On the rails

I was thinking about this yesterday on the way home: I love taking the train to NYC and riding the subways. Call me crazy, but for me that's always part of the fun of going there.

Anyone who knows me knows I love trains. Just look under our tree at Christmas (at the ' HP train layout) or listen to the stories of our honeymoon (to New Orleans on the Crescent). Yet the infinitely less romantic NJ Transit train still intrigues me. So do the subways. There are so many layers of time down beneath it all.

All along the NE Corridor line you see old rails tracks off to one side or another, long abandoned with sizable trees growing between the ties. Sometimes there is even the rusting hulk of a railroad car covered in graffiti. There are these layers of lift bridge that you cross as you leave Newark Penn Station. Even the name, Penn Station, carries with it remnants of the past when this was the Pennsylvania Rail Road.

Exiting a subway one day I saw this door that was painted shut by at least 30 years worth of paint. You couldn't see the seams anymore, just the shape, as if the wall were made of clay and someone pressed the shape into it. Under the fluorescent lights you see old incandescent light sockets, some with bulbs still in them.

I wonder if those bulbs still work, or what's behind that door, or when those rails were used last and what that box car carried the last time it rode them.

Yesterday there was an interesting footnote to all of this. Trains were running slow out of Newark. Apparently there was a fire by the tunnel entrance, although I didn't see anything. As we crept along towards Secaucus, I saw a pair of old passenger cars. The first was the observation car Alexander Hamilton of the Morristown & Erie RR. The second was the Santa Fe diner named Epicurus. I figured these were just some old cars that they used as office space on work trains, or something similar; more aging remnants of time gone by. On a whim, I wrote down the names of each car and googled them.

Turns out, they're not aging remnants. The Alexander Hamilton is a restored lounge car used for excursion trips to Montreal. The Epicurus is likewise used for excursion trips to Albany, Niagara Falls, and the Hudson Valley by these folks. They hitch them to the back of Amtrak trains and take you on a luxury train trip.

Take your cruise ships. This is what I'd do!

I Killed Scrub and Other Stories

I just looked and it's been a week since I posted. Yow.

Starting with last Friday, I've been working in the city again. Much to my family's chagrin, I've been catching the 7:43 out of Princeton Junction. I've reserved my train meditation for another post....

It was an interesting location at lease, the UN independent Investigation into the Iraq Oil for Food Program. It was trivial filler work - configuring some Cisco network switches and helping with set up some PCs. Every so often you'd hear a snippet of work-related conversation from someone that made you want to eavesdrop, but I didn't.

The shed is really done now. The window sill is rebuilt, sort of. And I vacuumed the whole thing and straightened a lot. Now all the tools are put away. It's done. Except for that sticking door....

We also took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday party. If you have never gone there, avoid it like the plague. It is a scary place. Fear it. They heap such adoration on this pizza hocking rat, whipping the children into a frenzy of anticipation for his eventual appearance. I was waiting for them to suddenly shout, "KNEEL! KNEEL BEFORE CHUCK E.!!!!"

Oh yeah, we played D&D Friday night. It was a good game with many wights and vampires (oh my). I managed to take over Sharon and Kathy's characters at one point. Then poor Scrub got left alone, hiding in the hall from the frightening vampires. Scrub was a pitiful little orc that Rob's character took pity on. Unfortunately for him, the hall was right where a pair of pissed of wights returned to the scene of the crime. Scrub didn't know what hit him....

Alas poor Scrub. We hardly knew ye.

Two cool engines

In the news this week are two really neat new propulsion systems.

First, there is the scramjet powering NASA's hypersonic X-43A test place. The latest flight achieved Mach 9.6 breaking the world record for speed. The engine is cool in that it scoops oxygen from the air instead carrying it in a tank like other rocket engines. This saves a lot of weight. Of course, the engine only works at supersonic speeds, so it needs a rocket engine to get it started.

The second engine is, IMHO, even cooler. That's the ION drive used on the European Space Agency's SMART-1 probe that just entered lunar orbit. Solar panels generate electricity that ionizes the atoms of the xenon fuel. These xenon ions are then shot out the back of the craft, creating a very gentle push. The force is almost imperceptable, but unlike a rocket engine, it is also continuous. So the craft keeps moving faster and farther, until suddenly, you're at the moon. Even cooler is the fuel economy: 5,000,000 miles a gallon!

Another death senence overturned

The Supreme Court overturned another Texas death penalty because jurors did not consider the killer's learning disability and other evidence. Only Scalia and Thomas dissented.

The ruling cited an similar ruling in the case of another Texas death sentence from five months ago. It is interesting to note that in that case, Rehnquist had joined Scalia and Thomas in opposing the decision. This time he chose to support the decision.

From what I can tell, the two cases are very similar, so Rehnquist's decision is curious to me. It could just be that he is keeping with precedent, or that the circumstances in this case differed slightly. But I wonder if facing his own mortality in the form of thyroid cancer might have had an effect.

This Old Shed

"See heah Nawm?" Tommy Silva gives the rafter a whack with his hammer. A cloud of sawdust issues forth. "Cahpentah ant damage. They leave all that sawdust. Looks like yer formah homeownah tried to repaya some of it. But ovah heah, that woods just plain rotted. We're gonna hafta rip this roof off and most of this plywood too. Looks like you'll need to replace this raftah heah. This is gonna take awhile."

For those of you who don't know, Tommy Silva is the recurring contractor on This Old House. His arrival at a home is an ill omen. The homeowner is about to find our exactly how fucked they really are as Tommy leads Norm through an odyssey insect damage, water damage, dry rot, code violations, etc., etc. On one episode, Tommy's visit led to the total demolition of the structure in question. Rebuilding it was cheaper.

I have been visited often by the spirit of Tommy Silva as I endeavored to repair the roof and soffit of my shed. It's been my own little home repair show. Call it This Old Shed. It began as a straightforward project that I told Sharon would only take a week, maybe less. Three weeks later, it's finally done. I tore the old roof off, along with three sheets of plywood that mostly disintegrated as I pulled it up. I had to cut between two and six feed off each rafter, and I replaced one entirely.

Some observations and tips:

• When roofing, always use aluminum flasing around the edges. Why they didn't on this roof I'll never know. The damage that $20 worth of aluminum could have prevented!
• Air nailers are cool! I would never undertake a project like this without one. I'd probably still be working on it.
• Composting and recycling to the degree that we do leaves a lot of room at the curb when it comes to disposing of construction waste.
• Who would have though that interlocking vinyl vented soffits could be so cool?
• Did I mention that air nailers are cool?

And now it's finished. Pain in the ass that it was, it was still a rewarding experience. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and that I was able to do it myself. Of course, there is still the mess to clean up....

Attorney General: 2. Civil Liberties: 0

Bush continues his quest to take the "Justice" out of "Justice Department" by nominating Alberto Gonzales to replace John Ascroft. You may remember his February 2002 memo claiming the right to ignore anti-torture law and the Geneva Convention.

Boy, it's certainly reassuring to know that the Attorney General is pro-torture. More of that consistent leadership everyone loves so much.

Who needs one eclipse when you can have three

This is a neat image from Hubble - a triple eclipse. The moons Io, Ganymede, and Callisto were all casting shadows on the surface of Jupiter at the same time.

By the way, Jupiter is now visible in the morning sky. With a telescope or even a good set of binoculars, you make out one or more of the four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) as tiny specks near the bright disk of the planet.

Enough already, Darwin was right!

Here is the latest installment in the evolution debate. I think calling it a "debate" is itself ludicrous. A debate implies that both sides have substantive argument. There is a really good artice in November's National Geographic. You can find the details of the here. There is a really good quote regarding this whole "it's only a theory" discussion:

If you are skeptical by nature, unfamiliar with the terminology of science, and unaware of the overwhelming evidence, you might even be tempted to say that [Evolution]'s "just" a theory. In the same sense, relativity as described by Albert Einstein is "just" a theory. The notion that Earth orbits around the sun rather than vice versa, offered by Copernicus in 1543, is a theory. Continental drift is a theory. The existence, structure, and dynamics of atoms? Atomic theory. Even electricity is a theoretical construct, involving electrons, which are tiny units of charged mass that no one has ever seen. Each of these theories is an explanation that has been confirmed to such a degree, by observation and experiment, that knowledgeable experts accept it as fact. That's what scientists mean when they talk about a theory: not a dreamy and unreliable speculation, but an explanatory statement that fits the evidence.

Should we caution our children Einstein's is only one of many diverse opinions? That we're only mostly sure that the earth goes around the sun? That they should be sure to keep an open mind on the whole electricity thing? After all, it could be the souls of our dead pets that are really powering our TV....

In case you don't want to seek out a copy of the National Geographic article (but you should), the answer to the question "Was Darwin Wrong?" is "No. The evidence for evolution is overwhelming."

Nicole's Show

Went to Nicoles openning yesterday. Sorry we were late.... Beware happy hour on an empty stomach. It was nice to get together with a bunch of friends.

And what a cool event to get together for. Check out Nicole's work. Not on her site is the Statue of Liberty and Abu Ghraib prisoner. Go to the gallery and see it. That's the one that's stuck with me.

Open letter to President Bush (final version)

Rob asked me if I actually sent the letter. I had not, as I wanted to tweak it further an elicit some comment. This is the version I sent to the president:

Dear Mr. President,

To begin with, congratulations on your victory. I will tell you up front that it is not the outcome I had hoped for. However, you have received the majority of both the electoral college and the popular vote. It is the latter in particular that leads me to accept your victory. I have often argued that the President should be chosen by a simple majority. It is clear that the electorate wants you in office, and I would be a hypocrite to dispute this.

I listened to your victory speech on November 3. It was a good speech, and I thought you did a nice job delivering it. I appreciate your kind words about John Kerry and his supporters. I want to thank your for offering to earn my trust and support. I will try to keep an open mind, but frankly I doubt your sincerity in this offer.

In 2000 you made a similar offer to those whose vote you did not receive. I felt your subsequent actions did not demonstrate any real desire on your part to reach across party lines. Your cabinet nominees included people like John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, and Gail Norton. In defining your energy policy, you met almost exclusively with energy corporation representatives, ignoring environmental interests. The majority of the tax cuts you proposed would go to the wealthiest among us.

In the wake of 9/11, you had the support of the nation and the world. We were united with you against a common enemy. But the agenda you pursued seemed destined to divide us again. You sought limits on our rights to privacy. You fought at every level the investigations of events leading up to 9/11. You invaded Iraq on dubious pretenses yet admit not a single mistake. You or members of your staff have questioned the patriotism of those that disagree with you.
Now, only one day after asking for my trust and support, your statements and agenda suggest to me that you want neither. It would seem that what your are really offering me is the option to join you in pursuing the agenda I voted against. I hope you will understand that this is highly unlikely.

Best regards,
Andrew - ---------

Open letter to President Bush

Dear Mr. President,

To begin with, congratulations on your victory. It is not the outcome I had hoped for, as you can surmise from my other posts. However, you have received the majority of both the electoral college and more the popular vote. It is the latter in particular that leads me to accept your victory. I have often argued that the President should be chosen by a simple majority. Despite my certainty that a President Al Gore would also receive such a majority, it is clear that the electorate wants you in office and I would be a hypocrite to dispute this.

I listened to your victory speech yesterday. It was a good speech and I thought you did a nice job delivering it. I appreciate your kind words about John Kerry and his supporters. I want to thank your for offering to earn my support and deserve my trust. I will try to keep an open mind, but frankly I doubt your sincerity in this offer.

In 2000 you made a similar offer, but your subsequent actions did not show any desire on your part to honor that commitment. Within weeks you nominated John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, and Gail Norton to your cabinet. You met in secret with energy corporation representatives to forge your energy policy. You offered up tax cut after tax cut that benefited the wealthiest among us. This was not a good start.

I the wake of 9/11, you had the support of the nation and the world. We were united with you against a common enemy. You chose further a neo-conservative agenda under the umbrella of the War on Terror. You increased defense spending on unrelated programs like missile defense. You sought limits on our rights to privacy. You fought at every level to investigations of events leading up to 9/11. You invaded Iraq on dubious pretenses yet admit not a single mistake. You have often questioned the patriotism of those that would disagree with you.

Now, you want my trust and support. Given your track record so far, this is something I cannot give you outright. If you want to earn it, I will give you that chance. But it will not be easy.

Thanks,
Andrew

A majority of Americans

It would appear that George W. Bush has received the majority of the popular vote. This is not just more votes than any other candidate. It is more than all other candidates combined. For the first time in sixteen years, most voters want one candidate.

Rob just told me he is having a serious crisis of faith in our system. I am not. The system worked. The majority of voters chose the candidate they wanted.

My disillusionment is with my fellow countrymen.

A trend reversed

One thing we can be sure of in this election is that voter turnout will be high. The folks working my polling location were discussing how busy it's been already at 10 AM. That's awesome. For a change, people truly care about who will be running this country.

Go Kerry!

Just push the button....

Okay, the election is tomorrow. If you don't know who you're voting for, then you've just come out of a coma. I encourage you to go here.

Sharon's been saying more and more how much she wants this to be over. I think I'm getting that way myself. For me, it's not the constant ads, signs, headlines, etc., though I'm pretty sick of 'em. It's the uncertainty of the whole thing. I'm tired of being in limbo.

This is not to say I don't care about who wins. I believe this president is one of the worst in history. I won't go so far as to say he is the worst, as I believe that is an assessment historians should make fifty years from now. But he's in the running. Bigtime.

I liken my feeling on this election to that of someone waiting for results of an important medical test or a college application or an interview for a job you really want. The outcome will has serious consequences on the future. I know what the best and worst case scenarios are. Now, I want it to be over, so I can begin dealing with the outcome.

Of course, there is the looming specter of contested elections and Supreme Court decisions. The follow-up test, college wait-list, or second interview in my analogy. I can only hope it will be decisive and we can all move on.