Your new neighbor: EveryBlock Chicago
May 4th, 2008
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With the current barrage of ‘Web 2.0′ type sites out there, a new one emerges for Chicago and its many neighborhoods. EveryBlock Chicago is sort of a mashup, combining crime data from the Chicago Police Department, news articles relevant to a neighborhood from the local papers and media outlets, license and inspection data from city public records, business reviews from Yelp!, and a while lot more.
EveryBlock could be, in my opinion, quite useful, as it eliminates the need to go search ChicagoCrimes.org, Yelp!, the city’s website, etc. to get the most up to date info about my neighborhood. The site also allows me to explore other neighborhoods throughout the city, handy if you’re considering a move to a new neighborhood, or just trying to find out what to do and where to avoid. I think once this site gets some publicity and gains some traction, it will be a must-check site for many in the city.
The Car Kebab is gone, and I don’t feel so well myself
May 3rd, 2008
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Yet another Chicago landmark is gone. The famous Car Kebab in Berwyn, featured in the movie Wayne’s World, is no more as of last night. The Sun-Times has a video of the demolition in their story about it. The Car Kebab was taken down to make room for a new Walgreen’s. Isn’t that always the way? Landmarks across the country are demolished to make way for a Walgreen’s.
Google Maps + Chicago Transit = WIN!
April 8th, 2008
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Google Maps has finally teamed up with the CTA to provide route information, as well as directions using transit. They give a few examples, such as O’Hare to Wrigley Field, Midway to Comiskey Park (Sorry, guys, I refused to call it US Cellular Field or The Cell), and University of Chicago to the Sears Tower.
Just in testing a few locations from my home to other destinations around town, it seems to give very reasonable directions via train and bus. And as a bonus, it doesn’t do stupid things like make you take a bus for a 1 block walk. Yay Google!
Chicagoland rent ‘out of reach’
April 7th, 2008
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If all the current news about the coming recession/possible recession/current recession (whatever they’re declaring it today) wasn’t depressing enough, this article in today’s Chicago Tribune won’t do much to cheer you up.
If Chicagoland dwellers didn’t have enough to worry about already with the recession, job cuts, the rising costs of fuel, utilities, taxes and food, then this ought to really knock the wind out of their sails: Apartment rents are rising, too. The situation is bad enough for the middle class, but it hits especially hard for the working poor and extremely low-income people. A person working for minimum wage, which in the state of Illinois is $7.50 per hour, means that worker would have to work 97 hours a week all 52 weeks of the year to afford the average median apartment rent in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan Area, which is $944 per month for a two bedroom market rate apartment. I must note that market-rate 2 bedroom apartments in the city of Chicago tend to be higher, and in the far suburbs tend to be a bit lower.
An end of an era in instant photography
February 21st, 2008
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While arguably the quality of the photos from Polaroid’s instant cameras was terrible at best, it still has managed to hold a cult status in pop culture. As a child, I can remember many family outings, birthday parties and family gatherings captured with instant pictures. It seems that era has reached an end in a surprising-yet-not-so-surprising announcement by Polaroid that they will discontinue almost all of their instant film products. They’re citing digital cameras as the main reason.
I’m split about this one. Personally, I don’t own a Polaroid Instant Camera, so I’m not really affected. But the idea of ’snapping polaroids’ is something I couldn’t imagine going away. Now that most photography itself has moved digital, it just seems to me that the threat of a house fire isn’t what people will fear the most in losing their family photos — it will be a hard drive crash.
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