View from the helipad at Exchange Centre

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What an opportunity I had last night to view the city from atop the Exchange Centre building. It was a great view coupled with great weather.  But the feeling of looking over the city and knowing that economic activity and change is taking place every where you look, was very comforting. The visual gave you a sense that things are getting better and we are growing, and its just not hype.  Seeing cranes in the air from the VA project was one of the most inspiring sights. To see development and progress from that vantage point can alter your perception of the city.

You have to recognize that this view(right) of Rampart Street will be changed forever once South Market District opens. It has already changed with Rouses and others. I remember vividly the proposals after the storm for this area. Every city council meeting had a new developer with great looking building proposed for various sites, and they all were going to transform the skyline. Well, in all fairness, it does take a while to transform a skyline. So the fact that we are just now seeing these changes, within 7 years of the storm, is actually a remarkable achievement. In order to drastically change a skyline, I would expect at least a decade or more.  But looking down O'Keefe from Poydras, you can see evidence of those changes. The Exchange Centre building signage is visible and the pedestrian activity at Poydras and O'Keefe is robust.





So when the news is...well...the news, do yourself a favor and get on top of a building and look at the city from a different perspective.

Solar???? hmmm, starting to sound good

Tweet Power outages are making a good case for solar power. Just talked with a solar company rep and was given some good tips.

The "lease" plan is still dependent upon the grid. If you lose power from the grid, the panels and equipment shut off because they will put power back into downed lines.

The battery storgage type of systems seem the most logical and practical. This option may seem to be cost prohibited, however, I feel that a choice to go solar is a larger committment to removing your self from the dependancy of the utility company rather than saving a few dollars.

If you weren't dependent on entergy, you would be enjoying your Labor Day, and the previous 5 days, in the a/c, at home, doing laundry and cooking.

But do we care enough? My guess is that we will be back to normal in a couple of days and not even remeber that the lights went out. Our collective short term memory will keep us sucking on the power line for light and life, like a herd of cattle.