Thursday, February 28, 2008

The more you know.

The more I know about science the more I know scientists don't do it. And usually it isn't that bad of a thing, if we go down the wrong path for a couple of years it's no big deal. However, when there is a political agenda behind the science, the the scientists themselves are in a position where if they find out they are wrong they are out of a job we have a really good combination for really bad science. Can anybody guess which science I am talking about? That's right, the one that is put in charge of proving that man is causing global warming. This is the same one that predicted that there would be significantly more hurricanes last year, and that 2007 would be the hottest on record.

I don't really think the scientists are being devious when they make their conclusions, but I do think that they are selectively ignoring some facts while using shaky statistics to prove their ideas. A really good example of a guy that knows enough statistics to get himself into trouble is this guy. My main problems with his analysis is that he finds out which lag to use by the one that fits the model the best, and then goes on to say that after changing the data to the best lag the data fits the model really well. Well duh. Also if you look at his final projection of the temperature it is quite within the bounds of the prediction that we will always be cooler (or at least the same temperature) as right now, i.e. the best model still does not predict a significant raise in temperature.

I wish it was just this one guy, but the more I learn about statistics the more I see how they are just using it to prove their point, not to discover the truth.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Star Wars as a Kid

I was thinking back to my younger years the other day, and I was thinking about how I used to go to one of my mom's friends house and listen to the Star Wars soundtrack. But then as I got to think about it I seemed to remember watching the movie, not listing to it over at the house. Then it dawned on me, I was watching Star Wars on Laser Disc. I had confused the disc with a record in my mind and never sorted it out until just then. Sweet sweet revelation.

Speaking of kids and Star Wars check out the synopsis of the story by a three year old:

Monday, February 25, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008, Round 2 Pairings

Alright, one round down, a bunch more to go. Below are the parings for the second round, but before that let me remind everyone of a couple things. The first is to remember that this is a double elimination tournament, so if you lose once you are still in it. Second, you may notice that I am reviewing some old posts. This is because I open up all the blogs at the same time and review whatever is posted at that time. It may take me a couple of days to actually get to the blog so they may be old posts, but this way I give everyone the same amount of time to write between posts. Lastly, during the competition I do not check the blogs, so I may be slow at responding to comments on your blog. OK enough chit chat, on with the pairings.

The Upper Bracket:
17. Quit Your Day Job vs. Fabulously Jinxed
18. Leisure Pursuit vs. Who Said Life Wasn't Funny
19. What Is Hip vs. The Bingo Caller Of Love
20. I Have A Bomb Shelter And You Can't Use It vs. White rabbit
21. SlydesBlog.com vs. Present Simple
22. Bug-Eyed Blog vs. Will o' the Wisp...
23. Intergalactic Gladiator vs. Steve's Nude Memphis Blog
24. Slapdashittery vs. Mimi says


The Second Chance Bracket:
25. Madge vs. A Haiku For No One
26. Cheezy's Blog vs. Mini-Obs
27. Not just nouns & verbs vs. Gledwood Vol 2
28. Falling On A Bruise vs. No touch Monkey!
29. Stranded In Reality vs. The Year It Didn't Happen
30. The RaeJanes vs. Under the Bridge
31. Light Motifs vs. I Think, Therefore I Am Frustrated
32. Much That Is Hidden vs. Kate Smudges In Earth, Paint and Life

The second round will start in about five days (around Sunday).

My New Favorite Blog 2008, Round 1: Pairings 13-16

Here are the results for the final pairings for round one.

13. Intergalactic Gladiator vs. Light Motifs
Intergalactic Jon ran into Dr. Nemonok whom he met before, a short while ago, in the future. Dr. Nemonok is not from the Intergalactic Psychological Association but he actually serves the Galactor the Evil Galactic Overlord. Long story short Jon kicks a brain jar onto the floor, dumps out the brain and then smooshes it beneath his Leather Personnel Carriers. Heroic if I do say. Miz UV on Light Motifs points out that Cindy McCain looks alot like Jeannie's wedding "mannequin". I would have to agree (click on over to see pics). She also made a list of potato dos and don'ts. One of which I can get fully behind: As far as chips, I like Lay's salt and vinegar best.
Winner: Intergalactic Gladiator

14. I Think, Therefore I Am Frustrated vs. Steve's Nude Memphis Blog
Think Frustrated has a comic posted where he gives advice to the future by writing on one dollar bills. The advice is so deep it could only come on a one dollar bill. Steve has a long long post about the dilemma that the far left Democrats have since they have a black and a woman candidate for the presidency. More specifically he talks about the problems the feminist have with any woman choosing Obama because he is a man, a black man. And the irony just gets better from there.
Winner: Steve's Nude Memphis Blog

15. Slapdashittery vs. Much That Is Hidden
On Slapdashittery we learn that a lunch date with a bank stop over turned into a bank date with a lunch stopover (sans the lunch). Also we see that change for the homeless does not flow freely from the pockets of the unemployed. O' Tim on much that is hidden has some pics posted from the lunar eclipse which are pretty impressive. During the lunar eclipse all I got to see was clouds... It wasn't that impressive.
Winner: Slapdashittery

16. Kate Smudges In Earth, Paint and Life vs. Mimi says
Kate posts that it is her one year anniversary for her blog and that she is thankful for all the things that she has learned and the people that she has met through her blog. She reposted her first blog post witch ponders the word smudges, and what gives her blog its name. Mimi talks about fond memories from her past. When she was little her parents would buy her one thing for the holidays and she had deiced on either a ring, a book, or an hour horse ride. After much consideration she chose the hour horse ride. When the day finally came she prepared herself with all sorts of horsey goodness treats only to find that all the horses and ponies were already rented out to other people, however there was a donkey that she could ride. Well, as expected the donkey would have nothing of it and Mimi got one hour of sitting atop a donkey with hardly any riding to be had. She said it was still the right choice.
Winner: Mimi says

The brackets for round two and the second chance competition will be up soon.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008, Round 1: Pairings 9-12

Here are the results for the third (out of four) pairings for the first round of My New Favorite Blog Contest.

9. SlydesBlog.com vs. Stranded In Reality
Slyde tells us of a magic story where him and Earl have a wonderful vacation down in Key West. While in Key West Slyde gets tanned which turns him from 'just plain hot' to 'I am so hot I will appear of the radar for all gay men'. Well, sure enough, while at the bar he gets hit on by a gay guy. Now instead of just turning the man down Slyde accidentally encourages him and is left with a gay lap dance for a reward. Bravo. On Stranded In Reality the first post is about the ill teaching of our kids when they get home schooled, to the place where the winner of the home schooled science fair project has won based on religious beliefs. The second post is a list of quotes one of which I really liked:

I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good ~ Oprah Winfrey

I which everyone would realize that they are responsible for themselves.
Winner: SlydesBlog.com

10. Present Simple vs. The Year It Didn't Happen
Badaunt on Present Simple digresses for a bit and tell a story of a lady who yawned so hard that she dislocated her jaw, and if that wasn't bad enough it was during her honeymoon. Also there is a code red out for a missing glove, so if you happen to be in Japan(?) and see one lonely glove on a train you might want to leave a comment on Present Simple. The Year It Didn't Happen reviews a book called ' Oryx and Crake' which had dystopia and apocalyptic elements. (A dystopian society is a state in which the conditions of life are extremely bad, characterized by human misery, poverty, oppression, dictatorship, anarchy, violence, disease, and/or pollution. Thanks Wikipedia!) It sounds like a good book, and I might pick it up if I see it, or at least thumb though it to see what it is like.
Winner: Present Simple

11. Bug-Eyed Blog vs. The RaeJanes
Earl on the Bug-Eyed Blog posts that he has hit an all time low because he went out to a Chinese restaurant to pick up his carry out order in PJ's. Now he does not say if these PJs have feet on them (like I used to have when I was a kid), and he does not mention if he was wearing a cowboy hat. But I imagine that he did, and it makes me laugh. ReaJanes thinks that if a man has hairy legs, an unshaved face, gross toe nails, and is wearing a dress, he should not be shopping in the same section of the store as her. I don't see why not.
Winner: Bug-Eyed Blog

12. Under the Bridge vs. Will o' the Wisp...
Under the Bridge ponders what we should do about kids that commit violent crimes when they do not have the ability to completely reason out their decisions. He also points out that we have made arbitrary age guides for things that do not take into consideration the development of the children. I was actually thinking about this topic just yesterday. Julie has been amassing a knitted teddy bear army which she calls "The Teddacotta Army" which has just received four now recruits to it's ranks. It is no wonder that she has such a large standing army because in her past she has had problems diplomacy, even her own family. One example is when she broke an Etch-A-Sketch which she borrowed from her cousin when she was young. The Etch-A-Sketch was not properly made and so Julie broke it for the sake of everyone, however the cousin didn't appreciate her kindness and lines were drawn in the sand. The army of teddy bears is the least that she could do to protect herself.
Winner: Will o' the Wisp...

Last part of the first round to come soonish

Saturday, February 23, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008, Round 1: Pairings 5-8

Here are the results for the next four pairings.

5. Not Just Nouns & Verbs vs. What Is Hip?
Melanie on Not Just Nouns kicks off this set of blogs with a bang -she links to a site about hyper-breasts. I think they are photoshopped, but they are huge... actually there is no way someone could walk around with breasts that size, they have to be fake. Don on What is Hip tells a tale of body building and mind bending. The question posed while doing his workout was: What is the one integer between 1000 and 2000 that can not be expressed by a sum of consecutive integers? (An example of a number that can be expressed by a sum of consecutive integers is 6 = 1+2+3) Well I won't steal his thunder you'll have to check out how to figure this problem out on his blog (and to learn the most efficient way to build upper body strength.)
Winner: What is Hip?

6. The Bingo Caller of Love vs. Gledwood Vol 2
The Bingo Caller had a rocking Friday with 6 phone interviews lined up, but it sounds like everything went fine. I assume he is the one doing the calling, not getting called... that would be a very stressful day. Gledwood Vol 2 weaves a light hearted tale of getting fluid drained from blisters and of rotting flesh. The more I read the more down the rabbit hole I get. Start only if you don't want to stop.
Winner: The Bingo Caller of Love

7. I have a bomb shelter and you can't use it vs. Fall On A Bruise
Limpy who is in his bomb shelter all by himself posts that Lindsay Lohan was tricked into taking nude photes that appeared in a magizne. Now, this may just be me, but I don't just get undressed around relly good lighting and big camera.. Fall On A Bruise posts about the high price of oil and about the benefits of taking over the oil companies and using the money to fund government works. It would be no surprise then that another post is about the wonderful work Castro has done in Cuba. If only we all were so lucky.
Winner: I Have A Bomb Shelter

8. No touch monkey! vs. White Rabbit
Marrrk on No touch monkey! keeps of the trend of nudity up in this set of blogs and links to naked girls and monster art. He also posts a funny video of Kids In the Hall called Happiness Pie. Btw, I think I am hungry. White Rabbit notes that one of his favorite street names in in York and is called 'Whip-Ma-Whoop-Ma Gate'. That is a very impressive name, and it might be too long to use for you address when you type it in on the internet. He also gives us a nice relaxing rendition of Pachobel Cannon from YouTube.
Winner: White Rabbit

More results to come later.

Friday, February 22, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008, Round 1: Pairings 1-4

Alright, to get things kicked off let me remind everyone that this is a double elimination tournament, so if you lose a round don't fret -there is a second chance bracket.

Well it didn't take long for me to realize how hard it is to choose between good blogs... and since I relied on suggested blogs this time the level of competition is high right from the gate. So let's get it on!

1. Quit Your Day Job vs. Madge - Quit Your Day Job first talked about his love of the movie Con-Air. He points out that people either love or hate Nic Cage (personally I can't stand him... although he works for me in some movies [Gone in 60 Seconds]... Con Air happens to be the movie where I realized how bad of an actor he is.) He also talks about a book that I got for Christmas called "World War Z". I have not read the book yet, but I want to after the review, basically he said that it is a fairly realistic representation of a war against zombies. And to add effect to the Zombie War idea he posted a video of Pres. Bush addressing the zombie menace. It was really funny (check it out). Madge has found that she really wants to make lists, sort of like a New Year's resolution, a couple of months late. On the list to do is to photograph some new Pyrex... I don't know what that means. Also Madge talked about how a lady spoke her self affirmation lines a bit too loud and everybody could hear them... awkward....
Winner: Quit Your Day Job

2. A Haiku For No One vs. Fabulously Jinxed - The one and only Haiku blog in this competition had the poem titled "Tar on Their Feet" It goes like this:

In the modern age,
We're conditioned to move fast.
Let's go slow again

I agree that everyone wants to go faster and faster. One of the big selling points on new products is that it will be faster than the previous products. This isn't always a needed thing. So what if it takes two minutes longer to wash a load of laundry... use that time to make some tea.
Fabulously Jinxed notes that Fox News got something right when they called the Little Green Footballs blog a 'hate site'. I have not read the blog but I do find enjoyment when she called the guys over there crotch grabbers. She also talks about how someone claimed that the blogging word dead since the majority of blogs support Obama instead of Clinton. I agree that the person that said that is completely off base saying that blogs are dead because they favor one candidate over the other.
Winner: Fabulously Jinxed

3. Leisure Pursuit vs. Cheezy's Blog
Over on Leisure Pursuit, Valerie has an extensive (2 hour) live blog of American Idol, this time, it is the top 12 guys from the contest. I didn't watch the show but from the sounds of it only a couple of guys are impressive, and Pula Abdul makes no sense. Cheezy discusses how good the movie "There Will Be Blood" actually is. I don't always go for the movies that want to just tell a story, but this movie has been very highly reviewed and I think I just need to go see it.
Winner: Leisure Pursuit

4. Who Said Life Wasn't Funny vs. Mini-Orbs
Elizabeth on Who Said Life Wasn't Funny got thoroughly freaked out about germs after reading an acticle that says that germs are everywhere. She warns us not the shake hands with people because they have poop on their hands. Poop. Mini-Orbs did not update.
Winner: Who Said Life Wasn't Funny

Well that is it for now, I will try to get the next four pairings up later today.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

One good potato

If I would have to name the best potato product or food, I would probably say that potato salad is the best. I can see where you are coming from if you think that the baked potato, or maybe even cheese fries are the best, but when it comes right down to it, potato salad is where it is at. I think among the worst potato products are non-wavey potato chips, and cold french fries.

By the way, I had some really good potato salad for lunch today. It had bacon in it.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008 Brackets Set

After a short delay I present the brackets for the My New Favorite Blog 2008 competition (click the picture for a larger image). For more information on the competition check out this post. But the basic idea is that this is a double elimination tournament, where each round is judged with incredible subjectivity, all in the name of me finding a new blog that I can call my favorite. The first round of the tournament feature the following parings:

1. Quit Your Day Job vs. Madge
2. A Haiku For No One vs. Fabulously Jinxed
3. Leisure Pursuit vs. Cheezy's Blog
4. Who Said Life Wasn't Funny vs. Mini-Obs
5. Not just nouns & verbs vs. What Is Hip
6. The Bingo Caller Of Love vs. Gledwood Vol 2
7. I Have A Bomb Shelter And You Can't Use It vs. Falling On A Bruise
8. No touch Monkey! vs. White rabbit
9. SlydesBlog.com vs. Stranded In Reality
10. Present Simple vs. The Year It Didn't Happen
11. Bug-Eyed Blog vs. The RaeJanes
12. Under the Bridge vs. Will o' the Wisp...
13. Intergalactic Gladiator vs. Light Motifs
14. I Think, Therefore I Am Frustrated vs. Steve's Nude Memphis Blog
15. Slapdashittery vs. Much That Is Hidden
16. Kate Smudges In Earth, Paint and Life vs. Mimi says

I will be checking back up on the blogs on Thursday or Friday to determine the winners of the first round. Good luck to everyone!

Friday, February 15, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008 Update

It is getting closer to the start of the search for My New Favorite Blog 2008, and I just wanted to update you on the progress. So far I have 11 out of the 36 spots filled from suggestions, so if you know of any blog that should be included in the competition let me know.

On Monday I will get the brackets set up and then on Thursday or Friday I will start checking up on the blogs. Remember that this is a double elimination bracket, so if you get beat one week you are still in the hunt. I can not tell you what a good blog post is, it will chance from week to week. I will be very subjective on which blog wins each time, it will really depend on my mood, sometimes I will be in the mood to laugh sometimes I will be in the mood to ponder ideas, sometimes randomness wins.

Again if you know of some good blogs either email me, or post a comment.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Tom Cruise, you are right.

A couple of weeks ago I watched the double secret Scientology video that Tom Cruise did where he talked about the "church" and what not. And as always he proved that he is only a puppet of the person he once was, which is sad. But he did say something that I can not disagree with; he commented that if Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley were Scientologists that they would still be alive today. And as much as I dislike Scientology I have to agree with that statement. Scientology does help people who are unable to control their own impulses get the needed control.

Now only if they weren't so evil... and didn't charge for their "religion"... and brainwash people.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Lt. Fly vs. The Spiders From Above

The award for the longest named game goes to Lt. Fly vs. the Spiders from Above. While it comes on down to claim the award I will give you a brief overview of the game. LFVTSFA or Spiders from Above is a hybrid puzzle and action game smooshed together. On the left hand of the screen is a game sort of like Bejeweled, where you try to match four colors together to remove bricks. As the bricks are removed ammo works it's way down into your storage. Why do you need ammo? Because while you are working on the puzzle Spiders are attacking from above and they must be fended off. So during the game if the Spiders look like they are getting to close to the bottom of the screen you can move your cursor over to the right side of the screen and use the ammo you got to take the spiders out.

The game does a really good job of balancing the puzzle and the action parts of the game At times I had to frantically play the puzzle so that I could get more ammo because the Spiders were attacking. Other times I was sitting on 50+ bullets picking off Spiders at will. It is a fun game, and it only has about 15 levels so it doesn't take too long to beat. You really need to stop whatever you are doing and play this game.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Pasta Bowl Italian Mix

It is time to even out some of that bad karma I tend to dole out on my blog. So I would like to give a bit of a positive review for once.

Pasta Bowl Italian Mix in St. Peters, Missouri accidentally found us this weekend. You see we made it up to St. Louis on Saturday for a another full weekend of playing hockey and we had about an hour until we needed to met up with the rest of the team at the rink. We were a bit hungry in the car so we drove down Mid Rivers Mall Drive on the look for some good eats. And there we saw it, on the horizon, Red Robin. That is some good eats, so we pulled in to the parking lot but we noticed that there was alot of people standing around and that wouldn't do because we didn't have time to wait. (Also playing hockey on a stomach full of hamburger didn't sound the best.) So we pulled out of the parking lot and noticed the place across the way called Pasta Bowl Italian Mix, after a quick vote in the car we kept on driving up the street to see what else we could find.

Luckily for us we ran out of food places fairly fast and we had to pull a U and we decided that we would just go eat at Panera. It turned out that traffic was bad and we ended up stopped in front of the entrance to the Pasta Bowl, and after another quick vote we decided to just eat there.

Best decision ever.

The restaurant turns out to be like Noodle's and Co. but it only does Italian food. The interior was very nice and modern and the prices were fair $7.50 for a bowl of pasta and a Coke. We ended up ordering a good variety of things and all of them were very good, actually they were all great. It was real Italian food (I should know; I have to eat Italian food made by Italians quite a bit during the holidays). The kicker was the owner (?) of the place that was just the nicest guy around. He was defiantly Italian (he had heavy stereotypical accent and all) and it showed that he cared very much for his food and his customers. In fact if it wasn't for him the Pasta Bowl would not be the topic of a post on my blog. But he was the kind of guy that you just have to smile because he likes doing what he is doing so much.

Well we had a good lunch and we headed on out to Matteson Square Triplex for our games, during which we played admirably (read: we lost). After the team headed back to the motel and showered and all, the topic of dinner came up. Jerry, our coach, said that he would like to try the place, if we didn't mind eating there again (we didn't). So we lugged our posse of 16 people out to the Pasta Bowl that had (we learned later) dismissed everyone to go home but two workers. When we arrived the guys at the place called some people to come back to work to help out and the owner came back to the store. This time when the owner saw us it was almost like a scene from an Italian Cheers episode: "Hey, you-a come back!" He actually seemed thrilled to have to come back to work late at night to get the food cooked for us.

Even though the staff apologized for saying that it took along time to get our food out, we all got our food in less than 15 minutes, which was a pretty good accomplishment considering there was only one cook. It turned out that the team thought that the place was good, and some guys seemed like the place even better than I did. Our Coach said that the Pasta Bowl will go on our (short) list of places to eat while in town, and we have already told the owner of the place that we will be back up there next weekend.

I know it sounds like I am paid to post this, but really I am not. I just wanted to give credit to people that really do a good job. I am of the thought that if you are going to make a restaurant, make it a great restaurant, and the Pasta Bowl is a great restaurant. Both because the food was good and because the people that ran the place were even better.

p.s. It also made me think that everyone should smile more often, it makes the world a happier place.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Graceful vs not.

This morning I woke up around 4am with my stomach turning. I tried to lay in different positions but my body couldn't get to feeling right, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I felt nauseous so I decided to get up make some tea and lay down on the futon out in our living/dining/foyer/family room. I flipped on the TV to get my mind off of my stomach, but out of all 100 channels we get there was two things "on". One was a Japanese guy making paper, which was interesting, but in Japanese, so I could only watch it for so long. The other was a ballroom dancing competition on PBS. I ended up watching that for a bit, but I got to thinking about how they were dancing, and they were no where as graceful as figure skaters. I guess I am comparing PBS Ballroom Dancing competition to Olympic figure skating (the only time I watch it) but there is a huge difference in the grace involved. Figure skating is graceful, ballroom dancing is gracenot.


p.s. I updated my sidebar to the right, now there are 16 games to chose from, cleverly arranged in a grid, to start making better use of your procrastinating time. Go ahead and click on one of them, you deserve a break.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

PHD Comics

After grading something important for my class (a paper or a test or whatever) this is exactly how it goes:

It's good to see that undergrads Nationwide are not as smart as they should be, not just here in Kansas.

The other reason I bring up this comic is because today I just found out about PHD Comics. They are drawn by a professor in Tulane and they are pretty funny. I travel the winding road of the internet many times a day, and it always has new things for me to discover. That is why the internet is so sweet, I may think that I have found everything of note already, but I haven't, I just need to look harder.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Monkey Smiles

You know what is awesome about today? The class that I take is canceled because the professor is away on some research shindig, possibly finding out why a monkey smile is funnier than a human smile (well some sort of research anyways). It is always fun to have a class canceled. Actually having a class canceled is better than not even having that class in the first place.

I think next semester I will just take a whole bunch of classes from professors that cancel class alot. Everyday I'll be "Today is awesome 6 of my 10 classes are canceled today! Party!" And it will seem like my semester rocks and I have tons of free time even though this year I only take one class.

Monday, February 04, 2008

My New Favorite Blog 2008

Update: I changed the requirement to updating once every five days so that more people can be included in the competition.

It's about that time of the year again and since the blogs that I keep up with are dropping like flies it's about time that I find some new favorite blogs (Last year's results). This year's competition will again feature a field of 32 blogs in a double elimination tournament. However, this year I would like to make up the field of blogs from suggestions from my readers. So if you write a blog, or know a good blog give me a link to it and I'll get it in the competition.

The blogs that I am looking for have the following qualities:
1. It is updated at least once every three five days or so. Less than this and it will probably get eliminated from not getting updated between rounds.
2. It should not be a major blog. I would rather include blogs with smaller readerships. If each post gets in the upper teens or more of comments each time they already have enough people reading their blog. Let's focus on the little guys.
3. If you are already listed on the right sidebar of my blog you can not compete (you already write one of my favorite blogs.) However I would really like for you to suggest a couple of blogs to include.
4. If you played last year and didn't win you can play this year again if you want.
5. I am sure there are more qualities I am looking for, I just can't think of them right now.

I will be taking blog suggestions for the next couple of weeks, or until I get 32 blogs. If I don't get enough suggestions I will fill the rest of the field and the competition will begin. Then I will check on the blogs every couple of days and determine which one moves on to the next round, until I find My New Favorite Blog. Keep tuned for the start of the tournament.

If you read (or write) a good blog leave me a comment!

Friday, February 01, 2008

5 of the worst traffic intersection ideas.

Yesterday I was reading Legally Blonde and she talked about how she had to go to the cleaners that was located by a Michigan left. That is the first time that I have heard of that term, but researching it has lead me down a Wikipedia induced foray into the stupid ideas for traffic intersections. So I have decided that I will list the five worst intersection ideas and will discuss their stupidity.

5. Continuous Flow Intersection
The brilliant plan behind this intersection is that all opposite flow traffic (east and west, or north and south) do not have to stop at the intersection to make any turns. That's right, both opposing flows of traffic can make unhindered right and left turns. How is that possible? Well just look at this simple diagram of the intersection:
Make sense? Yeah, I bet it is even harder to get what to do when you are actually driving in a car and you have five seconds to figure it out. But basically the left turning traffic gets all the way over to the left side of the road and then can go through the intersection without crossing the oncoming traffic. Thats alot of trouble to go to so that you don't have to stop when you make a left hand turn.

4. Roundabouts
I know, I know. I hate roundabouts with a passion so it is very surprising to find them on this list at only number 4, but when I said I don't like roundabouts I also didn't know about the even worse ideas out there. But in case you don't know, a roundabout is an intersection where everyone exits right and then goes around in a circle until the get to the road that they want to get off on. Essentially this means if you want to go straight you have to drive around half of a circle, and for a left hand turn you make a 3/4 circle. While on the roundabout you have the right of way to those entering into it.

The worst thing about roundabouts is that it seems like in Manhattan (Kansas) the traffic engineers think it is the solution to every problem. And while roundabouts are only slightly annoying on small roads, they are unreasonably complicated when each direction of traffic has two or more lanes of traffic.

3. Hook Turn
How about this one. If you want to turn left you get in the right most lane of traffic, and then turn across all lanes of traffic. Sounds like a good idea? (hint: No is the answer to that question.) The reason that hook turns are used is when intersections also contain other middle traffic (like a light rail or bus lane), so that you can check to see if there is anything in that lane before you make the turn. Observe:

The hook turn is a bad idea because it blocks all right and left turning traffic. I would think a simple stoplight that can account for traffic in the middle lane would solve this nightmare of a turn lane.

2. Traffic Circle
I have never heard of this before looking it up in Wikipedia, but a traffic circle is a large roundabout where entering traffic gets the right of way over traffic already in the circle. Yeah, like that is a good idea... if I want to go straight I have to wait for people that want to turn right onto the same road as me. Here this diagram might help navigating a traffic circle:Ok, they aren't all that bad, this one is a notoriously evil traffic circle. Still traffic in the circle has to yield to traffic entering the circle? That is just not right.

1. Michigan Left
Ah, when I found you Michigan left, I know that I had found something special... I thought my hatred for roundabouts could not be equaled, however Michigan left, you met and exceeded anything a roundabout could have ever done. A Michigan left is an intersection where there is no left turns. Instead if you want to go left, you go straight through the intersection and then you make a u-turn and then go back to the intersection and make a right turn. Yeah try explaining that one when you give directions to somebody.

So instead of waiting and turning left onto a busy street, I now get to wait and turn right, cross all lanes of traffic, exit left, and then turn left into the "fast lane" of the busy street that I want to be on? Um, yeah, I think I will just not go to Michigan ever. That will be easier to do.

Honorable mention: Jughandle