Tripping
: I’m going to do this on every trip I take from now on: I downloaded a movie from Movielink to watch on the train ride (The Quiet American, grade B). For $4.95 (half off for an introductory offer), you get to keep the movie on your hard drive for 30 days; once you start watching it, you have 24 hours to watch it as often as you want and then, like a secret Mission Impossible message to Mr. Phelps, it self-destructs and erases itself. No DVDs to worry about returning. No late fees. No NetFlix deliveries. I may not watch a bunch of movies this way, but for a few hours on the road, this is great.
: A postscript to my aborted attempt to take the new Limoliner to Boston: On the Amtrak Acela back tonight, I eavesdropped on a guy with a Scottish accent in the next row talking about connectivity on the road and other issues and I figured out: He’s from the Limoliner. I apologized for eavesdropping and asked and, yes, he was headed to New York for a 5 a.m. appearance on WCBS to promote the bus. The incredibly forgetful stewardess on the train messed up his dinner order and I know he was thinking: Next time, the bus.