July 4, 1976, Washington, DC. Gerald Ford was president, having taken over from Nixon after he resigned after Watergate. We were overrun with Scouts, on the way to their Jamboree. The Air & Space Museum had just opened. King Tut was in town. And I was commuting on Amtrak to Baltimore from my job at the Natural History Museum. The US was the best place in the world.
July 4, 2026. We can make that happen again! Read more
For everything you read, watch, listen to and consume: ask yourself--who owns it? Read more
Update August 12, 2025
"For four decades, an English professor at San Jose State University has run a fiction contest for a single opening sentence to "the worst of all possible novels." He has decided to retire the contest. "
Original post:
Great to see that the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is just as dark and stormy as ever: https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2024 Read more
Off to see the future, the wonderful future of trains! Heading to Boise for the Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Summit then traveling for the All Aboard Northwest #TrainTrek23 Hope to connect with you! #PassengerRail #Boise Read more
I know that you are aware of my advocacy for passenger trains. You might not know why I donate to this cause. Read more
Rail Advocacy Nonprofit Management
Don't trust the billionaires, advertisers and bots deciding what you can post? How about an open-source site that's only managed by me, on behalf of the nonprofit I work with? "Imagine, for instance, running your own Facebook—you keep all the functionality and features that Facebook’s software incorporates, but you determine who’s allowed on your Facebook and what rules they have to follow…many instances are catered to a specific audience.…communities for radio amateurs, Esperanto speakers and programmers." (Quote from Lawfare.) That's what I'm doing at https://rail.chat/@chas No ads or other junk, just donate if you can. Please join me! Read more
Nonprofit Management Rail Advocacy
Nonprofit organizations are needed more than ever as the pandemic winds down. Please support the organizations that are helping our communities foster economic recovery, environmental advancement, and societal equity, such as All Aboard Washington here in the Northwest. And please help your favorite nonprofits manage their members, their donations, their events, and their websites with the Next9 nonprift management system. Read more