Signs of the Times

1938...and 2008

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:37:23 GMT

Well, as previously posted here, i snagged this old Ohio 661 (stamped on the back 1937, but the route wasnt commissioned until 1938...

....well, Ohio 661 isnt that far from where i live....so today, just for shits and giggles, i took a mini-trip and came up with this...

top sign, 24x 30 aluminum, with diamond sheet....from 2008
lower sign 14.5 x 15, embossed steel, no reflective abilities beyond what the paint will allow...from 1938

What a difference 70 years makes in sign technology!

Now some Serious Stuff....

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:10:34 GMT

Some recent acquisitions

Surprised i got this one as cheaply as I did.....24x24 aluminum and scotchlite, 61 specs.

Next is one i took down with no opposition. This was a shock as i thought the mere oddity of the number would attract some bids O_o......guess not! 16x14 steel with glass beaded reflective surface

Finally the prize of the week. i fought for this one as i waited almost 20 years to grab a sign like this. 14.5x15 embossed steel (even the number is embossed which likely makes this a prewar sign (a date etch-stamped in the back says 1937, but Ohio 661 was commissioned in 1938.....so it was probably cutout of steel sheet in 37, them stamped with the route number in 38. A NICE pickup, and as I told the Robert, the only one i will likely pick up on eBay (unless the market for old signs crashes, in which case, a LOT of us will be in trouble!....)
...and worth every penny i paid for it!

Some Odd Stuff for Funsies

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:09:30 GMT

While waiting the arrival of the newest oldie, let me show off some odd stuff picked up at the local construction company just before Mike S's visit...and some projects

24x30, and used as BOTH a posted sign and on a BGS...(note the ODOT on the lower edge so this was a State sign at birth)

and now a later version, with diamond sheeting and never used...both 270s were liberated for $10 for the pair!

now i had acquired a few Ohio blanks that i decided to put numbers on....admittedly, they are non-prototype, but what the hell, right?

This route DID exist, but was decommissioned before hex sheeting was developed and used widely. Still a nice looking sign! They even got the Ohio 6 and 9 C-fonts right!

This one just looks plain weird....a bit too low, even with the larger (too large) digits, i think....and the route number never existed in Ohio. i may carefully pry off the numbers and try again at some point....with a different number

And this one....well, it was my fault for not communicating the font i wanted well enough...another potential do-over. This was a blank construction zone plastic tubed sign like the 257 i have....so it is possible they might use this at some point on such signs if they ran out of D-font '6'es....

well, it cost me $10 for the all the numbers, so i suppose it wasnt all bad....not a total loss by any means

also for Jake, none of those weird Weasel Ohios to gouge your eyes out by!

Tune in soon when we get back to the real serious stuff!

Office walls.......

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:06:22 GMT

test photos...proof positive i can't shoot without steadying help!

After a couple of False Starts

Sat, 24 May 2008 23:28:45 GMT

...fortunately, no penalty yardage was involved.... i finally met up with Joe Koldys at his home today. Spent a nice afternoon discussing signs, and seeing bits and snatches of his vast empire of licence plates and signs which take up roughly 65-70% of his living space (and my SO thinks I am bad....she might change her mind if she saw Joe's place.) He operates the Signpost newsletter which he took over from Scott some years back so i signed up (pun intended) for the newsletter....

we chatted about our various adventures and misadventures in sign collecting. Seems part of the problem with the rising hostility of sign shops and garages towards us collectors has been those few who take a bunch and then sell them on eBay. By and large, it isnt the older stuff that caused the concern, but when the newest stuff shows up, and higher-ups see them, eyebrows are raised and questions asked. No legit sign collector wants to see someone lose his job due to our hobby, so some states are now kinda dicey in regard to what can be gathered (I wont name the states to preserve the collector's ability to be able to visit and get a few pieces off the scrap piles...) We looked at each other's photos and i must say Joe has had quite a few (and even more on his hit-list) He also recounted when his house was broken into that the thieves stole most of his electronics....but gave up on anything else after ripping open some boxes of licence plates and wondering 'What the hell is THIS place??" Surprisingly, the cops asked no questions about the signs when they came over to investigate, prolly figuring that anyone who had THAT many signs was most likely legit....

I also walked away with a small haul which pleased me, but probably will displease the SO greatly when she comes home tonight ^^;; hehehe! Rather than give your FLs a nervous breakdown ...

First the Connecticut shields....in numerical order...

24 x 24 wood...a bit-beat up, but acceptable for its age

24x24 wood. Another sheet with the number cut out

18x18 wood, like the 42. This is a size i didnt have until now

24x24 wood, third verse, same as the first

24x24 silkscreened aluminum, what Joe refers to as 'Style 3'....

24x24 aluminum, silkscreened...and a Style 2 (block corners on the white square)

24x24 wood....dig that B-font goodness

and 24x24 aluminum, note the smaller-sized B font on this Style 2 shield

My first 4-digit marker. Louisiana has decided to keep the green on white state route markers, but change the arrows and directional tabs to black on white per Joe. He also noted that LA never silkcreened their numbers, but used stick-on numbers. SOme look pretty good, some look, well, sloppy is being nice....this is a nice one

Maine has never used the State name on their state highway markers...this is a Maine by the State sticker on the lower L corner, so it counts! :P. 24x30

An older 24x24 steel New York marker....note the oddball font

24x24 from South Dakota, opening up State Number 36.....

This next on is unusual...for those readers who are not familiar with state route markers, this sign is NOT a primary state road. The Texas State route markers are boring squares like the Connecticuts listed above except for 'TEXAS' placed BELOW the number. They do have State highways that are secondary in the pecking order (Farm and Ranch roads), but some of these 'secondary' routes are full-fledged 4 and even six-lane roads in suburban areas!! This sign is from one of those secondary roads, but looks a helluva lot better than the official State signs. 24x24 aluminum.

Yeah, Jake and Alex, i had to grab the last one too...24x24 aluminum.

Now come the three prizes of the visit...

12 x 24 and wood. Joe forget he had this on hand as an extra so i picked it up. (might go in my bathroom behind the toilet! ^_~

12 x 18 and plastic! Oddly enough the non-reflective sign face was the rougher side. My guess is this sign was to be mounted on concrete walls in State-owned parking areas

And finally, this little gem. 24x24 and a couple of extra holes, but you don't see many Wilbur Cross Pkwy signs these days in the wilds of Connecticut...Merritt parkway signs are more common in the southwest part of the state....CONN 15 is still known as the Merritt, whereas I-84 is just that....a lot of folks i think forget about the WC....

And last but not least, this gem arrived at work yesterday....24x24 wood. The stamp on the front says manufacture date of 1966, and a handwritten notation on the bottom indicates a mount date of 9-69. 24x24 and wood.

Well, there you are....now to figure out where to put them all!

(damn spelling glitches!!!!)

The Return Visit....The Man, The Myth, The Legend, The Hai....no, not Mel Kiper Jr....

Mon, 05 May 2008 16:54:13 GMT

....*L* Sorry, Mike, i had to do that!

Mike Summa paid a return visit this morning...a nice two-plus hour visit devoted to our favorite topic...signs...

I showed him some of the goodies added since his last visit...he was impressed with the restoration job Jake did on the W Va 9 embossed shield...it reminded him of the old W Va sign he saw in the old sign shops, and neglected to get a piccy of (it was a bit larger and flat with more modern fonts...it did please him to know the W Va guys are now working in a more modern shop than what they were in during his last visit..

He got a template of the GA 332 cutout for his own use, and we discussed replica signs like the projects Jake has been working on in his spare time. Mike had no problem at all with making replica signs insofar that real collectors would recognize the real things from a replica on sight, and as long as they were sold as that....replicas...

we also agreed signs arent as they used to be...too many sloppy signs with misplaced or misaligned (or flat -out wrong) numbers...prolly caused by the sheer numbers of signs demanded by todays standards compared to years ago...and placements were sloppy. He suggested that instead of hiring traffic engineers to plan and put up signs, signgeeks should be hired to do that...we would notice if a sign isnt placed to give enough warning for a upcoming turn, and would know where to place them for maximum effect and safety

We also had an 'exchange of hostages' ....i swapped a couple of extra signs (PA 507 and Oh 49 cutout...both were to be trade bait anyway when i got them) and some cash...and anyway, here is the entire list of goodies

16x16 aluminum....Mike tried to give this a reflective surface while keeping the original outline and fonts...it doesnt look bad, and while it was altered some, it fills a gap in my Ohio collection!

This fills my Vermont line in my photo album

From the great State of Virginia....16x16, older scotchlite on a steel shield...embossed outline everything else was flat (the brown wasnt rust but sheeting that had weathered away

Also from Virginia...aluminum with scotchlite 17x17

From Florida...an old-style marker (note the Keys, which you dont see on current signs) 24 x 24. Dig that spiffy B font!

24 x 24 wood....seems to be scotchlite with the numbers cut out stencil-style...and more B-font goodness. Must have been a Sunday sign as the front is all holey.....(ok, on the count of three....one...two...three....BOOO! HISS!@ the awful pun!)

This is a nice looking sign..24 x 24

Finally the big prize, rescued by Mike from a literal scrap pile...one jewel is missing, and the backplate is gone, but it still is nice and unique..and the color appears to be original as well...first, under normal lighting

and under flash

Next on the docket is a visit with a local signgeek in a couple of weeks...if we can get a day hammered out..

be looking forward to that report

Glad Alex likes my concepts...

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:01:31 GMT

...so let me serve up another round of sign goodness

Got this one unopposed....8x21 wood with beaded glass....now i need 'East, West, North and To.....

Next from Joehler's showrooms....all standard stuff, but i love the B font on the intact New Mexico red...

That gives me a set for Montana (I, US and SR)

i understand...boring as hell...but SC is replacing them with a cool new blue on white shield.....so, grab an old one now

Simply put.....neat! Scotchlite on wood...which is still in very good shape!

Finally for tonight...much smaller than i expected.....18x18, but with super-modern diamond sheet added....my guess was this sign spent time on BGSes...it certainly saw no pole time....you guys decide...real or memorex?

Tune in later...our next scheduled post will be after the return visit of the Living Legend of Signgeeks, Mike Summa!

And today's lesson, children is....PERSISTENCE!

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:17:14 GMT

Persistence....can be a wonderful thing if applied properly

to wit...

Took a personal day off from the day job to do something i hadnt done in a while....'sign shopping'...

First off, i went down to that construction area where they are building a new bridge and talked to the project foreman...he remembered me from last summer and he told me to contact him later this year for an update, but the old cutout will be obtained and saved for me before they take it down....

then i ducked into W VA to see what i could find....an afternoon of driving around, a coupe of calls on the cell, and a return trip netted me a nice haul.....

24 x24 hex sheet.....lightly used....

same size and sheeting....new, found elsewhere

also 24 x 24 and hex sheet....the only WV markings were on the reverse side

24 x 30 hex sheet.....the WVADOH logo in the lower panel

finally, i really need to bring a tape-measure with me from now on....36x36....a bit bigger than i thought! @_@

if i get back that way, i may see about trading it for a smaller example!

Didnt get to Kentucky or Cincy today, but that will be for another day! As will a trip to PA.....

*Sign shopping is fun but i forgot how dusty those places can be *coff!coff!*

New Entries into the Inventory...

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:30:50 GMT

First from Jake....a nice lil sign....16x16....smaller than i expected, but i am pleased Aluminum with beaded glass

Next, as a plug for Jake's Sign Restoration Service....lemme show you a before shot....

Pretty sad-looking, huh? Now after Jake uses his secret blend of 11 herbs and spic.....oops, wrong stuff! Anyway, here is the after shot...

Pretty spifferirific, eh? 10" X 12", embossed....a prewar sign as i had a letter from the WVDOT that stated that their sign embossing equipment was taken by Uncle Sam in 1942 for the war effort and never returned

Now for the I-shields...
'
Texas 24 x 24 aluminum and a bit faded.....truth be told, this was the third Texas state-named I -shield i have ever seen on ebay...the last was an I-35W that went for close to $150....the first one was so long ago i dont recall much about it other than it, too, was pricey

New Mexico, 24x24 wood with scotchlite....very nice and looks good in all its 1961 spec glory, even if the 25's alignment is a bit off

Montana, also 24 x 24 wood and scotchlite...equally nice...not quite 61 specs

This post has been brought to you by Jake's Sign Restoration Service..."We Restore All Signs Back to Their Time"

Confirmation of sorts...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:54:24 GMT

As you recall, last year, I picked up this sign from Dale...Mike Summa confirmed it as a Virginia sign...

...well, I always had some doubts about it until I found this 1993 photo yesterday...

so VA did use unbordered US shields...to quote my late model railroading buddy John .."Is PROTOTYPICAL!"

the source page shows a LOT of Virgina cutout goodness...i know a few still stand as of 2005 when I took the Amtrak through VA to DC...

http://www.millenniumhwy.net/summa/summa.html

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:55:14 GMT

Ok, i think there may have been some misunderstanding about my State counts in my last entry....

so allow me to bore you silly with this chart I made up...

SIGN TABLE
STATE	INTERSTATE	US EMBOSS	US CUTOUT	US SQUARE	SR EMBOSS	SR CUTOUT	SR SQUARE
*CT	91, 95, 395	202	1, 5, 6, 44	1, 7, 44		63, 153, 156, 254	32, 69, 136
*OH	75. 90, 270	23	25, 30	22, 33, 36, 62	7	44, 49, 248	3, 14, 46, 56, 235, 256, 257, 307, 315, 335, 444
*MIZZ	44		71				49
*WISC	94			18, 141			59
IOWA	74		6
*VER	91, 189			5		242
NH	93					101C
CAL	15						84
ND	29						1
WYO	90						120
ARK	30
NY				6	42	28
IDA				91			77
IND			6			4, 912
*ILL	39		66				62
*KAN	70		69				96
MICH			2		35	35
KY			68, blank
SC			blank			68
*MONT	90		10				16
MAINE				1A
VA			11, 58			75
MASS						20A	32
GA	20					332	3
ALA							77
LOU							16
PA						402, 507
DofC	95
*WVA	64, 79			60	9		214
AZ		666-r		95			95
AKA		97-r
WASH		395-r
RI
NJ
DEL
MD
NC
FLA							586
MISS
OK	40
TX	10
NMEX	25						436
ORE
HAW
SD
MINN
NEB
COLO							420
UTAH
NEV
TENN

* states with all three (Interstate, US and State signs)

For States like the New England States and Indiana, they never had cutouts per se, but used squares...so i count the small and old-style squares as cutouts....

Now, i dont actually have over 30 States here....29, not counting the replicas from 'Jake's House of Fakes'....and I AM counting the DC as i obtained the blue field (District of Columbia 95) from the DC sign shop and had it mounted....

as for some of the signs noted...i have a WVA sign that Jake is restoring for me plus a cutout GA 332 he is sending with it....and I will be adding two I-shields, maybe 3 shortly, but i will update the chart then....

Some recent stuff....

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:45:38 GMT

First from Joehler's Showrooms...

24x24 aluminum. Interesting thing about this sign....I have two Wyoming signs and both are incredibly thin....i would guess the 90 is half the thickness of the Iowa I-74...and of course, that 1961-FWHA standard is STILL the best looking I-sign!

Next, a California 84. I won a Cali 54 but Joe asked if i was willing to swap for a sign in better condition...and this one is in great condition

..dont know if i will ever get one of the white ones, let alone a bear shield, but this will do for now...all i need is a Cal US cutout (6 or 101 preferred!)

Finally snatched on a BIN....a bit rough, but what do you expect for northern plains climates effect on signs?

16x16 steel...the face is painted white, but the font, and outline are scotchlite with black (opaque, maybe?) applied over it...a piccy with flash shows how maybe it was supposed to look at night.......

31 States down, 20 to go.....

Fun With Photoimpression....

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:40:12 GMT

....and on the other LJ, a chance to revive an old joke on an ex-gf one last time....

1961 FHWA specs, even! ^^

Aint a i stinkah?

A Little Before and After...

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:24:10 GMT

Won a US 2 from Michigan on eBay recently.....the posted photo shows a pretty marked up sign......a lot of magic marker (Jake and i both think Michigan did that to condemned signs to keep them from accidentally being reused

Here is the before......courtesy of eBay....see all the magic marker?

well, a little bit of Ultra Palmolive dish soap (and some thumb grease) took care of all that in under 30 minutes!

and under flash.....

Not bad, ne?

Just so Jake wont think I was waiting to post these....

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:04:09 GMT

I am NOT always eager to post the latest and greatest signs....nowadays i wait until have a few to show you all....like tonight!

Interstates....

Wisconsin.....24x24, wood with scotchlite sheeting from 1966...the number was 'stickied on' with cut scotchlite (havent seen too many 1961 spec Wisconsin interstates on eBay and this one was a bargain....

Iowa, 24x24 aluminum....pretty thick aluminum too...almost twice as thick as the KY US shields! Hex sheeting with cutout hex sheeting numbers

Arkansas....24 x 24....old scotchlite sheet....but as nice used piece

North Dakota, as the Arkansas, but later specs.... (hence the larger number)

One US shield, 16 x 16, from Jake....aluminum with scotchlite

Mystery route.......ohio, prolly a construction zone sign....hex sheeting, and silkscreened outline
....24x24

Michigan...embossed steel, from the 1930s or so....point to point, it is 16 x 16....(another damn weasel sign!)

From Massachusetts via Jake...1960s-70s....24 x 24 wood with beaded glass sheeting....Mass never had the state name on their state highways other than 'Mass Dept of Public Works' stencilled on the bottom of the sign...

finally, from Pennsylvania....a STOP sign...i always liked the PennDOT logo at the bottom so when i had a chance to pick this one up, i did!

so there, i do NOT post every day with one or two signs! :P

As Promised....the Parade of Conn US signs

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:14:27 GMT

Still a few i would like to have, but i am pleased with the results so far...

US 202 > late 1930s 16 x 16 embossed steel

US 1 > probably either WWII or immediately afterwards, 16 x 16 wood, beaded surface

US 1 > !950s, 16 x 16 wood, beaded surface (very few street-used Ct wood signs have the upper left crown fully intact...)

US 5 > 1950s city sign 16 x16 wood, white scotchlite stencil-cut on green scotchlite surface

US 44 > 1950s city sign (unused) 16 x 16 wood, white scotchlite stencil-cut on blue scotchlite surface

US 6 > 1960s-70s city sign 16 x 16 wood, beaded surface

16 US 6 and 21 US 6 > note the size and shape differences,..the larger sign was used in 1960s-80s as an open-road sign

US 6 > 1970s 21 x 21 wood, beaded surface

US 44 > 1970s 21 x 21 wood, beaded surface

US 44 > 1960s, 18 x 18 aluminum, beaded surface, Mike Summa thinks this was a construction zone sign

US 7 > 1960s 18 x 18 wood, US shield was cut from sheeting and placed on surface, the '7' was cut out of the sheet beforehand

US 7 > 1970s 24 x 24 wood, US shield was cut from sheeting and placed on surface, the '7' was cut out of the sheet beforehand

US 44 > 1970s 24 x 24 wood, US shield was cut from sheeting and placed on surface, the '44' was cut out of the sheet beforehand

US-1 > 1970s 24 x 24 wood, US shield was stenciled on reflective surface, the '1' was cut out of vinyl sheet

Not bad, ne?

EDIT: rearranged the photos to avoid messing things up as people complained.....sorry guys

but i am not sure why the wrong piccys show up when you clickie on them

A NICE piece...any of you guys seen one like it?

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:11:49 GMT

On my way to Dayton yesterday afternoon to help Mom out, and just for shits and giggles, stopped by the same antique place i found my small city yellow STOP at...

Found a guy and his wife setting up at a booth with a lot of old oil signs and i was just giving them a glance when the guy asks if i was interested in anything in particular, as they were just setting up their booth to start selling stuff. I casually mentioned that i was on the lookout for old highway markers. The guy asks if i was wanting stuff like old Ohio-shaped markers, and I said yes. He pauses and says "Well, it has been in my grandfathers barn for years, but I have a jeweled Ohio shaped sign..." Intrigued, i was told that the jewels were missing or knocked out, but it was still in decent shape. I gave him my phone and went to explore the mall a bit more. Then a wild hare notion bit me and i went back to his booth to ask a few more questions. Yes, he would be there Sunday and he could bring it in. So we agreed to meet today to negotiate if i was interested

Now in truth, i had no knowledge if Ohio actually used jewels in their route markers....the photos of older signs from ODOT's website would seem to indicate that the answer was no...

So at midday today, armed with my sign album, i went back to the antique place. They were expecting me, and the guy told me he had several people wanting to buy it but he told them he already had a buyer who had first dibs on it (me)....Well, he showed it to me and he said that he found these signs were kinda pricey....he gave a quote on what he wanted....and it was BELOW what i was expecting to pay...so natch, I said "Sold!" And got a discount for paying cash so it was even better!

Now the piccys!

the crown is rusted as it had been bent back a bit, but the metal is still intact enough to bend it back if i so wished (and i dont)

Under flash (the white in the number is the box paint inside the sign, not jewels...the jewels are all gone...

Some close-ups of the front

and a couple of shots of the backside including this stamp of 12-8...we had no idea if that was the month and day, or district number or what. (I told the guy it didnt mean 1908 or 1912 as Ohio started numbering their routes after WWI...

and the complete backside

Not a bad pickup for the price...i imagine if i ever put this one on eBay, it would go for a nice price...

but sorry, t'ain't happening!

FINALLY.....

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:06:02 GMT

The latest to the collection of goodies....

I know i recently sold off an Ohio 37 square, but i wanted this as the o dot in the corner marks this as a 1960-70s vintage square. Otherwise standard 24x24 scotchlite

a 16x16 cutout....what is odd is this is steel, and painted surface...no scotchlite or beaded sheeting. Prolly a city-sign is my guess

From Jake's House of Fakes....erm, sorry Jake, couldnt resist ^^;;;

other than the 9 being slightly off, and the backside not being green, a dead ringer for the real thing

Not quite a dead ringer as the fonts are off a bit, but still nice anyway...

Finally from the Redgar Showrooms...

A replacement, and nicer than my old one. 16x16 steel, scotchlite and a date on the back of 1956

the prize and it werent cheap...thanks to easy payment plans! Embossed 16x16 steel, old paint, and a LOT of pits and spots, no doubt due to years of exposure to road salts....but i finally have one!

Coming soon...a lineage of Connecticut US signs! Be looking forward to it!

Good News and Bad News....

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:07:04 GMT

First the good news....

The SO finally got a job offer for full-time permanent with benefits....it is a bit less than she had been used to making but they are going to try to shake a bit more money for her salary since she has experience....now i hope she can stop obsessing over her old evil job and i can get a good night sleep!

Now the bad side

the Net has been yanked out of the home where i work nights and weekends....so i need help from Jake and Mike in case i want to make sure i get what i want on ebay on those days or nights i work the second job

HELP!!!

New photos when i get the arrivals from Jake's House of Signs, and Redgar's Sign Showroom.....

HOLDIAY GREETINGS TO ALL

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:14:14 GMT

Holiday Greetings everyone!

This is a holiday simulcast over both LJs….

2007 was a challenging year for me both personally and professionally.

Of course, many of you know I lost my Dad just after Christmas last year…and buried him just after New Year’s. On weekends when I am not working my second job, I go back to Dayton and help Mom….sometimes with big stuff like cleaning climate control filters, sometimes with the more mundane things like gassing up her car…in large part, I try to make sure she gets a good meal in her while I am there. Rich comes by when his two mistresses (United and the Air Force) allow and helps Mom with the things he took over. Between the two of us, Mom is in very good hands, and we hope we can to keep her in the house for as long as she wants to stay…(she tells people she has two wonderful sons, and we both mumble under our breaths that we aren’t that wonderful…)

I left UCP after three good years back in June and assumed a new position with a non-profit residential facility which is really stretching me in terms of program creativity given the overall low functioning level of the residents (two of which have functional ages under two months). While the pay is much better, I haven’t yet been able to give up the second job, which has seen its share of changes this year between a on-again-off-again girlfriend for one of the guys, the loss of one dog and the addition of another, and the changes in bosses, and the usual staffing woes. But I also want to say that I wouldn’t change what I have right now…Rebecca has occasionally fussed at me about not wanting to be a manager again, and frankly, I found work life much simpler when I am one of the worker bees and not one of the bigwigs (or medium toupees, as I described my old supervisory position as being).

As for Rebecca, well, this hasn’t been an easy year for her at all…losing one job that she had held for several years in August was rough enough, but then she was let go from her next job last week. This has been a learning process for her as she has found out that employers do NOT appreciate hard work, and that she has to be more flexible in her expectations (not to mention being more flexible in what THEY want!). Trust me, those have been lessons she has resisted with all her might, but I think it is finally sinking in that work life isn’t about fairness or the best getting the rewards….now I am trying to help her hold herself together as she is looking for work again (and this time, I doubt she will be TOO fussy about her next job) It hasn’t been easy with the lost sleep and the silly fights because I felt she was too busy looking back and feeling sorry for herself to properly focus on her newer job, which I think cost her. If there is one quality I wish I could give her, it would be ‘focus’. I may get shot for mentioning this, this, but I remember when Ru was working at her pharmacy several years back and she had some trouble dealing with customers…and she was told by her boss she had to work on it or else (we all know what the ‘or else’ usually is in that situation.) Well, she told me about it, but as I recall, she didn’t fret or feel sorry for herself…she simply went out and worked to improve her customer service skills…..and she is still there! Because she focused on what she needed to do, instead of focusing on what was said, she was able to make the needed changes to save her job. I wish Rebecca could learn that quality in some way….

As to my other stuff…well, I said goodbye to some old friends this year…Cathy left UCP a few months before I did to go east to be with her boyfriend, and from what I have heard, she is very happy with her new life. I still visit UCP on occasion and am still active in some of the groups I was part of before leaving…

Also said hello to some new friends….the guys I met and collaborate with on sign auctions (Mike and Jake…take a bow, guys) which resulted in my adding some NICE pieces to my collection! Also met the legendary Mike Summa, who was widely respected in roadgeek circles for his documentation and photographing of the transition era of highway signs in the 1970s….

I haven’t done much model train stuff the last year….for some evil reason, train shows fall on work weekends! As readers of my alternate journal will attest, I have added quite a few signs to my sign collection (Rebecca somehow tolerates this especially when I tell her I have 26 States left to go!) and have also resumed coin collecting (nothing major…just proof sets of State Quarters and the Presidential Dollars….plus any odd coins I find, Not for investment value, but just something fun) I still dabble in anime from time to time, but now I rely on word of mouth…..anime DVDs are too expensive to simply get one of each and every kind! So, now re-watchability is a key factor…..why I picked up Ah My Goddess, and Tsubasa, and left DearS and a couple of other titles on the shelves…

Basically, that is 2007 in a nutshell. As I pass into my 50^th year on this planet, I look back at my life and where I have been, and am grateful to my many friends for their love and support…and I appreciate you guys to the fullest…even if I don’t always say so, I really do value each and every one of you….especially the cutie in Hawaii! ^_~

May this holiday season be good to you and your families…..

And don’t forget to lock the refrigerators tonight so Santa Wolf doesn’t clean them out for you!

(For those NOT in the know, Santa Wolf is a jolly gray wolf who wears a red and white stocking cap…every year on Christmas Eve, he visits all the good little boys and girls all over the world, cleans out their refrigerators, and leaves presents all over their carpets!)

Prolly my last new stuff until after the holidays

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:54:26 GMT

...barring something i simply cannot pass on, which isnt too likely at the moment...

Both from Ohio....prolly construction zone signs, both 24 x 24......diamond sheeting and incredibly cheap too!

and another pug-ugly Ohio done by a disgruntled Michigan alumni....

Finally, from the State of Kentucky, by way of....the Netherlands?!?!? (talk about a helluva detour!)

16 x 16, lightweight aluminum, beaded sheeting, and while everything is silk-screened (and kinda sloppy at that)...the numbers are stuck on.....

unless something shows up i cannot pass on, this may be the last entry here for the year...

if that is the case, have a Merry Christmas, fellow signgeeks...and keep your signs well-hung!

Turkey Week Arrivals.....

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:06:12 GMT

Got some interesting stuffies...

First, want to thank one of the other signgeeks for calling my attention to this one. Mike Summa was amazed they let this out of the sign shop, it was so sloppy, but it is legit and saw poletime...14x14, wood with glass beading

and show it is legit, a night shot

I thought the 18 inch sign was small, but the 14 is dwarfed by it!

This past weekend, i did a lil' antiquing...a show and two malls.....saw a few signs at the show, but most were WAYYY overpriced (the eBay effect). This lil 18 incher i found at the mall was just right price-wise....and quickly jumped into my basket. A bit beat-up, but to be expected for a city sign

Finally arriving today from Chuck's showrooms, two blanks arrived....i am still debating putting numbers on them, but the KY may wait until i see if i win the KY US 68 on ebay (high price plus shipping from europe might discourage most bidders i think....)

16" steel, scotchlite sheeting (if i put a number on this, i am leaning to 1)

16' aluminum (incredibly lightweight, even for its size!) Beaded glass......my number of choice here....25 or 25E (or 68 if i dont win the KY 68)

Finally, obtained for a surprisingly good price-tag for a cutout! Steel with scotchlite sheeting....and very nice condition!

After the US 68 ends, i have to stop the buying for the holidays (unless some good Connecticut or Ohio sign shows up that I cannot pass up on!)...

Just wondering....

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:21:20 GMT

I am sure most of us have seen the eBay commercials where the theme is 'Shop Victoriously"....specifically, the one where ata football game, the quarterback heaves a deep pass as several civilians run downfield to try to catch it (some fall down), and after a mad toss up in the end zone...with a lot of jostling...a lady comes down with a rare vase

I was wondering.....(with apologies to us44mt )

what if the object being thrown to the endzone was THIS?

"Tis a mere flesh wound...but i won it!"

I have some stuff up on ebay this week...lets see who nibbles...and no, i wont throw them at anyone!

Just ahead of the axe...

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:09:53 GMT

From the Signgeeks group on eBay I posted this this morning....

First off, does anybody come here? C'mon guys, i would like to see some lively discussion of topics relating to sign collecting here

Actually, there are some discussions today i want to toss out for comment...

Topic 1: There hasnt been much good on ebay recently...but when there is, there is like a mini-flood....like the recent flood of Ohio cutouts, or the double flood of Pennsy cutout shields.

What i saw happening was this: We were all falling all over each other trying to get at least one shield (and maybe a second for trade bait among us) and a few of us didnt get any....

Is there any way we could come to some kind of gentlemen's agreement when such a mini-flood comes so that we can get what we want and not drive prices to the sky?

Topic 2: Fake US 66. Right now there is a heavily rusted AZ IS 66 on eBay that is going for about $1500....but it is one of the 'narrow font replicas' made some 15 years ago....Robert DID try to tell the seller that what he has wasnt authentic, but no dice...best he can do is inform whoever 'wins' that sign that he or she just dropped a grand-and-a-half on a US 66 sign that is as real as a 30-dollar bill...and i recently picked one up that looked the part until i got hold of it...then forwarded it to Jake and Robert for evaluation. The ILLDOT stamp was authentic enough, but nothing else really was..someone went to a lot of trouble to create that piece of work.

Question: Robert doesnt want to be the US 66 Fake Phony Police...is there anything we can do to protect buyers from such frauds as we see them?

Thoughts, guys?

FINALLY arriving!

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:02:12 GMT

As i told Joehler, they must have used real snails on that snail mail!

Surprised Mike didnt go for this one...it was playing his number!

And the real prize....i had one of these years ago courtesy of the State of Vermont when i got my cute 91 and I-189 shields, but let it go when i had to do some inventory reduction in the pre-eBay days and regretted it......expensive but worth it to me!

Too bad i missed on the Maine 95...it would have been cool to have a swath of North New England Interstates!