Personal posts
Posts on architecture, obsessions, photography, poems, visits to art exhibits, essays, family, and or things about me organized under art, home, and work.
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Paris, in Macro
Last week my wife and I spent a few days in Paris. I took my camera and four lenses, including the new one– a macro lens that allows me to get crazy up-close— that she got me for my birthday. Here’s the whole set of pics I took there are some of the macro shots…
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Anatomy of a Service Request Type: Tree Trimming
The City of Chicago does not yet publish 311 service request data for tree trim requests, although I do expect that to be published soon Meantime, I took some photos of the process here. This tree trim operation is in the 2000 block of North Damen. This guy has the tools of the trade: rake,…
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Unused and Unkempt Newspaper Boxes Are An Urban Blight
There’s no shortage of text lamenting the death of print. But I’ve not come to bury Caesar, but to get him to get rid of his unused metal boxes. This is a typical set of newspaper boxes in downtown Chicago (at the corner of State Street and Wacker Drive), taken last week. 15 newspaper delivery…
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New Logo In Action: Renaissance Hotel is Now Renaissance
Logos change all the time, but it’s not every day you get a chance to see a logo change right before your eyes. The other morning I was walking to work past 1 West Wacker Drive and saw sign company workers changing out the signs at what used to be called The Renaissance Hotel and…
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Toward Better Tools For Context in Civic Data Using Private Data Sources
Now that civic data is a normal part of the atmosphere in Chicago, it’s time to start mining private data sources to make automated context a natural part of our Web infolives. By that, I mean the addition of information about a subject that is generated without human intervention. My experience as the person responsible…