Diaries of a (London) Bus Driver Vol. 1.4May 16th 2003

Dear friends,

What is it about buses that makes other drivers lose all their common sense! In consecutive days, I have been passed on bends in the road. The car drivers couldn't possibly have known what, if any vehicles were approaching from the opposite direction. Both were lucky. Within a minute of the second incident, on Green Dragon Lane, a third car overtook me on a straight, downhill section of road, doing somewhere in excess of 50mph. To deter such speedsters, there are 3 sets of chicanes at mini-roundabouts. This particular stunt was attempted an insufficient distance from one of these, so the driver was forced to negotiate the entire manoeuvre on the wrong side of the road. This time, the driver was almost not so lucky. Another vehicle was coming the other way. I doubt they missed each other by more than a couple of feet. This incident almost brought to life my enduring waking nightmares.

The vision I have almost overcome, is where I am driving at a decent speed and misjudge how far I am from a parked vehicle, causing a gut-wrenchingly spectacular smash. In the second scenario, a testosterone drunk dick-for-brains pulls out from behind me, while crossing into the path of oncoming traffic - a scene that unfolds several times daily. This time around, neither the perpetrator nor the victim, a bus or articulated lorry driver, can avoid a devastating crash. Car parts and flames fly through the air. Fortunately, my imagination has spared me visions of the mangled bodies.

I also have another accident to report. As seems to happen weekly, the tunnels on the North Circular Road, going under the Great Cambridge Roundabout and Silver Street, were closed for repairs that nobody has ever actually witnessed taking place. Two lanes had just merged into one on the slip road. Without enough space to get past me, another car attempted to do so anyway. Upon failing in his first attempt, he applied the old adage: try, try, try again.... until he hit me! After pounding the steering wheel in frustration and anger, I got off the bus to assess the damage, minimal, and see if the other driver was alright. He asked how I didn't see him!!!! He wanted to know what 'I' was going to do about his car. His tone was threatening, so I got back on the bus. I carry a company-supplied camera, with which I am supposed to photograph accident damage and location. Upon seeing this, the other driver cursed, rounded the cones and sped towards the waiting queue of traffic. Not a bright chap, as I would inevitably join the same queue immediately behind him. I snapped a shot of his licence plate.

Talking of not bright! My trip to the US was great. I loved seeing family and friends, and spending time with my kids was the highlight of my year. The second leg of my road trip was from Detroit to Pittsburgh - about 250 miles. We were in Ohio, about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania border, when a full grown female Deer ran up the embankment to the highway, within yards of our car. Surprising and beautiful. I said, look, kids! The Deer than full on charges our vehicle. I had a split second to react and swerved to the left, grazing the animal, which ran off, with the side of the car. Hair flew. Shit flew! Literally!! It hit the passenger window. Good thing for Sean's allergies! The windows were closed and the AC on, else Hannah would have had a face full!! Seems that Bulls aren't the only animals that attack red! We were told that this was far from an isolated incident. We were all sick to our stomachs. I called Rob, in Pittsburgh, telling him that we would be a little late. He lightened our moods with a few rather sick jokes. The time spent waiting for the Police - I had to get an accident report for insurance purposes - was almost sufficient for us to recover. I always drive past Rob's house, so called him again from close-by, asking him to stand outside it. We'll be in the maroon Honda Stationwagon with the shit on the window!

Seen and believed, but certainly not comprehended: Two Mercedes cars, one a sporty convertible, that have television screens on the dashboard. One of them had music videos on. What I want to know is, what egghead had this pea-brained idea, what corporate melon-head agreed to put them in the cars, what 'safety' commission approved it and how much did that cost in political contributions, and, last but not least, what yuppie moron with more money than sense would buy such a thing? Countries and States are banning mobile phone use for drivers, but it's OK to watch the booty-shaking flesh parade that constitutes so many videos! One thing's for sure: there'd be no shortage of people for me to sue, should I ever be involved in an accident with one of these cars!

As far as I can tell, there are only two things prone to more exaggeration than a man's penis size: Parents' estimation of how advanced their children are, and how long people have waited for a bus. On Sundays, the 125 comes only twice an hour. A man got on my bus complaining that he had waited an hour. I said that was untrue. I had crossed paths with the other bus exactly where I should have done. OK. Maybe 40 minutes. No, it would have been about half an hour ago. Oh! I must have just missed it!

There are many reasons for buses being late. People are constantly ringing the bell for the wrong stop and then just sit there saying nothing when I stop. The new buses on the 125 route have bells on almost every pole. People get on and grab the bars on their way to a seat, accidentally ringing the bell. Anyone can make a mistake, but as a public service request for all my fellow drivers everywhere, please admit to yours, if you make one. It will save a half a minute. The later I am, the more passengers I pick up (and will therefore also have to drop off somewhere) that would otherwise have missed me. This makes me later still. After all, the leading cause of lateness is picking up and dropping of the passengers. If I never had to pick up any, I'd rarely be late at all!

Another major cause is crazy schedules. On the W15, 44 minutes are scheduled for the late, late runs. This is almost impossible. I have made it just once. I was determined, and the roads were unusually clear, as it was Bank Holiday weekend. The allotted time from the Hackney Central Bus Stand to Leytonstone Station is 15 minutes. I drove 35-40mph most of the way, even briefly topping 50 along the Homerton Road. I was 2 minutes late at my first checkpoint! I made this up by the time I reached Terminus.

Along the same lines, the 125 has a round trip of 16 miles. (I originally thought this was 25 ? miles, but the new buses display kilometres.) The late runs are expected to accomplish this in 50 minutes. Supposedly, all times are based upon a top speed of 27mph. I worked it out! If there were no traffic, no traffic lights, no turns to negotiate, no roundabouts and no passengers, it would take me over 35 minutes. At an average 30mph, the time needed would be 32 minutes. But I tend to slow down for road hazards, and go considerably slower still when taking on passengers! Bare in mind, not one of these road has a limit of above 30mph and I would be expected to pay any speeding fines, and the 3 points would be on my licence!! 12 points and I'm out of a job! Not without a fight!! Letters to Mayor Ken, 'The Editor'...

If Swan Lane in Whetstone flooded...

I have to report the sad closure and removal of the 24-hour mobile tea and snack bar on Hackney Marshes, at Homerton Road. Not that I ever ate there. However, I always found it wryly amusing just how often the place was closed when I passed it - certainly more than any other 24-hour joint I've ever seen!

As a final note, I have some hope of returning both to New York and my old profession. Projects are in the works at my old employer, which I hope will result in a call in a few months. Perhaps next year, I'll be writing Diaries of an Englishman in New York.

That's all for now.

Love,

Andy

About the Author

My name is Andy. I am an Englishman who has spent most of his adult life in the United States. In 2001, I moved back to London, thinking I would remain there for the rest of my life. But things didn't go as planned. And instead of finding a job in IT, I became a bus driver. This is my memoire, written from 2003 to 2005.

Now back in Brooklyn, I have a blog I currently enjoy writing: sceneandheardinny.blogspot.com

Baby Jogging Stroller You Can't Use The Baby As An Excuse Anymore

Short Sales Information Successful Negotiations with Owners and Banks

Short sales aren't for everyone, but there's often a significant amount of money to be made when buying a property from a lender before a home has been foreclosed. So even though they can be frustrating experiences, short sales may be worth checking into as one of your real estate investment avenues. Here are a few suggestions for successfully negotiating short sales owners and lenders.

First, if you approach the home owners sympathetically, you'll have a much higher percentage of success. Remember, they're in a financial bind, otherwise they wouldn't be facing foreclosure and the potential destruction of their credit rating, so when you talk with them about putting together a short sale, bear that in mind. You're going to need their help throughout the process, so be as gentle and understanding as possible. After all, once the short sale is completed, their loan will show on their credit report as paid, rather than being a huge negative mark against their credit score. There will be a notation on their report that indicates the home was sold for less than the original loan amount, but it's better than foreclosure.

Also, remember that a short sale is being negotiated while the foreclosure clock is ticking. You have to move relatively quickly if you want the sale to be complete before a sheriff sale or public auction is held. (There are some lenders that will halt the foreclosure process until a short sale has been completed or rejected, but that's not always true, so don't assume the clock will stop ticking just because you're involved in a short sale negotiation.)

You'll generally have to work fairly closely with the home owners to construct a strong hardship letter and to compile all the various things a lender will ask for, such as pay stubs, bank statements, and personal finance information. Lender requirements will vary, but all of them will require a sales contract between you and the homeowners. They'll also want to see a broker's price opinion (BPO) before they decide whether or not to accept your short sale offer.

The earlier you can step into the foreclosure process, the better, because you want to be able to help the home owners to jump through all the various hoops in time to close the short sale before the foreclosure date. Generally, 90 days will be enough time, but there are always variables, and the things lenders can ask for can often be frustrating and time-consuming.

Your goal should be to seek out properties in which the owners have little or no equity. Your chances of completing a short sale will increase if there's not much profit to be made if the lender should decide to go through with the foreclosure process. If there's a wide spread, the lender might do better to foreclose and sell the property as a repossessed home at a price closer to its market value.

Again, they're not for everyone, but short sales can often make a significant profit if you're willing to work closely with stressed homeowners and the sometimes arbitrary demands of lenders.

Copyright ? 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher teaches beginning real estate investors how to make money in any real estate market fixing and flipping houses.

Free ebooks on flipping houses and podcasts of How to Buy with Nothing Down at http://doghousetodollhouse.com/realestate.htm

Hiking Some Things To Consider When Picking A Backpack

There's an amazing range of backpacks available today in all shapes, sizes and colors and with enough add-ons to keep even the best of the 'gadget freaks' happy for days. However, if you're looking for a suitable backpack for hiking then there are a few basics that you need to come to grips with.

Small packs, such as waist packs or fanny packs (this term always conjures up memories of Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas in The In-laws), are not strictly speaking backpacks, since they are not worn on the back. Nevertheless, they serve the same purpose on a smaller scale and can be ideal for short hikes.

These smaller packs normally have a strap and two or three compartments and can be used to hold a number of handy items such as a water bottle, nutrition bars, sunscreen, insect repellant, band-aids and other small items.

Some smaller packs, often called hydration packs, even have special water bladders with drinking tubes. These normally hold anything up to a couple of gallons and again can be useful. You should remember though that a gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs.

If you're going on longer hikes, or need to carry more with you, then there are lots of different backpacks to choose from. Most of these are categorized by size, which is often expressed in terms of their volume in liters.

Day packs, as their name suggests, are designed to be used on reasonably short hikes. They are normally anywhere from about ten to thirty liters in volume and come in various styles. They will all have shoulder straps and some will have a chest strap and/or a belt strap.

Larger packs, from about thirty to seventy liters, go by a variety of names including, midrange, midsize, light duty packs and others. Packed correctly, they can hold quite a lot of equipment and it's easy to get carried away and try to pack everything including the kitchen sink. Be careful and remember that, whatever you pack, you have to carry it.

These backpacks need to be of a sturdy but lightweight construction and should have good broad shoulder straps and a waist belt. It's also very helpful if they have the now commonly seen plastic 'dog-leash' quick release buckles.

The largest packs, which have a capacity in excess of seventy liters and usually have a number of special features, are generally referred to as heavy duty, full-sized, expedition or something similar.

These large backpacks normally have special supports threaded through the shoulder straps and across the back or waist to help stabilize the backpack and make it easier to carry. They are also often designed to be carried higher on the back to keep the load off the lower back and so help to prevent back pain and fatigue.

The best full sized packs are manufactured from extremely strong composite materials, which are just about indestructible, and come with all sorts of lumbar support, pads and well designed balance mechanisms. Many will also have special compartments to hold all sorts of different things including sleeping bags or even a small tent.

At the end of the day the most important thing to remember when it comes to choosing a hiking backpack is that you will have to carry it. So, think very carefully about just what you need (not want) to take with you before you set off and pack this and nothing else.

Joining your local hiking club will put the resources of the club at your disposal and allow you to get advice and information on all aspects of hiking. Visit The-Hiking-Club.com for more information about hiking and hiking equipment including such things as good quality Timberland hiking boots and other waterproof boots.

Playtime Is Meant To Be Fun And Safe: How To Make It That Way

Playtime is important in the development of a child?s imagination and social skills. However, how a child plays and what the child plays with is equally as important. Playtime should be safe for the child and age appropriate. It should also be fun and encourage imagination. Parents can do several things to help ensure their child?s safety when playing.

To ensure safety during playtime, it is important for parents to choose the correct toys. It is very tempting to always buy the latest, greatest popular toy on the market or to buy your older child the fun technology oriented toys that are so prevalent. However, a parent should be aware that there are certain physical and developmental dangers in choosing certain toys or allowing too much access to particular toys. Safety starts at the toy store with parents and caregivers choosing toys that are safe and age appropriate for the child.

?Look at the design of the toys to ensure they are well made and will not break easily.

?Toys that are very small can be a choking hazard for young children. Even if you do not think your child will put a toy in their mouth or lodge it elsewhere, do not choose these types of toys for small children. It only takes a moment for a fun toy to become a hazard.

?Do not buy toys that have loud noises that can potentially impair hearing.

?Toys that propel objects can be a danger to eyes. If older children have such toys, make sure they are not accessible to the younger children in the house and that the older children do not play with these in the vicinity of younger children.

?Watch out for toys that have sharp edges, small parts, or sharp points. Avoid toys that produce extremely loud noises that can damage hearing and propelled objects that can injure eyes.

?Read the labels for safety information such as suggested age ranges, hygiene information and toxicity issues.

?If you are buying an electrical toy, make sure there is a UL seal that proves the product was safety tested.

In addition to safety, it is also important to let the child know the parent is willing to play with them. A parent?s involvement with a child can be a great bonding experience for the entire family, bringing the family closer. Babies and small children learn skills and develop through play and interaction. If a parent actively plays with their child, studies indicate that they will develop faster.

Today, many children are exposed to large amounts of television, computers and video games. While these items can be helpful in learning certain skills, too much exposure to them will quell a child?s imagination. Make sure to limit television time and allow children to use their imagination. Playtime outside is also healthy for the child. Let the child run and play and toss a ball around so they can practice motor skills and get some exercise. Parents should get involved.

?Parents can read to their child and encourage reading once the child is able to read alone. This will help cognitive skills and develop the imagination. Make story time part of the bedtime ritual so it is a fun way to end the evening and a great bonding experience.

?Play games with your children. This will help teach sharing, taking turns, patience and rules. Card games, puzzle games and board games are a great way to interact. If you are in a car together, play games such as ?I Spy?.

?Create imaginative activities such as putting on plays or musicals. Playing dress up or house with your child can expand the imagination and can be a lot of fun.

?Play with action figures, stuffed animals and dolls with your children. This can add to social interaction by giving the child the tools to act out what the feel is appropriate and you can guide them by teaching appropriate play and manners.

?Sing songs with your children. Children love to sing and it can be fun for everyone. It is also a great opportunity to learn the alphabet and rhyming.

Playtime is an important activity in a child?s life. It will help teach them and can help parents and children form a stronger relationship. It is necessary to choose toys and activities that are both fun and safe. With a parent?s involvement and attention, this can be an easy task to accomplish.

About the Author:

If you would like more information on wooden toys for your child please visit our site. MonkeyBeanToys specializes in traditional wooden toys that will last longer than cheap plastic toys.

The Joy Found At Roller Skating Rinks

 



The Joy Found At Roller Skating RinksSubmitted By: James Brown   

When little children enter a roller skating rink for the first time, they are surprised by the deafening sounds that emanate from the roller rink inside. From the lobby of the roller rink, all newcomers are sure to hear marvelous bouts of laughter and they might even hear a cheer or two. People are also going to be exposed to loud music and parents who have been there before will very likely be wear ear plugs.

Entering a roller skating rink for the first time is the start of a grand adventure. Newcomers are exposed to things that they have never seen before in their life. The first task that many roller skaters tackle is selecting the right sized roller skates and the second task that is more easily managed is selecting the locker where the entire family will store their street shoes. Then the family will tackle the task of donning roller skates and try to take a few steps without falling.

The odor of the lockers and the facility as a whole might be offensive to some, and many families bring scented sprays with them so they can rid themselves of the smell of sweaty feet. All members in the family will bring socks with them to the rink, and those socks that are too short will most likely cause blisters to form before the evening of roller skating is through. Experienced skaters know how important it is to bring elastic toe bandages with them every time they go roller skating.

There is still a lot of joy to be realized from roller skating with family and friends. Some roller skaters have spent a lot of time skating and know how to push past others who are slower. A certain etiquette that roller skaters follow is similar to the rules of driving in the fast late. Slower skaters are expected to skate near the wall and the left hand side of the inner circle of the roller rink is reserved for skaters who skate with speeds that are so fast that one might think they are qualifying for a racing event.

There are other types of joy to be found at the neighborhood roller rink. Teenagers enjoy visiting the snack bar and eating pizza with their best friends in the booths that are provided. This area of the roller rink is the best place for teens to go to converse with someone that they asked out on a date. The lights on the roller rink floor are lowered throughout the night and couples have many chances to enjoy some close dancing maneuvers while wearing roller skates.

Some great skaters might choose to share their techniques and help others who are learning to skate with any problems that they might be having. While the roller rink is full of people who have a competitive nature, it is still an environment that is filled with people who care about other people. Roller skating provides many joys to many people. Some roller skaters might spend very little time skating because their interests lie in the video games and pinball machines that are stored in a game room off the skating rink floor.

About the Author:

James Brown writes about Freestylextreme online coupons, RacingUK Affiliates coupon and SubsideSports.com key code

California Real Estate Market Gives Mixed Messages

In April 47,250 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the state of California. That?s down from 54,500 in March which is a drop of 13.3%. April of 2005 was one of the strongest months for real estate in California?s history. What a difference a year makes. Sales were down 21% from last April. Even though sales were down, prices were not.

In April of 2006, prices were up 10.2% from the same period a year ago. The average price of a home in California now is $562,380. Nearly 85% of the cities in California have shown an increase in prices since the same period last year. Since California trends are so important to the Real Estate market, the Real Estate market there is being watched very closely.

One market that is watched closely is the luxury home market. The feeling is in a market downturn, the luxury market will be one of the first markets to suffer. So what is happening in the luxury market in California? Lets take a look at these markets in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.

In Los Angeles values rose 0.1 percent from the previous quarter and 12.4 percent from a year ago. In Los Angeles the average luxury home was priced at $2.29 million.

In San Diego prices rose 0.9 percent from the previous quarter and 6.8 percent from a year earlier. The average luxury home in San Diego priced at $2.1 million. San Diego as a whole has been one of the most overheated markets in California, so the fact that luxury home prices continue to hold up there may be good news for the rest of the homeowners in San Diego for now.

In San Francisco prices were up 1.6 percent from the previous quarter and up 8.6 percent from the same period of time last year. The average price of a luxury home in San Francisco is $2.92 million.

So what direction is the California Market moving? There are investors cashing in on their profits and getting out, however most homeowners are not investors. Investors poured into lower priced markets during the recent boom and areas in Florida and Arizona have many residential investors. The market has started to reflect this. In Phoenix the real estate market is pulling back due to rising inventory from investors trying to cash in, however at this point you couldn?t call this a bust. In other areas of the country prices are still inching up.

In California the market is returning to normal conditions. It will take longer to sell a home and prices may stay flat or increase slowly.

So far the signs of market stress that would indicate a bust are not there. Down payments remain stable and speculation buying is moderate. The default rates are up, however these rates are still low.

Andrew Goldman is president of Metal Rabbit media services, the operator of http://www.carealestateinvest.com and http://www.Exchangetradedfundinvesting.com He has written a number of articles on finance and investment over the last ten years.