4 ms·

One of my favorite ever posts on HN! Positively Ulyssean. The BART-BART transfer showed excellent eye for detail. You did leave out how Caltrain has a very non

One of my favorite ever posts on HN! Positively Ulyssean. The BART-BART transfer showed excellent eye for detail. You did leave out how Caltrain has a very non-zero probability of hitting a suicide, or a car left on the tracks, often right outside my apartment - drop in to say hi! - or just breaking down for no reason at all, delaying you for a further hour or two. But hey, no rush. And although it may not apply to the OP, since we know how YCombinator feels about non-native English speakers, but imagine following all the steps above if English is not your first language.

Zenst 13y ago
"And although it may not apply to the OP, since we know how YCombinator feels about non-native English speakers, but imagine following all the steps above if English is not your first language." One can imagine many ending up in Springfield given how BART stands out. As for the incident area you appear too have - might want to setup a webcam, could even charge subscription as there be some strange people on the internet somewhere. Given rolling news works, then that in itself is proof enough that a market exists.
pkolaczk 13y ago
I remember buying two tickets in hope the second one would be a return ticket. Then I noticed you don't validate the tickets at the train and they've already been timestamped. :(
- auctiontheory 13y ago
  What you call a "return ticket," Caltrain calls a "day pass." It costs twice as much as a one-way ticket, so is actually a good deal if you plan to ride the train back and forth all day.
  - pkolaczk 13y ago
    Good to know. I didn't notice that. In Poland and many European countries, a day-pass ticket usually costs as much as 3 one-way tickets.
schenecstasy 13y ago
Ulyssean or Sisyphean?
- auctiontheory 13y ago
  I was referring to James Joyce's magnum opus, which is short of newlines, not to the Greek epic.
  - leoc 13y ago
    Well, the latter is about an unexpectedly long, tricky and awkward journey, so either works.
lmg643 13y ago
perhaps i misread the original story, but sounded like he was checked into a hotel in the city and could have taken caltrains directly from SF. get to caltrains (taxi/bus/walk) then one train all the way. google maps is pretty incredible for figuring this stuff out in a hurry. story reads as kind of impulsive, almost bragging about wasting money. maybe not a good steward of investor capital. makes me think pg made the right call.
- avalaunch 13y ago
  You're on your way to a once in a lifetime meeting. Spending 100 dollars to have an expert drive you there seems like money well spent. Assuming that "google maps is pretty incredible for figuring this stuff out in a hurry" seems like a really bad idea. If you're not from SF, how would you know how good google maps is at determining the right caltrain route?

Zenst 13y ago

"And although it may not apply to the OP, since we know how YCombinator feels about non-native English speakers, but imagine following all the steps above if English is not your first language." One can imagine many ending up in Springfield given how BART stands out. As for the incident area you appear too have - might want to setup a webcam, could even charge subscription as there be some strange people on the internet somewhere. Given rolling news works, then that in itself is proof enough that a market exists.

pkolaczk 13y ago

I remember buying two tickets in hope the second one would be a return ticket. Then I noticed you don't validate the tickets at the train and they've already been timestamped. :(

auctiontheory 13y ago
What you call a "return ticket," Caltrain calls a "day pass." It costs twice as much as a one-way ticket, so is actually a good deal if you plan to ride the train back and forth all day.
- pkolaczk 13y ago
  Good to know. I didn't notice that. In Poland and many European countries, a day-pass ticket usually costs as much as 3 one-way tickets.

schenecstasy 13y ago

Ulyssean or Sisyphean?

auctiontheory 13y ago
I was referring to James Joyce's magnum opus, which is short of newlines, not to the Greek epic.
- leoc 13y ago
  Well, the latter is about an unexpectedly long, tricky and awkward journey, so either works.

lmg643 13y ago

perhaps i misread the original story, but sounded like he was checked into a hotel in the city and could have taken caltrains directly from SF. get to caltrains (taxi/bus/walk) then one train all the way. google maps is pretty incredible for figuring this stuff out in a hurry. story reads as kind of impulsive, almost bragging about wasting money. maybe not a good steward of investor capital. makes me think pg made the right call.

avalaunch 13y ago
You're on your way to a once in a lifetime meeting. Spending 100 dollars to have an expert drive you there seems like money well spent. Assuming that "google maps is pretty incredible for figuring this stuff out in a hurry" seems like a really bad idea. If you're not from SF, how would you know how good google maps is at determining the right caltrain route?