This is a pretty cool tool. You just type in an address, and it tells you how "walkable" the area is, in terms of how close different services and stores are. My neighborhood scored an 86, which is pretty good but makes me wonder what neighborhood could possibly get a 100. Maybe if you lived in a shopping mall, or in certain parts of New York.

Also, it's clearly not a perfect program, as it told me that my closest bar was an Orange Julius. I wouldn't have moved here if that was true.

Tell me what your neighborhood's walkability score is!

From hummingwolf, a tv show meme, to show you how hopelessly narrow my taste is:

1. Bold the shows of which you've watched every episode
2. Italic the shows of which you've seen at least one episode
2a. Star the shows you consider "the best" (Addition by tidesong)
3. Post your answers

( Read more... )

This is part two of the answers to the meme from the other day. My drinkin' buddy and dogsitter belen1974 asked me what it was like to be a man, and two related questions.

( Cut for those who don't want to know what it's like to be a man. )

Leave it to my brother to take a simple meme and turn it into 2000 word assignment. In addressing his suggestion, "Blog about your transition from kid fascinated with animals to art student to zookeeper," I have also answered drocera's questions about what it was like where I grew up, what I was like in high school and how I met Alexis. belen1974's questions (including the exciting one about my back hair) will have to wait for another post. Trust me, after this novella, you'll need a break.

( My life story, if you can stand it. )

The Democrats' situation is depressing. Why is the Clinton camp doing all the Republicans' work for them? How is it that I have come to dislike people I used to have distant admiration for, like Bill Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, and the nation's middle-aged white women? I'll be watching the nominating convention, not for the inspirational speeches, but just to see how they untangle this mess.

Just how much time should I devote to watching and reviewing movies other people would avoid? Don't answer that, sclerotic_rings.

I like the idea of this new meme that's going around: Ask me questions about things I don't usually blog about. But what don't I usually blog about? Once I got past sticking to the Urban Nature theme, I pretty much started blogging about anything I wanted. But if there is something I haven't blogged about, that you would like me to answer or address, go ahead. Comments will not be filtered or locked or whatever, just ask, you cowards.

Every work day feels like it should be Thursday, and then it turns out it's only Tuesday. Every weekend ends too soon. This and other unique observations will be in my new book: "Like Dave Barry, only not funny." This one is really Thursday, but I've got a feeling tomorrow will somehow be Tuesday.

I've been early-ish to work for the past several days. This post ought to finish that.

January: This ugly and hateful plant was unwisely planted in cities across America, and naturally, Australia, but not in Canada, they're too smart (and cold).

February: While in Boston all we got yesterday was an ugly coating of frozen slush, just outside of the city there was actual snow.

March: What part of being soaked to the skin with ice water makes people like living in New England in the winter?

April: This guy is one of the last sheep shearers to still use non-electric clippers.

May:
Maggie stuck her head in a mud hole, looking for muskrats.

June: Portland Oregon, where Matt Groening once lived, has the following streets: Terwilliger Boulevard, Lovejoy Street, Flanders Street, Van Houten Avenue, Quimby Street.

July: In this installment of Solylent Screen, I endured The Fountain, a piece of New Age claptrap about mortality and spirituality, starring Hugh Jackman as a successful conquistador, cancer researcher, and soap-bubble dwelling space Buddhist.

August: The great "where should we move?" conundrum continues, with Alexis and I deciding to list what it is we hope to get out of relocation, and what the new location needs to provide.

September: Some poor kid was crowned king or queen of stupid day when they got their moving van stuck under the BU Bridge overpass on Storrow Drive today.

October: Bananas for everyone!

November: The night after Halloween the decorations are still up, but there aren't kids everywhere.

December: I'm about a quarter the way through Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Phew! Thank god for October, my year was starting to depress me.

Google image search your user name. I like mine. :)



(image is from rockbalancer's journal)

Some people might think that "agnostic pantheist" is a contradiction in terms, but it describes me perfectly.

What kind of atheist are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Agnostic Agnostics consider the possibility that they may be wrong about God's existence, no matter which side of the fence they stand on. Always willing to objectively evaluate the most ridiculous proof, nevertheless, these guys are skeptics of the Nth degree. Agnostic 75% Scientific Atheist 75% Apathetic Atheist 75% Spiritual Atheist 50% Theist 33% Militant Atheist 25% Angry Atheist 17%

Recommend three underrated or unknown scary movies! Then everyone who reads this journal can look through the comments and find something new for their scary movie needs. I started with my Soylent Screen column wherein I recommended

Murder Party (2007)
Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
The Blob (1988)
Lake Placid (1999)

Now you!

livsmama tagged me to list my five favorite species. It should go without saying that this is entirely impossible. But what the heck, I'll list five that are undoubtedly among my top 500 favorite species. Also, since there is actual information relevant to the theme of my journal here, this will be a rare public post of a meme. Without further ado:( Read more... )

It's goin' around. I won't tag anyone.
( Read more... )

It took about 20 tries to get a good one.

LiveJournal Haiku!
Your name:	urbpan
Your haiku:	universe doesn't mark days at all--sitting on this rock spinning slowly
Username:
Created by Grahame

I just took a "religion" quiz, that I got from aemiis_zoo. All was proceeding nicely until I finished, and it (sensing a conflict in its own quiz-logic?) asked me to choose between the following statements:

1. The strongest spiritual connection I feel is in nature.
2. All life organisms alive today were created through random processes.

I believe both statements equally, which in itself, perfectly describes my religion/spirituality. Some people call this "Scientific Pantheism" http://www.pantheism.net/paul/index.htm

( Read more... )

It was randomly generated: It must be true.

urban ecology is love
brought to you by the isLove Generator

A mockingbird, feathers wet with cold nasty rain, is eating the ivy berries as he perches on my windowsill. (Damn, didn't get a picture!)