Goonhammer Historicals: HistoriCon 2025 Event Report | Goonhammer https://share.google/qyYrr5b4Qy5bYkZFi
Hopefully of interest
Quote from: Imperial Dave on Jul 26, 2025, 08:43 AMGoonhammer Historicals: HistoriCon 2025 Event Report | Goonhammer https://share.google/qyYrr5b4Qy5bYkZFi
Hopefully of interest
different worlds, parallel parking for the sixth time in his life!
;D o
Quote from: Jim Webster on Jul 26, 2025, 11:37 AMdifferent worlds, parallel parking for the sixth time in his life!
...amd he even found negotiating the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial as something remarkable. One wonders how he might cope with the Swindon Magic Roundabout (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon))?
:P
The horror...
One American comic referred to Britain's 'Mario cart roads' on the other hand I had to look up the EZpass, tolls are such an oddity in Britain bar one section of motorway and a few bridges that I know of.
Quote from: Imperial Dave on Jul 26, 2025, 04:22 PMThe horror...
I worked in Swindon for most of the 1990s. The roundabout is OK once you get used to it.
Quote from: Ian61 on Jul 26, 2025, 08:56 PM...I had to look up the EZpass, tolls are such an oddity in Britain bar one section of motorway and a few bridges that I know of.
Well, quite so. I mean, I remember in the 1980s visiting Atlantic City from where I was living on the western side of greater New York, a trip of approximately 2 hours along the Garden State Parkway with multiple stops for tossing coins in the bucket at toll booths. Upon arrival I discovered I had insufficient funds for the return trip tolls and that my ATM card did not produce anything from the local cash machines. The prospect of making the journey on minor roads did not appeal. I therefore entered the nearest casino and successfully participated at various blackjack tables until I had over $50 in my pocket.
:)
Reprobate.... ::)
Notes from the Provinces:
Parallel Parking: This was the most dreaded part of the driving test in California for years. Hit one of the poles used to represent other vehicles and you failed the entire test. Hit the curb with your tires and you failed the entire test. Finish to far from the curb and you failed the entire test. Parallel parking was finally eliminated from the road test and remains only horrible memory for those of a certain age.
Tolls: I can relate to Nick's problem with tolls. When I was stationed in Virginia. I kept loose change in my car for the bucket toss at the toll booths. when I returned to California, I celebrated my freedom from toll roads. Then California started using tolls on certain roads and it's back to square one.
Roundabouts: These are also starting to appear in California touted as a traffic safety device. I can't see how that's going to help. I doubt that the same drivers that can't safely navigate a well marked intersection won't be able to navigate the roundabout.
I'm done. (He successfully steps off the soapbox without tripping over his feet)
Roundabouts we're designed by sadists....
I remember watching one of thesde programmes by James May (former Top Gear presenter) where he tried to drive from one side of Milton Keynes to the other without stopping at any of the 30 or so roundabouts he encountered. He managed it on the second attempt.
Yeah, I know, Chuck will tell us that this would have been so much easier with a few flyovers and 6 lanes of black top.
::)
It is hard from a UK perspective to think of roads without roundabouts. If they find full-sized roundabouts tricky, I wonder what US friends would think of mini-roundabouts or that devilishly complicated creation, the double mini-roundabout?
the double mini is a real doozie...
Quote from: Chuck the Grey on Jul 28, 2025, 08:54 PMNotes from the Provinces:
Roundabouts: These are also starting to appear in California touted as a traffic safety device. I can't see how that's going to help. I doubt that the same drivers that can't safely navigate a well marked intersection won't be able to navigate the roundabout.
Small normal roundabouts slow the traffic down a bit to negotiate them. I used to be fairly smug about the Americans not understanding this and building big ones that were deathtraps as they were big enough to allow speed to build up too much. However in recent years there has been a tendency to build bigger roundabouts here that generate just this problem and also several new local roundabouts are so badly lane marked and cambered that I feel it is only a matter of time before there are serious accidents at them.
I have often wondered what future archaeologists would make of our bizarre traffic arrangements and then wonder if they will survive long after us anyway as they seem so poorly laid.
Quote from: Ian61 on Jul 29, 2025, 05:20 PMSmall normal roundabouts slow the traffic down a bit to negotiate them. I used to be fairly smug about the Americans not understanding this and building big ones that were deathtraps as they were big enough to allow speed to build up too much. However in recent years there has been a tendency to build bigger roundabouts here that generate just this problem and also several new local roundabouts are so badly lane marked and cambered that I feel it is only a matter of time before there are serious accidents at them.
Yes, agree. Roundabouts work well when they cause approaching traffic to slow, so that traffic on all approaches gets a chance to pull on. But a lot of roundabouts now are planned or built or end up as being slightly curved fast roads from one direction, and long term parking in other directions. There's one near where I used to work where the bus I took routinely queued for 30 minutes or more on a hundred metre stretch of road while traffic tried to get onto one of these mono-roundabouts.
But if we want to talk about tricky traffic systems, the US four way stop always blows my mind. With low traffic, works fine. With cars approaching simultaneously from four directions, doesn't work at all, so far as I can see.
Anyway nothing to do with ancient history, wargaming etc so I will stop ranting...
Nowt rong wi a good rant
...and one wonders how this blogger might cope with the Finchampstead Playground junction (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c890vlg77v7o).
???
:o