A Florida woman had an unusual request when she pulled into the Vista BMW in Coconut Creek on Monday morning. Her 7-foot-long pet boa constrictor had gotten loose in her Mini Cooper, and she needed help pulling it out. And the mechanics complied. Safely rescued the animal by removing a tail light, and gently extracting it without much difficulty. Apparently, the mechanic who did the deed seems to have Ophidiophobia (Yeah, that’s the word for fear of snakes) but he still braved himself for the task just because it was someone’s pet and he knows what it means to the owner. Good man. Read the full story here.
What is is about a train that makes people want to climb aboard? How did railroads help shape America as we know it, and what happened to the shape of America when cars and highways took their place as the primary movers of people? Can a passenger train revival help America weather unprecedented challenges to our way of life, allowing us to live both prosperously and sustainably in a hotter, more crowded, post-fossil fuel age?Our friend Malcolm Kenton, the Outreach Director of National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), hopes to take an exciting transcontinental train journey for innovative and civic-minded members of the Millennial generation, organized by the Millennial Trains Project (MTP). Over the course of this journey, Malcolm will seek answers to the above questions and will attempt to reawaken young Americans’ connection with our landscape as viewed through a train window, and with the people we meet as we travel. Learn more about Malcolm’s project at http://crowdhitch.millennialtrain.co/campaign/detail/1157.
The journey, to take place in mid-August, is being described as a “TED Talks on wheels,” bringing together a group of at least 40 young adults who each raise $5,000 from friends and family by July 1, along with special invited guests who will be both riding the train and speaking with the participants at stops along the way.
Each Millennial who raises $5,000 must produce something of lasting value as a result of his or her experience, and Malcolm’s product will be both a film and a photo essay that will draw connections between Americans’ historic and cultural ties with railroads and the need for revitalized railroads to be a part of our green future. Please pitch in to help make this work possible: go to http://crowdhitch.millennialtrain.co/campaign/detail/1157 and click “Support this campaign.”
The idea for MTP is inspired by the annual Jagriti Yatra (www.jagritiyatra.com) on the Indian Railways, a trip that circumnavigates the continent, is sponsored by Dell and Google, and is almost universally recognized by the younger generation of Indians as an enviable opportunity. MTP has already obtained sponsorships from National Geographic Traveler magazine, NPR, the Associated Press, McKinsey & Company, Opportunity Nation, and Start-Up America.
English: District of Columbia Department of Transportation (d-dot) logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m a big fan of transportation agencies using social media to reach their customers & stakeholders. But often you will find many of these agencies send out tweets and Facebook posts that are plain boring and borderline irritating. Fortunately, some agencies do understand the importance of adding humor and fun to keep their messages appealing yet entertaining without looking too mundane. Among a handful of agencies that do this so well is @DDOTDC (aka DC Department of Transportation). They always know how to mix up the seriousness of a bland transportation message with a little bit of humor to make it easy for the end-user to consume, esp. at the end of a long day. The communications team at @DDOTDC has done a commendable job on many occasions and today is not an exception.
Like every time it happens, today DC metropolitan area got into panic-mode when snow flurries started hitting the ground. As folks left offices/workplaces early, the vehicle traffic started building up on the streets. So, to lighten up the mood and poke a bit of fun of the traditional behavior of DC metro residents, the @DDOTDC team pushed out a series of fun tweets titled Top 5 signs it’s snowing in DC”:
And you see my point? How refreshing is it to see a public agency do something like this instead of just sending out plain boring traffic congestion updates during an already crazy time on the streets? If you happen to serve as a communications in-charge at any transportation agency, you will be thrilled to see such great levels of audience engagement from the community for each one of these messages (i.e., retweets, Favs, etc). So, if you get a chance, say “Thank You” to the @DDOTDC team for their fun yet sincere community service and all the hard work they put in to keeps us safe on the roads.
Though it looks like a set-up, it doesn’t hurt to have something fun shared on a Friday. Spotted this video posted by Nicholas deMoura, show how the dancers who perform with teen heartthrob Justin Bieber killing time at the Atlanta airport after their flight got cancelled .. Why don’t these things happen when I’m at an airport? I only get to see those tight lipped TSA staff staring at me all the time..
WMATA management should consider installing a couple of these swings in each rail car.. It definitely looks like a lot of fun (as long as it is not peak hours and the rail cars are not packed to the gills).
How do you transform a lazy Sunday evening into a memorable one? Youngsters in Mumbai, India think dancing at a busy railway station is one way to do just that. This past weekend (Nov 27), about 200 enthusiastic residents (aged 4-60) of India’s financial capital – Mumbai – came together for the pure joy of dancing. The historic CST station blared the popular Bollywood hit song ‘Rang De Basanti’ on the speakers while surprised train commuters rushed to see whats going on. The result is a fun experience captured in all its glory on video for the rest of the world to see.
Here are some details about the effort, as provided by IBNLive.com: 23-year-old Shonan Kothari employed with a CSR consultancy in Mumbai came up with the idea of a flash mob. She shared the idea with many others. The group practiced together for a few weeks. They wanted to pay a tribute to the people who lost their lives in 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The CST station was one of the targeted sites and many of the victims during these chilling attacks were passengers passing through the facility.
Editor’s note: I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. Oh, and I’m not the only one who had tears streaming down my face watching this one. You can see plenty of folks who enjoyed this Gizmo Gone Wild video from their comments on Reddit and also on the source (YouTube) comments page.
