MBTA train delay

November 7, 2013 by cryan.com

This morning the 7:30 am train from Worcester was significantly delayed due to police activity in an unknown location. About 20 mins after the delay started the MBTA communication team announced the delay via Twitter and text alerts.

The info alert at the train station said the train was 20 minutes behind schedule and was not moving. About every minute they tack on additional minute to the behind schedule.

The problem is that they didn't communicate where the train was. I was talking to a fellow commuter in Framingham and she was confused of how long the delay would be. Was the train stuck in Ashland or still in Worcester?

I decided to reply to the twitter alert and asked them where the train was stuck. There were about 60 people waiting for the train, and I was the only one to take action and inquire more details about the delay. I was happy that they responded:

This allowed me to decide that the (P514) train might be a good option to take. So I crossed the pedestrian bridge and waited.

It turned out that the 8:55 train arrived (P514) about 30 seconds before the 7:30 train arrived (P512), but I knew that the 8:55 train would be sitting for about 15 minuted before departing to Boston and the better option is to take the delayed train. The only good thing about taking the (P514) train would be that it wouldn't be as crowded, but since I was already late I took a quick run to catch the delay train.

Two things that I learned about today's experience; One, inquire more details when the train is going to be late and don't be afraid to talk to people around the station!

Getting iPages Free

November 7, 2013 by cryan.com

This afternoon I stopped at the Apple store on Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay with a question about the new Pages application. Basically, how do I get the latest updated version for Free.

Let me briefly explain my situation:

A couple of weeks ago Apple announced that along with giving the latest version of MacOSX away for free, that they would also give away the entire suite of iWorks products. The problem was that I haven't been able to get it for free since in the App Store on my iMac it still says that it's $19.99. I did have the iWorks '08 on my computer.

The Apple employee suggested that I try the following:

• Open up the Apple App application on my iMac.
• Sign out of the Apple Store.
• Restart the computer
• Open up the Apple App application
• Sign back in.

Then the prices in the store should be updated to reflect that I am eligible for the free upgrade. I'll have to try this out tonight to see if this infact works. If it doesn't he suggested that I call the Apple Store at 1-800-676-2775.

Let's see if this works!