CTA Tattler

Just go right up next to them & lean in & listen to their conversation.
Tell them they're so interesting that everyone should be able to hear it.

Agreed with unindicted... offer advice to the dilemna they have no qualms about discussing so loudly. Laugh when they laugh as if you're in on the joke. Pretend you're writing down everything they're saying.

People need to realize what they're doing with these longwinded cell conversations. I could rob so many apartments and get away scot-free because I know A) that they're going out for dinner, B) how long they're going to be gone and C) if they have a dog, cat or a roommate. All i have to do is follow them home, note their apartment and just wait.

Scary, right? So keep the conversations short and quiet...

Sprint works in the subway too because it roams onto US Cellular. Can even get (slow) data service and read CTA Tattler. :)

I don't know what it is with some people nowadays. It is like they are saying, "Look at me! I am so important talking on my cellphone."

A few years ago, I had an experience on an airplane that beats most of what I hear. I was sitting next to someone using the seat back phone. He used it for almost the entire flight from O'Hare to San Francisco. He was loud and got louder as he drank. He joked with associates and berated employees. Constantly complaining that he couldn't get upgraded to first class so he was stuck in "cattle class". I, for one, was glad when those airphones disappeared after 9/11 and I dread the day when cellphones are allowed in flight.

Some people really need to be more discreet when using cellphones in public.

The best way to shut phone conversations came from, if I remember right, was from "On the Bi-Leve" - the IC rider newsletter, if I recall right a woman was being very loud and obnoxous while talking about her family problems. The woman behind her very quickly got onto her phone to HER daughter and started telling her in detail the other womans conversation. Once the first woman realized it and shut up, packing her phone up. She, apparently, had never been seen talking on it while on the train again.

I think talking on the phone as though no one else can hear is the transit equivalent of drivers picking their noses at red lights because they think no one can see. A few Saturdays ago on the #11, I was treated to a rather detailed description of a young lady's trip to the doctor after her boyfriend got an STD. Why oh why did I forget to recharge my iPod the night before?

Hey, though. I don't care if you see me pick my nose in public. Who cares?

I agree. If you see Mike picking his nose in public, you get what you deserve.

Wait a minute... One of the main reasons I'll choose to drive on any given day is that I have a nose full of stuff that needs to be picked. And now you're telling me other people can see me picking my nose in my car!

I feel so violated! Stop looking at me during the private moments I'm having in public!

Do I have to pull my zipper up, too? (Oh. Wait. That's the other thread.)

Well, people can't always see into your car. I know this from all the times as a pedestrian that I play the "after you my dear Alphonse" game with cars, those who do have the courtesy to actually stop at a stop sign. Sometimes I'll be waiting for them to go on through before I step off the curb, only to find that they're waiting and waiting for me, and then it turns out they were making a "go ahead" gesture which I didn't actually see through their windshield what with reflections and all. So, I appreciate their being nice, but I wish they'd realize that people may not see them waving. At least, I hope that's what they were doing!

It's not a wave if only one finger is extended.

The one-finger salute is usually from drivers who *are* trying to run you down.

Unindicted Co-conspirator:
Hilarious and oh-so-true! Girl on my bus read her credit card # to a Chinese take-out along with her home address for delivery. I went up to her when she was off the call, repeated her info back to her and warned that it was unsafe to give out personal information in public. She replied, "Huh?" (coupled with a blank/clueless/vapid look.}

I'd like to invent a cell phone remote control which I can aim at offenders and terminate loud, obnoxious conversations! And what's the deal with all of the conversations I hear which have no nutritional value (or entertainment factor) whatsoever? "...and he's like, and then I'm like, and he goes, and she's all like, etc."

I was coming home on the NB Red Line last night and a girl got on at Belmont, talking very loudly. Not unusual, right? However, she was telling a friend of hers about the fact that a guy she's dating is pissed that she has a fuck buddy, even though he has a fuck buddy himself. Apparently, this is something that she thought everyone else on the train needs to know?

The best part was when we pulled in to Addison and a game had recently gotten out. She said, "Oh, God, a Cubs game just got out. I fucking hate them. They get on the train and they're all so fucking loud. I want to be like, 'Um, hello? No one wants to hear it, so be quiet.'"

Typing this, I almost feel like I'm making this up, but she actually said that and then went on to talk self-righteously and loudly about her fuck buddy.