I’m not a push-over anymore!

Bus Ramblings

No longer can you ride my bus without paying… HA!

I used to be a big push-over when people said they didn’t have any money, saying, “yeah, just bring double next time.” I finally learned to put my foot down. I was driving Green route and had 4 kids try to get on at the high school. They were going to the mall, an entire 4 blocks away. The first girl, who was obviously with the group, drops in 50 cents. The next person suddenly gets this dumb look on his face and says “oh, you have to pay at this stop?” Yup. It’s not a bad day outside; you can walk to the mall if you don’t have any money on you. I’ll even give the girl a refund for the 50 cents. They begged for awhile and I kept shaking my head. One tried to walk on my bus and I put up my hand and said, “no,” or something super-authoritative like that. Then one of them looks in his wallet and pulls out a dollar bill. I said, “well that will cover two of you.” More pleading, more staring them down. They finally got off my bus after swearing at me several times.

I was pretty proud of myself. On one hand.. yes, the bus follows a certain route and might as well carry people around rather than drive around empty. On the other hand. I had at least two people on my bus who had paid up the full four-quarters fare, and even if it weren’t theft to ride the bus without paying, it’s not fair to the other people who did just drop money in the farebox.
Continue reading I’m not a push-over anymore! →

This mac thinks it’s a PC!

Computer Stuff

Once-in-awhile I get an hour of spare time on campus. I usually like to come to the Durham lab and use the dual-screen media computer… just because I’m used to dual-screens and I like them. Today there was somebody already using it… curses!! Well… there is a mac with dual displays…. but… it’s a mac.

Yay for remote desktop. I have the two screens connected to my two computers back in my apartment. Voila… two windows computers “running” on a mac. (Forgive me, I don’t speak French well.)

Now to just get used to the annoying keyboard and single-button mouse.

Slightly stressful weekend

Family, School

Unlike previous weekend updates, I can’t say this one was “great!” Although spending time with Amanda is always fun, I had a few too many things to do that caused just a little bit of stress.

First of all, I had the com sci midterm on Monday night… so I was spending some hours studying for that. The larger part was fleshing out the Design Doc for Sr. Design. That I spent probably 8 stressful hours Saturday/Sunday night working on. Without going into a giant rant about it, I’ll just say I was not happy… with the content I had to work with, with the computer I was working on, and the insanely slow dial-up internet. I’m so glad Amanda puts up with my ranting phone calls and keeps me in line!

Oh… to clarify. I stayed in Waverly through Sunday night because my uncle’s funeral was on Monday morning in Waukon, IA. So… that’s what I did on Monday. Couple hours up to the funeral, then 3.5 hours back to Ames just in time for the Com Sci midterm.

The good news is the midterm went very well. Even though I was almost sick going into it, I felt I understood everything on it, and was feeling a lot better afterwards. Couple Voyagers, pizza, and bed made for a good night!

Dyersville is technical!!!

Computer Stuff

So, I’m working on Amanda’s mom’s computer… getting stuff up and running. But I found I didn’t have quite all the drivers I needed, and downloading them over a modem would take forever. So… since Amanda was supposed to be getting her oil changed anyway, I figured I’d bring my laptop to the dyersville library to try and download the drivers on a faster connection. Unfortunately, the library doesn’t open until 9. So… on a whim, I opened up my laptop to see if MAYBE I could get a wireless connection outside the building. I did!!! It’s very tempermental, but it’s working pretty well anyway! Way to go Dyersville.

Actually, techie comment… I see two access points… one is “library” so it’s obvious where that one’s coming from. The other one, “linksys,” we’re suspecting may be coming from the police station next door. And that’s the one I’m getting a better signal from. Hmmm… well if they didn’t want other people to use it, they should secure it up a bit more 🙂 . I’m only downloading drivers anyway… not like I’m actually doing any damage.

Low-floors are fun, but shifts get stressful

Bus Ramblings

So I started my afternoon cardinal with the typical old-junk bus that was out all day. Usually these days I get switched into something halfway through my shift. Tonight, it was a low-floor! It was kindof interesting to try and remember how those things worked… since I haven’t driven one since summer. Anyway, I enjoyed it…. right up until two blocks before my releif.

As I was pulling away from Gilman, two girls come running across the street right in front of my bus. As I slam on the brakes, avoiding hitting them by a few inches, I remind them that that’s a good reason to run around behind the bus. One stop later, at MacKay, no one wanted on the bus, so I continued driving. An impatient driver was passing me as I started accelerating, which is a pretty normal, if irritable, occurrence at night. What’s not normal is when they decide to cut in front of the bus as if the bus isn’t moving. If I had been going a couple mph faster, I would’ve taken out their passenger door…. or they my front bumper. And by “taken out” I mean: demolished door/totaled car and a scratch on the bus’s bumper. One block later, I was slightly glad to be relieved. Ahh the joys of a bus driver!

Birthday weekend

Family, Leisure

I suppose my birthday weekend warrants an update. I know I’ve been lousy at keeping up the details of my life… but hey! I’m a busy Computer Engineering senior!

So anyway… my birthday was wonderful…. I spent 7.5 hours in a bus and two hours in class. Fun fun. Amanda finally arrived at around 9:00. We had some Pizza Hut pizza and watched a couple episodes of Stargate on my 7-foot projector screen. We were gonna go out, but were both really exhausted (long days), so we turned in early.

Saturday continues below!!!

Continue reading Birthday weekend →

I hope you aren’t really what you watch…

Leisure

This weekend with Amanda went great! Though we spent over 10 hours watching movies/TV, we did manage to get out for a bit without spending too much money.

Friday night we stayed in and watched Ocean’s 11 with Tom and Jody. Late-night movies make for a tired Benji, so I zonked out on the couch immediately afterwards. My first task Saturday morning was to finally get my car fixed (at the suggestion/prodding of my parents). Amanda and I wandered around Hastings and Borders looking at DVD sets of old TV Shows. Next up on my list: the first season of Mork and Mindy… only $32 at BB! Continue reading I hope you aren’t really what you watch… →

Smartboard rocks!!!!

Computer Stuff

I finally got the csg people to install SmartBoard software in the conference room where my team always meets. I seriiusly need pics to show how cool this is. You can draw anywhere on the screen in any program, save drawings you make, or even pull up an on-screen keyboard to write with. I kind of feel like I’m using one of those computers in The Matrix that my roommate said would be so inefficient… you’d have to be a conductor to use it. My arms are already tired from typing all this via the on-screen keyboard! Anyway, it’s a pretty fun toy that I’m glad works now!

I am a safe bus driver!

Bus Ramblings

Well, I’ve finally done it. I’ve worked at cyride for about 26 months and finally earned my one-year safe driver’s award. Not because I had an accident to delay it, but because it’s awarded for one year of full-time driving hours (i.e. 2080 hours). Working 20 hours a week during the school year and even less in the summers, it’s taken me over two years to earn this. Which in a way says that I’ve actually been a safe driver for two years, not just one. Either way, it’s nice to get. Though I don’t get a shirt or anything, I will get my picture up on the “safe driver” board. Hey… it’s the little things.

On a coincidentally unrelated note, I also started my nine-month term on the safety committee on Oct. 1. Continue reading I am a safe bus driver! →