October 2008
18 posts
Baltimore-D.C. Maglev back on track? →
And to the Simpsonian tune of Monorail?
I wish Maryland would get its act together and drop the Inter-County Connector and do stuff with the Color Purple and Magnetic Fields. ICC (an outer beltway highway project) = TOTALLY NOT SEXY.
Via BeyondDC.
The! Science! Of! Vegetable! Soup! →
Farmer in Chief →
Michael Pollan, journalist and author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (“eat food, not too much, mostly plants”) wrote an open letter to the next president about food policy and its neglect by politicians of late and policymakers for a generation.
Pollan talks in depth [40-minute audio] about his letter and food in America on Fresh Air.
Oh, Michael. I like it when...
Asian Americans Feeling the Power →
The Washington Post brings up an interesting factoid about Asian Americans influencing politics:
The nation’s fast-growing Asian American population of nearly 15 million has been often overlooked as a political factor, even though in some states a higher percentage of Asians than Hispanics are U.S. citizens who can legally vote. Asian American voters also have a track record of high...
WatchFake Virginia is not for lovers, according to Jon Stewart, opining on real Virginia, fake Virginia, pro-America small-town real Americans, and anti-America un-American New Yorkers and Northern Virginians.
McCain campaign advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer’s comment about “the rest of the state, the real Virginia, if you will” [and, no, I won’t] echoes the demeaning sentiment...
8th District Race on the Politics Hour →
Kojo Namdi (WAMU) hosted a short 25-minute debate [skip to 25:00] for the 8th Congressional District in Virginia, which includes Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church City, and parts of Fairfax County, including the Reston (potentially Silver Line) corridor. (The shape of the eighth, a Democratic stronghold, reminds me of The Redistricting Game.)
Candidates speaking at the debate include:
Jim...
Transportation for America →
Nail Biter
I’m watching the Senate race, and 60-40 are numbers to bite nails to. Senate cloture rules give a minority of no less than 41 members a lot of leverage to moderate (filibuster) legislation they oppose, so having 60 or 41 votes in the Senate is the best thing a majority or minority party, respectively, can have — besides the White House. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,...
The Best Cities for Riding Out a Recession →
BusinessWeek made a list of “communities where the local economy will be relatively unscathed” in troubling times. Although not ostensibly ranked, the list seems ordered by “share of jobs in strong industries” and the top five are:
Arlington, Va.
Washington, D.C.
Durham, N.C.
Madison, Wis.
Boston, Mass.
I’ve heard this story before; the capital region’s...
Fall Soups for Body and Soul →
I think my bailout this season will be a liquid diet. How does stocking the office freezer through the winter with a rotating variety of homemade soup sound?
Clarendon-Wilson Corridor →
The American Planning Association is doling out Great Places in America awards this year and Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor (Clarendon and Wilson boulevards) made the Great Streets list. The award writeup pretty much sums up why I want to move to north Arlington. I’ve pretty much ruled out D.C. and Alexandria for now, and I don’t care for suburbs. South Arlington, with...
“Democracy means that Joe Sixpack should choose the president. It doesn’t...”
– Steven Pinker, psychology professor, quoted in a story on how presidential candidates are ‘just like us’.
Can Falwell's University Tip Virginia to McCain? →
Morning Edition is reporting [5-minute audio] on how Liberty University is canceling class Nov. 4, busing students to the polls, catering food, and holding an all-day campus event. Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr is quoted as saying he hopes a student body of 10,000 can make a difference in what promises to be a close count. Recent state-wide elections have been decided by mere hundreds and 13...
Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts →
The Gmail blog has a reminder and intro about keyboard shortcuts, and I’ve been meaning to learn them for a while now.
Under “Settings” (General), make sure you have the shortcuts enabled. With them on, you can navigate Gmail without a mouse, and if you get confused, type a question mark (“?”) to pull up the cheat sheet.
Keyboarding is not for everyone, but...
“But dialect features tend to come from one’s peers, not one’s...”
– Jesse Sheidlower, trying to place the GOP vice presidential candidate’s accent.
