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After a hiatus, I wonder what I should post about.

A big problem with a train running faster than safe through a tight turn. Was it operator error? Equipment error? Both in concert?

A murder case in a University town is solved after going cold for a month. A computer was stolen from a neighboring house at the time of the murder. That computer, resold over Craig's List, reported itself when used. Does this mean that Craig's List helps find criminals, or that Craig's List helps criminals resell stolen goods? Much more importantly, how often does solving small crimes lead to criminals guilty of more heinous crimes?

Lastly, just today a Federal judge made a ruling allowing a major American city to enter bankruptcy. That major city is the core of the Metro Area I currently live in.

There's an odd feeling to the area. The Tri-County region has approximately 4 million people. Detroit currently has about 750,000 residents, in a region that used to have nearly 2 million residents. A person can travel a route some 40 or 50 miles long around the edge of Detroit. In many places, they will see a a suburb on one side, visibly nicer than Detroit on the other. In some places, they will look South across the river into Canada.

The area is not doing well, though it is not doing extremely badly. A combination of factors led to noticeable flow of residents leaving the Metro Area shortly before the national housing market boom turned into a bust. Population hasn't shrunk much for the Metro Area, but it hasn't grown either.

The auto business hit a sharp downturn in 2008. Many companies involved in that business have since recovered to their pre-downturn business levels. But some haven't. And not many are doing better.

I wonder what this bankruptcy will do to the local political and business climate...