Off Topic: Darwin Theory?

So, there I was ... innocently riding the NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line train to work today. (No, I didn't see Roofus the Cat as it was very damp out this morning.) As usual, the train was approaching my departure station, so I was up waiting in the vestibule as it stopped.

Um. It stopped way before the station. The conductor messed with the doors, then got a message over his radio.

"Okay, everyone. Back to your seats. We hit a car."

Huh? None of us felt anything. So I returned to my seat and looked out the window. (Clicking on any of the images will open them larger in a new window.)


The dark bracket-looking thing on the other side of the brush in front of the car is the back bumper of the car.


A conductor checking on the woman in the car before police and rescue personnel arrived. She's hurt, but more like a stopping train hit her, not a speeding train.


The cops line the road on the other side of the train.


The gates were down, the clanging things a'ringing, and the train blew its horn before hitting the car. Either the woman thought the train was going to stop (as it was slowing for the station) and she could go through the gates or she thought she could beat the train. Nope!


Before the fire department arrived with the Jaws of Life, a Bridgewater police officer tried to shift the air bag so she could be a bit more comfortable.


If the train had been going at its highest speed through here, there would be no car. As it was, you saw the bumper. Car parts were strewn for about twenty feet, the car spun totally around once and ended up heading the same direction it was originally headed. It also hit a NJ Transit huge grey electrical stuff box/building.


Looking out the other window again.


There. She's out on the stretcher and ready to go away. We were stuck inside the train for over a half-hour. Although the front of the train was actually in the station where I wanted to be, they wouldn't let us out for liability reasons. After she was taken away in the ambulance, the lights on the train went out and we were told everyone had to walk to the front of the train and get out. Dang, I never realized how long the train actually is! For the ride in the morning, only the last two cars are open for passengers.

I was lucky -- it was my station. But anyone wanting to go further west was stuck there as the train had to stay for all kinds of investigation. I went off to work, just a bit late. Had I not been at work, I would have tried to sell some of the photos to news sources in the area. But it's old news now.

NJ Star Ledger article
NJ Courier News - UPDATE: Woman avoids serious injuries after train hits her car in Bridgewater
(I think we nudged it hard rather than slammed into it!)
WCBS erroneously reported two people were in the car. It was just the woman.

American Idol Results Show 3/26

I watched last night's show into the wee hours due to it being on the air the same time as Survivor and LOST. So, I didn't comment. That said, I was actually impressed with Adam Lambert for a change. I thought that Megan, Scott, and Michael were the worst of the bunch with Lil Rounds on their tails. That's unusual for Lil and I usually enjoy Megan. Not so much last night.

Onto tonight --

Rueben Studdard sweated all over the place and sang. Blech. Smokey Robinson sang a duet with Joss Stone and they were good. But I always have a special place in my heart for the big guest of the night -- Stevie Wonder. I remember back when he was Little Stevie Wonder. I think he's only five or six years older than I am. Now, "Little" isn't a good description these days, but the man is great. I recall blasting "Superstition" in the college dorm and his music was such a part of my life in those days. He did a medley which included "Superstition."

The results --

The bottom three weren't quite what I expected. Megan was safe, but Michael Sarver and Scott MacIntyre were indeed two of the three. The third was a bit of a shock -- Matt Giraurd. Say what? I thought he did quite well last night.

It doesn't matter. The right one went home. Bye-bye, Michael Sarver. And, no. He wasn't saved by the judges.

Survivor Tocantins - It's Clips on a Special Night

Zoetawny made me this monkey Survivor logo a while ago, but I had some trouble getting onto the PhotoBucket site the first night I wanted to use it. I just remembered now. (A mind is a terrible thing to lose.)

Tonight's show is the seasonal clips with some added footage. So no one will go home. But if you ARE home and want to comment, you're welcome to hang out here!

Internet Outage, Tonight's TV and Spring?

I'll start this with "Spring?" -- Hopefully this crocus I photographed early Monday evening has survived. We've been having high winds with wind chill temperatures in the teens for the early part of the week. I want spring. I like spring. I'm tired of cold weather!

So, where have I been since Sunday night? On Mondays I have to go into work earlier than usual now. So, up before five AM, I was a bit tired and didn't post. Had I known that on Tuesday night my Internet would vanish, I probably would have posted something. I've never had any problems with my Verizon DSL since getting it a few years back. I don't think it's even blinked. That is, until last night.

There I was, just checking out a few websites with plans to post the crocus when ... no pages would open. I tried going online via AOL and got a message than I had no broadband connection. I looked at my DSL modem and its lights looked normal. I unconnected and reconnected all of my connections. I rebooted the computer and turned off/on the DSL modem, too.

Nothing, I couldn't even get to Google. I tried my own computer troubleshooting and it told me there was a connection problem with my DSL. Okay, so I went to get the Verizon phone number online. Um, oops! I had no online! It's amazing how much I do on the Internet. Most of my bills have gone paperless (including my Verizon bill). I look up TV listings and phone numbers online.

I finally found my phone book and managed to find the repair number for Verizon. But as I was going through their automated menu, they said, "A major DSL outage has affected the 908 area code. Does this address your question?" Why, yes. Yes, it did. But I'm back up and running now. I'm glad I didn't bother to get the dial-up modem connected to the computer. I didn't feel like moving stuff and more connecting cables and irksome things.

Then there's tonight's TV. Survivor is on at 8 PM ET tonight, not tomorrow, due to March Madness tomorrow. It's the clips show, but I still have to write it up for TV Squad and I'll throw a post up here. Then, at 9 PM, it's LOST, another new episode. I have to watch that. You know that.

But, meanwhile, from 8 - 10 PM ET, it's the American Idol show which wasn't scheduled for last night due to the Presidential speech. Sorry, AI -- I'll have to record you and watch you maybe tomorrow night after the results show!

I shouldn't even mention that Criminal Minds is on at 9 PM. At least I can catch that in reruns.

How are you juggling your TV tonight?

The Amazing Race - "Alright Guys, We're at War!"

Sigh. It was too good to be true. So long without a delay and we really have one on the East Coast this week. Due to basketball, 60 Minutes started at 7:52 PM ET instead of 7:00 PM. Once TAR starts, this post will be updated with the major events and I'll be writing a full review of the show for TV Squad.

As always, the comments section is THE place to be!

8:52 PM ET and it's ON.

It's off to India!

Pit Stop --
1. Tammy and Victor -- Each won an ocean kayak
2. Mel and Mike!
3. Jen and Kisha
4. Margie and Luke
5. Jaime and Cara
6. Mark and Michael
7. Christie and Jodi - Philiminated