I always wanted to be a professor, so here's maybe the next best thing

I served as an advisor (and even got to teach one class) for a project by George Mason University graduate students this spring semester.

It was really fun and, as a bonus, the report the students wrote is very good. Check it out here, read a Mobility Lab-published article I wrote about it here, and take a look at an article today on GMU.edu. My quotes include:

With deliveries expected to increase by nearly 30 percent in the next decade, it is an area that needs more consideration, said Paul Mackie, communications director for Mobility Lab. 

As Arlington County officials ponder the proposals, Jonathan Gifford, director of Mason’s Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy at Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government, said Mobility Lab “was highly enthusiastic about the results. … While Arlington is widely recognized as a leader in multimodal mobility, there are clearly opportunities to do even more.” 

“The Mason recommendations are very practical and should be useful to Arlington, which is already pretty well-connected because of its many transportation options,” Mackie said. 

My Narration of Video About Washington D.C.'s Metro

In case you missed it, here's a video (that is getting pretty good traffic on YouTube) I narrated last summer for Mobility Lab about how Washington D.C.'s new Silver Line on the Metro is going to bring even more vibrancy to the Virginia neighborhood of Ballston and other places throughout the city.

My Radio Interview Describing the Transportation Communications Work I Do

Here is my recent interview on Transportation Radio. I discuss my work at Mobility Lab in publicizing Arlington County, Virginia’s cutting-edge transportation programs.

I discuss the possibilities for transportation agencies nationwide to do more with less funding (which seems to now be a permanent state of affairs) if they would take a look at Arlington’s blueprint for success and adopt some of the same transportation practices.

Arlington’s “transportation demand management” programs have something for every jurisdiction – no matter whether that area is urban or rural and has a top-notch subway system or simply teleworking and ridesharing programs. Virginia’s 15 TDM agencies is a great statewide example of how this practice can be implemented. Mackie says being “inside the Beltway” is a “double-edged sword” because the assumption is that bureaucrats in Washington D.C. don’t have a clue what goes on in the rest of the country, but the partnership opportunities D.C. presents are immense for hopefully strengthening TDM’s policy and funding cachet. Other issues discussed in my interview with Mackie include:

• Commuter transportation pre-tax benefits (which will likely be slashed within the next month and will essentially give much greater and unfair incentives for driving than taking public transportation), and
• The fact that removing traffic jams with very little funding can be significantly accomplished with TDM “demand-based” practices, instead of the typically “supply-based” method of simply building new, expensive, and unnecessary roads.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen

Alma Tropicalia Hits a High Note

Word on the street has it that Saturday night's show at the funky Artisphere space in Arlington, Virginia was the last gig for the current lineup of Alma Tropicalia (pictured to the left). That's too bad because it seemed like most of the pieces were coming together for DC to have an excellent Brazilian tropicalia rock band firmly entrenched.

Nevertheless, it was a strong show in the long room in the Rosslyn neighborhood just across the Potomac River from Georgetown. The latin flavor was heightened by the 50-piece female drum band that opened and came on at the end of Alma Tropicalia's show as well. There was a lot of fun new music in the set, a killer background projection of Mad Men-like 1950s films, and all kinds of good vibes.

Too bad Alma Tropicalia, featuring my good friend Gordie (formerly in my last band, The Sprogs), seems to be making some changes to a pretty solid lineup.

Perhaps Gordie and I should reform The Sprogs or start a new band. I know I often say it, but I'm starting to get itchy to be motivated to writing lots of songs again. I've been on hiatus a little too long. With that thought, here is one of my favorite self-penned tunes that has yet to formally go into the recording studio. What do you think? Should I get a band to "rock it up," write a b-side to go with it, and release a new single?