How Long Does Google Take To Update Streetview After Taking Photos?

19 Days and Counting

We've all used Google Maps, and most of us have used the little yellow guy to access Google Streetview. In this mode, Google tells you when the images were taken. I'd never really questioned how long Google takes to get that new image onto the Google Maps website. Luckily, I have the data I need in order to figure it out for my own neighborhood.

Roadside Knife Stand - Only in Florida

My wife was driving through central Florida when she got to see something that surprised her, even though she's now lived in Florida for a couple of years: a roadside knife stand. I have to admit, I was even a little taken aback. My first question for her was whether or not she took a photo of the stand, which she did not. I'd seen oranges and other edibles before. Nuts, watermelons, etc. Shrimp, even. And you'll see people set up yard sales right out to the street, maybe with antiques (or just old junk). There was a place along Locust in Milwaukee where you could pick up a used appliance right from the sidewalk, which was a little odd, but you can apparently get cutlery along a state highway in Florida.

Wish-Cycling in Jacksonville

Those of us who recycle hope that the world in a better place because of it. I know that it costs money to recycle, but I figure it's better to spend money on that some other government programs. Yes, I'm guilty of wanting recycling to fix our garbage problem, but I'm also probably guilty of wish-cycling every once in a while. Wish-cycling is when you wish something that's not recyclable could be, so you chuck it in the recycling bin, only to mess up the recycling machines and cost taxpayers even more money.

Bringing a Shank to a Knife Robbery

I've seen plenty of news reports of people robbing retail locations with guns, and there have even been some with knives, but I was surprised to see a news report of an attempted shank robbery. The word shank is a slang term for a shiv, which is a makeshift knife. (I am not sure why the news used the term "shank.") I've seen enough films with prison settings to know that shivs are commonly used in prison, since knives and guns are not readily available. However, both guns and knives are everywhere in non-jailhouse Florida, so I wonder why someone would use a shiv in an attempted robbery.

MKE DNC House Rental

I suppose if the Super Bowl ever returns to Jacksonville, Airbnb will blow up. It's probably better than building a bunch of hotels that will only get used once. I am not sure how the cruise ship thing went. Anyhow, the Democratic National Convention is coming to Milwaukee just after my one-year lease will run out, so the plan right now is to rent my house out for the event, as long as it makes sense.

Maybe I Need To Give More

A couple of months ago, it was decided I should get a new job outside of the house. I have done some pretty good work at home, but the money has not exactly followed the hours of investment. Basically, I've been trying to do a lot of good by building inexpensive websites for churches and non-profits. But those folks don't find me, and I can't afford the time and advertising to find them, so I'll probably have to leave it to swanky salesmen and overpriced web builders.

Famous YouTubers From Jax

The sun. The sand. The outdoor living. Shirtless guys stealing stuff. Jacksonville should be a great place to create YouTube videos and become a famous YouTuber. That's what my kids want out of life, and it's been accomplished by one couple from the area, but the content might surprise you.

Mistletoe on my Only Tree

Boo from church told me mistletoe might be pretty at Christmas, but it'll ruin your trees. He also said that I'd have to trim back to the fork in the branch before the mistletoe, and after trimming my only tree down to nearly nothing, I'd have maybe a fifty-fifty chance of it surviving. It's kind of depressing moving from a house with 20+ mature trees to one with a single, sick tree, but I guess that's what I have. 

Real World AAA Membership Benefits

I had written an article at one point that argued why BP Motorclub was so bad, but there's really no point to saying ill of the dead. The real question isn't which auto club is best. The question is whether you have AAA or you don't. There's no real competition for most of us, so what does a real world with AAA look like?

Retro Fitness and Single Moms

I feel bad for the employees of Retro Fitness who lost their jobs suddenly. I was surprised when the news framed the story as affecting single moms, but then they backed the statement up by interviewing two single moms who had worked there. While I'm sure Retro Fitness didn't only hire single moms, it almost seems that way based on 100% of former employees interviewed being in that situation and the newscaster calling attention to it. I wonder if Retro Fitness offered some kind of special benefits to single moms.

"12 Odd Tips on Raising Heritage Breed Turkeys You Need to Know" Is The Oddest Google Feed Story Ever

I can usually discern why Google chooses certain stories for me in the news feed on my phone. It's because of what I've been searching. Or what my kids have been searching on another computer tied to my Google account. Or maybe even what I've been saying or photos I've been taking. But I cannot for the life of me figure out why Google decided I wanted to know 12 odd tips for raising Heritage Breed Turkeys.

Teacher Shortage Should Result In Simplified Licensure in Florida

Ever since I've moved to Florida, I've seen news stories about the teacher shortage. Since I am a certified teacher from another state, those stories intrigued me. Eventually, I decided to give teaching in Florida a shot, but it was more complicated to than I expected to get licensed. Maybe my experience will help other teachers from out-of-state to navigate the whole process.

Discover Kept Us Safe From Skimmers

Right after we got back from a vacation over to Tampa, I got an alert from Discover that my credit card had been used twice in some odd transactions. One seemed to have been approved, while the other was denied. Discover handled the whole situation well, which is better than I've seen with some other cards.

I've Got Your School Funding Right Here, Duval

I was talking to a friend recently when he made a statement that surprised me, since he is a fairly conservative individual. He said people in Florida don't want to pay any taxes but want to get all the benefits of states where people pay more in taxes. He's right, of course. We expect to have police and fire protection, public schools, trash picked up, etc. When Duval County Public Schools started claiming it would add an extra sales tax in order to rebuild schools, it got me to wondering how the schools got so bad that over a billion bucks are needed to fix them. Then I looked at my friend's property tax record online, and it was fairly clear.

Only In Florida: Millionaire Stealing From Kmart

Where else would a guy who owns an $8 million private island and a Real World House decide to steal from Kmart? Nowhere else. Only in Florida. I thought that it was uniquely Florida when three guys walked right into a Walmart and stole the arcade claw machine, loading it into their pickup truck as if they were going to service it. But those guys were probably unemployed or at least poor, so it was just a badly-hatched plan. So was the plan to buy items at Kmart and then return different items in the boxes. But the Kmart plan was devised by a guy with enough capital to purchase an $8 million island, so it's even more odd.

Followed Home in Jacksonville

A neighbor was recently followed home by a white SUV, and the comments on Nextdoor were all over the place. I think there are several angles to consider here, even though most of the people commenting were fairly single-minded in how they saw the situation.

Losing Your Mom is Rough, But...

I think we all understand that we're going to die someday. We also should understand that our loved ones will also die. There are several people in our lives that we don't want to see go, and I am sure the death of a child is the worst to have to deal with. Parents and siblings, too. But again, it's going to happen. That's why I was little surprised at the sports reporting on a local news channel from Georgia.

I Think I'll Run For President

With Florida Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar announcing his intent to run for president, I believe we've come to a point when I can probably get into the race. My kids (who are not of voting age) always tell me that they'd vote for me if I ran. Messam just won the office of mayor of a town of 140,000 by getting about 6,000 votes, defeating an opponent who got less than 1,000. Percentage-wise, that's a big victory, but it's not really any more impressive than when you count the number of hits my articles have received on various websites over the years: over 1,000,000. If most of those people enjoyed reading my writing, I figure I have just as good a long shot as Messam to become president.

Male Fashion and Lifestyle - Gray Hair

I just turned in a resume for consideration, and while I was researching the company, I saw a photo of the employees. They looked young. Honestly, that doesn't bother me all that much. After all, I was high school teacher, so everyone looked young at that job. My friend told me that he likes his gray hair because others seem to respect him more at work. Of course, he's a social worker at a hospital, so maybe the gray hair keeps the young doctors from messing with him. Since I'm not sure I want to look quite as old as I am if I actually get an interview somewhere, I guess I have to address the gray hair in this week's male fashion and lifestyle blog entry.

QR Code Interview Gimmick

My kids' school created a pamphlet with a QR code that linked to the website, so I figured it could be useful to do the same thing when I bring in my resume to a job interview. Especially since I made a cool online resume that really looks a lot better than the printed kind. Plus, printing all that I've done over the last two decades would be a huge waste of paper (unless it gets me the job).