Anyone who has taken a road trip has wished for this sort of a tool. A map that tells you what the weather forecast is going to be along your route. One of the great things about this map is that it doesn’t give you the current weather conditions at the location, it gives you the forecast for when you are projected to be at that point in your route.

This is now a feature of the Weather Channel’s Trip Planner. The creators of this excellent tool, Stamen Design, have a short writeup of some of the thinking that went into the trip planner.

via FlowingData

I always thought the let’s arm the pilots idea was a bad one. Case in point: A Pilot’s Gun discharged on a US Airways flight last weekend.

As one may imagine, the food in Rome is excellent and there are many, many restaurants to try. Roman kitchens excel at producing flavorful pasta dishes of a quality that is hard to find elsewhere in the world. The pastas I sampled were so good, that they tended to overshadow the main courses. What follows is a short list of places that I found to have particularly good food.

San Lorenzo is a short walk away from some of the most tourist infested sections of Rome. This neighborhood is host to many, many bars and the fabulous Uno e Bino. The cozy, candlelit dining room is a prime venue for the flavorful dishes flowing from the partially open kitchen. Uno e Bino uses only the freshest of ingredients and all of the dishes we sampled were fantastic.

Uno e Bino
Via degli Equi, 58, Rome, 185
Phone: +39 06 4460702

Checchino dal 1887 is across the street from a defunct abattoir which has been repurposed as an art space. This is Rome’s old meatpacking district, so it should come as no surprise that Checchino’s menu is heavy on the meats. We were there to sample some of the variety meats that are difficult to find in other restaurants. The pastas did not disappoint. The bucatini alla gricia was wonderful with plenty of salty pork cheek–a though act to follow. The rigatoni con pajata is another pasta that must be tried. Checchino’s dining room is a long, brightly lit room that has an old school feel. The aroma from the cheese display will tempt you from the time you enter the room. My recommendation is to leave a little room for a cheese course.

Checchino dal 1887
Via di Monte Testaccio, 30
00153 Roma
Phone: +39 06 5743816

Obika has a nice selection of fresh cheese and a wine list that complements said cheeses. This is a great place for an afternoon snack. Be sure to try the Burrata.

Obika
Piazza di Firenze – corner Via dei Prefetti
Phone: +39 06 6832630

Visited 2007-05-23 – 2007-05-28. Pictures on flickr and highinfrequency.com.