The din of a city

I've given some thought lately to what other kinds of cities I'd want to live in (or near).

Places like Portland and Seattle and even San Jose or San Diego might sound cool. But I've had to separate my vision of a city from what it actually operates like. I think of the touristy, cool places, but that's different from what I really need to know: how a city operates.

How's traffic? Unless it's Los Angeles, it really can't be worse than DC. So that's a positive.

But what is nice about DC - or Northern Virginia really - is that if you know seven roads, you can get damn near anywhere you need to be: I-495 (Capital Beltway), I-95, I-66, US-1, US-50, US-29, VA-7.

What are the seven roads you need to know to get around Denver? What's the drive like on each?

These things intrigue me because on my drive, I see a lot of out-of-state plates (and no, Maryland doesn't count in this instance). I'd say damn near all those drivers fall into one of four categories: they're military (which explains the occasional Alaska or Hawaii plate), they're tourists, they're just driving through or they've just moved to the area and haven't changed their plates yet.

I know they probably don't look at any drive in DC the same way I do.

If we do move at some point, I'll probably be that same way for a bit. I just hope it's not that long.

-- THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS on Saturday night. Tomorrow, I'm planning on popping by the Arlington Animal Welfare Night to plunk down some cash for a fundraiser they're having. It's called Catsino Night.

Let's examine how awesome this will be.

1. As its name implies, there will be casino games. Including Texas Hold 'Em.

2. Free drinks.

3. It's in the lobby of Terminal A at National Airport.

Recounting: Poker, booze, planes.

The mind reels with how sweet this will be. "Why yes, I'll have a beer. Oh look, a US Air A319 from Dallas! Oh look, a flush draw!"