tag:www.batesline.com,2007-09-03:/linkblog//4 2010-03-18T14:02:49Z Links of interest Movable Type Publishing Platform 4.0 tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5858 2010-03-18T13:58:34Z 2010-03-18T14:02:49Z

OKC Central: Sunday Flashback: "The Misconception That Cities 'Happen' And Need Not Be Designed" Steve Lackmeyer posts a 1964 article on Oklahoma City's Classen Blvd by Phillip Morris -- "I'm stunned at the discovery of this 1964 article - stunned...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com OKC Central: Sunday Flashback: "The Misconception That Cities 'Happen' And Need Not Be Designed" Steve Lackmeyer posts a 1964 article on Oklahoma City's Classen Blvd by Phillip Morris -- "I'm stunned at the discovery of this 1964 article - stunned at the depth of discussion of urban planning, stunned at the foreshadowing of issues to follow, and quite frankly, uncertain what to make of it all." -- and it leads to an excellent discussion of urban design ideas, a discussion that includes the author of that 1964 story. One especially interesting aside by Morris: "FYI, the City of Birmingham (truly a center city wrapped by close suburbs) used urban renewal only for UAB expansion, but in the 1980′s established more than 20 design review districts overseen by a single board with guidelines written with input from property owners (who must organize and formally request the designation before public improvements are made). They are titled "Commercial Revitalization District" and do just about everything you would in a local historic district -- but without the red flag name. Incrementally adds up over time, but only where the economic base supports development."]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5857 2010-03-18T13:45:26Z 2010-03-18T13:46:55Z

Ingrid Martin Channels Joe the Plumber, Debates Obama After Health Speech -- Politics Daily 'Martin said she then entered into about a 2-minute debate reminiscent of Obama's meeting with another Ohioan, Joe Wurzelbacher (aka "Joe the Plumber"), telling him she...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Ingrid Martin Channels Joe the Plumber, Debates Obama After Health Speech -- Politics Daily 'Martin said she then entered into about a 2-minute debate reminiscent of Obama's meeting with another Ohioan, Joe Wurzelbacher (aka "Joe the Plumber"), telling him she worries about the long-term implications of his sweeping legislation. She told the president he was focused on insurance reform, as opposed to the rising cost of health care, which she believes to be the fundamental problem. Martin stressed her view of the need for tort reform. She also noted: "He said things like, 'Medicare is not going to be affected by this bill,' which is not right."' (Via Ace.)]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5842 2010-03-04T00:47:06Z 2010-03-04T00:51:28Z

Why you've never really heard the "Moonlight" Sonata. - By Jan Swafford - Slate Magazine Pianos have changed since Beethoven's day. A visit to the Franklin Historic Piano Collection in Ashburnham, Mass., and audio of the "Moonlight" and "Appassionata" sonatas...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Why you've never really heard the "Moonlight" Sonata. - By Jan Swafford - Slate Magazine Pianos have changed since Beethoven's day. A visit to the Franklin Historic Piano Collection in Ashburnham, Mass., and audio of the "Moonlight" and "Appassionata" sonatas and works by Brahms and Debussy on contemporary pianos, compared to the same works played on a modern Steinway.]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5841 2010-03-03T18:18:08Z 2010-03-03T20:39:45Z

Bob & Ray on the web Home page for the classic radio comedy of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding. You can buy a thumb drive with the complete Bob & Ray audio archive -- 90 hours, 1837 routines -- for...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Bob & Ray on the web Home page for the classic radio comedy of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding. You can buy a thumb drive with the complete Bob & Ray audio archive -- 90 hours, 1837 routines -- for a mere $349. Bob & Ray audio is also available for download at Amazon MP3. Bob & Ray are (is?) on Facebook, too. And here's a New York Times story about Bob Elliott, his son Chris ("Get a Life"), and Chris' daughter Abby, a featured player on SNL.]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5838 2010-03-01T19:58:09Z 2010-03-01T20:14:03Z

Variety review: Biker Fox Self-produced biopic of one of Tulsa's eccentrics: "The man has no personal relationships we can detect, outside of the few people who work for him and the car-parts customers he frequently abuses on the phone. His...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Variety review: Biker Fox Self-produced biopic of one of Tulsa's eccentrics: "The man has no personal relationships we can detect, outside of the few people who work for him and the car-parts customers he frequently abuses on the phone. His past is an enigma, and the basis of his anger, which he admits to, is a secret. Without some kind of insight into what makes Biker Fox who he is, it's all a bit shallow, if frequently entertaining." ]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5836 2010-02-27T02:10:48Z 2010-02-27T02:13:36Z

Eminent Domain as Central Planning by Nicole Gelinas, City Journal Winter 2010 An over-broad definition of blight (it includes "underutilization") allows cities to condemn land and buildings that aren't blighted at all. (Oklahoma has the same problem, which undermines our...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Eminent Domain as Central Planning by Nicole Gelinas, City Journal Winter 2010 An over-broad definition of blight (it includes "underutilization") allows cities to condemn land and buildings that aren't blighted at all. (Oklahoma has the same problem, which undermines our state constitutional protection against government seizing land for private use. "In the 1930s...'substandard' and 'unsanitary' meant 'families and children dying from rampant fires and pestilence' in tuberculosis-ridden firetraps. In 2006, by contrast, the UDC's consultants found 'substandard' conditions in isolated graffiti, cracked sidewalks, and 'underutilization'--that is, when property owners weren't using their land to generate the social and economic benefits that the government desired."]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5829 2010-02-22T17:49:44Z 2010-02-22T17:54:58Z

Peak Phosphorus May Follow Peak Oil | Miller-McCune Online Magazine "Without phosphorus, the world cannot grow food. Yet only three countries control 73 percent of the world's remaining known reserves of phosphate rock.... Phosphorus cannot be destroyed, but it is...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Peak Phosphorus May Follow Peak Oil | Miller-McCune Online Magazine "Without phosphorus, the world cannot grow food. Yet only three countries control 73 percent of the world's remaining known reserves of phosphate rock.... Phosphorus cannot be destroyed, but it is becoming dissipated in the environment... 'There's a whole industry that needs to be invented to capture phosphorus. We need a new way of growing crops that keeps it in the field instead of letting it run down into the Gulf of Mexico. We need plants that are more efficient at getting phosphorus.'" (Via Ace of Spades HQ.) ]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5824 2010-02-20T07:50:56Z 2010-02-20T07:53:56Z

Old Road Maps of Texas A great collection of scans, mainly of the city insets of oil company road maps of Texas, from 1942 to 1970. Some street maps (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston). A resource for finding the pre-freeway routes...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Old Road Maps of Texas A great collection of scans, mainly of the city insets of oil company road maps of Texas, from 1942 to 1970. Some street maps (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston). A resource for finding the pre-freeway routes of highways through cities.]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5819 2010-02-16T01:21:07Z 2010-02-16T01:30:55Z

Red army galvanizing in our bluest towns - BostonHerald.com Thanks to Scott Brown's win, Massachusetts Republicans are coming out of the closet and getting organized. Let's hope the party oldtimers, used to being big frogs in small ponds, don't throw...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Red army galvanizing in our bluest towns - BostonHerald.com Thanks to Scott Brown's win, Massachusetts Republicans are coming out of the closet and getting organized. Let's hope the party oldtimers, used to being big frogs in small ponds, don't throw too many obstacles in the path of the enthusiastic newcomers. (By the way, the headline illustrates why the Republican Party should never have allowed CNN's map to define red as its color. The Red Army was the army of the communist USSR. In every other country, red is for the socialist/left-leaning party, blue is for the conservative party.)]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5811 2010-02-12T06:18:56Z 2010-02-12T06:29:44Z

Republican Valentine e-Cards Some of these are pretty funny. Reid and Pelosi: "We crafted this Valentine's card behind closed doors." Obama: "I've saved or created millions of valentines." Algore: "I'll charter a flight to bring you this Valentine's card in...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Republican Valentine e-Cards Some of these are pretty funny. Reid and Pelosi: "We crafted this Valentine's card behind closed doors." Obama: "I've saved or created millions of valentines." Algore: "I'll charter a flight to bring you this Valentine's card in person."]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5792 2010-01-28T18:58:52Z 2010-01-28T19:04:54Z

Language Log: Modal deafness Trouble telling the difference between a major and minor triad? You're not alone. It's hardest when the chord isn't inverted....

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Language Log: Modal deafness Trouble telling the difference between a major and minor triad? You're not alone. It's hardest when the chord isn't inverted.]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5790 2010-01-28T08:37:50Z 2010-01-28T08:51:20Z

IEEE-754 Calculators Because sometimes you need to know the hexadecimal representation of a floating-point number....

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com IEEE-754 Calculators Because sometimes you need to know the hexadecimal representation of a floating-point number.]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5778 2010-01-22T06:26:38Z 2010-01-22T06:28:59Z

Mako Snark A new blog of funny political Photoshops from a conservative perspective. (Via The Other McCain.)...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Mako Snark A new blog of funny political Photoshops from a conservative perspective. (Via The Other McCain.)]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5777 2010-01-22T06:15:05Z 2010-01-22T06:16:47Z

Why aren't my videos getting more web traffic? : Ft. Hard Knox Good advice on how to help websurfers find your videos. It's all about providing descriptive text that search engines can grab....

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Why aren't my videos getting more web traffic? : Ft. Hard Knox Good advice on how to help websurfers find your videos. It's all about providing descriptive text that search engines can grab.]]> tag:www.batesline.com,2010:/linkblog//4.5776 2010-01-22T06:06:30Z 2010-01-22T06:12:38Z

Poetry related to US History and Geography Poems for school children about Peter Stuyvesant, Peregrine White and Virginia Dare, Pocahontas, Forty-Niners, Columbus, DeSoto, Miles Standish, Coney Island, and Niagara Falls, among other topics: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3. (Found...

Michael Bates http://www.batesline.com Poetry related to US History and Geography Poems for school children about Peter Stuyvesant, Peregrine White and Virginia Dare, Pocahontas, Forty-Niners, Columbus, DeSoto, Miles Standish, Coney Island, and Niagara Falls, among other topics: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3. (Found in a search inspired by Dawn Summers' blog recitation of "O Captain, My Captain."]]>