Randall Munroe

"Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers. Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they'll turn out. You're curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off. There are so many adventures that you miss because you're waiting to think of a plan. To find them, look for tiny interesting choices. And remember that you are always making up the future as you go!"

Hello Sunny - What Ft. Lauderdale is doing to promote LGBT travel...

With a diverse, vibrant and hip scene, Greater Fort Lauderdale is Florida's LGBT mecca. There are so many ways to play with 150 gay-owned establishments from the beaches to downtown. Visit http://www.sunny.org/lgbt

10 Ways Bike Riding Can Save the World...

In light of yesterday's High Noon in Lake Worth radio show...

My guest Mike Budd and I discussed the impact of the Disney corporation has had on the communications industry as well as the state of Florida. Click title for link to the show if you missed it yesterday. This video is from the November 11, 1956 episode of What's My Line. There are lots of important people from the mid-Twentieth Century that were featured on the show and there are many episodes that are preserved on YouTube, if you are interested.

Long night expected Monday as West Palm commissioners vote on... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Last night, we happened to bump into someone who lives in the high-rise Portofino condominium, just north of Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach. He was up-in-arms about this project, saying that it is a grab by the church to start satellite congregations with the money they get from the sale of this land. He also thought that even with the reduced height and two, not one, tower, the project was still too big for all of downtown - which it technically isn't a part of - and would dwarf everything around it, including the Trianon building - the high-rise to the south. By the way, this qualifies as a high-rise building anyway you look at it as it clearly is above 6 stories. Click title for link to Elliot Kleinberg article.

Westward development marching onward as Highland Dunes wins... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Even with our new development regulations in place, Lake Worth is not an alternative to this scale of development project due to a number of factors. Land assembly is expensive here, there are few large lots and even our most dense residential category would not permit the addition of 2,000 units. Thus there is a impetus to look for cheap, easier to assemble land in the central and western portions of Palm Beach County. The unfortunate fact is that to truly be "sustainable," we would be putting the 2,000 households in the 2,000+ vacant or foreclosed structures that are already built here. But the system doesn't work that way. Click title for link to article.

Ringo Starr appeals for teens in 1964 photo to come forward and man says it's him | Mail Online

Found! This is a follow up to the previous post. It seems convincing to me. Interesting story. Click title for link.

Lantana Bridge set to reopen Nov. 16; party planned | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Big party planned by the Town of Lantana to celebrate its reopening. Will downtown Lake Worth miss the traffic? Did we do much to capitalize on this? John G's. will be happy. Click title for link to article.

Coastal Hazard Statement

Statement as of 3:54 PM EDT on October 25, 2013

... Rip current risk remains in effect until 2 am EDT Saturday...

* timing... this afternoon and tonight.

* Impacts... strong rip currents will create dangerous swimming
conditions.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

There is a high risk of rip currents.

Rip currents are powerful channels of water flowing quickly away from shore... which occur most often at low spots or breaks in The Sandbar and in the vicinity of structures such as jetties and piers. Heed the advice of lifeguards and the beach patrol. Pay attention to flags and posted signs.

If you become caught in a rip current... do not panic. Remain calm and begin to swim parallel to shore. Once you are away from the force of the rip current... begin to swim back to the beach. Do not attempt to swim directly against a rip current. Even a strong swimmer can become exhausted quickly.

This quote is floating around Facebook today...

The Delray Beach peeps are liking the favorable comparison to Ft. Lauderdale, by their Downtown Development Authority Executive Director.

Attorney General Opinion: Nothing Flagler Can Do About Divisive Vacation Rentals in the Hammock | FlaglerLive - Your News Service for Flagler County News Palm Coast News Bunnell Flagler Beach Beverly Beach and Marineland

Prospects for fix in the law are dim according to the article. Click title for link.

Thrasher now agrees that the law went too far, creating unintended consequences and conflicts that cannot be resolved through mediation. A legal fix is in order, he says. But the chances of such a fix passing the Legislature are very slim: the vacation-rental lobby is a powerful adjunct of Florida’s tourism industry, and lawmakers are reluctant to diminish a potential generator of tourism jobs and additional revenue from visitors. One supporter of the law claimed in that meeting in Bunnell last week that 43,000 vacation renters stayed in Flagler County in one calendar year, though the figure cannot be verified.

Also interesting commentary about the state backing away from involvement in local planning decisions.

Lighter, Cheaper, Quicker Urban Recreation Idea from Christchurch, NZ

In the wake of many earthquakes, a little fun for the residents and visitors there. People bring their own music on whatever has a earplug jack and plug into an amplifier and the rest just happens. Is that Camilla Parker-Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, in one of the scenes?

Sign of good things to come...

We rode by today while on a bike ride. The deck is getting finished on the southeast side of the building. They said they plan on opening next Wednesday! Nice sign too.

Leaders from West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Lake Worth and... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Glad to read this meeting finally happened and hope that it is the first of many more. Redevelopment and promotion of Dixie Hwy. would be a great project for Lake Worth and West Palm Beach to work together. Click title for link to Lona O'Connor's article. Here's the bit about the Lake Worth delegation.

Lake Worth Mayor Pam Triolo and City Manager Mike Bornstein explained their newly rewritten nuisance ordinances, which deal with squatters, another problem the four municipalities share.
Although the list of shared issues was long, Lake Worth’s Bornstein identified five major categories: jobs, public safety, code enforcement, infrastructure and planning. He affirmed the idea of regional approaches to all five.
“The lesson we’ve learned is that there is no magic blue line at the city limits,” said Bornstein.

As to Bornstein's last point - true enough, but not when it comes to our electric utility. 

Trans-state natural gas pipeline approved for FPL - Jacksonville Business Journal

Green light for the blue flame - a follow-up on the story posted yesterday. Click title for link to article.