Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

I wanted to wish all my readers the happiest of holiday seasons, no matter what you are celebrating. I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the folks who inspired me to become more active in urban planning and local politics.

I was always interested in human geography and city layouts. I started drawing towns on maps at age six, and I've been a religious Sim City player most of my life (Tradopolis in Sim City 4 got up to 9 million people!) I lacked good opportunity to study urban planning during my first crack at college, and my Army career pigeon-holed me into a completely different line of work (which I greatly enjoy, but I'd rather be doing this stuff).

So let me give a couple of unsolicited plugs here.

BeyondDC- the first site I ever staggered across that got me involved.
GreaterGreaterWashington- an excellent site that covers all things planning DC
Just Up the Pike, Silver Spring Singular, and Scenic Wheaton- who write about where I grew up
Laurel Connections- who focus on my current home
Track Twenty-Nine- has some amazing transit visualizations that inspired me to start writing
Trip Within the Beltway- Without whom there would be few discussions on this site

And I encourage readers to check out any other sites I link on Imagine, DC. They are all interesting, well written sites, some updated more often than others, some quirkier than others, but all informative and enjoyable.

So whether it be Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Yule, the Solstice, or just plain old New Years you are celebrating, I sincerely hope everyone out there has a happy one. Keep our troops overseas in mind and heart, and have a peaceful end to 2008.