# Look outside & share! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670 "2003-11-17T11:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/41 "2003-11-17T20:15:19Z")
Out the east windows of my office, I’m looking directly at the Chugach Mountain Range, well-covered with snow at this point. The sun has finally cleared the peaks. Across the street is a dentist’s office and some housing. In front of the building are some very nice spruce trees, interspersed with birch. Out the south windows is the parking lot, more trees, and in the distance some jets doing touch and go at the AFB. On both sides are the usual ravens and magpies that one sees in the winter here. It’s about 5 below zero at the moment. From my computer at home, I look out on birch and spruce trees, chickadees visiting the feeder, and the occasional squirrel making a raid on the bird seed. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/42 "2003-11-17T20:40:49Z")
On preview, I see **Bookkeeper** beat me to it! Looking to my right, I see the small side street I’m living on. It’s wide, most of its breadth occupied with grass and trees and sidewalks lining each side. There are a couple of cars parked on my side of the street, and every now and then another drives by. I can see other houses, apartment buildings, and, off the the right, an old stone church and [National Defence Headquarters](http://collections.ic.gc.ca/plast/images/nationdefence.jpg). The roof over the front porch is right outside my window. The squirrel that spends a lot of time on it is nibbling on some fallen maple seeds. The raccoons that knock on my window every now and then aren’t around. A man is strolling down the street, eating an apple, gazing at the stone houses and the crows that are passing overhead. A girl is walking her dog, and the bushes in the front yard are full of sparrows. The window in the hallway affords me a view similar to **Bookkeeper** ’s. The flag flaps lazily atop the [Peace Tower](http://www.parl.gc.ca/Information/Photos/cb-018-E.htm), and the [Library of Parliament](http://www.galenfrysinger.com/americas/ottawa06.jpg) is hidden in the scaffolding. Its iron cap-piece, normally visible, was taken down for restoration. I can see a crane being used on a construction site downtown, and the brand new [copper roof](http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/gallery/2002/photos/408AO1.jpg) on [Château Laurier](http://www.fairmont.com/FA/en/CDA/Home/Hotels/AboutHotel/CDHotelHomePage/0,2993,property%25255Fseq%253D100109,00.html). The finance building is visible, as well as the Ottawa Little Theatre, people and automobiles. A layer of broken altostratus hangs, drifting imperceptibly with the upper winds, and through the breaks are visible the pastel blues and pinks and yellows of a late afternoon sky. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/43 "2003-11-17T22:26:11Z")
I have a very pretty view of most of downtown Cincinnati, and, if I go out on the balcony, one bend of the Ohio River. It’s dusk, so the skyscrapers are starting to turn their lights on, but several of them are still dark. In the foreground, the very spiffy shape of the art deco Union Terminal train station. In front of that, alas, the trainyards, and right below me, again alas, the sewage treatment plant, where a lovely flame burns heavens-know-what all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/44 "2003-11-17T22:29:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beech \* > \*\*Oh jjimm, You’ve just reminded me, right outside our front door is a splendid oak tree, a good 20-25ft tall. This tree was just a sapling when I started this job… > \*\* LOL, my brain finished reading your post before my eyes did, and I fully expected it to say “This tree was just a sapling when I started this **post** ” 😉 To answer the OP, though, I’m looking out at total darkness. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/45 "2003-11-17T22:49:31Z")
My office has no windows. If they were to put one in for me, it would look out over the factory that our offices are built inside of… ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/46 "2003-11-17T22:57:57Z")
Trees, rocks, moss and rain. I have a birdfeeder hanging in my window and, oddly enough, just as I clicked open this thread [this guy](http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/bird_bios/speciesaccounts/norfli.html) landed on it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/47 "2003-11-17T22:59:01Z")
My 'puter is in the basement, but we made an ugly old window well into a lovely garden window & I’m enjoying it right now. I look up to the neighbor’s house and our yard. The bamboo I planted to screen us from the neighbor’s kitchen window is thriving. It’s bright green and dancing at the moment the rain and wind are relentless, but I’m warm & the drops falling from the roof look like precious gems. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/48 "2003-11-17T23:56:51Z")
To quote my favorite Morrisey song: _Every day is like Sunday, Every day is silent and grey._ Like today. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/49 "2003-11-18T00:23:29Z")
From my office window, I can see the local airport at Albrook, which used to be a U.S. air base. On the hills beyond is tropical forest in Camino Las Cruces National Park, which used to be part of the Canal Zone. Off to the right I can see downtown Panama City. If I look out the window on the other side of my floor, I see Panama’s Legislative Assembly building and beyond that the Pacific, where ships are waiting to enter the Panama Canal. ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/50 "2003-11-18T00:34:44Z")
I can see a tree and some sky. No, wait. _Three_ trees and some sky. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/51 "2003-11-18T00:37:10Z")
It’s really black out there. If it were daytime, looking out of the window on my left I can see our garage. Beyond that the big spruce in the yard, and the woods in the back. From the patio doors behind me, I can see our backyard, the dogs if they’re out, our pond (frozen now), and the fence behind it. The window on the right I can see mostly treetops, we’re on a hill. If I get up and walk into the front room, I can see the valley and all the way into Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/52 "2003-11-18T00:47:13Z")
A cop car. Oh, look, and another one. And another. And a policeman with a long, rifle-type thing in his hands lying down on the roof of the building oppos… **’scuse me, gotta go** ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/53 "2003-11-18T01:05:43Z")
It’s getting dark now, but to my left I can still see the outline of a big tree that still has most of its leaves. If I get up and go to the window I can see the lights on the buildings downtown through the mist, and if it was daylight and not raining I’d be able to see the North Shore mountains. Oh, and a somewhat miserable-looking cyclist went past just as I looked out the window. Behind me, there’s a bunch of trees and bushes, plus the stained-glass windows of the church across the street are lit up very prettily, though the trees and bushes block most of my view of that. ---
**Author:** ![beegirl13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@beegirl13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beegirl13)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/54 "2003-11-18T01:15:39Z")
Now: blackness, and lights far away because it’s night. During the day, there would be a flag and a sycamore tree, and the shore and the other side of Cayuga Lake a little further away. I will never be able to afford this sort of a view again! ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/55 "2003-11-18T01:23:01Z")
If it was light out, I would see the ruins of an 1800’s military fort were some famous general lived when his father was stationed there. Its kind of a neat place to live, oh yeah, and a really big mountain. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/56 "2003-11-18T01:53:46Z")
There’s a city cherry picker and crew attempting to replace a burned out streetlight. About 20 cars are now stuck, waiting for the truck to move. The lead guy has his radio turned up so loud, the windows are vibrating. Colorful language about to ensue, bet on it. Ah, the joys of city living. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/57 "2003-11-18T06:57:47Z")
Clothes line with clothes, palm tree, swimming pool. Neighbour’s house and the pool fence which is depressingly close to collapsing. ---
**Author:** ![Phelan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Phelan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phelan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/58 "2003-11-18T09:01:42Z")
I can see the high school that Geddy Lee went to. It’s also kind of foggy. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/59 "2003-11-18T09:15:13Z")
It’s dark, right now. But in the morning, I should see an extinct volcano, and blue hill ranges. Hopefully not laced with smog. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670/60 "2003-11-18T15:10:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Big\_Norse \* > \*\*Oh and **Dinsdale** , that thing about Ceres not having facial features because of the height of the building is a myth, she doesn’t have any features because she’s art deco, and it was a style choice. \*\* I’m pretty sure she had a daughter, Persephone, so wouldn’t that imply she was a myth-us? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/look-outside-share/213670.md?page=4)