Some new photos from Fort Wayne

[KoNickon]

This is the first thing I've posted in a couple of months. I've been sick most of that time, and haven't done much work. Last night, I made this abstract photograph of the sky over my house in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Welcome back, Chris. Sorry to hear you've not been well. Pretty!

 

[sojournerphoto]

Prayer candles lined up in front of the Kroger store on Bluffton Road in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The candles were placed there to commemorate Perla Nieto, a cashier who was murdered at the store by an angry customer on the morning of December 7, 2023. Perla had worked at the store for many, many years. I was a regular customer at the store; and I had known her for 15 years. She was a very kind person who is greatly missed by many of us in the Waynedale community.

12-9-23

Just seen this Chris. A poignant picture knowing the story.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A sign that says "Thanks Waynedale" in the front window of the former Landing Zone Coffee and Hello Sunshine Bakery on Lower Huntington Road, just west of Old Trail Road, in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

From 1955 to 2019, this was the Waynedale Bakery. The storefront sat empty until 2021, when Hello Sunshine Bakery opened. Landing Zone Coffee operated inside the bakery, and took over the business when Hello Sunshine closed in August, 2023. Landing Zone Coffee closed in May, 2024.

6-10-24

 

[farlymac]

This is the first thing I've posted in a couple of months. I've been sick most of that time, and haven't done much work. Last night, I made this abstract photograph of the sky over my house in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Get better now, ya hear?

PF

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

An electronic billboard that says "You Are Enough" near the Time Corners Shopping Center on West Jefferson Boulevard in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

This billboard flashes up several signs, each for a few seconds at a time in rotation. I was surprised to see it show a plain blue sign with that message, and no accompanying text explaining its origin or purpose. My research later discovered that billboards like this have been put up all over the United States by an organization called Giving Purpose in an effort to raise the self-esteem of those who see them.

5-30-24

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Markle 66 is a gas station and auto repair shop at the corner of Clark Street (State Road 3) and Morse Street (State Road 116) in Markle, Indiana. Markle is a small town that straddles the border between Wells and Huntington Counties. The mural of an eagle and the American flag on the side of the building next to it says "Pride, Strength, Freedom."

This used to be a Philips 66 gas station, but now it is a Marathon station. Despite changing the brand of gasoline they sell, the business is still called Markle 66.

5-14-24

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The Markle Freemasons #453 Building is located on the southeast corner of Clark Street (State Road 3) and Morse Street (State Road 116) in the small town of Markle, Indiana.

The building is now home to a bar called The Pickle. The mural on the side of the building was painted by Bryan Ballinger of Huntington, Indiana.

5-14-24

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chester Center Church is a small non-denominational church on the corner of State Road 3 and County Road 900S in rural Wells County, Indiana. A neon sign on the front of the building says "God Is Love."

5-14-24

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

These pine trees grow in a farmer's field on the south side of Knoll Road, between Ardmore Avenue and Smith Road, just outside Fort Wayne in rural Allen County, Indiana. On this foggy summer morning, this corner of the field was overgrown with weeds.

This is the second photograph that I have made of these trees. I made the first one on a clear March morning the previous year, after a rainstorm had flooded the field around the trees.

7-11-24

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A neon sign saying "Most Fun In FW" stands in front of the old Journal-Gazette Building on the corner of Clinton Street and Main Street in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. The sign is there to bring people into a business called MC Racing, which is a place to play interactive car racing video games.

I'd be bored to death, but I am old. Thinking back to my days as a teacher; I think a lot of my students would have agreed with the sign's promise.

7-4-24

 

[KoNickon]

I am 65, headed to 66 in a couple of months. I've never played video games; I simply don't get the point. But then, I didn't get the appeal of pinball (which was big when I was in college) either. Never enjoyed card games either.

Why do people have to compete in order to interact? How about talking? Reading a book? Sorry, I guess the heat is bringing out the grumpiness.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I am 65, headed to 66 in a couple of months. I've never played video games; I simply don't get the point. But then, I didn't get the appeal of pinball (which was big when I was in college) either. Never enjoyed card games either.

Why do people have to compete in order to interact? How about talking? Reading a book? Sorry, I guess the heat is bringing out the grumpiness.

Not grumpiness; common sense.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I am 65, headed to 66 in a couple of months. I've never played video games; I simply don't get the point. But then, I didn't get the appeal of pinball (which was big when I was in college) either. Never enjoyed card games either.

Why do people have to compete in order to interact? How about talking? Reading a book? Sorry, I guess the heat is bringing out the grumpiness.

I enjoy some games, like Chess. Video games are different. I've noticed in young people (remember that I was a high school and middle school teacher for four years) that there is an inverse relationship between video game playing and achievement in life (more gaming = less achievement). My son used to play video games a little but he never got heavily into it; he was just too busy with his studies and with doing his artwork and doing other things he enjoyed like building computers. I think a lot of kids get heavily into them because they have nothing else going for them in life and need something to fill the time so they don't have to think about their lives.

 

[KoNickon]

I enjoy some games, like Chess. Video games are different. I've noticed in young people (remember that I was a high school and middle school teacher for four years) that there is an inverse relationship between video game playing and achievement in life (more gaming = less achievement). My son used to play video games a little but he never got heavily into it; he was just too busy with his studies and with doing his artwork and doing other things he enjoyed like building computers. I think a lot of kids get heavily into them because they have nothing else going for them in life and need something to fill the time so they don't have to think about their lives.

I was actually talking about this with a work colleague yesterday. I think you are dead on. Whether it's because they have nothing else going for them, or they lack the requisite level of curiosity and ambition, gaming takes over. And it's mainly boys who are susceptible to this, and they get left behind. So the results are not good for our society.

 

[raydm6]

Too much dopamine rewards during gaming I would assume (this could apply to other addictive activities as well).

For those addicted, dopamine detox (digital detoxing) is needed:

Gaming grants players immediate gratification, mediated by an abnormal surge of dopamine in their neural reward pathway.

Dopamine Detoxification for Problematic Gaming

Problematic gaming is challenging to treat. Here's how you can get started.

www.psychiatrictimes.com

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

In July of 2024, the intersection of Ardmore Avenue and Sandpoint Road in my neighborhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana was closed for a few weeks so that a left turn lane could be added to Ardmore.

Shortly after that section of Ardmore Avenue closed, someone added posted a hand-written sign under the "Road Closed 500 Feet" sign originally posted by the construction crew. The sign, with arrows pointing up at the "Road Closed" sign, says: "It's Not A Lie!"

7-22-24

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This old blue house with an American flag in the front window is on Broadway, just north of Dewald Street, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The house is pretty plain looking, except for the elaborately carved trim around the front windows and the door. Like many of the houses in the old neighborhoods surrounding Fort Wayne's downtown, this one is subdivided into apartments.

4-27-24

 

[KoNickon]

This old blue house with an American flag in the front window is on Broadway, just north of Dewald Street, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The house is pretty plain looking, except for the elaborately carved trim around the front windows and the door. Like many of the houses in the old neighborhoods surrounding Fort Wayne's downtown, this one is subdivided into apartments.

4-27-24

Nice details -- interesting clapboarding too.

The flag's not hung properly, if it's intended to be viewed from outside. The union (blue quadrant) should be top left.

 

[Dan]

The Markle Freemasons #453 Building is located on the southeast corner of Clark Street (State Road 3) and Morse Street (State Road 116) in the small town of Markle, Indiana.

The building is now home to a bar called The Pickle. The mural on the side of the building was painted by Bryan Ballinger of Huntington, Indiana.

5-14-24

Any idea who the person is in front of the tractor tire?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Any idea who the person is in front of the tractor tire?

No, I don't. Just some random guy walking down the street.