Welcome CUcircle.com to our online community
"Remember: No matter where you go, there you are."
A shovel to the head followed that line in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. But in our reality, that saying is a great, temporary slogan for the new Web site www.cucircle.com. The site shows most of the active, major road construction projects in the area on a clickable map. And it's as free as the air around you!
One local print outlet — we'll call it Aunty N-G — would have you believe the same information is marketable if it's spread out over days at a time and offered for a cost. That approach might pad a few story counts and make Aunty's Web site look as if it's filled with information, but it won't keep the lights burning in Bartertown.
Cucircle.com might not save you from the gulag of Illinois' crumbling roads, but it will help you find the fastest way to travel. In time, the site will offer additional features that go deeper than a map. For now, though, you won't have to worry about whether there's enough runway or whether the locomotive that's conveniently hidden beneath the methane factory is still functional.
Down the road (pun intended), events other than construction will be spotlighted. A history lesson or two about local development might even surface. I expect a few photos to pop up here and there. You can feel it — the dice are rollin'.
Admittedly, cucircle.com won't have some of the tricks in Aunty's bag. Our recipe for carrot cake with sauerkraut and lime icing is still being perfected, so it won't be at the site. And at least for now, there is an embargo on witty Twitter banter. You'll just have to live without knowing what road markers we're thinking about adding to the map. When they're ready, they'll be posted. In other words, things will just happen, as they did in the cold, dark days before Aunty's family had Twitter accounts.
Suggestions for future maps are encouraged. Limits such as time, marker allotments, and mapping efficiency might come into play, but reasonable ideas will be considered. A couple of new ones are already under development.
Finally, solicitation for donations is excluded from cucircle.com. But there is an active advertisement, and any commerce that develops from said ad would go a long way toward encouraging future projects.
When the dust settles, cucircle.com has all of its information in one place. Area travelers will see its light, and they'll be comin' home.
3 comments
Luke
I wish there were a “+1” button that I could use to thank the author for a worthwhile article without having to leave a comment. I don’t have anything to add, but this article would receive a +1 vote from me. :-)
Good piece to have, especially now. Construction on the Monticello Road, I-57, and Springfield Avenue make my daily commuting a real hassle.
Robert Knilands
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date.
On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I might switch over to that map soon, with Halloween approaching.
So if someone knows about a haunted house that is not “well-known,” then pass that info along. Also, I have not listed one-day events that are not haunted houses. These include a chili cook-off in Sullivan and an educational event for kids in Springfield. Do people want to know about these events, or should this just include haunted houses that run for multiple weekends?
Most Recent Opinion Comments
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
And that, my friend, is love. Bob, I think I still owe you for my wedding cake, served in 1998. But nevermind.
I believe the kiss between Rob and I was documented on low-quality videotape in the mid-ninties porn classic, Dirty Harry…and Sticky.
“Do I have to sign some forms, or am I just considered ‘in.’” You’re in!
Got damn, Coulter. You are the greatest.
I have no specific memory of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d kissed Mike, too—once we’d both drunk ourselves gay. And earlier this week I gave Clarence Shelley a back rub. Do I have to sign some forms, or am I just considered “in.”
FWIW, I got a copy of the letter in question. It was written in a way that would be plausible to a casual reader who didn’t scrutinize it too carefully. It announced the formation of an organization called G.L.A.B.A. (which actually exists), and had discussion about typical…
Most Popular Opinion Articles (60 days)
- Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
- “Opposite” marriage includes fun, love, and drinking in the day
- I bet you wish you had a hat
- Politics and poker may or may not mix
- Priest suing N-G is part of Catholic splinter group
- Opening day brings drinks to the table
- Off the rails
- The desert
- Double trouble in Coulter’s dog prison
- A Modest-ish Proposal
Most Recent Comments
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
Actually, it’s kind of nice, the quiet. John Heoffleur’s engaging commentary/dialogue is sorely missed, however. In lieu of someone intelligent saying something, I’ve compiled a list of Honourable Mentions: BEST ROCK BAND: Take Care ::these gentlemen have four completely different sets at their disposal right now (which…
What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
And without bloodshed. Sounds like the Savoy trustees aren’t as narrow-minded as some of their whiny pants constituents. Do you think quack Snell is already planning an asinine counterattack or is he still laying low after those “threats” against his person?
hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Excellent. I am glad sometimes American dreams are encouraged, rather than stifled.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
Facebook
Twitter
Full Site
hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.