I hear the train a comin'...

Over this past weekend, the family and I traveled to St. Louis, as we do about once every other month to visit Christina's family.  Normally we'll drive the 7 hours from Little Rock to St. Louis, we've flown a couple of times, but this time we decided to try something different.  The idea was actually inspired by my 4-year-old step-son who, as most toddlers do, has an infatuation with trains.  Yes, we did; we took a train to St. Louis and back.  I decided to describe the details of our adventure in transportation and provide some suggestions in between.

When we first considered the idea, it sounded novel.  After a short trip across cyber-space we discovered that the cost was actually little more than we would otherwise spend on gas alone.  The phrase, "It's something different", was spoken more times than I can remember as an explanation to our friends and family after we had purchased the tickets online.  As I'm riding home now, I realize just exactly what "different" means.

Having never been on a train before I was expecting a train and station similar to those you see in the movies... I can guarantee you that the Little Rock Train Station will not be seen in Mission Impossible IV.

We arrived at the station in Little Rock at about 11 pm, as all passenger trains travel through the capitol city late at night.  The high-backed wooden benches, tile floor and vaguely present air-conditioning of the station was reminiscent of an old southern church on a summer Sunday night (I expected a sweaty preacher to appear with a "hellfire and brimstone" sermon at any minute).  Most of our fellow passengers seemed to have collaborated on matching luggage: Wal-Mart sacks and trash bags mostly.  I think it really added something to the motif of the station.  So much for first impressions.

I would make some kind comment about security, if there was any.  Ok, all right, I'll take that back... I was asked for my ID... twice.  Seriously though, it was as if we had entered a world where we were no longer at war.  There wasn't a single semblance of any real security: no security guards, no TSA agents, there wasn't even a freaking metal detector for Pete's sake!  Oh, that's ok Mr. Chertoff, I'm sure the enemies of the United States are only interested in hitting airborne targets, you can go back to sleep now.

As we boarded the train in Little Rock, we crept up into the second level of the car where we found our seats.  Most of the people onboard were sleeping in all kinds of positions in their seats.  Once we were settled in, we attempted to do the same.  This became a futile effort.  

Suggestion #1: Get a bed.
While the crew made a valiant effort to provide a comfortable atmosphere for those who wanted to sleep in their seats, you just can't get a good night's rest with an armrest between your cheeks (if you know what I mean).  Upgrading your travel to include a bed is a little more costly, but it will be worth it in the end.

The next morning the conductor stopped by to make sure that we knew that the Dining Car was open for breakfast.  Originally this wasn't part of our plan, but since the train was running about 90 minutes late (and we weren't quite ready to give up our adventurous spirit) we figured we'd give it a shot.

Suggestion #2: Get a bite.
The service and the food in the Dining Car were excellent.  Breakfast being my favorite meal of the day, there's nothing better to start your day than a western omelet, toast, fresh fruit and hot cup of joe, all while enjoying some of America's scenic beauty.

Suggestion #3: Set a loose schedule
We arrived at the station in St. Louis almost two hours late.  Luckily we were able to call ahead and let the rest of the family know not to drive 40 minutes out of their way just yet. Hindsight shows this to be a recurring theme in rail-travel with Amtrak, as our homeward-bound train picked us up over two hours past it's scheduled time and we arrived back in Little Rock a full three hours late.

After trying to decide whether this was a good experience or bad, I think it's best said: this was a learning experience.  Will we do it again?  Maybe so... but we'll definitely get a Sleeper Car with beds... and a hot cup of joe in the morning.

Senator Kennedy Makes a Stand for Net Neutrality (op/ed)

This short post is meant to publicize a video posted by Senator Ted Kennedy on youtube.com. 

Senator Kennedy is one of the first politicians to voice his opinion in favor of Net Neutrality.

Click here to watch the video.

Microsoft officially decides to use the Internet (op/ed)

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's Chief Software Architect (the position formerly held by Internet mogul Bill Gates), announced yesterday to a conference of investors and share-holders that Microsoft will be officially changing it's primary focus from PC-based applications to those that are more more net-centric. 

The difference, of course, is that PC-based applications are installed on (and run from) your computer, where net-centric (aka Internet-based or web-based) applications do not require installation on your computer and are run from a web server.  The biggest advantage to using web-based applications is support and maintenance.  You don't have to touch each and every machine when you are ready to upgrade to a new version of software or apply a patch if your application is web-based.  You can just install it on the web server once, and each user gets to reap the benefits.

Getting back to Microsoft's announcement: What I have a hard time understanding is... What took so long?

With Google's latest web-based applications (i.e. Earth, Video, Maps, Local and especially Google Spreadsheets) it's obvious that Microsoft has been called out on the carpet to make the move to web-based applications.  With all the latest advances with AJAX (asyncronous JavaScript used in conjuction with XML), web-based applications can now perform most of the same functions as desktop applications.

To me this move seems economical, logical, intelligent, and well... obvious.  While the rest of the world is busy writing AJAX enabled web-based applications, Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on Office 12. 

How will this announcement effect you?  Keep an eye out for MS Office 13 on a web server near you.

Is the Net Neutrality Bill dying?

I was digging for stories for our next podcast, when I saw a headline that caught my eye.  "Don't bet on 'net neutrality,' senator says." (link)  If you haven't already been familiarized with this, here is a brief synopsis...

The backbone of the Internet consists of the worlds largest telco's: AT&T, Southwestern Bell, and the like.  They, as most people on the planet, don't think they make enough money for there services.  They are already charging you, the consumer, for your Internet access.  But they have realized that, like a bad night at the roxbury, there are two parties involved in an Internet transaction.  So if 95% of their bandwidth is going to Google, then they want to be able to send Google a bill.

Now, if you don't already see the HUGE problem here then allow me to spell it out for you.  If Yahoo pays AT&T for their bandwidth, and Google does not, then do you think you will be able to get to Google anymore?  If you said "no", then go buy yourself a melon.

If the Network Neutrality Bill (or at least some version of it) fails, we can all sit back and watch the Internet fall apart.  The House of Representatives has already voted on and denied the bill, but the Senate has not yet voted.  Please contact your Senator's office (link) soon and tell them to vote FOR the Network Neutrality Bill.  Don't let the giant corporations ruin the Internet for all of us.

To mod, or not to mod... (Op/ed)

About two months ago Bethesda Softworks, a PC gaming company, released the latest in a series of games entitled Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  Oblivion is a first-person role playing game where the characters that you have to select from are of a sci-fi or "fantasy" nature.

Now, whenever a new game is developed, whether it is for the PC, MAC, Xbox or whatever, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (or ESRB) is supposed to review the content of the game and give it a rating.  These ratings are meant to inform the consumer of the audience that is best suited for the content.  They range from Early Childhood (EC) to Adult (A).

When Bethesda Softworks released Oblivion, the ESRB had given the game a Teen (T) rating for violence and suggestive themes.  (This "Teen" rating is similar to the PG-13 rating you might see at the movies.)  So they printed millions of boxes, the thing went on sale and all was good in the world... until last week.

Last week the ESRB got wind of someone seeing a topless female character in the game.  Upon further investigation this was only made possible by a mod that a third-party had created.  (A "mod" is a gaming term which means modification.)  But because there is now nudity in the game the ESRB changed their rating of the game to Mature (M). 

The gaming company never intended for topless women to be running around in the game.  If you go out and purchase Oblivion off the shelf, it does not contain any nude characters.  In order for someone to see the nude characters, he/she would have to go download and install the mod that contains the modified artwork for the characters.

The ability to modify games and software is nothing new.  In fact, most games that are rated "Teen" have mods that other people have created that you can add to your copy of the game now.  Have you ever used a macro in Word?  That is nothing less than adding functionality that didn't already exist to a software package... the same as these gaming mods.  If I were to go create a macro in Word that would display a pinup girl whenever I hit CTRL-K, would the ESRB give Microsoft Word a Mature rating?  Ha!  I think not.

Bethesda Softworks replied to the ESRB's new ruling with the following statement:

There is no nudity in Oblivion without a third party modification.  In the PC version of the game only – this doesn’t apply to the Xbox 360 version – some modders have used a third party tool to hack into and modify an art archive file to make it possible to create a mesh for a partially nude (topless) female that they add into the game.  Bethesda didn’t create a game with nudity and does not intend that nudity appear in Oblivion.  There is no nude female character in a section of the game that can be “unlocked.”  Bethesda can not control tampering with Oblivion by third parties.  Bethesda is taking steps to ensure that modders can not continue to hack into Oblivion’s art archives to create partially nude figures.

The ESRB should stick to the content of the game in question when they review it and rate it.  Consumers will continually modify games and other software to better fit thier own needs and desires and this type of user interaction can not be anticipated.

That's my 2 bits worth.