Hype for the Future 55G: College Towns in New England

Vermont

Within the State of Vermont, the second-smallest state by total population and a state that often feels even smaller than the smaller Wyoming, is only a few colleges and universities dispersed throughout. Most notably are the public institutions of UVM in Burlington and Vermont State in Castleton, Johnson, Lyndon, and Randolph. Apart from the public institutions, Middlebury College is perhaps at a similar level, albeit with a significantly heightened perception of prestige, in Addison County.

New Hampshire

Within the State of New Hampshire, there exists only three public state universities, including the University of New Hampshire (Durham), Keene State College, and Plymouth State University. Though numerous other institutions, largely private, also exist, the most important of the private institutions is Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, located just north of Lebanon along the Connecticut River.

Maine

Though Maine is not an Ivy League state, Bowdoin is an Ivy-adjacent university under private control, focusing on liberal arts in a fashion relatively similar to Amherst and Williams in Massachusetts, Carleton in Minnesota, Pomona in California, and Swarthmore in Pennsylvania. The public state university system is also of significance, with the flagship university located in Orono, near Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine, though numerous additional colleges, both public and private, are scattered throughout the State.

Massachusetts

Though the most urbanized of urban areas in the New England region, Greater Boston, contains numerous colleges and universities, many of which are private, the college and university towns more associated with such labels include Williamstown (Williams College), North Adams (Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts), Amherst (Amherst College, Hampshire College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst), Northampton (Smith College, all-female), South Hadley (Mount Holyoke College, all-female), Worcester, and Fitchburg, just to name a few. In many of the college towns and associated communities, there exists at least a moderate presence of arts and music, especially around Northampton, a widely recognized countercultural hub in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

The public state universities associated with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are themselves often located in college towns, with the notable exception of UMass Boston, as Boston is more or less a global city and not directly tied to any particular college or university community. The other institutions are UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell, and state universities located in Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield, and Worcester. The communities of Bridgewater and Dartmouth are typically identified as further south, with Dartmouth considered part of the official South Coast region of the Commonwealth.

Additional private universities of interest within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are generally more urban, though the campuses themselves are often not intrinsically of urban value. Such institutions include Western New England University and American International College in Springfield, Bay Path University in Longmeadow, the College of Our Lady of the Elms (Elms College) in Chicopee, Brandeis University in Waltham, Tufts University split between Medford and Somerville, and the numerous colleges and universities more closely associated with Cambridge, most notably Harvard and MIT.

Rhode Island

Similar to Massachusetts, the State of Rhode Island prides itself on a massive college and university-level heritage. However, unlike Massachusetts, Rhode Island has only two (2) public state universities: the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. Numerous private universities also exist, including Brown University of the Ivy League.

Connecticut

The southernmost of the six states of New England, the State of Connecticut takes pride in both public and private institutions, including UConn, whose main campus is located in Storrs, as well as the state universities of Central Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut, and Western Connecticut. Central is New Britain, Eastern Willimantic, Southern New Haven, and Western Danbury. Additional notable colleges exist under the community college system for primarily two-year degrees as well as under private control. The most notable of the private universities include Yale (in the Ivy League), as well as Quinnipiac University, Trinity College, the University of Hartford, and the University of New Haven.

Humanoid Robots Join Border Patrol: A Surreal Technological Shift

In a world where technology seemingly knows no bounds, the integration of humanoid robots into border patrol duties is no longer a concept confined …

Humanoid Robots Join Border Patrol: A Surreal Technological Shift

Unfortunately, though humanoid robots may be a net positive for international border crossing areas, the robots may actually become more biased because of the development by humans, and humans are already excessively biased by social constructs such as race, “gender” (as socially constructed as opposed to biological sex), and related features of segregation. By allowing neutral robots to ensure border security, however, the border crossing features may be improved, though perhaps the worst part of the international border is, at least with regards to the United States-Canada border, the portions of border crossings east of Derby Line-Stanstead, Vermont-Québec, and west of the tripoint of Maine, Québec, and New Brunswick.

Schrödinger’s Gift: Disappointing Until Observed

RDP Thursday: Gift In response to Ragtagdailyprompt https://wp.me/p9YcOU-5UE Once upon a winter, in a perfectly respectable village that smelled …

Schrödinger’s Gift: Disappointing Until Observed

Believe it or not, “Gift” does have a relationship with poison in the German language. If this is correct, then Schrödinger’s Gift is actually Schrödinger’s Poison and the non-returnable nature of the gift is obvious. Thanks to the universe for the folkloric explanation!

An English man, a Scottish woman and an Irish cast are… A Fairytale For Christmas at the West End’s Dominion Theatre

The massive auditorium at the Dominion Theatre at Tottenham Court Road is heaving on this Sunday evening, the last one before the advent season …

An English man, a Scottish woman and an Irish cast are… A Fairytale For Christmas at the West End’s Dominion Theatre

Unfortunately, I am not physically located in any nation other than the United States, so access to the cast and crew may be difficult to nearly impossible. I understand, however, that similar English, Irish, and otherwise British Isles interests are also available out of context, even within the United States.

Hype for the Future 55F: January 1

Introduction

In the Gregorian Calendar, Christmas Day is always exactly one week (seven days) prior to the New Year’s Day of the following year, thus resulting in the two holidays sharing the same day of the week. Though Christmas is a Christian holiday, the New Year is actually a purely calendar-related holiday, with New Year’s Eve referring to December 31 of the old year. January 1 is notable for an effective reset, though unfortunately, under any capitalist system, the date also represents the perpetuation of the capitalist crisis, unless and until the capitalist system can successfully be toppled.

Hype for the Future 55E: Christmas Day

At the time of writing of this post, this is Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, exactly one (1) week prior to the New Year per the Gregorian calendar. Today is a Thursday and represents the final Thursday of the year of 2025, meaning that the following Thursday is representative of January 1 (please note that in the Julian Calendar, January 1 corresponds to Gregorian January 14 and is labeled the “Old New Year” instead). The Julian Calendar, by the way, is the old calendar system prior to the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar, first in 1582 but not yet in the United States until 1752. Additional holidays associated with this time of year, even if not on this exact day, are the African-American tradition of Kwanzaa and the Jewish tradition of Hanukkah (Chanukah) associated with the Jewish Calendar.

Hype for the Future 55D: The Urbanized Areas and Urban Clusters of Route 20 (Massachusetts)

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the urbanized areas and urban clusters associated with Route 20 include Pittsfield, Lee, Westfield, West Springfield, Springfield, Ludlow, Palmer, Auburn, Millbury, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Northborough, Marlborough, and the Greater Boston area.

Hype for the Future 55C: The Urbanized Areas and Urban Clusters of Route 9 (Massachusetts)

Summary

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Route 9 is perhaps most notable for passing through the urbanized areas and urban clusters of Pittsfield, Northampton, Amherst, Belchertown, Ware, Worcester, Shrewsbury, and the Greater Boston area.

Hype for the Future 55B: The Urbanized Areas and Urban Clusters of Route 2 (Massachusetts)

Summary

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the urbanized areas and urban clusters associated with Route 2, even if some are bypassed, include Williamstown, North Adams, Greenfield, Orange, Athol, Gardner, Fitchburg, Leominster, and the Greater Boston area.

Hype for the Future 55A: Travel Itinerary Problems

Overview

novaTopFlex has identified a wide plethora of possible points of interest across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and elsewhere within the New England region in particular. Unfortunately, however, corporate control and the workforce alike withhold real knowledge that is necessary for society to gain an understanding of the problems of capitalism and especially neoliberalism in the modern day. Though many historic sites and historical parks are operated by the National Park Service, many other sites are actually more locally or independently operated. Such sites that may be independently operated include, but are typically not limited to, the numerous art galleries and otherwise historical sites of interest.

Arts and Crafts

Unfortunately, the capitalist system claims that arts and crafts are nonessential—even optional. Though novaTopFlex has long suffered from the constraints in question, the arts and crafts community has transitioned from being ignored to being well-represented in the Identity of novaTopFlex and associated identities. Even though the cultural apathy or antipathy commonly extends throughout capitalist society, interestingly, the Northeastern United States, and especially New England and upper New York, continue to believe that art is a civic institution and is better off in public interest rather than privatized in any way, shape, or form. However, society often identifies entering such art galleries as loitering in cases of photography, video recording, or looking, especially in cases of unauthorized behaviors.

Hype for the Future 55/284: United States Route 3 in New England

Introduction

United States Route 3 is an easily identifiable north-south United States Numbered Highway in Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well as the most significant border crossing into Canada from the U.S. State of New Hampshire, since no Interstate Highways connect the State of New Hampshire with the Canadian border directly. From north to south, Route 3 is identifiable for the Connecticut Lakes, for which the Third Connecticut Lake is extremely close to the international border; the Town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, which includes the aforementioned lakes and is the largest Town in New England in terms of land area; the area of Franconia Notch; Laconia and Lake Winnipesaukee; Concord; Manchester; Nashua; and the Greater Boston area.

New Hampshire

Along United States Route 3, the aforementioned Town of Pittsburg serves as the northernmost torn in the State of New Hampshire, the largest New England town by land area, and home to the Connecticut Lakes and associated hiking trails, the Third Connecticut Lake trail for which parking is provided in the vicinity of United States Customs and Border Protection as the hiking trail cuts through Canada but is considered entirely within the United States with regards to identification as the trail does not provide access to the remainder of Québec and both begins and ends within the United States of America.

To the south of the Town of Pittsburg in Coös County are the communities of Clarksville, Stewartstown, Colebrook, Columbia, Stratford, Northumberland, Lancaster, Whitefield, and Carroll. After crossing out of Coös County, the first town encountered is the Grafton County town of Franconia, in which United States Route 3 must join Interstate 93 while the routes attempt to cut through Franconia Notch in a super-two configuration before the routes can diverge again. Even after the routes diverge, Route 3 will continue to follow along with and parallel Interstate 93, including into the communities of Lincoln, Woodstock, Thornton, Campton, Plymouth, Ashland, and Holderness within Grafton County.

Though United States Route 3 typically serves the role of paralleling Interstate 93 throughout the entirety of the route south of Franconia, the former actually diverges throughout the course of the Lakes Region, for which between the communities of Ashland to the north and Concord to the south, New Hampshire State Route 132 becomes the parallel route to the Interstate Highway. Within the area of the Lakes Region, however, United States Route 3 is often known for taking a more easterly route, including the Grafton County community of Holderness as well as the Belknap County communities of Meredith, Laconia (for which Route 3 is bypassed to the south and east though the United States Numbered Highway System contains a business route associated with the area), Belmont, Sanbornton, and Tilton. Though Northfield in Merrimack County is located nearby, the community, which Interstate 93 continues the north-south journey within, is only barely bypassed by United States Route 3.

Now in Merrimack County, United States Route 3 covers the communities of Franklin, Boscawen, Concord, Pembroke, Allenstowm, and Hooksett. To the south of Hooksett is Hillsborough County, notable for having two county seats: Manchester in the north and Nashua to the south. Both cities are located along Route 3, with the intermediate communities of Bedford and Merrimack also located along the highway. South of Nashua is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and more specifically Middlesex County, still within proximity of Interstate 93. Though Route 3 technically extends further south (beyond the Boston area) as a state route, the United States Numbered Highway only covers the areas further north. Such communities include Tyngsborough, Westford, Chelmsford, Lowell, Billerica, Bedford, Burlington, Woburn, Winchester, Arlington, and Cambridge—all in Middlesex County.

Hype for the Future 54U: Massachusetts State Route 2

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State Route 2 is the major east-west route generally serving the northern portion of the Commonwealth. While the vast majority of the route is immediately south of either Vermont or New Hampshire, much of the portion of the route approaching Boston actually functions more diagonally, eventually reaching the central location associated with the Commonwealth.

The Berkshires

Within the Berkshire Mountains, Route 2 begins the journey in the Taconic community of Williamstown at the intersection with United States Route 7, home to Williams College and the Clark Art Institute. Interestingly, though the community is often associated with the Berkshire Mountains, the location of the town is actually more appropriately identified with the geologically separate Taconic Mountains, which continue into the State of New York. Further east is the City of North Adams, identified by most accounts as the smallest City within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and home to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the intersection with Massachusetts Route 8, leading north toward Vermont Route 9 and south toward the areas east of Pittsfield and Great Barrington.

Even though Route 2 is mainly associated with the City of North Adams, the Golden Eagle Restaurant located at the hairpin turn on the state highway is actually located within the limits of the Town of Clarksburg, though the hairpin turn of the Mohawk Trail is otherwise disconnected from the road network of the Town. The following communities are significantly more rural, including Florida, Charlemont, Buckland, Shelburne Falls, and Shelburne.

Following the numerous transitional communities into the Pioneer Valley, the community of Greenfield, traditionally the county seat of Franklin County, is now associated with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the rural areas east of Greenfield are the communities of Erving and Wakefield Depot.

Now approaching the northern section of Central Massachusetts, Route 2 is identified as traversing the communities of Orange, then Athol (with U.S. 202 in the area), then Phillipston, then Templeton, then Gardner, then Westminster, then Fitchburg, then Leominster and points east. The urbanized areas are located within the communities of Orange, Athol, Gardner, Fitchburg, and Leominster, while the communities of Phillipston, Templeton, and Westminster are typically identified as more rural. East of Leominster are the Worcester County communities of Lancaster and Harvard, followed by the Middlesex County communities of Littleton, Boxborough, Acton, Concord, Lincoln, Lexington, Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge before ultimately ending in the City of Boston along Massachusetts Route 28.

Hype for the Future 54T: Massachusetts State Route 9 in Detail

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State Route 9 refers to a major state highway associated with the corridor between Pittsfield to the west and Boston to the east. At the western terminus of Route 9 is the intersection for which United States Route 7 exists north and south and United States Route 20 exists west and south. While United States Route 20 is directed in a southerly direction, Route 9 is headed more directly eastward, with particular locations beyond Pittsfield including Dalton, Windsor, Cummington, Goshen, and Williamsburg in the rural areas between the Berkshires to the west and Pioneer Valley to the east. The next major community is the City of Northampton, home to Smith College and traditionally serving as the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. After crossing the Connecticut River, the Town of Hadley is the next accessible community, with Mount Holyoke College located in the nearby town of South Hadley accessible via Route 47. Following the rural fringe community of Hadley, Massachusetts, is the City of Amherst, which officially prefers to be referred to as the “Town of Amherst” and is a community of three colleges: Amherst, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst. Though the campus of Amherst College is associated with Route 9, the highway actually serves the role of the northern campus boundary of the college. Belchertown and Ware are the next communities and the last within Hampshire County, with the highway routed along the southern edge of the Quabbin Reservoir effectively separating the Pioneer Valley and Worcester regions of the Commonwealth from one another.

Now in Worcester County, Route 9 is notable for serving the Central Massachusetts communities of West Brookfield, Brookfield, Spencer, and Leicester prior to reaching the Worcester city limits. Beyond Worcester, the state highway continues to serve the communities of Shrewsbury, southern Northborough, northern Westborough, Southborough, Framingham, (North) Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and finally, Boston.

Hype for the Future 54S: United States Route 20 in Massachusetts

Overview

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States Route 20 is perhaps best identified as the free route associated with the Massachusetts Turnpike on the parallel toll route along Interstate 90. Unlike Interstate 90, however, United States Route 20 often passes through the numerous cities and towns in question, including throughout all portions of the state from west to east. Starting in the Berkshires, the first town encountered along United States Route 20 is the Town of Hancock, located in the central portion of Berkshire County physically well to the north of Interstate 90. While the distance between United States Route 20 and Interstate 90 may be fairly significant at first glance, the divergence does not withstand the duration of either route, especially east of the Pittsfield area. Upon reaching Pittsfield, United States Route 20 now turns relatively southward by association with United States Route 7 toward Interstate 90 as Massachusetts Route 9 emerges to serve the easterly direction more centrally within the Commonwealth. Now paralleling Interstate 90, the communities of Lee and Becket are of particular interest within the Berkshires, often culturally similar to locations in Vermont further north. East of the Berkshire region is the Pioneer Valley, for which United States Route 20 directly serves the communities of Chester, Huntington, and Russell all bypassed by Interstate 90 well to the south before turning to even more closely parallel the Interstate while directly serving the communities in Westfield, West Springfield, and Springfield. Further east is the community of Wilbraham, for which United States Route 20 covers the areas along the Chicopee River with Interstate 90 through Ludlow on the opposite side. Now east of Wilbraham, United States Route 20 continues on a more southerly path with Interstate 90 bypassing the communities of Palmer, Brimfield, and Sturbridge, the latter for which the highways nearly converge again. Further along the route in Worcester County are the communities of Auburn (with a crossing of Interstate 395 shortly followed by a crossing of Interstate 90), Millbury, the extreme southeastern portion of Worcester, and Shrewsbury. Just to the east of the limits of Shrewsbury is a crossing of Massachusetts State Route 9, another east-west state route initially spawned by Route 20 in Pittsfield, except now in the Town of Northborough. The following communities are increasingly associated with the Greater Boston area, including Marlborough, southern Sudbury, Wayland, Weston, Waltham (home of Brandeis University), Watertown, and the city proper of Boston.

Hype for the Future 54R: Connecticut and Rhode Island Route 14

Within the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island, the combined State Route 14 traverses the region from Willimantic, Connecticut, home of Eastern Connecticut State University, to the west to United States Route 6 in Providence, Rhode Island, to the east. The route is perhaps most notable in the Eastern Connecticut region at the relatively rural New England junction with Route 12, located in Central Village in Plainfield, Windham County, Connecticut.

Hype for the Future 54Q: Route 13 in New England (Massachusetts and New Hampshire)

Within the New England region and located to the east of Route 12 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire is Route 13, located to the east of Route 12 north of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and south of Concord, New Hampshire.

Hype for the Future 54P: Route 12 in New England

Within the New England region, the most important Route 12 traverses the States of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Within the State of Connecticut, Route 12 is in the eastern portion of the State, and within Massachusetts, the route is entirely identified as within Worcester County, servicing the Worcester, Leominster, and Fitchburg communities. Once in New Hampshire, the state highway is most notable for traversing the Keene area and the overall area of Mount Monadnock in Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Though the route continues to generally slant north-by-northwest, the angle of the route results in a Connecticut River crossing into the State of Vermont, for which Route 12 services Montpelier and a few areas to the north, ultimately ending at a central location within Lamoille County.

Hype for the Future 54O: Route 10 in New England

The most significant of the Routes 10 in New England is perhaps the combined Route 10 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, covering the communities from the New Haven area to the west side of Hartford followed by the central Pioneer Valley largely overlapping United States Route 5 north of Northampton. Further north is Northfield, Massachusetts, followed by access to Pulpit Falls near the tripoint of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Though Route 10 is not immediately along the Connecticut River in the Mount Monadnock region of the State of New Hampshire, the highway eventually meets Interstate 89, forming a concurrency that ultimately ends in the City of Lebanon, along the Connecticut River with United States Route 5 and Interstate 91 on the opposite (Hartford, Vermont) side.

Hype for the Future 54N: Is “novaTopFlex” a Public Figure or a Private Individual?

Currently, novaTopFlex seems to be in a perpetual identity crisis, in particular because of the unfortunate reality that the Three Identities often conflict with the idea of a private individual. To settle the matter, novaTopFlex shall be treated as a public figure though the official given name and surname (and personally associated nickname[s]) shall be considered private individual material.

To better judge whether novaTopFlex is welcoming the general public to follow or simply treating a given post as private property, always check the WordPress site for the “RFC” label. The “RFC” label typically refers to a “Request For Comments,” in which novaTopFlex expects the general public to comment and respond to comments on each post.

Hype for the Future 54M: The Town of Stowe, Vermont

Introduction

The Town of Stowe, Vermont, often referred to as the “Ski Capital of the East,” is actually the second-largest town in Lamoille County, Vermont, after Morristown to the north. While Hyde Park, even further north, is the shire town (county seat) of Lamoille, the community of Stowe maintains a cultural and historical significance also along Route 100.

Transportation

Two State Highways are typically associated with the Town of Stowe: Route 100 and Route 108. State Route 108 is referred to locally as the “Mountain Road” and is actually identified as Scenic Route 108 along the Smuggler’s Notch portion of the route crossing Mount Mansfield and the Cambridge town line. Throughout the “Scenic” portion of the stretch as designated, confusing signage and GPS-related accidents alike have resulted in fines largely in excess of $2,000 for trucks of even medium size attempting to cross the highway, whether to avoid Interstate 89 traffic or otherwise. Related to the narrow roadway and steep grades is also the winter restriction in which the gates on either side of the scenic roadway are closed and the area around Smuggler’s Notch becomes winterized.

Map of the Village Area

The central village area of the Town of Stowe, Lamoille County, Vermont, is typically identified as the junction for which the southernmost part of the Mountain Road feeds into Route 100.

Within the village area of the Stowe community is a permanent population often identified as smaller than five hundred (500) residents out of around five thousand (5,000) residents for the entire Town area. While a few private residences exist within the village area of Stowe, usually identified as being located on the side streets as well as at 72 Main Street and at 86 Main Street, the vast majority of the village area is home to local businesses in the name of Vermont and Lamoille County in particular.

Tourist Attractions in the Village

Within the village area of the Town of Stowe, tourist attractions associated with Main Street include (from south to north) the Bryan Fine Art Gallery, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, the Green Mountain Inn, Bear Pond Books, the Origins art gallery along Depot Street, the 571 Projects art gallery along Park Street, the Current art center and Stowe Historical Society at the corner of Pond and School Streets, Butler’s Pantry Breakfast and Dinner, and the Northwood Gallery. Exercises are also readily available throughout the village area as well as the larger town area, including summer activities associated with Stowe such as cycling, mountain biking, walking, hiking, and select recreational vehicles (RVs).

Attractions outside the Village

On the outskirts, though still within the Town of Stowe, interests also extend into the von Trapp Family Lodge and Resort, the Stowe Recreation Path following the Mountain Road, the Stowe Mountain Resort, the Smugglers’ Notch Resort (mostly in neighboring Cambridge), and Moss Glen Falls.

Hype for the Future 54L: Traffic Network in Vermont

Overview

Of the fourteen (14) counties in the State of Vermont, Lamoille is the only county lacking any of the United States Numbered Highways (2, 4, 5, 7, and 302) associated with the State, though all ten (10) towns in the County are served by state routes such as Routes 12, 15, 100, 108, 109, and 118. The legal load limits are often 24,000 pounds on county-maintained and lesser routes, though many of the state routes can not actually be identified as truck routes in any meaningful way, often resulting in the creation of the occasional bypass routes specifically to serve truck traffic.

While Interstate Highways and United States Highways often exist to serve the truck traffic throughout the State of Vermont, most of the commercial traffic does not actually connect to Vermont at the beginning nor at the end, often having the State as a middle ground, typically between the southern New England states and New York to the south and Québec to the north, though the traffic from New York bound to Québec, Canada, will often be routed through the Plattsburgh area en route to Montréal.

Truck traffic is significantly less frequent in the east-west direction, especially since the State of Vermont maintains a localist culture and a preference for businesses in Vermont to stay rurally bound within the State of Vermont. However, the United States Highways of the east-west direction—Routes 2, 4, and 302—may occasionally seem to serve commercial purposes, though only in limited circumstances (Montpelier to Barre on Route 302, Montpelier to Burlington on Route 2, and around Rutland on Route 4).

Hype for the Future 54K: OpenStreetMap Information

Where to Find OpenStreetMap

Officially, the OpenStreetMap platform is located at https://www.openstreetmap.org/ for the website, though the open mapping application programming interface (API) is often compatible with the open web in general, particularly notable by way of Wikipedia specifically. Though additional wiki sites may play a large role in the success of the map on OpenStreetMap, the crowd-sourcing and common roadway knowledge from official government websites alike have resulted in a largely up to date road map, though a few exceptions may occur. In general, the Interstate Highways, the United States Highways, and the tertiary State Highways and Routes tend to be the most up to date, along with many college and university campuses especially as such institutions mature. Perhaps the most updated part of the United States using OpenStreetMap is the Northeastern United States, particularly the countercultural hub areas of New England.

Hype for the Future 54J: OpenStreetMap and the Five Colleges

Introduction

The Five College Consortium, consisting of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and UMass Amherst, is perhaps the most detailed region of the entire United States of America to a disproportionate level relative to the true size of the community. Each of the Five Colleges in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, is fully featured on OpenStreetMap, with contributors typically connected to the general communities even outside campus in all directions. Though Amherst is a college town of three colleges, Northampton is a feminist hub, home to Smith College, which also contains a significant influence to the counterculture using numerous Linux distributions and promoting anticapitalist thought, thus providing for an extensive network of updates for the system.

Hype for the Future 54I: Countercultural Hubs

Introduction

The Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts is highly conducive to countercultural knowledge and reasoning, with Hampshire County often highlighting the countercultural significance and Hampden County to the south providing a plurality with additional cultural references. Located in Hampshire County is the Five College Consortium, connecting the colleges and universities of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and UMass Amherst with one another. Even outside of the official college locations, primarily in Amherst, the overarching atmosphere of the communities in question generally remains countercultural to a disproportionate extent.

Queer Havens

Especially in Hampshire County, and not just with the town or the gown, the communities remain aptly recognized as iconic queer havens, most notably Amherst, Northampton, and South Hadley. Though South Hadley and neighboring Hadley are each significantly smaller communities than the two more significant communities on either side of the Connecticut River, the community associated with Amherst is located to the east while the community associated with Northampton is located to the west. While Amherst maintains queer friendliness from the three colleges of the community, Northampton is more or less a queer feminist hub by way of Smith College though also a hub for numerous gay male and bisexual communities in the general population.

Northampton also serves as the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, bypassed by Interstate 91 and served primarily by United States Route 5 from north to south and by Massachusetts Route 9 from east to west. Though Route 5 services the community north from the Springfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke areas and south from the Greenfield and Deerfield areas, Route 9 is perhaps most notable for servicing the communities of Amherst and Northampton with Hadley in the middle as well as Pittsfield further west and Worcester County communities further east on the way to Boston.

Hype for the Future 54H: Route 8 of New England

Introduction

Within the westernmost part of New England and within fair proximity to Route 7 is Route 8, a north-to-south state highway that services the western parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and southern Vermont. Though commonly associated with Route 7, especially because of the strong connections between such communities as North Adams and Williamstown in the northern Berkshires of Massachusetts, the entirety of Route 8 is identified as physically further east than Route 7, regardless of the physical locations on either route.

Hype for the Future 54G: The Combined New England State Highways

State Routes

Throughout much of the New England region, state highway numbers can be redundant with one another quite intentionally, in numerous cases as a direct vestige to the New England Interstate Highway System. Though Route 2 in Massachusetts actually extends into New York retaining the same number, most of the routes that continue on into the latter will change route numbers at the state line.

Perhaps the most iconic of the New England routes to remain intact into the modern day are Route 8 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont; Route 9 of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; Route 10 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire; Route 11 of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; Route 12 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont; and Route 13 of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Hype for the Future 54F: The Philosophy

Preamble

Since novaTopFlex cannot be in multiple places at once, and since numerous other commitments must override a singular marriage in many distinct cases, the philosophy of novaTopFlex shall maintain the numerous distinctions between each and every distinct community in modern society. Unfortunately, college and career pipelines often discourage spontaneity and events, with late-stage capitalism simply exacerbating the existing problems. Even without the economic obligations, being physically present in multiple places at once, especially across hundreds to thousands of miles, is a significant challenge and impossibility.

Interests

Unfortunately, even if novaTopFlex could pay or even if the events were more readily available, multitasking is an impossible task, and business needs cannot be interrupted, especially not safely so, in the name of the YouTube channel or other marketing, advertising, or other networking opportunities. Even if novaTopFlex can never attend such fairs, the goal is to continuously receive updates from the State Fairs of Ohio, Minnesota, Texas, and Vermont; the Big E; and the regional fairs of Fryeburg, Bangor, Skowhegan, and Hopkinton. Additional interests at the county level include the Ohio counties of Butler and Warren as well as the numerous associated local, regional, state, and national festivals and events associated with novaTop values.

Hype for the Future 54E: From Missed Opportunities to a Surplus

Mission Statement

The novaTopFlex Blog on WordPress, along with many other professional goals, exists to ensure a combination of factors for a successful future and a positive sense of societal change, especially after missing out on getting to know people on the opposite sides of each community that novaTopFlex has been connected to. Rather than continuing along with a restricted social circle, novaTopFlex shall research new places in an effort to promote civic goals as well as to connect with the communities and societies that truly matter to the Three Identities, particularly in Western Massachusetts and surrounding regions.

Hype for the Future 54D: Notable Communities of Interest

College Towns and Associated Communities

novaTopFlex shall create a database of perhaps the most iconic colleges and universities by location, including specific communities and counties for each associated institution. Most importantly of all cases is the community at the Five College Consortium, connecting the colleges and universities of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, with one another. The institutions include the flagship college of UMass, UMass Amherst, as well as the private institutions of coeducational Amherst and Hampshire Colleges and all-female Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges.

Amherst, Massachusetts

The Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, is governed using the city form of government but prefers to be called the “Town of” Amherst in official recognition of the community. Though that has also been a confusing feature of select other communities such as Winthrop or Framingham, the community at Amherst remains the quintessential college town in Massachusetts and in New England in general. Within the town boundaries are the three (3) coeducational institutions associated with the Five Colleges, in which Amherst is centrally located, Hampshire in the far south, and UMass nearing the northwest side.

Hype for the Future 54C: Vermont State Route 108

Located to the north and west of Route 100 of Stowe, Vermont, the communities of Cambridge, Bakersfield, and Enosburg are located along State Route 108. Further south, however, is an area along the highway that is impossible to plow in the winter, between the State Forest parking access and the Smuggler’s Notch Resort. Typically, this portion of Route 108 is closed from the end of October until a certain point in the month of May.

Hype for the Future 54B: Vermont State Route 11

Introduction

In Vermont, State Route 11 is located in the southern part of the State of Vermont east of Manchester, with State Route 9 to the south and United States Route 4 to the north. While Route 9 serves Bennington and Brattleboro and Route 4 serves Rutland and Woodstock, Route 11 services the east side of the Manchester area approaching the communities at Chester and Springfield.