MayDay

Specifically no, but those crop patterns are in abundance in western Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle and southeastern Colorado. Hit Google Maps for Copeland, Kansas - you'll think part of the Earth turned into a Vasarely painting.

I was laughing at the locals who said "well at least it's finally cooling down". Meaning instead of 110, it was 102. And by 9pm at night, it was a pleasant 88 - well, as long as you weren't walking on asphalt. If you were, you could still feel the heat emanating from the parking lots having been baked all day.

There's a tower in Fort Worth that's strikingly similar to Eaton - it was walloped by a tornado and stood vacant for years. Eventually it was redeveloped into residential - they were pretty creative and added balconies, etc. The tower after the tornado - note the reflective glass (that's left) - very similar to Eaton. Image from glasssteelandstone.com: And I think the "notched" areas on Eaton could accomodate balconies, etc. And with the new glass facade and balconies - image from dfwi.org

I have to say, while there's NO way I'd ever live there - the areas of Scottsdale near Old Downtown and the Waterfront are pretty walkable - aside from the temps above 100. ;-) And the Biltmore and other resorts are absolutely breathtaking. I've always said that you can't take the preconceived notions that you have about cities and try to apply them to places like Phoenix and Vegas.

The photos are from a recent trip to Phoenix/Scottsdale. Unfortunately the circumstances were for a family emergency and while we had hoped for the best, my partner's mom passed away. I've always felt the best way to pay respects is to do the things you enjoy, on behalf of those who no longer can. And few things make me happier than taking photos, so here it is. Can I just say again how much I love having direct access to the airport with the Red Line? Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so cooperative during one of my favorite parts of the ride out to Hopkins: About 4 hours later: Sprrrrrrawl! Camelback Mountain - one of Phoenix's redeeming qualities: Sort of like Columbus in the desert: Not a bad view from the rental car facility: Up in Scottsdale - the taller buildings are residential, part of the Waterfront development: The side of Camelback Mountain: Off we go again, with downtown in the distance: Industrial looking stuff in Tempe: Even more built up than the last time I was here (a year ago): Further down the road: Yes folks, that's a brand-new light-rail line: More shots of downtown on our way to Sky Harbor airport: See ya next time, Camelback! We don't have THAT in Cleveland: Line of demarcation: Hello housing crisis! It's so mod! I think I saw the pope (the forumer) while I took these: Ann Arbor? :wtf: Detroit and Windsor, Canada: Hmm, would a wind farm work on Lake Erie? Oh that's right, they already do! Nice crib: And finally, the plane took the route I've always wanted to see: Well, downtown Lakewood and the Gold Coast are nice... Now THAT is what I'm talking about! This one's for you, Donna - R.I.P. :cry: Lakewood again: North Olmsted and the gloriously planned Great Northern area: :roll: *hork* Elyria in the background: Touchdown and a sight for sore eyes: Welcome back, indeed:

I think that any group (block club or development corp.) that oversteps its boundaries is just as bad as a property owner who lets their home go to sh!t and bring down property values. It's one thing if there's some peeling paint or minor things - I don't think anyone thinks TWDC should be hounding people about that. But if we're talking collapsing porches or yards filled with burnt-out cars, etc. then yes it's imperative for the neighborhood that something be done. I don't think anyone is helped with a "well, I'll show those high-falutin' people!" approach. It's like the article says "They should get a bunch of people together and help these people fix their homes.” - I agree, and that should include the homeowners (if they're able, I understand there are elderly folks who can't) as well as the block clubs and TWDC. Sort of a Habitat for Humanity on a much more local scale. You can either let life happen to you and b!tch about it, or you can get involved and make things happen. Constitution or not, your home is an investment and unless you live on a 6,000 acre estate, it will be affected by adjacent properties - why *wouldn't* you want to get involved to protect what's probably one of the most valuable assets in your life? Welcome to the forum.

A shout-out to Cleveland Public Library and their 24-7 Know it Now service. My partner's mother recently passed away and she had quite a list of accomplishments, not easy info to get last-minute, but the 24-7 service was able to locate 5 different articles to help write her obit. For free. And THAT is why I will always support the library levies!

My preferred perch was taken out of commission by the drillers on the right:

"^Thank you cranky grampa, I wasn't insisting you yourself have to do this." *Ahem*, that would be Resident B!tch: And yes, I think it would be great if the folks at GCBL could get something organized and am rather surprised that they haven't.

^Sorry, some people gotta work for a living.

^Huntington Building - lower floor. Great pics, btw.

And they wonder why Ohio keeps losing our best and brightest. Good luck trying to retain talented young people; and especially trying to attract talented young people who want to work in THIS: or THIS: But the best your company can offer is THIS: Sounds just like some old people who voted to move a certain community federation out of downtown - they simply don't give a sh!t.

This forum's format is essentially similar to most urban planning and architecture forums. It works for forums like skyscraperpage.com, which has been around for ten years and has 16,000+ members, and skyscrapercity.com which has over 200,000 members. Yes, there are lots of topics and there's some cross-pollination but this layout is the best approach for both members and Admins/Mods. Keep in mind, this is not a blog with just one person providing an update a day - it's a forum and the dynamics are much different.

I noticed there was work going on in the shooting gallery club formerly known as Spy Bar.

"No reason for unappointed arbiters to make someone feel silly about asking a relevant question." 1. I'm an appointed Admin of this forum. :-) 2. Relevant questions are always welcome, but when I see *that* many different questions about *that* many different projects in one or two posts, it makes it hard to keep things on topic. And sorry if that rubbed you the wrong way, lafont.

^You haven't been paying attention ;-) http://www.wearecampfire.com

"a volunteer base ... reluctant to drive downtown." Anyone else bothered by this? Maybe it's just me, but when I volunteer for causes I believe in - I set aside any potential inconveniences. That's incredibly shallow and self-serving if a reluctance to go to downtown Cleveland is more important to volunteers than providing service to their cause. "I think the Baby Boomer generation will have done more harm to our cities by the time they are done, than any generation in history." I wish I could disagree.

Anyone have a basic idea of the makeup of the trustees (age, etc.)?

Thanks for making me waste a few minutes of an extremely busy day, folks - really appreciate it. And when you see this axe, that usually means that any off-topic conversations should be taken offline.

When the insanity of work and whatnot that has consumed my life subsides in the next week, I'd like to put something together. Has no one else submitted anything? We have some design students who could use the exposure and beefing up their portfolio, where are you folks?

I never drank until I was 21, and I think I'd happily offer a couple of the times (not all, but a few) I was sh!tfaced to andrew0816 for a very reasonable price.

"What do you mean "w28th?"" That's the screenname of one of our forumers - he replied in this thread.

Oh good lord, you're a fetus!