Rusty Shackleford

^ I think that's an antique shop, not a bar.

Grit-tastic! Lockland is the spot on the drive south on I-75 I feel like I'm driving into some burg on the east coast. The dingy, claustrophobic freeway walls are close in to the road and that Exit 12 ramp (really just a modified "T" style intersection with an island) is straight out of pre-war freeway construction standards.

Impressive. Photo #2 reminds me of the pedestrian ramp spiral at Clingman's Dome.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/little-miami-river-watchdog-sues-over-proposed-zipline-expansion-1020195.html

I believe that Lebanon used to have mast-mounted traffic signals back in the 70s. I remember learning to drive and going down there, and almost blowing the lights because I wasn't used to the placement of them.

Quick! Someone open up a Super Wal-Mart on the town limits and gut the remaining retail! Perhaps some of the town elders can be re-educated as to the insignificance and illegitimacy of their burg. It's not too late to demean this town's identity!!! No chains in sight. Is this even in the developed world? Just kidding in a black humor vein.

First three shots: absolutely hilarious! Afghans on steroids for the win. Last three shots: societal "fail". Sad and regrettable.

It seems to be legally like buying a bad debt. This seems similar to patent trolls that operate in the technology arena. Example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCO_Group#SCO-Linux_lawsuits_and_controversies

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/10/dmca-righthaven-loophole I thought this may apply here, and I hope I didn't trigger a takedown notice by quoting the article. :evil:

I think right now, Blanchester is just a notch too far to drive for most Cincinnati locals. And it has no "cachet" like Mason or Lebanon do. But I do agree, it's the eastern frontier of the burbs, and beyond Blanchester, you have "real" rural character and negligible commuting into Cincinnati. I also agree that Rt 48 is a dividing line.

Wow, a Toledo version of the Peters Cartridge Factory.

Errr... someone should correct AEP's numbers. When I plug 49.9 megawatts and 25K homes into a calculator I get 1960 watts per home. That allows every household to perhaps run their toaster or microwave, or, their TV and computers, but only if they unplug the microwave first... a heat pump or an electric water heater is out of the question. Maybe 2500 to 5000 homes.

There is also an Indian memorabilia store on the main road. I completely agree. The rough edges and lack of corporate manicuring make it interesting. My fear was that San Mar Gale was going to gentrify the area and encourage another strip mall with a Dollar General on the main drag. Oregonia (formerly Freeport) has a rich and interesting proto-industrial history and in its day it was a tiny metropolis with a general store, a high school, probably a train station, etc. Although most physical remnants of that past are long gone, including the great old iron bridge that used to carry Oregonia Road across the river, that collapsed in 2000.

Yeah, I was amazed for the same reasons by that tear down. Oregonia has always been a "country ghetto." It could stand a little authentic, organic commercial development. A country store, crafts, that kind of thing. My main objections to San Mar Gale are 1) the location (pristine and surrounded by nothing for miles) and 2) the price level of the proposed housing. I saw renderings, too, but I think the reality would have been Stepford Wives-ish.

Economic recessions for the win, for a change: :evil: http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/plans-for-upscale-village-sitting-in-mothballs-984676.html I wasn't looking forward to seeing this type of sprawl so close to this part of the Little Miami watershed. The development made no sense in 2006 and even less today.

When does anyone think (or know that) it was last used for performances? How long has it sat idle?

My sympathies. I was painting with a broad brush about the local boosterism like the young professional initiatives. The truth is that most Cincinnati and Dayton IT employers are actually cheaper than crap and most of them value subservience over performance. There is a bell curve of demand relative to your age. Around here, you're not desirable if you're fresh out. You're also not wanted if you have more than 20 years of experience, or mid aged 40s for most people - not servile enough, too high maintenance. The sweet spot around here seems to be 5 to 10 years of experience - someone else funded your learning, so the hiring party can just use you without investing in you. All I can say is, join mailing lists like "The Circuit" in Cincinnati and attend as many meet and greets as you can. Good luck.

Screw 'em. They're stuck here! :evil: Tangent: yeah, I think the same thing. It's cruel, but our society courts the young ceaselessly. I was near useless when I was a 22 year old engineer out of UD but I had companies recruiting me HARD. Today as a 50 something, I can do everything but I'm at the back of the line, and oh, no, we don't wink wink practice age discrimination. The over focus on young professionals in urban marketing is a reflection of cruel facts: the young have more choices than the less young do. The problem is there's few good jobs, and focusing on one age segment is a tiny sliver of a complete solution.

Why are there not one, but two Goodwill retail stores in Lebanon? A new Goodwill was constructed and just completed on OH 123 at the eastern edge of town. The other new store being built at Wal-Mart on Rt 42 is also a Goodwill. This article mentions both: http://www.western-star.com/news/lebanon-oh-news/goodwill-store-to-open-in-april-616400.html Poverty is an emerging big business in Warren County?

This thread doth overfloweth with punnage. "Fresh prints of Bellaire" indeed.

Muy Blade Runner-esque in spots. Fascinating.

Perhaps many spaces are technically occupied but the town is like so many in Ohio - just dead looking. It's a nice looking small Ohio town after the worldwide apocalyptic plague.

Really small towns in Ohio are dying. Nothin but empty storefronts.

Those snakes are freaky. They're all over the place. We went up there some years ago and they freaked my wife out. We'd be taking a walk at night and there would be these huge black coils along steps that we would walk down, and I would tell my wife "look at what we just stepped over" and then it's like yeeeeek! Lulz. :evil: Oh, and don't even think about renting those cute little golf carts if you're buzzed (long story involving moron friends.)

Being Dayton-centric I never heard anything about "The Continent". It looks really cool for its place and time. What is so different about this from The Greene or Easton? To me it looks like precisely the same formula, just built in a different time. What's to prevent these newer centers from eventually becoming passe' in 35 years? And why does something like "The Continent" not get renewed/remodeled and just becomes out of date?