1o. 4-Wheelin’ in Eastern Kentucky
9. Code Orange
8. “The Da Vinci Code”
7. Elf
6. Cinnamon Chip scones at the Greentree Tea Room
5. The Dame
4. Locking keys in rental car 10 minutes after renting
3. New iPod 
2. Dial-up modems
1. Full stomach, full glass, and lively conversations with family and friends
I thought I would drop in to say that I will be probably be offline for several days as Sarah and I will be in Kentucky for the holidays. Maybe I will have a moment or two to fire up my dad’s machine with the rockin’ 28.8 dial-up and post a few entries. We’re all packed and I should probably be sound asleep at this point, but I have been surfing web logs and news/politics sites for the first time in a while and my juices are flowing.
I keep thinking of the famous Joseph Stalin quote: “A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.” I think a lot of us have an abstract understanding of Saddam’s atrocities. “He gassed Kurds,” for example. And we know that there were thousands of casualties when Iraq and Iran battled in the 80’s. Kuwait. Brutal punishment for those who publish, speak out, or live freely. Or maybe I’m just fuzzy on a lot of the details. No matter. This important moment in witnessing democracy and justice in action will produce a lot of stories. I’ve noticed that when Iraqi exiles in Detroit, Montreal, and other places (not to mention Iraqis themselves) comment on his capture, they often
The following is an abstract of a recent Brookings Institution study about federal policy on transportation funding that was posted the New Urbanism listserv today. The short of it is that highway projects have a totally unfair advantage over transit-related projects. From General Motors buying streetcar lines in the ’20s and ’30s, FEMA assistance policies, to incongruous transportation funding, I am often reminded of how sprawl and the state of our cities has been shaped and guided by different forces–many of them having little to do with the market.
Highways and Transit: Leveling the Playing Field in Federal Transportation
Policy
by Edward Beimborn and Robert Puentes
December 2003
Automobile trips dominate the way we travel. Conventional wisdom assumes that this is the result of a fair competition between all transportation modes operating under the same federal policies and rules.
However, the conventional wisdom is wrong. Federal policies that govern highway and transit projects are not the same. In fact, these two modes, which federal law specifically expects to work together in the development of a balanced multi-modal system, are treated differently. This unlevel playing field has profound impacts on metropolitan America and on how
cities, older suburbs, and newer suburbs grow and develop.
Imagine that the urban, or metropolitan, portion of the interstate highway system was built according to the same procedures as those used or proposed to build major transit systems. The result would be:
Only 50 percent of the capital costs for major highways would be paid from federal sources rather than 80 or 90 percent. Cities would have to aggressively compete among one another for their highway funds based on the quality and justification of the proposed project. The rules for the competition would be subject to change without any input. Some states,
cities, and metropolitan areas would never be able to build any highways even if there was a pervasive desire by the public and the local officials to do so. Only a few highway segments could begin construction in any year. Continue reading…
An Yngwie Malmsteen guitar lick rips through my computer’s speakers. Then the voice-over: “It’s a Guitar Center (fading into the background– “CENTER…Center…center”) clearance blowout!” The obnoxious commerical continues to screech about effects pedals, Yamahas, and other hot rock items. Mercifully, the commercial is short and the DJ is back on the air. He sounds like a DJ at any mainstream radio station, talking about station-sponsored contests and giveaways. “Alright folks, we’ve got the latest…” he says… “from The Shins.” Wait, what? This is not a college station. Not public radio. It’s Cincinnati’s 97X. Here are some samples from their heavy rotation list: Beulah, My Morning Jacket, Joe Strummer, Belle and Sebastian, The Wrens, +/-, and Death Cab for Cutie. I stumbled upon their internet stream while sampling some of iTunes (is this the most perfect piece of software ever created?) radio stations. Basically, once in iTunes, go to radio stations>alt/modern rock> and then almost at the bottom of the list is WOXY. Check it out. The last song they played was by a group called “Basement Jaxx” and featured Siouxsie Sioux. I think it was called “Cish Cash.” Have you heard this? SICK.
The idea of a wild stampede of early-bird Wal-Mart shoppers mowing down someone in its quest for a $29.87 DVD player makes hating the store even easier. Newspapers around the world were said to have published the AP wire version of the story. Columnists, such as George Will, found the story irresistable. Could there be a better visual of American excess? It turns out that the woman has a long history of making similar claims, including 9 at Wal-Mart. Here are some of the injury claims: (which were found on Local6.com thanks to Fark):
And probably the best…
