Traffic SNAFU

Thought for the day: Some rights are worth dying for, but the right of way isn't one of them.

Unfortunately, road rage is a real thing, and some people aren't satisfied with merely offering a rather familiar and not-so-friendly hand gesture... which I prefer to interpret as You're number one. It takes a lot to get me riled, but I must admit, the lack of courtesy on our roads does kinda get my goat. Not that I resort to using the aforementioned gesture, but I do occasionally mutter some rather unladylike words. Under my breath, of course. (After all, the guy who forces me to hit the brakes because he just cut in front of me... even though there are abso-freaking-lutely no cars whatsoever BEHIND me... might not take too kindly to hearing some old lady's opinion about his driving skills or the legitimacy of his birth.)

I'm gonna ask you guys for your opinions about a particular driving situation, but before we get to that, let's just have a little fun with some road signs, shall we?

Now, I can't say that I've ever seen this sign myself, but if I did, you can be sure I'd have to stop the car and take a picture of it. It reminds me of a joke... Did you hear about the woman who tried to pull a Lorena Bobbitt on her philandering husband? In a blind rage, she ended up stabbing him multiple times in the leg. She was charged with a... ready for it?... a mis-da-weiner. 

I wonder if this sign is posted in a school district...?

I'd actually loooooooove to see signs like the one on the right. The one on the left? To tell the truth, around these parts, that isn't much of an exaggeration.

Now here's a sign some of those angry bird-flipping drivers might understand. It speaks their language.

HUH! Well, that's downright discriminatory! We old broads and geezers have just as much right to be on that road as the younguns.

You've all seen those signs warning drivers about various animal crossings. I say BRAVO to all of those smart animals who know where it's safe for them to cross.

(If the crossing's location is inconvenient for drivers, then the DOT could do what the dumb blonde suggested in a joke: For goodness sake, just move the sign!)

Now, I dunno what the heck this sign is trying to tell us. Has there been a spate of alien abductions in the area? (HMMMPH! I'd say that's a bunch of bull!)

A hand-made PSA posted by a concerned citizen.

This sign just makes me smile.

Okay, so it's time for me to STOP and get off of Procrastination Parkway and get to the gist of this post... getting your opinions about a particular traffic situation.

We've all seen those dreaded signs warning us of construction ahead. Grrrrreat, huh? Usually means delays, snarled traffic, and frayed nerves, not to mention an annoying kick in the seat to one's average rate of speed. (Particularly annoying on a long trip.)

But HERE'S the kind of sign I want to discuss with you. With the amount of roadwork and utility work going on around here, we see similar signs on every road from interstates to small roads within subdivisions. Often, they come with more specific information. Like, RIGHT LANE CLOSES IN ONE HALF MILE, usually followed by multiple distance count-down signs before the lane finally comes to an end.

Now here's the question: When you see a sign telling you that the lane you are in is going to close, when do you move over into the other lane? Smarticus and I have always moved over as soon as possible, and he certainly doesn't take too kindly to the folks who wait until the VERY LAST MOMENT to try to cut over in front of him. (i.e. We did the right thing, and they're inconsiderate a**holes.)

Kinda like the sentiments expressed on this sarcastic gem.

Or this one.


The thing is, I've seen some angry drivers at that actual point of lane-ending. Lots of honking horns and not-so-friendly hand signals.







Reminds me of a weird news story I wrote about in one of my posts in February of 2012:

***  An impatient Porsche driver in San Francisco wasn't happy about being stuck in traffic, so he set out to do something about it. You've seen this sort of driver before; we all have. They're usually behind the wheel of a high-dollar car, and I suppose they figure they're above the mundane laws of the road governing the rest of us peons. Anyway, they generally have no problem making their own lanes. Like the privileged characters they are, they'll whip down the shoulder or emergency lane to get past the traffic jam, and then count on the kindness of strangers to let them back on the road. That's exactly what the Porsche driver tried to do, only the empty lane he claimed was empty for a very good reason. A nice, wet, freshly-poured concrete reason. The guy went from being merely stuck in traffic to really stuck. Workers had to dig the car out, and though the incident may have ruined that Porsche dude's day, I have a feeling the other snickering drivers and pointing passersby considered it a delightful case of poetic justice.

I think the same kind of resentment over entitled drivers may be what's behind the less-than-friendly behavior when a lane closes. Ergo, we move over as soon as possible.

                                                                And that's certainly

                                  to respond to the situation. But as it turns out,  it may be the

According to Marilyn vos Savant, the super duper high IQ gal who writes a column for the Sunday newspaper, the right way to handle those approaching lane closures is to utilize both lanes for as long as possible. She says it's more efficient that way, and keeps traffic moving. Then at the closure point, cars are to take turns: proceed first from one lane, and then the other. I checked it out, and the DOT agrees with her. They even have a name for it; they call it the zipper method. After I read her article, I thought it did, indeed, make sense to do it that way, but Smarticus still says he's gonna move over well before the lane closes. A couple of other friends agreed with him, and they say that in a Utopian world, it'd be a great way to handle the situation, but it ain't a Utopian world, and people are gonna act like jerks at the convergence point. It might be a logical approach... but it isn't practical.
             
                                                         What do YOU think?

                                             I think... I'm gonna have a cuppa tea.

                            Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

One Block at a Time

Thought for the day:  During darkened conditions,  a bare foot can serve quite well as an inexpensive device for finding every missing LEGO®  left lying on the floor. 

[morguefile]

When we were kids, we played with erector sets and Tinkertoys, which are both probably considered far too dangerous for children to have in today's world. Too many sharp edges, I suppose. As opposed to LEGOs®, which are definitely more colorful, and allegedly much safer. (Ever step on one of them? They feel pretty darned sharp to me...)

At any rate, they're a lot of fun for kids of all ages. (Just between you and me, Smarticus and I may or may not have been known to remain on the floor assembling some of those brightly-colored marvels long after the grandchildren have lost interest and moved onto something else.)

When we visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in 2014, I shared some pictures of the fabulous  mosaicultures they had on exhibit. Well, towards the end of last year, we visited the new branch of the Gardens, located in Gainesville, where a LEGO® exhibit was on display. Let's just say the stuff they had there is a heckuva lot more sophisticated than I ever imagined anyone building with those blocks. Wanta see...?

This first one is rather simple. (Albeit, beyond my skill level.) It shows a couple squirrels and birds at a feeder.

Here's a closer look at a couple of the birds.

A gardener tending a plant.

A true-to-life sized roto-tiller.

A sundial.The bushes surrounding the dial had clocks hanging from them. (Yes, that's my shadow... time for me to pay more attention...)

A hummingbird and trumpet plant.

A mallard duck and his babies... and an egg.

Praying mantis.

A woodpecker on a tree that's wrapped in a web of red yarn.

A majestic bald eagle.

A corn snake... according to the sign at the gardens. According to my brother, who KNOWS his snakes, it's actually a milk snake.

And a monarch butterfly.

Pretty cool, huh? The gardens in Gainesville are considerable smaller than the ones in Atlanta, but they're still quite lovely, and feature lots of walking trails through the surrounding woods, too. It made for a terrific way to spend a beautiful day in the great outdoors.

[morguefile]

Oh, and check out this picture. This most impressive LEGO® knight and dragon weren't at the gardens; I found this pic on morguefile. The things some talented people can make out of these simple, but ingenious, blocks, is nothing short of amazing. Seems to me, there must be some sort of lesson to be learned from this...

There is strength in numbers. When the bricks stick together, great things can be accomplished. [Steve Klusmeyer]

And that's all from this brick... or more like blockhead... for now.

                            Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Mugs, Jugs, and a Booby Prize

Thought for the day:  Do what you can, where you are, with what you've got. Break the rules, be different, be dynamic, but above all, be yourself! And have fun doing it!  [Paul Dixon]

It was pretty doggone evident when we saw this car in the parking lot that the art show inside was gonna be a lit-tle unusual.

(And fun!)

This past Saturday, we went to the 19th annual Folk Fest, where self-taught artists from all over the country gathered to show and sell their wares. Wow! What an amazing display!

I've gotta admit, the pictures seen at right are what I most associated with folk art. Y'know, colorful, primitive... like the pictures our kids and grandkids generate to snazz up our refrigerators.

But it is so much more.









Personality is everything in art and poetry.  [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]

There was a certain feel-good hippy kinda sentiment in a lot of the works. Like the one on the left. The sign the couple is holding says,

      NO DRAMA
  NO BAD KARMA
      WELCOME 
         TO THE
NEGATIVE FREE ZONE











Lots of love, peace, and happiness kinda stuff. Protest art. Humor and whimsy out the wazoo. Lots of re-purposing... y'know, new things created from old and/or unexpected things. Creativity abounded. And above all, it was clear that the artists loved doing what they were doing.

There is nothing more marvelous than doing something you love to do and getting paid for it. It ceases to become work, money, and effort; and it becomes fun, your expression of the joy of life. [Stuart Wilde]

                                                    Wanta see some of their pieces?

  


See anything unique about this picture? Look more closely at the man's face and necktie. It's actually made from a guitar!

Artist Steven Moseley, from Missouri, takes from two weeks to two months to complete each of his whimsy bottles, which he constructs through the necks of the bottles. The one in front is entitled The Last McSupper, complete with miniature burgers, orders of fries, and drinks. (complete with straws and lids!)

Here's a... booby prize. In case you can't tell, it's made from the upper torso of a female form, and covered with... what else? A montage of bodacious tatas.

No folk art show would be complete without face jugs, very popular in Southern pottery.

Oh, and how about some mugs to go with those jugs?

Here, we have a couple bottle trees  created by Mississippi artist Stephanie Dwyer. West Africans, who believed the colorful bottles kept haints away from the house, brought the tradition to this country. (Not sure exactly what a haint is, but I've got a feeling they haint good.)

My husband even got a kick out of all the neat stuff built out of various pieces of hardware.

HA! Even a hot rod!

Actually, there were a number of cars and motorcycles. And musicians. Even a whole band.

All kinds of characters built out of all kinds of stuff. This little guy was kinda cute. The gal who built him said he was explosive. He, um, also has a bit of an attitude.









Great work comes from great joy. Leave the angst for the movies; do art that is fun. [Jack White]

It's pretty obvious that the guy who built the following figures has a LOT of fun with his art. PLUS he gets bonus points from his wife for cleaning some of that old junk out of the garage ...

Aren't they just too cute? Something about this guy reminds me of a Roman soldier in an old movie.

And this one reminds me of Tweety Bird.

                                              Okay, just gonna show you two more.

Would you believe this Noah's Ark is made out of the metal from an old oil drum?

And finally, this flag... the stripes are made of baseball bats, and the stars? Painted baseballs. 

Painting is very easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do. [Vincent Van Gogh]

Okay, so the artists featured in this show may have been self-taught, but they definitely know how to create art. And how to put smiles on the faces of everybody looking at it, too. 

How about you? Ever been to an exhibit of folk art or created something from unlikely parts?

Oh, afterwards, we spotted a yard sale, and decided to stop by for a look-see. Guess what I found? A big fat 1920 book of humorous poetry! Cool, huh? For a DIME! Oh yeah, life is good.

                                 Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
                                                            And remember ...
                                If it's not fun, you're doing it wrong.  [George DiCarlo]