Horrible Crash on I-94 in North Minneapolis. 3 Dead.

A horrible accident on interstate 94 on North Minneapolis.

Google for Entrepreneurs, Minneapolis Partnership with CoCo / Project Skyway!

Google for Entrepreneurs has discovered Minneapolis! They recently announced a partnership with CoCo / Project Skyway technology incubator in the Minneapolis Grain Exchange building.
When the Grain Exchange floor ceased trading, it was converted to a public space for tech company incubation and acceleration. Innovative start-ups can find peers, collaborators and angels there in.
Now we have a powerful and welcomed new partner! Google For Entrepreneurs is going to hang around for two years and be a part of the Minneapolis Magic.
I'll let the videos and press coverage posted below do the talking. But hey, now that Oculas Rift is shipping, and Google is here, listening, maybe it's time for me to start up the New Technology Entertainment Company envisioned here, hmmm? :)
P.S. I heard a rumor that Google is making Minnesota the first "FIBER STATE"! As in, not just one city, but Fiber Optic Internet statewide.. Probably taking advantage of Fiber Optic infrastructure that was installed along with the Central Corridor light rail from Minneapolis to Saint Paul. Exciting times! Stay tuned.
 http://www.google.com/entrepreneurs/initiatives/coco-minneapolis.html

 Here is where the space is located:
 And here's what's happening there:

Google+ Hangout on Air with Mayor RT Ryback:



  Press Coverage of the event. 

http://cocomsp.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/GFE-Press-Release_2-20_final.pdf

Minneapolis Water Main BREAK! FLOODS DOWNTOWN BLOCKS!!!

 Many blocks of downtown Minneapolis are flooded, after a 36 inch water main was broken around 2pm this afternoon. The water service is OUT in a large area of Downtown. There are cars submerged in an underground parking ramp. Businesses are closing for the night because the area is now inaccessible due to police road closures. **Dynamic Updates in progress, Please reload page for more**
 The private contractors, who ruptured the line, released this statement: "At approximately 2:30 PM, while our subcontractor, United Sewer and Water, was doing work near a City of Minneapolis water line, the line ruptured. We are currently investigating the cause of the accident. The incident occurred on the site of our 222 Hennepin apartment project, located on the corner of Hennepin and Washington Avenues. We are relieved to report that no one was injured as a result of the accident and the site has been evacuated. We are actively working with Minneapolis City officials to shut off the line so that repairs can be made. Further questions should be directed to the City of Minneapolis Public Works department."

 LIVE VIDEO from KSTP: http://kstp.com/livevideo/videoWindow.shtml?aID=735
 POLICE SCANNERS: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?ctid=1336 (look for the feed with the most listeners) 
Web Photo Gallery at: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/01/03/water-main-break-in-mpls-leaves-hennepin-avenue-underwater/
 Social feeds (TwitPic, etc.): http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2013/01/downtown_mpls_water_main_break_no_poop_in_the_north_loop.php
REAL TIME COVERAGE AT GOOGLE NEWS: https://news.google.com/news/rtc?ncl=dgk3jiCDQZiMntMiiMlOWZtI7XqQM

  RAW VIDEO:
  RANDOM CROWDSOURCED PHOTOSYNTH:

Amy Sensers new home, Shakopee Prison. Virtual Tour.

Amy Senser has been sentanced to 41 months in prison for the Hit-And-Run death of Restaurant Mavrick, Anousone Phanthavong.

She was found guilty of 2 felonies earlier this sumer. Husband, former Minnesota Viking Joe Senser, did not attend the sentencing hearing. The Phanthavong family said justice was done today, and they forgive her. FULL COVERAGE NEWS

This is the facility in Shakopee where she will be spending the next 3 and a half years.
 
 You can take a virtual tour at the following link! http://www.doc.state.mn.us/aboutdoc/tour/flash/shk/Tours.html#
It looks much nicer, and less prison like, then any public school I've ever been to! It's in a residential neighborhood, so there are no fences that neighbors might find oppressive. There's sports, work, and the courtyards are full of flowers. 

 Anyway, See ya in the spring of 2016..

New Vikings NFL Stadium Virtual Reality Technology Smart Park Vision!

The New Vikings NFL stadium will become a reality. Most of the politics are now wrapped up, and development is beginning. We are still in the planing phase. There is call out for community input, because this project will be MUCH MORE then just a football stadium. What's being developed, is an unprecedented, year-round community of the future. This post is to influence development of the project from a state of the art, visual technology perspective. I'm fully aware that I'm writing the future here. I'm also aware these ideas are extremely powerful, to the extent that what I write here will revolutionize a massively lucrative industry. I'd like to date this influential report 7/7/2012.

For starters, this Vikings Stadium/ Minneapolis community is a BILLION DOLLAR development! 
I remember seeing stories a few years back, about Dubai building a SPACE PORT for 240 Million. So a billion dollar football entertainment complex, developed in 2012 better be outstanding!!
With that in mind, I'd like to see the New Vikings Stadium become a futurist technology park, during and after the big games. In this post, I hope to describe my vision and walk you through the available technologies that are ripe to develop a new experience. An extraordinary, compelling, high level experience which will put Minneapolis at the absolute head of entertainment technology innovation.

There are a few newer visual technologies you will want to comprehend. When put together in the context of attending a football game, they are frankly mind blowing. These technologies include Free View Point, Augmented Reality, Geo-location, Virtual Cameras, Smart Goggles, 3D Video, User Tracking, Performer Tracking, Powerful Mobile Computing, and very powerful new Computer Vision algorithms which process live 3D video data, and recognize all manner of objects. Many of these technologies are ready now. Some are still being developed.

Before getting deeper into the vision and technologies involved, I'd like to say that these development potentials can also be incredibly attractive to partners that the City of Minneapolis may not have thought of. We've not yet sold the naming rights! Can you imagine a Minnesota Vikings / Google Technology Park? Maybe a Microsoft/Vikings Viewpoint Stadium? Perhaps a bidding war between the two? Integrating futurist  visual technology infrastructure from the start, opens vast creative development options.

So into the vision..
Superbowl 2017. The Vikings Football Visual Technology Park has been open for one season. It's advanced offerings and amenities have been a thrill of which world had not yet seen! And so, it was an obvious choice to host a Superbowl, ASAP. Season ticket holders begin to populate their suites and seats donning Smart Helmets*. These futuristic headsets provide live audio and 3D video feeds, as well as informational overlays for the environment around them. They're available for patrons to own,  but many opt to rent for use during a single game. While watching the game, viewers can enjoy the amazing capabilities of these devices. They can track the scores and stats of individual players in Augmented Reality. And, they can use it in conjunction with the stadiums visual systems infrastructure, to access a personal virtual camera, providing a 3D point of view from any perspective imaginable. Wearing the Smart Helmet around the facility, patrons can be directed to concessions and enjoy special exhibitions.


The descriptive research videos below will do most of the talking, but, I'll try to explain how virtual cameras and 3DHD "free perspective" live video works.. 
An estimate of 30 to 60 4k-resolution HD cameras (that's four times the resolution of 1080p) would be positioned around the Vikings field. (As technology is accepted and refined, we may even see the player cam POV) When the game starts, the cameras all feed their imagery back to a central computer, which synthesizes all the video into a live 3D scene. Users can then fly around that virtual environment using a gamepad, a smart phone, or tablet Surface, as if they were actually on the field, live, in high definition 3D. You can virtually stand in one of the goals, virtually follow the ball, or virtually lock yourself into the perspective of any player. You could review instant replays in much the same manner as John Madden XBOX video games!


If you are aware of the way Avatar was filmed using performance captured actors, and virtual cameras in a CG environment, the Football game would proceed in much the same way. Albeit the computer vision is advanced beyond the need for funny performance capture suits. Computer vision easily detects all players by number, uniform and by face.


I think I've told enough to get your imagination going, and now I can turn it over to a collection of research videos. When you put all these emerging technologies together into a Football Stadium, the result is the ultimate entertainment experience. But as mentioned, this "Stadium Park" is desirable for much more then the 12 games of the NFL season. People will travel to Minneapolis from world wide, to experience the future - 10 years ahead of the curve! Using the concept of a "Technology Park", the Smart Stadium becomes a place for virtual tourism. It's a destination, which grants you the keys to visualize our city in ways previously impossible. More about non-game day applications after these videos!



Just an example of older technology..

New technology is advanced!



 



More insight on "Virtual Camera" systems






With a fan experience this impressive, just imagine how luxurious the broadcast room will be! It will be the envy of the league!


So you can see how in a very short time, the fields of Computer Vision, Gesture Recognition, Virtual Cameras, Augmented Reality, athlete/object tracking, 3D Headsets, Video processing and raw computational power have matured to a phenomenal level.
Now add to the mix, virtual tourism, 3D geo-mapping, and 3D City modeling arts, and you'll have fantastic experiences the internet cannot yet contain.. People would want to visit the Smart Stadium Technology Park to gain access to the cities visual and informational resources, found only there.


You've seen what augmented reality and virtual cameras can do, to provide an amazing perspective for the game day patron. Now imagine what happens when THE ENTIRE CITY becomes the playing field! Utilizing new geo-mapping paradigms, live camera feeds can be projected onto 3D models. It's possible to map every live public traffic and street camera to a high quality 3D map of Minneapolis. Imagine Google Earth LIVE and on steroids!  Privet Security corporations are already doing this, but think about the City allowing access to it's camera system for tourisim and entertainment! Visitors can learn about the history and attractions of Minneapolis by FLYING around in a 3D Virtual Reality simulation of it. But not your grandpas old school VR. We're talking a mature technology, state of the art, innovative implementation. All cities will be like this in the future. The internet itself, strives to accomplish this. Minneapolis could have it first.












So, if you're going to Minneapolis in 2019, can you expect this?






Your comments below, or at this Minneapolis E-Democracy post ( http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls/messages/topic/1oxKEu6BJ9ScGYECmTjBG7 ) , are appreciated. (just click "no comments")

North Minneapolis Tornado Path Visible in Google Earth Imagery Update!!

I opened my Google Earth tonight, and am possibly the first to notice a fresh imagery update has just been published for Minneapolis. To my surprise, you can make out THE PATH OF THE TORNADO! A scuff mark across the north-side is unmistakable. And within the scuff zone, you can see many homes with blue tarp roofs. From Wirth Park, through Wilard-Hay, Jordan, Fowell, Weber-Camden, you can see the tornadoes path because the trees were destroyed and the foliage is less dense. On average, the tornado path appears to be 4 blocks wide, traveling diagonally to the north-east.

A few buildings are seen destroyed. Notable among them, the Broadway Liquor Store, which was recently torn down.

UPDATE: Google MAPS has new imagery too, showing even more dramatic views. HUNDREDS of blue tarp roofs and missing trees. Dumpsters parked in yards for clean up. Pan around the map below, or click it's link to view larger.

View Larger Map

^West Broadway Liquor Store



Compared to what was previously available, the new imagery is stunning. In addition to the tornado damage, you can see new construction which was not depicted until now. The new Lowry Bridge, The Twins Stadium, Gophers Stadium. I'm sure I'll be exploring all night. I recommend you open up Google Earth and take a look!

Fire at Lowry and Emerson ave. N. Mpls. MN 4-28-12

A 109-year-old, two-story building on the corner of Lowry and Emerson Avenues N was destroyed by fire this Saturday morning. The cause of the fire is under investigation.






http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/149356635.html
http://www.twincities.com/ci_20503888/minneapolis-firefighter-hospitalized-after-blaze-consumes-northeast-building
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/04/28/firefighters-escape-collapsing-burning-building-in-mpls/

Minneapolis looks to restore Nicollet Avenue!

A great idea! But we will have to demolish a KMART first.
In the Mayors recent State of the City address, he dropped a major coment which hinted at a future development to restore Nicollet Ave to it's pre 1977 glory.
Story at Star Tribue http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/147457695.html

In 1978 a very horrible social engineering development was achieved. It blocked people from conveniently traveling to the heart of downtown via lake street, forcing them onto the newish i35w freeway... except the on-ramps for i35w are seemingly hidden off random streets (35th street).. It was effective at stopping traffic from flowing through what arguably looks like it was the HEART ARTERY of the city. Lake to Nicollet. This physical obstacle is worse then the new political ward boundaries!

The plan also includes bringing back street cars to Nicollet Avenue. They would ride again from 48th Street South, through downtown Nicollet Mall and end at Central Avenue near Columbia Heights.

When the hellish KMART idea was hatched, the community wanted it not. There is a great mural on the back of it depicting the fight against the corporate fascist powers which then dominated the neighborhood.
read about that here: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/09/23/guns-kmart-neglected-mural-protest-lake-and-nicollet.html


Read more about the story here:
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2445933.shtml
http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/147457695.html



Old Master Plan
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/convert_261301.pdf

http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls/messages/topic/3Dybv87yGZTgkhjt1XWGbE

Minneapolis Apartment Fire. Live cam via MDOT

A fire has broken out at a Minneapolis apartment. RIGHT NOW, MDOT Traffic cams are capturing a view of the huge moon behind a firefighter ladder truck battling the blaze.
The fire broke out at The St. George Apartments complex on 17th Street East near 2nd Avenue South. The fire was called into authorities at about 2 a.m. The fire began in a ground-floor corner, but spread quickly through all floors. Crews said the flames spread up and out. The St. George Apartments complex has 32 units, and was built in 1919.

http://video.dot.state.mn.us/video/image/metro/834

Watch it LIVE at the above link. It's still burning strong at 6:50am.

Here's what it looked like Earlier.

Vikings Stadium Announcement This Morning! Thursday March 1st 2012 9am LIVE VIDEO STREAM

3/1/2012 A deal has been struck.
Mayor R.T. Rybak said an announcement will be made 9 a.m. Thursday regarding the proposed NFL stadium. Reports indicate the New Vikings Stadium would be ready by the 2016 football season.
 An hour long meeting included legislators, Vikings officials, lobbyists, Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Chairman Ted Mondale, RT Rybak and other city officials.
It included legislators from the working group who have been reviewing stadium proposals for weeks. Stadium bill sponsor Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, confirmed that the meeting was called to discuss a "term sheet" outlining the framework for the deal between the Dayton administration, the Vikings and the Rybak administration.
 "All the players were in the room... You'll see the details tomorrow morning," Rosen said, as she left the governor's office Wednesday evening. "It's a good package, and we can't wait to unveil it. It's time."

This post will be updated with LIVE VIDEO FEED as it becomes available. http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/live-video.html

GOOGLE NEWS COVERAGE

Teenage Train Hopping Ends in Death

A northeast Minneapolis teenager has died in an accident hopping trains with 2 friends. The body of 15 year old Chris Hanson was found along the railroad tracks near 14th Avenue Northeast and Filmore Street in Minneapolis Thursday night.

Growing up in Northeast, I used to hop trains to school along that very same rail.. All respects and prayers go out to his family. Hundreds of people gathered in a vigil last night to honor his memory.

Train Jumping Death Memorial in N. Mpls: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

FULL COVERAGE at GOOGLE NEWS

Ron Paul in Minnesota! Overflow Crows At Appearances.

Ron Paul has been making the rounds in Minnesota today, after a strong 2nd place finish in Nevada! Speaking to massively populated overflow crowds at all appearances, his support is surging. Active and retired Military support the message of liberty. Students and teachers support the message of liberty. Celebrities one and all, are supporting Ron Paul's message of liberty. Some of the highly brainwashed mainstream media heads are even coming out of their trances. Here are all the video highlights from Ron Paul in Minnesota today.

Romney Glitter Bombed by Occupy in Eagan!

Uploaded by roberterickson1 on Feb 1, 2012 Mitt Romney Glitter Bombed Twice at Minnesota Campaign Stop EAGAN, MN -- GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney glitter bombed not once, but twice at a Minnesota campaign stop by two members of Occupy Minneapolis and the LGBT rights group the Glitterati. Nick Espinosa and Sam Richards yelled "Feel the rainbow" and "the 1% pays for hate, you're not welcome in our state!" as they showered Romney in rainbow colored glitter as he walked up to the stage, and again as he shook hands on his way out. Romney completed the speech with a formidable amount of glitter sparkling in his hair and another Occupy Minneapolis member Sam Richards added a second salvo of glitter just after Romney concluded his speech. "The struggle against inequality in all its forms unites the 99%. Just as we stand against economic inequality, we stand against the inequality faced by those us in the LGBT community." Added Ben Egerman, an organizer of the action. "We will not stand by as members of the richest 1% like Mitt Romney spend their millions to fund anti-gay hate. Minnesotans pride ourselves on being a tolerant and diverse state for all regardless of sexual orientation, and hateful politicians like Mitt Romney should expect a sparkly response anytime they bring their divisive rhetoric to our state." Espinosa said. Romney has consistently opposed LGBT equality, and avidly campaigned against same-sex marriage as governor of Massachusetts. While in office as governor, he attempted to cut all funding to groups providing services to LGBT youth, and has since financially supported anti-gay political groups. His recent tax records show that he donated 4 million dollars to the Mormon church which has campaigned against equality nationwide. The glittering phenomenon was sparked by the prior actions of Nick Espinosa, who showered Newt Gingrich with glitter in an act that has inspired numerous other glitter bombings of other presidential hopefuls including Rick Santorum, Michele Bachman, and Tim Pawlenty. The action was organized in part by Espinosa and Egerman, who made national news in a successful glitter bombing of Karl Rove last October. The two have also been involved in organizing protests with Occupy Minneapolis. "We've seen this strategy used time and time again," said Richards. "Republicans are gambling on hateful politics in a desperate attempt to boost turn-out in 2012, without concern for the cost to American families along the way. Thankfully people are waking up to the cost of such hateful policies for our families and children a more tolerant generation rejects the hateful rhetoric of politicians like Mitt Romney" No arrests were made in the action, and more glitter actions are certain to follow. Category: News & Politics Tags: occupy minneapolis occupymn feel the rainbow nick espinosa sam richards glitterati.

Weather Manipulation Causes OVER 600 Auto Crashes!! ICE STORM 1-23-11

Over 600 automobile crashes were reported today in Minnesota, due to an ice and storm. The system first put down a thin glaze of ice then covered it with fluffy snow. This condition provided amazingly dangerous road surface. There were many signatures which indicate this was an weather manipulation induced storm system.. but good luck getting NOAA to be liable for your accident. Stay safe!

Occupy Minneapolis Gets Global Coverage.

Minneapolis chapter of the Occupy movement has gotten more global coverage thanks to Global Revolutionaries, and media ninjas in ninja type places. Power to the people.

Mall Of America Idiot Riot.

Now, I don't care if fools are fighting among themselves, but when you start launching chairs into crowds, that gets serious. I hope they caught that person. There are pleanty of youtube videos from the mob, if they haven't already identified everyone.

Apparently the rumors of Lil Wayne being there are a cover story. This event was staged before hand by the self proclaimed gangsters, all whom all arrived via public transit.

Minneapolis Water Works Project. Meeting #1 video

Minneapolis Water Works Project - Meeting One was held recently. We are envisioning our future perfect and development of history.

Water Power! Minneapolis Water Works Project. Meeting #1 video

Winners of the Intel Visual Life Contest!

Funny where I find myself sometimes.

Justin Lassen: Winners of the Intel Visual Life Contest!

Google Boss Eric Schmidt Visits Minneapolis. Meets with RT Rybak And Tours Our Tech Incubator!

As recently as my last post here, I had promoted my city as a Creative Technology superpower. Comically, I mentioned Google was missing out by not having an office here. Today, as if responding to my thoughts, or predicting my search terms, the Chairman himself showed up! He wasn't planning a MPLS division (that I know of) but he was promoting the idea that Google can help create vitality within the innovative small businesses we create.
Eric Schmidt met with Mayor RT Rybak, toured the former Grain Exchange trading floor, now a hyper innovative technology think tank, and spoke at the University of Minnesotas Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He delivered a speech called "The Future of the High-Tech Economy: How Technology is Changing Business, Education and Government." The speech is getting good national coverage because ES was hyper critical of proposed draconian federal controls of the previously free internet. And I've FOUND the recording! yeah!

Watch live streaming video from umntv at livestream.com

I will post here, as much media as I can find from today's Minneapolis Google event.
FULL COVERAGE





VERY cool video here http://www.startribune.com/business/134780358.html

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/11/30/google-eric-schmidt-minneapolis/

http://www.startribune.com/business/134780358.html

Minneapolis. A Creative Technology Mecca

I've been advocating for a Minneapolis Google Office since 2003, but Google can go ahead and be late to the party, if they come at all. Minneapolis technology entrepreneurship is on the rise without them. And, with our profoundly creative, tech savvy artist culture, we are about to sky rocket into a future of quality innovations. Do not forget that Minneapolis has been a model of innovation in the world, having invented the lions share of this worlds products, ideas, and methods. To much to go into in a short blog post, but look it up. We rule root.

***Give me a few months and I'll give you a 3D virtual SKYRIM quality Minneapolis Skyway, with instantly deliverable goods and services. Just run your avatar into Caribou Coffee, order up, and a REAL barista will be up to your office in 10 minutes. Like wise for Target, Office Depo, or any other store in the system.

UPDATE 11-30-11
Well what do you know? Does Eric Schmidt read my blog? I doubt it, but he decided to drop into the grain exchange and meet with the Mayor of Minneapolis today!

BizJournal was so mesmerized, they spelled Google wrong in the URL! http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2011/11/30/goggle-schmidt-visits-minneapolis.html

UPDATE 2!
***Mother F'er! SOMEONE picked up on my idea pretty damn fast! I wish I could strike some gold one of these days rather then just being the homeless guy who endless generates billion dollar ideas.
" In another foray into commerce, Google is working on a delivery service that would let people order items from local stores on the Web and receive them at their homes or offices within a day.

The service is in an early testing phase, and it was described by three people briefed on the project who were not authorized to speak about it publicly before it was announced. It is part of a bigger, strategic effort by Google to move beyond its core search business by helping people buy things, not just find them."