Design vs. Develop

Evidently, I’m a day late on the sad news that Jane Jacobs has passed away. I only recently discovered her marvelous book that everone else seems to blatantly copy.

I’m going to be hard-pressed to find a book that more accurately describes my political sentiments than this one. In 247 pages, Rod Dreher offers convincing conservative arguments for environmentalism, small-scale organic farming, homeschooling, urban rehabilitation, reducing oil consumption, and orthodox religions. Dreher criticizes mainstream conservatives for trusting Big Business just as much as liberals trust Big Government.

One of the main things I take exception to in the book is his (admittedly deserved) criticism of modern Protestantism. I would not start attending a different church at the moment unless serious, unresovlable issues cropped up. The relationships and fellowship I’m currently sharing are far too precious to suddenly abandon. However, I do share his opinion that far too many churches craft their doctrines to suit the tastes of the local population.

The book is a fantastic read. I’m surprised it didn’t appear ten years ago, but I’m certainly glad it’s here now. Although it is very much directed at a conservative audience, many liberals will find it agreeable. If you decide to read any books I’ve reviewed, definitely read this one before anything else.

According to residents:

“Blame it on the voodoo,” they said. “We just can’t stay away.” Plus, no other city compared to home. Houston was too big, Austin too clean, and Atlanta too far away.

Last week, I went to the 9th Ward with people from my church to help Desire Street Ministries gut some of the neighborhood’s homes. Right now, New Orleans is in rather strange shape. You can drive through endless blocks of wreckage and debris, then turn down another street and suddenly see everything almost normal (with the exception of some wind damage). Many traffic lights are still out, with stop signs 3 feet off the ground acting as a substitute.

Most of the French Quarter is up and running again, although some restaurants were still closed as late as a few weeks ago. Gutting crews aside from volunteers are charging at least $1000 per house and usually well upwards of $3000. Almost all of the radio commercials are for builders, contractors, and construction supply companies. FEMA trailers are now finally appearing, with people living beside their “eggshell homes,” waiting for the next step.

If you can spare even a weekend to fly down and visit with some of the people living in this situation, it would really make their day.

From OpinionJournal:

The area is developing quickly, without controversy and without a single piece of property taken by eminent domain. Early signs point to an enormous success. “Too often, I hear my colleagues in local government . . . say that Kelo-type eminent domain and redevelopment policies are their only tools to revitalize cities,” Mr. Pringle recently said. “I have a simple message . . . Visit the Platinum Triangle.”

Maybe I will.

Recently, I’ve tested Phil Taylor’s affiliate program (a Joomla programmer who sells commercial software) and Google AdSense. The affiliate program works in such a way that you don’t get paid for clicks, but you do get a portion of any sales made after someone follows a link from your site. Google AdSense pays per click. After a slow, but promising month with Phil Taylor, I decided to try AdSense for a month and compare the results.

That month started this weekend and I ended it today. According to Google’s somewhat onerous contract, I am not allowed to disclose clickthrough rates or “confidential” information. So, I intended to go the full month and stopped 6 days in, draw your own conclusions. My site ranks very high on keywords like “joomla component” and there were never any Joomla-related ads displayed on my site that I saw. Google should definitely be able to determine which keywords people are using to find my site and tailor the ads accordingly.

So it’s back to my ability to drive qualified traffic to Phil Taylor’s site.

According to the Post, Wal-Mart is attempting to enter the urban market and simultaneously deal with their reputation for forcing out local businesses. How? Through “jobs and opportunity zones”:

The zones, he said, would help small businesses withstand competition with Wal-Mart by teaching them how to do business with the company, offering grants to benefit communities and featuring small businesses on radio ads played inside the store, among other things.

[Italics mine.] Last I checked, Wal-Mart was a retail establishment that does business with consumers and not B2B. Were they implying that Wal-Mart was going to teach businesses how to compete against itself, or something else?

The second page of this article in the New York Times has quite possibly the most ridiculous claim I’ve ever read about New Urbanism:

“People just don’t sit around on their porches anymore,” he said. “Life is different. And the New Urbanists have glorified this thing to the point where it has become a cult. And it is often a cult of the wrong. What they seek is a return to the days of Williamsburg, but without cars and without television and without the Internet.”

For my first ever trip to California, I was placed in the heart of Silicon Valley. Despite the sprawlish composure of the Bay Area, the landscape is surprisingly urban. Although residents seemed to rely exclusively upon their BMWs and Volvos for transportation, sidewalks abounded along with several different bus and rail options. Also, the architecture was noteworthy.

The area’s default style seemed to be “Mission”, but there was quite a lot of Modernist construction to behold as well. Most of the Modernist buildings seemed to have “Lego”-like appearances (rather appropriate, considering the locals). I took a few photos, enjoy!