Author Archives: Jeff

Dec 29

Year in review: Every mile of every Iowa highway

Posted on Tuesday, December 29, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

With 2540 pages of new books to read, added to 1250 pages from last year, what better thing to do than make some year-end posts? On June 8, I completed a goal I had been building toward for more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Trip Reports | Comments Off on Year in review: Every mile of every Iowa highway
Dec 28

In-depth guides to Route 66

Posted on Monday, December 28, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

August 4, 2010: Replica early cutout highway sign at the Chandler (OK) US 66 Interpretive Center. Traveling Route 66 is something every roadgeek (or at least those in the western half of the country) gets the urge to do. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous, Maps | Comments Off on In-depth guides to Route 66
Dec 25

Your present: Updates from 2014 added to pages

Posted on Friday, December 25, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

That and a $15 iTunes card will get you a dozen songs. October 22, 2014: Opening of the new US 34 bridge from Iowa to Nebraska. I finally put pictures from fall 2014 and especially the opening of new US … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Your present: Updates from 2014 added to pages
Dec 24

A highway created and a state un-clinched

Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2015, at 10:14 AM by Jeff

November 21, 2012: Well, this sign on new 20 didn’t last long. It will be replaced with one reading “North 71 South 471 / Storm Lake / Early”. Iowa Highway 196 probably died today. [OR NOT: see bottom] The highway running … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on A highway created and a state un-clinched
Dec 23

Photo 28,000

Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

June 8, 2015: US 67/State Street heading toward I-74 in Bettendorf. The view ahead will change as part of the I-74 bridge construction project. It’s hard to tell how many standalone I-74 shields with the state name will remain after … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous, Sequences | Comments Off on Photo 28,000
Dec 22

At least the number is in the right place

Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

January 30, 2012: This sign on I-35 in Texas could have an interstate shield in its future, I-14, running west along US 190 to Fort Hood. Embedded in the five-year highway bill recently signed into law is designation of more … Continue reading →

Posted in Highway Miscellaneous | Comments Off on At least the number is in the right place
Dec 21

Reverse-engineered football brackets, analysis for 2015

Posted on Monday, December 21, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

After the Iowa high school football playoffs ended, I took the finals and started working backwards to create a post-hoc bracket for the season. I had two tools I didn’t last year: The IHSAA published a list of qualifiers in … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on Reverse-engineered football brackets, analysis for 2015
Dec 19

Carmike theaters now charging sales tax

Posted on Saturday, December 19, 2015, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I don’t go to the movies as often as I used to, partially because I no longer have a theater in walking distance, partially because so much out there is uninteresting dreck*. So it was a surprise when I went … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Carmike theaters now charging sales tax
Dec 18

New Mapquest de-emphasizes county lines

Posted on Friday, December 18, 2015, at 10:14 AM by Jeff

Yet another website redesign takes away something inherently obvious in the name of … what? After rising to dominance in the late 2000s, Google Maps has steadily grown fat and happy in the 2010s, and by “fat” I mean resource-hogging, … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps | Comments Off on New Mapquest de-emphasizes county lines
Dec 17

Hardcore gaming, meet hardcore farming

Posted on Thursday, December 17, 2015, at 10:15 AM by Jeff

“Farming simulator is way bigger, more fun than you think” from Vice: I’ve done many challenging things in games recently, from slaying hordes of humanoid rats in Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide, to beating the magic-casting game Magicka 2. But the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Hardcore gaming, meet hardcore farming