Brad Enslen @bradenslen@mastodon.social

I could be wrong, but the way I understand high speed rail works in Italy is the gov’t owns the tracks and the private sector runs the HSR trains as a lease. The operator sets HSR ticket prices based on demand so it could vary seasonally or maybe by time of day.

Hindsight is 20/20. I wish we had not sold off Conrail. We would then have had an expanded track network where Amtrak passenger trains had priority over freight. Maybe not the best passenger network but it would have been a start.

Solving passenger rail in the US is like trying to untangle the Gordian Knot. But first we need clear national policy from the Feds. Somebody has to set priorities so we can plan long term.

Tonight for supper: hot dogs with some sorta pasta salad on the side. Take that, Michelin Guide.

I went to the grocery store for the first time in a year. It certainly made ordering stuff from the deli counter easier.

It’s been quiet on the search engine front. Too quiet.

The new version of Vivaldi browser has: email, calendar, translations, an extra way to switch between different search engines and the biggie for me: an RSS reader.

https://www.cnet.com/news/vivaldi-browser-now-runs-your-email-and-calendar-too/

Either a small coyote or a fox just ran past my house at about 5 AM. Not something you see in a subdivision every day.

Humankind has had many Ages:

The Stone Age, The Bronze Age, The Iron Age, etc.

Now we’re in the Age of Lies.

It’s Frozen Pizza Friday!

Books: My most recent series read, “The Rivers of London” series by Ben Aaronovitch. Urban Fantasy. 8 books so far. I enjoyed these. Nice world building, characters and humor from the narrator. Somehow the climax of each book is understated. How British.

I’m out of books to read. It’s rough I can read faster than authors can write. I have a few ebooks left in strategic reserve but they are Amazon published only and my elderly Kindle battery died. I suppose it’s time for a new Kindle. sigh

I have yet to see (or hear) a cicada. But I saw a stink bug if that helps.

TV in doctor’s waiting rooms seems to all be made-for-healthcare channels now. Wherein they make healthy meals from tree bark, acorns, silage, compost and grains nobody has ever heard of, served in impossably small hipster portions by someone in skinny jeans.

Welp, I’ve read every one of Jim Butcher’s, Dresden Files novels and short stories to date. I love the world, characters and adventure. I guess I have to wait for the next novel, #18. Waiting builds character, I’m told. I. Hate. Waiting.

Q: Do I even want to know what the hell an NFT is?

A: No.