Something funky always happens en route from New York to my parents? house in Pennsylvania. Typically on the bus or train, I experience connection loss and EDGE problems somewhere around Exit 8 on the New Jersey Turnpike. I stopped complaining about not having any consistent wifi signal on the road (because that's just a fact of life), but when I can't make calls, check my e-mail or look up maps, I get really cranky.

If only I could take Greyhound's new NeOn bus service there. Rates start at just ONE DOLLAR (if you buy in advance), and for your money, you get onboard wifi and a plug-in port to keep your phone or other gadgets charged. You get other non cell-related goodies too, like videos and extra legroom, but the prospect of being able to play Aurora Feint for hours without draining my battery dry is motivation enough for me. (Last time, I almost didn't have enough juice left to call my folks for a pick-up.)

While it doesn't exactly have a cell tower embedded on the roof for a stable phone connection, the other features would've been plenty to keep me in good spirits during the trip. But alas, NeOn only travels from New York to Toronto and points in between, at least for now. I hope they?ll expand service at some point. In the mean time, I?ll have to resort to extreme measures -- like bringing a book or something.