docilej: This guy makes Rommeny look like a genius

You couldn't be more wrong, nobody makes Romney look like a genius. Nobody.

ElMariachi : First of all - to all those saying Mass. is racist: correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we have the only black governor in the country? So it can't be that racist, even if he did go to Milton Academy.

Of course, there are racists, and Boston has problems. Accent would drive Gandhi to mass-murder after enough time. Weather is shiat. Too sports-obsessed. The T.

But Boston has something that a lot of US cities don't - heritage, tradition and pride. We LIKE our cowpath lanes, and we like the biatching and moaning of midwesterners because we don't build their little lego suburbs. Beautiful old buildings, public parks, history.

Not to mention some of the best primary, secondary and collegiate education in the country.

I see a lot of problems in the city, but after 21 years it's my home. I want to travel and see the world and move out, but I'll always remember Boston fondly as my hometown, with a little pride. It's that pride that grates on outsiders, but hey, the Boston code is "fark you if you don't like it." After all, people flood here from all over the country and indeed the world.

But goddamn if someone doesn't do something about the bars closing at 2am I'm going to shoot someone.

Bra-farking-vo sir!!

Damn Global Warming.

/that was a deliberate attempt at trolling

IXI Jim IXI: coordman: I have nothing to say about this.

Don't be tongue-tied and twisted...

Thanks for noticing. Not many people get it on other forums :)

scorreia: szyska: Another small factor may be that Boston roads were originally cow paths. The city has no grid system and the roads just meander...

That's a myth:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/04/25/how_now_cow_path_tale_is_pu re_bull/

But you got to admit, it's more chaotic than a grid system of say NYC... etc.

earthbound misfit: Thanks for noticing. Not many people get it on other forums :)

Bunch of farkin' savages...

3 hours from work in boston to home in salem, ma for me. i blame the asshats who thought it would be cool to buy RWD vehicles in new england.

3 hours from work in Kingston to home in Warwick, both in RI. Usually takes about 25 minutes. By the time I got to the back roads, the back roads sucked as much as the highway.

Glad to see the cops in Warwick out directing traffic and helping people who got stuck, though.

earthbound misfit: IXI Jim IXI: coordman: I have nothing to say about this.

Don't be tongue-tied and twisted...

Thanks for noticing. Not many people get it on other forums :)

I've been telling my wife for years that I want that song's chorus as my epitaph should I buck the kicket before her. She tells me it would cost a fortune though, and she would know.

/former funeral director
//the office stuff
///not the icky

That happens with every first real snowfall. It happens with the first storms of any season in any place.

Given the mobility of people these days, a lot of people are moving in and out of regions between the seasons, so they are not as well-prepared for or knowledgeable about the climate there. This means that they'll be the first to screw up (even if only a relatively small amount of people), thereby causing the headaches for all the more native people.

Natives of the area are still likely to be hit pretty hard by the first storm. It's that first storm that reminds them of all the things they should be doing. Combined with the newcomers, this unpreparedness causes havoc.

Happens everywhere.

1st snow is always fun. Have a 4wd truck and a little car. Took the little car. Go fast, hit the brakes, slide. Relearn how to drive/play in snow. Obviously do this were there is no traffic & NO KIDS that could run out in front of you.
I work from home so I don't need to get out in this carp much but yesterday I logged a months worth of miles and had no issues.

/don't live in Boston
//people don't know how to drive
///sneakers are OK as long as you don't mind frozen wet feet

The Onanist: So Fark So Good: Masshole checking in here...it was a DISASTER all over. I live ten minutes away from work, my boss finally let me leave at 3 and it STILL took me an hour to get home.

Why didn't you just walk?

/Minnesotan

Sorry, that's ten minutes by car! Normally I take the bus, but I wasn't about to wait for God knows how long for it to show up. I considered taking a cab but was nervous about sitting in one for a huge long time with the meter running the whole time. It probably would have taken an hour to walk anyway but it was much nicer being in a nice warm car with one of my coworkers.

Thanks cleaning guy! :-D

coordman: I've been telling my wife for years that I want that song's chorus as my epitaph should I buck the kicket before her. She tells me it would cost a fortune though, and she would know.

I threw it into my yearbook profile way back in the day. I like the idea of having it thrown on my stone, though :D

luckybastard: That happens with every first real snowfall. It happens with the first storms of any season in any place.

Ummm...no. I've been driving in RI since '89, and I have never experienced that level of traffic suckage short of leaving Great Woods (It's still Great Woods to me!) after a concert.

One of the radio traffic guys said this was the worst traffic situation he'd seen in the 20 years he'd been reporting.

Sure, when the first storm of the season hits, things are a little crazy. But not to this level.

IXI Jim IXI : 3 hours from work in Kingston to home in Warwick, both in RI. Usually takes about 25 minutes.

Took my mom 3+ hrs. to go from Attleboro to the Middle of Providence on 95. Took me 1.5 hours to go from 117 in Warwick to Newport.

bottsicus: Took my mom 3+ hrs. to go from Attleboro to the Middle of Providence on 95. Took me 1.5 hours to go from 117 in Warwick to Newport.

I noticed when I was coming up 4 that southbound seemed to be going a bit better than northbound...which was the exact OPPOSITE of what I usually see on my drive home.

Ah well. At least I had a snowball fight in traffic.

Then there's the commuter rail...

I usually leave work at 5:30 and take the 6:10 out of South Station. Yesterday I left about 15 minutes early (I don't trust the MBTA either), go to the station about 5 of. The 5:40 was still there! I thought, score, I'll get home ten minutes early. The train left at 6:05. Somewehere between Canton Junction and Sharon it stopped and we didn't move for 2 hours--apparently a short in a junction box or something like that, and they had to wait for an electrician to drive to Canton to make the repairs. There was a near riot on the train, although this trip wasn't as bad as the one when some guy threw himself in front of a train at rush hour. We got bussed home for that one.

The thing is, the train conductors are on an unannounced work slow down to protest working conditions, so for the past four months almost all trains out of Boston have been delayed. I might have had some sympathy for the T's problems yesterday, but my first thought was that this was just another manufactured delay to teach management a lesson by punishing the riders.

Incidentally, for any of you Boston commuter out there, here's my plan to solve the constant delays. Get about six of your friends together and, if you usually commute from North Station pick a train that uses South Station, and vice versa. Arrange to have someone with a car waiting for you at one of the train stops. the Get off with your buddies, grab a conductor and beat the living crap out of him. Before you depart, tell him "Stop farking around with the schedule or there'll be more where that came from."

That should do it!

On behalf of all residents of the lake effect snow region(s)I would like to say, "HA HA!"

If you're measuring it in inches and not feet its nothing...take that how you will.

MattyBlast

Yup, that's a keeper

/pulls a new keyboad out of storage

For anyone outside of Massachusetts you have to understand that no matter what, no matter how many times it snows in a season or in a persons lifetime, a Massachusetts citizen must act like they have never seen such a thing before and react like the end of the world is upon them.

Yes! I've lived in Mass. all my life, and am still amazed at this.

People left my work early, and I started hearing horror stories about I-91. Total gridlock. Accidents impeding traffic. I worked until close to the end of my scheduled shift, and while 91 wasn't in great shape and you had to drive slow, there weren't many cars and I didn't have to stop until I got off at my exit.

ssssmashing: If you're measuring it in inches and not feet its nothing...take that how you will.

Dude, you sound like your mom... :D

Jim R: Yes! I've lived in Mass. all my life, and am still amazed at this.

Well, at least you guys can occasionally see pavement during a storm. I swear half the plows I saw in RI yesterday were driving plows-up.

clambam: Then there's the commuter rail...

The 3:50 from Back Bay to providence was 20 minutes late and got into South Attleboro without delay. I was surprised, I thought it would be worse than that.

clambam:
The thing is, the train conductors are on an unannounced work slow down to protest working conditions, so for the past four months almost all trains out of Boston have been delayed.

Not my experience on the Providence line, it's been late twice in the last 4 months. When they added the Greenbush line a lot of schedules got horked. Which line are you on?

I live in South Boston. I got in my car to drive to work in Kendall Square at 1:45. I got to MIT at 6:00. I listened to the whole Democratic debate before I even hit the tunnel.

I live in Nashua, work in Marlborough. I watched the news the night before and I figured that I'd have to leave mid-afternoon (3 or so) to beat the storm.

Then I read a weather prediction in the morning that said once the snow starts it's going to intensify rapidly, to the rate of 1 to 3 inches per hour. So I'm thinking I need to leave by 1 or 2. Then a friend of mine sent me an e-mail before lunch and he said that he had driven from Acton to Worcester and it was fine until he hit Worcester where it took him 45 minutes to go 1/2 mile.

So now I'm eating lunch and talking with a co-worker and another co-worker mentions that he has already started snowing. I stood up, apologized to the guy I was talking to and said "I'm out of here". I left immediately (12:30 or so) and I was able to make it up 495 north to Littleton before the road turned into a parking lot. I got off at 119 and took the back roads into Nashua. Overall it took me 2 hours for what is normally a 50 minute ride. I found out today that by 1pm 495 was a complete parking lot. I'd just barely made it.

Moral of the story? Even people like me who were paying were taken by surprise at the speed of this storm. What I should have done was worked at home but I didn't realize how fast and hard this thing was going to hit. And judging from the horror stories I heard, neither did most people. It took one of my co-workers 7 hours to get from Marlborough to Jamaica Plain. He had to get gas along the way, and his battery died from having to idle for so long.

The more I heard Cianci talk about the storm, the more I wanted him back in office.

earthbound misfit: Is it that warm cause of all the fires you guys always have?

Could be...and all the smoke generated by the fires might have farked with the atmosphere and caused these storms you poor folks are experiencing, IMO. Sorry.

Missouri here...just got a good icing last weekend and preparing for some snow this weekend. I hate winter.

Aye yi yi! Well, at least it's nice to take a walk while it's snowing...so quiet and peaceful...I miss that.

/I don't miss scraping the windshield, shoveling, jump-starting the car or trying to get the dog to "go" outside though
//I like your SN too--that's my favorite PF song

Isn't it time for a Boston tag yet? There's usually at least one story a day of some dumb fark thing happening in the land of Cheers and Tea Parties.

TacoBeelzebub: Aye yi yi! Well, at least it's nice to take a walk while it's snowing...so quiet and peaceful...I miss that.

If they could breed snow that'd just fall on the grass, I'd be all on board for that.

Driveway, road, and windshield? No thanks.

IXI Jim IXI: Sure, when the first storm of the season hits, things are a little crazy. But not to this level.

Thanks for agreeing with me!

Eh, I only had minor troubles getting home. Slipped a little a couple of times and when I got to my hometown it was pretty much bumper to bumper. Took an hour to get to town, another hour to get to the other side of town. Patience is key when driving in the snow.

/Western MA
//Dodge neon, regular tires
///Hill towns to the Valley.
////Don't need no farkin snow tires.

clambam: Then there's the commuter rail...

I usually leave work at 5:30 and take the 6:10 out of South Station. Yesterday I left about 15 minutes early (I don't trust the MBTA either), go to the station about 5 of. The 5:40 was still there! I thought, score, I'll get home ten minutes early. The train left at 6:05. Somewehere between Canton Junction and Sharon it stopped and we didn't move for 2 hours--apparently a short in a junction box or something like that, and they had to wait for an electrician to drive to Canton to make the repairs. There was a near riot on the train, although this trip wasn't as bad as the one when some guy threw himself in front of a train at rush hour. We got bussed home for that one.

The thing is, the train conductors are on an unannounced work slow down to protest working conditions, so for the past four months almost all trains out of Boston have been delayed. I might have had some sympathy for the T's problems yesterday, but my first thought was that this was just another manufactured delay to teach management a lesson by punishing the riders.

Incidentally, for any of you Boston commuter out there, here's my plan to solve the constant delays. Get about six of your friends together and, if you usually commute from North Station pick a train that uses South Station, and vice versa. Arrange to have someone with a car waiting for you at one of the train stops. the Get off with your buddies, grab a conductor and beat the living crap out of him. Before you depart, tell him "Stop farking around with the schedule or there'll be more where that came from."

That should do it!

I take the train into North Station, where did you hear about this "work slow down"?

luckybastard: Thanks for agreeing with me!


Natives of the area are still likely to be hit pretty hard by the first storm. It's that first storm that reminds them of all the things they should be doing. Combined with the newcomers, this unpreparedness causes havoc.

Um...no.

I thought about leaving early yesterday, but I thought better of it. Ended up leaving at 8 (normal quittin' time) and unplowed roads were still there, but it only took me an hour to get 40 miles.

\most miles were in the better roads in NH

DaShredda: 4WD doesn't help you brake faster.

I'm not overly arrogant but I am a great driver in the winter and I know that. Thats why you drive extra slow in traffic no matter what vehicle you have. When you're on the backroads and a foot of snow is on the ground, 4wd kicks anything's ass.

Moral of the story is that 90% of crashes are caused by morons, whether its you (not YOU shredda) or the other person.

I had a friend in town from Boston this week. There were supposed to be transit strikes, so she asked me if she should PANIC!

I explained to her that Metro strikes in Paris are similar to the first snow fall in Boston. The locals just shrug their shoulders and leave for work 5 minutes early, and laugh at the tourists who PANIC.

She wrote back about how I've never experienced a New England snowfall before (I have), the first hint of snow and every Bostoniot PANICS, while all the other N'englanders laugh at the Bostoniots.

Of course, the metro strike here went unnoticed, with less than 2% calling for a strike, there were no delays. But she got stuck in this traffic jam on the way home from the airport, making her travel time go from 10 hours to almost 20 hours. Ouch.

I take the train into North Station, where did you hear about this "work slow down"?

Here.

/also takes train to North Station
//no delays last night going home to Gloucester
///no cabs at Gloucester Station when I got there however
////MBTA still sucks

oodja: I take the train into North Station, where did you hear about this "work slow down"?

Here.

/also takes train to North Station
//no delays last night going home to Gloucester
///no cabs at Gloucester Station when I got there however
////MBTA still sucks

Wow... maybe I should be reading the Metro now. I didn't think it had anything important in it.

/no delays going to Haverhill
//drive from the train station home was brutal

your comments. they make me laugh.

takesdeepbreathkickspuppy: Houston panics before Rita makes landfall. I bough two cartons of cigarettes, 3 cases of beer and two boxes of shotgun shells and stayed home. It rained a little bit and the wind blew some but I didnt even lose power. Suckers

Wow! What a mess. Good thinking on your part; you're cute too :)

Meh, it's been snowing for two days and they say it's gunna dump another 8 inches on Sunday.

Whatever.

/Montrealer

StarshipPooper: Why is it everytime you hear anything in the news about a possible accumulation of snow. The super markets are packed with retards buying water and bread and crap. You never heard of melting snow/ice for water? Do you retards not keep any food in your refigrator that you have to constantly stock up every day?

i noticed that where i live its not bread, water, and milk....its pepsi and doritos. no lie. if a hurricane is on the way, snack food is off the shelf faster than plywood at lowes.

Big deal. I lived there or near for years.

A couple hours in snow traffic?

Par for the course. Try Atlanta when they get half-an-inch.

every year, the first snowstorm, this crap happens. Subsequent storms are never such a big deal. It's like the Massholes forget how to drive in the snow and are reminded by the first storm. After that, it's pretty smooth.

/took my husband 6 hours to get home last night
//doesn't think it'll take him so long next storm
///very optimistic

TrollieMcTroll: The people driving are the assholes in the suburbian McMansions who fark up our city while making their money here. Then they go back to their house that's so huge they can hide from their wife and kids for days. Guess hiding from them is better than beating them.

Sure, they're all living McMansions. Or they're like my buddy, who lives in a 1,100 ft. bungalow in Weymouth and commutes into the city because it's too damned expensive to live there.

Asshole.

Don't blame me I voted for Muffie.

555-FILK: takesdeepbreathkickspuppy: Houston panics before Rita makes landfall. I bough two cartons of cigarettes, 3 cases of beer and two boxes of shotgun shells and stayed home. It rained a little bit and the wind blew some but I didnt even lose power. Suckers

Wow! What a mess. Good thinking on your part; you're cute too :)

Thanks, its nice to hear from a Farkette. Where's your pic?

Fortunately I did NOT take my friends boss's advice. His boss and owner of the small Maynard, MA company said earlier, "you don't need to go home early that's what snow tires are for". Well, moron, guess again. Not everyone is a CEO and owns two Lexus SUVs. But I bet you enjoyed your four hour trek home, moron.

Fortunately I had some common sense and worked from home that day. Isn't technology grand? Be even grander if hitech bosses would learn to respect their employees instead of being tactless morons.