A9.com Maps

I’ve been looking for apartments on Craigslist and found the Web site A9.com Maps to be helpful. A9.com Maps, a subsidiary of Amazon, provides images of selected cities, block by block. The photos are taken from the street, from a perspective perpendicular to the flow of traffic on the street. Both sides of a block are usually documented.

Not all blocks have been covered (on the Web site, you can choose whether or not you want to see which blocks have been covered — otherwise you just get a street-level map image). I also found the interface a little confusing. And, of course, if you’re interested in seeing a place outside of the 24 cities currently listed on the site, the service isn’t going to do you much good.

But in terms of just getting a general sense for a neighborhood, in a city that I’m already familiar with, it’s nice to know what’s in the direct vicinity of a listed apartment. Is the neighborhood more industrial? In transition? Very trendy? Do the streets look uncomfortably deserted? Are there any trees?

The Wonder of Craigslist Pt. 2

I’ve become slightly addicted to Craigslist. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been visiting some of the forums, and I’m continually amazed at the stuff I see. It’s like an ever-improving cultural encyclopedia — for example, I learned that “420″ is slang for marijuana (did everyone know that already?).

I’ve been looking in Craigslist’s Wanted forum to see if I can unload any of my crap before I move. I also found this useful city-maintained Web site, which lists items accepted by various New York City nonprofits. You can donate your furniture to Furnish a Future, a free furniture bank for formerly homeless families. Other organizations accept everything from school and art supplies to bikes to tools.

The Wonder of Craigslist

So I’ve been bumming around Craigslist (an online bulletin board) lately, looking for sublets and rideshares and items wanted as I prepare to move yet again. I’d known there’s a lot of stuff on Craigslist, but I didn’t realize just how crazy some of that stuff is. It seems that there is a forum for everything and anything that people might want to purchase/sell/trade/give away.

For example, I saw the following post, titled “2 free* dave matthews band tickets…read for explanation,” in the “free” forum:

i found two dave matthews tickets in the park. i have something to do that night, plus i know there are some really hard core fans out there who would appreciate it more than me, so here’s what’s going on. because i found them i A) have no idea if they are real and B) they might be tickets that were lost and therefore reissued to whoever tried to buy them originally. in that case they may get you into the event, but then the original buyer might be sitting in the seats in which case you have to just move around during the show…it is also possible that at this point if the original buyer cancelled these then they might not even work to get into the show…in that case i would say avoid any hassles by saying “oh man somebody on craigs list sold me these oh my gosh!” since there is no way to prove that they’ll haveto just let you leave…so i guess these are perfect for someone who was going to try there luck with scalpers anyway…this way if you can’t get in you were already prepared to buy a ticket : ) i will post the free ticket exact location later tonight around 8pm…the pick up area will be hidden in the vicintiy of the broadway/houston street train station somewhere.

I like the fact that the person went to so much trouble to explain what happened and what might happen at the concert. And that the person was going to hide the tickets somewhere for someone to pick up.

The “wanted” forum is also a goldmine. For example, I learned something when someone replied to another post:

If people didn’t know, Cartoon Network was a recently busted marijuana delivery network. They used “cartoon” as a code word. Add it to the list of drug slang idiots use on craigslist because they think they’re slick and no one knows what they’re talking about.

Original:

Seeking replacement for Cartoon Network

I found the following post — titled “Are you (or do you know of) an old wooden door?” — particularly well-written:

I’m looking for an old wooden door to perform tasks not usually performed by a door. Ideal candidate should possess or be capable of possessing the following attributes:
1. 100% wood. The kind from living trees as opposed the the compressed paper-fiber-pressboard crap that comes from the genetically engineered square-trunked trees in New Jersey.
2. Solid core. Not a hollow interior door covered with veneer.
3. Character. Unpainted or very old paint, panels, small windows, heavy hardware, etc.
4. At least an 18″ width along its entire length (height) without rot or severe damage.
5. The door must be willing to be ripped (not on booze or like a phone book) to the above mentioned 18″ width and attached to my wall as a sort of counter/bar.

If you know of or have a door that you feel is highly qualified, please respond with the door’s relevant statistics and coordinates for consideration. As this is an internship of sorts, no significant payment is offered. A small finders fee may be negotiated for an extraordinary candidate and transportation is provided.

Another thing I’ve realized in my online browsing is that no one seems to know what to do with old futons.

I’ve seen listings for free futons and futons for sale, but I haven’t found many non-profits that specifically request futon donations. I tried to look for information online about deconstructing a futon, but that proved fruitless. There must be some way to reuse/recycle an old futon by taking out the cotton batting, and, I don’t know, turning the futon cover into pillow covers or something.

Anyone have any ideas, let me know.

Phew!

Then again, my friend’s anime blog is worth an envy-producing $14,113.50.

What Iraqi Casualties?

Heard a thought-provoking episode on the public radio show “This American Life” this past weekend. The episode, titled “What’s in a Number?”, included a discussion on a John Hopkins University study published last year in the British medical journal “The Lancet.” The study (free registration required) concluded that approximately 100,000 Iraqis had died since the beginning of the war.

Although the study did not distinguish between civilian and combatant dead, its estimate was much higher than other numbers that had been posited. Apparently, the major media outlets either ignored the study altogether or gave it very brief mention. According to the report, many pundits attacked the study without even understanding the study’s statistical method.

Also in this episode, an American soldier who served in Iraq is interviewed about his thoughts on Iraqi casualties. For full information about this episode, go to http://www.thislife.org and look in the 2005 archive for episode 300, dated 10/28/05. You can listen to the episode on RealPlayer by clicking here.

Note: The Iraq Body Count Web site is mentioned in the episode.