RiverViewer

Come on, ColDay, oh, I swear (well he means) at this moment, you diss everything... (I'll skip the parts about taking off the dress)

Personally, my sights are set far, far lower...I can't speak for Andy, I know my interest is just for the UrbanOhio crowd - documenting the city, being a 21st century version of the postcards I spend hours with on http://www.CincinnatiMemory.org, making a reference tool...but yeah, with Andy's amazing mapping skilz, who knows? If he wants to go nuts with it, I'm always happy to become either super rich, or even just supper rich! ...that would be pretty funny...

Thank you! These are invaluable...

When every single pitcher in the bullpen is capable of blowing the game, and has proven that over and over again, I just don't think you can blame Narron for that. You may be right on the consistent lineup (although Jr. needs days off as well, and some of it is platooning lefty/righty, and we have had some injuries to throw in the mix) - but who on earth can Narron put in there to close out a game? These losses definitely aren't his fault. Of course, that's not what you said - you just said the Reds may have jumped the gun on extending his contract...that well may be true...

...and don't worry, OTR is still on the schedule!

I'd say that four days of torrential rains hardly constitutes a "small perturbation" - but I agree overall. Churchill said in his history of WWII how, if Hitler had kept the Blitz concentrated just on London, the damage to the sewage system alone would have crippled the city in pretty short order - even with the RAF and all the tactics they used to fight the Blitz, enough bombs got through to keep damage ahead of repair, the city couldn't drain water or waste, and would have become uninhabitable. Happily, Hitler spread the wealth over the rest of the country, and the capital was spared. Actually, one more quibble: There is nothing "current" about the political fear of taxes. From colonial days to the present, taxes have always been an issue. Who pays how much has always been, and will always be, a basic issue in every political campaign - from the Stamp Act to the American System to the 16th Amendment to today, it's always been All About the Benjamins.

I have no concept of basketball players' salaries - is $80MM over 5 years about what he could command on the open market?

Let me just get the cool part out of the way - I took a movie of floating under the L&N (Purple People) Bridge, and it came out pretty cool: L&N From Below I took many fewer pictures this year than last year, mostly because I just wanted to kick back and enjoy it this year, and I figured I wouldn't get many views this year I hadn't already gotten last year. Oh, and my wife did most of the work last year, because I spent most of the time taking pictures - and that wasn't gonna fly again! And let me say, the weather this year was amazing. It was about 70 degrees when we started, up to about 75 when we finished, with a soft breeze most of the time. And the river was at 31 feet, so we had a decent current helping us out - last year it was a bathtub... Anyway, here's a few shots: Say, Eighth & State, were you kayaking near this pirate-flag guy? I remember you mentioned an American flag, and of course I forgot at the time, should have taken a picture, but there was a kayaker with an American flag not far from this guy, and you said you went up to the USS Nightmare: Soon the Overlook at Eden Park will be poking up in the middle of these three: First view of Carew! Left to right, it's Issue430's boyfriend, Issue430, and St. Rose Church. Same two, now with those condo's at Eastern and Collins as a backdrop: I asked this last year - how long before these houses are torn out? Ah, Eden Park... The Waters Edge at Bellevue construction: Twain's Point, with their river views trees, and Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park, with its river overlooks trees: Boatswain's Lanyard or whatever it is: I can never get enough of this view: Bridges, bridges, bridges: A Br!dge Cl!mb cl!mb!ng group f!n!sh!ng !ts tr!p: These folks just seemed to be hanging out up top: Issue430, David (his David, not UrbanOhio's David) and the bridge: Taylor-Southgate - sure seems long from down here: So that's it...we'd dropped one car off at Bicentennial Commons - two minutes of planning saved us waiting in line for a wet bus ride back to the Four Seasons Marina - thence back to get the other car, home to change, and then to Don Pablo's for margarita's and chips outside on the deck. Then home for a nap, posting of pictures, and now the plan is sitting and reading the night away...hmm...might make a pizza...ah, the lazy days of summer!

Here's a google aerial of the area: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=E+Kemper+Rd+%26+Snider+Rd,+Cincinnati,+OH+45249&ie=UTF8&ll=39.27604,-84.335861&spn=0.001827,0.004748&t=h&om=1 I don't think parking on the street there is a very viable option, at least on the main drags - and there aren't really many side-streets. Ah, the trials of living in the suburbs...

Wow - that's great...I guess they've definitively crossed the minimum-number-of-contracts threshold...

Interestingly, up until the 1850's, any territories the US gained possession of (like, the western half of the country) were considered integral parts of the United States - inhabitants were citizens, the constitution applied, and they could eventually become states. Every territory was an "incorporated territory" - there was no such thing as an "insular area." It was guano that led to the concept and its first implementation of unincorporated territories (basic liberties apply, but the inhabitants aren't US citizens, it won't become a state, etc.). Folks discovered that islands with big bat populations would have huge quantities of guano, which, as the article states, is an amazing fertilizer. People started going out and scooping it up, and Congress passed the Guano Islands Act, which said uninhabited islands with guano could be claimed by US citizens, and the President could annex them as an unincorporated territory. Eventually, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, all vacuumed up in the Spanish-American War, became unincorporated territories (though statuses have since changed), and we actually still own a number of little uninhabited islands in the Pacific...

Definitely, very interesting article.

Not a lot of change, just more hole, less rock:

Woo hoo! It's open again!!!! My wife and I went on an exploratory drive five or six years ago, discovered the observation deck, and were thrilled to watch them in action! Then a guy at work took his son there maybe a year after 9/11 and the observation deck was closed. I figured it was shut down for security reasons...but it's open? Wow, and woo hoo! Definitely worth a trip, if you're into big infrastructure. Thank you, thank you, thank you - I'm really happy to see it's open! Oh, and great shots!

One thought a friend of mine and I entertained for a while was shutting off all the highway entrance and exits ramps in urban areas to everything except public transport and emergency vehicles. Through traffic could still cruise through cities, but you couldn't get on or off inside the urban areas. We thought at the time that it would lead to a contraction of cities, revitalized downtowns, increased urban density, etc., etc. Anymore, I imagine it would just be a boon for suburban office parks and accelerate sprawl...

^Don't know, but I assume it's fairly cheap to enter, and it's great that they decided to come by... You know, the thing that struck me most about the parade this year was how many local businesses there were in the parade. Businesses that weren't there last year. I noticed driving back how many businesses along lower Hamilton there were...I was really surprised. Can anyone list off the businesses in Northside that weren't there, say, four or five years ago? There had to be four or five that were there now that weren't there two years ago...

There's lots of nibbling around the edges, and lots of opportunity here...but yeah, I can't wait for the day when Peeble's Corner's business district is revitalized. I don't need or want it to be Hyde Park Square - but functioning, healthy, and busy. Oh, but they can Hyde Park-ify the Kroger's anytime they want...especially the frickin' produce section...

Great shots, Quimbob...so you know Dana? I was hanging out with friends of his, though I've only met him a couple times...

Beautiful tour! I've really, really got to get to Philly...

Gas for trips back and forth to a grocery store approaches negligible. I mean, 2 miles either way, 25 mpg city, $3/gallon, you're talking $0.24 in gas for that trip. Clip a coupon and you've saved your gas money. Drive to a restaurant, 5 miles either way, and it's $1.20. The place gas really becomes a factor (if you're not a commuter) is on longer trips - but you'd be renting a car for those, and paying the gas either way. Wow. Just - wow. I had my old Saturn insured for something like $43/month, with full liability and collision and the whole nine yards...everything's combined in one auto-deduct now, so I don't know what my Civic costs me, but still - $200/month? Ouch...

If I really didn't have to drive during the week at all, I wonder where I'd draw the line on owning a car. Like, assuming it's paid off, that's $60/month for parking, plus insurance, plus maintenance...call it $100/month, maybe? And it's used for maybe going out on a weekend evening, maybe a grocery run, occasional out-of-town trips. Well, cabs will get you around on the weekend, with less hassle...for weekend trips, a weekend rental from Budget (without coupons or hunting for deals) is $78...busses will get you to a grocery store, and a cab home...hmm... Yeah, probably cheaper to own the car. Plus, I'd personally still prefer to have the flexibility of owning it if the price were anywhere near break-even. But I wonder where my cut-off point would be...like, if it were $200/month, I might dump the vehicle...

Hey, rockin' cool! Thanks for participating - I feel like such a taker every year, never giving, but I guess by posting photo threads I'm spreading the wealth a little bit! So is that a regular scooter club, or are you just a scooter enthusiast and know someone, or is it some shop that puts the parade entry together?

Here are the buildings involved: 2202 Gilbert: Driving past last night, you can see where they've painted a couple patches on 2202 Gilbert, which seems to mean someone's going to repaint it, which seems to mean they aren't planning on tearing it down anytime soon: I also saw a small patch of paint a couple weeks ago on, I believe, the back of 2210: ...but didn't get a picture. So it seems unlikely that teardowns are in the works - but I guess one never knows... See also this later post...well, the painting is done! Very interesting, nice color contrasts...I did dig the pink the first one used to have, but I'm really happy that they made a nice, coherent mini-neighborhood out of them. Yay!

This was my second year at the Northside 4th of July Parade, and it was even better this year - despite me missing the first 15 minutes of floats! Here's my thread from last year, if you're interested...so let us begin! I got there just in time to catch the Northside Drill Team - guys with cordless drills, and flags and such attached to them: The Queen City Rainbow Band had new outfits, new flags, and were lookin' super! (Thanks for asking!) Seriously, these guys are way cool...they were also at Dayton Pride '06 (Here's Jeff's thread on Dayton Pride '06) American Sign Museum - woo hoo! So when Cranley walked past, I asked him, "During your run for City Council last fall, you said your priorities were 'Safety, Capital Investments, Transportation and Compassion,' when actually your only priority was springboarding yourself into the House of Representatives. So, what lies are you telling us in this campaign?" Actually, I didn't ask him that, because I'm both non-confrontational, and pretty impeccably polite. Alas. Kids on stilts - impressive... "Mike DeWine - Too Liberal for the Republicans, Too Conservative for Democrats, but Just Right For You!" This is my favorite act in the parade - the Cordy Horn Marching Band (no idea if that first word is "Cordy" or not). They get a group of about two dozen people together, who walk along playing any instrument they want, playing any song they want, no coordination - just Free Jazz for a Free Nation! To me, this group completely sums up Northside... This Bob Ross-looking dude was walking along with the Free Jazz band (you can see him to the left three pictures up), and when the accordion-affect would stop the group, he'd kneel down and continue painting. Yeah, I'd have a big smile on my face if I were that scarecrow too... Peace, end war, raise the minimum wage, etc. Some new dog-related business in Northside - training, maybe? Beautiful puppies... My second favorite Northside regulars - the Apple Street group (down to three folks this year), followed by Fergus Street (the guy with the sign, plus one other person out of the frame who was holding an inflatable alligator...I have no idea why) A street scene - loads of folks! Kids on little mini-vehicles...cuteness... The Northside Lawnchair Ladies Brigade! A timeless classic, they have choreographed routines - spinning their chairs, dancing around them, sitting on them, etc...a real crowd favorite. Wouldn't be a parade in Northside if Jim Tarbell weren't riding his scooter in it! The Coalicion por los Derechos y la Dignidad de los Inmigrantes (Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Dignity): This was great...the whole trailer was filled with water, and this guy was going from the toilet to the sink to the tub, plunging them. I guess he's got a plumbing business...just fantastic. The Barnyard Burlesque! Old cars... The Ghost of Ohio float... The Gorgeous Ladies of Roller Derby - Cincinnati Rollergirls! David Pepper's slogan was "The Heimlich Remover" - let's hope so! No idea what this was for, but it was so Carnival...freaky, and very cool... A couple folks from the Queen City Bicycle Co-op: No idea who these folks were... Ah, high-schoolers enlightening us with their deeply pondered geopolitical insights... By far the coolest entry this year was Ink Tank's Human Typewriter...each hat was a letter, and they walked along arranged in a QWERTY keyboard format. They carried little bucket-things that sounded like the keys of an old-fashioned typewriter when they clicked them, and they'd sometimes bob up and down. Remarkably cool... Kilt Activists: Who the hell is Lucy? All I know is that she rocks... Er...is there a City Council race I'm unaware of? Or is he just getting an early start on 2007? Walking back to our friends' place, I ran across the OK girls... And, as a special added bonus, I edited together a video of four of the parade entrants - Taylor Jameson had their crew dancing to a karaoke of "Beauty School Dropout," the Free Jazz band, the Lawnchair Ladies, and some pretty kick-ass drum corps! Unfortunately, I got the Lawnchair Ladies just after a routine, but you can get the basic idea! Here's the video.

Wow...let's hope something good happens with those buildings. A few years ago, I'd have been a lot more worried than I am now - with the old Ford plant and the Alexandria all rehabbed to the east, and with that McMillan Manor or whatever going up and the pager store and carry out demolished to the west, I'm definitely not as worried as I would have been...