Bear Flag Republic Radio Weblog

Enjoy the style and elegance of vintage travel aboard classic railroad passenger cars crossing the Sierra Nevada for an overnight stay in the Silver State. Only $399 per person includes lunch and beverages aboard each day. Hotel is not included.

Our trip begins and ends at the Amtrak Station in Emeryville. Our private railroad cars will travel to Reno behind Amtrak's California Zephyr, one of Amtrak's premier trains, that travels between Emeryville and Chicago. We'll follow the historic Overland Route of the Union Pacific Railroad through some of the most scenic areas of northern California and Nevada.

As the miles roll by, you'll enjoy the sights from the luxury of the two cars. The "Tamalpias" was once the private business car of a railroad superintendent. Built by the Pullman Company, it has been restored to its former elegance complete with a polished wood interior. The Dome lounge, "Plaza Santa Fe" was once the highlight of any trip on the Santa Fe's famed "Super Chief" between Los Angeles and Chicago. Our train will arrive in Reno in the late afternoon, to offer you a full night of Nevada style entertainment.

Sunday morning, our private cars will travel west behind the California Zephyr. As we depart the Silver State, our route follows the Truckee River through small towns to cross back into California. If Mother Nature cooperates, we should enjoy a nice covering of snow along the way. From the rear platform of the "Tamalpias", you could enjoy a brisk ride, as we go by the many ski resorts on the Donner Pass. Another fine lunch awaits in either of the dining rooms. Finally, we arrive back at Emeryville in the late afternoon.

If this sounds like a trip for you, reserve your place now! Visit the trip web site at www.privatecarservice.net or e-mail Roger Colton at pullman@privatecarservice.net for more information. Roger can also be contacted at 925-449-1553. -Roger Colton

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Intel takes on graphics world from April. 845G launch [The Register]
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Canon release new G1, G2 and Pro90IS firmware. Canon has today released new firmware for the G1, G2 and Pro90IS. For the G2 it is labelled version 1.0.1.0 and for the G1 / Pro90IS it is labeled version 1.0.0.3. These firmware updates both address the same... [Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)]
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Sir Winston Churchill. "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]
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Last year on this day: "A software guy who puts up gates that keep people out doesn't really understand software, imho. Software is about communication and sharing and working together. At least if you use computers, you'd better hope so."  [Scripting News]
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Another IBM SOAP guy having fun with a Radio weblog.  [Scripting News]
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Note that we've made a lot of progress in the battle against complexity in Web Services. These days the advocates of WSDL say they are optional, no problem if they're not there, either way is OK, we're easy to please. A few short months ago they were saying "Our way or the highway," basically. Here's a very likely fact. WSDL is a delay tactic to keep the rest of us confused until Microsoft is ready to dominate the market. After reading the transcripts of the antitrust trial would you be surprised if this theory turned out to be correct? After all it is very confusing, even some of the IDL advocates seem to think so. The point I made earlier is that we didn't need them to bootstrap the Blogger API, and none of the developers using the API seem to miss them, so the assertion that they're part of the bootstrap doesn't make it with me. Do you care to know my philosophy? If so, read this piece. "I believe XML formats should be designed as end-user software is designed. Hack at the details, make every feature justify itself, reduce every three-step process to one if you can. Do it over and over, and then work on the top level. Then and only then does it get simple enough for ordinary people to use. I'm like Steve Jobs on this. I think when you lift the hood you should see a beautifully designed machine that invites you to understand and then use it."  [Scripting News]
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Slashback: Cheaters, Spammers, Chessmen [Slashdot]
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