Living in Denver, homelessness is an increasingly visible problem. There are several major encampments that move around, vexing residents, and periodically being raided by police in a cruel display of state violence. At Central Station you find homeless people sleeping on benches, lacking any alternative day shelter. The sleeping is not so disruptive, but sometimes you find people openly injecting drugs, yelling, or defecting– dissuading people from using public transit, and leaving the city scrambling for solutions.

I recently started using Strava to track my runs and bike rides. It’s a fitness tracking app and social media platform, primarily focused on running and cycling. You can log other workout too but its not very interesting to do so because Strava puts the map front and center. Beneath the map are a few key metrics: distance, time, average speed. You can also upload pictures, which, by default, take center stage instead of the map.

Note: This is an old post! (2016) Re-posted from my old blog, DustinsView. AMSTERDAM – Hello from Holland, this strange and exciting land renowned for its windmills and waterways, its tulips and tolerance, its pot, pedal-power, and prostitution. The language is Dutch, the currency is the Euro, and the affordable home goods & grocery chain of cho"ice is Hema. Waffles are ubiquitous, ordering “beer” usually means ordering “Heineken,” and fries are by-default served with a hearty dollop of mayonnaise.

Note: This is an old post! (2015) Re-posted from my old blog, DustinsView. I discovered CartoDB— a free and open source web mapping tool– through a class I’m currently taking titled “Hacking the Humanities.” Upon learning about Carto and other tools for visualizing/analyzing spatial data I developed a strong (and unfamiliar) desire to make digital maps. My ambitions were momentarily thwarted when I realized I had no location data to map.

Note: This was originally written for my ‘Common App’ college application, in response to the essay prompt “Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?” Fourteen years ago I learned how to bike, but six months ago I learned why. Six months ago I discovered the true power of biking, not just as a form of transportation, but also as a tool for improving personal and planetary health.