A coworker of mine met Shia LaBeouf yesterday around 6:00 pm as he was leaving work. He said Shia was very nice and personable, signed autographs for everyone and even let people take pictures with him.

Earlier today I heard one of the security people in my building saying they needed to use our property for filming something involving a car. I doubt I’ll get to see it, which is sad because I really wanted to see untransformed transformers much more than the human celebrity types. Oh well!

According to rumor, filming ends this weekend, so that’s it from me!

When I went to the library at lunch I walked through gaggles of waiting extras, more security and far more equipment. Many of the female extras appeared incredibly overdressed and heavily made up, while the males mostly wore long shorts and t-shirts.

Then, on my way back from the library I noticed a group of extras had been taken off to one side. I chose that particular path and ended up walking right past Megan Fox with a blonde actress I didn’t recognize. They both wore ridiculously tall shoes, more makeup than I think I’ve ever seen, are rail thin and looked fairly miserable.

On my other side: Michael Bay with his signature tucked in button down shirt open down the chest and feathered hair. I have no idea how he keeps his hair like that in this humidity. Must be Hollywood magic!

I think that’s about as good as it’s going to get for me. When I passed by later after eating lunch they had the area I walked through roped off and even more security. I have to pass through on the way to the train again in a few hours, if they let me.

I walked to work from the train yesterday and saw a large truck parked outside my workplace with Paramount Pictures Los Angeles, CA on it. After a few seconds of googling, I concluded it must be Transformers 2 and proceeded to e-mail all of my fellow geek friends. 

They didn’t seem to do a whole lot yesterday, I suspect due to the horrific heat wave. Today, however, the set is much more active. They covered much of the building with long black shrouds, re-landscaped the front yard, and now have security guards hanging around as well. 

From the looks of it, the earliest they’d start any actual filming would be tomorrow or the next day. I have yet to see any recognizable celebrities. The two most interesting sights thus far:  

A group of men dressed alike laying on the grass opposite the building, pointing, discussing and making notes. The fashion theme was sweaty tan t-shirt and long greenish brown shorts.

Gigantic and numerous electrical cables, boxes and generators. Yes, I am nerdy enough to find that fascinating. 

I’ll continue to post updates here as the action continues next door. 

If you’d like to stop by to check it out for yourself, you’ll have to come on foot as it’s not accessible by car. It’s on 36th Street between Walnut and Spruce, which is a pedestrian pathway on the University of Pennsylvania campus. They’re filming about a block north of Spruce Street. 

Meanwhile, the regional rail lines themselves struggled with major signal problems. All of the trains were delayed, platforms were packed, and once riders were on their trains they were further delayed with stop signals. Commuters might have been very cranky. Dunkin Donuts to the rescue! Free plastic cups of caffeinated goodness kept the grouchies away. Everyone sucked away on their orange and purple straws, building a nice caffeine buzz to help stave off irritation at being stuck in the middle of their ride home. Again.

Even I joined in the fun, which was especially interesting as I never drink coffee. I zipped around the apartment until nearly 10 before realizing I’d yet to eat dinner and came very closing to missing Lost. In the meantime, though, I installed a networking card in an old computer, set up airport wireless, made a chart of potential garden perennials, and researched half of the bathroom contents on the Skin Deep database.

Slightly more productive than I previously was.

Brush your teeth before you leave in the morning. Maybe even throw in a little mouth wash. No on wants to smell your nasty bacteria-laden stankbreath. This goes double for those who also share offices or cubicles in close proximity.

Thank you.

…some meters were being checked time and time again! A meter on South 9th Street was tested at 11 a.m. one morning and approved, then hours later it was tested again, and approved again!Then there is the situation we found on Ridge Avenue, a meter was tested and approved eight times last year, and it happened in other places too! 

Please do not try to argue any of this with the PPA, though as they do “…not receive meter inspection reports from the City, and has no idea which have been certified as required by law.” If you’ve ever seen Parking Wars, you know it’s best to move on and take it to the judge if you want to fight.