Feb 26th 2013 08:24 am Close Doesn’t Count
I hope you’ll forgive me for visiting the geography discussion one last time—I promise. I think it’s worth mentioning that of those five states where the highest elevation is less than 1,000 feet above sea level, Little Rhodie has the highest, Jerimoth Hill, 812 ft. When I started writing this, I thought it probably would be Mississippi’s Woodall Mountain at 806 ft. I wanted to mention this, because I wanted to regale you with my own tales of mountaineering. Woodall Mountain (“hill,” really) is in the northeastern part of the state, near where I once lived just over the line in Tennessee. I’ve driven up Woodall Mountain many times; there’s a dirt road to the top where one encounters a modest antenna farm and an admittedly commanding view of the surrounding countryside. I’m also familiar with Britton Hill in Florida, north of Fort Walton Beach, the lowest of the five lows at 345 ft. Britton Hill isn’t really a promontory at all, but the highest spot on land generally sloping upward toward the Piedmont Plateau. I told you I liked this trivia question. I don’t know why. We can’t all climb Mt. Everest, I guess.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
61 Responses to “Close Doesn’t Count”
Mindy on 26 Feb 2013 at 8:45 am #
It’s educational, Jimmy!
Dave in MA on 26 Feb 2013 at 8:54 am #
My posts from the past two days were removed. Guess I offend. I took a shower before going to work…. honest!
billinbossier on 26 Feb 2013 at 9:13 am #
I must point out, because it is not far from where I live, that Driskell Mountain is the hightest point in Louisiana. It rises a majestic 535 ft. above sea level. From the top of it you can see pretty much nothing but trees, but hey…it’s home.
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 26 Feb 2013 at 9:22 am #
When I was younger my Dad would always organize an Amateur Radio “Field Day” that was help nationwide on the last weekend in June. While doing some research, my Dad found out from the county that we only lived a couple of miles from the second highest spot in Allen County (Fort Wayne). While Northern Indiana is relatively flat, with a lot of lakes, we were pleasantly surprised to find the spot. I think that it was only about 900 feet.
I was expecting to find a peak, but all it was a rolling hill, which was perfect as it gave a good spot to set up camp and get the antennas in the air. We never went on vacation as kids, so that was the extent of our leisurely activities.
BTW, the highest spot in Indiana is “Hoosier Hill” Residents balked at a request from a local landfill that easily could have made the highest spot in Indiana a pile of garbage.
Mindy on 26 Feb 2013 at 9:32 am #
For the Air Force guys, I just can’t resist giving you this link to another comic that John says hits the nail right on the thumb. I did almost chuckle but I managed to hide my smirk, keep a stone face and ask him what he thought was so funny. Honest.
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/fk/
Dave in MA on 26 Feb 2013 at 9:43 am #
Mindy, quite funny !
Thanks for sharing that. (thanks to John too!)
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 10:42 am #
No choice , I went with fight and still got flight; free helicopter rides to the fights.
carl on 26 Feb 2013 at 11:12 am #
i wonder what state has the lowest elevation change? i guess it would be considered the ‘flattest’ state. florida is easy with 345 of elevation change but maybe iowa has less elevation change?
Lost in A**2 on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:06 pm #
That’s an easy question to answer: KANSAS!
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:09 pm #
Ebright Azimuth, the high point in Delaware at 447 feet, has a breathtaking view of a trailer park, a radio tower and tax-free shopping.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:12 pm #
Carl, looking at this table. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001792.html
Your old friend Delaware has the lowest mean elevation at sixty feet. It is the only single digit mean on the table.
Yes I Googled.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:15 pm #
Another nice elevation table, ranked from high to low mean elevation.
http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_elevation_mean.htm
Give me a question and a Googling I will go.
DiverRick on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:18 pm #
I count 2 digits in 60.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:21 pm #
Lost in A**2, Kansas ranks number 14 with a mean elevation change of 2000′. Someone had the pan tipped during the frying process.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:22 pm #
Eh, Diver, ye be correct, Siri failed me again.
JJ, see what you have started?
carl on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:33 pm #
that’s the mean elevation which is sort of like an average. i’m talking elevation ‘change’. like florida goes from sea level to 345′ which is a change of 345′. so the difference from the highest point to the lowest point. the mean elevation of florida is 100′.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 12:42 pm #
Carl, cede the point on your clarification. However, I am treading in deep water, Florida, New Orleans, and some other coastal areas more swamp than land.
Bob in Orland Park on 26 Feb 2013 at 1:25 pm #
@Steve From Royal Oak, MI
We Hams still do that.
Bob in Orland Park
alias “WF9V’
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 26 Feb 2013 at 1:37 pm #
Bob:
I know that you do. I still have my license (WA9URU) but have not been active since my Dad died in 2002. Maybe I should put the antenna up for 75M or at least turn my 2M FM on and listen in.
Lost in A**2 on 26 Feb 2013 at 2:17 pm #
Looks like it’s Florida: Highest elevation is 345 feet, lowest is 0 feet (‘Sea Level’).
Yeah, I realised that Kansas might be flat but tilted. Some parts of the country, they sell both sides of the same acre. Right, Ms. Mindy?
Ghost Rider 6 on 26 Feb 2013 at 2:31 pm #
Oui, Mindy, très drôle. Which reminds me, I wonder how the French Army troops posted to Mali for counter-terrorist operations are enjoying the walk to get there. Oh, wait. The USAF has already flown them there, along with their tanks, AV’s and other equipment, haven’t they? Never mind.
Mindy on 26 Feb 2013 at 4:17 pm #
Why is everybody picking on me?
Mark in TTown on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:00 pm #
Charlie Brown. (to complete Mindy’s question)
Mark in TTown on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:04 pm #
I found Ghost’s favorite coffee shop:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/signlanguage/9894879/Sign-Language-week-245.html?frame=2493019
Charlotte in NH on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:19 pm #
Lots of good comments here today. I can’t say much about NH, lots of mountains, some flat land on our small coastline. In the late 1960′s we packed the children into our Volkswagen bus and drove to Florida to visit my parents who had rented a place for the winter and were courageous enough to invite their seven grandchildren to come down over February school vacation. That was a memorable trip! One of the neat places we saw was the Turtle Mound near New Smyr na Beach. It’s an Indian shell mound shaped kind of like a huge turtle, and is the largest (maybe) such in the mainland USA. It’s in Wikipedia as Turtle Mound, you can read all about it. While not close to the highest point, supposed to be approx. 50 ft. high. It’s quite a hike to the top, fun and entertaining, we thought; seemed higher than that! Birds, tropical plants … no boardwalk then as apparently there is now. And all those snow white oyster shells underfoot, mighty exotic to us Northerners.
Mark in Boston on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:20 pm #
So if you leave the parking brake off when you park your car at one border of Kansas, it will slowly roll all the way to the other end of the state?
Ghost Rider 6 on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:26 pm #
Mark, it appears to me that getting into that D-cup would be a tight squeeze.
Who’s picking on you, Mindy? Virgin Mindy hasn’t said anything all day.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:34 pm #
OK, I am dense. Opening Mark’s link gives me an image of a candy bar labeled “Colletta Plopp.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:48 pm #
sand, you are looking at photo #1 in the series. Try selecting photo #11 at the top of the page.
Ghost Rider 6 on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:49 pm #
Smart phone users, here’s something neat and potentially very useful you can do with your phone. I have it on my iPhone now. Better forecasts are all about compiling more and better data and weather observations.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20130206_mping.html
Ghost Rider 6 on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:56 pm #
Debbe, check out photo #14.
“It’s what’s for dinner.”
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 5:57 pm #
GR6, guessing Mackenzie Duffy is who you are referencing in you link.
Ahhh, photo 11, makes more sense.
Ghost Rider 6 on 26 Feb 2013 at 6:05 pm #
OK, Lady Mindy, Kelly Cass and Kim Cunningham on TWC were pretty tarted-up this evening. Kelly in particular looked like the kind of booted storm trooper I’d like to be stormed by.
And Mindy, so you will know, the music for the TWC’s “Local on the Eights” at 2358 Zulu was a Stones tune.
Jerry in Fl on 26 Feb 2013 at 6:37 pm #
Debbe, My youngest son has two degrees and works for the circus and is very happy although he wants to move on to bigger bucks, like maybe Las Vegas. Your son will probably move on to bigger bucks too. For Jo Ann Worley, wherever you are.
Jerry in Fl on 26 Feb 2013 at 6:51 pm #
If you don’t have cats you may not know that cats trained to the litter box will hold it as long as physically possible before going somehwere else. Spunkey stays busy and puts it off until she has to run full speed to the litter box.
Ruth Anne in Winter Park on 26 Feb 2013 at 6:52 pm #
Charlotte – Yes, there’s a very nice boardwalk at Turtle Mound now. It makes it much easier for all to get to the top and enjoy the view, plus it protects the mound from erosion, etc. You were lucky to have been there in February – the mosquitoes are pretty fierce at other times of the year.
sandcastler on 26 Feb 2013 at 7:16 pm #
Jerry in FL, we have had litter box trained cats who when outside would run to a door to be let in to do their business.
Jerry in Fl on 26 Feb 2013 at 7:50 pm #
If my wife has just changed the kitty litter and not put the top back on the box yet, the girls will wait until the top is back on, unless it’s an emergency. Ladies do like their privacy. Elvis, though, is the one who is most particular about the litter and having everything well covered.
Charlotte in NH on 26 Feb 2013 at 9:00 pm #
Oh golly, Ruth Anne, I had never even thought about the lack of mosquitoes! I can see that would make quite a difference. Our February trip was very pleasant and we really enjoyed seeing pelicans and Spanish Moss and lots of things we don’t have up here.
Mark in TTown on 26 Feb 2013 at 9:45 pm #
Jerry in FL, I don’t think needing to go was Luddie’s problem. He looked a little sickly. Do you remember the strip where Luddie is hacking in the background and Janis tells Arlo “The cat’s going to be sick!”. Whereupon Arlo makes the mad dash outside with him. Then comes one of Jimmy’s best lines about life. Having shared a home with 5 at one time, I could relate very well to the scenario and the sentiment!
Ursen on 26 Feb 2013 at 10:19 pm #
Lowest state is probably California with Death Valley below sea level.
Chris in South Jersey on 26 Feb 2013 at 10:47 pm #
I’m late coming to the party about elevations. When I was transferred to South Jersey from Piscataway (Central Jersey), I lost my 4 wheel drive company car because “there are no mountains in South Jersey so you won’t need 4 wheel drive.” However, what the powers that be failed to take into account that several of the cell sites I maintained were deep in the Pine Barrens and you needed 4 wheel drive to get out of the sandy ruts.
wa2mvu
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 26 Feb 2013 at 11:21 pm #
Chris in South Jersey, some days I need a 4 wheel drive just to get out of my driveway.
Husband has had his Amateur Radio license since he was 16 or so, and is still very active. He has lately been doing more computer-type communication than the usual voice contact. (can you tell I know very little about it?) All I know is he comes upstairs and complains about sunspots or the lack of them. For those who know about such things, he is WB4ZWK.
Jerry in Fl on 27 Feb 2013 at 2:19 am #
My mother took care of me when I was a sick child and I don’t mind cleaning up after the cats if they get sick. My wife and I naturally fell into a certain separation of labor based on what we do well or don’t mind doing. She cleans the litter box and I don’t mind cleanng it up if one of the cats get sick. They don’t do it on purpose and one night recently Cilla jumped up on the bathroom counter and threw up in the sink. I praised her for being a smart girl. BTW Rowan and Martin, Laugh-In, 1969, Jo Anne Worley: “Was that a chicken joke?”
Debbe59 on 27 Feb 2013 at 4:24 am #
Good morning to all A&J Villagers……
Food morning Mindy, John and Ginger…
GR..I clicked and was unable to scroll forward, Ian (my son) has not installed Windows yet. I have some weird device sitting next to the computer with cables running out of it and into my computer…..I guess he knows what he’s doing. He’d better!!!!! So I’m going to assume it was CHICKEN!!!!
We have three liter boxes, and it’s so funny when Buddee (the black and white long hair) does his job, you can always tell by the gallop out of the bathroom.
Jerry, thanks for the encouragement…..
Steve…where is Hoosier Hills?
Ya’ll have a blessed day…..
Mindy on 27 Feb 2013 at 4:56 am #
Food morning, Debbe, from all of us in the asylum. I have a question that I know is going to cause at least two people to smirk and chortle [I hate chortling most of all!] but I simply have to ask. Buddee, the black and white long hair…does that mean he likes classical music? If not, where do you take him to have his hair cut? Or do you do it yourself? Personally, I’d let it grow so he can wear it in a ponytail. After all, he has a comb to keep it neat…
[Cue the smirks & chortles; keep chortles to a minimum due to VDOT and EPA HAZMAT standards.]
Debbe59 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:01 am #
Mindy….Buddee (the cat) and I have not discussed music, but he does like the way I smell when I come home from working at the poulty house
As for a ponytail, I’d thought about getting some gel and spiking his fur down his back……
Mindy on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:22 am #
Sounds like a plan for the hair. A rapper rooster. Unless he is classically oriented. You might discuss that with him first. I’m just sayin’…
Ghost! You missed pokies this morning!
Debbe59 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:26 am #
Jerry…I hold an associate’s in busisness and have worked in the corporate world most of my life, and I don’t miss it. I like my job in the poulty house (instead of dealing with a bunch of _____s I deal with a bunch of clucks
), so I guess my son will some day make his call in life.
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:34 am #
*Smirk* *Chortle*
Where were pokies? I’m not wont to miss them, you know.
Good morning, dear Debbe. No, not chicken in the photo, but a cut of meat labeled “Smoked Joint”; don’t know why that made me think of you.
Debbe59 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:35 am #
Mindy…the challenge will be to train Buddee the cat to crow like a rapper rooster
Debbe59 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:37 am #
GR…..I appreciate anything that makes you think of me
Thanks for the smile
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:49 am #
You’re welcome, Debbe.
Male chauvinist pig that I am, I’m up early fixing lunch to carry to work for my all-female staff. Wish all my female friends here could join us.
Sorry, guys. What can I say? I’ve gotten used to things they way they are.
Mark in TTown on 27 Feb 2013 at 6:31 am #
I don’t know Ghost. The only male in a harem tended to be a eunuch. Just sayin’.
Ginger on 27 Feb 2013 at 6:53 am #
Good food morning, Debbe. And a hale and hearty hello to Mr. Ghost Rider, whatever “hale and hearty” really means. You really did miss pokies. I’ll say no more.
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Feb 2013 at 7:31 am #
Chilly morning there, eh, Ginger? Frost on the pumpkin and elsewhere?
Negatory, Mark. The eunuch just works in the harem. The harem is there for the benefit of the boss, no?
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Feb 2013 at 7:48 am #
Ginger, one definition of “hale and hearty” is “an old person who is still very healthy and strong.” 86 the “old” part, and I’ll take it.
sandcastler on 27 Feb 2013 at 7:58 am #
Goooood moooooorning Village, y’all having a nice start to your day?
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 27 Feb 2013 at 8:22 am #
Today’s strip (02/27/13) reminds me of the scene from “Trading Places” where Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) is juggling a vase and drops it. After being told that it was insured for $20,000 more than they paid for it, Billy Ray askes “Do you want me to break something else?” the Duke brothers and Coleman (the Butler) all cross their arms and say “NOOO”
Mark in Boston on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:01 pm #
Some of those midwestern states start off at a high level, so Kansas is flat even though it’s quite a ways up there.
What state has the greatest difference between low and high elevation? I’d guess Washington, because it’s zero at the coastline and 2 or 3 miles high on top of Mount Rainier. (Good name for a mountain in the rainiest state.) But maybe whatever state Death Valley is in is even more extreme.
Lost in A**2 on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:15 pm #
If one remembers Denali, aka Mount McKinley, Alaska will come to mind.
The top four are Alaska, California, Washington and Hawaii. sandcastler’s link can be re-ordered by name, high point, low point and mean elevation.