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The Railroad Newsline Format Change
Author: Larry W. Grant
Date: 06-26-2007 - 15:05
There are two primary reasons for the change in the Railroad Newsline format.
1. Someone recently raised the question of copyrights with David Curlee. Since neither David or myself wanted to swim in that pond, it was decided that posting links to articles rather than the articles themselves was the only sure way to avoid any copyright issues. This fact alone made the decision an easy one.
2. I have a day job. It is a demanding one and one that I still enjoy doing.
The effort to turn out the Railroad Newsline six days a week was beginning to take its toll on my mental and physical well-being. The work of cutting, pasting and then editing each article was taking too long each day. I was carefully editing each article making sure I was converting any times quoted in a piece to 24 hour clock standard railroad or military time. That alone was an annoyance which added time to each day's effort.
I was also on the lookout to correct the proper name of each railroad. For example, the real name of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp's rail transportation arm is the BNSF Railway Company, not the "Burlington Northern" or the "Burlington Northern and Sante Fe Railroad." You wouldn't believe the number of reporters who write "Santa Fe" as "Sante Fe." Obvious spelling or errors in grammar were always looked for too. Anyway, all of those small details probably added at least an hour to each day's Newsline effort. Tuesday took me slightly over an hour -- start to finish. The old method took at least three to three and a half hours each day.
I also took the decision to begin to post the Newsline just before I retire each night. That will usually be somewhere between 22:00 and 23:00 hours Central time (I live in Dallas, Texas). Although I may still wake up at 01:30 to visit the men's porcelain convenience, it is nice to crawl back into bed and immediately get back to slumber. Yes, I was going to bed, getting up at 01:30 and spending the half hour it took to format and post the Railroad Newsline Word document that I had finished a few short hours before so the Newsline would always be posted after midnight Pacific time. I would then go back to bed and get up at my normal 05:00 alarm.
This is supposed to be an extension of my railfanning/train photography/toy train hobby and I want it to remain that way.
I just flat don't have the time or the energy to write lead-ins to each linked article as some have suggested. I realize that the links go away on some of the pieces pretty quickly, especially in the smaller papers and TV stations from smaller market areas. There is not much that can be done about that. My only suggestion is that if you see one you like, save it as a document before it is gone. Other issues such as dial-up line speed or other technical matters are individual to the reader and best handled with an upgrade in service.
I have been blessed to have a loving family which has tolerated my interest in "all things train' for a long time now. My wife and I have four fine children and 12 grandchildren, several of which my interest in railroads has rubbed off on -- to varying degrees.
Six weeks ago, my wife, Norma (Gram to the grandkids) had brain surgery to remove a fist-sized acoustic neuroma (go to Google) from the left side of her head. Without boring you with details, she is working each day on making a good recovery towards a not-so-bad outcome from the surgery. She lost the hearing in her left ear and the left side of her face is paralyzed, but those are the only two long-term bad things. By definition, nearly all acoustic neuroma are non-cancerous, so we feel like we dodged the big bullet there. Norma's recovery is important to us all and I need to spend my time wisely in that regard.
I will continue the Railroad Newsline using the new format until David wants to make a change. The best thing about the Railroad Newsline is that it is free -- it does not cost even one thin dime. This new format affords me the time I need to be a good husband/Dad/PaPa, a good employee for my employer and keep up with my life-long love of trains.
Larry W. Grant
1. Someone recently raised the question of copyrights with David Curlee. Since neither David or myself wanted to swim in that pond, it was decided that posting links to articles rather than the articles themselves was the only sure way to avoid any copyright issues. This fact alone made the decision an easy one.
2. I have a day job. It is a demanding one and one that I still enjoy doing.
The effort to turn out the Railroad Newsline six days a week was beginning to take its toll on my mental and physical well-being. The work of cutting, pasting and then editing each article was taking too long each day. I was carefully editing each article making sure I was converting any times quoted in a piece to 24 hour clock standard railroad or military time. That alone was an annoyance which added time to each day's effort.
I was also on the lookout to correct the proper name of each railroad. For example, the real name of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp's rail transportation arm is the BNSF Railway Company, not the "Burlington Northern" or the "Burlington Northern and Sante Fe Railroad." You wouldn't believe the number of reporters who write "Santa Fe" as "Sante Fe." Obvious spelling or errors in grammar were always looked for too. Anyway, all of those small details probably added at least an hour to each day's Newsline effort. Tuesday took me slightly over an hour -- start to finish. The old method took at least three to three and a half hours each day.
I also took the decision to begin to post the Newsline just before I retire each night. That will usually be somewhere between 22:00 and 23:00 hours Central time (I live in Dallas, Texas). Although I may still wake up at 01:30 to visit the men's porcelain convenience, it is nice to crawl back into bed and immediately get back to slumber. Yes, I was going to bed, getting up at 01:30 and spending the half hour it took to format and post the Railroad Newsline Word document that I had finished a few short hours before so the Newsline would always be posted after midnight Pacific time. I would then go back to bed and get up at my normal 05:00 alarm.
This is supposed to be an extension of my railfanning/train photography/toy train hobby and I want it to remain that way.
I just flat don't have the time or the energy to write lead-ins to each linked article as some have suggested. I realize that the links go away on some of the pieces pretty quickly, especially in the smaller papers and TV stations from smaller market areas. There is not much that can be done about that. My only suggestion is that if you see one you like, save it as a document before it is gone. Other issues such as dial-up line speed or other technical matters are individual to the reader and best handled with an upgrade in service.
I have been blessed to have a loving family which has tolerated my interest in "all things train' for a long time now. My wife and I have four fine children and 12 grandchildren, several of which my interest in railroads has rubbed off on -- to varying degrees.
Six weeks ago, my wife, Norma (Gram to the grandkids) had brain surgery to remove a fist-sized acoustic neuroma (go to Google) from the left side of her head. Without boring you with details, she is working each day on making a good recovery towards a not-so-bad outcome from the surgery. She lost the hearing in her left ear and the left side of her face is paralyzed, but those are the only two long-term bad things. By definition, nearly all acoustic neuroma are non-cancerous, so we feel like we dodged the big bullet there. Norma's recovery is important to us all and I need to spend my time wisely in that regard.
I will continue the Railroad Newsline using the new format until David wants to make a change. The best thing about the Railroad Newsline is that it is free -- it does not cost even one thin dime. This new format affords me the time I need to be a good husband/Dad/PaPa, a good employee for my employer and keep up with my life-long love of trains.
Larry W. Grant
The Railroad Newsline Format Change