I explore towns and cities all across the country and describe what physically exists as well as some of the reasons why things are the way they are. The same basic conditions are in evidence in most places and it’s not always pretty. This raises the hackles of locals who proclaim, “Hey! You don’t know … Continue reading The Happenstance Solution
I’ve voted in every election since I was eligible at age eighteen, sometimes for Republicans, sometimes for Democrats. But I almost didn’t vote this time around. The choices are… unappealing. It isn’t the presidential candidates themselves that bother me so much as the mood of the country that conjured them. I’ll be out of town … Continue reading The Reluctant Voter
The building in Philadelphia that’s now known as the Betsy Ross House was never actually occupied by Ross. That building most likely existed a few door over but is long gone. But the museum does an excellent job of recreating a proxy that conveys the larger truth even if some of the historical details are … Continue reading Betsy Ross Was a Renter and Frank Lloyd Wright Was an Absentee Landlord
I just attended the IoT (Internet of Things) Tech Expo in Santa Clara, California. I’m going to attempt to pull together a few different threads so bear with me. The Internet of Things is about taking all our everyday objects and connecting them without human intermediaries, then having the machines learn from each other and … Continue reading Open the Pod Bay Doors HAL
A friend recently expressed an interest in how some cities are reforming their land use regulations. “I mean, there are places like LA that say they’ve thrown out the code books and are rewriting their zoning.” My short response was… No. The reality is that the city plays an expensive and byzantine game of cat … Continue reading Cat and Mouse in Frogtown
Colerain Township, Ohio has a problem and it knows it. Here are two images that sum up both the problem and the attempted solution. As perhaps the world’s most lapsed Catholic I still instantly recognized this rusty bit of iron for what it is. It’s a relic. A talisman. It’s a distant cousin three times … Continue reading The Talisman of Colerain Township
The Mayans and Egyptians built pyramids. The Chinese built the Great Wall and armies of clay soldiers. The Khmer built temples in the jungle. Americans build highways. It’s our state religion. The federal government conjures up money out of the ether and funnels cash through multiple layers of state and local agencies – each getting … Continue reading Our State Religion
I had dinner in Rockford, Illinois last night with Jennifer and Michael Smith of the City Smiths. You will never find a more charming, kind, and industrious couple. Any town would be lucky to have such passionate and engaged citizens. Rockford has good bones: a diversified economy, a well educated population, a bountiful rural hinterland, … Continue reading Edward Hopper’s Rockford
Granola Shotgun 