Month: August 2011

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When “improving” a road means destroying everything that makes it pleasant

On By jamesinclair

In this post I will talk about a Fresno road project in which the importance of moving traffic trumps the aesthetic charm of a local road, to the point that a residential neighborhood is being leveled to let commuters speed by on two new lanes.

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Fresno is lacking when it comes to good looking roads. This isn’t intended as a bash on Fresno, but just an observation that is painfully obvious to anyone who lives here or stops by to visit. Fact is, most of our main streets are exceptionally wide and bordered with parking lots and signs. It simply isn’t attractive.

The sad part is, aesthetics of our main travel-ways is not set in stone, but a result of a series of policy choices. What is sadder is that instead of recognizing this failure in design, local government is pushing for streets that do not conform to ugly standards to be “improved” so that they too can be wide and depressing. Click to read more!

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It is concert season in Fresno

On By jamesinclair

I love concerts. Unfortunately, many of the big (and middle sized) names don’t stop in Fresno. But those that do, usually stop by in the Fall. At least, that’s what I’ve noticed. We get a sprinkling of concerts from January to August, and then it pours for the rest of the year. Of course, the Fresno fair helps in that regard.

Here are some of the big (and middle sized) names of note coming to the Fresno area.

This list is not all inclusive, just the names I would enjoy. I will update the list as needed.

Updated: November 21

August 27……….Y & T at Tower Theater
September 8…….Molotov at Rainbow Ballroom
September 9…….OneRepublic at Madera Fair
September 10-11 Wet Electric: Lil Jon, Richard Vission, Marcus Schossow, EC Twins, DJ Vice, DJ Bl3nd, Liquid Stranger and more at Island Waterpark
September 10……Tito el Bambino at Rainbow Ballroom Delayed or cancelled?
September 13……Tears for Fears at Table Mountain
September 16…….Gloria Gaynor at Woodward Park
September 17 ……Cheap Trick + Everclear + Tesla + Candlebox (Blazefest) at the Regional Sports Complex
September 27……Santana at Bakersfield Robobank Arena
September 30……FUSE Fest Multiple Venues in downtown Fresno
September 30……FUSE Fest Multiple Venues in downtown Fresno
October 3………DJ Tiesto at Selland Arena
October 5………ZZ Top at Fresno Fair
October 7………Sick Puppies at Fresno Fair
October 7………Smash Mouth at Chukchansi Casino
October 12……..Journey at Savemart Center
October 13……..Billy Idol at Fresno Fair
October 14……..Incubus at SaveMart center
October 14……..Uncle Kracker at Fresno Fair
October 15……..Godmsack at Fresno Fair
October 22……..Rocktober: Lit and others at Woodward Park
October 25……..Judas Priest at Bakersfield Robobank Arena
October 28……..Ladies Night Out 2: Bell Biv DeVoe, Color Me Badd and H-Town at Savemart center
December 3……..Steve Aoki at Rainbow Ballroom
December 8……..Salvador Santana at Fulton 55 $10-$12
December 10…….Rise Against, A Day to Remember, Awolnation at Selland Arena
December 23…….Wiz Khalifa, Common and Aesop Rock at SaveMart Center $45
February 7……..Attack Attack at Rainbow Ballroom $20 Click to read more!

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River Park retail expansion should focus on using surface lots, not garage

On By jamesinclair

Expansion of retail at River Park shopping center should focus on developing the open surface parking lot, and not using up the first floor of one of the only structured garages in Fresno (outside of downtown).

Last week, the Fresno Bee casually mentioned that the owners of River Park are looking to expand their shopping mecca by adding new retail space.

A plan also is under consideration to add space for more stores. Part of the parking garage’s first floor may be converted to store space, she said. That idea is in its early stages and Kashian did not say how many spaces it would create or when it might happen. Click to read more!

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On By jamesinclair

A month ago I posted about seeing brand new bike lanes being painted on Kings Canyon Rd and Ventura Ave in Fresno. I later went out there to confirm that they do in fact extend from just west of Clovis Avenue to the railroad crossing that marks the entrance to downtown.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything on the city website showing recently painted lanes, or a planned schedule of lanes, so I don’t know if there have been any other streets that saw new lanes.

If you see any new bike lanes in Fresno, please mention them here!

We start in Clovis, who has decided that King’s Canyon must be extraordinarily wide. Why? No clue. Waste of money really. Click to read more!

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Living Green Lecture – Part 2

On By jamesinclair

Here is part two of the Creative Fresno Living Urban lecture.

A Q&A session was held with the city sustainability person, and during it, the following was mentioned:

-Evaporative cooling is more efficient that A/C, but fell out of favor in the 70s.

-In the past few decades, Fresno has grown 8x…but the land area consumed has grown by 12x.

-A pool pump, set incorrectly, can add 50% to a home electricity bill.

After the brief session, the president of Granville homes spoke. While Granville is known for their suburban detached homes, an arm of the company called GV Urban is responsible for many of the new residential developments downtown. Without them, downtown Fresno would be as stagnant as ever. Click to read more!

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Backup your hard drive. No really.

On By jamesinclair

It’s advice everyone has heard, and most people do…sometimes. Keeping a safe backup of all your important files in an external hard drive.

I do it about once a month. My pictures, mostly, as that’s what I most care about. TV shows, music and such? Maybe every six months. Documents? Not as often as I should.

Well, I had a small scare last week, and I almost lost 5 weeks worth of stuff because I had gotten lazy with my monthly backups. They shouldn’t even be monthly, it should be more often than that.

Basically, I turned off my computer one night, and everything was well. Windows said it had to install a couple of updates, routine stuff. Click to read more!

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Technical difficulties

On By jamesinclair

As is obvious, Ive gone from posting 2-3 times a week to none at all. The reason is twofold. I’ve taken a last-minute trip for a week to Boston (where I am now) and my laptop has been having technical issues.

So I’ve had very little computer time…and the computer time I’ve had has been spent trying to fix this problem. All seems to be good now, so I should be back to posting soon. I plan on getting the second part of the presentation comments in tonight, then more at the end of the week if possible.