Tumbling down the hill on an early monday morning to the railway station, just to find out that the information system went nuts so the LED panels are unmistakably black and, judging from the crowd on the platform, there must be some delay going on could be definitely be interpreted as a bad omen.
Then you notice that a merry man dressed up in a high visibility jacket is standing on the top of a bench, using his hands around his mouth to carry his voice and shouting "ladiiiiiies and gentlemaaaaaaaaan, neeext traaaaain from thiiiis platfooorm wiiill be to London Bridge - note the capital L and B - and will be due in... - enter train from the left - ...well, approximately 3 seconds!!!". That was the first smile of the week.
It's curious to see how human interaction is still not only the more powerful way of communication. I'm not saying it's reliable, nor it is especially efficient, but it conveys so much more than just a cool machine giving out just data: That smile, on an otherwise moody or anyway anonymous monday morning, was simply invaluable.
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