Partial Building Collapse In Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Authorities are on the scene of a partial building collapse in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Police Department reports that part of the building at 616 5th St. N. collapsed around 10:49 a.m. Thursday. Police are assisting but the Minneapolis Fire Department is taking the lead on the incident. 

All employees are accounted for and no one was injured. The building is a two-story business called Weather-Rite LLC and according to its website, “is best known for high quality, industrial grade, premium featured commercial and industrial HVAC systems, including make up air (MUA), custom air handlers, large air volume heating and cooling air turnover units.”

 Multiple agencies are on the scene.

I'm not placing blame or exposing a cause, but just saying that location is RIPE for development. The building currently there, is supper shitty. Now they can demolish it and build something with a little more height and start working the whole strip of land to the North West. Logically, you'd think they'd want it full of new condos, like the area directly across the freeway.

You call it a mysterious building collapse, with causes under investigation. I'll call it a shady ground breaking on the new development district, just blocks from the Light-Rail Transit and the Twins Ballpark.

UPDATE: Oh, as I see from further reading, the lot next door was being demolished and excavated when this "Accident" happened. So it's more of a case of whoopsy daisy! Two birds with one backhoe! But I was right on the money, that this area is being "developed". PEACE.

http://kstp.com/news/stories/s3194364.shtml

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1042961/391/Partial-building-collapse-halts-demolition-in-Mpls

http://www.startribune.com/local/228207181.html

Editorial comments follow.

"The collapse was reported around 10:51 a.m. Thursday at the Weather Rite building.
Fire officials tell KSTP.com there was construction nearby, but it’s unclear if that is directly related to the collapse.  **EDITORS NOTE: Why would that be "unclear". I can see from the photos that it was related**
A portion of the eastern wall that is about 30-40 feet in length collapsed. The building was occupied at the time, but no injuries have been reported, fire officials say. A city engineer is on the scene checking the structural integrity of the building. The incident is under investigation"

"Assistant Chief Cherie Penn says firefighters responded to the call shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday.
 Penn says no construction workers and no firefighters were hurt, and the fire department has already cleared the scene and turned it over to officials with the city's regulatory services department. She says construction work has been halted for the day. She says the cause of the partial collapse was not immediately known, and she didn't have details about the extent of the damage or about the construction project."  Editors note: Oh yeah, we don't know what caused this or what's going on with this construction project, but all clear.. Here ya go City Regs, we'll toss this one back to you... Funny.

Gorilla Forest Now Open at Como Zoo!

Today marked the grand opening of a new "Gorilla Forest" exhibit at como zoo.
FULL COVERAGE AT GOOGLE NEWS
I remember being there a year ago and reading about the plans, thinking that it would be pretty cool. I was surprised just now to notice it's been completed, and is now open to the public!

 They have 7 SilverBack Gorillas in what is the largest all-mesh gorilla enclosure in North America!


Google Maps and Google Earth show it as still under construction...


One of the Silverback Gorillas is affectionately known as "Thunder Chunky". It's an amazing gorilla with a face that looks almost human!

More photos at MPR
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/06/05/news/como-park-zoo-gorilla-exhibit

 More video Here http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/06/06/st-pauls-como-zoo-introduces-gorilla-forest/

Ignorant Criminals Destroy Minneapolis History!!! Nicole Curtis Attempts Heroic Preservation.

A 133 year old home on PARK AVENUE in Minneapolis, was maliciously destroyed today. This historic house was built BEFORE ELECTRICITY! All the woodwork was handcrafted by incredibly skilled builders, before your grandfather was born! To put it in perspective, this house was built before the STONE ARCH BRIDGE was completed!

Speculators with no regard for our city, history, or proper logical procedure, were allowed by corrupt bureaucrats, to demolish it. Even if they valued the empty lot more the the structure, it could have been deconstructed and a wealth of rare materials gained.
A restoration hero called Nicole Curtis, attempted to prevent this criminal activity before, and during it's realization. She not only offered to buy it, move it, pay everyones salaries, whatever it took to SAVE IT, BUT she also spoke truth to these idiots, and leaped into action. Going as far as she could, standing on the porch, while the bastard in the bulldozer endangered her life. This is an assault on the soul of Minneapolis by uncreative, inflexible, power tripping fascists.

http://coololdbuildingsmn.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/old-house-warrior/
http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/208518211.html
http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1026848/396/Cable-TV-star-tries-to-stop-demolition-of-Mpls-home
http://www.vita.mn/crawl/208566531.html


You can support Nicole by following her DIY Network Show on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/nicolecurtisrehabaddict?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/nicolecurtisdesign

Curtis said she had offered to buy the house and move it to another vacant parcel on Park Avenue South. Those plans were apparently moving forward as late as Tuesday when she and her supporters learned that a demolition crew was on its way. Asked why the deal with owner Robert Anderson fell through, Curtis said she didn’t know.

“I have offered crazy money for this,” Curtis said. “This house was a shining example of old world architecture here in Minneapolis. It was just boarded. That was its only crime.

Owner Robert Anderson could not be reached for comment

http://www.diynetwork.com/rehab-addict/show/index.html

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")

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

Ben Bernanke Minneapolis Speech Crashes Markets

Way to go Ben. The little visit from the Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke dropped markets late Thursday, following his speech in front of 800 Minnesota business executives at The Economic Club of Minnesota. If you know anything about the Minnesota Business community, this could have been the most important and influential crowd of his career. Ben said nothing to inspire them. A Forex Trading website said "The Dow dropped 119.05 points to close at 11295.81 while the S&P500 index ended down 12.72 points to finish the session at 1185.90. The market was relatively calm until Bernanke's speech where he gave no additional insight into the central bank's plans to support the economy which he will outlay at the FOMC meeting on September 22".