PigBoy

Fantastic! That zoom picture is the coolest thing ever.

Nice! Another vote for number 21 here. That's an interesting new angle.

^ I'm glad it's been cleaned up! I always mildly enjoy the view out the window as the red line train goes over the bridge (maybe just because it provides a brief moment of daylight) and intended to capture that, but the entire sidewalk on the good side of the bridge is fenced off for some reason at the moment. Boo! Thanks for the compliments, guys.

You try to do the best you can with the kind of lame skyline in these parts.

I dunno. Black version White version Uh... imagine sleeves and stuff. And a ".com" on there somewhere?

Agreed, beautiful shot! There was some lighting thing going on in Boston a couple of weeks ago. Mostly underwhelming, but here's something to show for it.

Damn! Well I assume Columbus has some monuments in your honor...?

So is it Stachetoberfest or what?

Ha, don't worry, in this particular case Easton would definitely not impress and would likely hurt the cause. Thanks for the suggestions, guys! If anyone else has any, keep 'em coming. I'll pass them along and, god willing, follow them myself some day. Kinda wish I were tagging along on the trip, but it would make so little sense to do that, especially having just returned from a week-long bender in Montana and Seattle. But I just don't know what I'll do if she doesn't like the place and I'm not there to defend it! Oh, and happy birthday, CDM. You're the real star of Columbus, of course.

Now, of course I have been to Columbus many times and am in some respects familiar with it, but I've never really "hung out" or "done things" there in such a way that most people my age would enjoy. Fortunately my friends at UrbanOhio, while nerds like me, are much cooler than I am. So my girlfriend is headed to Columbus for a week or so for the IEEE VisWeek conference, and as this will be her first Ohio experience (east coast elitist), I must help it make a decent impression. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure she doesn't care a whit (well, maybe just one whit) about the sensory delights of urban exploration that we all like to do with cameras around our necks, and I've really never done much in Columbus but wander around and check things out. She's a social creature at the expense of such things; she'd turn her back to a breathtaking city skyline in order to face people who are busy marveling at said skyline. It kills me inside a little. But anyway, suggestions for things to do/see/eat/drink? We're talking twenty-something, into various visual arts, the sort who gets along with hipsters and "indie" crowds and also total nerds but isn't necessarily categorized as any of them. I forget the hotel, but it's around the Arena District and Short North. No car. I'd very much appreciate anything anyone can suggest to help me recommend more than things like "hey, you should go look around the German Village" (though I will totally say that too). Thanks!

ME!? Maybe. It wouldn't make much less sense!

Yeah, I hear that Atlantans blame the poor layout on General Sherman.

^ I will be interested to learn about this whole racist reputation as I spend time here. Much of it seems to be attributed to events in the reasonably distant past (distant enough for times to have changed, I mean), so I wonder in what ways racism remains stronger here than elsewhere. I would discount the obvious images: "lots of white people" is not racism (though perhaps a result of it), and segregated neighborhoods are common throughout the country. This is not to deny it, as I have no facts or experience on hand. Just thinking aloud about something to investigate. Meanwhile, I'll be that white guy with an undeserved sense of pride and accomplishment for living in a "diverse" (by metro Boston standards) neighborhood. Hey, we should have a smiley for that.

Oh, here are a few more from summer 2007 that I don't think I posted here. Forgive me if I did; it's hard to remember. They're from the North End and Charlestown. There were hippies in the tree.

How did that happen? Ha ha, no, I kid. I'm more elitist than that. I moved to Cambridge. Apologies to all, especially ColDayMan. For real, though. I finished my master's degree in cartography (and yes, I know that's totally bogus) last December and have fallen in with several colleagues in a little for-hire cartography company. (I will refrain from using this post for advertising, but, you know, hit me up if you want to hire somebody for maps.) I work from home and--skipping interim details--have ended up here. It's been three weeks and I still haven't gotten any photos, but instead I'll share just a few from April when I was here for the Association of American Geographers conference. First is a small set from my friend's office about halfway up the John Hancock Tower: South End and beyond Back Bay This way again for some reason On the ground

Whoa, I've been away too long. I don't think I realized that garage was happening at First and Main. With street-level retail to boot! Nice. Thanks for the photos!

Pretty cool - the blur gives them a certain character. Just squint your eyes if you want clear photos. If you don't want to use a tripod, look for things to lean on! Bracing the camera itself is of course best, but I've gotten by sometimes with holding the camera and leaning on things just to try to keep my body still.

Bah, normal Madison is boring. :evil: Actually if you do want to see it looking normal, search the forum (I've posted a number of threads in the past), or I've got all my pictures here: http://www.pbase.com/piggiston/madison For the record, I'm not a firm believer in all the hype even when the town isn't covered in trash and mud.

Before I start searching, does anyone know if this underlying "commuting patterns" data is available anywhere on the web? I would be interested in taking a look at it just to balance against my anecdotal experience. I know (and have run into) many people who are commuting to the Cleveland CSA daily for work that live outside the CSA. From Mahoning, Ashtabula and Erie -- I've run into three people from Erie County in the last two weeks alone. Just curious what the actual numbers might be. You can get all the county-to-county worker flow data here: http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/commuting.html That's from the 2000 census. Although the latest metropolitan area definitions are newer than that, I assume they're based on the 2000 data.

Beavercreek, Ohio upon birth, briefly Burke, Virginia (DC area) Mililani, Hawaii Back to Beavercreek, Ohio for quite a while College at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio Master's (and current short-term employment) at UW in Madison, Wisconsin After this summer, god knows

Ah yes, Hippie Christmas. Lots of left-behind crap to rummage through on the curb. This past summer I moved but was fortunate enough to find a place with a lease beginning August 1 rather than August 15, the typical start for most places here. It gave me a luxurious two weeks to move all my stuff (a mere .75 miles and the process still really sucked). So on the night of August 14 I was comfortable in my new apartment while all the other suckers were sitting with their piles of furniture on the street! Take THAT, hippies!

We haven't really had ice, at least none as bad as you describe. It only rained a couple of times that I can recall, so between that and the occasional warm-up/refreezing, ice has been relatively minor. It's certainly caused me headaches in freeing my car (thankfully I rarely drive anywhere) and made my daily walking commute treacherous for weeks at a time, though. Oh, you mean like the sand they've thrown all over the roads for traction? :-D

Spring break has arrived for students of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and indeed spring is beginning to show itself. While all those students are away at various destinations, join me for a tour of what many consider one of the most beautiful cities in the Midwest. It is most convenient for me to begin near my home. I live near this pleasant corner, only a block from Lake Mendota! Heading west, we can see that in Madison, when there is a 10-foot high snow drift across the sidewalk, it only takes one month to clear. Why yes, I think I shall indeed walk up this way now, thank you! Here is an entrance to one of several small parks along the Lake Mendota shore, where you can enjoy a quiet moment in an attractive setting. The streets of Madison's isthmus are lined with stately trees that lend a cozy atmosphere to neighborhoods. Here's a look down such a street. Now we're at the top of a small hill. Just down there is lovely Lake Mendota! Descending the hill provides access to James Madison park, a larger and popular park along the lake. Enjoy some volleyball! Or take the kids up this path to the playground! Let's go check out the state capitol! Walk walk walk... On our way, note the apartments/condos across the street that have a nice view of the park. Madison is a very bike-friendly town. You can ride your bike just about anywhere, and rest assured that it won't go anywhere if you don't ride it during winter! Madison is also an environmentally-friendly town with a strong respect for its flora. Madison is furthermore a very progressive place. The statue Forward represents Wisconsin's progressive ideals and especially honors women's achievements. Urban enthusiasts may enjoy the good density seen in many parts of town. A bit lost? The city maintains helpful maps such as this one so that you can find your way. Madison is perhaps best known as the home of the University of Wisconsin, of course. As you move past State Street you are greeted by scenic Library Mall, a gateway of sorts to the university. Feet tired? Why not rest on a bench for a few minutes and enjoy the architecture of the Red Gym across the street? There is, of course, other architecture to admire, too. Don't worry, if there's a newspaper stand blocking your way, it'll be mostly removed. At the heart of campus is the serene lawn of Bascom Hill, where you can relax during a break. Madison reduces its resource consumption by employing naturally reproductive picnic tables rather than purchasing new ones all the time. I hope you've enjoyed this tour! Thank goodness we've finally left this kind of ugly winter behind:

Nice shots. Looks like a good crowd. I went to see him here in Madison a couple of weeks ago. The place was packed to its official capacity of 17,000 plus the significant standing crowd on the floor as well a lot of people in an overflow area that the senator had to swing by first. Had to wait for quite a while in some serious mob scenes, where movement toward the door was accomplished by pushing/being pushed.

Cool, nice work! It seems that Google Maps mashups can be very useful for bus route maps, but it doesn't often seem that transit agencies are catching on to this. (Admittedly I have not done much of a survey, though.) Your map looks like it'll be great when the data gets in there. I look forward to seeing it as more is added. COTA in Columbus has a Google-based map that shows real-time bus locations (as far as I know it's one of a very few systems to have such a thing), but for some reason this fantastic tool is a bit buried in their website. I couldn't find it just now, even knowing that it existed, without doing a google search, because I didn't know to click on "TransitPRO" (like that is supposed to mean something to me) on the COTA site. To save anyone else the trouble: http://www.cota.com/realtime.asp