August 14, 2003

Why am I not surprised?

First of all, although I am in a place which is not affected by the blackout, my damn sucky ISP has connected every time [and fairly often, as I have had several dead connections happen over the course of the day as usual] at 31.2K every frickin' time. This has made it extremely difficult to post messages while reading 44 blogs, as they each slowly load to such extent that I can read the entries. I am sorry if I sorely tax your damn bandwidth capabilities, but heck, why am I the only one who seems to always get the connection to the oldest damn modem ya'll have on your end. Well, enough of that drivel.

The reason for this post is that I have noticed that the black-out is probably the single biggest story I have seen hit the Blogosphere since I have been blogging. I mean everyone has posted something about it. I still think I broke the story more quickly than the majority. However, the most amusing thing that I have read in connection with this blackout is this:

I should note here that New Jersey has its priorities in order, as ALL the toll plazas on the Garden State Parkway had plenty of power (obviously from emergency generators) to guide motorists through the toll-collecting maze. The airport may have been closed, but EZ Pass was up and running. [James at Parkway Rest Stop]
I still recall two things from my trip through New Jersey on my 17 day road trip a few years ago. One is that there is no way to get through New Jersey without stopping about every five miles to pay another toll, and Two is that everyone that lives there with whom I talked (at those fast food franchises in the places where you can get gas too) wished they lived anywhere but New Jersey. It does seem that even a blackout doesn't stop the toll collectors, and I still bet the majority of the people living in New Jersey wished they didn't.

Posted by Tiger at August 14, 2003 09:45 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Do you think the people that actually live in NJ use the toll roads, or do they know the backroads to take? When I lived in Illinois we hardly ever took the tollway--it may have been quicker, but the long way 'round was a lot cheaper!

Posted by: Susie at August 14, 2003 11:23 PM

Maybe there weren't any backroads. That might explain why no one liked living there.

Posted by: Tiger at August 14, 2003 11:47 PM

Actually, the New Jersey Turnpike collects a toll only when you exit; it's the Garden State Parkway that requires you to ante up every few miles.

I have never been able to work up more than perfunctory anti-Jersey rhetoric, but then I live in Oklahoma.

Posted by: CGHill at August 15, 2003 09:50 PM