CAPE COD BACK BAY CRAB SEASONING POTATO CHIPS REVIEW (VIDEO)

The crab chip market has just expanded. Massachusetts potato chip manufacturer Cape Cod is taking on Utz, Herr's, and perhaps some less-known brands, with a new limited batch of Back Bay Crab Seasoning potato chips. How do they stack up to the champion, Maryland favorite Utz Crab Chips ("The Crab Chip")? Watch my video review and find out!

ENGAGE ROCKVILLE TO BE DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION, PRESENTED AT MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT

A new online community engagement tool, Engage Rockville, will be a major focus of tonight's Rockville Mayor and Council meeting. The mayor and council will obtain legal advice regarding the website's relation to state laws regarding open meetings, and ex parte communications between government officials and citizens, businesses, or other individuals.

There will then be an official presentation of Engage Rockville, listed as agenda item 11.

Right now, the website offers a poll, and invites users to upload photos of their favorite locations in Rockville. It also asks you to share "your big idea for the future of Rockville."

According to the site, 5 city employees from the Planning Department are participating in the online discussion.

ROCKVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEETING CANCELLED

The Rockville Historic District Commission meeting that had been scheduled for Thursday, January 16, at 7:30 PM at City Hall, has been canceled. No reason was given.

YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T DRIVE ANYMORE? YEAH, RIGHT!

One of my favorite urban legends is, "Kids/teenagers/millenials don't drive anymore." By itself, the Young People Don't Drive canard would merely be humorous and harmless. Unfortunately, the anecdotal "evidence" behind this claim is now being used by urban planners to reduce parking spaces, and cheat on transportation capacity standards.

Certainly, many young people do walk, bike or use transit. It's a commendable choice. When it makes sense to do so, why wouldn't you? Where the problem comes in, is when planning changes are made based on a myth, and then you have a transportation system that can't handle the volumes that exist in reality.

Reality is the key word. You can conveniently forget the new driver's license hurdles created by many states in recent years, and then twist that data to extrapolate that those teens won't drive when they can later. And you can say teens would rather have an iPhone than a car, but only if you weren't out in the real world, where kids not old enough to drive already have the latest smartphones. There must be a special button in Photoshop that allows you to create fake travel photos. There isn't? Gosh, then how are young folks generating all these "road trip!" shots on social media?

Stop by the Rockville campus of Montgomery College around 11:00 AM, and try to convince yourself that young people are giving up the automobile. Google "the cars of GW." Or check out the car clubs of Penn State, the University of Maryland, or the University of Calgary.

My favorite recent story about young auto enthusiasts was in Bloomberg Businessweek. According to the article, Chinese high school and college students have spent $15.5 billion dollars purchasing cars in the United States between 2012-2013. "A little more than half the vehicles bought by Chinese students in the U.S. during the 22-month period [CNW Marketing Research] studied were new, with an average purchase price of $52,796; and 32 percent of buyers paid cash," Businessweek reported.

In Eugene, Oregon (the town supporters of Bus Rapid Transit in Montgomery County keep referring to us as a model), the University of Oregon has an International Student Auto Club. "While members throw barbecues and help new students navigate the car-buying process," the article notes, "their favorite thing to do is gather in parking lots with their rides." It sounds like California car culture is not only alive and well, but crossing international and political borders.

As top tech and automotive firms refine the technology that will eventually allow autonomous vehicles, the American automobile is far from extinction. That means adequate highway capacity remains a critical necessity in planning. A former DC transportation official was recently quoted saying that we are witnessing the last generation of private automobile ownership. But again, reality is quite different.

CHEF BOYARDEE PIZZA TWIST REVIEW (VIDEO)

Chef Boyardee has a second new product available at Giant, and it would be a great hot lunch on a day like this, if you heat it up in the office or home microwave.

Chef Boyardee Pizza Twist features spiral pasta in a special tomato sauce, with chunks of real pepperoni throughout. Let's try it out in this video review.

ROCKVILLE RESTAURANTS PARTICIPATING IN METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON RESTAURANT WEEK, JANUARY 13-19, 2014 - MENUS

Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week is already here again, from January 13 to 19. Three-course lunches are $20.14, and dinners are $35.14. Two great restaurants (I have dined at both) are participating in Rockville for 2014:

Chef Geoff's Rockville

Lunch menu

Dinner menu

La Tasca Rockville

Lunch menu

Dinner menu

CAPE COD BUFFALO CHEDDAR WAFFLE CUT POTATO CHIPS REVIEW (VIDEO)

5 degrees in Rockville? You need a hot chip. Fortunately, I've reviewed these brand-new Cape Cod Buffalo Cheddar Waffle Cut potato chips just in time!