I'll be travelling for the next two weeks. Yes, there hasn't been an update in months. Apparently that's what happens when I pay for a journal—I don't use it.

Here's my itinerary:

Train – Seattle to New York City I'm leaving Seattle at 4:45 pm on 13-July-2008, arriving Penn Station at around 10pm on 16-July-2008. I'm travelling with Andy Filer, a really neat guy. I plan to offer free wireless Internet service to fellow train passengers, using a cellular modem. It goes almost without saying that I plan to log every bit that goes through the connection. No expectation of privacy and all that. But trains are awesome also.

Chilling – Andy and I are both transit nerds, so I'm sure we'll be able to occupy far more time than we have alloted.

HOPE – Hackers On Planet Earth is at the Hotel Pennsylvania for what may be the very last time. Across the street from Penn Station, the Hotel Pennsylvania has the longest continuously active phone number in New York City. It was originally PEnnsylvania 5000, then PENnsylvania 5000 (in fact it was the first exchange in NYC to transition to 3L4N dialling), then PEnnsylvania 6-5000, then 212-736-5000, and now +1 212 736 5000 in full international format. HOPE has some really rather interesting talks this year. It's also my first convention.

Boston, MA – At some point on 21-Jul-2008, we're going to mosey up to Boston, MA. At 6pm we'll meet with John Covert, whom I met when he visited the Museum of Communications (the phone museum in Seattle where I volunteer). The plan is for him to show us around MIT and then retire for dinner and conversation.

Ellsworth, ME – There's a phone museum in Ellsworth. John and Andy and I are going to visit in the afternoon of 22-Jul-2008. I've been deputized to attempt to convince them of the worth of joining CNET, a thoroughly neat project. I guess I have to put the Seattle museum in the directory, as I am sort of the Responsible Person there.

Flying back – Portland, ME to Seattle We're leaving Portland at around 6pm on Wednesday 23-Jul-2008. As all good things must come to an end, this must too. I don't really like flying. (Some people dislike flying because it's scary or whatever. I like to feel of the plane moving around me. That's a beautiful feeling. I just don't like being cooped up for so long, and I don't like how loud planes are inside. Trains have much more leg-room and walking-room, too.)

Mood: excited

Chemical signs on rail cars: Safety feature or terror target?

By Donald E. Coleman / The Fresno Bee

Monday, March 14, 2005

Fresno Fire Chief Randy Bruegman and others on the front line of emergency response are weighing in strongly against removing diamond-shaped signs from rail cars used to ship dangerous chemicals.

The small placards serve as critical labels to emergency responders, telling them what kind of hazard is posed by a derailment, spill or leak. But federal homeland security officials worry that they could invite acts of terrorism.

( More WTF inside )

I know it's old, but I just ran across it.

This is proof that DHS is run by complete morons. Yes. Let's review what the system is for:

When there's a train crash, and chemicals are leaking onto the ground, emergency responders need to know what to do about it. They also need to stay safe. An NFPA 704 fire diamond will tell you most everything you need to know, within five seconds or so. That's why we paint them a foot high on the side of train cars, and just about everywhere else they'll fit.

For all my life there's been a steady trend toward standardizing warning labels. We've all been trained to believe that this is good, because

Now, there are dangers to this also. People who don't need to know that the material in the train car is poisonous, can learn that easily. They can exploit that knowledge to cause havoc.

So, let's replace the warning labels with barcodes or RFID tags!

What does this get us? If there is a train crash, first responders will have to futz around for a while to find their ruggedized barcode or RFID reader. That's another 5 minutes that toxic chemicals are spilling into the ground you walk on, the water you drink, and the air you breathe. All in the name of preventing vandalism that won't ever happen.

Isn't America great?

Mood: infuriated