whips, handcuffs, and a flogger or two and giving you a meaningful smirk or his card.
I've thought about taking a real-adventure again, but finances are tight. I've had the ancient-person temptation to go on an ocean cruise, but I've already done that in a far more interesting way (sailing and SCUBA diving with a couple dozen people on the Great Barrier Reef for three days on a three masted sailing ship.
)
However, my idea of a travel trip is by car. A nice luxurious automobile, drive 6 hours a day, lunch at a fast food place, unwind in the m/hotel's pool, a good meal in a decent restaurant at night, shower, sleep on a big bed with lots of pillows, breakfast at Waffle House or an Egg McMuffin meal at McDonald's.
Last time I drove from here (near Buffalo) to Florida (1200 miles) I went for about 9 days, three days travel down, three up, and three in the Orlando area. I did DisneyWorld, Universal Studios, & several International Drive attractions as well, stayed in a wonderful hotel, got full-service, multi-park tickets for Disney and also multi-park tickets for Universal, rented a PMV (Personal Mobility Vehicle, i.e. mini-golfcart) for two of three days at the parks. Had wonderful meals at Hard Rock Cafe, Margaretaville, Bubba Gumps, and the restaurant at the Canadian pavilion in EPCOT. And the whole trip, driving, motels, hotels, park tickets, rentals, meals, trinkets came to abut $3000. I'm afraid that was my last splurge but I'd satisfied one of my bucket list items (enjoy Orlando properly).
Splurging is much harder now. But, yeah. Planes are out for me, trains are still a possibility but the cost is scary. However, I could be tempted to return to Florida in a year or so just to ride the new BrightLine trains between Orlando and Miami. Finally, after 100 years the US is getting a late 20th century train faster than 70 miles an hour. They claim the new trains (new track is nearly finished) will do 125mph in the open run between Cocoa Beach and the Orlando airport. Somewhat less zippy down the east coast through all the coastal cities.
I've been watching construction through this guy who's been giving weekly coverage of progress of bridge and rail constructions. Here's a good clip of the Orlando terminal at the airport.
Already operational between Miami and West Palm Beach, but scheduled to open the Orlando run this year. Then they'll start on the short westward extension to the Disney/Universal entertainment area, then after that another 80/90 miles west to Tampa on the Florida west coast, and there's talk of a 100 mile extension north between Cocoa Beach and Jacksonville on the east coast.
Frozen rain is bounceing off my windows .......
Be thankful you live on Earth. There are some planets where the rain is liquid iron and sleet is a shower of ballbearings. And the air-conditioning bill is outrageous.
Yeah but I prefer the frozen fluffy stuff ....... ummm so you've been there? Could try selling the ball bearings........
I am trying to watch some Eagles play but they are scoreless.
I'm still trying to learn how to make clothes for the kids using Hexagon.
I can't help with that.
...indeed, the 60s and even early 70s were the pinnacle for air travel. Jets and turboprops replaced old piston aircraft allowing for faster and smoother flights above most weather. Competition was based on quality of service and on time performance. Fares were standardised throughout the industry and based on miles flown not market popularity. Every time I look at travelling back to Milwaukee, I frequently get a message popping up that it costs less to fly into O'Hare instead, which is pretty much the same distance from Portland (of course nothing is said about the extra cost to get to Milwaukee from there). Also back then the markup between Coach and First was nowhere near as steep as it is today between "steerage" and the front (and First class today is nothing like it used to be). In looking at old timetables from the late 1960s for example the First class fare between Milwaukee and Portland cost only 11$ more than Coach each way (the fare was the same between Portland and Chicago as well). Today it can vary anywhere form between 700$ to 1,000$ more on the same airline denuding on day and time of travel as well as routing (which hub you connect through)..
As I mentioned, coach back then was far more roomy and yes I remember hot meals on real china with flatware and beverages in real glassware (ever try to cut a piece of meat or chicken with a plastic knife, and then there's coffee served in Styrofoam cups...mmmmm all that lovely styrene to go with the cream and sugar).
Unless you are in First, you are lucky to get a small bag of snacks, a bottle of water or high fructose laden beverage, and some kind of "energy bar", (even in the more expensive "premium" section). On the "budget" airlines you don't even get that unless you pay for it or buy it at the terminal before your flight.
Yeah air travel has gone from a pleasurable experience to basically a "Greyhound bus with wings". Incidentally on the new Greyhound buses, you get the same amount legroom that those who pay extra for "premium" service on the airlines get. Sad.
...following closer to the European model of intermodal service.
Actually my old hometown of Milwaukee has an Amtrak Station right off the airport's west end which has been in service for 17 years now. There are shuttles to transport passengers from the station and there is even an arrivals/departure display with train times in the airport terminal
Amtrak is planning to revive the Hiawatha project that was cancelled by the state's former Governor 12 years ago (real convoluted and messy story to go into here), which will have two trains a day each way between Chicago and the Twin Cities passing through Milwaukee and Madison. Average speeds are to be between 110 and 125 mph, still a far cry from Europe and other nations, but much better than the current average of 47 mph the Empire Builder does between the two points.
Here in Portland the "Red Line" LRT has been serving the airport since 2001, while in Chicago the CTA began full direct service form Downtown to O'Hare in 1993, Philadelphia's SEPTA also has a heavy rail commuter line to that city's airport which opened in 1985, so, were getting there..
...meanwhile, a buch of Cowboys are scoreless, would like to see it stay that way
I want 49ers to win for some odd reason.
[sport]
...yeah was hoping Brady and the Buccaneres would have been knocked out. .Wasn't pleased that they had "home field" advantage in the Superbowl last year.
Ah well, at least Aaron's getting some needed rest this week as Green Bay being the top seed on th NFC has the week off.
[/sport]
...hmm, experiencing some Google weirdness today. Seems that pages aren't loading completely as they should as sometimes I get the HTML version and sometimes just a blank page after which I have to do a screen refresh to get it to load properly.
Where is everybody? More than 24 hours and not a single complaint?
Dana
Is life that good for everyone?
Might be snowed in or without power ........
Or maybe they were all enjoying the holiday here in the States.
Dana
...OK complaint. found myself signed out again even though I have the box checked to keep me signed in.
Second complaint, Covid still rampaging through the nation with the peak still awaiting us.
no I just forgot to post?
I am missing a snail it seems. I only saw one snail this morning.
I bought seven boxes of poptarts for 39 cents each the other day.
Not being native english speaker, a poptart gives me a mental image of elderly groupie
A "Poptart" is a commercially produced, squooshed flat, semi-dried-out, jelly roll, with just enough jelly to stain the middle line of the dough, it's covered with brittle, white icing and they are designed to be popped into the toaster like bread to warm them to make them slightly more palatable. An easy and tasty breakfast, but extravagant unless you can get them for 39 cents.
I've been waiting decades for someone without access to or knowledge of Pop-Tarts to ask "What the hell is a poptart"
You didn't ask it that way, but on some level, perhaps a micro cellular level, that was the question... but either way, close enough...
Hmmm... the Pop-Tart... think of it as a pastry created by a semi-sentient machine that had heard of pastry, but never actually seen it and is incapable of taste.
This is a Pop-Tart...
It's a product of the American Industrial Agricultural Food Complex of the 1960s, when the idea of food being made out of food was considered dumb and boring and the more space-age and processed it was, the more futuristic and cool it was considered...
Originally created in the early 1960s by Post/General Foods, and named "Country Squares", all "toaster pastries" owe their being to an innovation in dog food packaging.
The Mylar foil packet... which was originally used to keep pooch food moist and meaty.
Post invented the concept of the "Pop-Tart" (generically called a "toaster pastry"), but the idea was immediately ripped off by Kellogg's before the "County Squares" could hit the market, and thus basically instantly dominated the field of "things that seem like food and can be stuffed in a toaster".
But that doesn't answer what a Pop-Tart is other than an unnatural collection of chemicals and wheat dust in a Mylar packet.
If you observe the photo I included, you'll see a Pop-Tart is a 11.43 cm X 7.94 cm, 0.635 cm thick rectangular amalgamation of synthetic and semi-natural materials which can be placed into a toaster to warm it up so that one can later burn their mouth on the molten filling.
The majority of people I know don't bother to toast them, that's something people ten years older than me did, everyone below that threshold is too lazy and impatient to do so... besides you always end up burning your mouth on the filling... some people still do, but I can't remember the last time I saw kid bother to toast one... my kids actually got mad when I slightly toasted theirs when they were little... they looked at me like I stuffed the inside with liver & salmon flavor filling or something.
The crust portion is similar in composition to graham crust, or if that is an unfamiliar reference... Fig Newton crust... or perhaps semi-dry Play Doh... I can't think of an equivalent offhand if those aren't helpful... maybe if you were to take some potting soil, moisten it, compress it forcefully and then bake it till it's firm, but crumbly... that might be close.
The crust is the absolute worst part of the pop-tart... it's literally just a delivery platform for the filling and frosting... I honestly think cardboard would have been a better choice.
If you look closely at the picture, you'll see the filling and frosting only extends to within .952 cm of the edge... this leaves a zone of deadly tastelessness around the perimeter that nobody really eats because if you try, it will suck all the moisture from your mouth... and possibly cause a chain-reaction cascade desiccation event that might kill you.
The filling which can only be described as a tasty concoction of artificial flavors and ingredients alloyed with hints of natural materials is really the only reason people eat them... possibly the frosting too, but some flavors of pop-tarts omit the frosting for unknown reasons.
Some types of pop-tarts are sprinkled with tiny shavings of what I'm guessing is colorful plastic, but might be sugary sprinkles.
It's very hard to tell.
Pop-Tarts are available in a stupidly dizzying array of artificial flavors... from the standard chocolate-fudge, strawberry, blueberry, maple-brown sugar to weird ones like watermelon, root beer, pumpkin pie and chocolatey churros "Dia di Muertos" (has "day of the dead" skulls printed on the frosting).
The great thing about Pop-Tarts, is they last forever... I ate a couple I found in the cupboard that were seven years old and I didn't notice a difference... I only noticed because the back of the box had an ad for a movie that was in theaters seven years earlier... I'm sure they'll last 100 years if you or your descendants don't accidentally eat them beforehand.
I know Pop-Tarts are available in the UK, I saw them there in a supermarket years ago and felt bad for British kids... They are probably available in other places in Europe, but since they are so artificial, maybe not...
There are probably some interesting facts about Pop-Tarts... They once had a talking toaster as their mascot... There was a short lived Pop-Tarts store in NYC around 2010... I'm assuming they sold Pop-Tarts, but I never actually saw it before it closed... At the beginning of the War in Afghanistan, the U.S. Air Force dropped several million Pop-Tarts all over Afghanistan... I'm not sure if it was to help people or as a way of scaring the Taliban.
So that's Pop-Tarts... aren't you glad you know now?
Also... I had to eat two packages to write this because I dropped the first set on the floor and they didn't look good enough to take a picture of.
Thank you @McGyver for the indepth analysis, now I can't get the taste of baked potting soil out of my mouth, although it's still better than what I thought of first
Complaint... I'm starting to believe what the others are saying about me, that I'm just too old in thinking that;
- Promises about delivery time to a client must be kept,
- A supervisor is responsible for getting a work done in time and according to the relevant instructions and rules,
- Experience and knowledge is better than no experience and no knowledge...
Ah, yes... basically...
-Promises about delivery time are just approximations based on numerology and divining chicken entrails.
-A supervisor is responsible for earning more than the persons they "supervise".
-Experience and knowledge are not worth as much as pretending to have experience and knowledge, as long as you can vaguely maintain that facade.
I'm pretty sure that's supplanted previous interpretations of these topics.