Good morning! I bet you’re surprised at how early this week’s newsletter landed in your inbox. I’m actually writing on Saturday night, so when I get up early tomorrow to head to Monterey I can just hit “send” and be on my way.
I’m looking forward to a few days soaking in new information for my job, and saying hello to the sea lions and sea otters. And eating a lot of good food, of course.
Many pictures next week I’m sure!
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Do you ever accomplish a task and congratulate yourself on how GOOD you are? That happened to me this week.
Vintage Roadside posted this photo on FB with the challenge to figure out where it was taken. I happened to see it right after they posted it, and I cannot pass up a challenge like this:
Let's play roadside detective!
We bought this unidentified Burger Family slide on Ebay. The only clue is the street sign showing an intersection of 26th St & Main Ave. Any guesses?
I didn’t recognize this as an A&W Restaurant burger family right away (those mugs of root beer should have been an instant shoe-in) - and did a couple of sloppy Google searches. Once I realized and confirmed that, I was on to figuring out the location.
How would you go about that?
I went to Google Maps and searched Main Avenue - there were just a handful of results. I checked a couple in North and South Dakota - looking for the intersection of 26th and Main Avenue on each. Neither looked good. One of them put me out amongst fields, and the other didn’t really exist.
The third Main Avenue I checked was in Durango, Colorado. When I found the intersection, I zoomed in on the satellite view and noticed a building with a promising shape. I popped over to street view and BINGO!
Now it’s a Mexican restaurant with a different paint job (that orange roof was so eye-catching), but the rock planters and street sign confirmed the answer.
It took less than 12 minutes to find it and post my answer, and I’m feeling quite proud of how quickly I managed it. The page owners offered me the opportunity to try again with several thousand other pictures they have if I ever get bored. Heh.
In this case a reverse image search did not work - Google suggested this looked like a playground. I can see why it would do that, as the characters have that playground look. Nothing quite like the horror of Russian playgrounds, however.
Grim.
Until next week!
~Anne
Tidbits
Feeling witty? The Public Domain Review has a caption competition each month.
I always enjoy it when the various book award finalists (or shortlists) are announced, to see if I’ve read any or to find titles to read. This week the 2018 National Book Award finalists were announced. Have you read any? I listened to Florida by Lauren Groff and it was excellent.
Free (pdf) book alert! Mapping Society: the Spatial Dimensions of Social Cartography by Laura Vaughan. (via The Map Room)
A short explanation of social cartography.
Making: I’m getting back into the groove, and doing more than my diminutive drawings - though next week when I’m away that will probably be the only thing I do. I’m taking my Moleskine and a small collection of pens and colored pencils so I don’t miss a day! I’ve been making a few Halloween themed items, but am not ready to reveal them yet…
Recently eaten: We’ve been eating freezer items (soups, curries, and baked ziti) to make room for the half lamb we’ll be getting soon.
Reading: The Secret Place by Tana French is excellent - catty private Catholic school girls at the center of a murder mystery. I’ll bring Diary of a Rock N’ Roll Star by Ian Hunter along with me to read on the plane.
Videos of the Week
17,000,000 years old!
Atom age science helpless!
The hottest gadget this holiday season.
You know you want one.
Question of the Week
Just hit reply to send your answer, and I’ll share it next week. Always anonymous!
What’s your favorite horror B-movie?
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Last week I asked what you’re listening to that makes you happy, and apparently the answer to that is nothing. Go, go and find some music that makes you happy! Report back on what you find.
Current Temperature: 35 F (2 C) - Brrr!
Current Humidity: 95%
Wind Gust: 2 mph
Precipitation: 0.00 in