Re: Influences - Your Thoughts

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 02:17:56 GMT, Adam Prince wrote:

1. What were your influences in getting into the hobby? Was it, like my
case, your father brining back maps while on a long trip or helping you plan
the route of a family vacation? Was it because you lived on a state
highway? Or just fascinated by construction?

I have always been interested in roads, maps, signs, atlases, and the other
accoutrements of this hobby. When I was young I would draw roads, with
junctions, signs, interchanges, etc. I helped plan family vacations and usually
was the navigator on trips. My "highlight" was a trip to the Outer Banks when my
mom took over the driving and my dad dozed off. Because I wanted to cross the
Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry, I guided mom onto US 70 instead of US 64. Dad was
surprised when he woke up, but I didn't get in trouble over it. I was thrilled
when my great uncle from Michigan, a AAA member, brought maps and Triptiks from
his vacations.

I don't know that anything really influenced me, it's just something that I
always enjoyed.

2. Who/What are your influences today? Are there certain web designs you
enjoy or try to incorporate? Have certain webpages influenced your own
roadgeeking - as in taking photos of specific things or opened you to a new
interest of the hobby?

Like many others, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are others with
this same interest and that we can all communicate via the Internet (thank you
Al Gore!!!!) LOL One of the first Web sites dealing with roads that I found was
James Sterbenz' US route list; another was Jim Lin's gallery of state highway
markers. That was 11 years ago. About that time I was tabbed at my former
workplace to help develop that agency's Web site and once I realized that I,
too, could do a Web page, I started taking a few photos, scanning them, and
trying my hand at having a real live honest-to-goodness Web site.

I don't know that there are any influences now on what I do. There are many
sites I visit frequently looking for UPDATES!!!!! and I am grateful for all the
sites out there that give me a chance to do "virtual roadgeeking."

3. If you have a website, do you work with others for
ideas/suggestions/assistance? Peer review before publishing? (Example: Very
often some combination of myself, Doug Kerr, Adam Froehlig, CC Slater, Mark
Sinsabaugh, Jeff Kitsko, Brian LeBlanc, Dan Garnell, Steve Alpert, Chris
Jordan, Billy Riddle, and Mike Roberson will bounce ideas, help with design
and graphics, pass photos that we're not going to use, and help to edit
pages).

Naah, I go it alone. I would really like to do major updates to my site and
overhaul and add content to the WV Highways and Kentucky exit guides, plug in
specialty photos such as errors and old signs, but I really just don't have the
time or the patience to do it. I have managed to get a bunch of my old photos
that I had taken over the last four or five years uploaded, but that's because
the process can be automated using iPhoto. I know a lot of my information is
hopelessly out of date (there have been exits added to I-75 in KY that I don't
have on my exit guide) and several people have pointed this out to me, but I
just haven't had the chance to go in and do what I want to the site.

4. Are there outside roadgeek influences you may have? Various publications
or travel guides that you look at for ideas?

Not really.

5. Is your family and friends supportive of you in the hobby?

Very much so. My wife humors me. My extended family often asks for directions if
they're going somewhere. :-p


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