S2L77: Uchisar, Aksaray and Konya

From 1977 04 08 Turkey

From Uchisar, the highest point in Cappodocia, it's about a hundred miles to Aksaray. At Aksaray is a Seljuk caravansary, a fortified inn built in 1229 along the trade route from Persia to Constantinople. Sixty miles farther west is Konya, a large, industrial city with a history dating back to 3,500 BCE. Known as Iconium by the Roman Empire, Saint Paul and Barnabas preached here in about 47-48 AD (Acts 14:1-5 and Acts 14:21). Konya is maybe best known for being one of the most conservative religious centers of Turkey, home of the Mevlevi Sufi order of Islam, established in 1273 and known as the "whirling dervishes."

More photos after the jump.

The Impossible (2012)

IMDB

The Impossible (2012): 250,000 died in 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. One family's story. Desperation. Bravery. Perseverance. Incredible. A-

Gravity (2013)

IMDB

Gravity (2013): Stunning 3D images. Nonstop tension. Sandra Bullock is up to it. Forgivable liberties with science. "A hell of a ride." A-

Richardson's Empty Storefronts

Ever wonder why Richardson has so many empty storefronts? Maybe it's because Richardson's city council spends too much time keeping businesses out of Richardson and too little time attracting them.

Case in point: the following is a (lightly edited) slide presented at the October 14 city council meeting.

• City Council has expressed an interest in making certain the City has a well balanced, diverse mixture of retail establishments.
  
• To that end, staff constantly looks for opportunities to enhance existing regulations, especially when it observes new trends in the community.
  
• Recently, an influx of applications for [a certain kind of] establishment have been received.
  
• Consistent with how other similar establishments have been treated, regulations regarding where these businesses can locate may be desirable to prevent clustering and ensure location appropriateness in keeping with the community’s standards.
  

After the jump, is this the right way to attract small business to Richardson?

Richardson City Council Cover-Up

In a move away from transparency, the Richardson City Council amended its city ordinances Monday night by unanimous vote, without deliberations. Despite paying lip service to the value of openness and transparency, the new ordinance not only permits cover-ups, it demands cover-ups in certain circumstances. This change was slipped into the city council's so-called consent agenda, in which items are adopted without separate consideration and without deliberation.

What is the council covering up now? After the jump, the details.