Yesterday, I was driving to work during the height of the storm. I was on the Thruway heading west when I heard - and then saw - a large FedEx jet coming in for a landing. The winds were devastatingly strong from the west, with a very low ceiling and near-blizzard conditions.

I watched the jet’s wings wobble in the wind, and thought to myself that whoever that pilot his, he’s damn good if he can line up a landing with these sorts of brutal cross-winds.

I twitted, “Just watched a FedEx plane land in crazy snow and wind. Very hairy.”

Today, that little anecdote made its way to the Buffalo News. I think it’s the first time a twitter post has made its way to the pages of the paper here in town.

In many ways, the small but growing local community on Twitter reminds me of what the Buffalo blogosphere was like in 2004 - small, somewhat inside-baseball, and everyone followed each other’s goings-on.

My blogroll is pretty much unmanageable at this point, but seems to have plateaued - whatever new sites I find are generally offset by someone essentially abandoning a site.

Twitter is a micro-blog platform that enables people to post what’s generally supposed to be an answer to the question, “What Are You Doing?”, and the size is limited to that of a text message.

Anyhow, chalk one up for Twitter in the Buffalo News, although it’s most certainly not the first time a twit, in the Pythonesque sense, has made it to the pages of our local daily.

First, click on the new front page (if you haven’t already), and click around & check it out. Then come back here. I’ll wait.

K, done?

Now, please click over to this post by BuffaloGeek, who discusses some upcoming changes being proposed for the network. We want your input.

Giuliani may have cleaned up New York, but he won’t be lending his special touch to the rest of the country. Probably not enough squeegee guys to rout from the sidewalks. Also, his 9/11 fixation wasn’t going to cut it in a race that’s becoming more about the economy than terror. Giuliani immediately endorsed current front-runner McCain.

Edwards is out, as well, but he has not endorsed anyone yet. Hillary responds here, and Obama responds here.

I’m not quite sure whose vote Edwards was splitting. It might have been even, for all I know. It will be extraordinarily interesting how an Edwards endorsement plays out over the next couple of days. I have a hunch that Obama will get a bit of a larger boost from Edwards’ supporters than Hillary. To my mind, Obama’s pitch to Edwards’ supporters was more persuasive than Clinton’s.

Also - if for nothing else but sheer entertainment value, read the New York Post’s endorsement of Barack Obama. (Seriously, was there ever a chance they’d endorse Clinton?)

I like to call it a snowicane. A Hurricane with snow. With the wind gusts down here by the lake, it’s the one time I can say that my weight is an advantage, because everyone else is getting blown around by the wind. I didn’t realize the temperature had dropped as dramatically as it did:

A wicked winter windstorm … packing gusts up to 70 mph and accompanied by a temperature drop of 21 degrees in just one hour … ripped through the region early today, prompting virtually all area schools to close and knocking out electric power for roughly 70,000 customers.

We lost power for some time this morning, but it’s back on now. There also appears to be a band of lake snow from about Lackawanna to Batavia. How is it by you?

It’s not just a Chippewa / Elmwood (Toronto / Rochester) thing anymore. SPoT is opening up on Main at Union in Williamsville. You can read the details here about the conversion of the old CVS at that location into a trendy coffee shop.

Also, SPoT on Elmwood will be splitting the former New World Records space with its neighbor, Brodo.

From the Manchester (NH) Union Leader:

COURTING VOTERS in Iowa and New Hampshire, last August Sen. Hillary Clinton signed a pledge not to “campaign or participate” in the Michigan or Florida Democratic primaries. She participated in both primaries and is campaigning in Florida. Which proves, again, that Hillary Clinton is a liar.

Clinton kept her name on the Michigan ballot when others removed theirs, she campaigned this past weekend in Florida, and she is pushing to seat Michigan and Florida delegates at the Democratic National Convention. The party stripped those states of delegates as punishment for moving up their primary dates.

“I will try to persuade my delegates to seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida,” Clinton said last week, after the New Hampshire primaries and Iowa caucuses were safely over.

Clinton coldly and knowingly lied to New Hampshire and Iowa. Her promise was not a vague statement. It was a signed pledge with a clear and unequivocal meaning.

She signed it thinking that keeping the other candidates out of Michigan and Florida was to her advantage, but knowing she would break it if that proved beneficial later on. It did, and she did.

New Hampshire voters, you were played for suckers.

Hillary and Bill, up against a genuine competitor who is not letting them just walk away with the nomination, will do and say anything whatsoever to get ahead.

Why did she knowingly breach her agreement to stay out of Michigan and Florida?

Since I’m not posting much today, go check this out and munch on some popcorn.

Buffalo gains a motorcycle rally that is leaving Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls says, “good riddance.”

So, does anybody win?

Here’s my reaction to Bush’s State of the Union address:

We had about 70-so people show up for the watch party at Founding Fathers last night, and everyone seemed to be having fun. At one point an impromptu “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye” broke out, but not too many people went along with it. Anyhow, busy day, light posting, so consider this an open thread for whatever you want to discuss.

Erin from Eringoblog was subbing for a teacher who was out on leave, and you have to check out what her students did for her on her last day there. She should be very proud, and as I commented there, It’d be great if she could somehow put that on a resume.

A quick reminder that the WNY Coalition for Progress will be hosting the:

Third Annual Buffalo State of the Union Watch Party
Founding Fathers Pub
75 Edward Street in Buffalo
8pm on Monday the 28th

There will be food available (and a donation to defray that cost is most appreciated), and cash bar. We will again play State of the Union BINGO!

Next year, someone else’ll be giving this speech. Savor.

Photo credit: Calanan

An audit by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reveals what we all suspected. The Thruway is not run efficiently, and is quick to pull the trigger on toll increases before prioritizing roadwork and otherwise critically assessing its expenses.

“It’s easy to raise tolls, but the Thruway Authority should take a hard look in the mirror before it pushes another toll hike on New Yorkers,” DiNapoli said. “Toll hikes are not warranted until the Thruway Authority examines its own spending. The Thruway is too important to the upstate economy to unnecessarily raise tolls and drive up the cost of everything from milk to heating oil, not to mention the impact on commuters.”

Congressman Brian Higgins added,

“Travelers along the Thruway are forced to pay for maintenance and improvements twice, once in the federal gas tax, which is paid by consumers and passed down to the Authority, and again through tolls.

DiNapoli pointed out that the Thruway has been lax in enforcing toll violations, and should jettison the Erie Canal system when a feasible means of supporting that extraordinarily expensive waterway is devised.

The Thruway Authority argues that the audit’s suggestions that certain “useful” but non-essential construction projects be deferred until 2012 would harm traffic flow and safety. Improving a state police barracks will do neither, and the Thruway Authority needs to be abolished - but in the meantime, it needs an overhaul.

The Authority - which essentially answers to no one, and is now run by holdover Pataki appointees - needs to start acting not just as a handy cash cow for Albany pols, and a dumping ground for things that toll money might help pay for. It needs to act like a provider of a service for consumers. The tolls need to be kept down. Monetize everything from EZ-Pass transponders to the toll plazas to the toll tickets with advertising. Install high-speed toll gates for every single lane, with license plate readers for those without transponders. Ontario’s 407 has no toll booths, and charges you an extra fee for reading your plate. That’s the model.

As with many things that are operated by the state, we’re using 1950s technology and ideas in 2008.

I don’t know if the Authority knows, or cares, but have you ever seen the lineup of cars at the Williamsville barrier on any given Friday afternoon in the summertime? Why is it that large trucks are permitted to use the EZ-Pass only lanes towards the left of the plaza? Why is it that even with the tolls that we pay and the federal money they get, the Thruway’s road quality is shamed by that of our toll-free neighbors on I-90?

Count the Thruway as one more of those things that Spitzer didn’t challenge head-on on day one. The Thruway is upstate’s main street. If it was toll-free, it would be a real shot in the arm to the cities that line up along its route, from Albany to Buffalo.

That’s the hot rumor going around.

Do you know anything about it? Heard any rumbling about who might be running? So far, at TAP, the speculation has been Lynn Marinelli, Rath’s son & brand-new EC Legislator Ed III, and Dan Ward. Illuzzi says Dr. Barry and Susan Grelick are also interested.

Key quote in the piece she wrote for this Sunday’s New York Times entitled “A President Like My Father”:

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

I wasn’t able to make the time to go to NAIAS this year, so I’ll rely primarily on the work of others. Frankly, Detroit has been eclipsed in recent years by the Chicago Auto Show, which follows close on its heels, is located in a bigger city, and has a better facility. You think Buffalo’s Convention Center is a mish-mash of about seven different inter-related problems ranging from fugly design, small space, intrusion on the street grid, etc.? COBO Hall is a disgrace, given the fact that the major US automakers continue to be based in the neighborhood, and Detroit is supposed to be their big show.

Last year, the theme in Detroit was crossovers. Vehicles that are now on the road, such as the Mazda CX-7 and CX-9, the Hyundai Veracruz and redesigned Santa Fe, a redesigned Mitsubishi Outlander, GM’s Outlook/Enclave/Acadia, and others.

This year, we were meant to believe that the theme was “green”. That doesn’t necessarily explain why the redesigned 2009 Ford F-150 was named most “significant” introduction.

Toyota unveiled what can best be described as a Camry wagon - the Venza. I’m a big fan of wagons/sportwagons/hatchbacks, and this one is sort of cool-looking, but that front end…

BMW unveiled the 1-series convertible, coming to the U.S. market. While the Volvo C70 is stunning-looking and grown-up, and the VW Eos is a good value, available for under $30k, the 1-series starts out at $34k, but is decently equipped (read: you get a CD player) at close to $40k. This is for poseurs; people who don’t know much about cars, except that they want to be seen in a Bimmer.

Also from BMW is the 335d. On the outside, it’s a regular 3-series sedan. On the inside, it’s packing a 3.0L inline six-cylinder clean diesel engine that makes 265-hp, and 425-lb.ft. of torque. Translation? It’s a fast em effer, and will get about 34 MPG on the highway.

Honda unveiled a “prototype” of the next-gen Honda Pilot. Overdue for a redesign, this concept is just about production-ready, but I can’t imagine those eyeballs will make it into showrooms.

Honda also released its i-DTEC clean diesel engine, which will be released first, according to rumor, in the Acura TSX (which is little more than a rebadge of the European-market Honda Accord). Pair clean diesel power and fuel economy with Japanese quality, and more than a few people will be sold.

Ford introduced the Verve, which incorporates its newer, more European-influenced “Kinetic” design language.

Subaru introduced its new Forester. *Ugh*.

Volkswagen introduced something called the Passat CC. It’s like a Passat, only it isn’t. It’s like a Mercedes CLS, but its home is in Wolfsburg, not Stuttgart. What it will have on offer is something called a TSI engine. Already in use in Europe, the engine gives you more power with a smaller engine, resulting in improved gas mileage. The trick is, it uses a supercharger for low-end boost, as well as a turbocharger for higher-end power. It goes faster than the standard 2.0L turbocharged direct-inject engine, has more torque, and gets better mileage. Bizarro world, indeed.

Chrysler, no longer encumbered (or assisted, depending on your POV) by Daimler, unveiled some concepts:

The Jeep Renegade looks Muppet-like:

The Dodge ZEO looks like an angry momma eagle:

The Chrysler ecoVoyager is supposedly quite frugal with fuel, but looks somewhat derivative…

How about a fuel cell-driven Cadillac concept that looks pretty damn cool?

Finally, how about the Fisker Karma - a luxury hybrid sports car. You can have one for about $80,000, and it will do 0-60 in just under 6 seconds with its 4 cylinder engine mated to an electric motor…

There are two different modes available to drivers; the first, dubbed “Stealth Drive” is a pure electric mode which should allow the Karma to run off the lithium ion battery pack for 50 miles before the engine kicks into boost the juice. The second, a sports mode, integrates the four-banger for peak performance and, according to Fisker, makes the Karma sound like a combination of a jet fighter and an F1 car. The batteries themselves are placed smack dab in the middle of the vehicle, which lowers the car’s center of gravity and improves weight distribution.

Apart from the Dodge Ram, that’s about all I saw that was particularly interesting. The Mini Clubman S was released, but that’s not “new” in any strict sense. I don’t get all worked up over Corvettes, so I’ve ignored the ZR-1.

But I will leave you with this. The Audi R8 concept.

Least. Ambitious. Thief. Ever.

Anyone else seen the billboards all around town recruiting nurses to go work in Ontario? I would have posted a picture, but it’s hard to take a snap at 55 MPH-ish.

Hillary Clinton gets PW3ND.

At the South Carolina debate, Barack Obama scored a hit on Hillary with this:

Because while I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart.

In response, Hillary Clinton (we need to distingush between them now, no?), said this:

Clinton: …I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago. …

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: Senator Clinton made a serious allegation that you worked for a slumlord. And I wonder if you want to respond.

Obama: I’m happy to respond. Here’s what happened: I was an associate at a law firm that represented a church group that had partnered with this individual to do a project and I did about five hours worth of work on this joint project. That’s what she’s referring to.

True that Rezko donated money to Obama, but the campaign has since returned any contributions by him, or associated with his fundraising efforts. By contrast, Drudge posts this…

That’s Mr. Rezko in the middle. Oopsie.

Peggy Noonan in 2004:

God bless our country.

Hello, old friends. Let us savor…

…The elites of Old Europe are depressed. Savor. The nonelites of Old Europe, and the normal folk of New Europe, especially our beloved friend Poland, will not be depressed, and many will be happy. Let’s savor that too.

Now, the allies the Bush administration so cavalierly dismissed as “Old Europe” are retrospectively justified and relieved that they didn’t send their kids to die, or put undue strain on their economies to participate in a pointless endeavor that backfired. The

[Bush] announced his agenda: reform the tax code, privatize Social Security, help the emerging democracies of Iraq and Afghanistan. “And then our servicemen and -women will come home with the honor they have earned.”

He did so well, the Dems re-took control of congress in 2006. Savor.

She savored Bush’s victory in 2004, even after Iraq had already become an al-Qaeda-ridden disaster of historic proportions.

Peggy Noonan in 2008:

On the pundit civil wars, Rush Limbaugh declared on the radio this week, “I’m here to tell you, if either of these two guys [Mr. McCain or Mike Huckabee] get the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party. It’s going to change it forever, be the end of it!”

This is absurd. George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues.

Were there other causes? Yes, of course. But there was an immediate and essential cause.

Hell, I could have told you that at least eight years ago; well before ol’ Peggy was busy savoring another four years of the Worst. Presidency. Ever. Thanks, Peggy.

Andrew Sullivan’s advice for Barack Obama:

The Clintons are running as prosaic general managers. Obama should not downplay his transformational potential or his broader themes. But in the battle for base voters, many people are not hearing specifics - on the economy, on healthcare, on taxes, on climate change. He has them. He needs to repeat them. With the same mind-numbing repetitiveness that the Clintons always deploy.

I think that’s spot-on. Especially the bit about specifics, because that seems to be the biggest issue people have with him.

Paul Wolf had a great post up today about Community Development Block Grant monies and how they should be spent. He asked a simple question, “How would you spend it?”

Well, Geek and I spent some time kicking around how we would spend it, but we just kept coming back around to imagining how other local politicians and community leaders would spend grant money or tax rebates if they could. Here’s what we came up with:

We’ll give it to poor people and tax, err, institute a fee on it with a stamp - Eliot Spitzer

Give it directly to the poor, but don’t let them spend it on tobacco, lottery, or anything fun - Sam Hoyt

Give it to the people and track where and when they spend it - Byron Brown/Steve Casey

Not know how much you have to give them: Satish Mohan

I’d loan it to my brother - H. McCarthy Gipson

Hemp necklaces and mandannas for everyone! - Newell Nussbaumer

I’m opposed to giving these checks out, wait, hold on…this was my idea? Damn - Antoine Thompson

Audit it - Mark Poloncarz

Shove it down the throats of neighborhood activists - Brian Higgins

Figure out if there’s a more efficient way to distribute the checks via Six Sigma troubleshooting - Chris Collins

Put the money in a box and scream insults at it - Dale Volker

Double the payments and add in coffee breaks for everyone - Tim Kennedy

Use it to pay rent on an empty house in Kenmore - Michelle Iannello

Take the money home and sleep on the floor next to it – Mike Cole

Surround yourself with kids at the announcement - Tom Reynolds

Huh? I must have missed the meeting about giving out checks. - Mike Ranzenhofer

Ask my Mother what I should do - Ed Rath III

File a lawsuit to block the distribution of checks until an alternative can be researched and put up a billboard announcing it - The Waterfront Coalition

Lap dances for me and Victor! - Joel Giambra

Give the whole sum to Smokin’ Joe Anderson - Vince Anello

Whadda you got?

You know, with one fell swoop, we could help regenerate and instantly expand what constitutes the regional economy, and avoid all of the issues pertaining to Peace Bridge expansion encroaching on West Side neighborhoods and Shared Border Management’s, which was put out of its misery by the DHS’s own Dr. Kevorkian - Secretary Michael Chertoff.

We already have NAFTA. If we had a customs union (not a monetary union - a customs union) and continental entry and security treaty with Canada, we could eliminate the cumbersome, commerce-killing border inspections between Canada and the US. The kicker, obviously, would be harmonization of US and Canadian entry visa requirements. If all entry points to Canada and the US were manned by locally trained customs & immigration officials, all working off the same rulebook, and if visitors from overseas had to obtain a uniform North American visa, all of the Ontario Golden Horseshoe would become a part of our Buffalo region.

Hell, add in high speed rail, and you could commute from your Toronto pied a terre to your job in Buffalo, and vice-versa.

It’ll never, ever happen, but it would solve a lot of problems.