25 to 50 Large Birds

Generally, I prefer to take notes by hand because it's what I'm used to and can be more convenient compared to typing up notes on a laptop. (typing speed: approximately 60 wpm) I can already write by hand relatively quickly but I figured it might not hurt to try and get faster. So I decided to look into shorthand, something I've never formally attempted to learn. I don't think I know anyone who knows shorthand, at least that I'm aware of.  I read a little bit about the different varieties of shorthand writing and decided they all seemed a bit too complex than I wanted to deal with learning. That being the case, I decided that I'd just try to come up with my own personal form of semi-shorthand. I already have certain phrases/words that I abbreviate when trying to take notes quickly, so from here it's just a matter of expanding on that. (I think what I will do is try to eliminate vowels when possible, as in Teeline) One of the simpler forms of shortha...

This post outlines some thoughts about multimodal trip considerations. A multimodal trip entails slightly different considerations than a bike-only trip. Multimodal trips make more sense if the full distance of the trip is too far to bike. This may often be the case in the suburbs. Thankfully, Montgomery County has a relatively decent transit system for a more suburban area. The particular type of multimodal trip covered here is bike + bus and/or train . Obviously, there will probably be some amount of walking involved too. First, if your multimodal trip involves a bus, it is essential to know how to load and unload your bike on the bus. Otherwise, you would have to lock your bike at/near the bus stop and leave it there. Depending on the particular trip you're making, it may make sense to park your bike somewhere and transfer to transit, returning to your bike later. Other times, it makes more sense to bring the bike with you on the train or bus. examples : Going to MC fr...

This is a transcription of some recent Twitter advice about how to load bikes on bus racks. All Metrobuses and Ride On buses feature bike racks so your trip can be multimodal if you wish, without the constraints of using Capital Bikeshare. This is definitely useful in suburban Montgomery County, where many distances are not practical to bike in their entirety due to length and/or lacking infrastructure and/or terrain (the county is far from flat). The racks accommodate many kinds of common wheel/frame sizes and bikes with fenders. I've even seen a folding bike once. Although it may seem daunting to load/unload your bike on a bus rack, once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy and doesn't take too long. Same! Even if I knew how to do it, I fear I'd choke under pressure and delay the bus and then everyone would hate me and make fun of me when I got on the bus, lol! — Mr. T in DC (@MrTinDC) June 13, 2019 No one has made fun of me to date (to my knowledge) w...

The  Ride of Silence is an annual ride occurring on the third Wednesday of May in locations around the world. It is in memory of cyclists who have been killed while biking . This year, DC's bike community suffered a particularly devastating loss -- a driver killed Dave Salovesh last month. Although I didn't know him personally, he was a dedicated activist for safer bike infrastructure in DC. It's only more recently (within the past year) that I've gotten involved a bit in the local biking community ( #bikeDC , as well as #bikemoco / #bikerockville , which I've been trying to make a thing), so this was really the first group ride of any sort I've participated in. It was an impactful experience. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to organize the ride beforehand, and thanks also to the people who marshaled/stopped car traffic at intersections and led the group during the ride so everything went pretty swimmingly, even though we only had a police escort for ...

On Saturday, I went to the National Building Museum for the first time. Although it's not directly on the Mall, it's still pretty conveniently located just outside of Judiciary Square station or a short walk from Gallery Place/Verizon Center.  So getting there was no problem, and in fact, I've walked past the building a number of times when arriving or departing DC from Judiciary Square. Only today did I finally pay the museum a visit, enticed by the prospect of a group discount on the ticket price (usually $10; $5 per person at the group rate if you have at least 10 people. Thanks to GGWash for organizing the outing so we could all get the group discount.)  Being interesting in urban planning and architecture now, I'd been meaning to visit the Building Museum at some point, since it seemed like a natural fit for those interests. Now that I've been there, I don't think I'd go back unless they got a new exhibit that seemed really interesting. The museum...