Burningbird

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I called Amtrak to ask about the mysterious extra hour in the schedule, due to Daylight Savings Time ending, and the very nice lady I talked to said that the train actually does stop around 2 in the morning, and waits for time to catch up.

So at 2 in the morning, somewhere in the badlands of North Dakota Minnesota, a lone train will slow and then stop–sitting for an hour on the tracks among the scrub and coyotes, the starry night and the cold, bitter wind.

(Which I guess goes to show that fact is stranger than science fiction.)

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Different perspectives can cloud our perception of what each other is saying. For instance, Amtrak’s baggage rules state that I can take two “carry-on” bags, as well as a “personal” bag on to the train with me. I gnash my teeth and roll in ashes before putting on the sack cloth because of this limitation. I grouse and snit and snarl and point snide fingers at declining ridership and mumble about ‘not providing customer service’, because to me a carry-on is a back pack or a small overnight bag.

But then I actually stop to really look at the dimensions of what Amtrak considers to be a carry-on bag: 28 x 22 x 14 inches. I got out my ruler; my main suitcase is 28 x 21 x 11 inches. Oh. In other words, I can bring on the train what I originally planned on bringing on the train before I got caught up on Amtrak’s use of “carry-on”.

Oh.

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I’ve long been fascinated by Einstein’s Theory of Relativity; the concept of curved space and our galaxy being a marble flowing down and around holes punched into the void via black holes and other objects we probably haven’t even imagined yet.

Most particularly the concept of gravity and speed and their effect on time: imagine it, that you could go fast enough to have time slow until it seems to stop; or until you flatten into goo–no one knows the absolute truth.

I’ll be able to see the Theory of Relativity in action this weekend. According to the train schedule, the Empire Builder always leaves Chicago around 2 in the afternoon and gets into Sandpoint around midnight. However, Sunday morning Daylight Savings Time ends, which means we’ll turn back the clock. But the train still gets into Sandpoint at the exact same time.

I’m trying to figure out what aspect of physics is in play. Do we slow down so that time can pass us by? Or at the dot of 2 in the morning, does the train stop so that time can catch up?

Questions of time aside, I’ve decided not to get any kind of internect connection on the trip, but will instead explore my old town, the new parks, and catch up on my reading when I’m not helping my Mom. When I get back, I’ll be starting a new job: working for Broadband Mechanics with Marc Canter.