Today was the winter solstice; here in Portland, Oregon, the night will be nearly twice as long as the day. For over a month, I have commemorated each sunrise and sunset, noon, and midnight. The effect has been interesting. Rather than describe a vague sense of shortening days, I could tell you how every day [...]

It started with a construction boom, and then the speculators caught on and started investing heavily. Pretty soon, capital was flowing a little too easily, and a bubble was forming. Inevitably, the bubble burst, and construction companies started going out of business. Banks started failing, and large companies started consolidating. Unemployment reached 14 percent. The [...]