Tired of wondering when that next NJ Transit bus is coming? Those days are over

A new app for your smartphone or desktop computer has been launched by NJ Transit which gives you the ability to check your route and see where the next bus coming your way is at. If you'd like to leave the warmth of your home 10 minutes later because you can see the bus is running late, there you go. If you're leaving work and wonder if it's worth running to a stop to catch one you'll know if it's prudent to walk or run.

Johnny's gonna post a screenshot of the app in action. By hovering your mouse over a stop you get the info and you'll see flashing dots/red diamonds to show where the bus is. Here Johnny moused over Van Nostrand and JFK and when you click on this image you see the red diamond bus is coming your way. You can see the route by checking the arrow inside the diamond.

A great use of technology making it's way here. Remember times are estimated and traffic backups do happen. NJ Transit also advises the estimates don’t apply to buses leaving the Port Authority Bus Terminal between 4 and 7 p.m. weekdays.

Still, it's better than not having this handy app. Get to downloading so you can get down to the Denver and Seattle hotel rallies Sunday night.

Is the talentless human scream machine Justin Bieber coming to Bears Stadium in Newark?

Johnny was reading an article in the Star-Ledger and was truly amazed at how badly Columbus Day can screw up communications, as supposedly concert promoters and the like observe Columbus Day like they are a goddamned bank or the post office, but we digress.

As part of a Halloween event, Bieber would sing at the Stadium of Screams event at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium on Oct. 28 — the Sunday before Halloween.

Here's where things get confused:

Bears owner Danielle Dronet had signed a contract with SkyIsland Productions, a California management company that offered to deliver Justin Bieber to the banks of the Passaic. 

However, those close to Bieber say no such event is planned:

Reached through e-mail, Bieber’s longtime publicist Melissa Victor called the show announcement "pure fiction."

Tickets have not yet been made available but in their press release the Bears have offered chances to win seats to the event.

In comments left on the Star-Ledger website Dronet guaranteed Bieber would appear:

"Justin Bieber WILL honor his agreement. Additional evidence and verification will be released tomorrow." -- Danielle Dronet  Newark Bears Owner/CEO/GM

So folks we'll see today who is right and maybe find out why concert promoting doesn't work well on Columbus Day. Til then all the pre-teen girls in Essex County will have to hope against hope that their talentless little talisman keeps their spooky date.

Police make arrests in killings of five Newark boys from 31 years ago

Murder is always grim. Mass murder far more grim. As bad as you may think things can get, there always seems to be a topper that comes along to shake the human spirit. This is certainly one of those cases if what Essex County prosecutors are alleging happened, really did.

In 1978 five boys who were playing together went missing. Simply missing. Never heard from again. FIVE. It is not uncommon in America for a person to go missing and never be heard from again. Many times it's foul play, in a rare occasion the person simply wants to try to vanish. But to have five boys go missing with no trace is certainly shocking. Now police officials off the record have told the Star-Ledger that the five boys were led into an abandoned house on Camden Street in Newark, locked inside and the house burned to the ground. Police also aren't saying exactly how this case was brought to the point of charging two men but that will no doubt come out in the filings in the case.

The Star-Ledger continues:

The boys, Melvin Pittman and Ernest Taylor, both 17, and Alvin Turner, Randy Johnson, and Michael McDowell, all 16, were last seen on a busy street near West Side Park, where they had played basketball, on Aug. 20, 1978.

We're glad arrests have been made. We'll be happier yet with convictions. Hopefully the remaining members of these boys' family can now find some peace. A lesson here is that cold cases are being solved with far more frequency. Johnny caught up on a cold case he had been following, that of Eileen Adams out of Sylvania Ohio (next to Toledo) who was long thought to be one of serial killer John Norman Collins' victims but was actually murdered by Robert Bowman and who is JUST going to trial for the 1967 murder currently. Despite what some murderers may think, cold case technology is rapidly advancing and one can never truly think they have gotten away with murder ironically until they themselves go to meet their maker.