Metro Looks Forward to the New International Trade Crossing
Metro Delivery attended a terrific presentation by Dr. Roy Norton, Canada’s Consul General in Detroit, regarding the new Detroit/Windsor bridge project now finally, finally moving forward.
Metro has operating authority in Ontario for deliveries to and from the U.S., and all the time we’re carrying time-critical deliveries back and forth over the 83-year-old-Ambassador Bridge, with the 8-10,000 other trucks daily, through all seventeen traffic lights to the freeway through the long-suffering downtown of Windsor. Take our word for it, we could use another bridge that connects directly to the freeway.
Click on the “NITC” link below for a printable PDF of the information sheet from the Consulate General of Canada which was distributed at the meeting; it has a lot of clear information on the new bridge.
We are really looking forward to a second bridge, as are many of our clients, waiting for supplies and parts to keep their factories and businesses productive and on line- let’s hope the new International Trade Crossing proceeds with all possible speed, despite the well-funded campaign being waged against it.
Thanks to the A2Y Chamber for this informative event! Here’s the article from Ann Arbor.com .
Chihuahua Warning Sign
Having recently added Hector the chihuahua to the Metro menagerie, we found the posting of this warning sign necessary after a couple of close calls due to Hector’s diminutive stature and our fast-footed working environment…
We offer the sign to all other 
chihuahua owners, to print & display, in hopes of reducing chihuahua risk for the general public.
Click on the image for a printable copy!
Metro Delivery Trying to Make Vehicles Talk to Each Other
The University of Michigan Transportation research institute had a big soiree this Morning to launch the largest study ever done on Smart Vehicle Technology- and Metro Delivery was there, as a volunteer participant in the study.
Metro delivery vehicles- and soon several thousand other vehicles belonging to local individuals and businesses- are being equipped with special UM-designed tracking devices that communicate with traffic signals, landmarks, and other vehicles, to gather data.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was on hand to express the Federal Government’s support for the study, which everyone hopes will result in drastically reduced accidents and enhanced fuel efficiencies.
Imagine traffic lights that turn green because you’re coming towards them, or a warning from your dashboard when collision is imminent. Imagine your car knowing when there’s been an accident 500 yards ahead on a dark wet highway, and you can immediately begin to grasp the implications for public safety. Imagine a car that can listen to the other vehicles on the road and take their advice to reroute you around traffic jams and you start to think about the tremendous savings in fuel economy. We’re proud to be a part of it!
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder stood to proclaim himself a “nerd” in support of the project and Congressman John Dingell drew a large hand of applause when he said that he looked forward to a day when not only vehicles but also people could communicate with each other.
The system was demonstrated to local members of the Media, who were given test drives in vehicles equipped with the technology.
Metro thanks our friends at UMTRI for the opportunity to be a part of this exciting study of developing vehicle-to-vehicle technology! Pictures below!
Metro Delivery’s Penguin to Race Ducks
The 2012 Ypsilanti Heritage Festival is this weekend, and Metro Delivery will be participating in the A2Y Chamber’s Corporate Duck Challenge for the first time ever. The A2Y Chamber provides a Plastic Decoy Duck to customize:
fig. 1: corporate duck
But they don’t give you a lot of design direction. After internal debate about how to decorate the duck, we had to send the following request to the A2Y Chamber for clarification:
Dear A2Y Chamber:
As we at Metro Delivery prepare to customize our Corporate Duck for the A2Y Chamber Corporate Duck Challenge at the Heritage Festival in Ypsilanti, questions have arisen about specific limitations that may be imposed on the project, hypothetically.
Is there any reason to believe the following enhancements may disqualify our duck?
1. Remote Control Engines or Propulsion Rockets
2. Trained Mice inside on a paddlewheel or rowing, galley-style
3. Proximity-Triggered machine guns and/or flamethrowers
4. The substitution of an actual duck for the plastic one provided
Although there is little likelihood that our final design will incorporate all or any of these accessories specifically, Metro Delivery’s Corporate Policy requires that we clearly define the extreme parameters of a challenge, in order to achieve best results- and to prepare defenses and contingencies, i.e. if a competing duck will be firing torpedoes, we may choose to armor our Corporate Duck’s undercarriage.
We look forward to the event on August 19th, and thank you and the A2Y Chamber for sponsoring and coordinating the Corporate Duck Challenge!
Sincerely,
Metro Delivery
…the A2Y Chamber was quick to respond that motors and explosive devices were prohibited, which was a little disappointing.
Evidently any other modifications are fair game however, so we went with our TRUE SECRET PLAN: We replaced their Duck with our trained Company Penguin, Presto. Bet they never saw that coming.
fig. 2: corporate penguin
Extensive testing of his swimming ability was performed in the Metro Delivery kitchen, and Presto performed admirably.
fig.3: corporate penguin flotation test
As a coup de grâce we gave him a package to deliver to the finish line, as incentive.
fig 4: penguin, loaded.
Come on out to Riverside Park in Ypsilanti this Sunday 8/19/2012 to cheer for Metro’s duck! er, penguin! Race starts at 3:30 PM!
Race results next week! We think Presto will do great- unless the herring are running.
The Long and the Short of Metro Canine Companions
Metro’s newest hire, Hector, considers climbing Ozzie, the Burmese Mountain.
Video and Pics from the 2012 Ann Arbor Jaycees 4th of July Parade with METRO DELIVERY
Metro Delivery: 2012 Jaycees 4th of July Parade In Ann Arbor, MI from Metro Delivery on Vimeo.
It was 101 Degrees! We delivered 804 Beachballs! We won 3rd place in the Parade! Hooray for the Glorious 4th!
Metro Delivery’s Biggest Liftgate EVER
Metro’s New #145 has a GINORMOUS LIFTGATE!
Metro Delivery 145 from Metro Delivery on Vimeo.
Metro Detroit Courier Tip: Name that Road
If you seek regional dialectical authenticity in your discussions of Detroit Roads & Freeways:
1. It’s not “I-75.” It’s the CHRYSLER FREEWAY if you’re motorvatin’ between Downtown Detroit and Pontiac, or the FISHER FREEWAY from Downtown Detroit on Downriver.
2. It’s not “I-94″ that goes East to Port Huron and West to Chicago. It’s the EDSEL FORD FREEWAY.
3. It’s not “I-96 ” that comes out of Downtown and heads for Brighton, Lansing and points West, It’s the JEFFRIES (alternately known as the ROSA PARKS for the 3 miles between Ford Rd. and the Fisher Freeway, more recently).
4. It’s not “I-696″ running parallel to 11 Mile Road between I-275 and the Edsel Ford, It’s the WALTER P. REUTHER FREEWAY.
5. It’s not “M-10.” It’s the JOHN C. LODGE.
6. It’s not “M-8.” It’s the DAVISON.
7. It’s not “M-39.” It’s the SOUTHFIELD FREEWAY.
…and don’t let anyone hear you referring to TELEGRAPH ROAD as US-24, or they’ll know you’re a tourist and try to scare you with tales of “Le Nain Rouge.”
Metro Detroit Courier Tip: North/South Street Formula
Another Public Service Announcement to our Couriers, and offered freely to the Public at Large:
Metro Detroit is laid out in a grid! The North/South Streets have consistent addresses!
Ancient Metro knowledge offers this simple 3-step formula for figuring the Mile road nearest an address on North/South Streets in Detroit, i.e. Schoenherr, Gratiot, Van Dyke, Mound, Livernois, Southfield, Telegraph, etc:
X-5000%2%1000
Example: Let’s say you wanted to go Vern Haney’s Restaurant for their famous “Centerline Cheese Soup.”
Vern Haney’s can be found at 244447 Van Dyke.
1. 24447 -5000=19447
2. 19447 %2 = 97235
3. 97235 %1000 =9.7235
…and indeed, you’ll soon be eating Cheese Soup in Vern Haney’s Family Restaurant, a classic diner in a building that once housed a Howard Johnson’s, between 9 and 10 mile road, a little closer to 10 Mile than 9 Mile (9.7).
…this formula was passed down from primeval Metro Drivers, who rode mastodons and did not have GPS devices leading them around like little electronic mommies.