#Kosciuszko bridge

[thefarfield-s5s]

titan arum

[newtownpentacle]

Up high

Thursday – photo by Mitch Waxman A brief visit to the nest back in NYC occurred, and one of the few photographs I was desirous of capturing, was from up high on the Kosciuszcko Bridge. The K-bridge replacement project was something which I had the pleasure of being quite close to, and one enjoyed an amazing amount of access during the demolition of the old bridge, and design/construction…

[oerzttz]

[itsallmadonnasfault]

@interviewmag

“Madonna forever.” On Saturday night, nearly 20,000 gays assembled under the Kosciuszko bridge to celebrate gay pride at @ladylandfestival, and were treated to a surprise visit by the one and only @Madonna. To celebrate the Queen of Pop’s visit to Brooklyn, we asked some of the headliners to give us a recap of the surreal night, and recall some of their favorite Madonna memories 🌈 link in bio. Photography by @ricardogomesinst

[macaron-n-cheese]

Thaddeus Kosciuszko when he engineers a bridge for the Continental Army (there are beavers...probably)

[sdwolfpup]

Hi, it’s the Kosciuszko anon. You’re not being punked.

I just wanted to provide some context. I’m Polish and I have lately developed a slight fixation on American history, culture etc. I was wondering if an American would’ve heard about him and you came to mind :)

I asked mostly b/c of his influence on slave education and manumission.

Anyway, thanks for the answer and feel free not to publish this.

I hope you don't mind if I do publish this! I appreciate the clarification.

I will say that the US education system - particularly when I was growing up in it - is bad at history, and history was my least favorite subject in school on top of that. Reading about Kościuszko was very interesting, particularly about the intentions of his US will (to spend the money not only freeing slaves but buying land for them) and the way Jefferson refused to follow it (add another one to the Thomas Jefferson Was A Turd, Actually pile).

So I do appreciate the enlightenment! Also at least one person recognized him from a bridge name in New York, so possibly East Coast folks might have a better sense of him than those of us on the West Coast, too.

[ellies-cycling-notes]

Day 2: Long Island to NYC

Distance Covered: 80.23 miles

Total Time (including rests): 9:47 (7:45am-5:32pm)

Time spent riding: 7:22

Average Speed: 10.9 mph

Apples Eaten: 3 (fuji - 7.5/10, fuji - 8/10, granny smith - 6/10)

Overview of Ride:

Today's ride was just a single long trek. The very beginning of the ride was on some of the best side roads I've ever been on (they were of similar quality to a bike trail), but after that, most of the rest of the ride was spent on state roads with cars zooming past.

Once I got into NYC, though, it got better. My route took me on multiple bike trails through parks, and even when I was on city streets, New York's bike infrastructure felt better than I'm used to (this was probably influenced by the fact I was coming from various state roads that had practically 0 bike infrastructure).

The worst part of the ride was the flat tires. I ended up getting 2 flats today, both on my back wheel. I think the second flat was actually influenced by the first, because I only have a hand pump and cannot fully pump up a tire unless I go to a bike shop, and so I believe the extra weight on the back wheel combined with a not-completely pumped up tire is what caused the second tube to pop.

I finished off the ride with 2 back-to-back bridges: the Kosciuszko bridge, and then the Williamsburg bridge. The Kosciuszko bridge wasn't that bad, but the ride uphill for the Williamsburg bridge was absolute hell. At least it meant that once I got to the top of the bridge, the last 1.5 miles I had to ride were smooth sailing.

I took 4 breaks on today's ride: breaks #1 and #3 were short breaks where I had to fix a tire, and thus also had a little snack. Break #2 was in a park, where I had an early lunch (PB&J, as expected). My last break was a water break in Queens right before I got to ride on the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway, a rather nice bike path.

Small Notes/Experiences on the Ride

Sunscreen - I almost forgot to put on sunscreen this morning! My campsite was in the shade and the sun was still low when I started the ride, so I just forgot. Luckily, I noticed another bicyclist who had stopped on the side of the road and was doing various prep, and somehow that subconsciously reminded me to apply sunscreen

Waking up - I woke up just before dawn this morning (around 5:30am). I tried to fall back asleep, but couldn't, for 3 main reasons: (1) my sleeping bag was really hot, and I was overheating (2) there were train tracks near the campground and a train passed by just as I was trying to fall back asleep (3) roosters! I don't know where they were, but starting around 6am, you could hear a rooster's call every minute or two

Speed Limit - As a bicyclist, I always find it funny when I'm able to go faster than the speed limit. This is easily attainable on roads with a Limit of 15 mph, but my law-breaking was more impressive than that today. The road had a speed limit of 20 mph, and was on a short downhill, so I was able to pick up speed such that I was the fastest vehicle on the road (I capped out at around 24 mph on that road)

Railroad Avenues - I don't know why, but my maps kept having me take routes that ended up with me going right parallel to train tracks. More than once, said parallel road was called a Railroad Avenue.

Dogs - I usually don't care much for animals, but there were a few dogs of interest I noticed today. One of them was in a yard behind a fence and kept zooming back and forth from one end to another. I thought it was following cars, but then it just turned around and raced to the other end when it was already chasing a car, so that theory might be wrong. I also saw a wooden or plastic dog statue, maybe 1 meter tall, hyper-realistic, just sitting on the curb of a city street. There was a third dog I was thinking about mentioning, but I forgot why it was interesting before I had a chance to write it down.

Post Ride Notes

I'm now resting in a friend's apartment in NYC. I'm late to posting tonight because when I got here, I ended up just lying down for an hour or two because of how sore I was. I did not do Yoga today, but as tomorrow is my rest day, I'll likely do Yoga then.

Design Notes

Today's design notes refer to specific games I'm working on/want to work on, mainly focusing in from a mechanics perspective.

Game 1: Doubles Rowing

The idea for this is a micro card game, maybe 20 cards at most, where two players play cooperatively as the two rowers in a Double (a two-person boat where each person has 2 oars). The stroke seat would have to play cards to set the pace and keep the energy up, while the bow seat would have to follow the stroke and make directional calls (and maybe some other calls too). This idea hasn't really been fleshed out at all yet, so that's what I have so far.

Game 2: Bicycle Repair Minigames

A video game, probably using either a mouse-and-keyboard or a game controller, where the player has to perform various tasks that require precise actions in order to repair a bike. For example, when performing the mini-game to replace a bike chain, you would have to carefully line your new and old chains up, side-by-side, and then use a chain tool to shorten the new chain if it's too long. However, you still have to be very precise with this part, as you don't want to accidentally break a chain link. After that, you put the chain carefully on the bike cassettes, and have to line up the ends of the chain so that you can connect it, either using a master link, or by using the chain tool again. And that's just one example of a mini-game

Game 3: Cooperative UNO: Curses!

This game is based around a cooperative game-loss condition I've been wanting to work into a game for a while. I thought I'd test the mechanic/loss condition out with an UNO deck. I have a whole rules system for it, so here's how it works:

This game is for 2+** players.

Separate out the numbered cards (0-9) from the others.

Shuffle the numbered cards and deal each player 5 cards. Set the rest of the numbered cards to the side face-down (this is the deck).

Put the top card of the deck in the discard pile.

Set the other cards (reserve, +2 cards, etc.) to the side in a pile (doesn't need to be shuffled). This is the Curse pile. Any cards that are not number cards will be counted as Curse cards in this game.

Now, here's how you play the game. Players are working together, taking turns. Tabletalk rules are up to you, but I would suggest no talking.

On your turn, you start by drawing until you have 5 cards in hand (on your first turn, you draw 0 cards). If you attempt to draw from an empty deck, keep the top card of the discard pile, and shuffle the rest of the discard pile as the new deck.

Next, you play a number card to the discard pile that follows the rules of UNO (is either the same color or number value). If you cannot, you discard any number card from your hand to the bottom of the discard pile. Also, add a card from the Curse pile to the bottom of the discard pile.

At the end of your turn, discard any Curse cards you have in your hand to the bottom of the discard pile.

Winning/Losing the Game:

This is not currently a game that can be won. However, there are 2 ways to lose:

If every player must discard Curse cards at the end of their turn in a turn cycle, you lose.

If one player is neither able to play a number card nor able to discard a number card on their turn because their entire hand is Curses, you lose.

Game 4: Cave Explorer

This is the game I probably have the most to write about, but I'm getting tired, so I'm going shorten it to a summary today. Luckily, this is the game I'm most interested in working on/thinking about, so I'll probably have many chances to expand on this in future blog posts.

This game is a single-player video game I made in a class my Freshman year. It's a rogue-like game, where you have a large grid of colored squares. You have an avatar on one of those squares you can move around by using the arrow keys, and need to get them to the exit. However, there are 3 snags in this plan.

First, when you input a movement for your character, they don't actually move. Instead, your input is recorded in a log on the side of the screen and you can add more inputs. When you think you've made all the movements to get your guy to the exit, you can click "Enter", and they'll go through the movements you inputted one-by-one until they either reach the exit, or fail to do so.

The second trick is that each colored square has a differently ability. In the original version of the game, you start with four types of tiles:

Floor - light grey tiles that you can walk on

Walls - dark green tiles that you can't move through - they can be used strategically, though, if you think you'll forget one of your inputs.

Pits - Black tiles that if your avatar walks on them, it's a game over.

Falling Floors - Dark grey tiles that can only be stepped on once. After that, they turn into Pits.

Furthermore, as you get further in the game, more unique tiles will appear so you have to be able to carefully maneuver around, making use of the different tiles the best you can.

The last snag in your game plan is the timer. The game cannot actually be beaten, levels can generate infinitely. Your progress is instead calculated by how many randomly-generated levels you can get through before you run out of time, with each level more complicated/difficult than the last.

That's an overview of the original version of Cave Explorer. I have a rest day tomorrow, so I'll try to see if I can find the files for it and whether I'd be able to share it.

I have several ideas for ways to expand/re-work Cave Explorer. However, as mentioned earlier, I don't really want to get into all that right now. Instead, I'm going to give a list of terms, which will serve as both a notes board for myself, and a small bite of what I'm thinking about.

Gamemodes: Classic, Basic, Randomized, Region-based, Endless, "Deck-builder", Custom

Tile Types: Ice, Mud, Jump, Quicksand, Linked Teleport, Key, Hidden Room, Upstairs, Corruption, various "Points" tiles

Code Changes: Updated map-building, weight of tiles, tile definitions, ui formatting

"Out There" Ideas: new characters, enemies, race/fight mode

That's everything from me tonight! I'll be resting up tomorrow, and will still make a post, but it'll probably be shorter and more formal than normal.

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[vigxyz]

Things I’ll miss about NYC

Watching the sunset light up my room every evening.

Talking to my building’s porter Henry who is probably the happiest person I’ve ever met.

Eating a slice from Village Square Pizza at 4am.

Getting on the exact subway car to exit directly at the stairs.

Finding a parking spot directly outside my apartment.

Jaywalking constantly, even across 4 lanes of traffic.

Getting burritos from Tacos Casamigos.

Hearing Jazz music from the venue across the street.

Taking Rohit’s fusion classes at Ripley Grier.

Sitting at the Queens temple when there’s nobody there on a weekday.

Eating dosa at the Queens temple.

Seeing the skyline at night from my window.

Helping people find parking.

Wearing my Sox hat into Tompkins Square Bagels since the employees would chirp me.

Seeing the guy who blasts music out of his Corolla decked out with American flags on Ave A.

Running into people I know on the street.

Grabbing breakfast with Aseem at Ciao Gloria.

Leaving the Brooklyn Mirage at 5am.

Staying up so late that I could hear the birds chirping.

Getting a latte and almond croissant at La Cabra.

Sitting at Brooklyn Bridge Park at night.

Finding a piece I loved at a vintage store.

Going to Garba in Edison.

Waking up to snow on the trees for the first time every winter.

Getting the original at John’s of Bleecker Street.

Stopping at Chamoun’s Way on my drives back to Boston.

Sitting and listening to music in my car.

Conversations with Frank during alternate side parking.

Having people over at my apartment before going out.

Walking to the gym on summer afternoons.

Getting fresh mozzarella at Di Palo’s.

Walking into random parades once a month.

Lying down on the living room rug whenever I needed a place to chill.

Having my family come to visit.

Getting Veniero’s tiramisu cake every year for my birthday.

Going to the Apna Bazar in Jackson Heights to get bulk spices.

Grabbing a samosa at Punjabi Deli on my walk back from work.

Playing FIFA at my apartment.

Talking to the doorman at my old office in SoHo.

Getting my haircut at 12pell with Tim.

Finding random free stuff on the street.

Sitting on the rocks at Brighton Beach.

Driving over the Queensborough Bridge.

Taking dance lessons with Shakti at PMT.

Taking shuffle classes with Elena at 305 Fitness.

Ordering Malai Kofta on Uber Eats from Sahib.

Being the only one at the gym at 10pm.

Looking at the skyline from Sheep’s Meadow.

Getting a car wash at David’s Auto.

Talking politics with the construction guys working next door.

Going to PT with Michelle at Starpro.

Lifting with Andrew at Crunch.

Having friends stay on my air mattress when they were visiting.

Seeing the skyline lit up in Indian colors on Independence Day.

Getting on the subway right before the doors close.

Walking through the empty hallway at Fig 19.

Getting a lychee martini at Decibel.

Listening to terrible DJs at Blind Barber.

Shopping for gold in Jackson Heights.

Working out at the DUMBO Lifetime.

Eating the chocolate chip walnut cookie at Levain.

Going to sunset concerts at Elsewhere rooftop.

Visiting the 9/11 memorial on 9/11.

Driving from the Bruckner Expressway onto the BQE and seeing the skyline.

Driving over the Kosciuszko Bridge and seeing the skyline.

Walking through the outdoor plant store on 10th between 1st and A.

Playing basketball at Murry Bergtraum.

Talking to random people on the subway and then never seeing them again.

Feeling so accomplished by just doing regular errands like grocery shopping.

Eating the achari paneer at Dhamaka.

Walking through Midtown to get to my therapist’s office on Tuesday mornings.

Taking 12pm House classes at Broadway Dance Center on Wednesdays.

Nodding at random people.

Getting mangoes from my mango guy in Jackson Heights in the summers.

Watching the subway acrobats.

Getting passed by grandpas on the Central Park cycling loop.

Cooking in my little kitchen.

Going to Novel Nights book club meetings.

Walking with so much purpose to get around, and seeing everyone else do the same.

Watching F1 at Feile.

People watching on the subway.

Sitting near the fountain at Washington Square Park.

Walking near the West Side Highway.

Watching the Celtics at a bar in the Lower East Side.

Seeing all the nicely dressed people every time I walked outside.

Ranting about Eric Adams and Kathy Hochul to anyone who would listen.

Talking to my long-distance friends on the phone in my living room.

Seeing the Rockefeller Center tree lit up.

Going to wave/hardwave shows.

Giving directions to strangers.

Driving on the Merritt Parkway as the leaves are falling.

Visiting the MoMA.

Seeing the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Walking around the East Village with morning dew in the springs.

Getting honey and maple syrup from Roxbury Mountain Maple at the greenmarket.

Walking by all the little shops in the East Village on a weekend.

Seeing places I'd seen in movies and TV shows in real life.

Feeling, for a bit at least, like a New Yorker.

[droneshotmediany]

Sundays are for #sunsets 🌅

Captured this breathtaking panoramic view of the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge in New York during a stunning sunset.

The vibrant colors in the sky reflecting on the water below create a perfect blend of nature and human engineering.

#SunsetSunday #DronePhotography #ThaddeusKosciuszkoBridge #NYViews #AerialPhotography #SunsetLovers #DroneShotMedia #BridgeViews #SunsetMagic #dji #djicreator #droneshot #aerialphotographer #panorama

What do you think of this Drone View?

Drone Shot Media

📍 Albany, NY

📞 (518) 285-0306

✉️ info@droneshot.media

🌐https://droneshot.media

📸 Capturing New York from Above

[dangerouslyclosetothesurface]

Friday, Sunday

Friday: Biked out to meet Stephanie in Sunset Park, and Emily in Park Slope.

Yellow internet bike / Kosciuszko lights

Some notes on riding there:

Has the Kosciuszko Bridge always been that close to #2D???? The bike path is definitely new, though, right? Anyway, this was the more efficient route to where I was going. I can't believe for so long I was still doing Pulaski/Greenpoint to Kent Ave. I hate Kent Ave.

I dislike getting lost around East Williamsburg, but it happens every time. I don't know these streets and I won't learn them.

Once I found Atlantic Ave I was somewhat in the right direction. I took Washington up to Prospect Park, which was annoying, because it's a bike lane and all the bikers on it were slow and oblivious.

Past the park, I found 7th ave and then 5th ave and it was smooth sailing from there.

Strava here.

Nate came to meet up with me because he was finishing up a ride around Manhattan. We biked to dinner with Emily and then home. The Kosciuszko was cool at night. Strava here.

Sunday: On Saturday we walked around a lot with Misha, which we were not that tired from, even though we covered probably 14 miles and it was pretty hot outside.

So, on Sunday, I decided to tag along with Nate's ride with his cousin Tony across the GW Bridge (which I have never crossed) and up to Nyack. It was a hot day. We left the house around 6:30 (already it was 76deg F) to meet Tony at his place above Central Park, then the three of us rode westbound to look for the entrance to the GW. At first we tried to get onto the WSH but couldn't, and figured that it was unnecessary because we would have to leave the WSH to get on the GW anyway. Then we followed Riverside Dr to... the highway exit for the GW... for cars. Luckily, there was an escape (Haven St Underpass) off the exit, which Tony found and led us through. The stairs were super gross and full of homeless trash, but no fecal matter so not too bad. We reached the street at the top of the stairs and wiggled our way over to the real bridge entrance.

The bridge was really clean and spacious, compared to the bridges that I usually ride (Golden Gate, Queensboro, Triboro, even Williamsburg). A trio of cyclists passed us on the bridge, and when we got to the other side we followed them without looking at a map. We ended up taking a Google Maps-suggested route instead of our intended route on 9W. Later I would realize this was a blessing in disguise, maybe.

The ride through the various towns of New Jersey were nice. We re-crossed the border back into New York and saw more cyclists as we joined up with 9W. Got to Nyack and stopped at a coffee shop for water refill and snack. I had a lemonade. Nate was so sweaty that throughout the ride his hat was dripping droplets of sweat onto me. He also had to change shirts.

On the ride back we decided to take 9W instead of cutting through the towns again. At the fork there was a small uphill, where Tony said, "Okay, see you boys at the top!" and Nate and I raced up the hill. We kept going and encountered two significantly brutal hills. Nate stopped for a rest and I kept going.

My legs felt so heavy and tired and I feared another large hill, but fortunately there weren't any more. I kept going until I crossed the GW, where I got off my bike and waited for the other two. Another cyclist (old man) stopped and asked me "Do you have a regular bike?" and I said "This is my regular bike." (my yellow internet bike) and he said "Get a regular bike. You're strong. You can race." I said "Mmmm."

Pfft. Been there, done that, buddy. I'm not gonna race road bike. I'm not even gonna ride road bike. The reason I'm strong is what you see right here. Good old fixed gear yellow internet bike.

Anyway I only waited a few minutes before Nate and Tony showed up. We rode back on Riverside Dr to Tony's house, and then disbanded. Nate and I got beverages around the corner (I got another lemonade! At Dunkin) and then rode home.

The fatigue really started hitting me after stopping for that lemonade, whoops. Made it home and ate some watermelon.

Notes:

It was unbearably hot. The only way to stay cool was to keep moving. Thus there are no photos from that part of the ride. Too tired and hot to think about photos.

My legs were covered in dirt. It had rained that morning so everything was extra sticky.

I'm glad I put that front brake on, because my chain had skipped during the last ride, and I was hesitant to put a lot of pressure on it. The descents were quite steep in some places. Plus the roads were a little slick in some areas from the rain.

I was afraid I would be slow/left behind, and I pushed myself quite a bit. As a result I am now (currently it is the following day) quite tired. But nobody thinks I am slow! (Except the thousands of kitted-up carbon bicycle riders who passed me.)

Strava here

[ariverablog]

Color of Change

According to their website, “Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization.” The non-profit organization is dedicated to shedding light on injustices and racial aggressions against Black people around the world. The organization effectively responds to those injustices by influencing those in power to make changes, such as those in government and large corporations. Color of Change is just one of many organizations working across the world to take down the powers that keep racism and injustice in place.

Although Color of Change was only founded in 2005, its mission and activism can be felt throughout history within so many others that fought for Black justice. During the Great depression, as unemployment rates grew and money grew scarce, African Americans were at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to jobs. Forced to choose between starvation and survival, many African Americans were forced to turn to public relief during the economic crisis. When the National Recovery Administration failed to eliminate discrimination in the workplace for Black workers, activists fought for justice. John L. Lewis fought for Black workers to be included in unions and demanded equal pay. Another group similar to Color of Change, called the Committee for Industrial Organization, organized massive campaigns across the country urging “racial equality in Union membership.” (Takaki, 1993, p. 334) The United Auto Workers union was finally recognized and won wage increases in 1941. Takaki states, “While these achievements  did not mean the end of racism among white workers, they demonstrated that interracial labor solidarity was essential.” (Takaki, 1993, p. 335) These same sentiments can be seen through the activism Color of Change brings forth with every new movement.

(Image Source: https://todayinlaborhistory.wordpress.com/tag/cio/)

As time continued to move forward, so did the fight for equality for Black Americans. Closer to home, in Milwaukee, during the Civil Rights Movement, the March on Milwaukee took place. On August 28th, 1967, “over one hundred members of the Milwaukee Youth Council of the NAACP” marched from their headquarters on north 15th Street, across the 16th Street Viaduct, south to Kosciuszko Park on Lincoln Ave in the fight for fair and open housing, regardless of race (Rozga, 2007, p. 29). Rioters in opposition of open housing harassed the marches on the southside of the viaduct, the bridge connecting the predominantly African American northside to the White southside. Color of Change organizes similar movements and protests for modern issues such as ending prison profiteering, hair policies for Black employees in corporations, reliable access to clean water in predominantly Black communities, ending anti-Black narratives in the media, etc.

(Image Source: https://milwaukeenns.org/open-housing/open-housing-marches-placed-spotlight-on-racial-discrimination-segregation.php)

In her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh stated, “simply disapproving of the systems that hold systemic racism in power won’t be enough to change them.” (McIntosh, 2010). Color of Change has initiated reformations across many entities including local criminal justice systems, tech corporations, media, and even Fortune 500 companies. The platform Color of Change has now, in modern times, is larger than many had in the past. Color of Change arms the most vulnerable groups with the means and voice to make significant strides forward in the name of equality.

(Image Source: https://airlift.fund/news/2018/3/19/color-of-change-named-2-on-fast-companys-most-innovative-non-profits)

References

“About Color of Change.” Color of Change, colorofchange.org/about/. Accessed 2 May 2024.

Margaret Rozga. “March on Milwaukee.” The Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 90, no. 4, 2007, pp. 28–39. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4637228. Accessed 2 May 2024.

McIntosh, Peggy. “‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’ and ‘Some Notes for Facilitators.’” National SEED Project, 2010, www.nationalseedproject.org/key-seed-texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack.

Takaki, Ronald. “To ‘the Land of Hope’: Blacks in the Urban North.” A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, Little, Brown and Company, 1993, pp. 311–335.

[thefarfield-s5s]

Maktub

[newtownpentacle]

At last…

Wednesday – photo by Mitch Waxman As described in prior posts, a humble narrator was back in NYC for a few days attending to some personal business, and a point was made to get in a visit with my beloved Newtown Creek. All the familiar places… Also as described, I had driven back out here from Pittsburgh, since a car in NYC creates more problems that it solves, I left it in my buddy’s driveway…

[nelsonicphotomedia]

02/23/2020 - High noon, Calvary Cemetery 278 BQE to Kosciuszko Bridge but technically and poetically speaking all roads end here 

[susan5sigma]

Flat circles.

[blueharper]