Blog CPR

My blog has been a rather lonely and neglected place lately. It's been about 5 months since I've posted anything to it. I suppose the following video sums up my recent activity.

But fear not! I have two valid excuses to explain my absence.

1.) I got a divorce.

In February, Patty, my ex-wife, and I decided mutually to end our 24-year marriage. It was, without a doubt, the toughest decision I've ever made. To this day, I'm still grappling with the fact that she and the kids are not a daily part of my life. The emotional fallout has been intense. I suppose I'll never 'get over' it completely. I have many fond memories that I'll cherish forever. But without getting into too much of a diatribe, the breakup had to happen. I honestly believe that our toxic relationship was bringing both of us down. It was time.

2.) I moved.

The second excuse ties in directly into the first. Because of my divorce, I decided that I needed some new scenery. I relocated to Bradenton, Florida, a beautiful Florida gulf town about thousand miles south of Terre Haute, Indiana. My reason for choosing Bradenton was based purely on a lead for an inexpensive mobile home I saw for sale online. (As it turned out, I purchased better, more inexpensive unit that I later discovered by simply driving around town.)

I'm now settling in quite nicely. I have a job, a Florida driver's license, and I'm registered to vote. I've found an excellent outdoor, local pool at G.T.Bray Park where I can swim laps. Bradenton also provides plenty of spots for bicycle riding. So there's plenty of activity here, and the year-round warm weather enables me to be take part in them consistently. I still have gotten acquainted with too many folks down here yet...but give it time.

And with that, I've now officially revived "Outlook from the Outskirts"!

Geese at the Park

Geese at the Park: http://t.co/8P6KsqXM2l via @youtube #DemingPark #TerreHaute #Indiana #beautifulday

— Joel Wells (@animule) September 15, 2013

Some Interesting Maps

I just love maps! While indiscriminately surfing the net last night, I came across a site called Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks. It's a site that can generate color-coded maps of every neighborhood in every city in America based on income and rental prices. Since I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, I thought I'd produce a map of my old stomping ground based on income.




Really no surprises here! I'm quite aware of the wide disparity of income in the St. Louis area. One can find some of poshest mansions just mere miles from some of the most blighted slums in the United States. Actually this map, in my opinion, doesn't quite do this huge gap justice. But you can get the idea from it.

Since my current residence is Terre Haute, Indiana, I thought I'd add an income map of it as well. (Hey, it's my blog! lol)


Terre Haute also has an income gap, but not quite on the level that one sees in St. Louis. For the record, I live in an orange shaded area.

In another visualization project involving mapping, so to speak, I found an intriguing 'YouTube' video that mapped New Yorkers' bus usage in a randomly selected day. The video is called, 'New York transit (MTA): one day of activity'.



Finally, I leave you with some information about the border between the United States and Canada that I bet you weren't previously aware.



I love maps! What can i say?

High Water on the Wabash

My post today is all contained within this tweet. (I'll post a real, written blog entry soon, I promise.)

Recent rains have the #Wabash River surging.|High Water on the Wabash: youtu.be/_uz9myp3E4g via @youtube #terrehaute

— Joel Wells (@animule) April 24, 2013