AARoads Forum

Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Roadgeekteen on January 02, 2018, 05:09:43 PM

Title: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 02, 2018, 05:09:43 PM
I watch him and he makes very cool videos. I don't travel much and he has good coverage of all of the US. If you have not watched him then I would recommend checking him out.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: adventurernumber1 on January 02, 2018, 06:23:21 PM
I absolutely love the Freewayjim YouTube channel. He is no doubt one of my favorite YouTubers, and among the ones I watch the most. I so highly look forward to his season of road videos each year. He is truly excellent at making high-quality road videos - I can tell he puts a lot of work, thought, and love into it. While it puts him at risk for getting copyrght strikes from YouTube, I also love that he puts a lot of good music in his videos. He is also very good about putting interesting and significant information about not only the roads and bridges and etc., but even the musicians whose music is presented in the video, at times. I hope his channel continues to grow and prosper, and I will certainly continue to be a huge supporter!!  :nod:

:thumbsup:  :thumbsup:

Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Hurricane Rex on January 02, 2018, 11:47:22 PM
I watch him a lot as well. Currently I'm researching season 16.
He truly set the standsrd on what a roadway youtuber should do. Only stretch I would request from him is I 5 between Sacramento and Portland.
Also why isn't he on this forum yet?
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on January 02, 2018, 11:52:25 PM
My experiences with the man himself indicate he's kind of a douche, so that turned me off from him.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: bugo on January 02, 2018, 11:53:08 PM
There are plenty of other road videographers besides Jim Georges.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Duke87 on January 02, 2018, 11:56:25 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 02, 2018, 05:09:43 PM
I would recommend checking him out.

So long as you return him within three weeks. Otherwise you'll have to pay a late fee.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: cl94 on January 02, 2018, 11:58:54 PM
Eh, you probably wouldn't like him if you met him in person. He hates "massholes".
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Henry on January 03, 2018, 12:08:16 AM
I agree, he sets a gold standard in roadgeek videos with his warp-speed driving accompanied by a wide selection of driving tunes, along with various graphics that show the current route number/type and sometimes notes on specific locations on the road.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: US71 on January 03, 2018, 12:30:03 AM
He does good videos, yes. Sadly, he leans Far Right and has limited tolerance for opposing views. He holds Facebook chats about once a week to brag about his latest work.

Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: bugo on January 03, 2018, 02:34:27 AM
I didn't want to be the one to come out and say it...but yes, he is alt-right. I don't watch his videos because I don't like sped up videos. As I said, road videographers are a dime a dozen. I've made a few of my own videos. The difference is that most videographers don't have cutesy names and don't market their "brand" to young children. Get off the "freeway" and check out some of the side roads. They're often much more interesting.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: US71 on January 03, 2018, 12:38:02 PM
Quote from: bugo on January 03, 2018, 02:34:27 AM
I didn't want to be the one to come out and say it...but yes, he is alt-right. I don't watch his videos because I don't like sped up videos. As I said, road videographers are a dime a dozen. I've made a few of my own videos. The difference is that most videographers don't have cutesy names and don't market their "brand" to young children. Get off the "freeway" and check out some of the side roads. They're often much more interesting.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. --Charles Kuralt
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: J N Winkler on January 03, 2018, 01:19:08 PM
Quote from: Hurricane Rex on January 02, 2018, 11:47:22 PMAlso why isn't he on this forum yet?

In the case of old-timers who are on some forums and not others (and Jim Georges is definitely an old-timer since I remember him from the MTR days), it is often a conscious decision not to join or participate in various discussion spaces.  Some have a portfolio of different interests and have to ration the time they allocate to each.  Others have philosophical disagreements with the format and management structure of certain types of forum:  for example, unlike Usenet where control is decentralized and a person can set an X-No-Archive header to prevent indefinite public archiving of his or her posts, a Web forum such as this puts you at the mercy of centralized control (since by default a physical or juridical person arranges for Web hosting and the back-end database service) and limits your capacity to assert copyright over the content of your posts.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: AsphaltPlanet on January 03, 2018, 01:33:30 PM
I think he probably prefers his own facebook group to this style forum as well.  His ego is stroked pretty well and pretty regularly on his facebook group.  He gets to be king of the castle there.  While I am sure he would be welcomed warmly here, I don't think he'd get the same kind of preferential treatment as he does on his own forum.

That said though, he does do excellent road videos.

I softened the wording of my original post, it sounded more negative than I intended
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: kphoger on January 03, 2018, 01:52:28 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 03, 2018, 12:38:02 PM
Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. --Charles Kuralt

I-70 begs to differ.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Avalanchez71 on January 03, 2018, 01:57:16 PM
I-70 was way better when it was two lanes through the San Rafael swell.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: hotdogPi on January 03, 2018, 01:58:40 PM
Quote from: kphoger on January 03, 2018, 01:52:28 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 03, 2018, 12:38:02 PM
Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. --Charles Kuralt

I-70 begs to differ.

The statement is still true despite Breezewood (using his definition of "see anything"), since you are not forced to use I-70 to travel coast-to-coast.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: adventurernumber1 on January 03, 2018, 02:14:50 PM
Actually, Freewayjim does have an account on this forum, from what I can tell. Sometime awhile ago when I was browsing the forum, I remember for a fact that I saw him post somewhere. This is him: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=88


Also, I have seen other roadgeek YouTubers have accounts on this forum. Another is Tom Valazak of CrossCountryRoads, and this is him: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=10568

CrossCountryRoads is another one of my favorite and among my most-watched YouTube channels. Tom has an absolutely excellent channel and site (CrossCountryRoads.com). For those of you who are more into more real-time road videos, this YouTube channel would be a great choice for you (regarding that, another good YouTube channel is BigRigTravels). I absolutely love both real-time and Time-lapse road videos (and sometimes even a slow-motion road video can be intriguing for me, and I actually do those sometimes on my own channel). Tom of CrossCountryRoads heavily covers interstates, as his dream goal is to document every mile of interstate highway in the country.


Of course, as can be seen by visiting both of these peoples' profiles on this forum, both post very infrequently, so it would be completely understandable that many of you didn't know that they were even on here.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: kphoger on January 03, 2018, 02:20:08 PM
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 03, 2018, 02:14:50 PM
Actually, Freewayjim does have an account on this forum, from what I can tell. Sometime awhile ago when I was browsing the forum, I remember for a fact that I saw him post somewhere. This is him: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=88


Also, I have seen other roadgeek YouTubers have accounts on this forum. Another is Tom Valazak of CrossCountryRoads, and this is him: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=10568

CrossCountryRoads is another one of my favorite and among my most-watched YouTube channels. Tom has an absolutely excellent channel and site (CrossCountryRoads.com). For those of you who are more into more real-time road videos, this YouTube channel would be a great choice for you (regarding that, another good YouTube channel is BigRigTravels). I absolutely love both real-time and Time-lapse road videos (and sometimes even a slow-motion road video can be intriguing for me, and I actually do those sometimes on my own channel). Tom of CrossCountryRoads heavily covers interstates, as his dream goal is to document every mile of interstate highway in the country.


Of course, as can be seen by visiting both of these peoples' profiles on this forum, both post very infrequently, so it would be completely understandable that many of you didn't know that they were even on here.

FWJ doesn't appear to have any activity since 2010.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: cl94 on January 03, 2018, 02:23:16 PM
I always preferred Calrog's videos over those made by FWJ. Some of them are funny.  :-D
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Brandon on January 03, 2018, 02:46:04 PM
Quote from: cl94 on January 03, 2018, 02:23:16 PM
I always preferred Calrog's videos over those made by FWJ. Some of them are funny.  :-D

Greetings, fellow viatologists!
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: cl94 on January 03, 2018, 02:55:50 PM
Quote from: Brandon on January 03, 2018, 02:46:04 PM
Quote from: cl94 on January 03, 2018, 02:23:16 PM
I always preferred Calrog's videos over those made by FWJ. Some of them are funny.  :-D

Greetings, fellow viatologists!

Of course, some of us here are professional viatologists and get paid to study roads. :cool:

In case the newbies here aren't familiar, from his website:

Quote
Q: What is viatology?

A: Viatology is the scientific study of highways.   Empirical observation and reporting of roads defines this field of study.

Q: How did this term come to be?

The term was coined by Carl Rogers in August 2007 after many years of travel into several countries and the inherent lack of a scientific term to discuss what he and fellow cohorts engaged.   Prior to the development of this term, vernacular terms like "road scholar" or "roadgeek" were commonplace in small caucasian groups of North America.

Q: What is the etymology behind viatology?

A: The term "via" refers to one of the earliest highways in western history, the Appian Way (Via Appia). As you may know, "-ology" refers to the study of something. If you notice a "t" in viatology, that's simply the conjunction between "via"and "-ology".

Q: What is a viatologist?

A: A viatologist is any person who scientifically contributes to the field of viatology. Viatologists can be found on each continent of the globe, practising the science in many different languages.

Q: Are there international translations for the term?

A: Yes.  The term viatology is also be ported into other languages for a similar meaning:

français: la viatologie
italiano: la viatologia
Deutsch: die Viatologie
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 03, 2018, 03:05:53 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 03, 2018, 12:30:03 AM
He does good videos, yes. Sadly, he leans Far Right and has limited tolerance for opposing views. He holds Facebook chats about once a week to brag about his latest work.
I don't really care about youtubers political beliefs.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: hbelkins on January 03, 2018, 03:17:36 PM
Sorry to see that some are bashing Jim because of his political views. His beliefs are no more conservative than, say, mine, or Scott Kozel's, or many others. I presume that those of you who dislike Jim because he votes differently than you have the same contempt for me.

I think you can ask CPZ how Jim gets along with others of different viewpoints. To my observation, Jim and CPZ get along fine and can discuss differences in a civilized manner.

My understanding is that Jim's a native of New Hampshire, which might explain his dislike of Massholes. But he's a Cheatriots fan, so there's that.

I've met Jim once -- at the winter '08 Atlanta meet. Definitely a friendly enough and likeable guy.

There are a large number of old-timers who, for some reason or another, never made the journey here. Gene VanDussedorp (GR Van), Mark Roberts are two who come to mind immediately. In many ways, Facebook and its various groups have provided the substitute.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: J N Winkler on January 03, 2018, 03:52:22 PM
I am a member of the FreewayJim Facebook group, though I have disabled notifications for it.  I consider myself sensitive to political coloration, and it has never struck me as having a strong slant toward either the left or the right.  Political discussion in threads is strongly discouraged.  However, I say this without having listened to any of Jim's chats, since they are not captioned (even auto-captioned).

My reservations are more about the high membership count (leads to a high proportion of well-intentioned newbie posts), the strict photo guidelines (both the photos with car hoods etc. in them and the resulting slapdowns are equally annoying, and make me feel disinclined to post anything other than screencaps from sign panel detail sheets), and the discussions about accompanying music I can't hear (I'm all about the roads and could care less about YouTube muting).

As a person who leans strongly to the left but has a deep interest in guide signs, I have had to make my peace with the fact that the majority of the traffic engineers I know who are open about their politics on social media are quite conservative.  Moreover, there are some of the few who describe themselves as liberal that I would instead characterize as centrist or center-right.  And I suspect there are many others who "submarine" their politics but are nevertheless conservative.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: chays on January 03, 2018, 03:54:42 PM
I don't know anything about him, but reading through all of his posts (there are less than 50), he didn't seem to post anything controversial or overly ego-centric.

In fact, the only time I found him delving into any politics is this post:
QuoteGeneral Highway Talk / Re: Barack Obama Freeway?
« on: January 24, 2009, 04:04:11 PM »
Rename I-395 within the DC city limits after him once he leaves office, even if he's a bust as a president he will always be a historical figure and deserve the recognition.

Seems reasonable enough to me.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: AsphaltPlanet on January 03, 2018, 04:35:29 PM
I was formerly a member of the freewayjim facebook group as well (back when i had a facebook account), and I agree that there is a definite lack of political commentary on the group.  It was actually something that I really liked about the group -- and I respected Jim for fostering that type of community.  I am going to echo JN's sentiments above my post though, I found that facebook group always seemed overrun with well intentioned noobs.  I grew tired of feeling that I had to 'react' on facebook to every picture that some members found on the internet -- it was ultimately the deciding factor for my decision to leave the group.

One thing that does need to be said about Freewayjim is that he knows how to drive.  I'm always impressed by the maneuvers he makes in traffic.  It's something I like to call "freeway space management".  He's got it figured out.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Otto Yamamoto on January 03, 2018, 11:17:51 PM
I use the projector mod for my Moto Z2 to project his videos on a wall. The cats love it.

P00I

Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Avalanchez71 on January 04, 2018, 01:42:22 PM
Remember to watch the ads all the way through the videos so he can get the ad revenue.

I had forgotten about his work.  Went back and subscribed to his page.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: index on January 04, 2018, 01:49:41 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 02, 2018, 11:52:25 PM
My experiences with the man himself indicate he's kind of a douche, so that turned me off from him.

If it is okay with you, could you elaborate on this?
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: AsphaltPlanet on January 04, 2018, 02:00:50 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on January 04, 2018, 01:42:22 PM
Remember to watch the ads all the way through the videos so he can get the ad revenue.

I had forgotten about his work.  Went back and subscribed to his page.

He doesn't get any ad revenue.  If you use licenced music, you forgo the privilege of collecting revenue from youtube.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: adventurernumber1 on January 04, 2018, 02:04:47 PM
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on January 04, 2018, 02:00:50 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on January 04, 2018, 01:42:22 PM
Remember to watch the ads all the way through the videos so he can get the ad revenue.

I had forgotten about his work.  Went back and subscribed to his page.

He doesn't get any ad revenue.  If you use licenced music, you forgo the privilege of collecting revenue from youtube.

That is exactly right. For example, Steve of BigRigTravels has live road video broadcasts, but he cannot possibly play any music in his truck (he is a trucker), because IIRC, he collects revenue from his videos. So there is never music playing in his videos, just the sound of the good ole highway and vehicle.  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 04, 2018, 03:53:26 PM
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 04, 2018, 02:04:47 PM
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on January 04, 2018, 02:00:50 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on January 04, 2018, 01:42:22 PM
Remember to watch the ads all the way through the videos so he can get the ad revenue.

I had forgotten about his work.  Went back and subscribed to his page.

He doesn't get any ad revenue.  If you use licenced music, you forgo the privilege of collecting revenue from youtube.

That is exactly right. For example, Steve of BigRigTravels has live road video broadcasts, but he cannot possibly play any music in his truck (he is a trucker), because IIRC, he collects revenue from his videos. So there is never music playing in his videos, just the sound of the good ole highway and vehicle.  :biggrin:
Is he one who does videos live? I don't like those types of road videos because I have a short attention span.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: US71 on January 04, 2018, 05:44:32 PM
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on January 04, 2018, 02:00:50 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on January 04, 2018, 01:42:22 PM
Remember to watch the ads all the way through the videos so he can get the ad revenue.

I had forgotten about his work.  Went back and subscribed to his page.

He doesn't get any ad revenue.  If you use licenced music, you forgo the privilege of collecting revenue from youtube.

He has had a few songs flagged for "illegal use" or something. I don't remember the exact details.

Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: kphoger on January 04, 2018, 05:52:32 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 03, 2018, 03:05:53 PM
I don't really care about youtubers political beliefs.

+1

And I don't boycott stores because of where their owners donate their profits to, either.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: adventurernumber1 on January 04, 2018, 06:08:52 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 04, 2018, 03:53:26 PM
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 04, 2018, 02:04:47 PM
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on January 04, 2018, 02:00:50 PM
Quote from: Avalanchez71 on January 04, 2018, 01:42:22 PM
Remember to watch the ads all the way through the videos so he can get the ad revenue.

I had forgotten about his work.  Went back and subscribed to his page.

He doesn't get any ad revenue.  If you use licenced music, you forgo the privilege of collecting revenue from youtube.

That is exactly right. For example, Steve of BigRigTravels has live road video broadcasts, but he cannot possibly play any music in his truck (he is a trucker), because IIRC, he collects revenue from his videos. So there is never music playing in his videos, just the sound of the good ole highway and vehicle.  :biggrin:
Is he one who does videos live? I don't like those types of road videos because I have a short attention span.

He is. Steve of BigRigTravels does live road videos all the time, most of the time probably, because he usually does live Highway streams whenever he is on the road, except for too close to the locations for his pickup and delivery facilities (regarding trucking) for privacy reasons.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: hbelkins on January 04, 2018, 07:49:15 PM
Quote from: index on January 04, 2018, 01:49:41 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 02, 2018, 11:52:25 PM
My experiences with the man himself indicate he's kind of a douche, so that turned me off from him.

If it is okay with you, could you elaborate on this?

My one personal meeting with him was pleasant enough. No douchery noted.
Title: Re: Anyone else watch freewayjim?
Post by: SSOWorld on January 04, 2018, 11:36:10 PM
In all fairness this is a good topic to ask.  I enjoy the work he does and will continue to watch it. 


However, it got derailed through political and personal attacks.  Locking due to that. Sorry.