# You're not exempt, asshole. (Bus/trolley music rant) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071 "2006-05-17T04:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/41 "2006-05-19T20:54:10Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] I should look into them just for that. Some of the light rail cars here make a maddening noise if you sit by the LED that says “Green Line to Santee” or whatever. [/QUOTE] That is the one thing noise cancelling headphones can do pretty well. They analyze incoming sound and pump out the same frequency, 180 degrees out of phase. Unfortunately they do have the response time to be able to cancel quickly changeing non-repeating noise such as speach, but the better ones are supposed to be able to do a decent job on the steady frequencies of mechanical noise. Problem is the noise cancellation never seems to do anything when you try them out in the store as most of the noise around is music and voices. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/42 "2006-05-19T21:07:39Z")
My coworker has noise cancelling earphones, and they seem to work pretty well with speech. I have to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/43 "2006-05-19T23:10:28Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] Yes, some people are just in immersed their little world. Thoughtless, that. :dubious: [/QUOTE] The last time I rode in a city bus, the fellow seated beside me became far too immersed in his own little world – he pissed himself. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/44 "2006-05-19T23:37:07Z")
> [@flight](#): > > Problem is the noise cancellation never seems to do anything when you try them out in the store as most of the noise around is music and voices. How expensive is the cheapest metronome, and where would you get it? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/45 "2006-05-19T23:47:02Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] How expensive is the cheapest metronome, and where would you get it? [/QUOTE] [About ten bucks](http://www.music123.com/Qwiktime-QT-5-Credit-Card-Metronome-i117205.music), and any musical instrument store. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/46 "2006-05-20T07:07:59Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] How expensive is the cheapest metronome, and where would you get it? [/QUOTE] Admittedly I am not sure, but I suspect: 1. The metronome is too quiet and the padding on the headphones would eliminate it before the concellation ever got a chance. 2. It is not a single frequency, but a noise event containing many frequencies that occurs at a regular interval, and therefore may not be eliminated too well. More complex algorithms would be able to handle it, but I doubt anything like this is currently being used (could be wrong though, check it out). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/47 "2006-05-20T12:58:41Z")
Any person who stands in the aisle or the door of the bus chatting on a cell phone while people are trying to get off should be pushed under said bus. I can’t believe how many people will be exiting the bus at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, only to hold up everyone else because they have to answer their cell phone ring. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/48 "2006-05-20T13:11:06Z")
Hey guys, let’s make a truce. Front of the bus- quiet zone. Back of the bus- yap all you want and enjoy your music. That’s the unspoken rule around here and it works pretty well. I honestly don’t mind a little noise and it seems like a reasonable trade-off for being able to listen to my own headphones without dirty looks. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071/49 "2006-05-20T19:02:19Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Any person who stands in the aisle or the door of the bus chatting on a cell phone while people are trying to get off should be pushed under said bus. I can’t believe how many people will be exiting the bus at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, only to hold up everyone else because they have to answer their cell phone ring. [/QUOTE] Right along with the people who stood there for ten minutes waiting for the bus, and then when it gets there, hold everything up by not having the correct change or their pass ready. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-exempt-asshole-bus-trolley-music-rant/357071.md?page=2)