Commuting by Numbers
Sometimes when I’m commuting to and from work, and the streetcar is so packed I that I can’t read, I just count stuff. Schools, traffic lights, crazy people, whatever - it helps pass the time.
I thought it might be interesting to blog the list, so here it is thus far. There will no doubt be more counting coming eventually - and not just from me. I’ve challenged some of my fellow bloggers in other parts of Canada to do the same. The regional comparisons might be rather interesting.
And of course, I’d love to hear from you! Count up something from this list on your own commute - or make your own categories. Let me know, and I’ll count them. Here we go:
Commuter: Paul Gorbould
Location: Downtown Toronto
Commuting time: 45 minutes
Route: Queen/King Streets, via streetcar
Billboards: 36 (48/hr)
Neon signs: 48 (64/hr) [pictures]
Poster-type ads: 291 (388/hr)
Public art installations: 16 (21.3/hr)
Indian restaurants: 4 (5.3/hr)
Pizza places: 9 (12/hr)
Coffee shops: 19 (25.3/hr)
Condos under construction: 14 (18.7/hr)
Cows: 0 (0/hr)
Parks: 9 (12/hr)
Really hot women: 21 (28/hr)
Panhandlers: 3 (4/hr)
Churches: 7 (9.3/hr)
Strip clubs: 1 (1.3/hr)
Street cars: 17 (22.7/hr)
Car dealers: 4 (5.3/hr)
Gas stations: 0 (0/hr)
Traffic lights: 14 (18.7/hr)
If you really care what my criteria were for what constitutes a park or a hot woman, I can tell you, but I don’t think it matters much. [For the record: A park had to have some trees and enough grass to play frisbee on. Counting women is embarrassingly crass, and explaining what I consider hot would only make things worse. Use your imagination.]
So, there’s round one. I’m awaiting results from the ragtag fugitive fleet of bloggers I’ve challenged to do likewise: Sinister Dan in New Brunswick, MC in Southern Ontario, Joe in the ‘burbs, Tod in Vancouver. John in Newfoundland informed me that a St. John’s “commute” takes five minutes (but 20 in “rush hour”) so he’s off the hook.
How about you? Anyone else love to count?
Posted by: Paul Gorbould | 02-15-2007 | 11:02 PM
Posted in: Toronto | Commuting
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Surely if you were really committed you’d have hot women (walking), hot women (on streetcar), and a hot women (misc. activities) category for the occasional unicycling hot woman. For shame.
I shall count cows next time I go to my bagpipe lesson which is the only traveling I do that’s worthy of the name travel as it lasts more than 10 minutes (not including waiting period at train station/bus stop it takes about 40 minutes)
-Tse
Kevin: I’m already ashamed, believe me (what’s next, me posting a CBC “hot or not”? Shudder.) Of course, now that you mention it, I’ll be unable to avoid counting such things in my head… though it should probably wait for summer.
Tse: It’d be awesome to have some European input! And cows would be great (I grew up in the dairy capital of Canada.)
Connor does this thing where he counts cars ‘just like ours’ - so far his record is 14 Black Mazda Protege Fives (though, he is FOUR… sometimes I am sure he mistakes a Protege Six for a Five or something like that).
And I think the day I count hot women whom I come across is the day my husband has something to worry about.
[…] Gorbould is tallying the sights on the way to work, and he is exhorting other bloggers to do the same. Because I’m inclined to […]