Hype for the Future 55O: Extended Knowledge of the State of Vermont

Major and Minor Highways

Interstate Highways 89, 189, 91, and 93 are highly associated within the State of Vermont, with I-89 connecting the Burlington, Montpelier, and Hartford areas, I-91 the eastern extreme of Vermont, and I-93 from around St. Johnsbury toward Boston as part of the Boston-Montréal corridor’s axis.

United States Highways 2, 4, 5, 7, and 302 are located in different community areas within the State of Vermont, with Route 2 associated with the Burlington, Montpelier, and Saint Johnsbury areas; Route 4 with the Rutland and Woodstock areas; Route 5 with Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Springfield, Hartford, Newport, and Derby; Route 7 with Bennington, Rutland, and Burlington; and Route 302 with Montpelier and Barre. Thirteen of the fourteen counties are covered by United States Numbered Highways; only Lamoille County lacks Interstate and United States Numbered Highways. The other counties are named Grand Isle, Franklin, Orleans, Essex, Chittenden, Caledonia, Addison, Washington, Orange, Rutland, Windsor, Bennington, and Windham.

The longest road in the State of Vermont is the fabled Vermont State Route 100, which actually starts as Route 8 along the Massachusetts state line and covers the southern half of Vermont Route 8 before becoming an independent State Highway. Though both Route 8 and Route 100 will reach Route 9 eventually, Route 100 crosses the highway further east along the route. Beyond Route 9 is Route 103 with Okemo Mountain, United States Route 4 with the Killington Ski Resort area, and eventually, the Town of Stowe with Route 108 branching further west and covering the Stowe Mountain Resort and the Smugglers’ Notch Resort.

Shire Towns

Interestingly, Vermont is the only state whose county seats remain known by the traditional English term of “shire town,” with Bennington County containing two such shire towns. The North Shire of Bennington County is the Town of Manchester though the South Shire is the Town of Bennington. Elsewhere, the shire town of Windham County is the Town of Newfane, while for Windsor County the shire town is the Town of Woodstock. For Rutland County, the City of Rutland, directly adjoining the Town of Rutland, serves as the shire town.

For the more centrally located counties in Vermont, the shire towns are the Town of Middlebury in Addison County, the City of Montpelier in Washington County, the Town of Chelsea in Orange County, the City of Burlington in Chittenden County, the Town of Hyde Park in Lamoille County, the Town of Saint Johnsbury in Caledonia County, the Town of North Hero in Grand Isle County, the City of Saint Albans in Franklin County, the City of Newport in Orleans County, and the Town of Guildhall in Essex County. Ten (10) distinct cities exist within the State of Vermont, and the city areas are Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, and Essex Junction in Chittenden County; Montpelier and Barre in Washington County; Saint Albans in Franklin County; Newport in Orleans County; Vergennes in Addison County; and Rutland in Rutland County. Unlike other New England states, the State of Vermont does not distinguish between city names and town names, as the names Newport, Saint Albans, Newport, Rutland, and Barre refer to both city and town areas. Even Rangeley in Maine, shared between the Town of Rangeley and Rangeley Plantation, contains a greater distinction as plantations typically refer to themselves as “Plantation” communities throughout the State.

Colleges and Universities

The State of Vermont is home to the University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington and to Vermont State University with campuses in Castleton, Johnson, Lyndon, and Randolph. Castleton is located in Rutland County, while Johnson is in Lamoille, Lyndon is in Caledonia, and Randolph is in Orange. Community colleges are also maintained within the Vermont State University System, providing predominantly two-year programs to numerous communities throughout the State. Private institutions also exist throughout the State, though Middlebury College is typically identified as the most prestigious and occasionally as Ivy-adjacent, rivaling the liberal arts course loads more typically associated with Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams, none of which are physically located within the State of Vermont. Middlebury, by the way, is the shire town of Addison County as well as the largest community, larger than even the City of Vergennes, whose population has recently been identified as smaller than three thousand (3,000) residents.

Arts and Crafts

Within the State of Vermont is the common New England tradition of treating the arts and crafts as civic duties rather than optional features of society. While much of the United States under capitalism has reclassified the arts and crafts as nonessential since no economic benefit can occur under modern systems, the New England region at large has resisted such moves related to privatization, resulting in the modern situation in which many countercultural hubs are now located within the region.

Perhaps the most iconic of the arts and crafts communities within the State are the Town of Manchester, home to the Southern Vermont Arts Center, and the Town of Johnson, home to the Vermont Studio Center. Numerous art galleries also exist elsewhere throughout the area of the State, including in the urban area of Burlington as well as in the smaller communities of Montpelier, Barre, Stowe, Rutland, Woodstock, Bennington, and Brattleboro, just to name a few. Surprising locations for art centers and galleries may also exist, as the fine arts communities of the State also extend toward the ski areas of the State, including the significant resorts at the aforementioned Stowe as well as Killington further south.

Cultural Traits

Unlike other New England states, the State of Vermont takes pride in historic covered bridges to a particularly significant extent, as nearly all corners of the State, with the obvious exception of the Burlington area, are quite rural with dispersed settlement patterns often interrupted by the mountains. As a result, cell service in the region is often minimal, and communities along the Canadian border may not receive any cell service at all—not even Canadian cell service—as the area on the Québec side is also often quite rural. Even in spite of the extreme rurality of the region, portions of the communities along the Canadian border may receive more stable cell service from Canadian cell towers, particularly based on proximity to Sherbrooke and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and the overall directionality of the Green Mountains and of the larger Appalachian Mountains.

Beyond the covered bridges, the entirety of the State of Vermont is highly renowned for associated progressive policies, renewable energy, and of course, maple syrup, for which the State produces around half of the national supply. The State is also famous for rural scenery, unlike other similarly rural yet more extractive states such as Maine (the logging industry in the northwest and fisheries in the southeast), Alaska (tourism), and Hawaii (paradise).

Hype for the Future 55N: Christmas Day in Review

Finally the End of a Solemn Year

The year of 2025 had represented the final year as a person without any effective autonomy, and the year of 2026 will often be associated with an increased level of autonomy. Hopefully, while 2026 will provide thousands of new people from well out of state, the unfortunate realities from 2025 may be carried along, albeit to a substantially lesser extent.

Hype for the Future 55M: The Scheduled Dates and Times for novaTopFlex

In the future, novaTopFlex shall attempt to schedule prerecorded videos at the times of 9AM, 12PM, 3PM, and 6PM, all Eastern Time (Standard or Daylight, as appropriate).

Hype for the Future 55L: YouTube Accomplishments Up to Christmas Day

As of December 25, 2025, novaTopFlex is at around 168 subscribers, a record high count thus far. December 15, known for the uploads of thirteen (13) distinct YouTube Videos and Shorts, has resulted in eight (8) new subscribers on just that one (1) day. So far, not a single day has turned a loss of more than one (1) subscriber to the YouTube channel.

Hype for the Future 55K: A Notice on Password Generators

Explanation

novaTopFlex shall never post a video containing any given password generator, including pronounceable password generators, to the YouTube channels, since password generators may inadvertently reveal different user passwords and potentially other personally identifiable information (PII).

Hype for the Future 55J: The Linux Community

Overview

Unfortunately, Linux is a relatively obscure operating system, further obscured by capitalist priorities and the economic incentives of a monoculture. However, the Linux kernel and associated operating system features and functionality alike are highly identified geographically in a particularly concentrated set of areas across numerous countries around the globe.

Linux Communities in the United States

For the most part, Linux communities in the United States are associated with leftism, though the use of Linux can also be decoupled from politics. As a kernel for numerous operating systems, the technical hubs of the United States are often the areas with particularly common use of Linux, though not necessarily within the area of Silicon Valley in California as corporate headquarters often remain hostile to Linux and open-source, even if silently.

The most commonly identified Linux havens are the countercultural hubs of Northampton and Amherst, Massachusetts, the Berkshires; the State of Vermont; and the Northeast Megalopolis at large. Within the State of Ohio, Columbus is largely associated with the concentration of Linux users and the lack of cultural apathy or antipathy toward open-source.

Hype for the Future 55I: Northampton, Massachusetts

Overview

Northampton is the traditional county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, located along the Connecticut River, Massachusetts State Route 9, and United States Route 5 and bypassed by Interstate 91. The community is officially recognized as the “City of Northampton,” a stark contrast from the larger “Town of Amherst” further east which also has official city status (there are also “Cities” in Massachusetts with town status as such communities do not have wards). Home to Smith College, Northampton is easily identified as a feminist hub, though the college does not necessarily define the entirety of the city.

Downtown Northampton has unfortunately seen a decline, especially in recent years. On the contrary, however, is the positive perspectives on the community, including, though not limited to, the historic Hotel Northampton and the Historic Northampton area along the Connecticut River. Additionally, the city serves as a popular destination for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, questioning, polyamorous, and otherwise nonconforming people and communities, with the political background supporting numerous people regardless of gender or other factors of identity or expression. Even outside the LGBTQIA+ context of the City, Northampton is also a leftist paradise, with support for socialist, communist, and even anarchist perspectives. Thinkers are particularly common within the region, including, but not limited to, the thinkers against capitalism and toward such perspectives as degrowth and ecologism.

Though Smith College is all-female, the City of Northampton is not necessarily matriarchal by nature. However, female dominance and male submission or other role reversals, in addition to drag shows, may be more significant to the City of Northampton and residents of Hampshire County at large, including the Town of Amherst located further east along Route 9. Countercultural features beyond the queer haven for Northampton may also include independent bookstores and leftist organizations, a culture that refuses to stigmatize zines and radical perspectives, and a culture that particularly supports Linux and the Fediverse, as identified by many users on Mastodon and numerous other services being from the Five College Consortium and the Pioneer Valley at large.

Hype for the Future 55H: Privatization is a Crisis

Preamble

Numerous world powers are now scaling back major festivals and events under the guise of risk aversion. However, no significant evidence exists that crowds are any more dangerous today than they have been prior to being scaled back, especially as the culture has changed to a culture of perfectionism and liability concerns.

Perfectionism

Unfortunately, society has transitioned in perhaps the wrong direction, since under capitalism, perfectionism becomes more of a driving force than would otherwise be considered necessary. However, perfectionism is actually an unrealistic approach, and the concept is directly related to “stranger-danger” safety concerns. In the real world, strangers are more dangerous in some areas than in others, though paid opportunities of even lower non-zero payment levels can result in a greater sense of safety.

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!

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.