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#1

Pacific Southwest / Old CA 58 North Barstow

Last post by Max Rockatansky - Today at 09:51:20 AM

Old Highway 58 is a relinquished portion of what was once US Route 466 in the North Barstow area.  US Route 466 served the North Barstow area from 1933 until it was truncated to Baker during June 1964.  The segment would become the easternmost portion of California State Route 58 which remained as an active highway until 1996 when freeway south of downtown Barstow opened.  Old Highway 58 has numerous remaining Caltrans signs and more or less functions as an alternative northern bypass of downtown Barstow. 

https://www.gribblenation.org/2024/04/legacy-of-us-route-466-part-5-old.html?m=1

#2

Traffic Control / Re: HAWK Thread

Last post by JoePCool14 - Today at 09:50:27 AM

Yikes. At least one of the options for compliance appears to be RRFBs. Still requires more electrical work, but not as substantial as full hybrid beacons. It's too bad there wasn't a pedestrian traffic study need as an option to bypass the requirement. It's not worth installing if you get perhaps a few dozen pedestrians per day crossing.

As for PROWAG, I'm scheduled to attend some seminars on it for work in a couple weeks. It'll be interesting to see if this is addressed.

#3

Off-Topic / Re: Layoffs at Tesla

Last post by 1995hoo - Today at 09:35:53 AM

Regarding Musk, I'm 36 percent of the way through Walter Isaacson's biography of him. It's a very interesting read. Worth getting a copy if you're interested in Tesla, SpaceX, or Musk generally. I had previously read Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs and I found it worthwhile, so when I saw he had written one about Musk I decided to read that as well.

(Back in 2017 or so I read an earlier Musk biography by Ashlee Vance. It was a good read as well, but Isaacson's is far more up-to-date given the whole Twitter saga of the last few years, Tesla's rollout of additional vehicle models, SpaceX's manned missions, and the Boring Company. The line in that one that stands out to me was when he talked about Musk's penchant for setting unrealistic deadlines and not recognizing that people cannot simply work nonstop without breaks. A colleague told Mush something along the lines of, "Look, Elon, sometimes a person just has to take a really big dump.")

Anyone who is considering buying a Tesla ought to consider renting one from Hertz for a couple of days before taking the plunge. The driving experience is very different from a conventional car, and not just because of the electrification and the "one-pedal driving." Just about everything, and I do mean everything, runs through the touchscreen. I think I read that in the newest vehicles (including the newest iterations of existing models) they're even trying to eliminate the two stalks on the steering column that you use to shift gears, activate the turn signals, and operate the windshield wipers.

#4

Off-Topic / Re: Technology Random Access T...

Last post by SEWIGuy - Today at 09:35:31 AM

I am naturally good at math, but I use a calculator all of the time. I care more about accuracy than anything else, and its not any sort of badge of honor to do things in my head or on paper when I can get a 100% accurate answer in less time.

I also stopped writing in cursive as soon as they allowed me to and don't think it should be taught in schools at all.

#5

Off-Topic / Re: Technology Random Access T...

Last post by jeffandnicole - Today at 09:27:23 AM

To that grade school/junior high/high school teacher who insisted that calculators be banned and that we had to figure it out manually, with the reasoning that you would never carry a calculator around with you... how many scientific calculator apps are available for download now? Of course, because of cheating and such, there are only certain calculators that are approved for major exams, and they better have no WiFi connectivity.

Not to mention that, in the real world, anyone that cares about your answers being right would absolutely prefer you to use a calculator rather than relying on your thirty-year-old memories of the times table. When I worked as a casino cashier they supplied one of those huge ten-key adding machines for each cashier window. We were encouraged to use it any time we had even a shadow of a doubt that we had the total right. Better to take a minute to punch up the total on the ten-key than to think you have it right and overpay someone.

There is - at least should be - some balance between trying to do everything in you head and staring blank at $20+$1 for a $5.80 charge.

From a customer's point of view: Come on, give me my change.

From an employee's point of view: Procedures are to enter the amount I was provided. We've been instructed there's scam artists that will purposely try to trick cashiers. If I get an additional dollar after the fact, do I try to calculate the change myself? Will I get written up? If I give back the wrong change and my drawer is short, will I get written up?

Not everyone is a mathematician. And the customer's employment isn't on the line if the employee screws up.

#6

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by SEWIGuy - Today at 09:25:25 AM

Have you verified the bank's claim it'sa Verizon issue? Is there a way to log in on a non-Verizon device?

If it is Verizon, with it affecting all Verizon customers, it's really an issue the bank needs to work out with Verizon. That does seem like something where general troubleshooting won't resolve the issue.

My phone seems to work better, though I don't like the idea of trying to do my banking over the phone.  The small screen size is really inconvenient (I don't have tethering), I'm not sure if the site would even work (even trying to book an eye exam triggers the "some content was removed to save memory" message, bricking the site), and the cell networks strike me as being basically the same as a giant public wifi network from a security perspective (can you Firesheep a cell phone?  No idea, but I don't see why not, other than SSL updates making the world move on from that particular threat).

I do all my banking over the phone on its app. It's very convenient. I do all my investing, retirement savings, bill paying, etc. in a similar manner.

But I only use my home wifi. I use the cellular network if I am away from home.

#7

Off-Topic / Re: Layoffs at Tesla

Last post by SEWIGuy - Today at 09:20:42 AM

Layoffs aren't always an indication of a company's poor health. Companies are often over-staffed in certain areas, and laying people off allows them to hire in others - like Tesla did a couple years ago.

But EVs are slowing down. Interest rates are high which means cars cost more for people who borrow. This really isn't surprising.

As for Musk, he has always been more of a visionary than an operational leader. (Twitter aside - that was just a bad idea that has been executed poorly.)

#8

Off-Topic / Re: Technology Random Access T...

Last post by formulanone - Today at 09:16:13 AM

I still try to "make change" and work out things like multiplication/division tables in my head just to keep the dusty mathematician in my head happy. (Problem is, he obviously quit his job about midway through high school.)

If I need to look busy, I'll scribble out a math problem during things like expense reporting, or it's super useful for finding a good point to hang picture frames, re-arrange furniture, et cetera...when I need to sketch out the ideas and then the numbers just flow from there.

Technology-wise, there's still a lot of things I'm just stubborn or get forgetful. I sometimes forget the exact process for using our Fire stick and TV, because I might use it once every two months. Or recalling how to do things in Windows; I usually have to look up obscure features that I once used frequently 20 years ago.

And darn it, despite having loads of camera gear, I was mighty disappointed by my near-eclipse photos. I'll chalk that up to operator error, even though I've had my latest camera for over a year now. With so many more features and the camera over-thinking for you, sometimes there's moments you have to override several settings just to get exactly what you want out of it. Again, there's the humbling moment when I know others could probably get their desired results, because they practiced and learned for that moment and knew what to do, and I just winged it, and winged it some more. The best camera is the one in your hand, and the better camera is knowing to use it in that situation.

#9

General Highway Talk / Re: Excluding states that bord...

Last post by froggie - Today at 09:13:17 AM

Yeah I was going to say Texas. A ton of rental cars are tagged from there.

This is true, but TX/FL are also popular retirement/wintering states for Midwesterners, so that probably also explains some of it in MN/WI.

Another possible explanation is, especially in southern Minnesota west of Mankato, there are a lot of migrant farm workers.  Most of the Texas plates I see here are for that reason.

Since I never responded in the original 2020 thread, I'll respond here.  The bulk of non-adjacent out-of-state plates in Vermont hail from predictable locations:  Maine, Connecticut, and New Jersey.  During the summer, we also see a lot of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia up here.

#10

Northeast / Re: General PA Design/Construc...

Last post by 74/171FAN - Today at 09:10:43 AM

(For PA 36 and PA 949) PennDOT - District 10 News: Signal Replacement at the Route 36/949 Intersection to Begin April 22 in Jefferson County

PennDOT - District 10 News: Start Date Change for Signal Replacement at the Route 36/949 Intersection to Begin April 22 in Jefferson County

(For US 30 and US 322)  PennDOT - District 8 News: Work Continues at Route 30/Route 222 Interchange Improvement Project in Lancaster County

(For detour on DE 92)  PennDOT - District 6 News: HBO to Close Beaver Dam Road in Chadds Ford Township