Just a quickie: Even though I thought my command of the English language was quite good, I was baffled by “PED XING” that was frequently painted on the roads in Palo Alto. Turns out it means Pedestrian Crossing. Doh. Is there really not space to write all of it? I happen to find Xing a [...]

Here are some quick notes on my travels so far: Getting out of Mexico: The bus was supposed to come to Coyotitan, the little village, at 6 in the morning – but that one never showed up. So I had to wait until 9. I got some tasty chilaquiles at a restaurant across the road, [...]

I love libraries, and I practically grew up in one. Whenever my mother didn’t know where I was, she would call the kind librarians at Hamar Public Library (the white building), and they’d usually found me in a comfortable couch reading a book. I knew them all by name, and I still drop by once [...]

By way of The Longbow Papers, a very good article that explains why the US is so much more conservative than similar countries in Europe. Extracts: “At the start of the 20th century, the U.S. looked progressive compared with Europe’s empires. The big difference between the U.S. and Europe is that the U.S. kept its [...]