Louisiana | Photo of the Day

[byrde]

[hagetaka]

looks good byrde

[richyb83]

^Nice shot Bryde

*older photo from this past Summer in Baton Rouge

[richyb83]

[richyb83]

A couple of new 12-story buildings; II City Plaza(left) completed in 09'; Courthouse(opening soon)

Looking South on Fourth Street-BATON ROUGE

[dimebag1980]

This is not a photo, but a digital image. For the record, THIS IMAGE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. Credits for this image go to Prevot Design Services, Mike McSwain Architect, Cyber Innovation Center, and National Cyber Research Park.

This is a digital image I found of the National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City:

The park doesn't look like this yet. Much of the infrastructure is in place and the first building is in place. In fact, the building shown is actually in a different position within the park than it was depicted in this image. Supposedly sometime in 2011, the second, and possibly third, buildings are "supposed" to be constructed. We will see how that goes. One building will be a collaborative effort between the National Cyber Research Park and Bossier Parish Community College. They are supposed to combine the two vastly different architectural styles into a building that would be built between both campuses, bridging them together. This would be a cyber technology classroom building.

Also, on the education front for this region, Louisiana Tech and BPCC have teamed up to expand the opportunities for locals who want to get an engineering degree. This will add more classes to the local area, meaning the students will spend less time at Tech in Ruston than they currently must. FINALLY my wife will be able to begin her engineering degree that she has wanted to pursue for so long!

Oh, and a shameless plug - watch CBS' 60 Minutes tonight at 6:00 Central to see a piece about the Haynesville Shale. My boss will be on there and they will be touring a drilling rig up here in the Haynesville. They will also speak to people who have made millions since the Haynesville Shale play first heated up. Additionally, they are supposed to speak of the pros and cons of gas extraction from shale formations. My employer, Chesapeake Energy, is very green and they push a green lifestyle. We recycle, and our corporate campus in Oklahoma City is an impressive facility where their focus is on nature and conservation. I can't say the company is perfect, but for an energy company they are certainly doing a lot to give back to the planet that they are taking from. That's more than I can say for many energy companies. But the extraction of fossil fuels from the planet doesn't bother me at all. I'm not as conservative as I used to be, but I still believe in extracting what we need while we have it. That said, I am also a proponent of wind energy. As of right now, we can't fuel vehicles on this type of energy, but wind farms have proven that we can do a lot with it. With my job, I travel a lot. And one area that I have been amazed by is west Texas. You still see a lot of oil wells being drilled all over the place out there, but now it seems as though there are just as many giant wind turbines dotting the landscape out there as oil wells. It's quite impressive!

Many Urban Planeteers will most likely not agree with my viewpoints on the environment, but I can say that I do try more these days than I ever have before. I'm a mad man when it comes to recycling!! I encouraged my coworkers to start their old recycling program back up a few months ago. They tried, and all the rednecks ruined it. I won't stand for that crap, so we started the program back up and so far it's been a roaring success. We have gotten a lot of people into the routine of recycling. I'm not a confrontational person anymore, so I promote peace as much as I can. It's hard to do when you work in an industry full of rednecks and roughnecks, but I try. I don't care about being popular, I just care about doing my job to the best of my ability and doing my part to help the planet that we take from.

Anyway, I will leave you with that, friends. I always love coming back here and seeing what all is going on, who all is still around here, etc. Don't forget to watch 60 Minutes tonight if you get the chance!

Edited November 14, 2010 by SBCmetroguy

[dimebag1980]

A couple of new 12-story buildings; II City Plaza(left) completed in 09'; Courthouse(opening soon)

Looking South on Fourth Street-BATON ROUGE

Lookin good! Definitely filling in. More central city development... something you WANT to see. I wish more of that was going on up here, but everything new is being built farther and farther out. Not very smart!

[dimebag1980]

This is a photo I snapped quickly earlier today while out and about. Sorry for the quality, this is a Blackberry photo. Being no longer a photog myself, I don't have any equipment anymore. Anyway, this is the Shreveport-Bossier area's first CNG (compressed natural gas) fueling station. There aren't many vehicles around here yet that can run on CNG, but while I was looking for a spot to take the photo from, I saw two different vehicles fuel up.

This is the first of three currently planned in this area. They are all expected to be urban infill projects, much like this one. This one is by Bossier City Hall, Pierre Bossier Mall, First Baptist Church, and a lot of old, rundown businesses and "no-tell motels". It's the most recent investment in that area, and it's nice to see. With so many businesses moving to the far north end of Airline Drive, this particular area of Bossier City is beginning to dry up quickly.

[richyb83]

Great to have you back posting Brian! Hope all is well! The SBC thread has not been the same...nice aerial image of the National Cyber Research Park...meant to start a post a few weeks back about Bossier Parish continued growth; will try to get to that soon. Always good to see the urban infil projects..the CNG fueling stations are cool...I try to recycle as much as possible

[richyb83]

[hagetaka]

quite nice....!!!

[richyb83]

Thanks hagetaka

This from the 29th floor of the Marriott on Canal Street...it's was too cloudy to get a brighter pic...

[Antrell Williams]

Nice angle, brighter and it would've been overexposed.

[hagetaka]

lovely image richy, your greens are the best.

[richyb83]

Thanks yall! Your still the champ LT!

The French Quarter side

[richyb83]

[Antrell Williams]

The picture above facing north at the Quarter looks great on my computer. Great tones, shows the density, and is colorful in a sense. Too bad the sky isn't more interesting. Only gripe is the horizon is a tad crooked, no biggie. Fantastic other than that.

[richyb83]

Cool...

The Blue Dogs in the Big EZ too...

[richyb83]

Am I finally going to able to post a pic??

[hagetaka]

quite nice images of the big city, thx richy

[richyb83]

Thanks LT...Wish I would have taken more

[richyb83]

Expansion at OLOL Hospital in Baton Rouge

[dimebag1980]

Bossier City riverfront. KCS Railroad tracks to the right, Margaritaville construction to the left and Louisiana Boardwalk in between. Not my photo.

[dimebag1980]

The most notable sights missing from this photo: Horseshoe Casino & Hotel and the Sci-Port science center and planetarium.

[richyb83]

Those are some nice aerials Brian! That open green field north(left on top pic) of Boardwalk...looks like a nice area for an urban village with some mid-rise apartment/condo's...tied to the BassPro/Casino's etc....and the 2nd pic always like the density of the high-rises in the Shreveport CBD!

Did not want to reply here unless i posted pic myself...took this the other day...at I-10/Essen Lane Overpass where widening extra lane is taking place...The OLOL Hospital is currently expanding with a 10-story Cardio-Vascular Tower on the right

Edited November 20, 2012 by richyb83