2 new blog entries

content/blog/2024/11-25-business-train-travel-a-primer/index.md

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+---
+title: "business-train-primer"
+date: 2024-11-25
+tags:
+  - trains
+---
+
+# Advantages
+
+Lower Cost
+: Rail travel tends to cost less than air.
+  As I write this, a weekend trip from Pasco to Chicago,
+  two months from now,
+  costs $256 on Amtrak.
+  The least expensive flight is $306.
+
+Within Travel Policy
+: Because costs are usually lower,
+  train travel can be easily booked and reimbursed.
+  You just need to obtain an airfare quote for an equivalent flight.
+  In fact, section 8.4.3 of the PNNL Travel Policy Manual states that
+  "railroad travel should be used when appropriate".
+
+More Comfortable
+: A coach seat on Amtrak is larger and more configurable
+  than a first class seat on American
+  (the only airline I've ever flown first class).
+
+Productive Work Environment
+: The train provides a quiet and dedicated space for work.
+  A power outlet is available for every seat,
+  a generous tray is available for your laptop,
+  and the unhurried nature of rail travel
+  provides the opportunity for focus.
+  
+Delays Provide Tourism Opportunities
+: Travel delays happen no matter what.
+  But because train stations have more lax security,
+  and are located downtown,
+  it's easy to walk outside the station and find interesting things to do when delayed.
+
+More Energy Efficient
+: According to the
+  [2022 US Department of Energy Data Book](https://tedb.ornl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/TEDB_Ed_40.pdf#page=50), 
+  Amtrak is 33% more energy efficient than domestic air travel.
+  This can be an important consideration as PNNL persues its
+  NZERO initiative scope 3 goals.
+
+
+# Disadvantages
+
+Travel time is longer
+: Sometimes travel time can be hours or even days longer.
+  PNNL allows you to use personal days at the beginning and end of your trip,
+  and your manager may even allow you to bill work while on the train.
+  Because you can sleep on the train,
+  there's no additional hotel expense for the extra personal days.
+  And packing your own food is allowed,
+  so you can handle the lack of per diem on personal days.
+
+Delays can be very long
+: On some multi-leg trips,
+  there is only one train per day.
+  This means a delay can cause you to miss a connection.
+  While Amtrak will board you for the night and provide you meal money,
+  it's wise to have a "buffer day" at your destination that you can afford to miss.
+
+Increased up-front complexity
+: The "Advanced Travel Request" step of PNNL's travel procedure
+  requires you to know what personal days you will take
+  before a travel agent establishes an itinerary.
+  This means you must work out the train schedule on your own,
+  without the help of the travel agency.
+  *note: maybe it doesn't need to be this hard, I'm still investigating options*

content/blog/2024/11-27-new-uilleann-pipes/index.md

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+---
+title: "New Uilleann Pipes"
+date: 2024-11-27
+tags:
+  - bagpipes
+---
+
+A few weeks ago, my Uilleann pipes arrived.
+
+I ordered them a bit over a year ago, in fall or winter 2023, 
+from David Daye.
+He makes pipes from readily-available materials in the United States:
+mostly plumbing equipment.
+I think the only wood on this thing is the bellows.
+
+The set was sent as a kit.
+He suggested putting the kit together,
+since the assembly represents a lot of maintenance tasks.
+I'm a fan of this approach:
+it's how the 3D printer came,
+and indeed it helped me understand how everything went together,
+and has made it easier to understand what might need adjusting.
+Unfortunately, I didn't get any kit assembly instructions,
+so I've had to work everything out from the instructions that were sent.
+That's okay!
+I like a challenge!
+
+In the last two weeks,
+I've put the bellows together,
+put the chanter together,
+inserted the feed tubes into the bag (one cut was involved),
+tied everything up,
+and spent about 10 days chasing down leaks.
+Today I gave up trying to find the leaks,
+and dunked the whole bag under water,
+to find it's leaking all over the place.
+That's okay!
+It means I need to season the bag with something called
+"Hardie's Airtight Hide Bag Seasoning",
+which is some sort of sticky goo that fills in holes.
+So that will be next.
+
+In the meantime,
+I've been learning how to maintain the right amount of bag pressure,
+and how to fill it back up,
+by just playing a held A for minutes at a time.
+When I get bored with that, I'll play a G,
+or sometimes a scale.
+The C♯ is a bit flat,
+and the low D is a bit sharp,
+and the E keeps jumping octaves.
+But I'm already much better than I was when I first started!

content/blog/new

@@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ tags:
 EOD
 
 echo $index
-vim + $index
+emacs $index