#53715
01/29/2002 2:20 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Up by the Delaware Water Gap, down by Trenton, Wilmington, wherever. Get in free but pay to get out.
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#53716
01/29/2002 2:34 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
...down by Trenton [...] Get in free but pay to get out.When working in Somerville NJ, I attempted to save my employer about $13,000 a year by using an alternative haulier... I got a very worried call from the chief accountant, to the effect that "did I *really want to do that? ~ the current haulier has... connections. Of the Trenton kind." I saved $13,000 another way, and didn't sleep wid da fishes 
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#53717
01/30/2002 4:10 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
In reply to:
everyone is willing to pay what ever it costs to get out of New Jersey!
It's like Buffalo NY. There seem to be any number of people who are from Buffalo, but I've never heard of anyone who moved to Buffalo. No wonder, after their last snowstorm. I can't figure out why the place isn't totally depopulated.
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#53718
01/30/2002 5:15 AM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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``Who and what is Mr. Brope?'' demanded the aunt of Clovis suddenly.
Mrs. Riversedge, who had been snipping off the heads of defunct roses, and thinking of nothing in particular, sprang hurriedly to mental attention. She was one of those old-fashioned hostesses who consider that one ought to know something about one's guests, and that the something ought to be to their credit.
``I believe he comes from Leighton Buzzard,'' she observed by way of preliminary explanation.
``In these days of rapid and convenient travel,'' said Clovis, who was dispersing a colony of green-fly with visitations of cigarette smoke, ``to come from Leighton Buzzard does not necessarily denote any great strength of character. It might only mean mere restlessness. Now if he had left it under a cloud, or as a protest against the incurable and heartless frivolity of its inhabitants, that would tell us something about the man and his mission in life.'' (Saki, The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope)
Presumably the same applies to those who come from Buffalo.
Bingley
Bingley
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#53719
01/30/2002 5:27 AM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
addict
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It's like Buffalo NY. There seem to be any number of people who are from Buffalo, but I've never heard of anyone who moved to Buffalo. No wonder, after their last snowstorm. I can't figure out why the place isn't totally depopulated.Born and raised here in Buffalo, but then you knew this would get my goat!  Some of us love the snow. We have wonderful skiing and snowmobiling here. Some of us embrace rather than complain about the weather here. I have visited many places, but have never found another I would want to call my home. The summers are cooled by the breeze off Lake Erie. The snow is deposited in our snowbelt area for winter festivals and outdoor activities. It's a wonderful place to live. We have a melting pot of cultures here and some of the finest take out food in the world. It's my home and I choose to stay here, as do many around here. Many leave the city, but many more return when they realize there is nothing as good as being here. And as far as the snowstorm...we got over 7 feet of snow in three days. It took us a grand total of 3 days of snow removal and all industry was up and running again. My brother moved back here from the D.C. area because he got tired of the area completely shutting down because there was an inch of snow on the ground. Oh, gee, Bobby, my brother used to live near you!
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#53720
01/30/2002 5:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 4,189 |
to come from [Buffalo NY] does not necessarily denote any great strength of character.Unless, of course, they are Buffalo Bills fans! (they of the Four Lost Superbowls) I think persevering through that kind of disappointment is a real credit to their character!
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#53721
01/30/2002 5:44 AM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
addict
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688 |
Unless, of course, they are Buffalo Bill's fans! (they of the Four Lost Superbowls) I think persevering through that kind of disappointment is a real credit to their character!
My cheer is, "Go Bills and take the Sabres with you!"
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#53722
01/30/2002 1:39 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 5,400 |
being from NYC-- i do have the tendency to see the rest of the US as well, really pretty country, but not really having any other world class cities..
buffalo, NY -- poor thing, suffers from a very bad reputation. Not all of it deserved.
Early on, water falls were used for electricity generation, and being a hop, skip and jump from niagra, buffalo was one of the first cities in US with electricity..it had more electric lights than NYC for a while..
it had its own "world fair" --and the world came! to see all the new products and services to be made with cheap electric power.
like the first few years in Australia, when the blue mountians seemed to define the edge of the world, in early US history, the appalachians created a road block to western expantion. there were very few passes.. and the one that existed, became well known, the delaware gap (NY/NJ/Pennsylvania) and the Cumberland gap
Into this, stepped De Witt Clinton.. and his great ditch..
NY state dug a 300 or so mile canal, connecting the great lakes with NYC. as sparteye pointed out, this lead to a lot of former NYers moving to Michigan.
it also put buffalo at one end of the canal.. goods moved from lake vessels to canal vessels.. buffalo became the great western port of NY-- a gateway to the west..
mind you, it doesn't hold a candle to NYC-but as it is a surprisingly cosmopolitan city..
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#53723
01/30/2002 10:43 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 3,146 |
But very iffy road signage. Sandra and I came across the bridge from Canada into Buffalo and promptly got buffaloed as to how to get out of the city. The signs after the toll plaza said one thing, and we turned in that direction. And that was the last sign we saw. Took a few turns round the city centre to get us on the right road out of town. Seven feet of snow would have probably made it ever so slightly more difficult ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#53724
01/30/2002 11:02 PM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
addict
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Posts: 688 |
Seven feet of snow would have probably made it ever so slightly more difficult ... True! But CapK, why were you trying to get OUT of Buffalo? You should have stopped at the Anchor Bar for some great, original, chicken NOT Buffalo wings. Or at Swiston's for a Beef on Weck. [drooling-e]
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#53725
01/30/2002 11:38 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 3,146 |
Because we had an appointment in Ithaca the next day and things to see and do on the way! Passing through Buffalo at all was actually the result of an earlier navigational accident anyway ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#53726
01/31/2002 12:10 AM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
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Passing through Buffalo at all was actually the result of an earlier navigational accident anyway ... Sounds like you may have a bit of trouble reading the posted signs? Or are you just highway challenged? 
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#53727
01/31/2002 12:52 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
There's a classic tap dancing step, a throwback to the Vaudeville days, that's called "the Shuffle Off to Buffalo" (or sometimes, "Shufflin' Off to Buffalo"). It's a sideway shuffle with the arms swinging in synch with a nautical motion, sort of like Popeye's. Studied tap a long while and always figured the "off to Buffalo" part had something to do with the old Vaudeville circuit, but I'm not really sure. Do you happen to have a local perspective or legend on this, Angel? Or does anyone have the coinage?
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#53728
01/31/2002 2:17 AM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
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Do you happen to have a local perspective or legend on this, Angel? Knowing nothing about this at all, I still felt it was my responsibility to find an answer! Here is what I have found: The dance: “Shuffle Off To Buffalo”, consisting of a brush, hop, shuffle, hop and flexion of the opposite knee. http://www.dancespirit.com/backissues/feb01/ontap.shtml[see "Litterally Speaking" in the middle of the page) It came from the 1933 Harry Warren/Al Dubin film-musical classic about a Broadway dancer who goes from chorus girl to star one fateful opening night. http://www.musicals101.com/1930film.htm (see 42nd Street at the bottom of the page) Does this answer your question? [very confused-e]
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#53729
01/31/2002 6:48 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Great, Angel! Love the "dancespirit" site with the origins of dance-step names! Bookmarked for further study! (that could be a whole nother thread!) And it also had this to say about the origins of steps named after cities: Mark Knowles is an acknowledged authority on tap vocabulary, having authored the
Tap Dance Dictionary, released in 1998. According to Knowles, many steps are
named after the place where they were popularized or created. An example that
should be familiar to you is the Cincinnati (backward moving brush, hop, shuffle,
step). What you might not know (one of many arcane facts collected in his
dictionary), however, is that sometimes the Cincinnati was called Back To The Woods
because the city was covered in trees. Two other examples are the Buffalo (as in
“Shuffle Off To Buffalo”), consisting of a brush, hop, shuffle, hop and flexion of the
opposite knee, and the Charleston, named after the city in South Carolina, where
dock workers could be seen performing a version of this movement where the body
twists while the toes move inward and then outward. So it looks like the step was called "the Buffalo" before the popular song title added the "Shuffle Off." Now that you know the step originated in Buffalo, all you have to do is come up with a local urban legend about it's creation...it seems you have a blank page, Angel, so go for it! I got to researching the song at AllMusic.com and found the Dubin/Warren composition's earliest recording on a Boswell Sisters album (jazz) dated '31, which is a bit peculiar because the film wasn't released until '33. Here's a site with the complete lyrics and credits. There is actually, also, a British version where they changed two words, panties and scanties to clothesies and thosesies.  Panties and scanties a bit too risqué for you Brits back then? Hmmm, ya wouldn't know it now, would'ja? http://www.harrywarren.org/songs/0460.htm"Shuffle Off to Buffalo" was also the title of a Merrie Melodies cartoon released in '33. (taken from the song title) Now off to find the year and creator of the step...shufflin' off to, guess where?....who knows?....
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#53730
01/31/2002 3:15 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
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old hand
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Good Lord I'm frightened, Are none of you over thirty? Didn't you talk to grannie and grandpa? Once upon a time there was thing called vaudeville. The Vaudevillians went from town to town entertaining poor people. Sometimes the poor people would throw rotten vegetables if they thought the performance bad. The Vaudevillians had an exit dance they called 'Shuffling off to Buffalo'. In other words, getting off stage and out of Dodge and on to the next town.
Remember Children, If a tree falls and no one hears it, it doesn't make a sound. And if we can't document the hatching of an egg with an URL, no egg has ever been hatched.
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#53731
01/31/2002 7:53 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
buffalo, NY -- poor thing, suffers from a very bad reputation. Not all of it deserved.
Buffalo, in addition to the virtues you enumerated, Helen, is also where the modern grain elevator was invented and first put into operation, an invention which in the long term revolutionized the food industry and, with it, the American economy.
[cross-threading to "fungible", if I ever get around to the post I hope to make there]
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#53732
01/31/2002 8:05 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Kieva, you're a real estate lawyer..maybe real estate office are not quite as cut throat as some law offices.
the first place i saw fungible was in a very old NYer cartoon (that had been cut out and framed) in a white shoe law office.
a senior partner at a law firm (read an old fat cat) was explaining to a young turk..
"Associates are fungible, partners are not!"
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#53733
01/31/2002 8:47 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
Sounds like you may have a bit of trouble reading the posted signs? Or are you just highway challenged?Neither. The entrance to the roundabout which would have taken us onto the bridge at Niagara put us in the wrong lane on the roundabout. We had to change lanes to get to the bridge after we came on to the roundabout. No one would let in and there was the tailback to end all tailbacks forming behind us while we tried, so we decided then and there to go down the QEII highway to St Catherine's and cross over into Buffalo. This didn't require us to use ram-raid tactics to get off the starting blocks, so to speak. And I can read signs just fine. Provided there are any to read ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#53734
01/31/2002 9:14 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
Helen, if anyone wants to start a thread of lawyer-jokes, I will participate with glee and gusto. Trust me on that: Having probably met more lawyers than you, I probably despise them more.
About two years ago I began conversing with an older gentleman in a check-out line with me and, when he mentioned his distaste for lawyers, I used that line.
Said he, "I'm sure I see more lawyers than you do."
"Are you a lawyer too?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, "but I don't practice the profession."
"Then how is it that you deal with numerous lawyers so often?"
"I'm Chief Justice of the Appellate Court."
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#53735
01/31/2002 9:21 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I'm listening to NPR's report on the World Economic Forum's first-ever event held outside of Davos, CH. The participants at NYC's venerable Waldorf-Astoria are being protected by, among other things, "Jersey barricades" (if I heard correctly).
Helen? Whitman? Can anyone splain/etymolify this one?
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#53736
01/31/2002 9:37 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Angel, I was given to understand* a few weeks ago that Buffalo generously "donated" snow to its improbably snow-challenged neighbor city, Rochester, for the latter's Winter Festival. 1) Is this true? b) Do y'all want it back? iii) Is there a special name for this kind of donation? ~~~~ *where does that expression come from?
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#53737
01/31/2002 9:38 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Jersey barricades
long concrete barriers, about 3' high and impassible to cars, of the sort that might run along the median strip of a highway. Thus they would be readily available to government bodies, and have come into recent prominence as follows:
From the Chicago Tribune newspaper (site requires registration):
For Chicagoans, one unfortunate outcome of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been the barricading of the plaza at the Chicago Federal Center... The plaza, whose exuberant red "Flamingo" stabile by Alexander Calder provides a perfect counterpoint to the cool black high-rises by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, long has been a popular gathering place and a symbol of an open and accessible federal government.
But all that changed on Sept. 11 when a scheduled farmer's market on the plaza was shut down because trucks delivering produce were thought to pose a security threat.
Within days, concrete "Jersey barriers" went up around the borders of the plaza, and the once-vibrant public space took on a whole new character. People could still walk through it, passing through small openings in the barriers, but it seemed chillingly empty.
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#53738
01/31/2002 10:07 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
The proto type Jersey barrier was created by the NJ Dept of Highways-- to discourage NJ drivers from having head on meetings in the middle of some of NJ's older roads..
they were designed to be effective at preventing vehicles that hit them from going over them.. if hit sideways, the gentle ramp at the bottom is designed to lead you back into your lane.. but the angle of incline chages at about 8 inches, and becomes steeper.. this is designed to stop or (worst case) flip a vehicle over.. (thus limiting the injures to only the passengers in one vehicle.)
they have other names.. i vaguely remember the scene in the movie "volcano" set in LA, the la brea tar pits starts spewing out lava.. to stop the lava flow, the FEMA guy calls for ???(K bar?).. what ever.. what he wanted, and got was Jersey barriers
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#53739
02/01/2002 12:34 AM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
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Dear ASp,
In answer to your questions,
1) Yes!
b) Nope!
iii) Being good neighbors. Buffalo is known as the city of good neighbors
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#53740
02/01/2002 1:04 AM
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 688
addict
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Joined: Dec 2001
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But very iffy road signage.
The entrance to the roundabout which would have taken us onto the bridge at Niagara put us in the wrong lane on the roundabout.
Poor Dear Kiwi, first its the road signs giving you trouble, then it's the ramps conspiring against you. There, there. [soft stroking angelic-e]
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#53741
02/01/2002 1:12 AM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 2,605 |
Passing through Buffalo at all was actually the result of an earlier navigational accident anyway ...and then, when leaving: The entrance to the roundabout ... the wrong lane on the roundabout ... after we came on to the roundaboutWhat roundabout trip you had, Kiwi! The mental picture is scrumptious. We see country drivers in our city too. Buffalo is simply so neighborly a city that it wanted you to come, and didn't want you to leave. But my friend, you must learn when in Rome to drive as the Romans do! (And here's hoping that Kiwi never has to face the notorious drivers and roundabouts of Rome. Right, Emanuella?)
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#53742
02/01/2002 1:18 AM
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 2,636 |
I once perfected that dive you speak of CK. I was moving back from Mexico, driving a 19seventy-something Monte Carlo coupe, packed to the roof with my belongings and no side mirror on the right. Coming into Houston during rush hour, out of nowhere appeared my exit with the accompanying phrase "next right" as I was merging at 60 miles an hour from the left. I had about 1/4 mile to cross 4 lanes of traffic, hit the exit doing sixty, hit the brakes because it was a circular exit, speed limit 25. The trick was to speed up to the 2 car-length hole and dive. All I can say was "Which bag did I pack my clean undies in?"  It was a real thrill, as in Heeeeha. Don't ever want to do it again. Rally racing, Hev? Pffffft! Right, Jackie and Bel?
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#53743
02/01/2002 8:01 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Jersey barriers/BarricadesThese cement dividers, as we usually call them, are ubiquitous on our highways, especially on Route 22 (merrily nicknamed "death's highway") in Union County where I grew up in the central part of the state (30 miles from New York). But I've never heard 'em called a Jersey barrier OR barricade. Maybe they only call them that outside of the state...you know, like we call lousy drivers "New York driver!" (had to get one in there, Helen! ) Unless somebuddie's jes puttin' me on...getoudda heer! Joisey Barricades? Fogettaboutit! the only place they use a "Joisey" accent is in Brooklyn...seriously
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#53744
02/01/2002 3:23 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Up here in God's Country (Northern New England = Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont) Jersey barriers caused a real problem ... small animals trying to cross the roads would come up against them and were usually killed when trying to get back across. Now the barriers have small hole in the bases, gouged out by construction workers, so little critters can safely get through.
I imagine this might be true in other areas where there is still enough forestation to give homes to woodland critters. When in other states I always check to see if the barriers have similar escape-through holes.
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#53745
02/01/2002 4:22 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
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Minnesota does, and thank you for explaining their purpose! I've been operating under the assumption that the state of MN bought them from Texas, where they move the barriers twice a day to shift the carpool lane from Eastbound to Westbound (or something in that spirit - I'm not sure on the particulars). They've got what looks like an enormous Zamboni that drives along, pulling the barriers over. Works kind of like a zipper, this machine is the zipper head, and the holes and groove at the bottom are the track that the machine follows. I'm clearly not doing a goof job explaining it... I'll search for a link and edit it in if I find one. Hell, at this point, I can barely remember what brought that to mind in the first place. 
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#53746
02/01/2002 4:25 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
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not doing a goof job explaining it
Oh, I dunno. I think you did a pretty good goof job explaining it.
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#53747
02/01/2002 4:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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Indeed I did. 
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#53748
02/01/2002 4:33 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Does anyone know the name for the zipper barriers? they are a sub-set of jersey barriers.. (and even W O'N acknowledges that Jersey highways are something akin to death row..) and of course they are not called jersey barriers in NJ-- In NJ- they are normal! and you think NY drivers are bad! sheese!
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#53749
02/01/2002 6:03 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
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Well, I was right in associating the image of a zipper. They *do* call the Zamboni-thingy a "zipper machine". Here's a URL to see said thingy in action: http://www.roadstothefuture.com/Zipper_I95_JRB.htmlIt seems to want to call the medians themselves "temporary" or "moveable" barriers. Edit in: Ye gods, there's an acronym (of course) - the Quickchange Moveable Barrier.I was half guessing that the search criteria "zipper barrier" might be a decent Google-whack. No such luck. 9,880 hits. If I look hard enough, some of them might reference unfortunate accidents involving the male anatomy...
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#53750
02/01/2002 7:54 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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and of course they are not called jersey barriers in NJ-- In NJ- they are normal! and you think NY drivers are bad! sheese!Touché, of troy!!
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#53751
02/02/2002 1:54 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Rally racing, Hev? Pffffft!Right, Jackie and Bel? Uh, yesssssssss...I've seen an example of what you mean...still say I'd'a kept up if you hadn't cheated! That was great fun!
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#53752
02/02/2002 6:41 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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But my friend, you must learn when in Rome to drive as the Romans do! (And here's hoping that Kiwi never has to face the notorious drivers and roundabouts of Rome. Right, Emanuella?)
Rome? Been there, done that. At least in Rome drivers will give in to the inevitable and let you in if you force the issue, because everyone else does it. At Niagara, no one was prepared to give an inch. Most unusual because, by and large, USn drivers are courteous. Must have been something Canadian. Changing tack seemed better than trying to explain away a fault accident in another country to the rental car company. Chicago and LA were child's play by comparison.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#53753
02/02/2002 11:49 AM
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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What cities of the world would rate as five worst to drive in? My list would probably read
1)Mexico City
2)Mexico City in an earthquake
3)Mexico City in a snow storm
4)Mexico City during the rainy season
5)Mexico City during the Olympics
Actually, I have never driven there. It is the only city (driving-wise) that has ever scared me spitless, and I don't scare that easy.
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#53754
02/02/2002 11:52 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Now Cap, if you had trouble in Niagara you should hesitate to drive in Québec, and definitely avoid Montréal alotogether. The general gestalt is that people try to get away with as much as they can without getting caught. Speed limits are just a suggestions and pedestrians, well I won't get into that but lets just say there is a whole point system established on pedestrians I joke but it is amazing how people from out of province have trouble driving here. They generally leave all gittery and nervous calling "them crazy Québec drivers!" over their shoulders...yet our accident rate is no higher than national average. I guess when you learn to drive in mayhem it becomes regular and normal.
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