We've had a welcome influx of new members here, which is great.

But when you ask for advice, your location is often of considerable importance. Many members of long standing have tons of great ideas, but it depends on what climate/dangers/weather conditions/etc you are likely to face.

It would really help if you posted your general location on your profile, like Southern California or Nebraska. We don't need to know your address or town. Occasionally posting where you live doesn't help, as this board moves quickly, and no one has the memory, or the time to search old posts. "Kansas, Tornado Alley" is very helpful; so is "High desert, CA".

It just wastes everyone's time if we're making suggestions that are unrealistic for your area.

Thanks,

Sue

So Sue, you on the rainy side, or the dry side, of the state?

Mike, from VA on the coast!

Is everyone familiar with The Metroplex or do I need to change my location to The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex for clarification?

Jeanette Isabelle

Sue's right.

For example, on the Dark Side of the Moon, the recipes with beans could be a problem. When you wear a spacesuit for hours at a time ...

(Kidding, Sue. I'm bad.)

Sorry! Rainy side. Except for summer, then both sides are dry.

Changed my profile to indicate that.

Sue

DFW??? For some reason, I thought it was in Canada!

So much for assumptions...

Sue

Agree, I did not associate Metroplex with Texas.

the Metroplex - I would have guessed New York City...!
suppose 'the VA' is Virginia..? Why 'the'?
Acronym Finder also lists VA = Virtual Address...
W.WA is Western Washington...? the state or the city?
although Acronym Finder says WWA = Wasilla Airport (Alaska)

Acronyms maybe clear to you & opaque to me.

I thought Metroplex was one of the Transformer Robots from the cartoon series.

Alberta should be clear as a location but it is actually out of date for me. I am in Ontario now, Muskoka at the moment.

Being in California I'm vain enough to know that everyone realizes SOCAL is SOuthern CALifornia and that it would be totally redundant and unnecessary to spell it out

Damn straigh! Former SoCal boy myself. Really, it should be its own state, since it's so different than NorCal.

Why "The VA?" Kind of a medical joke - VA is Virginia, but "The VA" is the Veterans Administration, ie, the VA hospital (usually a location with a VA hospital only has one, and it's called The VA).

Metroplex was, I thought, a football stadium or something.

yeah, SoCal is in enough movies that even I get it and I'm somewhat acronym-challenged.

Think I read somewhere that American state abreviations are the 1st & last letters of the word, but not always (WA).
WA is also the acronym for Western Australia and Warrington, UK.
Are most ETS posters USA based? Has there been a poll?

I think "NYC" is fairly obvious, without saying "NYC, NY"

Northeastern Ontario, Canada, I think that shows where I am pretty good. If you have ever seen the Survivorman "Winter Plane Crash" or "Lost Hunters" episodes then you have seen the country I live/work/play in.

Hey Scafool, I see you are now in Muskoka, I am going down that way tomorrow for a week of deer hunting at my bush camp (we have few deer here).

Mike

Location: "Well, what day is it?"

Saying I live in The Metroplex is what I accustomed to and everybody in Texas knows what The Metroplex is. After all, the term was coined for this metropolitan area by an ad agency for the NTC (North Texas Commission).

For clarification I'm changing it to Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Jeanette Isabelle

I wonder how much the ad agency billed for coining the term "Metroplex."

Sounds like a movie theater.

If it's any consolation, at least one person here knew what you meant. I guess the term only works within about 500 miles of DFW.

I don't know as this was done in 1972. The term originated from an ad agency's combination of the terms "metropolitan" and "complex."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroplex

Jeanette Isabelle

"W.WA is Western Washington...? the state or the city?"

Washington D.C. is usually just D.C.

WA is the official state abbreviation.

Sue

I am one-quarter French, my second language is French and I was named after the traditional French Christmas carol "Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle."

I therefore understand why you have that impression.

Jeanette Isabelle

Yep, but since DFW is not the only Metroplex, adding DFW is probably a good idea for an audience that extends outside DFW.

Notice that SOCAL is also on the wiki list as a Metroplex. Nobody I know refers to SOCAL as a Metroplex.

Contrarian opinion: Replies should be based on what you know best, typically the replier's locale not necessarily the question poster's locale. So, while I do not think it hurts for the questioner to post their location, I think it is much more important for those who reply to do so.

And why don't you just include your locale in your profile?

"I do not think it hurts for the questioner to post their location, I think it is much more important for those who reply to do so."

It seems to me that people could give better advice if they know the likely conditions. A major earthquake in winter in Missouri would have a whole host of additional problems from a major earthquake in SoCal in winter. A lot of good information could be tilted toward existing conditions, and other info would be useless.

Sue

As those in the French community in Texas say, "Bonjour y'all!"

Jeanette Isabelle

Make that two and I'm a Canadian living in the Caribbean! ;-)

Rest assured that everyone outside of Texas has no idea what "the metroplex" means. I've never heard that term until now.

That also goes for people that live in the "Bay Area". That term always amuses me. I have to ask, "What, Hudson Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Tampa Bay, Bay of Fundy, which is it?" Like there's only one Bay in the entire world....

Sorry, I'll step down off my soapbox now...

where's your soapbox located at....;^)

I’ve always tried to avoid ambiguity where I can, so that is why my profile has always specified, “Dallas, Pennsylvania, United States.” (“Always” being at least since I moved to this location. ) I just wish people would actually pay more attention to the fact that is says, “Dallas, Pennsylvania,” not, “Dallas, Texas.” Oh, well.

I don't know what is so amusing. While there is more than one metroplex, there is one place known as The Metroplex for the term was coined for this area; only a few million people know this.

I don't know the history to know why the Bay Area is specific to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jeanette Isabelle

FWIW:

I'm not from the U.S.A. but I mostly understand the acronyms and locations. (Heck, I get that list every time I register software or ship something from eBay.) Hadn't heard of the Metroplex. But I would certainly understand DFW.

I know some may have privacy concerns, but be aware that Martin the Mod knows where you are; privacy on the 'net is something of an illusion. (Takes a moment to shudder.)

Anyway, it's certainly useful to know the area being discussed. Doesn't mean we can't all comment; but winter issues (for example) in the coastal areas are rather different from those on the Prairies/Great Plains. And so on.

Sorry, I cannot help but be juvenile this morning....

"I bet my Dallas is bigger than your Dallas."

Okay, I now have that out of my system.

I know a lady from Northeast, Pennsylvania, which is located in the northwestern section of the state.

Pennsylvania really needs to get its act together...

LOL, I guarantee you that it is. My Dallas is just a small mountain town where two two-lane highways split outside of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Holy crap! You weren’t kidding!

Denver! I'll mail it to you!

I guess my point was that when folks live in a certain metropolitan area for a while, they tend to get very regional in their thinking. We all do it.

Everyone knows where Las Vegas is, right?

I met a woman from Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Even if you tell Mr. Google 'las vegas -nv', it gives you Nevada.

Sue