various road trip observations...

drove to South Bend, IN and back over the last few days... return trip
ended at 3AM so I haven't caught up on old posts yet, but anyway...

the state of PA is apparently encouraging "zipper" merging; saw signs
saying "use both lanes to merge point" and "merge here - take your turn"
where I-70 was down to a single lane each way between Washington, PA and
Wheeling. PennDOT appears to actually be resurfacing I-70 completely as
opposed to the butcher job they did on the Turnpike a couple years ago,
maybe they are learning from their mistakes.

I don't know what the hell happened to the state of Ohio, however - I
used to enjoy driving in Ohio, except for the low speed limits and
hardcore cops - but on the trip out, my seat time was mostly from
Wheeling to Columbus and I never once used cruise control, and was near
constantly stuck behind a LLBer.

I was reminded of Fr*nk Kr*g*wsk* on the outbound trip, I said something
to my friend behind the wheel like "be careful here and slow down, this
is the worst f*cking freeway interchange in the whole US" (in reference
to I-79 northbound in Washington, PA where I-70 WB joins it) and even
with that warning he still expressed surprise at the tightness of the
second part of the cloverleaf, and the quantity and depth of the battle
scars on the Jersey barrier... I drove through this stretch on the way
back and the car in front of me slowed to about 40 MPH to take the I-79
SB ramp... he must have been doing a similar trip and expected that
ramp to be equally scary...

On the way back, I took the wheel at Zanesville and drove straight
through to Annapolis, with only one stop for gas right before Wheeling.
Driving very, very late at night is so relaxing compared to driving
during the day, especially when traffic is light enough to allow for use
of the high beams and/or you can find a good driver to pace at a
respectful distance so you can see a good ways down the road. Most of
the vehicles on the road seem to be actual good drivers, as opposed to
the morons clogging the road during the day. An exception would be the
idiot on I-70 right before I got off, who saw me gaining on him and
right as I was going to pull out to pass pulled into the middle lane and
just sat there right off my rear quarter for the mile or so until my
exit. WTF?

Couldn't find a can of Red Bull when I stopped for gas, bought some "Von
Dutch" brand energy drink. I'd be willing to bet that I'm one of the
few people who's ever bought same that actually knows who Von Dutch
was... gotta wonder what he'd think about having his name on a can of
fake Red Bull (although I have to admit that the stuff works; I was a
little tired feeling but not dangerously so when I stopped for gas; I
felt 100% for the next three hours and no worse than pre-stop at 3AM
when I finally arrived and realized that my body had molded itself to
the driver's seat. Remind me not to be stupid and take a 5-hour stint
after spending a day at a swap meet moving heavy car parts around.)

As for my car, it's apparently now getting Avanti (R1) power and a T-10
4-speed. Found a whole 4-speed setup for cheap enough I had to do it.
Got a line on a limited slip rear end in Jersey with traction bar mounts
so I might be doing another small road trip soon. This whole exercise
started 2 weeks ago when I took a running, driving car and was merely
going to pull the engine for new gaskets and a fresh coat of paint...
let this be a lesson to you, if you are obsessive-compulsive about your
car, old car ownership may not be for you, at least unless you like
spending lots of $$. Also found some trim parts I needed and overall
had a good time, and at least the drive home was very relaxing (although
I did wish we'd been driving my Porsche with the E-code H4s - but then
again, you can't fit three people, luggage, and a buttload of car parts
in a Porsche)

time to get another cup of coffee...

nate


--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
...
> drove to South Bend, IN and back over the last few days... return trip
> ended at 3AM so I haven't caught up on old posts yet, but anyway...
>
> the state of PA is apparently encouraging "zipper" merging; saw signs
> saying "use both lanes to merge point" and "merge here - take your turn"
> where I-70 was down to a single lane each way between Washington, PA and
> Wheeling. PennDOT appears to actually be resurfacing I-70 completely as
> opposed to the butcher job they did on the Turnpike a couple years ago,
> maybe they are learning from their mistakes.
>
> I don't know what the hell happened to the state of Ohio, however - I used
> to enjoy driving in Ohio, except for the low speed limits and hardcore
> cops - but on the trip out, my seat time was mostly from Wheeling to
> Columbus and I never once used cruise control, and was near constantly
> stuck behind a LLBer.
>
> I was reminded of Fr*nk Kr*g*wsk* on the outbound trip, I said something
> to my friend behind the wheel like "be careful here and slow down, this is
> the worst f*cking freeway interchange in the whole US" (in reference to
> I-79 northbound in Washington, PA where I-70 WB joins it) and even with
> that warning he still expressed surprise at the tightness of the second
> part of the cloverleaf, and the quantity and depth of the battle scars on
> the Jersey barrier... I drove through this stretch on the way back and
> the car in front of me slowed to about 40 MPH to take the I-79 SB ramp...
> he must have been doing a similar trip and expected that ramp to be
> equally scary...
>
> On the way back, I took the wheel at Zanesville and drove straight through
> to Annapolis, with only one stop for gas right before Wheeling. Driving
> very, very late at night is so relaxing compared to driving during the
> day, especially when traffic is light enough to allow for use of the high
> beams and/or you can find a good driver to pace at a respectful distance
> so you can see a good ways down the road. Most of the vehicles on the
> road seem to be actual good drivers, as opposed to the morons clogging the
> road during the day. An exception would be the idiot on I-70 right before
> I got off, who saw me gaining on him and right as I was going to pull out
> to pass pulled into the middle lane and just sat there right off my rear
> quarter for the mile or so until my exit. WTF?
>
> Couldn't find a can of Red Bull when I stopped for gas, bought some "Von
> Dutch" brand energy drink. I'd be willing to bet that I'm one of the few
> people who's ever bought same that actually knows who Von Dutch was...
> gotta wonder what he'd think about having his name on a can of fake Red
> Bull (although I have to admit that the stuff works; I was a little tired
> feeling but not dangerously so when I stopped for gas; I felt 100% for the
> next three hours and no worse than pre-stop at 3AM when I finally arrived
> and realized that my body had molded itself to the driver's seat. Remind
> me not to be stupid and take a 5-hour stint after spending a day at a swap
> meet moving heavy car parts around.)
>
> As for my car, it's apparently now getting Avanti (R1) power and a T-10
> 4-speed. Found a whole 4-speed setup for cheap enough I had to do it. Got
> a line on a limited slip rear end in Jersey with traction bar mounts so I
> might be doing another small road trip soon. This whole exercise started
> 2 weeks ago when I took a running, driving car and was merely going to
> pull the engine for new gaskets and a fresh coat of paint... let this be a
> lesson to you, if you are obsessive-compulsive about your car, old car
> ownership may not be for you, at least unless you like spending lots of
> $$. Also found some trim parts I needed and overall had a good time, and
> at least the drive home was very relaxing (although I did wish we'd been
> driving my Porsche with the E-code H4s - but then again, you can't fit
> three people, luggage, and a buttload of car parts in a Porsche)
>
> time to get another cup of coffee...
>
> nate

Once you become a trucker and get to drive in every major city, in every
state, you'll soon understand that washington pa is a piece of cake. I've
run that road for years 2 or 3 times a week. Those signs you mention have
been up for over 10 years now. At ;east there in Pa they give you notice,
here in texas, your lucky to see any kind of notice.

Worlds worst design for an interchange? Try right in DFW on I-820 where 121
merges. From I35w to I30, you get told 121 exits to the right like any other
exit. Just one hitch. 820 is a one lane split to the left and you don't know
that until 1/2 mile before. Then immediately it opens to 2 lanes after the
split. Plenty of room to make it a 2 lane split. We're not done yet. 121
rejoins 820 then 121 splits to the left and goes under 820 to the south.
They couldn't possibly make it a normal right exit like they did before,
nooo. They want to confuse people.
Think that's fun in a car? Try it in a truck.

Oh and then there are so many other badly designed interchanges I could tell
you about.


--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Scott en Aztlán wrote:
> On Sun, 07 May 2006 10:51:36 -0400, Nate Nagel >
> wrote:
>
> >drove to South Bend, IN
>
> My condolences.

Don't be sorry, I had a good time and got some parts that I didn't
think I was going to find, like a decent parking light housing for my
'55 Stude (there's a decently big Stude-only swap meet at SASCO in SB
each year, which is why I was there)

>
> >and back over the last few days... return trip
> >ended at 3AM so I haven't caught up on old posts yet
>
> Don't they have Internet access in IN?
>

Not at my hotel, no They claimed to have wireless Internet, but
while I was able to connect to it I couldn't get an IP address from
their wireless so was unable to do anything useful. The lady behind
the desk was refreshingly devoid of a clue, so offering to reset their
hub would have probably sounded like Greek to her. Next time I will
probably pick a different cheapass hotel; my criteria are pretty
simple, I want a usable bed, an Internet connection, and hot water with
which to shower. Unfortunately this is apparently not yet universal.

> >the state of PA is apparently encouraging "zipper" merging; saw signs
> >saying "use both lanes to merge point" and "merge here - take your turn"
>
> Did it appear to be working well? Or was traffic grinding to a
> complete halt because people in the closing lane were forcing their
> way into the through lane, causing drivers in the through lane to slam
> on their brakes?

Traffic wasn't heavy enough to really tell, but it seemed that most
people were merging over early anyway.

>
> >I don't know what the hell happened to the state of Ohio, however - my
> >seat time was mostly from Wheeling to Columbus and I never once used
> >cruise control, and was near constantly stuck behind a LLBer.
>
> You think that only happens in Ohio?

Of course not; I just seem to remember fewer LLBers being on the
highways when I lived near Cleveland some years ago.

>
> >the car in front of me slowed to about 40 MPH to take the I-79
> >SB ramp... he must have been doing a similar trip and expected that
> >ramp to be equally scary...
>
> People who merge onto a freeway at 40 MPH think *any* road is scary.

Well this is true...

>
> >Couldn't find a can of Red Bull when I stopped for gas, bought some "Von
> >Dutch" brand energy drink. I'd be willing to bet that I'm one of the
> >few people who's ever bought same that actually knows who Von Dutch
> >was...
>
> Don't they make potato chips?

(slams head on desk) I'm going to assume that you're just being a
smartass...

nate

Nate Nagel wrote: <brevity snip>

> drove to South Bend, IN and back over the last few days... return trip
> ended at 3AM so I haven't caught up on old posts yet, but anyway...

STUDEBAKER Commander '65. New paint/interior/tires $4500 (located in
Cincinnati).

cars.com
-----

- gpsman

gpsman wrote:
> Nate Nagel wrote: <brevity snip>
>
> > drove to South Bend, IN and back over the last few days... return trip
> > ended at 3AM so I haven't caught up on old posts yet, but anyway...
>
> STUDEBAKER Commander '65. New paint/interior/tires $4500 (located in
> Cincinnati).
>
> cars.com
> -----
>
> - gpsman

yeah, I need another car like I need a hole in my head... actually just
sold my '62 hardtop to finance some improvements to the '55... a '65
would make a nice driver for someone though, I'm not a big fan of the
Ch*vy engine but it is an undeniable fact that your FLAPS will be more
likely to stock maintenance parts for that than a Stude 289, for which
pretty much everything will have to be ordered from the warehouse...

nate

richard wrote:
> "Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
> ...
> > drove to South Bend, IN and back over the last few days... return trip
> > ended at 3AM so I haven't caught up on old posts yet, but anyway...
> >
> > the state of PA is apparently encouraging "zipper" merging; saw signs
> > saying "use both lanes to merge point" and "merge here - take your turn"
> > where I-70 was down to a single lane each way between Washington, PA and
> > Wheeling. PennDOT appears to actually be resurfacing I-70 completely as
> > opposed to the butcher job they did on the Turnpike a couple years ago,
> > maybe they are learning from their mistakes.
> >
> > I don't know what the hell happened to the state of Ohio, however - I used
> > to enjoy driving in Ohio, except for the low speed limits and hardcore
> > cops - but on the trip out, my seat time was mostly from Wheeling to
> > Columbus and I never once used cruise control, and was near constantly
> > stuck behind a LLBer.
> >
> > I was reminded of Fr*nk Kr*g*wsk* on the outbound trip, I said something
> > to my friend behind the wheel like "be careful here and slow down, this is
> > the worst f*cking freeway interchange in the whole US" (in reference to
> > I-79 northbound in Washington, PA where I-70 WB joins it) and even with
> > that warning he still expressed surprise at the tightness of the second
> > part of the cloverleaf, and the quantity and depth of the battle scars on
> > the Jersey barrier... I drove through this stretch on the way back and
> > the car in front of me slowed to about 40 MPH to take the I-79 SB ramp...
> > he must have been doing a similar trip and expected that ramp to be
> > equally scary...
> >
> > On the way back, I took the wheel at Zanesville and drove straight through
> > to Annapolis, with only one stop for gas right before Wheeling. Driving
> > very, very late at night is so relaxing compared to driving during the
> > day, especially when traffic is light enough to allow for use of the high
> > beams and/or you can find a good driver to pace at a respectful distance
> > so you can see a good ways down the road. Most of the vehicles on the
> > road seem to be actual good drivers, as opposed to the morons clogging the
> > road during the day. An exception would be the idiot on I-70 right before
> > I got off, who saw me gaining on him and right as I was going to pull out
> > to pass pulled into the middle lane and just sat there right off my rear
> > quarter for the mile or so until my exit. WTF?
> >
> > Couldn't find a can of Red Bull when I stopped for gas, bought some "Von
> > Dutch" brand energy drink. I'd be willing to bet that I'm one of the few
> > people who's ever bought same that actually knows who Von Dutch was...
> > gotta wonder what he'd think about having his name on a can of fake Red
> > Bull (although I have to admit that the stuff works; I was a little tired
> > feeling but not dangerously so when I stopped for gas; I felt 100% for the
> > next three hours and no worse than pre-stop at 3AM when I finally arrived
> > and realized that my body had molded itself to the driver's seat. Remind
> > me not to be stupid and take a 5-hour stint after spending a day at a swap
> > meet moving heavy car parts around.)
> >
> > As for my car, it's apparently now getting Avanti (R1) power and a T-10
> > 4-speed. Found a whole 4-speed setup for cheap enough I had to do it. Got
> > a line on a limited slip rear end in Jersey with traction bar mounts so I
> > might be doing another small road trip soon. This whole exercise started
> > 2 weeks ago when I took a running, driving car and was merely going to
> > pull the engine for new gaskets and a fresh coat of paint... let this be a
> > lesson to you, if you are obsessive-compulsive about your car, old car
> > ownership may not be for you, at least unless you like spending lots of
> > $$. Also found some trim parts I needed and overall had a good time, and
> > at least the drive home was very relaxing (although I did wish we'd been
> > driving my Porsche with the E-code H4s - but then again, you can't fit
> > three people, luggage, and a buttload of car parts in a Porsche)
> >
> > time to get another cup of coffee...
> >
> > nate
>
> Once you become a trucker and get to drive in every major city, in every
> state, you'll soon understand that washington pa is a piece of cake. I've
> run that road for years 2 or 3 times a week. Those signs you mention have
> been up for over 10 years now. At ;east there in Pa they give you notice,
> here in texas, your lucky to see any kind of notice.
>
> Worlds worst design for an interchange? Try right in DFW on I-820 where 121
> merges. From I35w to I30, you get told 121 exits to the right like any other
> exit. Just one hitch. 820 is a one lane split to the left and you don't know
> that until 1/2 mile before. Then immediately it opens to 2 lanes after the
> split. Plenty of room to make it a 2 lane split. We're not done yet. 121
> rejoins 820 then 121 splits to the left and goes under 820 to the south.
> They couldn't possibly make it a normal right exit like they did before,
> nooo. They want to confuse people.
> Think that's fun in a car? Try it in a truck.
>
> Oh and then there are so many other badly designed interchanges I could tell
> you about.
>

I think the odds of me becoming a trucker are about nil, I don't think
any trucking company is going to pay me enough to deal with the
knuckleheads on our roads now more than I already do

I'll have to take your word on Texas highways; haven't driven too many
places not on the east coast. Sounds like something I'd like to avoid,
if I could :/

nate

In article >,
Nate Nagel > wrote:

>the state of PA is apparently encouraging "zipper" merging; saw signs
>saying "use both lanes to merge point" and "merge here - take your turn"
>where I-70 was down to a single lane each way between Washington, PA and
>Wheeling. PennDOT appears to actually be resurfacing I-70 completely as
>opposed to the butcher job they did on the Turnpike a couple years ago,
>maybe they are learning from their mistakes.

PennDOT doesn't do the Turnpike. If PennDOT is doing a good job, it
probably means some politician has a _competent_ brother-in-law in
road construction...
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

> N8N:
> Not at my hotel, no They claimed to have wireless Internet, but
> while I was able to connect to it I couldn't get an IP address from
> their wireless so was unable to do anything useful. The lady behind
> the desk was refreshingly devoid of a clue, so offering to reset their
> hub would have probably sounded like Greek to her. Next time I will
> probably pick a different cheapass hotel; my criteria are pretty
> simple, I want a usable bed, an Internet connection, and hot water with
> which to shower. Unfortunately this is apparently not yet universal.

My experiences with hotel internet service have ranged from poor to
atrocious. What they claim is "high speed," was only slightly better -
if not worse - than dial-up. I've gotten to the point where I don't even
bother with it anymore (when the laptop died, I bought a tower instead)
now, I'll just find a cyber-cafe if I have to do e-mail that bad while
on the road.

necromancer wrote:
>>N8N:
>>Not at my hotel, no They claimed to have wireless Internet, but
>>while I was able to connect to it I couldn't get an IP address from
>>their wireless so was unable to do anything useful. The lady behind
>>the desk was refreshingly devoid of a clue, so offering to reset their
>>hub would have probably sounded like Greek to her. Next time I will
>>probably pick a different cheapass hotel; my criteria are pretty
>>simple, I want a usable bed, an Internet connection, and hot water with
>>which to shower. Unfortunately this is apparently not yet universal.
>
>
> My experiences with hotel internet service have ranged from poor to
> atrocious. What they claim is "high speed," was only slightly better -
> if not worse - than dial-up. I've gotten to the point where I don't even
> bother with it anymore (when the laptop died, I bought a tower instead)
> now, I'll just find a cyber-cafe if I have to do e-mail that bad while
> on the road.

Oddly enough, I've had no problems in Appalachian PA; you'd think that
in a real city it would be just as easy.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

N8N wrote:
> Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>> On Sun, 07 May 2006 10:51:36 -0400, Nate Nagel >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> drove to South Bend, IN
>>
>> My condolences.
>
> Don't be sorry, I had a good time and got some parts that I didn't
> think I was going to find, like a decent parking light housing for my
> '55 Stude (there's a decently big Stude-only swap meet at SASCO in SB
> each year, which is why I was there)

FWIW, I saw an early Loewy coupe today going down the highway. Not
something that you see every day.