woolie

So, I was just sitting in my front yard and watched as a bum urinated on my neighbor's fence across the street. Just openly, in daylight, like no one was watching. Should I call HPD when this happens? Very frustrating.

Hmmm.. Not a business model I'd be confident in. I've seen people try this before. Maybe I'll get another shot at the apple soon, then.

I did all these with my Nikon D700 and 17-35mm f/2.8. I shoot mostly I aperture priority mode at between f/2.8 and f/4, and ISO from 800-3200 as needed (a few were at very high ISO, 12800 and 25600.) You can view the complete settings for each shot by clicking through to the Flickr page and clicking the "taken with a Nikon d700" link to the right of the image.

So, this is one of the problems with science journalism. The authors present research indicating a small local increase in surface temperatures surrounding a large wind farm. The media picks this up and runs with a story implying that wind turbines contribute to global warming. I am not a climate scientist, but I'm familiar with the pattern of journalists/editors reading a single paper that says something counter-intuitive or against conventional wisdom and writing an attention grabbing headline. 1. Open thermodynamic system. They are sampling a local region; is the temperature change the result of different air mixing, or some other effect? Are the turbines really causing a net increase in temperature, or just changing the distribution. Is it a large net effect, net zero, ...? 2. Life cycle CO2 emissions. What is the total CO2 per MWh life-cycle cost of wind vs. natural gas vs. coal, etc. Even if the turbines somehow managed to cause greater solar energy capture in their immediate area and raise the temperature, would this be offset by much lower CO2 emissions. 3. What does the other literature say on the topic? I went and read some of the author's other papers. One published in PNAS in 2010 suggests that the local air temperature is decreased during the day and increased at night due to air mixing. Another states that a massive roll-out of wind turbines to switch from CO2-intensive electricity sources would have measurable local climate effects, but would be more than offset by the differences in CO2 and thus temperature in the entire system. 4. Do people willfully misinterpreting the paper and making broad sweeping statements beyond the context of the study have an agenda? Here is the article being discussed if you wish to read it yourselves. While I have institutional subscription access to many journals, I don't have access to Nature Climate Change. I'll see if I can find a PDF of the article on the authors' site. Zhou, Y. T., Tian, Y., Roy, S. B., Thorncroft, C., Bosart, L. F., & Yu, Y. (2012). Impacts of wind farms on land surface temperature. Nature Climate Change, 2(5) http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1505.html The wind industry in the United States has experienced a remarkably rapid expansion of capacity in recent years and this fast growth is expected to continue in the future1, 2, 3. While converting wind’s kinetic energy into electricity, wind turbines modify surface–atmosphere exchanges and the transfer of energy, momentum, mass and moisture within the atmosphere4, 5,6. These changes, if spatially large enough, may have noticeable impacts on local to regional weather and climate. Here we present observational evidence for such impacts based on analyses of satellite data for the period of 2003–2011 over a region in west-central Texas, where four of the world’s largest wind farms are located7. Our results show a significant warming trend of up to 0.72 °C per decade, particularly at night-time, over wind farms relative to nearby non-wind-farm regions. We attribute this warming primarily to wind farms as its spatial pattern and magnitude couples very well with the geographic distribution of wind turbines.

Another good example would be Shinjuku in Tokyo. If it's an entire district, and it's an organic and natural part of a city, these lights can work. Otherwise, not really.

Screen Shot 2012-04-28 at 3.35.32 PM by wools, on Flickr Features: Pedestrian friendly 10-lane boulevard with 3 medians. Modeled after Las Vegas Blvd., long known as one of the most pedestrian oriented streets in America. 1.5-mile long "Generation Park Lake" retention pond. Forested-setback "R&D district" to, uh, "keep innovation and trade secrets protected."

Good luck, my friends. You'll need it.

NoTsuOh is more of an indie/hippie/bohemian coffee shop than a club/bar. I think the first time I went was in 2001, and went occasionally for many years. I haven't been inside since probably 2007. I walked by a few weeks ago; seemed to still be open, although I didn't go inside. I have some photos of the interior from back in the day if anyone is interested.

I was at Hotel Galvez for a conference yesterday. Part of my ritual when I visit Galveston is to stand on the end of the jettys for a while, watching the waves crash. Anyway, the 25th street pier was the next pier over, so I took some photos and a short video with my phone. Video: Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr

Uhmm, all the businesses are in the west side. The east side is mostly residential and does need more retail.

I went to Taco Keto on Tuesday, but I'm just a boring white guy

Not surprising. People are having children later, and the quality of city amenities and safety has been increasing all over the country for the past decade. Sprinkle in some awful traffic and growing awareness of climate change, and you get most young people wanting to live where all the fun stuff is.

Boston has the craziest drivers in the developed world, in my experience. I doubt it's all tourists

Haha, yeah. I wish everyone who had told me "a house is an asset that can only appreciate" was behind a firing squad. I would probably get about what I paid for my house four years ago.

The house where I grew up, in its original state, a bit over 100 years ago. I actually live very close to where my grandparents owned a house in the 1910s/1920s. Midtown used to be an upscale residential area. I'll see if I can find any info about their residence.

You mean, like this? http://www.har.com/H...5-M12005146.htm I still have my heart set on 1121 Delano next time it shows up on the market, but something like this is a close second "backup plan." I drove by, and it looks better in person than pics. Really great curb appeal. I am unfortunately infected with a virus that causes unreasonable obsession with mid-century modern design. Anyway, a relevant anecdote. A friend of mine is in your endgame. He bought a small, mostly original 1400sf house in Bellaire about 10 years ago at a reasonable price. Fast forward, and it is currently surrounded by $800+k new houses. Nearly every old house that is sold is torn down and replaced with something around 4000sf. The house is starting to need some real maintenance, and they want a little more space. If he sold it in the current state, it'd be lot value, maybe $300k. So over the past year, he's been through plans with a builder to knock it down and start from scratch, two different remodeling plans, moving to Pearland or Braes Heights, etc. etc. Anyway, nothing wrong in buying a simple house in a good neighborhood -- you might even get significant appreciation -- but you'll just be postponing the decision down the road The danger is that you get accustomed to a certain neighborhood and way of life, then realize that you're actually totally priced out of your own area when your housing needs change.

Bad barbers won't be in business for long. Seems like a self correcting problem to me. And yes, I check nearly every business I visit on Yelp and other sites. Consistently bad reviews will certainly blacklist an establishment. It's an elegant system -- 2012 is a great time to live. I've had property stolen before, but I'm a little incredulous of the idea that anything is ever recovered. The black market doesn't care about licensing requirements. Neither does eBay.

I have a pretty cool book about this topic, at least relating to Galveston. The Alleys and Back Buildings of Galveston: An Architectural and Social History http://www.amazon.com/Alleys-Back-Buildings-Galveston-Architectural/dp/1585445827 Most blocks in older areas of Galveston have alleys. They were used for outhouses, service buildings, carriage houses, and housing for domestic help and tradespeople. Like most proper house layouts have public and private areas, there is the public street and the more private alleyway, where the more interesting parts of urban living happened. The development of sewers, utilities, modern appliances, and cars removed much of the need for alleys. People started relying less on domestic help, and the people who lived there went to different neighborhoods. Personally, I think alleys are a great idea. I'd rather have garages facing the alley; it has a much neater appearance than endless rows of garage doors facing the street. It's also a better place to put ugly utility poles, and gives you the option of better utilizing a backyard for a workshop.

300mph bullet train... shaped like a shuttle orbiter.

Mockingbird Station is Memorial CityCenter with a commuter rail station.

I read the entire master plan a week or so ago. Polk is a key thoroughfare and one of the few links that GRB doesn't already block. They discuss that they can't close it, and how it complicates GRB expansion by needing to go over it. (Maybe they could build an underpass.. haha.) Anyway, that part of the rendering is quite far distant future. They clearly emphasize the need for all the new hotel space to exist before they would consider another expansion.

The VW dealership will probably take over the current Audi showroom.

It's like Space City. No unique claim to the word bayou, and other places do it better. FWIW, I've spent enough time here and in Southern Louisiana to appreciate the economic and cultural differences. While the region has many charms, and most of my relatives live there, bayou isn't evocative of a global, cosmopolitan city.

1. Bayou is a nice word for swamp. 2. We aren't Southern Louisiana.