Jeff's Knowledge Nosh

Your daily bite of miscellaneous information.

Scramble!

Yesterday we continued the discussion of signals, and in a way, today continues on the theme with a signal for a different transportation mode: walking. Specifically, this post is an ode to the scramble. Found increasingly in major metropolitan areas, scramble...

Switches and Signals

Happy Thanksgiving! Last week's post before the holiday introduced subway signals, and today continues on the topic (make sure you've read the prior post before proceeeding). Think about the red signal. Often indicating “stop,” it tells trains to, well, stop. But...

Clear Ahead

Every day, millions of people rely on subways and trains to travel, and the signal system akin to more advanced traffic lights is responsible for ensuring their safe operation. Ever wonder how they work? You're about to find out. Most railroads operate by defining...

Sideways Falls

As you'll likely notice, yesterday's post has been delayed until today. What's the excuse? Being out of the country. Although currently writing this from a train in Toronto, today's topic relates to the wonder that is Niagara Falls. Home to three distinct waterfalls...

Status in the Sky

While flights may be delayed for a multitude of reasons, the vast majority are associated with airport-wide events (rather than mechanical or airline system issues that impact only a subset of one's operations). Luckily, data for those types of events is aggregated...

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More Knowledge Noshes Below

Fortuna, Not So

There once was a cow named Fortuna who lived in the area near Lansdale, PA. Nearby was the Reading Railroad, whose tracks connected Doylestown, PA with Center City Philadelphia. One fateful day, ironically-named Fortuna was crossing the tracks on the cowpath when ol'...

Je M’appelle KESSLER Jeff

Comment vous appelez-vous? Quel est votre nom? If you ask someone their name in French, you might expect a reply with a typical first and last name. But what about in written works? For someone like me, you might see it listed as KESSLER Jeff. Why the different layout...

People & Places

We end this week with a relatively quick but useful tidbit: What do Americans, Californians, New Yorkers, Texans, Europeans, Canadians, Mexicans, and "Massholes" alike have in common? They're all demonyms! Demonyms are words used to identify the people associated with...

Gridded Intuition

Everyone knows Boston’s roads are somewhat nonsensical. Curving through the city, intersecting at odd angles, and having crazy conventions where Winter Street becomes Summer Street, navigating Boston without a GPS is nearly impossible. Contrast that with Philadelphia,...

FIFO for LIFO

Inventory. You might not think of it this way, but we all have inventories. Be it dishes in the cabinet or clothes in the drawer, we all have multiple of something. In accounting, that’s known as inventory. There are two popular methods for managing inventory: FIFO...

Tracks are for Trains. You are not a train.

Every three hours, a person is struck by a train. It’s a sobering statistic, but it brings to light just how dangerous railroad tracks can be. While trains are incredibly safe for passengers (considerably safer than personal automobiles), the railroad right-of-way is...

UllWishUHadNown About This Site

Philadelphia is a town that CONSTANTLY has events. Be it in Center City, another neighborhood, or the suburbs, it’s often difficult to keep track of it all. Enter: Uwishunu. The aptly named website by Visit Philly is a compilation of events and happenings throughout...

Hunger, StubHub, and Atonement: Yom Kippur

Today marks the holiest day of the Jewish year: Yom Kippur. While you might expect it to be a typical celebration, the day of atonement is a much more solemn affair that’s typically associated with a day of thought, remembrance, fasting for approximately 24 hours, and...

A Returning Software Solution: RSS

Every once in a while, an old technology re-emerges as a great tool with newfound purpose. When launched in 2000, RSS was a novel concept: a way to check for website updates in a single location. Over time, however, adoption dwindled as stories migrated to social...

What’s a Nosh? And, what’s Jeff’s Knowledge Nosh?

Over the years I've written a number of blogs on a variety of topics. While numerous posts were relatively popular, for someone like myself with relatively diverse interests, I ultimately suspended them as I found it difficult to consistently write about a singular...

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