GGWash published the last part of my series on the history of rail in DC today! This one covers the period from the end of the Civil War to the opening of Union Station in 1908, at which point all the railroads serving DC had access to Long Bridge for through-running across the Potomac. (1/3)

My autism really doesn't like this idea, but I think Fern is right here.

The second article in my series on the history of railroads in the DC area is now live! This one focuses on railroads in Virginia. I was surprised to learn that the first railroad to Alexandria, VA opened in 1851, and the rail connection between Alexandria and Fredericksburg dates to the 1870's!

Metro’s return to ATO has been a success for better service. Much safer w/ no Red signal violations since ATO, 🚇 OTP has increased so more reliable, faster for less travel time & we have saved millions for more frequency. I’ll never stop thanking the team that made this happen.

Marco's essay on the importance of speed in public transit is a good read. I do think he's a little too dismissive of the significance of density in it, though, so I wrote a follow-up: dwrowlands.com/speed-and-de... I do agree that 15-minute-cities are not a panacea, but they are important.

This diagram both explains so much and raises so many questions, and is certainly a part of the absurd construction costs for transit in the US.

I appreciate this essay on rail transit terminology. While the fact that the terminology is confusing and inconsistent is perhaps not the largest problem in North American transit construction, it certainly confuses a lot of issues for elected officials and the general public! More below... (1/1)

I'm not a Seattle transit expert, and would love to hear from those who are, but this feels like a great example of how the US's transit construction costs crisis is creating long-term problems that will be expensive or impossible to fix later. (1/3) seattletransitblog.com/2025/12/15/n...

I'm excited that Greater Greater Washington just published the first of a three-article series I've written on the history of rail connections in the DC area prior to the early 20th Century. (1/4)

This essay by Baltimore's former zoning board director on problems with zoning in US cities is an important read even if you aren't from Baltimore. She focuses on Mayor Brandon Scott's zoning reform package, but the points she makes are broadly applicable: www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/11/24/b...

After I wrote this thread, I was sent a guest link to another article about US coins from the New York Times, and specifically how Trump's "anti-woke" agenda is responsible for the Sesquicentennial coin designs. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/u...

Last week, the US Mint released their Sesquicentennial circulating commemorative coin designs, i.e. the designs for US coinage for 2026. It turns out that I have a lot of thoughts about them. (thread) www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-p... (1/14)

A reminder that most Americans who are life-long citizens have nothing OTHER than a Real ID to prove their citizenship. This is CBP’s chief enforcer saying that ID doesn’t count.

We're completely screwed if our response to measles is going to be asking antivaxxers - the most selfish and stupid people in our society - to voluntarily self-report and quarantine for 21 days each every time they get exposed

Okay, this sounds awesome and I need to take a look, though @sandypsj.bsky.social's caveat/concern about the data sounds plausible.

A good example of why direct inflation adjustment of this sort is more deceptive than clarifying when applied over very long stretches of time where consumption patterns are very different. Basic foods (bread/grain) probably devours a third of Cratchet's income, but not the modern worker's.

more broadly, we've got to do away with the notion that transit information must be presented in full sentences, especially on dynamic, constrained signage likely to be viewed in a hurry or from a distance. it's a real waste of space, time, and people's valuable and limited attention.

This does actually change the entire story. Assuming it's correct, it was an entirely lawful seizure.

Interesting: Urbanist group @ggwash.org is suing @ddotdc.bsky.social over its refusal/failure to release a study the city conducted on congestion pricing possibilities in downtown D.C. The study was finished in 2020, but has never been made public – even in response to FOIA requests.

8 Dec 2025 @rikiwilchins.bsky.social -- This is 2nd time in past 30 dys anti-trans provisions have been stripped from must-pass bills. The temporary funding measure passed when 8 Dems defected in Senate was widely expected to have anti-trans riders but none were in final House-Senate version.

A friend wisely pointed out that many people probably were aware that the Finch line would be very slow for a long time before it’s opening, but nothing was done. What I’m really scared about is the possibility that it just never gets fixed now and is slow forever.

It appears that pretty much all Hong Kong-based newsfluencers, even those with international bylines or appearances, got a memo within the last 12 hours that they should shut up about the deadly fire, or else face consequences. Related: the city's "Patriots-only" legislature has elections Sunday

This Pluribus ad on a fridge caused a schizophrenic woman named Carol to be hospitalized.

Sending winter holiday cards gets more expensive every year...and especially when you've just moved an ocean away from everyone you're close to! This year, I'm sending 28 cards. I spent about €30 for the cards...and €55 for the postage, since all but one are going to the US.

Had the entirety of Phase 1 of the original Baltimore Metro been built, (Mostly what exists today + a line to Glen Burnie via BWI) the chances of expanding the system would have been greater. A direct rapid transit connection to BWI from city center probably would have taken just under 20 min.

if you want to know why toronto's new light rail line is going to be slower than the bus it replaces, here's one reason why:

Hegseth's not the only war criminal here. "The [USSOCOM] commander overseeing the operation from Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Adm. Frank M. 'Mitch' Bradley, told people on the secure conference call that the survivors were still legitimate targets... He ordered the second strike."

he met 4 trans women for lunch and banned polyamory what did they tell him

There is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for this to be happening. I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again." HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡

Dutch word that amuses me of the day: "anderstalingen". Literally "the differently languaged"; figuratively "speakers of other languages."

I have a fun hypothetical for the technical among us! (For certain values of fun, heh.) The scenario: You run a website. It doesn't have a mobile app: the only way to access it is in-browser. You are deeply, morally opposed to any form of invasive tracking or data-gathering on your users.

And this dropback animation is really fun.

I've had zero to do with it other than watching as an Orange Line rider, but rapid implementation of dropbacks on the OL is one of the coolest things I've seen in my time at the MBTA. From a process improvement exploration project to full-bore implementation in just a few months.

Bookmate @aknighton.bsky.social shares his experience with the publication of Wiz Duo 3 with @wtpress.bsky.social. Much like mine - the WT folks have been great, and the launch was terrific (and tasty, when I finally got a chance at the cake)! britishfantasysociety.org/launching-wi...

It’s also a direct penalty for driving a sedan or station wagon when every third car is an SUV blasting its headlights at you at the exact height of your forehead

The misogynistic fucks in the admin are trying to make it so that grad school certifications in female-dominated professions (nursing, therapy, education) no longer count as “professional degrees” & you can’t get loans to go to grad school.

The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.

Clearly this is someone who's never been attacked by an unstable pile of books taller than them! And now I'm thinking about _Ascendance of a Bookworm_ (that's how the protagonist gets isekei'd) and looking forward to the upcoming season.

In the past, I've posted maps of the county-equivalents in North America that I've been to, and of New England towns that I've been to. Today, I'm adding to that with a map of municipalities in the low countries I've been to, along with an updated map of New England towns at the same scale.

Trump admin Is attempting to massive cut federal transit funds, seeking to: 1–Eliminate transit account, which funds billions of $ in capital expenses for transit agencies 2–Prevent state DOTs from “flexing” funds for transit These changes, if they occurred, would be devastating for US transit.

literally some of the first things my parents said to me before subjecting me to transphobic abuse was "if you lived in the village and had a Nokia with no internet, we wouldn't have this problem"

I really need to find time to read my copy of _Suburb_. I even brought it to the Netherlands with me, which isn't something I managed to do with many books, given everything had to fit in checked bags with weight limits.

As if to illustrate how post-reality and ideologically incoherent the British intelligentsia and political class has become, the BBC is currently embroiled in a scandal about being too left-wing, pro-migrant, and pro-trans.

"without subjecting anyone to differential treatment." This is flatly false! Trans people with a passport that does not match with their plain appearance when presented to a border agent is subject to additional hassle compared to a cis person presenting a passport.

So the Epstein vote isn't the only reason Mike Johnson should fear Rep. Yassamin Ansari. More of this, please.

This is even worse, how they abused a trans family www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

NYC voters have a chance today to remove redundant veto points to housing production. Ballot questions 2-4 would revise NYC's charter to make it easier to approve affordable housing & small projects. Technical & wonky? Yes. Important to increase supply? Also yes. furmancenter.org/thestoop/ent...

The way Westerners discuss conservatism and oppressed people in non-Western cultures is so utterly, irreparably broken. I did not say "white", by the way. I'd have said "white" if I meant "white".