Human Solutions

A letter in last week’s Economist mentioned a great anecdote about the US Navy’s famous Admiral Rickover: “When submarine captains complained about the quality of repair work being done by outside contractors, Rickover informed all the contracting firms that after leaving a shipyard, their entire senior-management team was required to be onboard the refitted submarine the first time it dived.” Read More…

A Nice Rack for Your Bike

I’ve been riding the same Spot commuter bike for the last 13 years. It’s still going strong. Like this blog. (Did I really just link to a post from 13 years ago? Yes I did.) Read More…

Department of Coal-land Security

I was sitting by a big window in a coffee shop with a friend when a SUV with “US GOVERNMENT” license plates pulled swiftly into a driveway across the street. Read More…

Ideological Fault Lines

In the past week, American immigration agents have dragged a US citizen from his home in his underwear and executed a protester in her vehicle on a public street at gunpoint. They have wrestled press photographers to the ground. They have pushed and shoved violently. They have sprayed chemical agents on the faces of bystanders. They have stormed into hospitals and churches in search of immigrants. They have taken breastfeeding mothers from their babies at routine meetings. They gleefully named a program to capture immigrants on the New England seacost “Catch of the Day,” as if these people and their families were animals to be netted. Read More…

Alps Day 3: Rest Day in les Deux Alpes

This post was written in 2026. For our rest day, we decided to hop on the Jandri gondola, which in just 17 minutes transports you from the base station (altitude 1650 m) to the glacier (3200 m). It moves really fast. Read More…

Alps Day 1: Alpe D'Huez & Col de Sarenne

This post was written in 2026. In honor of Kevin’s 40th birthday, we set off for a week of cycling in the French Alps. The weather outside our hotel was cool in the morning, but looking pretty good… Read More…

Truck Driver Kills Cyclist

In spite of some recent (and surprising!) political resistance to bike lanes, Cambridge, Massachusetts has made enormous strides improving bike commuting infrastructure over the last few years. Bike lanes are terrific, but they’re an incomplete solution to the problem of preventable cyclist deaths. Read More…