Urban Species

“Cities are the 21st century’s dominant form of civilization — and they’re where humanity’s struggle for survival will take place … Half the planet’s population lives in cities. They are the world’s engines, generating four-fifths of the global GDP … As the economist Ed Glaeser puts it, ‘we are an urban species.’” ~ Robert Muggah […]

Roadside Distraction

“I knew when I had looked for a long time,” she writes, “that I had hardly begun to see.” ~ Nan Shepherd, quoted in Landmarks, Robert Macfarlane, 2015 When I drive, I try to be conscious of my surroundings — other traffic, buildings or pedestrians and the surrounding scenery. But in traffic, my attention stays […]

The Call of the Open Road

“Sometimes it is a little better to travel than to arrive.” Robert M. Persig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance “It’s the week of the fourth,” he said, “and every bastard from Texas to North Dakota is coming to Colorado in a forty-five foot RV full of kids, pulling two trailers loaded with ATV’s […]

Old Urbanism

“New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighborhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types.” – Wikipedia New Urbanism is one of our primary tools against sprawl. Greater density, alternative transportation, layered development, increased diversity — all contribute to a more efficient community. I had […]

Rhythm of the Road

On the road again Goin’ places that I’ve never been Seein’ things that I may never see again And I can’t wait to get on the road again On the road again … ~ “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson We pulled into the familiar place, road weary and hungry, to be greeted by […]

Over-ground

Obviously, I do rockets, so I like things that fly. This is not some inherent bias against flying things, but there is a challenge with flying cars in that they’ll be quite noisy, the wind force generated will be very high. Let’s just say that if something’s flying over your head, a whole bunch of […]