Category: Other Interests
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Shortwave spy stations, still transmitting years after the Cold War
I’ve been reading a number of John Le Carré books lately, which are mostly fictional thrillers about Cold War spies. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a particularly good one. So in that vein, I’ve been reading about ’60s spycraft, including how they used to communicate. In the pre-internet days, these spies…
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The Cold War lives on, on shortwave radio
After reading a few too many John Le Carre spy novels, I decided to see whether the shortwave radio spies in the Cold War used is still a “thing” and whether there’s any point to buying one. I tapped into a lively nest of hobbyists and websites documenting these international airwaves online, with no need…
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Giorgio Moroder’s “From Here to Eternity” (1977)
Giorgio Moroder is most famous these days for being “that guy from the Daft Punk song”, referring to his cameo on Random Access Memories. Prior to 2012 or so, he was known as the producer of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. He had mostly faded into obscurity unless you were into ‘80s movie soundtracks (Scarface,…
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“Matrix” engravings next to the label on vinyl records
When I first started buying records, I noticed that they often had hand-etched letters and numbers in the blank space between the last song and the label. At the time, not knowing anything about how records are made, I figured they were etched by hand onto each record by the company and denoted a numbered…
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Finding weird and wonderful album covers
Since I just repaired our turntable I’ve been going to record stores to expand our collection. So far Princeton Record Exchange (PRX) in Princeton, NJ and Generation Records here in New York have been my favorites. PRX is well worth the trip if you’re starting a collection because they have so many classics for under…
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Biking in New York is better since CitiBike
For the last few years, Paola and I have been proud annual members of CitiBike, New York’s bike share program. It’s completely transformed the way we get around the city. It’s the quickest way to get crosstown, period, and it’s less per month than the cost of a single tax ($169/year or $14/mo+tax, as of…
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John Muir was right about Yosemite
Back in grad school, I was teaching assistant for a course called History of the American Environmental Movement. Each semester, I would grade perhaps 70 to 80 essays, including a section on John Muir, an advocate of preserving nature for nature’s sake, and Gifford Pinchot, who advocated responsible conservation of resources for human use. While…
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Move Complete
I’ve put enough time and effort into the blog that it felt like time to take it to the next level with its own domain and custom design. This is that new site, hopstrains.com. Your feedback on the design and functionality of the site will only help me make it better. With that said, expect a return…
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February’s 10 Best Stories in Travel
I’m back to share my favorite stories of the month from February 2016, including globe-trotting fish, freight-train travel across Africa, myths and facts about the Zika Virus, and a documentary about a continent-spanning road trip. Read on for the scoop. Is Farmed Salmon Really Salmon? The staple fish is having an identity crisis. http://nautil.us/issue/30/identity/is-farmed-salmon-really-salmon Love…
Hops Trains and Backpacks 