Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 29th most-populous city in the United States. It is one of two cities in Kentucky designated as first-class, the other being Lexington, the state's second-largest city. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, located in the northern region of the state, on the border with Indiana. Louisville, named for King Louis XVI of France, was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark, making it one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains. Sited beside the Falls of the Ohio, the only major obstruction to river traffic between the upper Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico, the settlement first grew as a portage site, it was the founding city of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which grew into a 6,000-mile system across 13 states. Today, the city is known as the home of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the University of Louisville and its Louisville Cardinals athletic teams, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, three of Kentucky's six Fortune 500 companies, being Humana, Kindred Healthcare and Yum!
Brands. Its main airport is the site of United Parcel Service's worldwide air hub. Since 2003, Louisville's borders have been the same as those of Jefferson County, after a city-county merger; the official name of this consolidated city-county government is the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, abbreviated to Louisville Metro. Despite the merger and renaming, the term "Jefferson County" continues to be used in some contexts in reference to Louisville Metro including the incorporated cities outside the "balance" which make up Louisville proper; the city's total consolidated population as of the 2017 census estimate was 771,158. However, the balance total of 621,349 excludes other incorporated places and semiautonomous towns within the county and is the population listed in most sources and national rankings; the Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Kentuckiana, includes Louisville-Jefferson County and 12 surrounding counties, seven in Kentucky and five in Southern Indiana.
As of 2017, the MSA had a population of 1,293,953. The history of Louisville spans hundreds of years, has been influenced by the area's geography and location; the rapids at the Falls of the Ohio created a barrier to river travel, as a result, settlements grew up at this stopping point. The first European settlement in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville was on Corn Island in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark, credited as the founder of Louisville. Several landmarks in the community are named after him. Two years in 1780, the Virginia General Assembly approved the town charter of Louisville; the city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War. Early residents lived in forts to protect themselves from Indian raids, but moved out by the late 1780s. In 1803, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark organized their expedition across America in the town of Clarksville, Indiana at the present-day Falls of the Ohio opposite Louisville, Kentucky.
The city's early growth was influenced by the fact that river boats had to be unloaded and moved downriver before reaching the falls. By 1828, the population had grown to 7,000 and Louisville became an incorporated city. Early Louisville was slaves worked in a variety of associated trades; the city was a point of escape for slaves to the north, as Indiana was a free state. During this point in the 1850s, the city was growing and vibrant, but that came with negativity, it was the center of planning, supplies and transportation for numerous campaigns in the Western Theater. By the year 1855, ethnic tension was arising. Nobody knew. On August 6, 1855 "Bloody Monday" happened. By 1861, the civil war broke out. During the Civil War, Louisville was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept Kentucky in the Union. By the end of the war, Louisville had not been attacked, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Perryville and Corydon, took place nearby. After Reconstruction, returning Confederate veterans took political control of the city, leading to the jibe that Louisville joined the Confederacy after the war was over.
The first Kentucky Derby was held on May 1875, at the Louisville Jockey Club track. The Derby was shepherded by Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. the grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, grandnephew of the city's founder George Rogers Clark. Horse racing had a strong tradition in Kentucky, whose Inner Bluegrass Region had been a center of breeding high-quality livestock throughout the 19th century. Ten thousand spectators watched the first Derby. On March 27, 1890, the city was devastated and its downtown nearly destroyed when an F4 tornado tore through as part of the middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak. An estimated 74 to 120 people were killed and 200 were injured; the damage cost the city $2.5 million. In 1914, the City of Louisville passed a racially-based zoning residential zoning code, following Baltimore, a handful of cities in the Carolinas; the NAACP challenged the ordinance in two cases. Two weeks after the ordinance enacted, an African-American named Arthur Harris moved into a house on a block designated for whites.
He was found guilty. The second case was planned to create a test case. William Warley, the president of the local chapter
Portland, Oregon
Portland is the largest and most populous city in the U. S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is a major port in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers; as of 2017, Portland had an estimated population of 647,805, making it the 26th-largest city in the United States, the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest. 2.4 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area, making it the 25th most populous MSA in the United States. Its Combined Statistical Area ranks 18th-largest with a population of around 3.2 million. 60% of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area. Named after Portland, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail, its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, the timber industry was a major force in the city's early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering.
After the city's economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II, its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its growing progressive political values, earning it a reputation as a bastion of counterculture; the city operates with a commission-based government guided by a mayor and four commissioners as well as Metro, the only directly elected metropolitan planning organization in the United States. The city government is notable for its land-use investment in public transportation. Portland is recognized as one of the world's most environmentally conscious cities because of its high walkability, large community of bicyclists, farm-to-table dining, expansive network of public transportation options, over 10,000 acres of public parks, its climate is marked by cool, rainy winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, Portland has been called the "City of Roses" for over a century. During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula, in what would become Montana.
These massive floods occurred during the last ice age and filled the Willamette Valley with 300 to 400 feet of water. Before American pioneers began arriving in the 1800s, the land was inhabited for many centuries by two bands of indigenous Chinook people—the Multnomah and the Clackamas; the Chinook people occupying the land were first documented in 1805 by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Before its European settlement, the Portland Basin of the lower Columbia River and Willamette River valleys had been one of the most densely populated regions on the Pacific Coast. Large numbers of pioneer settlers began arriving in the Willamette Valley in the 1830s via the Oregon Trail, though life was centered in nearby Oregon City. In the early 1840s a new settlement emerged ten miles from the mouth of the Willamette River halfway between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver; this community was referred to as "Stumptown" and "The Clearing" because of the many trees cut down to allow for its growth. In 1843 William Overton saw potential in the new settlement but lacked the funds to file an official land claim.
For 25 cents, Overton agreed to share half of the 640-acre site with Asa Lovejoy of Boston. In 1845 Overton sold his remaining half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Maine. Both Pettygrove and Lovejoy wished to rename "The Clearing" after their respective hometowns; this controversy was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, thereby providing Portland with its namesake. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society. At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851, Portland had over 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, a newspaper, the Weekly Oregonian. A major fire swept through downtown in August 1873, destroying twenty blocks on the west side of the Willamette along Yamhill and Morrison Streets, causing $1.3 million in damage. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500 and by 1890 it had grown to 46,385. In 1888, the city built the first steel bridge built on the West Coast.
Portland's access to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and Columbia rivers, as well as its easy access to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the "Great Plank Road", provided the pioneer city with an advantage over other nearby ports, it grew quickly. Portland remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without the treacherous navigation of the Columbia River; the city had its own Japantown, for one, the lumber industry became a prominent economic presence, due to the area's large population of Douglas Firs, Western Hemlocks, Red Cedars, Big Leaf Maple trees. Portland developed a reputation early in its history as a gritty port town; some historians have described the city's early establishment as being a "scion of New England. In 1889, The Oregonian called Portland "the most filthy city in the Northern States", due to the unsanitary sewers and gutters, and, at the turn of the 20th century, it was considered one of the most dangerous port cities in the world.
The city housed a large number of saloons
Vert ramp
A vert ramp is a form of half-pipe used in extreme sports such as vert skating, vert skateboarding and vert BMX. Vert ramps are so named because they transition from a horizontal plane to a vertical section on top; the typical height of a vert ramp is 11 ft to 14 ft with anywhere from 6 in to 2 ft of vertical on top. This vertical section makes it easier for the riders to take off and ‘catch air’ on a vert ramp rather than on a half-pipe; this is because the vert at the top causes the rider to go straight up into the air instead of forward and off the ramp. Half pipe Mega Ramp Quarter pipe Vert skating Skateboard BMX Czech Republic
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua County, United States, the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Gainesville in the 2017 US Census estimates was 132,249, a 6.4% growth from 2010. Gainesville is the largest city in the region of North Central Florida, it is a component of the Gainesville-Lake City Combined Statistical Area, which had a 2013 population of 337,925. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the nation's fifth-largest university campus by enrollment, as well as to Santa Fe College. Gainesville is located at 29°39'55" North, 82°20'10" West, the same latitude as Houston, Texas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.4 square miles, of which 61.3 square miles is land and 1.1 square miles is water. The total area is 1.74% water. Gainesville's tree canopy is both dense and species rich, including broadleaf evergreens and deciduous species. Gainesville is the only city with more than 10,000 residents in the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, it is surrounded by rural area, including the 21,000-acre wilderness of Paynes Prairie on its southern edge.
The city is characterized by its medium size and central location, about 90 minutes' driving time from either Jacksonville or Orlando, two hours from Tampa, five hours from either Atlanta or Miami. The area is dominated by the University of Florida, which in 2008 was the third-largest university by enrollment in the US, as of 2016 was the fifth-largest. Gainesville's climate is defined as humid subtropical. Due to its inland location, Gainesville experiences wide temperature fluctuations for Florida, it is part of USDA Plant hardiness zone 9a. During the hot season, from May 15 to September 30, the city's climate is similar to the rest of the state, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms and high humidity. Temperatures range from the low 70s at night to around 92 °F during the day on average; the all-time record high of 104 °F was reached on June 27, 1952. From November through March, the Gainesville area has a climate distinct from much of peninsular Florida with 16 nights of freezing or below temperatures and sustained freezes occurring every few years.
The all-time record low of 6 °F was reached on February 13, 1899, the city experienced light snow and freezing rain on Christmas Eve, 1989. Traces of snow were recorded in 1977, 1996, 2010 and 2016; the daily average temperature in January is 54.3 °F. As with the rest of the state, cold temperatures are always accompanied by clear skies and high pressure systems. Temperatures reaching 100 °F or falling below 20 °F are rare, having occurred on June 16, 2015 and January 11, 2010; the city's flora and fauna are distinct from coastal regions of the state, include many deciduous species, such as dogwood, maple and sweet gum, alongside palms, live oaks, other evergreens. Thus the city enjoys brief periods of fall color in late November and December and a noticeable, prolonged spring from mid-February through early April; this is a pleasant period, as colorful blooms of azalea and redbud complement a cloudless blue sky, for this is the period of the lowest precipitation and lowest humidity. The city averages 47.33 inches of rain per year.
June through September accounts for a majority of annual rainfall, while autumn and early winter is the driest period. Since the 1990s, suburban sprawl has been a concern for a majority of the city commissioners; the "New Urbanization" plan to gentrify the area between historic Downtown and the University of Florida may slow the growth of suburban sectors and spark a migration toward upper-level apartments in the inner city. The area north of the university is seeing active redevelopment. Many gentrification plans rely on tax incentives that have sparked controversy and are sometimes unsuccessful. University Corners, which would not have been proposed without a $98 million tax incentive program by the city, was to be "a crowning jewel of the city's redevelopment efforts", 450 condos and hotel units and 98,000 square feet of retail space in eight stories covering three city blocks, on 3.4 acres purchased for $15.5 million. 19 thriving businesses were demolished in April 2007, but in May 2008 deposit checks were refunded to about 105 people who reserved units, in July 2008 developers spent "$120,000 to beautify the site, so we won't have this ugly green fence."Gainesville's east side houses the majority of the city's African-American community, while the west side consists of the student and white resident population.
West of the city limits are large-scale planned communities, most notably Haile Plantation, built on the site of its eponymous former plantation. The destruction of the city's landmark Victorian courthouse in the 1960s, which some considered unnecessary, brought the idea of historic preservation to the community's attention; the bland county building that replaced the grand courthouse became known to some locals as the "air conditioner". Additional destruction of other historic buildings in the downtown followed. Only a small handful of older buildings are left, like the Hippodrome State Theatre, at one time a feder
Encino, Los Angeles
Encino is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. In 1769, the Spanish Portola expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda pass into the San Fernando Valley on August 5 and stayed two nights at a native village near what is now Los Encinos State Historic Park. Fray Juan Crespi, a Franciscan missionary travelling with the expedition, named the valley "El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de Los Encinos". All of Crespi's name was dropped except "Encino". Rancho Los Encinos was established in 1845 when a large parcel of former Mission San Fernando land was granted to three Mission Indians by governor Pio Pico. Many ranchos were created after the secularization of the California missions, which began in 1834. Encino derives its name from the rancho; the 2000 U. S. census counted 41,905 residents in the 9.5-square-mile Encino neighborhood — 4,411 inhabitants per square mile, among the lowest population densities for the city but average for the county.
In 2008, the city estimated that the resident population had increased to 44,581. In 2000 the median age for residents was 42, considered old for county neighborhoods; the neighborhood was considered "not diverse" ethnically within Los Angeles, with a high percentage of white residents. The breakdown was whites, 80.1%. Iran and Russia were the most common places of birth for the 32.8% of the residents who were born abroad—an average percentage for Los Angeles. The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $78,529, considered high for the city; the percentage of households that earned $125,000 and up was high for Los Angeles County. The average household size of 2.3 people was low when compared to the rest of the city and the county. Renters occupied 38.4% of the housing stock and house- or apartment-owners held 61.6%. The percentages of divorced residents and of widowed men and women were among the county's highest. In 2000 military veterans amounted to 10.6 % of a high rate for the county.
Encino is situated in the central portion of the southern San Fernando Valley and on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is flanked on the north by Reseda and the Sepulveda Basin, on the east by Sherman Oaks, on the southeast by Bel-Air, on the south by Brentwood and on the west by Tarzana; the local economy provides jobs in health care, social services, professional services sectors. There are 3,800 businesses employing about 27,000 people at an annual payroll of $1.4 billion. Encino is in Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors district 3 and Los Angeles City Council District 5, it is represented within the city of Los Angeles by the Encino Neighborhood Council, an advisory body under the auspices of the city Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. The United States Postal Service operates the Encino Post Office at 5805 White Oak Avenue and the Balboa Van Nuys Post Office at 4930 Balboa Boulevard. Forty-six percent of Encino residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high percentage for both the city and the county.
The percentage of those residents with a master's degree or higher was high for the county. Schools within the Encino boundaries are: Encino is served by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Hesby Oaks Leadership Charter School, LAUSD, 15530 Hesby Street Encino Charter Elementary School, LAUSD, 16941 Addison Street Emelita Street Elementary School, LAUSD, 17931 Hatteras Street Fred E. Lull Special Education Center, LAUSD, 17551 Miranda Street Lanai Road Elementary School, LAUSD, 4241 Lanai RoadAs of 2009, there are no public high schools in Encino. Public high schools serving portions of Encino are Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa, Reseda High School in Reseda. In 1982 the board considered closing Rhoda Street Elementary School in Encino. In April 1983 an advisory committee of the LAUSD recommended closing eight LAUSD schools, including Rhoda Street School. In August 1983 the board publicly considered closing Rhoda. In 1984 the board voted to close the Rhoda Street School. Sage Academy, elementary, 5901 Lindley Avenue Westmark School, 5461 Louise Avenue Holy Martyrs Armenian High School/Ferrahian, 5300 White Oak Avenue Crespi Carmelite High School, 5031 Alonzo Avenue Our Lady of Grace School, elementary, 17720 Ventura Boulevard Los Encinos School, elementary, 17114 Ventura Boulevard Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, elementary, 4650 Haskell Avenue Valley Beth Shalom Day School, 15739 Ventura Boulevard International School of Los Angeles, 5933 Lindley Avenue California State Parks operates the 5-acre Los Encinos State Historic Park in Encino.
The park includes the original nine room de la Ossa Adobe, the Garnier Building, a blacksmith shop, a pond, a natural spring. The Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, located in Encino, includes the Woodley Worel/Magnus Cricket Complex with the four best grass cricket pitches in the United States. Host to many famous stars and games reflecting cricket's origins in Los Angeles from 1888. Included in the basin is the Encino Golf Course and the Balboa Golf Course, having a total of 36 golf holes; the Balboa Municipal Golf Course, a short-length golf course, was lengthened by Steve Timm in 2008. The Balboa course has a banquet room, back nine play, cart rental, club rental, classes, a lighted driving range, a loun
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, about 80 km east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies; the city anchors the south end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor". The city had a population of 1,267,344 in 2018, making it Alberta's largest city and Canada's third-largest municipality. In 2016, Calgary had a metropolitan population of 1,392,609, making it the fourth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada; the economy of Calgary includes activity in the energy, financial services and television, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, aerospace and wellness, tourism sectors. The Calgary CMA is home to the second-highest number of corporate head offices in Canada among the country's 800 largest corporations. In 2015, Calgary had the highest number of millionaires per capita of any major city in Canada.
In 1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Winter Olympic Games. Calgary has been recognized for its high quality of life. In 2018, The Economist magazine ranked Calgary the fourth-most liveable city in the world in their Global Liveability Ranking. Calgary is classed as a Beta global city. Calgary was named after Calgary on the Isle of Scotland. In turn, the name originates from a compound of kald and gart, similar Old Norse words, meaning "cold" and "garden" used when named by the Vikings who inhabited the Inner Hebrides. Alternatively, the name might be Gaelic Cala ghearraidh, meaning "beach of the meadow", or Gaelic for either "clear running water" or "bay farm"; the indigenous peoples of Southern Alberta referred to the Calgary area as "elbow", in reference to the sharp bend made by the Bow River and the Elbow River. In some cases, the area was named after the reeds that grew along the riverbanks, which were used to fashion bows. In the Blackfoot language, the area was known as Mohkínstsis akápiyoyis, meaning "elbow many houses", reflecting its strong settler presence.
The shorter form of the Blackfoot name, Mohkínstsis meaning "elbow", has been the popular Indigenous term for the Calgary area. In the Nakoda language, the area is known as Wincheesh-pah or Wenchi Ispase, both meaning "elbow". In the Nehiyaw Language, the area was known as Otoskwanik meaning "house at the elbow" or Otoskwunee meaning "elbow". In the Tsuut'ina language, the area is known as Kootsisáw meaning "elbow". In the Slavey language, the area was known as Klincho-tinay-indihay meaning "many horse town", referring to the Calgary Stampede and the city's settler heritage. There have been several attempts to revive the indigenous names of Calgary. In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, local post-secondary institutions have adopted "official acknowledgements" of indigenous territory using the Blackfoot name of the City, Mohkínstsis. In 2017, the Stoney Nakoda sent an application to the Government of Alberta, to rename Calgary as Wichispa Oyade meaning "elbow town", however this has been challenged by the Piikani Blackfoot.
The Calgary area was inhabited by pre-Clovis people whose presence has been traced back at least 11,000 years. The area has been inhabited by the Niitsitapi, îyârhe Nakoda, the Tsuut'ina First Nations peoples and Métis Nation, Region 3; as Mayor Naheed Nenshi describes, "There have always been people here. In Biblical times there were people here. For generations beyond number, people have come here to this land, drawn here by the water, they come here to fish. He was the first recorded European to visit the area. John Glenn was the first documented European settler in the Calgary area, in 1873. In 1875, the site became a post of the North-West Mounted Police; the NWMP detachment was assigned to protect the western plains from US whisky traders, to protect the fur trade. Named Fort Brisebois, after NWMP officer Éphrem-A. Brisebois, it was renamed Fort Calgary in 1876 by Colonel James Macleod; when the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the area in 1883, a rail station was constructed, Calgary began to grow into an important commercial and agricultural centre.
Over a century the Canadian Pacific Railway headquarters moved to Calgary from Montreal in 1996. Calgary was incorporated as a town in 1884, elected its first mayor, George Murdoch. In 1894, it was incorporated as "The City of Calgary" in what was the North-West Territories; the Calgary Police Service was established in 1885 and assumed municipal, local duties from the NWMP. The Calgary Fire of 1886 occurred on November 7, 1886. Fourteen buildings were destroyed with losses estimated at $103,200. Although no one was killed or injured, city officials drafted a law requiring all large downtown buildings to be built with Paskapoo sandstone, to prevent this from happening again. After the arrival of the railway, the Dominion Government started leasing grazing land at minimal cost; as a result of this policy, large ranching operations were established in the outlying country near Calgary. A transportation and distribution hub, Calgary became the centre of Canada's cattle marketing and meatpacking industries.
By the late 19th century, the Hud
Do it yourself
"Do it yourself" is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things without the direct aid of experts or professionals. Academic research describes DIY as behaviors where "individuals engage raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment". DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations categorized as marketplace motivations, identity enhancement; the term "do-it-yourself" has been associated with consumers since at least 1912 in the domain of home improvement and maintenance activities. The phrase "do it yourself" had come into common usage by the 1950s, in reference to the emergence of a trend of people undertaking home improvement and various other small craft and construction projects as both a creative-recreational and cost-saving activity. Subsequently, the term DIY has taken on a broader meaning. DIY is associated with the international alternative rock, punk rock, indie rock music scenes, indymedia networks, pirate radio stations, the zine community.
In this context, DIY is related to the Arts and Crafts movement, in that it offers an alternative to modern consumer culture's emphasis on relying on others to satisfy needs. It has become prevalent in the personal finance; when investing in the stock one can utilize a professional advisor or partake in do-it-yourself investing. Italian archaeologists unearthed the ruins of a 6th-century BC Greek structure in southern Italy that came with detailed assembly instructions and is being called an "ancient IKEA building"; the structure was a temple-like building discovered at Torre Satriano, near the southern city of Potenza, in Basilicata, a region where local people mingled with Greeks who settled along the southern coast known as Magna Graecia and in Sicily from the 8th century BC onwards. Professor Christopher Smith, director of the British School at Rome, said that the discovery was "the clearest example yet found of mason's marks of the time, it looks as if someone was instructing others how to mass-produce components and put them together in this way".
Much like the instruction booklets, various sections of the luxury building were inscribed with coded symbols showing how the pieces slotted together. The characteristics of these inscriptions indicate they date back to around the 6th century BC, which tallies with the architectural evidence suggested by the decoration; the building was built by Greek artisans coming from the Spartan colony of Taranto in Apulia. In North America, there was a DIY magazine publishing niche in the first half of the twentieth century. Magazines such as Popular Mechanics and Mechanix Illustrated offered a way for readers to keep current on useful practical skills, techniques and materials; as many readers lived in rural or semi-rural regions much of the material related to their needs on the farm or in a small town. The DIY movement is a re-introduction of the old pattern of personal involvement and use of skills in the upkeep of a house or apartment, making clothes; the philosopher Alan Watts reflected a growing sentiment: Our educational system, in its entirety, does nothing to give us any kind of material competence.
In other words, we don't learn how to cook, how to make clothes, how to build houses, how to make love, or to do any of the fundamental things of life. The whole education that we get for our children in school is in terms of abstractions, it trains you to be some kind of cerebral character. In the 1970s, DIY spread through the North American population of college- and recent-college-graduate age groups. In part, this movement involved the renovation of affordable, rundown older homes, but it related to various projects expressing the social and environmental vision of the 1960s and early 1970s. The young visionary Stewart Brand, working with friends and family, using the most basic of typesetting and page-layout tools, published the first edition of The Whole Earth Catalog in late 1968; the first Catalog, its successors, used a broad definition of the term "tools". There were informational tools, such as books, professional journals, courses and the like. There were specialized, designed items, such as carpenters' and masons' tools, garden tools, welding equipment, fiberglass materials and so on — early personal computers.
The designer J. Baldwin acted as editor writing many of the reviews; the Catalog's publication both emerged from and spurred the great wave of experimentalism, convention-breaking, do-it-yourself attitude of the late 1960s. Copied, the Catalog appealed to a wide cross-section of people in North America and had a broad influence. DIY home improvement books burgeoned in the 1970s, first created as collections of magazine articles. An early, extensive line of DIY how-to books was created by Sunset Books, based upon published articles from their magazine, based in California. Time-Life, Better Homes and Gardens, Balcony Garden Web and other publishers soon followed suit. In the mid-1990s, DIY home-improvement content began to find its way onto the World Wide Web. HouseNet was the earliest bulletin-board style sit
