(no subject)

[pensnest]

My head is abuzz with fairies at the moment. Another rehearsal which ended quite well, though really, it would be nice if grown men and women could *refrain from talking* when they have to move around. Gah.

I've also been spending quite a bit of time at the pot shop lately, painting mugs. This is good for me, and so far, going well. If anyone would like a mug done ready to be handed over at Camp Sparkle, let me know. Oh, and any USAians planning to visit for Camp Sparkle—keep an eye on the exchange rate! Pounds are very cheap at the moment. Very cheap indeed!

Beast and I continue to frequent the gym. I am getting better at the Body Jam routines (though I cannot to a jump/roll/thingy to save my life). Have excellent new dance shoes which resemble sneakers but weigh about a quarter as much and are neater and smaller. Use these for abs class as well as Body Jam, it helps a little when we are holding our legs in the air for hours... that woman is a sadist. But I have quite strong abdominal muscles now. It's a pity, really, that they are concealed behind quite so much pudge. And, greatly to my annoyance, I now seem to weigh exactly what I weighed when we started going to the gym! *grumps*

Anyway. I have a question, in three parts, and would be most grateful for clarification.

On a map of the USA (Florida, to be specific) what is the difference between

- a road marked with the number in white on a blue shield with a red top and white outline

- a road marked with the number in black on a white wiggly shield shape with a black outline,

- a road marked with a black number on a white oval outlined in black?

PS Any icon-makers out there who haven't yet joined my severalplums icon challenge/tutorial community? I'd be very glad of a few more icon-makers and voters.

Comments

[nopseud]

though really, it would be nice if grown men and women could *refrain from talking* when they have to move around.

Have you considered tring those electric-shock collars used for training dogs? I've always thought they would come in handy in many situations.


I would *love* another sparkly mug, but I ought to let people who haven't had a chance at one yet go first.


ETA: The key in my atlas (published by American Map) says:

- blue shield = interstate.
- white shield = US route.
- white oval = State or Provincial route.
- white square = County or other route (just for completeness).

[pensnest]

Have you considered tring those electric-shock collars used for training dogs?

Oh, yes, many times. I actually did acquire a long pointy stick during last night's rehearsal, but most of the culprits were still out of reach.

I have no problem with making extra mugs - I'm engaged in doing a set basically all the same for my principals, and a bit of variety would not go amiss!

Ahah, thanks for the road info. I peered at the online map for ages looking for a key, but it didn't seem to have one. I spose Americans would probably know this stuff already...

[carta.livejournal.com]

- a road marked with the number in white on a blue shield with a red top and white outline

Part of the interstate highway system. (wiki for your edification! :D)


- a road marked with the number in black on a white wiggly shield shape with a black outline,

US Highway sign - more access than the interstate, tends to run through cities and towns instead of around them


- a road marked with a black number on a white oval outlined in black?

I have no idea. Picture? Possibly a rural route sign.

This is like taking drivers ed all over again.

[pensnest]

What would a person taking one of these roads say to describe his route? "Take the interstate" or "follow the interstate" or ...? Would he say, "west along Highway 87"
or something like that? For a minor route?

[carta.livejournal.com]

It's been slightly different every place I've lived. If you were telling someone to take Interstate 95 to Highway 20, you'd say either "Take I-95 South to Highway 20" or "take 95 South to Highway 20" or sometimes even "take 95 to 20", depending on how familiar the people are with the area, if there are other roads around that could be confused with each other, that kind of thing. But honestly, as long as it sounds natural and not too formal, it should be fine.

I would think that minor roads have actual names in addition to their road number, so a local would probably call it by name. But if you don't know the name, you could say "route 20" and that would be fine.

Things like "take" and "follow" differ depending on the local slang.

[pensnest]

Thanks! It's one of those things where I've been trying on a few possibilities and wondering if they sound right.

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

Okay I am not sure which symbol refers to which kinds of roads, but there are interstates (which are roads that cross state lines, usually going North-South or East-West), there are toll roads, which involve paying a fee at exits, there are highways, which are usually city roads, and there are routes, which are usually country roads. In Texas "routes" are also sometimes called farm roads, and they'll be labeled "FM290" or something like that.

And depending on where you live in the US, some people call highways highways, and some people call them expressways.

I've only been to Florida a couple times but... state toll road symbols are usually shaped like the state.

[pensnest]

What would a person (in Florida) taking one of these roads say to describe his route? "Take the interstate" or "follow the interstate" or ...? Would he say, "west along Highway 87" or something like that? For a minor route? A toll road?

This is probably useful information for future occasions, as it'll just end up as a sentence in the currently planned fic. But I don't want it to be jarringly wrong.

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

Usually we just use the numbers, unless you're taking 80/90 (which goes from like... Illinois all the way to the Atlantic ocean, so people just say the toll road, and you know what they're talking about depending on what state they're in.)

So here in Texas, I'd say, "Take 35 north to 275" or something like that. Some roads have actual names, like here, route 1 is called Mo-Pac. I have no idea why, and it's not on ANY signs, but no one ever says, "Take 1 to FM360." It's Mo-Pac. Very strange.

But yeah, usually it's just the number and a direction. 475 west, and so on. You might add "towards city x" because the signs on highways and toll roads are usually towards big cities. So in Ohio where I grew up, everything is either "to Detroit", "to Dayton", "to Cleavland" or "to Chicago." In Chicago everything was either "to Indiana" or "to Wisconsin" :P So when giving directions, I'd say, "Take 90 west towards Chicago, then get on 94 in Gary."

/long explanation

[pensnest]

Cool, thanks - it's one of those things where I really couldn't decide where I was thinking in American or just kidding myself! And I'm sure it will come in handy again.

[ninjetti75.livejournal.com]

Am amused that your fellow Brit answered the US roadway system question apparently off the top of her head. *g*

Oooo, I hope the exchange rate stays low for a while, because I have to pay car insurance next month before I can start throwing money at vacation plans!

And as for Weighing Just The Same, you must remember that muscle weighs more than fat. So if you're stronger, then you're actually smaller than you were when you started! :D

[pensnest]

*grins* Yeah, a mine of information (I suspect years of research!).

I kinda wish I had measured various circumferences, because I'm not sure that I even feel trimmer - despite the awesome power (!!) of my abdominal muscles. Not that they can actually get me from supine to sitting up, but they've definitely improved. But having lost a couple of kilos in the initial phase, it's irritating to end up back where I started, and my diabetes doctor will frown, again.

[rikes]

Ooh, I would love a mug because I haven't gotten one yet! :)

Go you and your abs! I've been quite lazy about going to the gym this year. *wags finger at self* And I seriously need new shoes, because pieces of plastic keep chipping off of my old ones. True story. :D

[pensnest]

Let me have a photo or two that you'd like to have, koff, immortalised in china, and I'll see what I can do. :-)

It's very gratifying to be able to survive the abs class now - I can get through it unless there's an extended period of balancing on arms and toes followed by repositioning... but alas, the pudge. Oh well.

I've kept sneakers that long, too.