Pithy Title Here

I drive a Camry. Probably will for a lot longer, too. You don't buy a Toyota because you want a four-year car. You buy a Toyota Camry because you want a reliable car. And you know, not only that, but my Camry is quiet. It has 6-cylinder giddyup in a 4-cylinder engine. It gets 600 miles to the damn tank at highway speed. The worst problem it ever had was needing a new battery. You could say I am not one to go overboard about a car. And then I got to LAX last night. I take whatever car Avis gives me on business trips unless it is an atrocity (looking at you PT Cruiser...). If asked, I prefer a car with satellite radio, sun roof and, if in the Northeast, EZPass . Last night, at LAX, I had a convertible Sebring waiting for me. Tonight, I decided to see what that was really like. After a looooong day of work throughout Southern California (picture filming, in the desert, in searing heat, in dress clothes and then still having to drive to LA), I met a friend for dinner downtown. A s...

Yesterday's commute home was really just about the antithesis of my old one. In Charlotte, it involved a lot of sitting on I-485 on a 2-mile stretch of North Carolina highway that somehow turns into Los Angeles for 90 minutes every day at 5:00. Thank heavens for NPR. Anyhow, yesterday's commute went as follows: Walk out of office Walk two blocks to Cascade Farmers Market Purchase two pints of strawberries and a pint of raspberries, all picked earlier in the day in Mt. Vernon, WA . (Buy local!) Walk 3-4 more blocks into my apartment. Can't say I was spent. Still, if I was yearning for a taste of my old commute, I got it. Because almost as soon as I got home we jumped in the car to head to Cougar Mountain ... because why go to the gym when you can hike? After a spell of stop-and-go on I-90 through Bellevue , the wilderness awaited. I'm not trying to brag. I am trying to note the virtues of the urban lifestyle, though. The way I see it, life throws enough at you... why gi...

Have you driven from Baltimore to Delaware lately? No? Good for you. Because they have JACKED the tolls on I-95 to a point where I think I may bike the 90 miles or whatever next time. The Maryland toll is up to $5 a car and the one at the Delaware line, easily the worst tollbooth in the country is now $4. This is what it feels like: I find myself very suddenly hoping the NC Turnpike Authority concentrates on Raleigh for many, many, many years before touching my Charlotte highways.

I have a shirt that reads "Keep Austin Weird." If you've never been to Austin, you have no idea what that means. If you have... well, this won't surprise you. Some kids in Austin hacked into those flashing construction-style traffic signs with great results (photo taken from Austin American Statesman, which credits nofearofthefuture.blogspot.com):

I'm one of those annoying people that always knows where I'm going. I mean this literally. I pick up directions very quickly and if I've driven someplace once, I can do it forever. I read maps well (and this is great since I have Google Maps on my Blackberry at any moment) and, when in doubt, I always go online to get directions someplace. I realize not everyone is like this. Today, though, a colleague of mine was going to the same event I was going to and ended up missing her turn. And she picked up on this 15 miles later. I'm not saying we should all judge her. This happens to people. A lot. I get calls from friends who are so far gone off the path they should be on (and they call me because they know I'm an atlas) that it amazes me. I guess what I really don't get in all this is that I know several people that get themselves more lost than they need to be when they're lost. Take my colleague from today. She knew she was lost. Why not stop? I kno...

I am in the midst of a fascinating book by Tom Vanderbilt, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us) and I highly recommend it for the non-fiction fan on your gift list. Basically, this isn't a book on how to drive better. It is an analysis of the way we drive. For instance, have you ever been frustrated on the freeway to be clipping along at 60, slam on your brakes and sit there stopped for 2 mins , slowly get back up to 60 only to have it happen again... but see no reason for this? No accident or anything? Vanderbilt, using research and sources countrywide, tells you why this happens. Some of the interesting things that this book has already pointed out: Doesn't matter where you are in the world, whether you drive to work in LA or walk to work in an African village... your total commute time is likely around 1.1 hours round trip. Just about half an hour each way. In fact, if you look at how cities have grown, they've generally grown as far out...