On the streets of Washington D.C. at night.

© 2009 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used…(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

I was walking to the office this morning and happened upon this RATher odd scene… a knit scarf, wrapped around a dead rat. Sorry for the nasty visuals here, but hey, another day in the city… what can I say?

The Tourists may not understand it, but it makes me smile. Brought to via Loicaway on Flickr

Interesting article at PSFK:

Solar Powered Roadways, Harnessing Energy Everywhere.

Generally, what it talks about is replacing the current asphalt (hell, in India, we still use tar) roads with solar panels. Obviously, the solar panels would be structurally modified to strengthen the solar panels against the weight of 18-wheelers as well. I totally agree that this is a crazy idea especially with the cost of such roads being prohibitively expensive.Worse, in highly congested areas like New York city, you would never get enough sunlight through to generate the electricity

I wonder….could this be modified to also generate electricity through the piezo-electric effect? Basically, piezoelectric effect is the based on the property of certain substances such as quartz crystals wherein if two lateral (opposite surfaces of a cube) are pressed together, the pressure can be transformed into electricity.

Image credits: Bryan Christie Design through Technology Review

This would obviously make it more efficient wherein if we had huge 18-wheeling multi-tonne vehicles rolling over it, it would lead to slight deformation of the surface leading to generation of electricity. These kind of roads might even compensate in high-traffic areas as mentioned above. But if we atleast start (and even end) with just the high traffic highways or streets, this migh just work out. Or would it be more cost-effective if it was instead implemented in malls and shopping centers. Where the floor would be constructed by companies like Solar Roadways

I think it’s more of the ballsy thinking by the Idaho-based Solar Roadways than the actual ability to implement this that I like.

It is the time of year for which this little blog is named.

I named this blog in part because of something Kierkegaard wrote in an anthology I have, a quote which I can not longer find, but which said something about how fall is his favorite season, because in the spring he looks to the ground because of all the new growth, but in autumn, he fixes his eyes on heaven.

Fall, I feel, is the most contemplative of seasons.  It is a time for coffee and black tea with milk and sugar while the rain pours down outside, turning the fallen leaves to mush.  It starts when the first leaves begin to turn yellow, and ends when the cold wind scampers up the sleeves and down the collar of my jacket, making my morning walk to class just a little more hurried than usual.

In the fall, everything is dying and God’s transcendence seems perfect, the way He remains above it all in the clear blue sky, undying, unchanging.  In the spring, everything is being born and God’s immanence seems obvious, the way He rains Himself down and seeps up in the green beneath the dirt, dynamic, moving, alive.

God is good in these moments: in grande mochas over gigantic essays; in thunderous rain that pummels falling leaves to earth; in brisk walks downtown hunting books by the most obscure of Athenian orators; in cracked heels, dry skin, and long walks; in 2 a.m. blog posts; in revived friendships; in thunderstorms, in sunbreaks, and in the smiles of people I will never know as well as they deserve.

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.

Whether youre clinging for dear life to a rickety wooden rainforest observation tower or staring straight down through a glass floor at city streets thousands of feet below, frighteningly tall spires and lookouts give us humans a look at our environment that our ancestors would never have imagined possible.

Source:
http://webecoist.com/2009/11/02/got-vertigo-terrifying-towers-glass-balconies/

Whether youre clinging for dear life to a rickety wooden rainforest observation tower or staring straight down through a glass floor at city streets thousands of feet below, frighteningly tall spires and lookouts give us humans a look at our environment that our ancestors would never have imagined possible.

Source:
http://webecoist.com/2009/11/02/got-vertigo-terrifying-towers-glass-balconies/

This actually made me laugh (to myself — not out loud).

via

Growing up, Monopoly was my favorite board game. Then, when my brother turned seven, he started kicking all of our asses at the game, so we don’t really play anymore – yes, he beat us literally every time. Embarrassing, right?

Anyway. There’s a new virtual reality game in town today, and I think I might get on the bandwagon for this one.

And when I say “in town,” I mean it. It’s actually in my town – or yours, or across the world.

That’s right. The makers of Monopoly have teamed up with Google, specifically GoogleMaps, to create Monopoly City Streets, a real-time global game of Monopoly. “However, Google itself didn’t have a strong hand in building the game; rather, Hasbro’s U.K.-based digital agency directed the process, using the Google Maps API, street data from OpenStreetMap, and occasional guidance from the Google team” (PCWorld).

So how exactly would a game like this work? Well, according to PCWorld:

Here’s how the global Monopoly game will work: You’ll start with $3 million in Monopoly dollars. You’ll then be able to buy any street you can find on Google Maps, whether it’s a major boulevard or a rural road. Some spots will be costlier than others: London’s Downing Street, for example, is said to have a starting pricetag of $231,000, while Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue is rumored to start at $2 million. If someone else gets to your favorite street before you, you’ll be able to make an offer to buy it away from them.

Apparently, this game is only going to run for about four months after today’s 09-09-09 launch, so if you’re interested in this, you’d better get on it.

If you’re feeling frugal, fear not: Once you start building, the cash will start flowing. A house will automatically earn you $50,000 in rent a day, the Daily Mail claims, while a skyscraper will pull in a cool $100 million daily. You’ll reportedly have four months to do all your bidding before the game ends.

Perhaps the best news of all: Despite the soaring fake-money figures, the game itself won’t cost you a dime to play. (PCWorld)

One more note from The Daily Mail: apparently Chance cards let you build prisons and rubbish dumps (or if you don’t speak The British, a landfill) on your rivals’ streets. Harsh.

The only issue so far is long loading times – I’ve been trying to load the homepage for about ten minutes, with no luck so far. As soon as I get into the game and move around some, I’ll let you know what I think.

Are you in? Have you been playing? What are your thoughts?

Una dintre cele mai creative chestii online anuntate in ultimul timp este jocul Monopoly City Streets. Aceasta va fi o versiune 3D a celebrului joc Monopoly. Mergand mai departe cu prezentarea prin comparatii, as spune ca este un fel de SimCity pe web, mai exact pe hartile de la Google.

Scopul jucatorilor va fi acela de a detine cat mai multe proprietati pe harta Globului. Deocamdata nu se stie daca alte functie ale jocului clasic vor fi disponibile in acest joc, asa ca asteptam lansarea sa catre public pentru a il testa.

Curioso resulta que esta vez la palabra monopolio no esté relacionada con Microsoft. Sucede que esta vez no hablamos de prácticas de acaparamiento de mercado, sino que Hasbro se alió con la empresa líder en buscadores para ofrecer la versión online del tradicional juego Monopoly a través de GoogleMaps.

La edición que se podrá utilizar en esta plataforma se denomina ‘City Streets’ y, como su nombre lo indica, el bien a adquirir ya no serán propiedades sino que consistirá en adquirir calles del mundo en las cuales construir. La versión de prueba debutará hoy mismo, 9 de septiembre y se mantendrá durante 4 meses al menos, al cabo de los cuales se evaluará el impacto de la aplicación.

Si bien aún no tuvimos oportunidad de probarlo acabadamente  los cambios en la forma de jugar se asemejan no tanto al típico Monopoly, sino más bien a juegos de estrategia del estilo SimCity, donde pueden construirse casas, edificios, rascacielos, cárceles e incluso castillos.

Una vista previa de cómo se verá el juego sobre GoogleMaps

Sin dudas no parecía que llegaría el día en que hubiera evidencias para ‘acusar’ a Google de monopólico, pero parece que las pruebas son claras. Esperamos por supuesto las declaraciones de Bill Gates al respecto

Starting September 9th Google and Hasbro are teaming up to create the largest monopoly game ever… You can design your own building and submit it to the google 3d warehouse and possibly win a sketchup license and/or have your piece be used in the game.

This could get interesting, as there are very few guidelines other than the file size (2 mb) and a few other things that are discussed on their blog (http://blog.monopolycitystreets.com/).

You can submit as many as you want, so get sketchin!-lifehacker.com

Retrouvez le jeu de votre enfance (le Monopoly) version web.
Google et Hasbro. Google apporte la carte, Hasbro, le jeu dans un contexte virtuel réaliste.

Online Monopoly με τη χρήση Google Maps – Insomnia.gr

Αν και οι όροι μονοπώλιο και Google έχουν υπάρξει αρκετές φορές στην ίδια πρόταση, αυτή τη φορά υπάρχουν για ένα εντελώς διαφορετικό λόγο. Το διάσημο επιτραπέζιο παιχνίδι Monopoly ετοιμάζεται να κάνει την εμφάνιση του στο Internet με τη χρήση των Google Maps.

Το παιχνίδι ξεκινά στις 9 Σεπτεμβρίου και ακόμα δεν έχουν γίνει γνωστές οι λεπτομέρειες διεξαγωγής του. Όλα δείχνουν πάντως ότι η Hasbro, δημιουργός του αρχικού παιχνιδιού, θέλει να μετατρέψει τη Monopoly σε ένα multiplayer online παιχνίδι με ονομασία Monopoly City Streets. Ο σκοπός του παιχνιδιού για όσους δε τον γνωρίζουν είναι απλός, παίζετε για να νικήσετε τους φίλους σας και να γίνεται ένας μεγιστάνας ακινήτων όπου στη κατοχή σας θα έχετε δρόμους, πολυκατοικίες, ξενοδοχεία ενώ θα εισπράττετε ενοίκια σε όσους “πέφτουν” πάνω σε αυτά.

Το Monopoly City Streets βασίζεται στη τεχνολογία των Google Maps ενώ όλα τα τρισδιάστατα κτίρια που θα υπάρχουν στο παιχνίδι έχουν σχεδιαστεί με το Google SketchUp. Η επίσημη ανάμειξη της Google δεν έχει αποσαφηνιστεί, κάτι που θα μάθουμε αύριο όταν και θα κάνει τα επίσημα εγκαίνια το νέο παιχνίδι.[next]

Taking a stroll on the sidewalk approaching the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia…

© 2009 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used…(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

A Castledowns pizza spot that was being used as a drug-front in 2008 has been given permission to stay in business as long as they comply to certain conditions. One of the conditions requires that they write a training manual. Problem solved.

Full story here:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton+pizza+joint+notice+drug+bust/1813332/story.html

The fact that they remain in business after this type of bust really demonstrates the power of a pizza joint, specifically on the North Side.

In related news, local nu-metal rockers and ambassadors of all things Castledowns The City Streets (aka Half Cut) are leaving Edmonton for Dreamier pastures. The City of Edmonton claims that the band, a staple of Edmonton’s live music scene, were “just not rockin’”. Their farewell show is on July 31 at the Pawn Shop, details below.

Also related to the pizzeria drug bust, a band called Cocaine Eyes is opening.

I walked home this evening from work from the far west side down to toward east river, easing by suitcases and strollers, catcallers and cardboarders, making my shoulders slight as I avoided elbows and bicycles and magazines and dress shoes, all of it coming at me in waves, crashing on the shore of 34th and 8th, slowly receding at 20th and 1st.

The sunlight spread wide over the city. The sidewalk cracks looked like they’d ache for shade if they could.

One by one passed the men in their rumpled dress shirts and matching chromatic slacks, their collared pin striped button down sleeves pushed up, their backs softly wrinkled and just near soaked from sweat, their left hand bound in a sweaty wristwatch, their right with a solitary grocery bag, or a briefcase, or a cell phone, their nails cut short and their patience cut shorter. They walked alone, a steady beat in their step, their eyes straight ahead, dress shoe step after dress shoe step, in a sober walk, a march in time with a silent dirge or an invisible procession.