I Learned Something from FOX "News"? Well, Sorta. . .

You know how every so often, I put FOX "News" on the teevee machine, just to see if they ever actually air "fair and balanced" news?  Well, I tried again today, and stumbled into some. Kinda.

I'm a graphic artist for a sign company, so it's my business to know about certain requirements and laws. So finding out on America Live (an odd name for a news show, by the way) that there is a federal mandate to change all street signs, was a bit surprising to me.  Now, of course host Megyn Kelly and her "reporter" approached the story as one more wacky thing the Democrats in Washington are foolishly spending money on. Nearly every story is broached that way on FOX "News."  And when you actually get beyond the headline, there is often some bumbling--and inexcusable--double-talk. When Kelly asked if this was Congress or the President mandating the change, the reporter had no idea.  NO IDEA.  I found out with a 30-second Google search.  Lame.

So what is the big street sign change?  They're all being changed to upper/lower case, from all caps.  This may sound silly, but it is true that upper/lower is easier and faster to read. Particularly when you get into very long words that have to be squashed to fit on a standard street sign.  Kelly and her reporter made (really, really lame) jokes about "Ooh yeah, those signs are so hard to read. They're all capitals! What does it say?"  But when you're talking about signs that must be read in seconds or even less, legibility is important.

Incidentally, Megyn Kelly just called John Roberts, "Chief Justice McDreamy." Unbelievable.  Anyway, here's a story on the change that contains more actual news (beyond the headline) than Kelly's entire program.

[Excerpt]


Sign names need to use uppercase, lowercase

Despite public confusion that arose from recent news reports on the issue, city crews will continue to replace street name signs to comply with Federal Highway Administration regulations that specify changes be in place by 2012.

The regulations, specified in the 2009 edition of the FHA's "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways," call for new street name signs to have 6-inch lettering by Jan. 9, 2012. . .

Read more at: CJOnline