I've learned to tolerate drama...except on the boat
Ohio is not part of the Great Plains region, so I imagine there are few plains.
This suburban development first got built in the late '90s, and a lot of the plain/wasteland remains. It's rather awkward that one corner of this area's big shopping district is still plain/wasteland; I always got the feeling that the businesses weren't supposed to be here. Meanwhile some place like Aurora has been built up for pretty much my whole life so I just accept it as loaded with shops and eateries and such.
Aurora has a few natural remnants though they're closer to me than the big shopping areas (the Aurora City Place is across the street from the Town Center at Aurora, which, in turn, is located across from Century Aurora, the theater which is sadly now known for a shooting)
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Yeah, Ohio is naturally forest, and forests don't lend themselves well to views where you can see for miles. Too many trees in the way. :P
The area around this subdivision was mainly wooded when we moved here back in '99, but a lot of that's since been cut down for retail development. There's still one corner not far from here that's wooded, though it's clear that at one point (before the economy went to hell) they were going to build something there...they cleared just enough of it to add a driveway from the street to the adjacent store's parking lot.
I've learned to tolerate drama...except on the boat
Ever since the economy went to hell, pretty much nothing's opened out here except for dollar stores; last year's only openings were a Dollar Tree and a Family Dollar.
Around here, there's been a lot of title-loan companies opening. Basically the same horrible crap as payday loans, only they can take your car as collateral.
YESSSSSSSSS Google updated a bunch of Street View in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. That means I can show you the Harrisonburg tank, finally. I remember seeing this thing from US 33 on trips to and from Virginia Tech in 1995-1996 and I've always wanted to know what it said. I think back then it said "HOME OF JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY", though.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Water towers, eh? This one, from Florence, KY, has gotta be one of my favorites:
There's a bit of a story behind it. Originally it said "FLORENCE MALL" to advertise a nearby shopping center. But there was one problem: the mall wasn't actually built yet, and Kentucky law at the time forbade billboards advertising things that didn't yet exist. So the mall's developers, after some thought, realized the cheapest way to comply was to simply paint over the M with a Y and apostrophe, turning it in to "FLORENCE Y'ALL".
The mall was eventually built, but by then they'd realized that "FLORENCE Y'ALL" was so memorable and unique that they decided to keep it. Florence is right across the river from Cincinnati, so for drivers on I-75 this serves as a cute little way of saying "yep, you're in Kentucky now!"
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
CLEARANCE SALE! Here's a few of the photos I took over the past few months that didn't make it into any of my other sets here:
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
That particular retail district actually has fewer chain businesses than it did 10 years ago...strange, no?
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Somewhere thereabouts, yes. A couple of them (like Meijer) closed outright; others (like Target and Best Buy) moved to new locations in the latest sprawl-of-the-moment a few miles east.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Well, yes, but why's it red? And not the same logo as the front?
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Probably. It just stuck out to me, because it seems Walmart is usually more thorough than that.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
It depends on the community, really. The biggest ones hold about 3-4 million gallons and are over 100 feet in diameter...they're also quite rare, since they're not cheap to build. The very smallest ones are a few thousand gallons (you can even get "portable" water towers mounted on trailers for worksites). Most communities have anywhere from 100,000 gallons to 1 million gallons, and there's also quite a few 2 million gallon tanks out there.
Also, the taller a water tower is, the higher the water pressure will be. If you see a water tower with a small tank and really long legs, they either had a weak pump or needed the extra pressure to drive tools.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
^ That's more than you could pee in an entire week!
Heheheh. The weight of the water itself is also a factor; if you go by 8 pounds per US gallon, then a 2 million gallon tank has to withstand the downward force of 8000 short tons of water. Even with concrete footers, this is asking for it on soft ground; bridges can pull it off because the piers usually drill down to bedrock.
Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen a 7-Eleven take over an old solarium-equipped fast food place. I'm guessing the original tenant was a Roy Rogers or (very unlikely) a Rax.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Some pictures from Whitehall, Ohio (along S. Yearling Road unless otherwise noted), 11 February 2013:
This unusual R-Y-R signal faces a driveway near the fire station. During normal operation, it rests with the bottom red flashing; when the signal is actuated it goes to solid (upper) red to instruct drivers not to enter the main road in the path of the fire truck.
A vacant fast food place. I'm not sure what it was previously, though interestingly it bears a slight resemblance to the repurposed 7-Eleven Lee linked to above.
A closer view of the school. It stands on the same spot as the former high school, so Whitehall high school students are currently using old elementary and middle school buildings until it's complete.
Remember back in the 50s when they'd record like Elvis singing YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG and then they'd turn the record over and reverse it and it was all NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP and people were all like, "That is actually the voice of Satan coming from that song."
The Wal-Mart smiley face in that photo creeps me out a little for some reason.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
You gotta love how they had to specify "pipeline not under marker", to keep idiots from saying "well I'll just dig 3 feet away from where the sign is!"
I facepalm'd at "Heavy Dooty Value". I know it's a box of diapers but feces puns aren't cute.
The Rockies are beautiful...I hope I get to see them someday.
Also, for some reason the first thing I noticed in the first Best Buy picture was the discarded plastic bag thrown on the floor to the left.
After the shooting, the theater was closed and renovated, and it reopened last month. It doesn't seem to have been doing very well, though; maybe this was partially because it's Thursday night, but tonight (February 28, 2013) it wasn't exactly bustling:
Honestly, I initially did not react well to the renovation (despite the obvious "fresh start" intention, this theater was one of the few remaining locations from my early childhood that had gone untouched), but honestly the color scheme here is nicer than it was before (it looked a great deal/exactly like it does inthesephotos and was probably a standard Century Theatres design). Seems less clichéd to me.
I assume that the auditorium where the shooting happened is closed now, but I wasn't over that way and Mother wanted to leave fairly quickly after the movie (Monsters, Inc. 3D) was over, so no picture of that right now.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
The new color scheme strikes me as more...tasteful, for lack of a better word, and given the events that transpired there, tastefulness seems appropriate.
Also, the first thing I noticed was that the "C E N T U R Y" lettering on the outside of the building was moved from the top of the little roof thing to the front of it. Actually, what color was the lettering, anyway? Both signs just look white, but I assume that's just the photo.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Oh, so it is white. I couldn't tell if it was, or if it was a light blue that was just overexposed because of the nighttime photo.
I've learned to tolerate drama...except on the boat
I don't know if my device (my Galaxy Player and not my Canon PowerShot as that would probably have looked more suspicious) really has any exposure settings, though...
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
No, no, I'm not saying your exposure was wrong or anything. That's just part of taking pictures at night--anything brightly lit gets really washed out.
Most mobile devices (at least, one's I've used) have a basic exposure setting that can make the picture darker or lighter, but nothing nearly resembling the level of control you'd get with a standalone camera, so it's usually not worth bothering with.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any photos of the Fairfax Micro Center; the store was pretty busy and I didn't want to make myself conspicuous. (That and I just plain forgot after having to wait at Merchandise Pickup forever. :P) However, there ishi-res Street View of the shopping center it's in.
Comments
I think a lot of stores whose rear ends face highways do that...I know the Aurora City Place stores did/do...
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
i don't know why i like looking at them so much
☭
B̤̺͍̰͕̺̠̕u҉̖͙̝̮͕̲ͅm̟̼̦̠̹̙p͡s̹͖ ̻T́h̗̫͈̙̩r̮e̴̩̺̖̠̭̜ͅa̛̪̟͍̣͎͖̺d͉̦͠s͕̞͚̲͍ ̲̬̹̤Y̻̤̱o̭͠u̥͉̥̜͡ ̴̥̪D̳̲̳̤o̴͙̘͓̤̟̗͇n̰̗̞̼̳͙͖͢'҉͖t̳͓̣͍̗̰ ͉W̝̳͓̼͜a̗͉̳͖̘̮n͕ͅt͚̟͚ ̸̺T̜̖̖̺͎̱ͅo̭̪̰̼̥̜ ̼͍̟̝R̝̹̮̭ͅͅe̡̗͇a͍̘̤͉͘d̼̜ 
⚢
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
A laundromat in Aurora, 2/8/2013:
The Wendy's across the street from the same day:
Sam's Club in Aurora, 2/9/2012:
Del Taco nearest my house, 2/16/2013:
The Best Buy not far from there from the same day:
The bike path near my house, 2/17/2013: