Random Thoughts

[kurumi]

Sort of on-topic for an off-topic thread: the neighboring towns of Sharon, CT and Cornwall, CT have 8 numbered highways: 4, 7, 41, 43, 125, 128, 343, 361. All 8 of them have only a single prime factor.

7, 41, and 43 are prime.
The others are 2², 2⁷, 5³, 7³, and 19².

Where primes and powered primes are about 1/2 of all CT route numbers, then the chance of 8 at random doing this is about (1/2)⁸, or 1 in 256.

Edit: 2⁴ should have been 2², good catch CNGL-Leudimin

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I don't see route 16 (= 2⁴) among the listed ones. I see 2², though.

[D-Dey65]

If Sunrise Highway had been extended beyond Shinnecock Hills, something like this would've been a great feature at the rest areas.

[vdeane]

If Sunrise Highway had been extended beyond Shinnecock Hills, something like this would've been a great feature at the rest areas.

FYI (and for anyone else linking to my site's photos), adding &link to the end of the URL of a route page in the gallery will shift the image display from the current gallery to the older one where each photo had its own page.  That's what I use when I make photo links (it was also used for Internet Explorer since IE didn't support the code used for the current image display).

[Max Rockatansky]

My won concert tickets on the radio this morning.  This has happened three times since I met her in 2017.

[Scott5114]

My won concert tickets on the radio this morning.  This has happened three times since I met her in 2017.

I always wonder how many entrants there are to things like that. Given how few people listen to over-the-air radio these days, it's probably not many.

[kphoger]

Given how few people listen to over-the-air radio these days ...

I don't think that's true.  Recent studies show that more than 80% of Americans listen to over-the-air radio at least weekly, and even 55% of Gen Z listen to it every day.  From 2009 to 2022, the percentage of Americans over age twelve who listen to AM/FM every week has only dropped from 92% to 82%, according to Pew research.  There are reportedly more people in this country who listen to the radio than use Facebook.

As of Q1 2024, Edison Research found that people over the age 35 get 74% of their non-premium (i.e., ad-supported) audio from over-the-air radio.  The only age bracket with less than 50% was ages 18-34, and that seems to be primarily because of how many podcasts that demographic listens to instead.

[CoreySamson]

I mean, to add my personal experience as a member of Gen Z, I really only listen to the radio for Houston Texans games (when they are not blacked out), or if I've used too much cellular data for the month (too cheap to pay the unlimited plan) and I can't stream music from Spotify. I maybe listen a couple times a year (this month I have only listened to it once or twice). And I suspect that my experience is not unique among Gen Z.

[Big John]

My won concert tickets on the radio this morning.  This has happened three times since I met her in 2017.

I always wonder how many entrants there are to things like that. Given how few people listen to over-the-air radio these days, it's probably not many.

Was it one of those "national contests" that some stations pull?

[ZLoth]

I only listen to WRR 101 for the classical music for short trips. Otherwise, it's stuff that I'm streaming from my server to the Bluetooth in my car. Right now, it's audiobooks, but it also could be music from my Plex instance.

I've lived in the DFW area for six years, but am hard pressed to even name off even the two EAS English primary stations. One of them is a FM station.

[CoreySamson]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

[kkt]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

That's a lot of guests.  If an AI starts advocating for upgrading every 2-lane road to an interstate, I guess we'll know why.

[formulanone]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

That's a lot of guests.  If an AI starts advocating for upgrading every 2-lane road to an interstate, I guess we'll know why.

Nah, they just want more bandwidth.

[Max Rockatansky]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

That's a lot of guests.  If an AI starts advocating for upgrading every 2-lane road to an interstate, I guess we'll know why.

Nah, they just want more bandwidth.

You'll know AI is taking over when there starts to be posts that copy/paste Wikipedia article texts and images.

[vdeane]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

That's a lot of guests.  If an AI starts advocating for upgrading every 2-lane road to an interstate, I guess we'll know why.

I guess if we ask Google about the North American highway system and it says something about the 15 North American countries (including Alanland), then we'll know.

[1995hoo]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

That's a lot of guests.  If an AI starts advocating for upgrading every 2-lane road to an interstate, I guess we'll know why.

I guess if we ask Google about the North American highway system and it says something about the 15 North American countries (including Alanland), then we'll know.

Do a Google search for "What is Alanland" and you'll find some....interesting results.

[Scott5114]

An interesting observation... the number of guests on the forum has been skyrocketing. Yesterday we had over 3000 guests online at once, which is a new record. I assume this increase has something to do with AI data collecting?

That's a lot of guests.  If an AI starts advocating for upgrading every 2-lane road to an interstate, I guess we'll know why.

I guess if we ask Google about the North American highway system and it says something about the 15 North American countries (including Alanland), then we'll know.

Do a Google search for "What is Alanland" and you'll find some....interesting results.

I think my favorite is "An orange cat blessed with opposable thumbs, Alan is convinced he was born to rule..."

[CoreySamson]

I think my favorite is "An orange cat blessed with opposable thumbs, Alan is convinced he was born to rule..."

That's actually the opening line in four different novels in Alanland.

[Max Rockatansky]

When did we start referring to traffic jams as "congestion?"  The latter sounds like something I should try to resolve with Mucinex.

[Big John]

When did we start referring to traffic jams as "congestion?"  The latter sounds like something I should try to resolve with Mucinex.

I have always heard that term. Might be longer than you think: https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/en/publications/historical-perspective-of-urban-traffic-congestion

[jeffandnicole]

When did we start referring to traffic jams as "congestion?"  The latter sounds like something I should try to resolve with Mucinex.

Better than when people say a highway with no intersections is gridlocked.

[ZLoth]

From Cheezburger (Humor Website):

27 Driving Memes to Help Speed Up Your Morning Commute

You've finally gained the courage to get out of your warm bed and warm up your car. You force yourself to shower, force yourself to get out of the shower, then throw on clothes while you're still damp. You realize it's already 7:55 AM. You hop to your car on one foot because your shoe is in your other hand. You enter the car. Then, in a stroke of luck, you realize you have enough gas to get you to work and back.

As you get on the road, you notice some intense traffic congestion. It's one of those days, isn't it?

You make sullen eye contact with other folks commuting to work as you sip the day-old coffee you left in your car. It doesn't taste good. Oh well. By the time you move exactly one mile, you realize your boss will be receiving a length "I'm so sorry about this" Teams message. In gridlock traffic, you pull out your phone and realize you've just spilled your day-old coffee on yourself. It is one of those days, indeed.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[LilianaUwU]

From Cheezburger (content farm):

FTFY

[ZLoth]

From Cheezburger (content farm):

FTFY

Truth.

[kphoger]

My desk calendar at work has Groundhog Day labeled.  I'm trying to imagine a work situation in which that would be useful...