I am extremely interested in visiting Centralia, PA. Does anyone know if it still looks like that? Most of the pics seem to be from the mid to late 1990s.

Centralia looks close to Pottsville, PA (home of Yuengling). Kill two birds with one stone. Brewery tour followed by a surreal adventure.

I thought you also flew to the rescue of maidens in distress?

I think it's probably a tax dodge:
I.R. Inspector: but surely this expense claim for flights to Bali is purely for a holiday
Rob: No, I was flying to the rescue of a maiden in distress, that's deductible isn't it?

I am extremely interested in visiting Centralia, PA. Does anyone know if it still looks like that? Most of the pics seem to be from the mid to late 1990s.

Oooh... I found my next road trip. I love things like that - abandoned factories, towns and &tc... One of the reasons I miss living out in Colorado. I literally lived 100 feet from an abandoned mine.

Me.

Exactly what are button-type signs? I work at the City Hall here and can get pretty much any sign made that they have the metal form for.

"Button-Type" signs are also known as 'Cats Eye" or "Marble" signs.
For the BGS (Big Green Signs), they are mounted in the removable letters. So instead of the whole sign being reflective, only the cats-eyes are. Sometimes they're still used (in the long run, saves the DOT money, don't have to light-up the signs with catseyes.)
For normal signs, they got phased out looong ago, because of cost.

For a good exmple, go here.

They're not too easy to make nowadays, with the pre-fab aluminum blanks, since it requires two sheets, one cut out for the eyes, the other for backing.. But, they look darn cool.

Me.

I have to say say that Centralia, PA would be a pretty ridiculous place for an empeg meet, but because it's only 2hrs away, I'm game. Especially if a side-trip to the Yuengling brewery was involved.

Okay, this is off topic, but you seem like you would know.

Around here, there have been a number of new traffic signals put up, or maybe just had their bulbs replaced, and they, especially the green ones, are super-bright. They're also of a significantly different shade of green than the old ones.

It's my guess that these are lit by an array of large LEDs instead of a more traditional bulb, but I don't have any proof of that. Do you have any idea?

The lights over here (Sweden) are slowly being changed over to LED instead of incandescent (no new bulbs are installed as replacements - whenever a replacement is required a LED module is installed instead).
(another link)

If you look at one from close range you can make out the inividual LEDs - the brightness isn't uniform, but "dotty"

/Michael

you can make out the inividual LEDs - the brightness isn't uniform, but "dotty"

Yeah. That's what led me to my conclusion. Given that they're manufactured, I guess it makes sense that they'd be being used here.

There's one intersection that I frequent at night, though, and it's way too bright. It's almost blinding.

It's my guess that these are lit by an array of large LEDs instead of a more traditional bulb, but I don't have any proof of that.

In my area of the country, it's extremely obvious when they've replaced a bulb with an LED array (something that's becoming more and more common around here). You can see the individual LEDs because they don't have a diffusion lens over them.

I seem to recall several years ago that they were replacing bulbs in some traffic signals around here with brighter ones, and those weren't LEDs, they were just really bright bulbs.

So I don't know if you're seeing one or the other... It could be either...

but I don't have any proof of that. Do you have any idea?


Watch the light closely when it turns on and off. There is a discernable lag as tungsten bulbs "slowly" ramp up to full brightness, and back down to full off. This lag is only milliseconds, but if you had a tungsten traffic light and an LED traffic light side by side, you would see the difference.

tanstaafl.

Yes!

I couldn't put my finger on it until you said it, but the change between red and green is much more instantaneous than before.

I couldn't put my finger on it until you said it, but the change between red and green is much more instantaneous than before.

Now this could either put you off your game or you could use it to your advantage...."Officer, the light just...changed! I didn't have a chance!!"

I love LEDs. One interesting bit, is the difference between countries. In the U.S., I don't generally have a problem seeing typical incandescent stop lights.....higher-wattage bulbs, burning all that good, cheap Iraqi oil, no problem. In at least some other countries (France and Germany being the countries I'm most familiar with) some of the stoplights (including the small, eye-level secondary lights) are *very* dim and hard to see, especially the yellows. Sometimes you have to wait for the red to know that the yellow had lit up. I always assumed that this was a matter of economy -- that using lower-power consumption bulbs was the rule. With gradual LED replacement, those lights will be a lot easier to see.

edit: ...and seeing a lot of LED lights as side marker lights on tractor-trailer rigs where fuel-consumption of those hundreds of lights is an issue. Also very popular on boats for navigation and interior lights where battery capacity is an issue. Did I say I love LEDs?

Haha. It's about.. a day's drive for me, but I'd do it. (Specially since we in the south here haven't HAD any 'meets'..)

And definately yes on the brewery!

Me.

As everyone else has confirmed, yeah, those are probably LEDs.

LEDs are much cheaper in operating costs, but have their downsides, too. (One, as you pointed out - sometimes they're brighter than hell, even in daylight.)
Yellow are still rare, because of the actuall color needed and brighness.

They're also getting beffer at the technology behind them - down here in Atlanta they've started using SMD RED LED lights - so, so many small SMD RED LEDs that when the light is on, you CAN'T see the individual LEDs.
For a while, there were NEON TUBE replacements, but they're no longer used much, except in Pedestrian heads, because life isn't as great, high risk of shock due to the transformer, and if water got into a head, then you got a high-voltage short.

Another problem are the installers and traffic engineers - several companies make 2-color lights, for left-turns and such. (Arrows in Green and Yellow) Problem is they only take up one signal head for two colors. This leads to driver confusion.

One signal I have in my garage has LEDs in it. I rarely turn it on because my neighbors coplain of the light it gives off.

Me.

Here's another example. Look carefully at the letters and you can see the reflector buttons.

Note that this interchange was number 180 in the early days of I-79, when PA had mileage-based exits. It was renumbered to 41. It has since been renumbered back to 180.

I think this is stupid. The exit after 3 should not be 7. Other people disagree. I bet tfabris, Mr "if you ask for coke and get pepsi don't whine" likes it

Someday we'll go metric and we'll have to pay for yet another conversion. Bah.

Mr "if you ask for coke and get pepsi don't whine"

now that would be a good title the heck with faq master

Someday we'll go metric and we'll have to pay for yet another conversion. Bah.

Given the recently-recharged disdain for the French that exists in America, I don't see "Systeme Internationale" taking off in the U. S. of A. anytime soon.

I also hate mileage-based exit numbers. The one good aspect I can think of (besides the obvious "you know that if you get on at exit 150 and you're getting off at exit 176, you're travelling 26 miles" benefit) is that you don't have to re-number if exits are added. This actually happens on occasion. The way it's usually dealt with is to add suffixes to the exit numbers like "Exit 7A" or whatever. But that's really lame. The mileage exit numbers would seem to avoid this, unless somehow there are 2 distinct exits within the same mile.

The mileage numbering is REALLY screwy on the PA Turnpike, because of the Northeast Extension. What I think they're doing is taking the easternmost mile number (let's say it's 310) and making that the start of the NE Extension mile numbers. So if you get on the PA Turnpike near where the Northeast Extension comes in, and jump on the NE Extension, you'll "warp" past like 100 miles. Stupid.

I assume since you live at that end of the state you noticed the westbound-only EZPass-only slip ramp they added between Fort Washington and Willow Grove only ever had a mileage-based number?

I think the easternmost mile number is 360.

Does your route there take you up to Lewistown through the narrows, then up 322 past that reservoir? Tonight on my way home from New York (well, I was only driving from Trenton; I'm not insane enough to commute into Manhattan by car) I decided to divert for some ice cream.

Of course, I forgot to look as I went by to see how busy the End Zone looked.

I bet tfabris, Mr "if you ask for coke and get pepsi don't whine" likes it

Wow, that's like, the longest grudge I've seen anyone hold.

In reply to:

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I bet tfabris, Mr "if you ask for coke and get pepsi don't whine" likes it

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You say that like its a bad thing(TM)

I assume since you live at that end of the state you noticed the westbound-only EZPass-only slip ramp they added between Fort Washington and Willow Grove only ever had a mileage-based number?

Yeah. I live right off Exit 23, so I don't pass by it every day, but I have seen that exit. I remember thinking to myself that it would have been pretty funny if it was like "Exit 26.5" or something like that.

The idea of EZPass-only exits seems really... wrong to me. I'm not sure why. I *guess* EZPass is a good thing, but I don't have it, and if I lived anywhere near that exit, I wouldn't feel very good about being required to buy into it just to use the exit. Seems undemocratic to me, somehow.

Yeah, I hop right on the Turnpike at Exit 23, then get off at the Harrisburg East exit. A hop, skip, and a jump from I-83 to I-81 to US 322, then about an hour and a half of 322's twists and turns, and I'm in Happy Valley. About a 2.5 hour journey all-told. The ridiculously cheap price of beer makes it worth the journey, and the ridiculously hot 18-25 year old females make it a no-brainer.

I remembered you when I asked for coke a few days ago and got this sickly-sweet brown crap

Not whining is *always* a bad thing.

I look at it like this. I assume I'm giving away the $35 deposit (which isn't strictly true, because they take tolls out of it until you get to about $10, then bill for some more) in exchange for saved time. I've already saved at least an hour and probably more by using several interchanges which always suck frequently:
-New Stanton/PA Turnpike
-Philadelphia/PA Turnpike (the route 1 interchange)
-Cranberry/PA Turnpike (though this one won't matter much longer)
-Route 128 Toll Barrier/MassPike

I value my time such that an hour costs way more than $35, so I come out ahead. The only problem is now it doesn't cost anything to use toll highways in my head anymore, since I don't notice that I'm using the money;)

I understand why they did it. It doesn't require a large land footprint or any staffing whatsoever. The booths and the EZPass equipment were the only costs beyond the land for the accesses, which may have already been there (they seem to keep a lot around for getting e.g. emergency vehicles on and off the road).

then about an hour and a half of 322's twists and turns,

Either I drive faster than you, or you go when there's actually traffic. I think the sign after you get on 22/322 from 81 says it's 80 miles to State College.

I got to Trenton at 5:45, then had to walk to the car, leave the garage and get to US1. I got to the creamery at 9:01pm.

I got to the creamery at 9:01pm

<OT>
Ah creamery.. Damn I miss that. My trips to SC were complete only after a visit to the creamery. (I used to drive there from NYC once a month and didn't miss a single home game for two years). I still get goose bumps when I listen to Gary Glitter (Rock & Roll Part II. Btw is there a Part I?) and imagine myself sitting in the middle of 100,000 screaming Nittany Lion fans. Memories..
</OT>

~Yogi.

Oh, I get the concept. I just don't use the Turnpike enough to make it worth my while. It makes sense, really.

My usual course of action is to get a milkshake, then drink it while perusing the ice cream flavors; When I finish it, grab about 5 gallons of ice cream, buy it, go back and cram it in a cooler chest in the car, and go home.

My fridge now has 5 gallons of ice cream. I'll keep 2 half gallons, take one to my parents' on Sunday, and take most or all of the rest to work Monday and feed my cow orkers.