Welcome To Case's Column
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.
In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
How Far From Somewhere Can You Be? Really?
Posted 01-30-2010 at 03:58 PM by case44
From time to time, I make time to travel my home state of Texas because there is so much to see. On many trips, I would venture out to all the roads: the interstates, the U.S. highways, the state roads, the Farm-To-Market roads. It's a pretty safe bet, if it's a long trip, that I may hit one of every category.
Just as women pay so much attention to detail in regards to how people wear their clothes, I pay a lot of attention to detail over one specific thing that is most important in the act of traveling. I'll preface by saying that I know my geographical area and have a thing for road signs. Many folks out there do not have the same geographical tendencies and don't study it at all, and they have to rely on them. I'm talking about................mileage indicators. You know, the ones with one or two or three city names listed on the sign followed by the distances to those places. After extensive travel in Texas and Oklahoma, I'm tragically convinced of one thing: There are tons of inaccuracies on those mileage indicators. 
That's right, folks. There are distances that are wrong.
Oh, there are others that absolutely right, so don't panic too much. For one reason or another, the Texas Department of Transportation (talking about just Texas now) may have forgotten how to count. On the interstates, you would think that TXDOT wouldn't seriously fubar something up if they'd just use the mile markers located at a city's central business district. You won't believe this, but I've seen some city distances in West and Southwest Texas as much as 15 to 20 miles off. So, depending on the city, you've either been shorted or TXDOT's just extremely generous. In other locations, the inaccuracies are anywhere from 1 to 5 miles from what it should be.
I won't use this particular space to point out all the locations and signs because we'd be here forever. Let this blog just warn you that just because a town or city is listed as 35 miles away, it might not really be 35 miles away. Or, better yet, be warned of this (I'll give you just one): A standard mileage indicator coming out of El Paso lists San Antonio as 548 miles away. That's at I-10, mile marker 38. El Paso is at mile marker 19, and San Antonio is at mile marker 571 on that same interstate. You do the math on that one, but from the aforementioned sign at mile marker 38, it should have read "San Antonio 533". Just simple math, folks.
Something to think about. So, dare I say, happy traveling.
Just as women pay so much attention to detail in regards to how people wear their clothes,
I pay a lot of attention to detail over one specific thing that is most important in the act of traveling. I'll preface by saying that I know my geographical area and have a thing for road signs. Many folks out there do not have the same geographical tendencies and don't study it at all, and they have to rely on them. I'm talking about................mileage indicators. You know, the ones with one or two or three city names listed on the sign followed by the distances to those places. After extensive travel in Texas and Oklahoma, I'm tragically convinced of one thing: There are tons of inaccuracies on those mileage indicators. That's right, folks. There are distances that are wrong.
Oh, there are others that absolutely right, so don't panic too much. For one reason or another, the Texas Department of Transportation (talking about just Texas now) may have forgotten how to count. On the interstates, you would think that TXDOT wouldn't seriously fubar something up if they'd just use the mile markers located at a city's central business district. You won't believe this, but I've seen some city distances in West and Southwest Texas as much as 15 to 20 miles off. So, depending on the city, you've either been shorted or TXDOT's just extremely generous.
In other locations, the inaccuracies are anywhere from 1 to 5 miles from what it should be. I won't use this particular space to point out all the locations and signs because we'd be here forever. Let this blog just warn you that just because a town or city is listed as 35 miles away, it might not really be 35 miles away. Or, better yet, be warned of this (I'll give you just one): A standard mileage indicator coming out of El Paso lists San Antonio as 548 miles away. That's at I-10, mile marker 38. El Paso is at mile marker 19, and San Antonio is at mile marker 571 on that same interstate. You do the math on that one, but from the aforementioned sign at mile marker 38, it should have read "San Antonio 533". Just simple math, folks.
Something to think about. So, dare I say, happy traveling.
Total Comments 3
Comments
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There was a big controversy in El Paso a few years back when an overpass of I-10 was built four feet lower than it should have been, so counting mistakes there wouldn't surprise me.Posted 01-31-2010 at 04:30 AM by shoe01
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Well, I didn't want to single out one specific city, shoe, because I've seen mileage mistakes on secondary highways here in the Dallas-Ft Worth area just like I have on the rural interstates. And some of them may shock you if you only knew.
Have a nice weekend!Posted 01-31-2010 at 11:23 AM by case44
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Yeah, it's really annoying when you think you get close to a certain area, and you still have some miles to go when a sign gives you a deceptive figure.
I know the feeling.
Posted 02-03-2010 at 10:32 AM by PoorRichGuy
