2009.11.05
About comments and spam and new posters!
Hey folks,
We've had a flood of comments in recent days; thank you very much! We passed the 6,000 "approved" comments mark Tuesday night -- Kristen was the poster. We also have a bunch of new folks (recognition for them down below). It has been wild and woolly these election days!
Thank you all for your participation.
For the newbies, a brief note about comments: Although your computer screen may trick you, no comments ACTUALLY get posted to the blog until I formally "approve" them. (It's the way we're set up, alas). Although I approve pretty much everything that doesn't have four letter words, sometimes that takes a while. I might be out on assignment, writing a column, sleeping, schlepping the kids around or on a date with my wife, etc. But I will get to it, promise.
Spam: I get a lot - about 1 piece of electronic garbage for every REAL comment that comes in. It all gets filtered into a huge file I peruse occasionally. Every now and then it picks up something from a regular here on these boards, including in the past day or two. If/when I catch those I can recover them, but there are a lot to go through and I don't do it often. So if a very long time goes by (say, 6-8 hours) and it seem like your message isn't up, please drop me an email and let me know and I'll go hunting for it.
Last but not least, we've heard from a number of relative newbies here on the blog very recently. Welcome! A partial list is below:
They include, but are not limited to:
- Big Momma
- Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
- J.T.
- Joe Mostowey
- Dennis Milvin
- Lynda K
- Minority Ma
- Roland Deschain
- Bring on the Test!
- Jason Morgan
- Joe
- Joey
- Carolyn
- Morris Fleischer
- Kay
- Static Lines
- Dave
- Al Milton
- Liz
- PU and
- Tracey
On behalf of myself, Sandi Saunders, VVarlock, Jason, BobH, Other John, Henry, Tony, Kristen, gdad, T Witten, Michael A. Howdyshell, Brendan, Valerie, Roanoker, Will, Buster, Uptheriver, Andrew, Blue John, Art Hill, Ed S., terps, Another Chris, jc, Atticus Finch, Patrick Henry VT Hokie, Lou Ann, TScott, and other regulars - thank you very much.
We give as good as we get here, we enjoy that action, and we hope you do, too. Comment away!
Dan
I have a rant for you and I rarely rant about much. Merging onto 581 South at Orange Avenue. Don't the driver education class's teach merging anymore? Yesterday I witnessed a car that stopped as it came up on 581 I simply passed the car on right, as others did, and proceeded onward. Out of respect for propriety I will not mention the gender of the driver. This is very dangerous. The merge lane is designed for the merging vehicle to attain the speed of the ongoing traffic. I understand this particular entry ramp is a little difficult as cars are exiting 581 to Orange Avenue East, however that does not change the basic skill of merging does not involve stopping. To make this current for the blog I think the people that stop on the entry ramp are probably 1) not Virginians and 2) probably liberals.
Comment by Michael A, Howdyshell — November 5, 2009 @ 7:08 am
Even though this is off the topic of the post, I'm going to respond to Michael. Being from NY originally (although I've been here for 9 years now and I can't imagine living anywhere else), I've got to disagree with one of your two assessments. You are correct that people who stop on on-ramps are most likely liberals, but the "not Virginians" claim is backwards.
After moving down here I was shocked at how many people don't know how to merge. It was a drastic difference from anywhere else I've been. People will stop even when there are no cars coming. Orange to 581 is the worst but not the only place this happens. I think Liberal Virginians are the culprit.
Comment by Elliot — November 5, 2009 @ 8:23 am
I hate that ramp weave area. The problem there is that the 'weave' where you have vehicles trying to merge and accerlate mixing with others trying to decelerate and exit is a mostly antiquated design, and further compounded by the shear volume of traffic there and that the merge area is so short. I can understand why some drivers feel the need to stop, it's often a solid wall of traffic in the right lane, and technically, drivers entering 581 have to yield to traffic already on 581. But, stopping on the ramp like that makes it very dangerous for drivers behind them. That's why you don;t see too many of those cloverleaf interchanges being built today...and if they are, they are about 5-10 times larger. Most often, in dense urban areas like that part of Roanoke, the interchanges are being re-built into what's known as a Single-Point Urban Interchange, or SPUI. It acts kind of like the regular diamond interchanges (sort of like Elm Ave) but with a major improvements (Everyone know how much Elm Ave sucks). Rather than having 2 signals on either end of the interchange, all traffic is brought to a single point (hence the name), and a single signal. All right turn traffic is free-flow so it never enters the signal, and only left-turn traffic and non-freeway through traffic uses the signal. They are super efficient, require a lot less right-of-way, and operate almost as well as much larger interchanges. I believe the plan for 581 improvements called for SPUI interchanges at Orange and Peters Creek, but who knows how far off that might be given the abysmal funding situation we're in.
Comment by Other John — November 5, 2009 @ 8:45 am
Mr. Howdyshell-
First, I must say I share your fury at the stoppers. My wife can attest to the veins popping in my forehead when people commit this and other acts of driving idiocy. Here's a few of my favorites:
Yield signs apparently mean -- nothing.
Turn signal? What's a turn signal?
Oh my God, the traffic lights are down, they're just blinking red, what do we do?! Anarchy! Disaster! Every man for himself!
Yes, I'm going five miles per hour under the speed limit, no, I won't get out of the passing lane.
As for political affiliation, I can only go by casual observance of bumper stickers, but I've found that both parties seem to have an equal share of the stupidity.
Comment by Jason — November 5, 2009 @ 10:17 am
@2 - I agree wholeheartedly. Whenever I go to a larger metropolis I see folks having no problem with merging, but here in Roanoke it's like somebody put square wheels on the cars. I admit I am an aggressive driver with little patience for OBLIVIOTS, but Roanoke has the WORST drivers in the country. Bar None.
O-bliv-i-ot. (adj. - people that are unaware that there are other people on this earth besides themselves ex: slow walmart shoppers, people purchasing tons of lottery tickets, bad/inept drivers, drive-thru window employees, anyone ahead of you in line that sees you have two items and they have 100 and wont let you go ahead, cashiers that want to have a 20 minute conversation with you when checking you out, etc.) I know it sounds harsh but we have all been there - on both sides of the term as well.
Comment by Walker — November 5, 2009 @ 10:32 am