Trolley Affairs

I remember in one of my undergrad classes reading an article about how impersonal the public has become due to portable music devices. This specific article was about Walkmans, so it was old school. The premise was that when we have headphones on, we are less inclined to communicate with individuals and to really observe the world. There was the counter-argument that you can observe the world better if you are tuned out from the distractions and conversations surrounding you - while listening to music. 

I actually find having headphones on very liberating. Not only do I not have to respond to bums asking for money, but I also don't have to listen to the crazy ones on the trolley. Sure, I might miss some interesting comments or conversation, but the benefits outweigh the risks. 

Does anyone else ever wonder if they keep track of the miles on the trolleys? I wonder if they have an odometer on those beasts. If you think about it, the ones in San Diego go all the way from near El Cajon all the way down to San Ysidro - all day long. I wonder what the lifetime for a trolley is. Cars are normally good for 200-300,000. 

Another thing that I find very interesting is how the mail system works. If you think about it, the postal service reads the mail backwards: first the state and zip code, then street and street number, then any kind of apartment or unit. We fill out the address forwards and then they read it backwards - which is the logical way of doing it. Is this why addresses in other countries seem backwards to us?