"This isn't a Third World country. This is New York City."

From a passenger trapped on the A train between Aqueduct and Rockaway Blvd. stations: "This isn't a Third World country. This is New York City."

Elsewhere: "It wasn't like the storm just snuck up on us," said David Kelley, 25, who tried unsuccessfully to get to his security job at Kennedy before being forced to turn around. "They were aware ... They need to have a backup plan.

One thinks of the current backlog of patent applications at the Patent Office. It wasn't like that backlog just snuck up on the USPTO. Patent Office management needed a backup plan. Now the Patent Office, metaphorically speaking, is the A Train, stuck in the snow. And, no, we're not a Third World country; just look like one.

**In passing

Is It Time to Leave Your Job?

It's hard to be thrilled with your job if the company you work for is struggling to succeed, or feels stuck and irrelevant.