Definately Shoup Mill/Woodman/Huffman/Needmore/Turner is just silly.  Just call it the Wright Bros. Parkway and get it out of the way.

Getting an early start

More people beginning their days sooner so they can better manage their lives

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Dennis Fiely

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Before the first rooster crows each morning, central Ohioans are found on highways and treadmills, in offices and coffee shops. More people seem to be getting up and out the door before 7 a.m. — and sometimes much earlier. Bernie Fernandez is among them. Even during vacations, the 44-year-old Worthington salesman is on the go by 5 a.m. every day. "Sleep is a dress rehearsal for death," said Fernandez, the married father of two.

 

"There are only 86,400 seconds in a day, and I want to make the most of them."

 

Although definitive statistics aren’t kept on when people heed the alarm or hit the road, plenty of evidence suggests that central Ohioans, and Americans in general, are starting the day earlier.

 

Read more at:

 

http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/05/09/20060509-A1-01.html

Interesting. I've noticed this phenomenon at the other end of the day; late-afternoon rush hour begins around 3:30 p.m. and seems to have peaked before 5.

 

I live on a busy arterial street in a city where enforcement of speed limits is seen as counterproductive to traffic flow, and the noise makes me very aware of the ebb and flow of traffic. The opening of a self-proclaimed "lifestyle center," actually an overblown strip mall with night clubs and a movie multiplex, has led to after-hours traffic noise sometimes until after 11 p.m..

 

Add to that the growing popularity of loud motorcycles, bellowing dual-exhaust systems on pickup trucks and SUVs, house-rattling thumping bass emitted by everything from ghetto cruisers to soccer moms' SUVs, and wanna-be street racers revving out their screaming rice-burners in lower gears, and my property has become damn near uninhabitable. I actually wear 29-decibel-rated industrial noise-reduction earmuffs much of the time when doing yard work, and sometimes even indoors when I'm trying to read something that requires concentration. I'd sell and move if I could afford to.

During the past two years, most of the 125 area McDonald’s cranked up the grills an hour earlier, at 5 a.m., or shifted to 24-hour operations, said regional marketing manager Jeffrey H. Kane.

 

What a terrible point....every McDonalds around the world is doing this...are they also going to comment about how many fast food restaurants in Central Ohio are now accepting credit cards (gasp).  I'm sure there are much better examples out there to reference to than McDonalds expanding their operating hours in Central Ohio.

I go to the gym at 6:15 a-m every morning to get an early start and it's amazing how crowded it is at that hour.

I guess Ben Franklin was right.

Early to bed

Early to rise

Makes a man healthy

wealthy and wise.

 

 

 

    Early to Bed

    Early to Rise

    Makes a Man Healthy,

    Wealthy, and Tired.

    :-D

 

    I wonder if the reason for this shift in hours is to minimize time lost in traffic.

The Long and Grinding Road

The rat race is turning into a marathon. Inside the lives of 'extreme commuters.'

 

By Keith Naughton

Newsweek

 

May 1, 2006 issue - At 5:40 a.m., the alarm blares news-talk radio and Bill Small rolls out of bed. With a two-hour commute ahead of him, the Chicago doctor wastes little time. He showers, dresses and is out the door by 6. At this hour, his car is the only one navigating the winding streets of his upscale neighborhood in St. Charles, Ill., a quaint community nearly 50 miles west of the Chicago hospital where he works.

 

Small's routine is so finely tuned that he won't stop for coffee if there are more than three cars in the drive-thru. Today there are just two, and he picks up an extra-large. But there's no time for a bathroom break, so Small, 41, won't allow himself a single sip for nearly an hour.

 

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12438812/site/newsweek/

 

"By Friday night, I'm completely wiped out," he says. "My wife says I've become an old man." Though he loves where he lives, he admits: "You question your choices at 4 a.m. But then I get to the train station at 5:10 and see all the people doing the same thing. It's very humbling to know I'm not alone."

 

That's funny.  Don't herion addicts say the same thing when they go to rehab and see people just like them?

Hi.... my name is Earl.... I'm a commutoholic.

 

Hi Earl.

 

I find it incredible as gasoline prices are rising that people would even consider moving further and further out to get a better home price!  Whatever savings they might realize is more than chewed up by the cost of the commute.... unless they are fortunate to be near a commuter rail line.  But even then, such huge commutes are a drain on the body if not the wallet.  No thanks.

That doctor from Chicago is insane.  There's no reason he can't take the train.

 

Yeah, having the Dad gone for over half of each day is a terrific way to raise the kids.  :-P

I swear, the more our work lives are governed by cell phones, PDA's, Blue Tooths and whatever electronic gizmo that's alledgedly makes our workdays easier, we somehow manage to work more hours than ever before.  I'm not anti-electronics, but it seems that's part of the problem as well.

 

It's all so out of whack. It's like being assimilated into the Borg.

 

So, when it gets crazy, I just shut it all off.

After I destroyed my third pager in about six months, my boss asked me to please not do that any more. So I didn't. I retired. :evil:

 

    Early to Bed

    Early to Rise

    Makes a Man Healthy,

    Wealthy, and Tired.

    :-D

 

    I wonder if the reason for this shift in hours is to minimize time lost in traffic.

 

Maybe originally, but it looks like 400,000 people got the same idea at the same time.

this was in this Sundays NY Times, which often has good "exurb" articles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/weekinreview/07fessenden.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

it is very ironic people say they are doing this for their children, but then have no time for them. I would chose less space for less of a commute in a heartbeat. Just moving from Clev Heights to Downtown gave me nearly 5 more hours a week of my life back. I have no idea what these people are going to do as gas prices continue to rise...

I believe it's denial. People think that if they believe strongly enough (wish hard enough?), gas prices will come back down and they can continue seeking their own private paradise in suburbia. They try to convince themselves that their fantasies are still possible by carrying on as though nothing has changed, often with a vengeance.

 

The problem is that as the idiots continue to pursue their fantasies, they don't just penalize themselves. By helping to exacerbate and accelerate the decline of oil supplies and the increase of energy costs, they drag the rest of us down with them.

 

I'm accepting applications for a raging mob to make midnight raids on the 'burbs with torches and pitchforks. We'll commandeer the gas from the tanks of their SUVs, and then turn them upside down in their three-car garages that face the cul-de-sacs. Then we'll take the $5,000 zero-turn machines that they use on their three-acre lawns and dump them in the swimming pools. :whip:

^ rob-while not at the angry mob point yet, I get what you are saying about them dragging the rest of us down with their excess, and need for space (to store all the crap they are stuffing the SUV with, back and forth from Sams club) and to be away from "diversity" the real reason many people go out so far. I honestly cannot relate to most suburban people anymore. they start talking about lawn care and walmart sales and my eyes glaze over.

None of this applies to me. If I could go to bed at 5-6 a.m. and wake up at noon, I would do it in a heartbeat. I never was a morning person, except as being my preferred time to go to bed!  :sleep:

^ I detect more of that happening all the time. But, for now, we're the counter-culture. I suspect someday soon, however, we'll even be cool!

^ I detect more of that happening all the time. But, for now, we're the counter-culture. I suspect someday soon, however, we'll even be cool!

 

yes,we are the counter culture, but we are ALREADY cool

^ I detect more of that happening all the time. But, for now, we're the counter-culture. I suspect someday soon, however, we'll even be cool!

I'm sorry but if that happens you'll need to find some other way to be uncool.  This forum is for geeks! :-D

Getting up early isn't the primary cause of a lot of people's sleep deprivation; it's staying up ridiculously late to watch inane crap like Letterman, Leno and O'Brien. They compound the problem by sacrificing any real efforts to be informed about world affairs, politics and current events, and let their opinions be shaped by clowns who will say anything for a laugh. :whip:

^ Thankfully I watch very little TV!  :type:

it is very ironic people say they are doing this for their children, but then have no time for them. I would chose less space for less of a commute in a heartbeat. Just moving from Clev Heights to Downtown gave me nearly 5 more hours a week of my life back. I have no idea what these people are going to do as gas prices continue to rise...

 

I wonder how many of these people ask the kids what they want before moving to the sticks. 

If it has wheels, better not drive it drunk in Ohio

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Diane Suchetka

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

In Ohio you can be charged with driving drunk in a whole lot more than your car.

 

Look at the Vermilion man arrested Friday for driving a lawn mower while intoxicated.

 

Dondi Bowles pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of being under the influence when he maneuvered his landlord's riding mower to a drugstore a mile away. The judge scheduled his case for June 20 but ordered him to serve time until then for violating probation on an earlier drunken driving charge.

 

Read more at:

http://www.cleveland.com/ohio/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1147249926277810.xml&coll=2

it is very ironic people say they are doing this for their children, but then have no time for them. I would chose less space for less of a commute in a heartbeat. Just moving from Clev Heights to Downtown gave me nearly 5 more hours a week of my life back. I have no idea what these people are going to do as gas prices continue to rise...

 

I wonder how many of these people ask the kids what they want before moving to the sticks. 

 

Of course not.  To quote BB King, "Untill you pay the bills around here, I'm paying the cost to be the boss."  Outside of your personal sphere, how much say did you have in your parents day-to-day activity?

 

Of course not.  To quote BB King, "Untill you pay the bills around here, I'm paying the cost to be the boss."  Outside of your personal sphere, how much say did you have in your parents day-to-day activity?

 

It has nothing to do with paying bills.  People move to the middle of nowhere "for the kids".  Do they really? 

 

What if these people asked their kids, "How would you like to live somewhere where:

 

-you need a ride from mom or dad to go play with your friends?

-you can't ride a bike anywhere?

-you can't walk to school?

-you'll be a second-class citizen until you get a driver's license?

-you're recreational activities will either be heavily organized, or will involve a computer or television?

-you won't ever interact with anyone who isn't any different from you?

-you won't ever see mom or dad, because they're in the car for 3-4 hours a day going to and from work?

 

Yet people wonder why their teenage kids are into drugs and booze.  I call BS.  These ridiculous commutes have nothing to do with kids, and everything to do with adults ingratiating their egos with big houses on the cheap. 

^ I detect more of that happening all the time. But, for now, we're the counter-culture. I suspect someday soon, however, we'll even be cool!

I'm sorry but if that happens you'll need to find some other way to be uncool.  This forum is for geeks! :-D

If I had to be cool, I wouldn't know where to start. I've never been anything but geek, and by the time I finished high school I had accepted and embraced my inner (and outer) geek.

 

Geek is all I've ever known, and I'm too old to change. :-P

If it has wheels, better not drive it drunk in Ohio

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Diane Suchetka

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

...The Amish do get arrested, says Lt. Chad Enderby. Officers from his highway patrol station in Holmes County pull over several buggies every summer and arrest the drivers for OVI...

 

The town of Geneva, on US 27 between Berne and Portland, Indiana, has a tavern that's popular with Amish from the surrounding area. On a Saturday night, you're likely to see quite a few buggies parked nearby.

 

The town marshall had to have a chat with one of the Amish bishops about littering caused by Amish tossing empties, and quite a few car-buggy collisions have occurred when the horse was taking a passed-out Amishman home.

 

An Amish lad was arrested in Berne last summer after the buggy he was driving (or more likely passed out in) sideswiped a half-dozen parked cars.

Getting up early isn't the primary cause of a lot of people's sleep deprivation; it's staying up ridiculously late to watch inane crap like Letterman, Leno and O'Brien. They compound the problem by sacrificing any real efforts to be informed about world affairs, politics and current events, and let their opinions be shaped by clowns who will say anything for a laugh. :whip:

 

More of an O'Reily Factor man, eh? Ha!

there's local guy in little italy who drives to the bar with his bike on the back of his car. He thinks he's outsmarting cops by riding the bike home (has quite a history of car related OVI's). I tell him every time that he can still get a OVI, and he doesn't believe me. I should call 1-800-GRAB-DUI just to teach him a lesson. I don't like it when people disagree when i know i'm right.

More of an O'Reily Factor man, eh? Ha!

 

Who? :?

 

Heard of 'im (nothing good), but never watched. I probably watch less than two hours of TV per week. I read my morning paper pretty thoroughly and listen to Public Radio, and would rather not be distracted and disinformed by most of what comes from the tube.

One night I watched a drunk trying to get on his bike in front of a bar. He kept falling over before he could even get rolling. After several tries he gave up and just half lay, half sat on the sidewalk cursing his bike. A cop came by, stopped to see if he was hurt, realized how drunk he was, and called for a wagon. He and another cop picked the drunk up and bodily tossed him in the wagon, followed by his bike, and took him away. In my opinion they were unncessarily rough with him, but in a way it was kind of funny.

There's something else at play here.  The one dude called it his "Zen" time.  For some family types, working late and spending all those hours in the car seeks to avoid the customary relationship problems many of us experience.  And yes, the automobile "cocoon" is a great insulator from the people you find on public transit, whether it be airlines or the city bus. 

 

My 12 year-old son and I recently experienced a Greyhound bus trip to Philly.  As a private pilot (not instrument rated - yet), my initial desire to fly - about 3 hours each way - to Wings Field just outside Philly.  But forecast rains on the day of return quashed that idea.  Amtrak and its crazy schedules were totally out of the question.  That left driving, commercial airlines or not going. I was in no mood to drive and wasn't going to shell out big $$s for last min. airline tickets. So we went Greyhound and left the driving to them.  Other than a very long (3 hr) layover in Pgh. the trip was uneventful.  Well, except for the bus breaking down en route to Cleveland.  Fortunately, it happened at the Harrisburg bus terminal, where we easily switched buses.  In Pgh. I shared that story and the station attendant said, "that's nothin'!"  She and two other drivers experienced breakdowns of the same coach three days in one week, with it stopping in front of the same lady's rural area house EACH TIME.  The lady was understandably upset and phoned GH to complain, saying her street was not a parking lot for brokedown buses.

 

My son and I still enjoyed the sights and somehow managed the fitful sleep, even when boarding a crowded through bus to our destination prevented us from sitting next to one another.

 

After our Pgh. layovers I told my son we wouldn't be riding Greyhound again.  And let me tell you, Cleveland's GH station is the Ritz Carlton compared with Philly's, Harrisburg's and Pittsburgh's!  Those are awful places compared with our beautiful art deco station that is still kept to very clean standards years after its renovation.

 

I wonder what the Chicago Megabus is like.  Anyone tried it yet?

 

 

 

^ A friend of mine from Chicago did. He took the overnight run from Chicago to Cleveland, and said it was almost worth the $1.50 fare. When he boarded streetside at Chicago Union Station, the driver refused to open the baggage bay and didn't help the half-dozen passengers board with their luggage. The heat wasn't turned on until near Elyria, and my friend said he could see his breath (the temp outside was in the 40s). He had a jacket but it wasn't enough. The bus arrived Cleveland Tower City Center on time.

 

Yet, he said the schedule worked for him, so he'd probably take Megabus again. Next time he said he'd bring a blanket and a pillow! It's pretty much his only option since his final destination is Ravenna and PARTA has slashed its Cleveland bus service, eliminating the midday trips. And Amtrak eliminated service through Akron.

 

Previously, he would fly into Cleveland, take the rapid over to Shaker Square, grab lunch, and then board the PARTA bus to Kent for a transfer PARTA bus to Ravenna. Lots of transfers, but it worked.

 

Or, he would take Amtrak's Three Rivers from Chicago, leaving there at 10:30 p.m., arriving Akron at 6 a.m. He would transfer to a PARTA or Metro bus to Kent, then a PARTA bus to Ravenna. All of those options are now gone -- just in time for the high gas prices....

I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule.  So I beat the rush by arriving at work between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.  Home by 3:30.

 

The interstate in the morning, and the surface streets, are nearly clear of traffic...a relaxing drive to work listening to classical music on the radio and watching the sky brighten in the east.

 

The afternoon the traffic is already building, but I manage to avoid the bad backups that usually occur south of Dayton..if I have to work later the trafffic is noticeably worse, both on the interstate and esp. on the exit ramps and surface roads.

 

 

Sounds like the MegaBus driver must have gotten his customer service training working in passenger service during the declining years of the PRR. They made an art form of providing a miserable travel experience.

So........ how many peop;e are injured by drunk bicycle riders ?

Sounds like more of a nanny policy to me.

So........ how many peop;e are injured by drunk bicycle riders ?

Sounds like more of a nanny policy to me.

 

Have you ever tried to ride a bike drunk? Its amazingly difficult. You'd be surprised how much you take your sense of balance for granted.

I have ridden under the influence of any number of intoxicants and their various combinations.

I can actually relate to the guy in Rob's story.

But once you get going the bike pretty much takes care of itself.

Might be kinda hard to keep a straight line, but you are still not rolling around in a ton of steel at 60 mph.

why are trains excluded?

why are trains excluded?

 

i'm going to make my own train.

No, I'm not trying to take a gratioutious shot at Youngstown.

Another webpage referenced a photo I took [see below](maybe it was the other half of roadfan, but most likely it was me) of the Oh 193 bridge over the Mahoning as the "Blue Bridge."

I just never heard that term used.  I mean, the bridge is blue and evidently rehab has either just, or will shortly, finished on the structure.

So is the "Blue Bridge" a common term in Youngstown, or just a one-off quicky observational description?

Hence the term: Rust Belt. BTW, Magyar, you know this site is equipped with a spell checker, a feature that apparently is not gratuitous.

Hence the term: Rust Belt. BTW, Magyar, you know this site is equipped with a spell checker, a feature that apparently is not gratuitous.

 

They're "old" photographs. The head-on shot is from 1999, the length shot is from 2003.

I wasn't as concerned about the rust as I was the nomenclature.  (Spelling be damned)

HAHAHA  :-D

 

  "It is a poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word." - Andrew Jackson  :-D

^ Tell that to my editor!  :type:

Woah...  Those photos make my head hurt.

^ Tell that to my editor!

 

I believe you mean edator  :wink: