On 04/25/2016 01:09 PM, wrote:
"Thank God I'm A Country Boy". The lyrics to a song by John Denver.
But yesterday I realized how true these words are to me.

I drove thru a large city and found myself almost in panic mode from the
traffic.

[snip]

Last time I drove in a big city (Dallas TX), I was comparing changing
lanes to parallel parking, but where everything (including the parking
places) was going 60MPH.

On freeways, you have to be in the proper (USUALLY right) lane to exit,
or a different lane to NOT exit. They have signs 1/4 mile in advance. At
60MPH, you have 15 seconds to read the sign and change lanes.

It's all very stressful, and I didn't have kids in the back.

Freeway driving out to big city is getting worse too. I remember being
on I20 (between Dallas and Shreveport) and surrounded by big trucks.
That's not good at 75MPH.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests." -- Thomas
Paine (1737-1809)

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:33:01 -0500, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 04/25/2016 01:09 PM, wrote:
"Thank God I'm A Country Boy". The lyrics to a song by John Denver.
But yesterday I realized how true these words are to me.

I drove thru a large city and found myself almost in panic mode from the
traffic.

[snip]

Last time I drove in a big city (Dallas TX), I was comparing changing
lanes to parallel parking, but where everything (including the parking
places) was going 60MPH.

On freeways, you have to be in the proper (USUALLY right) lane to exit,
or a different lane to NOT exit. They have signs 1/4 mile in advance. At
60MPH, you have 15 seconds to read the sign and change lanes.

It's all very stressful, and I didn't have kids in the back.

Freeway driving out to big city is getting worse too. I remember being
on I20 (between Dallas and Shreveport) and surrounded by big trucks.
That's not good at 75MPH.

That's a huge part of the problem, if you're from out of town and dont
know the area. Several times I was in the right lane and not wanting to
exit, but that lane ends as it exits, so I'm trying to read one or more
signs and have only seconds to react, when, I'm still not 100% sure what
I am supposed to do, regarding the signs I just read, and as that lane
is ending I have to move one lane to the left, when some asshole zooms
into that space and wont mov out of my way even though I have my signal
light on. More than once I ended up driving on the shoulder, until I
could get a space to move to the left.

The word "stressful" is not a strong enough word for the situation. Most
of the time when I'm on a freeway, (within the city boundary), I will
try to exit the freeway, and take city streets instead. Sure, that's a
lot slower, and I may have to stop 25 times at stop lights, but at least
I dont have to make split second decisions when I read signs and when
the stress gets overwhelming, there is always some parking lot where I
can stop and get my thoughts back together, look at a map, or just take
a break.

On 4/26/2016 6:28 PM, wrote:

Freeway driving out to big city is getting worse too. I remember being
on I20 (between Dallas and Shreveport) and surrounded by big trucks.
That's not good at 75MPH.

That's a huge part of the problem, if you're from out of town and dont
know the area.

The word "stressful" is not a strong enough word for the situation. Most
of the time when I'm on a freeway, (within the city boundary), I will
try to exit the freeway, and take city streets instead. Sure, that's a
lot slower, and I may have to stop 25 times at stop lights, but at least
I dont have to make split second decisions when I read signs and when
the stress gets overwhelming, there is always some parking lot where I
can stop and get my thoughts back together, look at a map, or just take
a break.

I've had GPS or navigation in my cars for a few years. The newer models
show you ahead the exit and the lane to be in. It helps a lot, but at
times you can still be confused or unable to get where you have to be.

If you've not had enough fun already, may I suggest you take a drive
around Rome or Naples?

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 20:27:48 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 4/26/2016 6:28 PM, wrote:

Freeway driving out to big city is getting worse too. I remember being
on I20 (between Dallas and Shreveport) and surrounded by big trucks.
That's not good at 75MPH.

That's a huge part of the problem, if you're from out of town and dont
know the area.

The word "stressful" is not a strong enough word for the situation. Most
of the time when I'm on a freeway, (within the city boundary), I will
try to exit the freeway, and take city streets instead. Sure, that's a
lot slower, and I may have to stop 25 times at stop lights, but at least
I dont have to make split second decisions when I read signs and when
the stress gets overwhelming, there is always some parking lot where I
can stop and get my thoughts back together, look at a map, or just take
a break.

I've had GPS or navigation in my cars for a few years. The newer models
show you ahead the exit and the lane to be in. It helps a lot, but at
times you can still be confused or unable to get where you have to be.

If you've not had enough fun already, may I suggest you take a drive
around Rome or Naples?
Or Mexico City - or Marseiles

Last time I drove in a big city (Dallas TX), I was comparing changing
lanes to parallel parking, but where everything (including the parking
places) was going 60MPH.

On freeways, you have to be in the proper (USUALLY right) lane to exit,
or a different lane to NOT exit. They have signs 1/4 mile in advance. At
60MPH, you have 15 seconds to read the sign and change lanes.

It's all very stressful, and I didn't have kids in the back.

Freeway driving out to big city is getting worse too. I remember being
on I20 (between Dallas and Shreveport) and surrounded by big trucks.
That's not good at 75MPH.

I'd rather be next to the truckers than a woman with a load of
kids and a cell phone. My motorcycle has a headlight modulator and
I wear bright clothing.


--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 20:27:48 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 4/26/2016 6:28 PM, wrote:

Freeway driving out to big city is getting worse too. I remember being
on I20 (between Dallas and Shreveport) and surrounded by big trucks.
That's not good at 75MPH.

That's a huge part of the problem, if you're from out of town and dont
know the area.

The word "stressful" is not a strong enough word for the situation. Most
of the time when I'm on a freeway, (within the city boundary), I will
try to exit the freeway, and take city streets instead. Sure, that's a
lot slower, and I may have to stop 25 times at stop lights, but at least
I dont have to make split second decisions when I read signs and when
the stress gets overwhelming, there is always some parking lot where I
can stop and get my thoughts back together, look at a map, or just take
a break.

I've had GPS or navigation in my cars for a few years. The newer models
show you ahead the exit and the lane to be in. It helps a lot, but at
times you can still be confused or unable to get where you have to be.

If you've not had enough fun already, may I suggest you take a drive
around Rome or Naples?

I bought a Tom-Tom GPS about 6 or 7 years ago, and thought it was a
complete waste of money. It was worthless in the rural areas where I
live, and more often than not, it took me way out of my way. Plus, if I
wanted something to keep bitching at me while I drive, I'd marry a
bitchy woman. One time that POS took me 70 miles the wrong way, and lead
me into someone's private farm, right into their cattle pasture, and
insisted that was a road. That's the night I tossed it into the garbage
at a gas station, after smashing it against the pavement a few times to
make sure no one would ever use it again. I paid around $100 for that
piece of crap. I could have bought a lot of maps fir that money.

I dont think I'll be driving around Rome or Naples, unless I can find a
bridge from the USA to get there......

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 22:43:13 -0400, wrote:
I bought a Tom-Tom GPS about 6 or 7 years ago, and
thought it was a complete waste of money. It was
worthless in the rural areas where I live, and more
often than not, it took me way out of my way. Plus, if
I wanted something to keep bitching at me while I
drive, I'd marry a bitchy woman. One time that POS
took me 70 miles the wrong way, and lead me into
someone's private farm, right into their cattle
pasture, and insisted that was a road.

Bob's road, maybe? Lol!

That's the
night I tossed it into the garbage at a gas station,
after smashing it against the pavement a few times
to make sure no one would ever use it again. I paid
around $100 for that piece of crap. I could have
bought a lot of maps fir that money.

I dont think I'll be driving around Rome or Naples,
unless I can find a bridge from the USA to get
there......

That was hysterical!! LOL!

--
Maggie

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:33:01 -0500, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On 04/25/2016 01:09 PM, wrote:
"Thank God I'm A Country Boy". The lyrics to a song by John Denver.
But yesterday I realized how true these words are to me.

I drove thru a large city and found myself almost in panic mode from the
traffic.

[snip]

Last time I drove in a big city (Dallas TX), I was comparing changing
lanes to parallel parking, but where everything (including the parking
places) was going 60MPH.

On freeways, you have to be in the proper (USUALLY right) lane to exit,
or a different lane to NOT exit. They have signs 1/4 mile in advance. At
60MPH, you have 15 seconds to read the sign and change lanes.


About 10-12 years was I going through Nashville. Have to make 3-4
lanes changes to get where I'm going.
Left and right, sometimes 3 lanes. There was construction going on.
About 30 mph. Truck traffic was so heavy you'd never see the signs.
All you could see was the sides and backs of trucks. I don't remember
seeing another car. Just trucks.
Actually had to exit into a city neighborhood when traffic thinned
enough that I could see a sign. I was going the wrong way.
Made for a bad day.

wrote:
....
The word "stressful" is not a strong enough word for the situation. Most
of the time when I'm on a freeway, (within the city boundary), I will
try to exit the freeway, and take city streets instead. Sure, that's a
lot slower, and I may have to stop 25 times at stop lights, but at least
I dont have to make split second decisions when I read signs and when
the stress gets overwhelming, there is always some parking lot where I
can stop and get my thoughts back together, look at a map, or just take
a break.

before i go on the road i print out maps
of all the big cities i'm going through to help
me figure out ways through or around them.

and then i make up a plan for each city
and memorize it (make a word/phrase for each
turn/hwy/direction needed).

some cities i plan on going through late at
night because i'd rather not deal with rush
hour traffic.


songbird

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 11:44:27 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I dont think I'll be driving around Rome or Naples, unless I can find a
bridge from the USA to get there......

Speaking of bridge and stress....I broke down in the Lincoln Tunnel going into NYC. If you can name anything more stressful than that...

On 4/27/2016 11:12 AM, Thomas wrote:

Speaking of bridge and stress....I broke
down in the Lincoln Tunnel going into NYC.
If you can name anything more stressful
than that...


How about a black guy who breaks down right
in front of a banquet hall. As he gets out to
lift the hood, he notices the marquee sign says
"Grand Wizzards Convention".

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 04/26/2016 09:43 PM, wrote:

[snip]

I bought a Tom-Tom GPS about 6 or 7 years ago, and thought it was a
complete waste of money. It was worthless in the rural areas where I
live, and more often than not, it took me way out of my way.

I have a Garmin GPS (which I got as a reward for using an American
Express card). I don't use it much, but it was helpful once when I
needed to find a friend's house in a city 350 miles away. It helped,
even though it said the house was on the other side of the street. I
recognized the Christmas decorations, but the GPS did help me to get close.

BTW, that other city was in a different part of the state. If I had gone
350 miles in the other direction, I would have crossed TWO state lines.
Also, this is when I went through Dallas.

[snip]

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Hell is an outrage on humanity. When you tell me that your Deity made
you in his own image, I reply that he must have been very ugly." [Victor
Hugo]

On 04/27/2016 10:30 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

[snip]

How about a black guy who breaks down right
in front of a banquet hall. As he gets out to
lift the hood, he notices the marquee sign says
"Grand Wizzards Convention".


Now, I'm thinking of a TV show called "The Jeffersons", where George
(black) is accidentally invited to a KKK meeting.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Hell is an outrage on humanity. When you tell me that your Deity made
you in his own image, I reply that he must have been very ugly." [Victor
Hugo]

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 1:59:56 AM UTC-4, Muggles wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 22:43:13 -0400, wrote:
I bought a Tom-Tom GPS about 6 or 7 years ago, and
thought it was a complete waste of money. It was
worthless in the rural areas where I live, and more
often than not, it took me way out of my way. Plus, if
I wanted something to keep bitching at me while I
drive, I'd marry a bitchy woman. One time that POS
took me 70 miles the wrong way, and lead me into
someone's private farm, right into their cattle
pasture, and insisted that was a road.

Bob's road, maybe? Lol!

That's funny. Ever since Twister came out, we've been
using "Bob's" as a modifier for anything small or generic.

"Reynolds Wrap was too expensive, so I bought Bob's Foil".

Cindy Hamilton

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 11:12:41 AM UTC-4, Thomas wrote:
On Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 11:44:27 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I dont think I'll be driving around Rome or Naples, unless I can find a
bridge from the USA to get there......

Speaking of bridge and stress....I broke down in the Lincoln Tunnel going into NYC. If you can name anything more stressful than that...

That was pretty bad. I broke down in Detroit once. Luckily,
it was about 7 am on a sunny Saturday morning, and all of the
criminals were asleep.

Cindy Hamilton

In article , lid says...

On 04/26/2016 09:43 PM, wrote:

[snip]

I bought a Tom-Tom GPS about 6 or 7 years ago, and thought it was a
complete waste of money. It was worthless in the rural areas where I
live, and more often than not, it took me way out of my way.

I have a Garmin GPS (which I got as a reward for using an American
Express card). I don't use it much, but it was helpful once when I
needed to find a friend's house in a city 350 miles away. It helped,
even though it said the house was on the other side of the street. I
recognized the Christmas decorations, but the GPS did help me to get close.

BTW, that other city was in a different part of the state. If I had gone
350 miles in the other direction, I would have crossed TWO state lines.
Also, this is when I went through Dallas.


YOu do have to use some common sense when depending on the GPS units. I
don't make that many trips, but find that my Garmin usually workes fine
except for roads that have just been built or modified in the last 6
months or so.

When I was working and had about a 20 mile trip the GPS tried to take me
through a town instead of around it. That would have ment about 15 stop
lights instead of 5. While it is shorter, it takes a lot longer
especially if there is much traffic.

On 4/27/2016 3:07 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 04/27/2016 10:30 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

[snip]

How about a black guy who breaks down right
in front of a banquet hall. As he gets out to
lift the hood, he notices the marquee sign says
"Grand Wizzards Convention".


Now, I'm thinking of a TV show called "The Jeffersons", where George
(black) is accidentally invited to a KKK meeting.


Wish I'd seen that episode. Sounds
comical, at the least. I remember
George Jefferson as plain spoken, and
perhaps a bit mouthy.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/27/2016 6:26 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:


YOu do have to use some common sense when depending on the GPS units. I
don't make that many trips, but find that my Garmin usually workes fine
except for roads that have just been built or modified in the last 6
months or so.

When I was working and had about a 20 mile trip the GPS tried to take me
through a town instead of around it. That would have ment about 15 stop
lights instead of 5. While it is shorter, it takes a lot longer
especially if there is much traffic.




Computers don't think like human brains do. If it was set for shortest
rather than fastest or if it did not consider traffic, it makes what we
feel is a dumb decision.

I had mine on going through an area I'm familiar with. The best way was
to continue on the road to the light, make a left and destination is a
couple of miles up the road. Simple enough. The GPS though, calculated
a shorter route. Curious, I followed it. It had me make a left a quarter
mile sooner, a right, left right, left, like a staircase. Sure, it
would get me there, save probably 100 feet, but what a PITA.

Next week I'm going to two places in New York, about 140 miles from me.
Both addresses are already programed in, but I won't turn it on until
I'm about 5 miles from my destination. I know how to get to the city,
just not the particular street I need. Great toy to have on a trip though.

Even better to have in Europe. Street signs are not easily found in
some places and you have to be able to spot street names like Via
Digiacimoluigefussillipastfagoola on the side of a building on the
corner. Easier to follow the arrow showing a turn at the next
intersection.

On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 14:07:12 -0500, Mark Lloyd wrote:

On 04/27/2016 10:30 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

[snip]

How about a black guy who breaks down right
in front of a banquet hall. As he gets out to
lift the hood, he notices the marquee sign says
"Grand Wizzards Convention".


Now, I'm thinking of a TV show called "The Jeffersons", where George
(black) is accidentally invited to a KKK meeting.


Dave Chappelle does some funny stuff.
Youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+chappelle+black+white+su premist+full+skit




--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 18:26:44 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article , lid says...

On 04/26/2016 09:43 PM, wrote:

[snip]

I bought a Tom-Tom GPS about 6 or 7 years ago, and thought it was a
complete waste of money. It was worthless in the rural areas where I
live, and more often than not, it took me way out of my way.

I have a Garmin GPS (which I got as a reward for using an American
Express card). I don't use it much, but it was helpful once when I
needed to find a friend's house in a city 350 miles away. It helped,
even though it said the house was on the other side of the street. I
recognized the Christmas decorations, but the GPS did help me to get close.

BTW, that other city was in a different part of the state. If I had gone
350 miles in the other direction, I would have crossed TWO state lines.
Also, this is when I went through Dallas.


YOu do have to use some common sense when depending on the GPS units. I
don't make that many trips, but find that my Garmin usually workes fine
except for roads that have just been built or modified in the last 6
months or so.

When I was working and had about a 20 mile trip the GPS tried to take me
through a town instead of around it. That would have ment about 15 stop
lights instead of 5. While it is shorter, it takes a lot longer
especially if there is much traffic.


MOST GPS units allow you to select shortest or fastest route.

On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 19:29:22 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

through a town instead of around it. That would have ment about 15 stop
lights instead of 5. While it is shorter, it takes a lot longer
especially if there is much traffic.




Computers don't think like human brains do. If it was set for shortest
rather than fastest or if it did not consider traffic, it makes what we
feel is a dumb decision.

I had mine on going through an area I'm familiar with. The best way was
to continue on the road to the light, make a left and destination is a
couple of miles up the road. Simple enough. The GPS though, calculated
a shorter route. Curious, I followed it. It had me make a left a quarter
mile sooner, a right, left right, left, like a staircase. Sure, it
would get me there, save probably 100 feet, but what a PITA.

Next week I'm going to two places in New York, about 140 miles from me.
Both addresses are already programed in, but I won't turn it on until
I'm about 5 miles from my destination. I know how to get to the city,
just not the particular street I need. Great toy to have on a trip though.

Even better to have in Europe. Street signs are not easily found in
some places and you have to be able to spot street names like Via
Digiacimoluigefussillipastfagoola on the side of a building on the
corner. Easier to follow the arrow showing a turn at the next
intersection.

Google maps is not always right either. There is a small rural town
nearby, and I know it well. The population is around 250 people, and
most of the town is on one street and a few branches of it.

I was looking up a bar&grille building that was for sale, to find out
who owned it. A google map popped up on the webpage. I looked at it, and
even though I had typed in the EXACT address of the building, I was
shown a picture of someone's garage. I know there was no garage next
door. I drove there, and found that garage 5 blocks away. That address
was not even close. (And why did they show the garage, not the house).
It also showed a road, at the end of the street, showing that road going
behind sime homes, and coming out onto a state highway, about a mile
away. That road does NOT exist. It's a private driveway serving 3
trailer houses, and it ends by the 3rd trailer. If someone actually
drove past that 3rd trailer, they would be on a lawn, in some woods,
have to crash thru a fence, and would end up in a creek.

How can google maps screw up so badly in such a small town, which has so
few streets?

By the way, IF a person did actually make it across that creek, they
would have to drive thru more woods, up a real steep hill, and thru
someone else's yard. If they survived all of that, they would exit that
person's driveway right about the place that google maps showed the
other end of that road.

This might be possible on a horse, but not in any vehicles..... But the
horse would have to jump the fence and not be afraid to cross a creek!

On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 22:21:51 -0400, wrote:




Google maps is not always right either. There is a small rural town
nearby, and I know it well. The population is around 250 people, and
most of the town is on one street and a few branches of it.

I was looking up a bar&grille building that was for sale, to find out
who owned it. A google map popped up on the webpage. I looked at it, and
even though I had typed in the EXACT address of the building, I was
shown a picture of someone's garage. I know there was no garage next
door. I drove there, and found that garage 5 blocks away. That address
was not even close.


Could be the source of the information too. According to my town, my
house is on two different streets. The original street was one name,
Cleveland St., but the post office made it part of the route for
another section, David Circle, that was built later and gives me that
street address. My next door neighbor is the last house of the
walking route and I'm the first house of the motor route, this the
different street name.

If the town does not know where I live, I don't expect Google or
Navtec to know any better. If I manually enter my address, the GPS
brings me to the house. If I use the "where am I" function it gives
me a third address. .

On Thu, 28 Apr 2016 06:02:39 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 22:21:51 -0400, wrote:




Google maps is not always right either. There is a small rural town
nearby, and I know it well. The population is around 250 people, and
most of the town is on one street and a few branches of it.

I was looking up a bar&grille building that was for sale, to find out
who owned it. A google map popped up on the webpage. I looked at it, and
even though I had typed in the EXACT address of the building, I was
shown a picture of someone's garage. I know there was no garage next
door. I drove there, and found that garage 5 blocks away. That address
was not even close.


Could be the source of the information too. According to my town, my
house is on two different streets. The original street was one name,
Cleveland St., but the post office made it part of the route for
another section, David Circle, that was built later and gives me that
street address. My next door neighbor is the last house of the
walking route and I'm the first house of the motor route, this the
different street name.

If the town does not know where I live, I don't expect Google or
Navtec to know any better. If I manually enter my address, the GPS
brings me to the house. If I use the "where am I" function it gives
me a third address. .

The way I understand it, Google sends out photographers who take pics of
every building. This bar&grill is well documented, and is one of only 4
businesses in that town. It's located right on "Main St" which is truly
the MAIN street in that town, or actually the ONLY street that actually
goes anywhere, since all the branch streets connected to it are merely
streets going to homes and they all end up back on Main St. or some dead
end. All of the 4 businesses are on Main St.

If google can accurately document an entire big city or 500,000 people,
how can they possibly get this small town so screwed up? Worse yet,
create a road that dont exist, which clearly is on private land, as well
as having a creek which has no bridge.

On 04/27/2016 05:26 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:

[snip]

You do have to use some common sense when depending on the GPS units. I
don't make that many trips, but find that my Garmin usually works fine
except for roads that have just been built or modified in the last 6
months or so.

Once, my GPS told me to turn right where there was a pond with an old
fishing pier that looked like it had been there for years.

There are mistakes on maps, including one less than a block from where I
used to live. Strangely, that same mistake (obvious to anyone who lived
there) was on almost all city maps.

[snip]

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Every religion in the world that has destroyed people is based on
love." [Anton LaVey]

On 04/28/2016 12:59 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
There are mistakes on maps, including one less than a block from where I
used to live. Strangely, that same mistake (obvious to anyone who lived
there) was on almost all city maps.

A lot of the data traces back to TIGER/Line from the US census:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topolo..._R eferencing

County or city GIS department edited data is usually more accurate but
they don't tend to share. Developing accurate GIS data is expensive.
Projects like Open Street Map are an attempt to make accurate local
edits available:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenStreetMap