bulldogger

Did Ron Howard dream this up?

With the addition of Arroyo, I think you mean the traffic coming through Hunter's Creek from BVL.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen. My time is up here... I guess bic woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Was the sun shining too brightly in your new Miami condo?

Terrorist?

I think gas tax should pay for roads. People that don't drive don't necessarily need roads. I thought a lot of the tourist tax pays to keep tourists coming here. Advertising, roads in the tourist corridor, etc. It seems like a waste of money to keep doing this, but without it, the tourist industry might falter. Now, I say MIGHT and that is why we keep putting the money right back where it came. Just in case. With that said, I would like to see more of the tourist tax go back to some residents. Museums would be nice and that would also bring more tourists anyway and in effect recoup the investment. Considering we have a History Museum, maybe we could have a citrus museum. j/k Building more roads for locals probably won't happen. New arena?? I doubt it. How many people fly to Orlando to catch the Magic? I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 0. Sampling margin of error +/- 1. Open question to all: Where do you think the tourist tax should go?

I wonder if we could get the military to build us a lightrail system with tax money, then, everyone would approve.

The same goes for the roof of the science center and its garage. It's not as high, but you do get over the tree line.

During normal conditions... this morning it's foggy

It's tough to make anything out. Can you sneak up there during the day?

For Sushi and general good Japanese, try Ran Getsu on I-Drive. It's a pain getting through the tourist traffic, but you will get authentic Japanese. I'm sure someone out there will try to argue this with me, but hey, I'm Japanese and I know since that's mostly what I ate growing up. As far as Korean, I've heard the same thing about that place. There is also a place on 50 at the corner of Highland that's good. The decor leaves much to be desired, but the food is good. Again, an authentic Korean BBQ. Bulgogi means barbecue to Koreans. The free apps that they serve is usually different types of kimchi, which is pickled/fermented veggies, usually cabbage.

Well, let me know when the mass transit system is in place, because buses, which make great billboards, are no faster than any automobile. I am a proponent for mass transit, but most of the people that I work with are in a rush to get back to their burb homes. That is... after they pick up their kids from day care or practice, run to the store and get some groceries, just to make dinner for the fam, tuck the kids in and try to catch up on the 11pm news. That makes for a reason to rush. And they rationalize the auto because they need to put kids and groceries in them. Their minds don't even think about hanging out downtown after work. I'm not trying to defend the lifestyle. That's not one I live, but it is reality for many. There is one guy I work with that just started taking the bus out of necessity. He lives in Deltona. He leaves work at 4:30pm and picks up his daughter from daycare in downtown. He doesn't get home in Deltona until 8:30pm. That's not exactly speedy traveling. I told him that we might get a train to Deltona soon that would get him home in 45 minutes. He asks when. I tell him 2009 at best, but more likely 2012. He says his wife will be finished with law school by then.

Lynx has 10 hybrid buses on order. They will replace the current buses running on the Lymmo route downtown.

They could both be correct. In the sentinel article, they mention that JumboTron is a Sony brand, so they could be the first downtown with a JumboTron, but not necessarily be the first downtown with a large video screen / billboard.

I think you can get the mag down at Virgin MegaStore at Downtown Disney. Kinda long drive for a magazine. Hopefully someone else knows of somewhere closer.

Sentinel Article today regarding the future of electronic signs in downtown. Mentions CF13 and Premiere Trade. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/or...iness-headlines To Kuhn: I say build it and they will watch.

There already is a Federal Street. It's on the other side of the arena. And where did they come up with Federal Square? There's no open square or plaza. It's more like Federal Line or Federal Spot.

You guys that feel like you have to make your photographs look a certain way have to realize something. You alter your graphics depending on the job you are working on. Since you don't do graphic design, you think that one person's idea of a perfect 100% picture is what all photos are supposed to look like. Don't bring yourself down. Your original that was altered by Camillo, made the orange barricades look red and the lights on top of the SunTrust Tower too lit up for a dark photo. If it was that light outside (which it wasn't) then you would never see that much yellow and white light for that matter. You have to make adjustments in your camera before you take it. Just like computing... GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out. Either change your white balance or you should be able to change the exposure. In this instance, either should work. And I think your photo was perfect for that day. I went outside and that's how it was... overcast. Don't beat yourself up. Play with your PS settings to get different effects, but don't think that there are any rules that you must follow.

Today's OBJ talks about financing coming through for the Peabody expansion... http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/sto.../06/daily4.html

I'm pretty sure Dynetech would swallow up the whole left side of that picture. Sweet. Dude.

Who let the middle class in here?

Re: Railways How many US cities have at least 2 completely separate monorail systems? Disney was working long before the one at OIA, but I don't remember how long ago. I wonder how much that cost to build. It appears clean, it's nice to look at, it's quiet, it goes close to 55 mph. What would it take to get something like that in town? I guarantee that people would ride it.

They need to build some railways ASAP and drop the whole idea of everyone driving around in gasoline-driven cars. The roads will always get filled. That's just how it goes. Exxon-Mobil shocked everyone with the 9 Billion dollar PROFIT last quarter and everyone just keeps going to the pump. Shouldn't it be a bigger shock that they just reported over 10 Billion in PROFIT again this quarter?? People will keep saying it's the American dream to own land, so it explains why there is sprawl. The American dream is whatever you feel like making it. But people are idiots and do what they're told. Right now, Exxon says to pay close to 3 bucks a gallon. You can cry about the tolls on roads, but you won't ride a bus. Gas is an outdated technology in our own time, but people won't do anything until it's 10 bucks a gallon and you have to take a loan out to cover the cost of it. Oh wait, some car companies are already offering that... as a bonus. Rail, bus, bike. Heck, this forum is called Urban Planet. UP is about city life. Try walking from condo to office. It's actually good for your health.

OT, but hey Tim, what camera are you using?

There ARE reggae stores in the neighborhood. The check cashing liquor stores are definitely a problem. I think a good look would be brick buildings with a French Quarter look that Church Street Station once had. If someone would go into the Ebenezer Church and turn it into a night club, that would be very cool. Have the bouncers at the door wearing hooded robes like Franciscan monks, a fog machine rolling out a small amount of fog near the door giving a hint of mystery. Definitely needs Jazz. Heck, downtown anywhere needs a jazz club. Last time I checked, we haven't had any since the old Sapphire Supper Club used to be the Downtown Jazz and Blues Club.