I normally offer a disclaimer whenever I write an article about a timely or currently relevant subject. Essentially, these disclaimers all offer the same warning: don’t expect this to become a routine. And, even though my last hot-off-the-press article wasn’t that long ago and generated considerable response, I still won’t get into the habit because,
It’s impossible to deny a sad truth for anyone who has used transit regularly in the last few years: the shameful act of turnstile jumping has reached epidemic levels in most cities where turnstiles serve as a primary means of fare collection. And this includes almost any American city with light- or heavy-rail transit. I
The spooky season is among us! And though I’ve now lived in the DC metro for more than eight years, only at the end of October 2025 have I finally embarked on a journey to this famous flight of stairs. I’m not sure they achieve quite the memetic lore as the Rocky steps—the climb up
Life at the top can be lonely and bleak…even more if one lives that life on the upper level of a seemingly completely empty parking deck, even while the businesses below it are abuzz. Take the example in this suburban shopping node: The node in question? Springfield, Virginia, which everyone in metro Washington DC knows
Despite some glum predictions on the long-term economic health of college towns, most of the ones that harbor flagship universities still look pretty vibrant, at least if Bozeman, home of Montana State University (largest university in the state), is any example. As recently as 1970, Bozeman was a fairly obscure town that hosted the state’s
My previous visit to the Peace Garden State lasted no more than five hours, yet it yielded two separate blog articles, both in Bowman (the only town of any size where I stepped out of my car). I didn’t visit Bowman this time around, but I lingered in a different region, gathering some interesting finds
I’m breaking all of my own rules these days. Averse as I am to including two analysis-free montages in a row, now I’m taking the violations a step further by featuring two consecutive articles that a) offer very timely content (likely to seem irrelevant in a few days) and b) carry heavily political undertones, though
My over 900 articles on this site have rarely gone viral in that they amass thousands of responses or get picked up by national media. I’m just not that big. (And I don’t try to be; after one unpleasant experience, I vowed never again to pay to boost visibility of blog posts via social media
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is, by far, the most commonplace and widely distributed bear species on the planet. Its range includes nearly half of the US land area. Much of the country coexists peacefully with the beast. Despite the fact that they are smaller than all the other North American bear species, the
I don’t want to belabor a point, which is why I rarely avoid two articles on the same subject in rapid succession. And besides, my May writeup on shopping cart security breaches didn’t generate a whole lot of buzz, perhaps because most readers are one step ahead: I was pointing out a feature that was
I normally offer a disclaimer whenever I write an article about a timely or currently relevant subject. Essentially, these disclaimers all offer the same warning: don’t expect this to become a routine. And,
It’s impossible to deny a sad truth for anyone who has used transit regularly in the last few years: the shameful act of turnstile jumping has reached epidemic levels in most cities where
The spooky season is among us! And though I’ve now lived in the DC metro for more than eight years, only at the end of October 2025 have I finally embarked on a
Life at the top can be lonely and bleak…even more if one lives that life on the upper level of a seemingly completely empty parking deck, even while the businesses below it are
Despite some glum predictions on the long-term economic health of college towns, most of the ones that harbor flagship universities still look pretty vibrant, at least if Bozeman, home of Montana State University
My previous visit to the Peace Garden State lasted no more than five hours, yet it yielded two separate blog articles, both in Bowman (the only town of any size where I stepped
I’m breaking all of my own rules these days. Averse as I am to including two analysis-free montages in a row, now I’m taking the violations a step further by featuring two consecutive
My over 900 articles on this site have rarely gone viral in that they amass thousands of responses or get picked up by national media. I’m just not that big. (And I don’t
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is, by far, the most commonplace and widely distributed bear species on the planet. Its range includes nearly half of the US land area. Much of the
I don’t want to belabor a point, which is why I rarely avoid two articles on the same subject in rapid succession. And besides, my May writeup on shopping cart security breaches didn’t