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Google Voice Fail

This is the transcript of a voice mail I got from my mom today:

Hi Joe, it’s Mohammed calling to see how you’re doing it and also we. Doubtly again home finalize plans for. It’s Susan a miracle. Jillian on feet, so if you would give me a call. House 0. You can just call when you can. I’ll be home most of the day. I’ll talk to you later. Hope everything’s whale. Love you. Bye bye.

2 months ago

December 21, 2009
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photo downtowncreator:

What to do about all those abandoned McMansions? Turn them into wetlands and natural water filtration systems for urban centers.
FROG’S DREAM: McMansions Turned into Biofilter Water Treatment Plants « ReBurbia

downtowncreator:

What to do about all those abandoned McMansions? Turn them into wetlands and natural water filtration systems for urban centers.

FROG’S DREAM: McMansions Turned into Biofilter Water Treatment Plants « ReBurbia

2 months ago

December 21, 2009
reblogged via downtowncreator
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photo Heat map of fatal traffic accidents in the US. Obviously fatal car accidents are a public health issue, and it’s tools like this that help designers create a safer world.
(via Jay Parkinson, who captured the heat map for NYC)

Heat map of fatal traffic accidents in the US. Obviously fatal car accidents are a public health issue, and it’s tools like this that help designers create a safer world.

(via Jay Parkinson, who captured the heat map for NYC)

2 months ago

December 18, 2009
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quote
Ironically, as media scrutiny has gotten tougher and more pervasive, one could argue the professional quality of those who are left standing in the race for elected office has declined…

The Soapboxt: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Maggot

Thoughtful commentary to start my day.

2 months ago

December 16, 2009
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link Robert Moses or Jane Jacobs? It is no longer either/or

smartercities:

(via smarterplanet)

Adam Christensen and Susanne Dirks talked with me about a question being posed by Dana Blankenhorn.

Dana asks an interesting question: are IBM’s “smarter traffic” ideas an homage to Moses or Jacobs?

2 months ago

December 10, 2009
reblogged via smartercities
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text

5-year-old girl hit by car on her way off the school bus

The motorist, according to the story, was 82-year-old Edith Anderson:

The child was let off the bus at a curb, but a car behind the bus continued to the right of the bus, running onto the curb and into the grass, Hernandez said. Police do not know what caused Anderson’s 1995 Nissan Altima to exit the road.

Emphasis mine.

My initial thought: the cause might be that the motorist is 82-years-old and living in Cobb County, where there is very little access to any alternatives to driving a car. But that would only be part of the story — and I’m sure it’s a part of the story that the AJC would rather not cover. After all, it would be a shame for the AJC to offend the suburban octogenarians among their readership.

Thankfully, the AJC does a little reporting on the road conditions:

Davis Road resident Amy Johnson said people often drive too fast past her house, and she has asked the county numerous times to install a three-way stop or a caution light in front of her home.

Just Wednesday morning, Johnson said she called the Cobb County department of transportation about the road.

In a Nov. 2007 AJC report, Cobb County spokesman Robert Quigley said the county had looked into the issue, but that the county would not install an additional stop sign because not enough accidents had occurred.

And thank goodness for Google Street View, where we can take a look at the spot where the incident happened. This is clearly one of many classic cases that demonstrate an essential principle of pedestrian-friendly design: just because a sidewalk is present doesn’t automatically make the place safe or pleasant for pedestrians.

2 months ago

December 10, 2009
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link Here's a switch in Car vs. Bike.

bigspoke:

In this car/bike collision, the driver dies and the cyclist escapes with minor injuries. Just another reason drivers should be watching for bikes.

3 months ago

November 28, 2009
reblogged via bigspoke
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quote
Urban sprawl is not mindless at all. There is nothing inevitable about its development. Sprawl is the result of zoning laws designed by legislators, low-density buildings designed by developers, marketing strategies designed by ad agencies, tax breaks designed by economists, credit lines designed by banks, geomatics designed by retailers, data-mining software designed by hamburger chains, and automobiles designed by car designers. The interactions between all these systems and human behavior are complicated and hard to understand— but the policies themselves are not the result of chance. “Out of control” is an ideology, not a fact.

3 months ago

November 20, 2009
reblogged via jayparkinsonmd
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quote
This city seems to be run by a bunch of ‘squeaky wheels’ and the rest of us just let them. I went to one of the planning meetings where this sweet woman stood up and said she wanted density and transit like the plan proposed, and the rest of the room turned on her like vultures. It was not pretty. I felt so bad for her because she was just expressing her opinion, you know, democracy and all. But because she was so outnumbered, the rest of the attendees thought it was ok to bully her.
Robin, commenting on B King’s blog Terminal Station

3 months ago

November 18, 2009
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photo Federal Investment in Intercity Transportation, 1949-2008

Federal Investment in Intercity Transportation, 1949-2008

3 months ago

November 18, 2009
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