And an excellent list it is, Wojtek. Couple of comments:
> 1. Alienation - i hate sitting in a tin box, separated from
> other people
After two decades of daily commuting on the Long Island Rail Road, I can attest that sitting in a tin box *in close proximity* to other people can unfortunately be pretty alienating, too -- a more humdrum version of all the strains that being a US citizen presents. You start feeling this free-floating rancor toward your fellow commuters, e.g.: "How can you people be such sheep and take this crappy service day after day?"
That said, I far prefer the LIRR to commuting on the Long Island Expressway
because the latter is, as you point out, a
> Waste of time - you cannot do anything else while (like reading or
> writing or simply relaxing) when you are driving.
I once tried listening to a book on tape during a long car trip. It was a novel by John Le Carre, narrated by the author himself, and he did a fine job. But after taking the whole damn thing in, I realized I had no impression whatsoever of the book. In fact, I can no longer recall its title.
> 10. Cars are the main factor behind the demise of rail-based
> transportation
> - perhaps the most civilised form of transportation ever invented.
My dim opinion of the LIRR notwithstanding, I agree with you here. And to get really nostalgic about it (at the risk of giving J. Heartfield apoplexy), I have to say I consider steam locomotives the only really beautiful machines ever created.
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