Nineteen year ago I started this blog as a distraction from my father’s heart attack and slow recovery. It was late 2004 and social media & video streaming apps didn’t exist yet — or at least not widely available to the general public. Blogs were the newest means of …
The new NGA West campus , Jefferson & Cass, has been under construction for a few years now. Next NGA West is a large-scale construction project that will build a new facility for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in St. Louis, Missouri.This $1.7B project is managed by the U.S. Army …
Book publisher Island Press always impresses me with thoughtful new books written by people working to solve current problems — the subjects are important ones for urbanists and policy makers to be familiar and actively discussing. These four books are presented in the order I received them. ‘Justice and …
This post is about two indirectly related topics: the new Siteman Cancer Center building under construction on the Washington University School of Medicine/BJC campus and an update on my stage 4 kidney cancer. Let’s deal with the latter first. You may have noticed I’ve not posted in three months, …
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In late 2012 I posted about an upcoming project. Now, 2+ years later, I finally stopped to see the end result. The Gotham Apt project involved the renovation of an old building and the construction of a new mixed-use building consisting of apartments over storefronts.
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Once the Loop Trolley project is built we should see more urban infill like this.
— Steve Patterson
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Tuesday afternoon the city’s Board of Adjustment, after of 12+ months of hearings on a citizen petition, concluded Larry Rice’s New Life Evangelistic Center (NLEC) was a nuisance:
A city board ruled Tuesday that Rev. Larry Rice’s homeless shelter downtown is a nuisance and will be closed effective May 12, 2015, unless he complies with city terms.
Rice’s occupancy permit allows him to have a maximum of 32 beds. Many nights, Rice allows upwards of 300 people to stay in the shelter. (stltoday.com)
A perfect subject for the final poll of 2014: Thoughts on the city calling Larry Rice’s NLEC a “nuisance”? The poll is in the right sidebar, vote until 8pm.
I have thoughts on this, but I’ll save my views for Tuesday when I post the results.
— Steve Patterson
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I like to end each week with a positive post and nothing is more positive than a favorite building, long written off, getting rehabbed. A large house on Delmar, with unique dormers, has been in disrepair for years. A few months ago a friend posted on Facebook that work was starting on the building. Earlier this month I took the #97 MetroBus to photograph the progress.
City records indicate 4270 Delmar Blvd was built in 1893 and contains 5,687 sq ft. This property is just a couple of blocks West of another favorite building, that also recently got rehabbed, now known as Freedom Place. Fingers crossed someone will take on the building at the East end of Fountain Park.
— Steve Patterson
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Most likely you’re off work today, last night you might’ve celebrated the 8th night of Hanukkah or a family Christmas Eve tradition. We attended a party in the Shaw neighborhood.
Today we’re staying home, my husband’s family is coming from Springfield IL for a late lunch. Well, I’ve gotta get back in the kitchen.
Peace…
— Steve Patterson
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The ham we’re serving my husband’s family tomorrow weighs just over 4 kilograms (4,0279kg), or 8.88 lbs in US/Imperial measurements. The instructions say to reheat it at 162.78ºC (325ºF). If we offered soda to drink we’d probably buy it in a 0.52834 gallon bottle (2 liters). They’re driving 155.62Km (96.7 miles) from Springfield IL, the speed limit on I-55 is 112.65kph (70mph), though his uncle will likely won’t exceed 90kph.
Of the above metric units you all likely can relate to a 2 liter bottle of soda, you know how much that is. Why? We’re used to it. Your prescriptions are in milligrams.
So why should America change?
The United States is the last remaining industrialized nation with no formal commitment to going metric. America’s position is causing unnecessary isolation. It’s an impediment to trade and puts the United States at a disadvantage.
Not being metric-fluent can hamper collaboration and communication across borders. And it’s not just annoying, but can add real costs. For example, many US manufacturers need to make two kinds of products for every item — one for here and one for there. Foreign manufacturers also have to modify products just for the US market (or decide that maybe it’s not worth the bother). (Vox)
Below are the results from the Sunday Poll:
Q: Should the U.S. switch to the metric system?
Even though converting will be a costly endeavor, I think it’s in our best long-term interests to do so. Money spent building military equipment the Pentagon doesn’t want can be used to create to new highway signs. Of course that means every highway in America, except Arizona’s I-19, will get all new exit numbers. Had president Reagan not disbanded the Metric Board in 1982 we might be fully metric by now.
— Steve Patterson