[Wildcard]

Since we're on the subject of websites, here's one of my favorites for general reference and information: http://www.refdesk.com/

[Call me Arch Stanton]

gdvanc, on Nov 22 2004, 02:08 AM, said:

While messing with this, I ran across an interesting time-series animated GIF entitled "Total Population Growth in Texas Counties, 1850-2040". It can be found here. It may have been posted here before.

That is really QUITE cool. I can see where many people would view the "yellowing" of rural counties as some kind of situation where the urban centers are sucking the lifeblood out of the rest of the state. Since the colors are designated by the PERCENTAGE of the state's population in a given county, I would assume that the urban centers overall increase in population has been far more dramatic than the population decrease of rural areas, thereby decreasing rural counties given percentage of the state's population.

Just musing a bit, seemed like a point worth exploring a little.

[safly]

Cool new site. 20Q is wicked sometimes.

[gdvanc]

It's late and I'm tired. Too tired to think about some of the thoughty threads to which I'd eventually like to contribute. And I have to get up in a few hours and get back at it. Wish those guys in Bangalore would hurry up and take my job.

Fast forward to 2007. Late again. Tired again. Still need to reply to some other threads. The guys in Bangalore did eventually finish taking over that job. Days like today they could jolly well have this one.

But I did want to share a web site I've been meaning to share for a couple of years but never did because when I remembered to do so I didn't have time to say all I wanted to say about it. I don't have the time tonight, either, but decided to at least put a little bit up – in part because parts of it relate fairly well to some recent threads and in part because I didn't get to hang with the cool people at the quarterly forum meet. I'm not sure what the connection is with that.

The web site is the one that offers the Wayback Machine – but I'm not talking about that part. It is the Internet Archive, which offers tons of archived audio, video, text, and some other stuff I can't think of at the moment.

The part I wanted to bring up is in the video section. No, not the Drive-In Movie Ads - as retro cool as those are. Let's look at the Prelinger Archives. Stop me if you've all already seen this.

In particular – for those of you into the history of urban and suburban development – take a look at one or three of these:


The City – [1939] Created by the Regional Planning Association of America. Commentary written by Mumford. Explains why suburb = utopia, for those struggling with that obvious but important concept. Part 1; Part 2


Give Yourself the Green Light – [1954] Why "free-flowing channels of concrete and steel" are what we needed then. These same arguments apply just as well today. Beautiful, beautiful film – especially the part where Robert Moses wins $25,000 of GM money. Way to take a little from the man, Bobby M!


The Dynamic American City – [1956] Learn some problems of late-50s urban environments: "the contrast of 1880 and the present is becoming a common sight"; "the heavy hand of old-fashioned design"; "substantial and ornate buildings are to be found everywhere"; "architectural obsolescence"; "narrow-lot patterns". The solution? "large-scale demolition is the first step in building modern cities." Imagine how informative this movie is given that the brilliance displayed in these comments is crammed into about 30 seconds. Part 1; Part 2


That should get you started on your city planning education. No need to forward to the council; they've clearly already seen them.


The Prelinger Archives covers other subjects as well – public information films such as Duck and Cover; ephemeral films from the automakers; instruction on dating; commercials; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

But, alas, it does not have 1955's Rhythm and Blues Revue from the Apollo. Hosted by Willie "the Mayor of Harlem" Bryant; Performances by Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Big Joe Turner, Martha Davis, and more. No, you have to go to another part of the Archives to view this one.

On the other hand, while Prelinger's archive lacks that piece with the always smiling King of the Vibraphone, it much less than makes up for it with the exact opposite. Yes, I am speaking of none other than Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens. Check the wild man on the upright, baby!


Dang it, I knew I didn't have time for this.

[gdvanc]

An Aggie I work with showed me a web site that the runners (and perhaps bikers) on the forum may find interesting...

America's Running Routes from USA Track & Field.

It uses Google Maps to allow you to map out a running route. Map your route with this tool and it will tell you the distance. It also gives total climb and total elevation changes.

You can save your route to their database for others to see, and you can check out and rate routes others have saved.

Overall it's a pretty neat little tool.

I didn't notice directions, so I'll offer some in brief:

* Zoom in to the desired level. You can start by entering the city name or zip code and then use the zoom tool (on the left side of the map) from there. (I recommend zooming in fairly close to improve the accuracy of your route map and the distance calculations.)

* You can also reposition the map by clicking without releasing the mouse button, and dragging in the desired direction.

* Once you have the map zoomed and positioned where you want it, click (and release) on the map where your route starts. The tool will put a "Start" marker there.

* Now continue clicking along your route. Each subsequent click will extend the route to that point and will place the "Finish" marker there. (Of course, you can reposition the map or zoom in and out as needed.)

* If you make a mistake, you can use the "Undo" button to remove the last point added.

* By default, the tool will place mile markers along your route as you create it. There is a radio button to change this to km markers or to turn off the markers (including start and finish). Turning them off can be desirable as you draw so the Finish marker isn't in the way. You can turn them back on when you're done.

* If your route is out-and-back, then you can click the "Out & back" button when you've drawn the "out" portion of your route; the tool will automatically place the finish marker at the start marker and will calculate the distance accordingly.


There are over 250 saved routes for Fort Worth. Several that start downtown, like the "Roy Pope 10" or the "Museum 5". A "Tacos and Cold Beer" route that starts around TCU. Someone has added some of the Cowtown Marathon routes. Plenty of variety.

Some are bound to be bicycle routes. Like perhaps the 28.57-mile "Scenic Route for Coffee" that goes from Richland Hills through North Richland Hills and Blue Mound before heading south to finish on Camp Bowie at Fairfield, at "the best coffee house in DFW Metro Plex". Actually, maybe that's a route for an Oldsmobile. After 28 miles of running or pedaling (with 1,051 feet in total climb), I don't think coffee is going to do it for me. Not even Kona.


Anyway, have fun. Hope all is well. Keep in touch.

[gdvanc]

Heard today of a couple of new (to me) sites that I believe I'll share at the risk of discovering I was the last to know. The reviews will be short today.

Both sites are dedicated to providing you with pricing data and reviews on things that matter to most of us: jobs and our stuff. Both are fairly early in their development and, as they depend on user involvement, will take time to reach their potential.

First up is GlassDoor: GlassDoor was created by the people who created Zillow (and Expedia and other things). It allows users to write anonymous reviews of the companies for which they work and also to provide their salary information. The goal is to provide users with a look at the working environment in a company as well as how salaries paid at the company compare with other firms. These guys must have a goal of addressing pricing inefficiencies that result in markets where certain information has historically been somewhat constrained. Pricing knowledge is good. Very good.

Next is Ztail: Ztail aims to help users determine a fair price (range) for things they want to buy or sell. You can add items that you want to price and other users will give their estimates. Ztail lists stores that sell the item new; the listing includes the retail prices provided by those stores. It searches for the item on ebay and lists any hits. It allows users to write reviews of the item. And, through an interface to ebay, gives you a way to sell the item. As a side note, their Web 2.0 interface is pretty slick. I recommend the "See how it works!" video to see how it works.


Again, these sites are new and information is still pretty thin. If their popularity takes off, however, they will prove quite useful for many. Here in the 21st Century, it seems inevitable that the type of information they intend to provide will be available from somewhere.