Artemis or Artifice?

As I sit here waiting for the plows to come shovel us out of the Blizzard of '07, I've been reviewing some of the local traffic information available on the web. So sketchy it is! This view of I-71 near Kenwood Road (Exit 11) is not so helpful.

Though much lauded by Steve, Traffic.com also did not bear fruit in the Cincinnati metroplex. Perhaps we're a non-measured city? However, I still love the "Jam Factor" metric.

It's actually the local TV station that really does it best, but the news is still not great:

For I-71, between Exit 7, the Norwood Lateral, SR 562 and the Ohio River.
This route is 8 miles in length.

DIRECTION AVERAGE SPEED ESTIMATED TRAVEL TIME
Southbound 6 mph 68 minutes
Current conditions: Expect slower than normal traffic, due to weather conditions.
Construction notes: None


DIRECTION AVERAGE SPEED ESTIMATED TRAVEL TIME
Northbound 6 mph 68 minutes
Current conditions: Expect slower than normal traffic, due to weather conditions.
Construction notes: None

California Road Jargon

This morning on Columbia Parekway (US 50), Jen told me that if I had to drive on it, the commute wouldn't be so bad. Despite traffic lights, she proudly announced that she was still "packing in 60!"

"Packing in!"

Botox Bombs

The Boston Bomb Squad (Baaahstin Baaahm Sqwaaaahd)just blew up a mysterious package on Interstate 93 in Charlestown, MA.

That's the 2nd "mysterious package" I've heard of recently being blown up on an Interstate Highway.

In December, a bomb was discovered on an Interstate 71 overpass in Norwood, OH.

I wonder why someone would want to destroy beauteous macadam? If the bomb went off, would it be considered terrorism or destructive criticism? Roads are always improved when incidents cause them to be rebuilt...

Route 66: It Begins Here

Check out the new Illinois license plate option!

"You're a native New Yorker..."

Forwarded to me in a joke chain e-mail, these picutres truly illustrate the concept behind the title of this blog, "If we hurry, we can make the light!"

Johnny Be Choiceful

To the tune of "Johnny Be Goode"

Way down in Cincinnati, south of Redding Road
There lived a little boy, name of Johnny Be Choice
Lived in a development of lofts and lamps
He could manage a brand just like he’s wetting his pants

Never had another job
‘came an intern from a squab
Wrote a W&DP while he was takin the “R”

Go, go!
Go, Johnny, Go, go!
Go, Johnny, Go, go!
Go, Johnny, Go, go!
Go, Johnny, Go, go!
Johnny, be Choiceful.

He used to carry his laptop in a wheeled cart
Or sit in the GO lobby sippin’ millstone crap...

How do you put music in this thing?

US 50

Thinking about US 50, seeing it on a map near Lake Tahoe, around Cincinnati, and remembering it in Maryland, I checked the wikipedia entry and found some excellent pictures of the road's terminal signs. Sacramento and Ocean City are evidently control cities, 3,073 mi. apart, but listed at both ends!

Big Dig Cracks, Woman Dies!

Matthew Amorello, Mass Pike Chairman: Schmuck?