Friday, November 16, 2018

Block Not Do

(Source)
(Source)
So is it just me, or does anyone else read those signs painted on the road from top to bottom, or do you read them from bottom to top as some government type thought proper? I mean, I get the logic, you see the closest word first, then the next, then the next, etc.

But do people really do that? I see something painted on the roadway and I immediately take in the entire thing, all of the words, I mean it's not like this -


A lot of words, but you read it just like everything else, top to bottom.

Has there been a study done on why they paint this stuff on the road like that? I find it baffling. While it's true that I've been told that my mind (what there is of it) works in funny ways, the reason for this escapes me.

I've tried driving over the signs at near light speeds to determine if it makes more sense, if it is easier to read the signs at high speed. But the local constabulary really frowns on that sort of thing.

So which of the following makes sense to you?


A is how a turn arrow appears on the road. B is just silly.


But if you paint the message in words, A is how they do it. To me B makes more sense. I dunno, perhaps I'm overthinking this. But in truth, here's how I read those first two road signs:

AHEAD STOP

XING SCHOOL SLOW

That's how I read those things, am I weird? (About that, I know in other things I am weird, but we're talking about reading things painted on streets. Not to mention that XING just sets me off in so many ways...)

To make my point, they got this one right.

(Source)
Why isn't it written out as -

LANE

BUS

Just curious. (Yes, that last one is from the UK.)

And the title, I got that from the street near where I turn towards my neighborhood. Back in 2012 there was a sign indicating that traffic stopped for the traffic light shouldn't block the turn into the senior housing area. Apparently that was too confusing for folks in Little Rhody...

Google Maps
In the past couple of years they just had to paint BLOCK NOT DO, er, sorry, DO NOT BLOCK on the street next to the sign.

And the Little Rhodians still block the intersection.

Ah what do I know? I'm from Vermont...

The things that go through my mind.



58 comments:

  1. Ya.....I'm reading top to bottom, the words aren't that far apart. To date I have yet to see a school crossing, the building just STAYS there, not moving but to be fair the sign does say "SLOW......" :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol!!!

      And what about the signs that say "STOP AHEAD"...Ok, but do I let the rest of the body go???

      Delete
    2. Nylon12, yeah, their movement is imperceptible to our senses.

      Delete
    3. Suz - Yeah, what's up with that?

      Delete
    4. Schools are like those angel statue thingies in Dr. Who, they only move when you're not looking... But they are always ready to pounce and infect you with their socialistic message...

      Man, I gotta stop watching election coverage. It's rotting the brain. (But at least so far DeSantis has won, as Gollum has only picked up 1 total vote, and Scott has also won as both he and Nelson have actually lost votes, but he's lost less than Nelson. But the Socialists are calling for Hand Counting, and the Losers still won't quit. Bastiges…) As I said, I gotta stop watching the election stuff... Brain the rotting it's.

      Delete
    5. Man, Broward and Palm Beach... Don't lump the rest of us with those nutbags. That's like comparing rural New Yorkers with those City people.

      And this has been going on in those two counties since at least the late 80's. Focus is finally, after all the last two years' stupidity down there, on the direct cause of all the shenanigans. Finally.

      Delete
    6. Well, I knew that, someday maybe the corrupt will actually be punished, harshly.

      One can only hope.

      Delete
    7. "...lost less..." Once again, AW. Although to be fair ( if you really insist on my being fair ), you likely have not yet read my comment to you several posts back. I'm still working on catching up to the current day's post.

      Paul L. Quandt

      Delete
  2. The signs that get me are the ones (seen frequently "down South") that say the bridge freezes before the road...well, yeah, but the road goes on top of the bridge...

    Block. Not. Do. just sounds like Yoda is doing the writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You may have stumbled onto something there Suz. Or should I say "there something onto have you stumbled"?

      ;)

      Delete
    2. Concur I do. Ugh, more snow forecast tonight.

      Delete
    3. Argh!

      We received a few inches last night, then it started raining. Should be all gone by tonight.

      Nice and slushy this morning - yuck!

      Delete
    4. Dearest Suz,

      As a survivor of the great freeze of '89, whence it was so cold all the myriad little bridges in my fair city froze, causing many much more mayhem, right before the roads themselves froze, whence I spent a long cold night listening to the cars slide on the interstate from my domicile, which was without Nichola's wondrous gift (not that greedy Yankee Edison) which made sleeping upon a bed of water difficult and cold, I do declare that someone in the street departments of the beloved South actually had their craniums out of their posteriors over the whole "Bridge freezes first" contretemps. (As an aside, my employment funds, which were Par Avion from that Yanqui hell known as Chicago, were not able to be delivered into my city via the aforementioned par avion, because our airfield was not equipped for de-icing. The Brown Truck of Fun had to land in Jacksonville (whence the Navy aided the local aviation field in un-ice rinking their surfaces. Which resulted in my employer handing me a cheque at 4:55pm, which resulted in a frantic scramble through ice-choked roads to the local Banque, whence I discovered that not all bankers are heartless trolls, as said facility was still open due to others being in the same boat as I (this was, of course, before the etherial money storage devices were created, resulting in funds dépôt direct.) This was, of course a great boon as it was the last Friday before Christmas Day of that year...

      Oh, and I concur as to Yoda speak on the roadway, Lucas must have had a bad day driving when he penned that stuff.

      Delete
    5. That comment right there was worth the price of admission.

      Sir, thou doth need to post and soon, I can almost hear the words and phrases filling thy fertile brain, pressing to spill forth onto the Web of World-Wideness.

      Damn funny, bravo.

      (As to the bridge thing, because the underside is exposed to the cold, the roadway upon the bridge will indeed freeze first. As opposed to the roadways built directly upon Dear Mother Earth Herself, they're like Leo Durocher said, "nice roads, freeze last." Or something.)

      Delete
    6. Dear Mr. Beans: Ugh!! Sleeping on bed of water with no power!! Been there, done that! Pushed the (then current) husband unit out of bed, pulled all covers, sheets, quilts, bearskins, etc able to be found on top of us and slept on the floor. It was waaay warmer that the water bed with no working heater unit!

      Nothing worse than an employer who mucks up the last paycheck before Christmas!! Should be special hell place for them!!At least they were able to remedy the situation without Santa's assistance, and the Bank was helpful as well. Must have been a local bank, I am guessing, those are the only ones I have found are not inhabited by troll bankers.

      And Old AFS is correct, you do need to expound in a post soon. Your posts are very enjoyable, and have been missed recently :)

      The silly bridges, and, let's not forget, ramps onto highways...if not approached carefully, with respect, gentleness, and 100% attention, will cause the wheeled vehicle to spin in multiple circles with overall trajectory towards the ditch, or waterway that flows underneath said elevated structure. Don't ask how I know. I did not hit the car that drive through the circles that I was enduring, screaming like a, well, girl, while praying loudly OMG, OMG!!!
      Wound up facing on-coming traffic...who were able to get stopped. One very nice gentleman got out of his car, came over to mine, asked "Hey, lady, you ok?" To which I replied "yes, I think so". He told me it was nice driving not hitting the other car that couldn't stop and wound up in the median, as it was all black ice. I got turned around, pulled over and sat there for 5 minutes just shaking and letting the adrenaline dump. Stupid bridges where the road freezes first! Stupid Highway Dept that didn't throw down some sand on the ramps and bridges that ice first!! Needless to say, after that experience, I go slowly in icy weather. Hates ice, I do!! Hates it!!

      Delete
    7. Sorry about my mostly silence. Watching the Socialists steal Arizona, try to steal Georgia and Texas, and working on stealing Florida (an ongoing process) has made me less wanting to talk to people or see them without shouting or throwing things. One of the wonderful people in my apartment complex, a single ex-meth mother of one, put up a Gollum poster next to her apartment. And because I am a conservative person, I have yet to tear it down or set it on fire or do anything that would anger the landlady. Though I do loudly verbalize my displeasure at the thief's name...

      Give me a chance to return to the world of the living and I'll be posting.

      Or I could have been waiting for LUSH to post... Sigh...

      Delete
    8. Suz - I have had the (not) pleasure of operating a vehicle that was executing uncommanded, by me, circles.

      My language got very, ahem, colorful. I understand the terror and the post-circling anger.

      Delete
    9. Beans - That right there is why I forego the "news." It's all stories of righteous nitwits trying to change the world.

      Someday the silly bastards will get their wish and then their new masters can do a Trotsky on them.

      Or perhaps a Robespierre. Revolutions always eat their young. (And the useful idiots doing the heavy lifting.)

      LUSH? Post? Now that would be something. In her defense, the kids keep her pretty busy.

      Delete
    10. Heck, have her post video of her chasing the kids around. That would be entertainment.

      Delete
  3. Logic expected from Bureaucrat, Padawan Learner? Unhappy will you be!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Painting the road.
    Another excuse for a lane closure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Replies
    1. Bored engineers explains much of German engineering. "Hey, we can just use a simple fuel pump, but let's do something different, for Science!!!!"

      Sorry, weird reference to the webcomic "Girl Genious" by Phil and Kaga Folio (the two who brought us "What's New with Phil and Dixie" in the back of "Dragon" magazine for those who used to D&D back in the 80's.

      Delete
    2. Heh, just look at the designs of the Panther, and the two Tigers, way too complicated. But damned effective nonetheless.

      But don't get me started on 1980s vintage Volkswagen engineering, especially the electrical systems.

      Delete
  6. Seeing as I've said pretty much all I needed or wanted to say in the above statement, well, I don't actually have anything to say here in reference to your whole posting. Weird, huh? For once I am without words, silent, not able to coherently add to the conversation. So, I guess, my finger-tapping here in this lone block of text may be in vain. Alas. Sometimes greatness is not upon us, and even the loudest voices should remain silent. Thus, well, I think I don't have any point on continuing this threa...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh please, continue, you're on a roll.

      Or is that a bagel?

      Delete
    2. Just don't start that whole biscuit-scone-cookie thingy. Please.

      Biscuits are, to a southerner, a way of life. Soft, fluffy, served with sausage gravy or butter...

      Sausage gravy and buscuits.. It's what's on the menu tonight.

      Delete
    3. Yum, southern biscuits. Sausage gravy, yum.

      Delete
    4. I second the yum. Done right, there is little better in a meal.

      Paul L. Quandt

      Delete
    5. By the way, the sausage gravy was excellent, and made the wife and me very happy. The new recipe/mix for the biscuits? Not so much. Very English in their lack of suitable flavor. Oh well, just what was needed on a cold fall night (45 degrees as we speak, to go down to the mid 30's.)

      Delete
    6. Should stick to the tried and true. When it comes to food, I tend to stick with what I like.

      Though The Missus Herself will often experiment in the kitchen and I am seldom disappointed.

      Delete
  7. Relative Motion, what you get to first, then second, then third. Like the Burma Shave signs.

    /
    L.J.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well sure, but those were signs alongside the road, not on the road. But yes, that's why they did it, still makes no sense to me...

      And just out of curiosity, how many folks here remember the Burma Shave signs? (I actually saw them back in the day.)

      Delete
    2. Me (raising hand in back)... yes, I am old and grey...

      Delete
    3. Burma Shave signs, saw them on the way to and from Grandma's house back in the day. (She lived in Porterville, CA, and we were either in Santa Maria and Vandenberg, CA, so long drive to and fro.

      Delete
    4. Saw one on the cruise, it was in a park in downtown Boston, along with several old neon signs.

      Delete
    5. Suz - You're not old, you're experienced and wise. (As am I...)

      Delete
    6. Beans - Yeah, they weren't that ancient and they lasted longer in some parts of the country.

      Delete
    7. Yes, I too saw them. One of my family's favorite things on long drives ( when one is confined to the back seat of an automobile, any ride over 10 minutes brings forth the " Are we there yet? " question.

      Thanks for the post.
      Paul

      Delete
    8. I am going to chastise my editor over the above comment. The parenthesis should have been closed.

      Paul L. Quandt

      Delete
    9. PLQ #1 - It's a good idea to have something to occupy the chilluns on long drives. (Concur, anything over ten minutes.)

      Delete
    10. PLQ #2 - Don't feel bad, I do it all the time. Call it a typo. We won't hold it against you.

      Delete

    11. "PLQ #2 - Don't feel bad, I do it all the time. Call it a typo. We won't hold it against you."

      It wasn't me, it was my editor; I'd fire him but we are very close, inseparable one might say.

      Paul





      Delete



    12. OldAFSargeNovember 16, 2018 at 7:58 PM

      "I'm sure he means well.

      ;)"

      LOL!

      Paul L. Quandt

      Delete
  8. Just in case anyone is wondering where I have been the last several days; I got ahold of a great book series ( " A Trader's Tale From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper " by Nathan Lowell ). I think this series a very good read. Six books, and I did nothing but read and sleep for days.

    PLQ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paradise! Do nothing but read and sleep.

      Something I could use both of!

      Delete
  9. I read them as intended, but then I expect it to end "Burma Shave!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It had better end that way!

      Otherwise, what was the point?

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

NOTE: Comments on posts over 5 days old go into moderation, automatically.