Research is one of the most time consuming parts of non-fiction writing, especially for highly technical topics. I typically spend two or three times as much time researching an article as actually writing it. I've clearly been missing out on the secret to non-fiction productivity: make stuff up. Who'da thunk it?

I suspect my friends in the PR business will read this and shake their heads sadly. The Seven Deadly Agency Types.

The Boston to Washington corridor is one of the few places in the US where train service works well. Amtrak's Acela service is faster than driving, time and cost competitive with flying, and offers good connections to local transit networks. I've used it a couple of times and been very impressed. It's an excellent service.

When it works. The line is currently down for repairs due to cracked brake rotors, exacerbated by a serious shortage of spare parts. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has a good explanation of the technical reasons for the failures, as well as good background on previous problems.