Determining quality of life by how many independent restaurants/pubs that will serve a grilled cheese and a Smithwick’s or Magners are within walking distance (Visited thus far: 2, likely available: around 5)

Sometimes a trip to a military surplus store leads to finding an excellent foaming spot

Experienced and witnessed a significantly above average amount of eusocial interactions between strangers as I worked around downtown today. Anecdotal, but my guess is that the creeping fascism is bringing the non-fascists of this city (which is to say, the vast majority) together in solidarity.

Inadvertent representations of my newfound adventurous masculinity on Metra tonight: angle grinder, motocross kit, paper from a shooting range

Prairie, industry, firy skies (From last night)

Thinking about the fact that in addition to all of the other stuff he’s done, Javier Milei has also apparently killed one of the best #buildthetunnel (RER/S-train-ification) projects out there www.pagina12.com.ar/675270-el-an... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_de_...

Pleasant surprise this morning (for me only, since my destination was Quincy): Outer Loop/Counterclockwise Pink Line!

LaGrange Road station during the PM peak is wild because what do you mean there are express trains in both directions? (I am taking the local here over to Harlem)

Watching the first episode of the latest Amazing Race season and it’s hard to shake the feeling that they’ve now been inspired by @jetlagthegame.bsky.social just as JLTG was inspired by the AR originally.

You just know the product is gonna be high-quality when it ships in a hand-stamped envelope with a Bible verse after the return address

It’s almost like we should close this area to cars permanently

What if I told you that Metra suburbs are actually great

Starting the day off right at my favorite local institution

Unintentionally matching the L color tonight, I am

It’s been a while since I’ve been in Daley Plaza

I find it incredibly funny that my 66-unit building in the suburb of Forest Park would apparently be considered "too dense" for a property next to a train station within the City of Chicago.

I’m riding the northern Red Line (NSML) toward downtown at almost 11PM on a weeknight and my train is absolutely packed. I know that statistically this isn’t necessarily an anomaly, but it’s still dramatic to me that a corridor can have this much around-the-clock transit demand.

got to witness CityNerd's first shot of Malört

This station is so pretty at night (Riding home from a great @nerd4cities.bsky.social event at Malcolm X College)

It’s like a concert but for an urbanist YouTuber

Some personal lore: one of my best friends (former boyfriend) is from Morton, IL, which alone produces 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin.

Left-hand running this M’Electric Monday Morning

Train beer with the Brompton on an Electric Evening, en route to catch up with the BFF. Stayed out till 3AM last night at a scene party at a bar that is transforming into a new hub for that specific scene. Life is good.

Another day in which I am foiled by USPS only being funded enough to stay open during hours I am normally working.

Hello, first afternoon Purple Line Express

Call me a Christmas rider the way I be making Red-Green transfers for any social gathering

Sometimes the CNW is a right-hand running railroad after all

Very excited to report that my @bikelaneuprising.bsky.social jacket has arrived and it is indeed as retroreflective as promised. As y’all know I am a sucker for anything hiviz, but this takes it to another level; could be a Halloween costume given how ghostly it looks with the flash in dark.

Sometimes I think I have friends who aren’t nerds. Then a guy who I met through a decidedly non-gunzel/railfan context needs help testing his new Telegram notification chime, which is the SNCF announcement jingle.

Random, but growing up with gas stoves all my life I am still amazed at how much mental recalibration I have to do for the speed of the electric stove in my apartment. It’s not induction fast, but like, we figured this out in 50 y/o buildings and for some reason we’re still burning hydrocarbons?

It’s a great day to take the Rock to the Rate (for the last time this season)

Aggressively Chicagolander experience of the day: I am pleased to discover that my local Jewel carries Tyskie

Been a while since I’ve been on the last train of the night (inbound BNSF in this case)

I love how some Metra lines are so integral to their communities that they almost become cultural regions in and of themselves

Happy improved BNSF regional rail schedule day to all who celebrate!

It’s also worth contemplating the fact that both the bases of operations and initial targets are in historically disinvested, majority-minority *suburbs*.

Before you comment on anything we report today, please look at this map. Internalize it. Then look at it again. ICE activity is happening in a ring of fire around the city proper right now, in less dense areas that are heavily disinvested, with few local media to cover quickly developing events.

I own two pairs of “bike shoes”: 1) black slip-resistant waterproof Dunham work shoes 2) green Dunlop Purofort Thermo+ boots

There’s just something about elevated trains in the city lights at night

*choosing to take the last 136 (a Lake Shore Drive express bus) of the evening instead of the Red Line because it’s marginally more convenient* “Surely the last bus will not have to deal with bad traffic, right?” Wrong!

Kinda random, but I just noticed that my old stopover of Rochester, MN has started construction on their BRT line and it’s a very interesting project: 3 miles, battery buses running every 5 minutes, underground transfer tunnel, stations explicitly for TOD sites: linkrapidtransit-rpu.hub.arcgis.com

This truly is the best little range-extender/last-mile tool

307 in the morning (uncommon)

It’s neat when accessing a subway train platform feels like entering a portal to the future

A well-hardened* multimodal street at sunset is always a pretty sight *elevated rail structure and concrete barrier PBL

So I tried it this morning and it actually was pretty pleasant. The Lake Street bikeway is shockingly well protected within the city, and of course neighborhood streets in Oak Park are pretty calm. Only one really bad obstruction (reported to BLU) at Cicero.

*staring into the void* Maybe becoming a bike commuter would fix me

A story in 3 parts: 1) Realizing there’s a set of streets on the (Chicago) North Side named after Philly Main Line suburbs/stations 2) Realizing they’re not actually in the same order as the Philly ones 3) *much internal screaming*

I hope that drivers are slowed down by the cobblestone streets in my neighborhood in a proportionate manner to how dispirited I am when I have to bike on them.

Really unfortunate that the queer self-defense folks are *of course* being proven right while a lotta people didn’t take them seriously.