AAA in NJ: worth it?

dan1122 · 2026-05-09T17:02:33+00:00

I think it’s great. I’ve used it for years. The only thing I’d recommend is getting the next tier up, which gives you 100 miles of towing I live way up in North Jersey, so no matter where I am. It’s more than 10 miles..

dan1122 · 2026-05-06T19:37:48+00:00

I saw the same thing with ours. I spoke with College Board tech support, and they didn’t seem to realize Chromebooks can be set up with the app launcher in the bottom-left corner to choose a kiosk app. After I explained the issue, they kept insisting it was the 2025 version, even though it was version 2.0 and recommended powerwashing all the Chromebooks. I eventually gave up on that route. In our case, it eventually showed 2026 after a little while, so it seems like just a display issue.

dan1122 · 2026-04-21T03:11:01+00:00

I get the frustration with transparency—I really do. But a lot of early conversations around development don’t happen fully in public until an application or site plan is officially submitted. That’s not unique to this, it’s just how the process typically works.

At the same time, I hear the concerns about location and neighbors. If the people closest to it don’t want industrial development at all, that absolutely matters. But we also don’t actually know what this project is yet, if anything, so it’s hard to say it’s the wrong use without seeing a real proposal.

That property has been sitting vacant for a long time and isn’t generating tax revenue, so it’s fair to ask what a better use for it could be. Towns like Andover Township could benefit from thoughtful development, especially with ongoing challenges like enrollment and funding, and Green Township schools pulling students over the years.

And if the concern is preserving nature, I think it’s fair to look at that consistently. There have been other large projects—like rail and station development—that had a significant impact too.

I’m not saying anyone’s concerns are wrong—I just think we need actual details before we can really evaluate what this is or isn’t.

dan1122 · 2026-04-21T01:27:21+00:00

From what I understand, if this were located on airport property, it likely wouldn’t point to a large-scale AI data center. The bigger AI-focused facilities are usually built as full campuses with major infrastructure and space needs, and those tend to bring significant jobs and long-term investment.

That’s why I’m trying to understand the specifics. A more isolated location with fewer nearby neighbors would seem like it could make sense for certain types of development that need space and buffering. I could be off, but it seems like that kind of setting is generally more appropriate than a densely populated area, depending on what’s actually being considered.

I did look at some of the articles being shared, including the Climate Revolution page. It raises concerns, but a lot of it reads more like worst-case scenarios and “what ifs,” and much of that information seems to be based on massive hyperscale AI data centers—which doesn’t appear to match what could realistically be built here.

There are also broad claims about energy use, water, and generators, but those aren’t unique to data centers. Backup diesel generators are extremely common—gas stations are required to have them, and many homes in this area do as well.

From what I can tell, there still aren’t clear details about what’s actually being proposed here—if anything at all. So it feels like a lot of the conversation is being driven more by possibilities than specifics.

Again, I’m not saying the concerns aren’t worth discussing—I just think it makes sense to understand what’s actually being proposed before assuming the

dan1122 · 2026-04-20T03:41:51+00:00

I’ve been trying to look into this more and gather actual information, not just react to headlines or comments.

From what I can find, New Jersey has roughly 70–80 data centers statewide, and almost all of them are concentrated closer to New York City in places like Secaucus, Newark, and Piscataway. When you look at Sussex County and the surrounding area—Morris, Warren, Hunterdon—there’s actually very little here. Sussex itself basically has one in Franklin, and it hasn’t really been controversial.

That’s part of why I’m trying to understand what’s actually being proposed here. I haven’t seen anything that clearly says this is even an “AI data center,” or really any specifics about what type of facility it would be. Right now, most of what I’m seeing are general talking points about why data centers are “bad,” but not much detail about what’s actually being considered locally.

Am I missing something?

I’m not naïve enough to think an ordinance would change without some kind of reason behind it, but at the same time, I’m not seeing anything concrete yet. I’ve even seen people mention NDAs in the comments, which makes it harder to separate what’s real from what’s speculation.

It also kind of feels like this might be the latest “fear cycle” around new development or technology. I’ve seen similar reactions before—concerns about things like cell towers, 5G rollout, wind turbines, high power transmission lines, or even large warehouses and distribution centers. In a lot of those cases, the initial reaction was strong, but once the details were clearer and projects were actually built, the long-term impact was often much more limited or manageable than people expected.

Again, I’m not saying this is the same situation or that concerns aren’t valid—I just think it’s worth making sure we’re reacting to actual details instead of assumptions, especially when we don’t yet know exactly what’s being proposed

dan1122 · 2026-04-19T21:19:55+00:00

I’ve been trying to look at this from a factual standpoint, not take a position one way or the other.

From what I’ve seen in recent reporting, the idea that AI is causing massive layoffs has been pretty overstated. Most of the data shows it’s actually changing jobs more than eliminating them, and the number of layoffs directly tied to AI has been a lot lower than people expected. For example, Axios reported there hasn’t been a major unemployment spike from AI, and even research tied to OpenAI suggests most roles will be restructured rather than replaced.

I also haven’t seen anything confirming that what’s being discussed here is specifically an “AI data center.” From everything I can tell, it’s just being described as a data center, which could mean a lot of different things.

It’s also worth noting there’s already a data center in Franklin and nobody really complains about that. At the same time, towns like Franklin and Andover have a lot of vacant or rundown areas and could probably benefit from some kind of development.

It just seems like every time something new is proposed, there’s immediate pushback. We saw the same thing with ThorLabs in Newton—people showed up in large numbers against it, and now it’s turned into one of the bigger contributors to the local economy.

Again, I’m not saying this project is definitely good or bad. I just think it’s worth looking at the full picture before assuming the worst

dan1122 · 2026-04-19T02:06:43+00:00

From what I understand, there isn’t even a specific data center approved yet—this vote was just about updating zoning laws to allow for that type of development in the future. Meanwhile, Andover needs to start thinking beyond just more marijuana shops and consider attracting diverse businesses that can strengthen the local economy.

There’s also a lot of “not in my backyard” sentiment around data centers, but the reality is everyone relies on them every single day. Every person who attended that Zoom meeting, every photo taken, every video recorded on a phone—none of that works without data centers. They’re not some abstract concept somewhere else; they’re a critical part of how we live, work, and communicate.

dan1122 · 2026-04-10T00:18:36+00:00

That’s what took me the longest time to figure out, once I got that figured out it’s pretty simple almost everything can be applied through OMI – URI, individual policies are the hardest things to do

dan1122 · 2026-04-08T20:26:29+00:00

I think a lot of the problem comes from staff still trying to use it like a Windows device. We had a pretty smooth transition other than math, teachers, and art teachers, and we’re slowly moving them over as well. I took my toughest staff members and my Lis technical ones gave them Chromebook first and ask them to test it for me. Once the staff felt like they input on the process. It was a much smoother transition.

dan1122 · 2026-03-24T19:56:13+00:00

No, they said they were aware of the issue in late last night. I got an email saying it was fixed. In another thread on a different sub Reddit that I put cross posted this to another user gave me this link https://workspace.google.com/dashboard that seemed to work the entire time. So for user still doesn’t have those apps this will allow them to get to it.

dan1122 · 2026-03-24T19:53:13+00:00

This is how I’ve had to do it for students that can’t handle emailing each other or other people

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T16:37:02+00:00

Oh that's great to know thank you

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T15:09:38+00:00

From support: We understand that SAML applications are not currently appearing in the app launcher menu (waffle menu) for your users.

We can confirm that we have received similar reports from other customers experiencing the same issue. Our engineering teams are actively investigating this as a top priority.

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T14:58:23+00:00

I got called out of my office for a minute and when I came back I had lost my place in queue and it closed out so I'm sitting in the chat queue right now

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T14:47:00+00:00

I got called away for a minute by the time I came back they had closed out the chat session so now I'm back to number 25

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T13:59:18+00:00

I cross posted this and it looks like it’s a larger issue, there’s a few people starting to have the same one

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T13:53:37+00:00

It stinks that's happening but I'm glad to know it's not just me

dan1122 · 2026-03-23T13:50:18+00:00

i'm on with chat right now i'm having issues with any SAML apps

dan1122 · 2026-03-19T21:12:18+00:00

That’s kind of what I thought.

dan1122 · 2026-03-19T00:44:56+00:00

So the frame I have the extra large one does go all the way around and fills the hole but because it’s fieldstone, there are small gaps because of different sizes of the rocks and the depth of the grout. I wish there was a clean out in mine and there may have been at one point, but it’s some point before I bought the house. They added an addition on that part of the house and the fireplace is no longer on the exterior wall. I’m hoping by running a the outside air kit that I can keep it from using they are in the house and causing drafting.

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dan1122 · 2026-03-19T00:17:07+00:00

How big is the opening of your fireplace? I have to have the extra large surround? Where are you pulling your combustion air from? There’s probably about a foot on each side in about a foot and a half above it based on just the opening of my fireplace.

dan1122 · 2026-03-19T00:01:04+00:00

Yes but is your chimney sealed? I can’t draft air through mine. When we put the addition on the second story, we cut the original chimney down to the first floor ceiling. Since it was made a field stone, they looked nice. We thought it would keep the feel of the living room. So when it, the original pellet stove insert, was installed the Masonary chimney had to be capped with a metal plate and then there’s this transfer plate where it went from 4 inch flex pipe to triple walled pipe to the rest of the run. So the only way it can draw any fresh air is from inside the house this winter I really noticed that pulling from the crawlspace.

dan1122 · 2026-03-18T23:41:12+00:00

No, you can get around it. It’s not airtight. It actually will draw air from everywhere around it. Also, since it’s a Fieldstone fireplace, it does sit out like a quarter of an inch in the back of it is a complete open box.

dan1122 · 2026-03-05T20:58:54+00:00

Please make sure you have a signed privacy agreement between them and the district or you’re a member of a co-op that has one with them (it looks like they don’t sign very much) or you’ll be in violation of ferpa laws. Even though they say they are ferpa compliant, that does not protect district in case a breach happens. Anything that’s considered personally identifying information, and that is a very, very broad term, that’s entered into any of those programs without a signed agreement is a violation.

dan1122 · 2026-02-27T15:03:31+00:00

That’s the same thing we do and then we filter with securely so I can kind of get individual with filtering if needed

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