Computers from 1960 may seem dated now, but back then this monstrous computer (called a Film Optical Sensing Devise for Input to Computers (FOSDIC)) was revolutionary, and the perfect thing to crunch numbers. 1960 was the first census to be sent via US Postal Service; previous censuses had been conducted by enumerators who went door to door and talked to each household. The list of questions was sent out, households voluntarily filled out the questionnaires and sent them back

Part of planning for this trip around America is doing research to estimate major changes to the landscape since Steinbeck’s time. The following map shows the number of Walmarts per state, created in Carto: Near the end of his journey, Steinbeck describes Houma, Louisiana as “...one of the pleasantest places in the world”. Since he rarely makes mention of any specific place, I decided Houma was a must-see. I planned to enter on US Route 90 to LA 24, and noticed there were thr

I am happy to report that despite crippling Houston heat, Chesky and I spent a relatively comfortable trial run in the trailer last night. I’m not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to go camping in 100 degree weather, but I really didn’t have a choice. I needed to test the water pipes, the tanks, and to spend some time “living” in the trailer to get a better feel for what my challenges are going to be. Challenges I see from the inaugural trip: Space. Every inch needs

The other day, when talking about my upcoming trip around America with a friend very involved in US politics, he mused that it would be interesting to see how the representation of each state in the House of Representatives has changed since 1960, given the south- and west-ward shift in population over the last 50 years. As a quick refresher (mostly for myself), each state is given a percentage of the total 435 delegates based on the population of that state. Thanks to Wikipe