moses choi

I hate the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The TTC, also known as the “Red Rocket” for its ancient streetcars is okay at best and completely unreliable at worst, but mediocre on average. Its service is so unreliable that many people would tell you that the TTC actually stands for “Take The Car”. As I used to work at City Hall with the former chairman of the TTC, I am aware of the constraints that the TTC operates under, I understand the financial problems that the service encounters so I don’t want to blame the city only for this mediocre service. I think it’s a systemic problem with a lack of concerted effort by the entire Canadian governmental system to innovate and fund public transporation.  It is also a problem with bureaucratic paper pushing and political squabbling that leads to nothing being accomplished or built.

Last week, on my way to work on the subway, the entire trip took twice as long as usual.  The train went at halfspeed and during the entire trip, I was fuming.  I was muttering obscenities under my breath and sharing exasperated looks with my neighbours.  The stop-and-go traffic underground was ridiculous because people usually take the subway to avoid the morning rush, but I guess it just goes to show that one should indeed Take The Car. Another thing that drives me nuts is when the subway stops at a station and kicks everyone off to go back in the other direction. These things always seem to happen when you’re in a rush or really tired and looking forward to going home. When I read stories of bus drivers being assaulted, subway drivers being threatened, or people throwing bricks through the windshield of a bus, I completely understand why people would do such things. I’ve thought of doing those very things too.

Just recently, the TTC and the government announced some changes to the current system. The proposal was to build a LRT that criss-crosses the city. Hopefully this LRT is a step up from the Scarborough RT, because the RT is a loud out-of-date system that would drive people mad with its 100+ decibel noise levels. This proposal is good because it allows for dedicated transit that is free from problems associated with automobile traffic. It is also a cost-efficient way to transport people in areas of lower population and to stimulate population growth. Once the population is large enough to justify and sustain the construction of actual subways, a network of LRTs may be sufficient, given it’s built quickly and sensibly. However, I somehow doubt it’s going to be built quickly and sensibly…

I think the solution to the issues at hand are: increased funding by all levels of government to public transportation, a concerted effort to make mass public transportation an issue of national priority, more automation to reduce the number of personnel employed and to increase efficiency, and to get rid of the paper tickets. I wish change would happen more quickly and more efficiently. Perhaps one Torontonians can have a transit system that is reliable, fast and well thought out.

About a week ago, I received my Shure E4C in the mail and when I got it, I tore it open and stuffed them into my ears and turned on my ipod to try them out. My first reaction wasn’t too good. These buds really require a high quality source to make them shine, and let’s face it folks, the iPod isn’t the greatest source. I hear that you can get a third-party attachment to the line-out on the iPod to plug in your headphone and you can get better sound. I guess for the average headphone, you can get away with just plugging it in through the headphone jack, but with a pair like the E4s, you need something a bit better. The problem isn’t that the sound sucks on these headphones, it’s that you can hear all the distractions on poorly ripped music, or hear all the static and hiss in low bitrate music. And on top of that, these particular headphones requires a stronger output.

Anyway, I tried out the E4Cs on my 2nd gen shuffle, which incidentally has better sound, and my computer and that is when I heard these headphones shine. The sound reminds me of my Grado SR80s. Not overwhelming bass, but nice and tight, with great mids. I’m not an audiophile, so I won’t be able to describe in any more detail what the sound was like, but in comparing the E4Cs and the CX300s and the JBL200s, the sound on the E4Cs was definitely more detailed and, in my opinion, seemed like it reproduced the music better than these other IEMs. The best thing about Shures is the isolation. I love it! I love how I can wear them and can’t hear anything around me and conversely, nobody will be distracted by my music or podcasts. This is ideal for commuting. I like to make sure that others aren’t bothered by me on the subway during the hour-long commute I have.

Anyway, I’ve decided I need to get rid of some of my headphones. I want to get rid of my CX300s and JBL200s, so if you’d like them, let me know!

I’ll keep my Shures and Grados.

I can’t believe I just found WordPress. It is such a great tool for bloggers. I’ve always wanted a way to start a blog with my own domain, but never could find the time to learn how to set everything up myself. I’ve spent the last day or two learning about configuring my site and looking for themes. I’m also just getting around to looking at all the plugins available. The one thing I’m trying to figure out is how to put in my Google Analytics script into my page. If anyone can assist me with that I’d really appreciate the help.

Everything looks good now and it seems like I’m on to a great start.

I hope this will last and that I can contribute something worthwhile to all you out there