Josh Flynn

I have finished the project for the most part, there are still a few minor things I want to touch up and add some audio of the interviews. Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://www.flynnfinity.com/greaterlauraville

While I had done a lot of the smaller seperate components included in this project, overall it was a valuable learning experience and really challenged me in a lot of ways. The obvious things that I am sure everybody feels is that we all needed to manage our time better, and that getting going in the beginning and finding interesting stories were the hardest things.

Mosaic on the side of Chameleon Cafe

Being that I set up my own domain for the project, there were some obstacles in the initial stages of that, but once I got everything set up and installed Wordpress, it was very easy for me to make changes and update everything. I really like the blogs actually, it forces you to stay engaged in the project and gives people who are interested something to read while the final project is still being assembled.

One of the obstacles that I feel is unavoidable is being ignored due to lack of credentials. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of people that were happy to talk to me and take time out of their day to help me out with this project. I just find it a bit hard to feel confident in asking people to give up valuable time to help with something for a class. One thing that was good about this though is it actually is published online for people to see. I have been connecting with a lot of people in the Lauraville community as well as other Baltimoreans that really seem to like what I have put together.

Overall, I think the package turned out really good. I am glad I decided to go with the Lauraville stories rather than the hiking trails, and especially since I live in Lauraville, I have learned a lot about my neighborhood and the small business that connect us and keep the area growing. It has been an interesting ride and I am happy with the outcome; but I am so happy that I get a break before school starts again!!

Thanks for everything Dr. Lieb; the semester was a success! See you in the fall!

Baltimore Regional Green Map

Being that we have been making and looking at Google maps over the past few weeks, I thought this site, Baltimore Regional Green Map was an interesting illustration of how it can be used as a collaboration having multiple users post places. Obviously I didn’t view every icon, but it seems like for the most part most of the things that people post are relevant to the site’s three categories; sustainable living, culture and society, and nature. While the map looks overwhelming, when you zoom in a bit closer to a more specific area, the map becomes a lot easier to look at and navigate.

Biking to class but don't know where to park?

While it is close to what you can do with the basic Google map setup, I still really like the simple and functional design of the map and the small sidebar on the right. Somebody posted the Tuesday Market Connection, which is how I found out about this site. I am actually kind of surprised I never came across it before.

There is also a map made for Towson’s campus. Somebody actually took the time to map out all of the bike racks on campus! While this might be taking it a little bit too far, it is still a cool idea as the web and mapping becomes more interactive and collaborative.

To read my comments from this semester go here or click the “comments” tab at the top of the page.

I found an article in the Baltimore Sun about two arrests made in the murder I had mentioned in my first blog. The Sun reported that the victim, Ricardo Montgomery, was meeting two young men at Garrett Heights Elementary School in Lauraville under the assumption he was getting a deal on a stolen television.

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Witnesses told police the suspects had planned to rob Montgomery in front of the school, and he was found dead by gunshot to the head in his car with his engine running. They stole his wallet and cell phone. It’s just so sad that this kind of thing has to happen. Life is so valuable and people treat it like it’s worth nothing (or apparently a cell and a wallet).