After seeing barrels in one place for months with no sign of construction, I wondered if someone had put them out in the wrong place and forgotten they were there.
A couple of decades ago here in Wisconsin, the highway department laid down about 40 miles worth of low-profile reflectors on the lane-dividing strips on one of our interstates. The following year that entire stretch was resurfaced, completely covering up the reflectors. Yup, 2 different bureaus within the same department, not talking to each other.
years ago I went to a public meeting regarding an upcoming road construction project. I wanted to know why they were not considering the additional traffic for a new community from up the road. was told the study was for the current traffic. a new study would be needed to correct that problem. and yes we have continuing construction every year to correct those new problems
One of my younger sisters used to use the same clothing storage system. Her bedroom floor was covered in clothes. She picked the least smelly, least wrinkled outfit to wear. Every couple of weeks, she’d break down and do a couple of wash loads. Now she has two kids of her own and somehow she became a clean freak…
Here in Las Vegas, we are always laughing at the cones and barrels that are left out for a month before any road work begins. Drivers have been known to stop their cars, get out, move the cones/barrels and then drive where they want.
We now live in a world where a novelist can be no bigger or smaller a star than a chef, a guy who pesters wild animals, or … a woman who has an intriguing system for tidying up. So it was that my wife and I finished watching the movie Bird Box with friends in time for Netflix to suggest we also watch Marie Kondo’s show. Marie Kondo is one of those tidying experts more famous than, say, the novelist who wrote Bird Box (though not for long! Go, Josh!), and we interrupted our discussion of Bird Box to talk a little bit about tidying.
Kondo is, if I can tidy “ridiculous” and “meticulous” into an efficient portmanteau, perhaps mediculously extreme if you get at all far into the system, but the guts of the system, which is really just to apply a little mindfulness and discretion to the crap piling up in your house, is solid. And probably enough to ignore the other 90% of whatever was on the show, or in the series. And I bet that’s how it works with the orange barrels on the side of the road for no apparent reason. My guess is that there’s simply not enough room for the Department of Transportation to store all those barrels and cones in buildings, and we’ve got all this road that’s going to need them eventually, so why not just leave them by the road? But leave them there mindfully and keep track of them. Those things are expensive. Also, if they were subject to the Marie Kondo criterion of “does this object provide joy?”, they’d have to be thrown away, and I don’t think there’s any more room for them in landfills than there is in warehouses.
Also: Go see Bird Box, like the rest of the world. It’s good. Better yet: Go read Bird Box. It’s very good.
Anathema Premium Member over 5 years ago
The cones do seem to go up well before construction starts.
rekam Premium Member over 5 years ago
If that’s what she does with her clothes when they’re dirty…
Arianne over 5 years ago
The situation does hamper tourism.
Bilan over 5 years ago
Does the shirt mean that Frazz writes his music on GarageBand?
The Old Wolf over 5 years ago
That’s exactly the conclusion I came to 30 years ago while driving on vacations with my kids. I love it! ❤❤❤❤❤
pjsdoghouse2003 over 5 years ago
Living in New Mexico taught me there were two seasons.Snow plow season and orange barrel season.
asrialfeeple over 5 years ago
Maybe those cones are planted to observe us.
Masterskrain Premium Member over 5 years ago
I want to be the guy who leases them to the various states…
alien011 over 5 years ago
If you want to find out which direction north is, just check the shovels of a road construction crew. North is the side where the moss grows.
Mary Finkelstein Premium Member over 5 years ago
It sounds like they have been driving through Michigan. Twenty miles of orange barrels set up for 100 feet of actual construction.
sandpiper over 5 years ago
After seeing barrels in one place for months with no sign of construction, I wondered if someone had put them out in the wrong place and forgotten they were there.
Fido (aka Felix Rex) Premium Member over 5 years ago
I’m surprised nobody made the obvious political snark about last night’s orange barrel sighting.
Richard S Russell Premium Member over 5 years ago
A couple of decades ago here in Wisconsin, the highway department laid down about 40 miles worth of low-profile reflectors on the lane-dividing strips on one of our interstates. The following year that entire stretch was resurfaced, completely covering up the reflectors. Yup, 2 different bureaus within the same department, not talking to each other.
kunddog over 5 years ago
years ago I went to a public meeting regarding an upcoming road construction project. I wanted to know why they were not considering the additional traffic for a new community from up the road. was told the study was for the current traffic. a new study would be needed to correct that problem. and yes we have continuing construction every year to correct those new problems
micromos over 5 years ago
I just try an bump a few of them over for fun.
Pipe Tobacco Premium Member over 5 years ago
This was one of the most funny “Frazz” comics in a while! Had me laugh out loud!
Terry.Knowles over 5 years ago
And here I thought we just had the problem of useless endless orange cones in Montreal…
cervelo over 5 years ago
One of my younger sisters used to use the same clothing storage system. Her bedroom floor was covered in clothes. She picked the least smelly, least wrinkled outfit to wear. Every couple of weeks, she’d break down and do a couple of wash loads. Now she has two kids of her own and somehow she became a clean freak…
Jan C over 5 years ago
Here in Las Vegas, we are always laughing at the cones and barrels that are left out for a month before any road work begins. Drivers have been known to stop their cars, get out, move the cones/barrels and then drive where they want.
car2ner over 5 years ago
the construction can be happening in the early evenings when there is less traffic, especially if they are resurfacing.
thedogesl Premium Member over 5 years ago
By George, I think he’s on to something here.
Bill The Nuke over 5 years ago
Sounds like I-80 through Pennsylvania.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 5 years ago
Frazz15 hrs ·
We now live in a world where a novelist can be no bigger or smaller a star than a chef, a guy who pesters wild animals, or … a woman who has an intriguing system for tidying up. So it was that my wife and I finished watching the movie Bird Box with friends in time for Netflix to suggest we also watch Marie Kondo’s show. Marie Kondo is one of those tidying experts more famous than, say, the novelist who wrote Bird Box (though not for long! Go, Josh!), and we interrupted our discussion of Bird Box to talk a little bit about tidying.
Kondo is, if I can tidy “ridiculous” and “meticulous” into an efficient portmanteau, perhaps mediculously extreme if you get at all far into the system, but the guts of the system, which is really just to apply a little mindfulness and discretion to the crap piling up in your house, is solid. And probably enough to ignore the other 90% of whatever was on the show, or in the series. And I bet that’s how it works with the orange barrels on the side of the road for no apparent reason. My guess is that there’s simply not enough room for the Department of Transportation to store all those barrels and cones in buildings, and we’ve got all this road that’s going to need them eventually, so why not just leave them by the road? But leave them there mindfully and keep track of them. Those things are expensive. Also, if they were subject to the Marie Kondo criterion of “does this object provide joy?”, they’d have to be thrown away, and I don’t think there’s any more room for them in landfills than there is in warehouses.
Also: Go see Bird Box, like the rest of the world. It’s good. Better yet: Go read Bird Box. It’s very good.