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The rate of very big things crushing much smaller things - like automobiles and humans - is at record highs.. This has some safety officials baffled. And I frequently hear "It's a train!" when there is news of a pedestrian or motorist being crushed by an 8,000 ton object moving through space on the exact same course it has followed for more than 100 years.

A very reputable non-profit developer (ICCF) is attempting to convert an abandoned neighborhood school into housing. Anyone familiar with neighborhood politics and housing discussions in the once mighty United States of America knows the arguments that will be played out; you've seen this movie before, the plot arc is as packaged as a 1990s rom-com.

Here are some hard truths:

As 2017 draws to a close it is time I confess that this is not the post I expected to be writing a year ago. Following the triumph of America's deep self-loathing, which was the defining moment of 2016, I anticipated a rapid collapse of our duct-tape-and-bailing-wire transportation systems. I was wrong. 2017 turned out to be a year of victories despite the strong political headwinds.

note: Amtrak's fiscal year is from September - September; any ridership numbers reflect the fiscal year.

A 10AM meeting in Dearborn, MI 160 miles away - I am in Grand Rapids, MI - in December [in Michigan]. If driving day-of I would have to leave home at 7AM - assuming there was no weather events between here and there. Probably would leave at 6:30AM to be safe. Then two meetings, concluding around 6PM, and another 160 mile drive back home. If weather was not an issue I would get home ~9PM; also assuming I ate at a drive-thru. That is a ~14.5 hour Saturday. Ugh.